Middling Folk

Middling Folk
Middling Folk

Middling Folk

Three Seas, Three Centuries, One Scots-Irish Family
By Linda H. Matthews

HISTORY

384 Pages, 6 x 9

Formats: Cloth, EPUB, Mobipocket, PDF

Cloth, $24.95 (US $24.95) (CA $27.95)

ISBN 9781556529696

Rights: WOR

Chicago Review Press (Nov 2009)

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Overview

One family's journey through American history

Telling the stories of those who quietly conducted the business and built the livelihoods that made their societies prosper or fail, this account shows how one Scots-Irish American family, the Hammills—millers, wagon makers, and blacksmiths—lived out their lives against the backdrop of the American Revolution, the Civil War, and westward expansion. Spanning three centuries from the shores of Ireland to the Chesapeake Bay Area to the Pacific Northwest, this saga brings to life the early days of the founding of this country through the lens of the middle class. From revolutions, uprisings, and economic booms and busts to owning slaves in the colonial South, these personal encounters through dramatic historical events depict the private dramas—tragic deaths, business successes and failures, love and loss—of the ordinary families who helped shape this country and managed to hold their own through turbulent times.

Reviews

"Matthews is a graceful writer, providing the necessary historical facts and documentations while keeping us squarely focused on the people and their stories . . . Simply splendid."  —Booklist, starred review



"A deeply felt, illuminating narrative."  —Kirkus Reviews


"A richly textured, strongly researched and documented, beautifully written family history that any student of Americana will find irresistible. The 'novelistic' inventions that punctuate Matthews's historical narrative are uncannily evocative. A wonderful book!"  —Christopher Herbert, Chester D. Tripp Professor of Humanities, Northwestern University


"An often poignant story that is both instructive and witty—and likely to impel many to take a closer look at their own family trees."  —Larry Lockridge, professor of English, New York University; author, Shade of the Raintree: The Life and Death of Ross Lockridge, Jr.



"Middling Folk examines generations of a middle class family and in so doing opens a window to a part of America's history that has long been missing." —Katherine Bateman, author, Kentucky Clay: Eleven Generations of a Southern Dynasty


"An interesting and impressive book ... Matthews should be commended for writing not just a fine work for all of us, but a wonderful work of and for her own family." —Oregon Historical Quarterly

Author Biography

Linda H. Matthews is the cofounder and former publisher of Chicago Review Press. She is the coauthor of The Balancing Act: A Career and a Family and has contributed several articles to The Mill Racer, the monthly newsletter of the Occoquan Historical Society of Occoquan, Virginia. She lives in Evanston, Illinois.