That's a strong statement!  First published in 1873, Quinlan's remains the authoritative history of the early years of Sullivan County.  The prices being charged for copies of the 1975 reprint make that clear.  In early April 2007, one price we found on the web for that reprint was a mind-boggling $349.98 (two copies were available at that price).

It's only fair to tell you that Higginson Books does have a reprint of Quinlan available in their "print on demand" catalog for $72.00.  According to their website, there is a 6 - 8 week wait for delivery.

Historian David Gold's 1993 abridgement of Quinlan is, unfortunately, no longer in print.  He advises us that he has no more copies of that edition to sell.

Clearly, people are -- and have been -- voting with their checkbooks that owning a copy of Quinlan is important if you are doing Sullivan County research.

Interestingly, none of the editions available -- except for ours -- includes an index of names!  The unabridged Quinlan consists of 700 numbered pages of text, plus 10 pages of advertisements, so an index is virtually a necessity.

An index was compiled in the 1970s. The price we've seen most recently (8/24/08) for THAT book, on eBay, was $90.  And, until our republication became available, there was no index of Quinlan that went beyond a simple list of names available at any price. 

In republishing Quinlan's History of Sullivan County on CD-ROM we have included actual page scans of all 710 pages of of Quinlan, and our Principal Partner, Geoffrey Brown, has also compiled a brand-new index that is inclusive, not just an incomplete list of names (as the 1970 index was).   We can confidently state that it is the most comprehensive publication of Quinlan that has ever been available.

About our new index of Quinlan's History...

We do know that we have done a far more comprehensive indexing job than was done in 1970.  We've found that at least 10% of the European names and probably 80% of the Amerindian names that appear in Quinlan (and in our new index) were overlooked or omitted by the compilers of the 1970 index.

Please understand that we're not being critical of the 1970 Directory of Names; it was very useful in its day and has helped many people.  What we are saying (with what we hope is appropriate modesty) is that our new index is much better. Not only does it include more names of people, but it also includes all the things that a normal, full index includes, such as locations, historical events and all of the esoteric subjects Quinlan covers -- all of which are missing from the 1970 list of names.

We recognize that for many people the most important aspect of Quinlan will be whether or not an ancestor's name appears in it.  We've done some genealogy ourselves, and we understand.  Therefore, we've prepared a list of all the names that appear in Quinlan, and you can check it on-line before you purchase.  Want to see the list? 

Simply to view the list of names we've compiled based on our index.

To respond to a few of the questions we've been asked most frequently:

QUESTION:  I already have a copy of the Quinlan reprint, so I don't need a copy of the book.  However, I really do need your new index.  Is that available separately?

ANSWER:  YES, we have also prepared a CD-ROM for those who already own a copy of Quinlan but who want to take advantage of our new index without purchasing an additional copy what they already have -- namely Quinlan itself.    for more information about ordering either version of our Quinlan's History CD.

QUESTION:  How much does this CD cost?

For the CD that contains ONLY the new index, we've reduced the price to a modest $9.50.  Remember: this version is intended for people who already have a copy of the unabridged version of Quinlan's History and need only the new index.

for information about ordering either version of our Quinlan's History CD.

Again, THANK YOU to all for your support!!  This has been a huge project, and we appreciate your many kind and encouraging words!  And now it is done!

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Exactly what is covered in Quinlan's History of Sullivan County?"

This is a fair question.  After all, virtually no pre-Revolutionary settlement of Sullivan County survived that war, and the county did not separate from Ulster County until the end of the first decade of the 19th century.  Thus, when Quinlan compiled his History, he really had only about a century of history of Sullivan County as an entity to work from -- yet the book is 710 pages long!

The first light to shed on this question comes from the title page of the book.  The full title of Quinlan's History is actually History of Sullivan County: embracing an account of its geology, climate, aborigines, early settlement, organization, the formation of its towns, with biographical sketches of prominent residents, etc., etc.

Quite a title!!

Quinlan did provide a Table of Contents that provides a bit more insight. (You should be aware that we currently offer CD-ROMs about the towns that appear in blue below, and as well offer Child's 1872 Gazetteer and Business Directory of Sullivan County, another valuable resource if you are researching in Sullivan County.  Please click on the blue links for more information about these CDs.)

for information about ordering either version of our Quinlan's History CD.

for information about ordering either version of our Quinlan's History CD.

to return to our main Sullivan County page.

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This website was last updated 04/18/2009