Taming the Wild Grape , livre ebook

Xlibris NZ - Janet Wells

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

150 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

Taming the Wild Grape is the story behind one man’s dream to create a legacy in the newly settled land of Ohio in the 1800s.
Following the Revolutionary War, Josiah Pelton was aware that his farm in Killingworth, Connecticut, could no longer support him and his wife, let alone allow each of their sons a place to prosper. His purchase of 6,605 acres in the Western Reserve prompted Josiah to embark on a six-hundred-mile journey with his son Jesse so that they could inspect the land and begin clearing it. When Josiah returned to Connecticut to bring the rest of his family west, Jesse, at the age of twenty-two, was left behind in the wilderness—his only companion a young man hired to help with the heavy work of felling trees and uprooting the wild grape vines that covered the land.
Josiah and his sons worked tirelessly to make their farms productive, and as more settlers arrived in the township of Gustavus, Josiah turned his attention to creating a community. Through personal tragedies as well as those of his fellow settlers, the ever-present threats of Indian attack, adverse weather conditions, and the War of 1812, Josiah’s dream took shape.

Sujets

Historical Fiction

Historical

Fiction

Informations

Publié par	Xlibris NZ
Date de parution	27 juillet 2023
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781669880745
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0200€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

TAMING THE WILD GRAPE

JANET WELLS

Copyright © 2023 by Janet Wells.

Library of Congress Control Number:
2023912343
ISBN:
Hardcover
978-1-6698-8076-9

Softcover
978-1-6698-8075-2

eBook
978-1-6698-8074-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Rev. date: 07/27/2023

Xlibris
NZ TFN: 0800 008 756 (Toll Free inside NZ)
NZ Local: 9-801 1905 (+64 9801 1905 from outside New Zealand)
www.Xlibris.co.nz
853150
Dedication
For Graham, who assured me daily that my book was the best he’d ever read.
CONTENTS
PART 1
Chapter 1 Early summer 1800
Chapter 2 Fall 1798
Chapter 3 Fall 1798–Spring 1800
Chapter 4 Early spring 1800
Chapter 5 Early spring 1800
Chapter 6 Early spring 1800
Chapter 7 Early spring 1800
Chapter 8 Early spring 1800
Chapter 9 Spring 1800
Chapter 10 Spring 1800
Chapter 11 Spring 1800
Chapter 12 Spring 1800
Chapter 13 Spring 1800
Chapter 14 Spring 1800
Chapter 15 Spring 1800
Chapter 16 Spring 1800
Chapter 17 Spring 1800
Chapter 18 Spring 1800
Chapter 19 Late spring 1800
Chapter 20 Early summer 1800
Chapter 21 Fall 1800
Chapter 22 Winter 1801
Chapter 23 Spring 1801
Chapter 24 Spring and summer 1801
Chapter 25 Late summer 1801
Chapter 26 Fall 1801
PART 2
Chapter 1 Fall 1800
Chapter 2 Winter 1801
Chapter 3 Winter 1801
Chapter 4 Winter 1801
Chapter 5 Spring 1802
PART 3
Chapter 1 Spring and summer 1802
Chapter 2 Summer 1802
Chapter 3 Late summer 1802
Chapter 4 Fall 1802
Chapter 5 Fall 1802
Chapter 6 Fall 1802
Chapter 7 Fall 1802
Chapter 8 Summer 1803
Chapter 9 Spring and summer 1804
Chapter 10 Summer 1805
Chapter 11 Spring 1807
Chapter 12 Fall 1808
Chapter 13 Winter 1809
Chapter 14 Spring 1809
Chapter 15 Spring 1811
Chapter 16 Summer 1811
Chapter 17 Summer 1812
Chapter 18 Summer 1812
Chapter 19 Spring 1814–summer 1818
Chapter 20 Fall 1818
Acknowledgements
PART 1
“Josiah Pelton, who in the spring of 1800 went with his son Jesse to Ohio to survey the north half of the Township of Gustavus, Trumbull Co., Ohio which he had bought.”
Genealogy of the Pelton Family in Ame rica
By Jeremiah M. Pelton
CHAPTER 1
Early summer 1800
Northwest Territory, America
Two horsemen broke through the undergrowth and entered the clearing. They were traveling northwest with the afternoon sun in their faces. They paused a moment to wipe the sweat from their brows, giving the rest of the party of nine time to catch them up. Some had been together for their entire journey, while others had joined the group only recently. There was safety in numbers, and each knew that they probably wouldn’t survive long if they were traveling alone.
The air around the travelers was still. The lack of wind intensified the heat from the late afternoon sun. The only noise apart from the intermittent twitter of bird song and the buzz of insects was the chink of metal on the horses’ harnesses, the creaking of the leather saddles, and the occasional breathy snort from one of the horses.
As they continued westward, the two leading men rode their horses shoulder to shoulder as they had done for most of the journey. They were father and son. Anyone who looked at them closely would have known this without needing to be told. Although they were separated in age by some thirty years, they looked remarkably alike. Both men were above-average height, of a slight but sturdy build, with long, lean limbs. Beneath the brims of their hats, dark chestnut eyes constantly scanned the path ahead of them, alert to any subtle changes that might signal danger. The younger man’s head was covered in black unruly curls that were continuously trying to escape the confines of his hat. The older man had similar black hair, but his hair and side whiskers were beginning to show the gray tones that signaled advancing years.
“Not too far now, lad,” said the older man. “Keep your eyes peeled for any signs. Storrs said that he had blazed the trees to make it easier.”
The younger man had heard this information many times during the journey, but he respectfully acknowledged it again with a quick nod of his head. He knew his father’s excitement was mounting the closer they came to their destination. He was excited too, but he was reluctant to show it in front of the group of strangers with whom he now rode.
“Just think, Jess, this time tomorrow we could be bedding down on our own land,” said the older man as he turned in the saddle to look fully at his son, his eyes blazed with a mixture of pride and anticipation. It had been a long journey, and he was pleased that the end was close at hand.

