The Story
Summary
The Parretts were not generals, social reformers, or celebrated leaders of any kind. They were not the sort of people who have books written about them. They were large farming families, who acquired and cultivated large tracts of land, each succeeding generation moving on to the next frontier. Except for land, census, and military records, their lives were largely lost to history--until now.
Dawn Parrett Thurston, an eighth-generation descendant of Frederick Parrett, her earliest-known paternal ancestor, became intrigued with the family during her college days. As she embarked on what became a decades-long study of the Parretts, her research took her to Switzerland, France, and Germany, where she followed the route of Frederick's eighteenth-century journey down the Rhine River to the port where he embarked to America. She visited Frederick's farm in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley and drove the western migration routes taken by the four generations that immediately followed him, standing on the soil of their former farms in Tennessee, Ohio, and Iowa.
As the author examined available family records against the backdrop of American history, she came to see that the Parrett story is part of a much larger, fascinating narrative. The Parrett Migration spans nearly two hundred years of American history, a period when the country was in a constant state of flux, its borders ever expanding, its citizens embarking on exhausting and sometimes dangerous migrations in their quest for more land. The author discovered that her ancestors were on the trails during all the major migrations, traveling on foot, on horseback, and in covered wagons, forsaking the comforts of a settled situation, even a prosperous situation, to carve a new life for themselves out of the wilderness. The Parrett Migration is more than a family story, it turns out; it's America's story.
Why This Book May Interest You
If you're related to the Parretts--or to people who married the Parretts--The Parrett Migration will enhance your understanding and appreciation for your forebears and the times in which they lived.
If your ancestors immigrated to America during the colonial era, or participated in any of the great migrations, it's likely that their story is similar to the Parretts' experience.
If you're considering writing a family history, you will find this a good resource for learning how to breathe life into ordinary, obscure people in your family tree.
Details
Size: 7..5 x 9.25 inches
Pages: 344
Illustrations: Photographs, family charts, custom maps and drawings
Buy the book: Amazon.com