Goody Wing, an American Foremother

About the Book

Our Colonial grandmothers were much brighter and cheerier than the myth of dour, stiff, black-and-white women who have been so eternalized by Pilgrim-era paintings. Certainly do not "color" Deborah Bachiler Wing as wan and morose. Like most foremothers, Deborah was resolved and resolute, determined to create a home out of a cabin in the midst of a primeval forest. Deborah braved crossing the Atlantic as a widow with four young sons and her father, the Reverend Stephen Bachiler, an irascible fellow who attracted misfortune as though he were a magnet. While their crusade to find religious freedom was thwarted in New England as it had been in England, their experiences helped form the persevering character of America.

About the Author

Beverly Smith Vorpahl is a retired journalist with The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, her hometown. She now writes a genealogy column for the paper and freelances for national magazines. She's a wife, a mom and grandma to eight grandchildren who are resigned to Grandma Bev snapping their photo at every occasion.