You might say that the journey had begun thirteen years ago and nearly 650 miles to the east. Josiah Pelton, the older man, had been involved to some extent in the events from the very beginning. His son, Jesse, had only been party to the preparations for the past year. Many plans had to be made before the journey even began. Some of those plans had, through necessity, been made by others.
A chance encounter with Col. Lemuel Storrs and his father-in-law, Col. Henry Champion, had opened the way for events to begin unfolding in the lives of the Pelton family. On a warm day in the autumn of 1798, Josiah had ridden to New Haven on business. As was his custom, he had secured a room at Issac Beers’s tavern for the night. He liked staying here because you never knew whom you were going to meet. There were many other taverns operating inside the city limits, but Beers’s establishment was the preferred place to stay for many political figures of the day. Often important and influential men could be seen gathered around one of the tables in the tap room, sharing a mug of ale and planning the future of the nation.
After concluding his business at the bank, Josiah had returned to the tavern and had gone straight to the taproom. It had been a long meeting with the bank owner, and Josiah was in need of a mug of ale before dinner. As he sat near the window, his attention was drawn to a nearby table where several men were involved in a spirited conversation. He recognized Storrs and Champion among the group. Josiah was well acquainted with both men; his mother was related to Champion, and Josiah had met him on many occasions. His connection with Storrs was stronger, though, as he had served with him in the First Connecticut Regiment during the Revolutionary War.
As Josiah continued to watch the group and speculate about the purpose of their meeting, Storrs rose from the table and crossed the floor to where Josiah sat.
“Good day, Pelton,” said Storrs as he held out his hand in greeting. “How fortunate to see you in New Haven. Are you here on business?”
Josiah rose to his feet and took the proffered hand. He shook it warmly. “Good day to you, Col. Storrs. Yes, I came down earlier today to meet with my banker. I’m staying the night and will return to the farm tomorrow.”
“How’s the farm doing?” inquired Storrs.
“This year looks like it will be another productive year. We should have a good harvest, sufficient for our needs and a little left over for selling at the market. But, truth be told, each year the yield seems to get less and less. I worry that soon I won’t produce enough to support all of my family.”
Storrs nodded in understanding. “Many farmers are experiencing the same problems as you, Josiah. Land here in Connecticut is in short supply—no room for farmers to expand their acreage.”
“Yes, my boys are getting older, and I would like to give them a portion of their own land to farm, but it’s just not possible.”
“Perhaps you should join us at our table—we just may have a solution to your problem,” said Storrs with a chuckle. “The gentlemen whom Col. Champion and I are meeting with are a small part of the Connecticut Land Company, which has just acquired three million acres of land at the eastern end of the Western Reserve in the Ohio Country. That’s where the future in farming is for adventurous men like you, Pelton. Come, sit with us and find out how you might change the fortune of your family.”
“This sounds interesting,” said Josiah as Storrs led him to the crowded table. Storrs introduced him to the men gathered there, then directed him to a chair.
When Josiah was seated, Col. Champion turned to him, saying, “Josiah, I don’t need to tell you what damage the war did to the countryside around this area. You witnessed it firsthand. Many of our citizens lost their homes and businesses at the hands of the British. Now, they have had to be compensated for that loss. But what you may not know is that Co