Reviews

"In The Parrett Migration, Dawn Thurston has achieved an engaging saga of America’s formation. Inspired by the journeys her ancestors took over a span of 200 years—from the German Rhineland to the colonial East to the 20th-century Pacific coast—Thurston follows in their footsteps—literally!—and takes us along. With easy, vivid prose and lavish illustration—maps, documents, engravings, photographs, and more—she leads us from one hearty, optimistic and energetic family to the next, generation to generation, from Virginia to Tennessee to Ohio to Iowa to California… Westward ho! This meticulously documented narrative is brought to life with scenes reimagined from the past—scenes always clearly introduced as such. This monumental work raises the standard for family historians who aspire to write narrative accounts of their ancestors’ lives. Thurston has transformed a personal quest into the quintessential human journey we can all understand, appreciate and enjoy."—John Phillip Colletta, Ph.D., author of Only a Few Bones and They Came in Ships

"The Parrett Migration tells the story of an eighteenth-century ancestor's uncertain beginning in a country that would later be known as Germany. We sail with him to Pennsylvania's shore and follow him into Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. We travel in the footsteps of the next generations, who carry seeds, tools, dreams, and Parrett DNA as they trek over mountains and rivers and follow old Indian trails into Tennessee, Ohio, Iowa, and beyond. In her quest to reconstruct her family’s history, Dawn Parrett Thurston, heir of these dreams and DNA, has reconstructed America, one generation at a time."--Lavina Fielding Anderson, Ph.D., author of Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir

"This is a book for all those who like history, story telling, memoir writing, and adventure. Dawn Parrett Thurston takes the everyday pioneers we all have in our families and brings their stories and dreams to life within an impeccably sourced and documented genealogical and historical perspective. Their struggles, journeys, and inexhaustible drive to better themselves is a story that belongs to all Americans. For family history writers, it is a "how to" book on combining facts with well-written scenes that invite you into the thoughts and dreams of these explorers. The broad wealth of intriguing information envelopes the characters so that the truth of their lives reads like a wonderful historical novel."--Patricia Williams, RN and family historian currently working on the history of her nineteenth-century Colorado ancestors