Dick and I is an unpublished manuscript by Samuel Bartow McKenney who was born June 3, 1847 in Iowa to Robert Eugene McKenney and Mary Bartow, and was killed in April of 1881 in Whitehall, Livingston, Louisiana.
An old typewritten copy was supplied me by Allan McKenney, a relation of Samuel Bartow McKenney’s who also is descended down the Robert Eugene McKenney line. My McKenney line is related to this one, Robert Eugene having been probably a cousin to my ancestor, George Washington McKenney, Sr.
My task has been to scan and OCR the images then fix the OCR transcription as best as possible. The manuscript had no periods at all and for the convenience of the reader I have supplied those.
Dick and I turns out to be a great read after one gets into it, offering some beautiful descriptions of the natural environment. The story turns out also an example of 19th century Freethought inspired by Robert G. Ingersoll who was highly influential for the time and friends with both Walt Whitman and Mark Twain. Samuel Bartow McKenney makes mention of Ingersoll in the book in a debate between a Freethinker and a minister.
My thanks to Allan McKenney for this wonderful manuscript!
Dick and I
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