Richard Woolsey's Epic Migration: The History Behind the Fiction
Dear Reader, As you wait for my much-anticipated novel about Richard Woolsey and his family, I'd like to share details of the real Richard Woolsey and what records tell us about his life. This week, I'm focusing on Richard's remarkable westward journey across America's heartland. The map I've included traces not just a route but the migration of a family seeking new opportunities in the years following the Civil War. This journey forms the historical backbone of my upcoming novel. LaGrange County, Indiana:
Richard's documented story begins in LaGrange County, Indiana, where he married his first wife, Alice, in 1848. The couple established their family there, with all six of their children—Eugene, Caroline, Mary, Eva, Alfred, and Alice—born on Indiana soil. For nearly two decades, LaGrange was home.
A New Chapter Begins In January 1862, tragedy struck with the loss of Alice. Richard found companionship again with Charlotte (Beck) Nolan in October 1864, herself widowed when her husband John fell during the Civil War. Their blended family included Charlotte's four children, Nancy, Adrian, John, and Clara Bell, alongside Richard's six. The Westward Migration By December 1865, barely a year after their marriage, records place the family in Iowa—likely near Des Moines, a major hub for westward migration. It was here, on December 15, 1865, that Charlotte gave birth to William Woolsey (my great-great-grandfather), uniting the blended family with new blood. Kansas Frontiers Their journey continued southwestward to Wakarusa, Kansas, by January 1867, where Eugene, Richard's eldest, married Amanda Beck. The following years brought significant changes and heartbreak: Caroline and Mary remained in Indiana. Caroline married in early 1865 and gave birth to her son Charles. She died in Iowa in 1868, likely after attempting to follow her father to Kansas. Mary ended up in Iowa by 1867, where she, too, married but then stayed the rest of her life there. - The family splintered between 1867-1870, potentially due to the harsh realities of frontier life - Adrian Nolan likely died somewhere along the trail west - By 1870, Charlotte had settled in Lincoln County, Kansas, with three of her four Nolan children and young William - Richard established himself further south in Creswell, Kansas, with three of his children: Eva, Alfred, and Alice - Eugene staked land adjacent to his father's in Creswell, but census records show him with his wife in Missouri by 1870. The blue route on the map traces this arduous journey—approximately 1,077 miles that took this family from the established communities of Indiana through Iowa's prairies and into the Kansas frontier. Each stop represents not just a location but chapters in the lives of these pioneers in my forthcoming novel. As always, I invite you to ask me questions. My novels are fiction, but they are based on real lives, real people, real places. Maybe you have questions about "A Mother's Last Gift," or maybe you would like to know more about Richard, but no spoilers.
Until then, happy reading!
Amy Crooks
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