Yankee Settlement

Don Wooldridge, has done a fine job of bringing Midred Brewer’s story Yankee Settlement back into print. Beautifully written, this story cronicles the lives of pioneers who left their home and black smithing heritage in Kentucky, to pursue free farm land in northeast Iowa. Readers are enlightened by the story of family, adventure, and love that spanned several decades. You will easily be drawn into a story written in brilliant accuracy of the time that dazzles with intelligence and authenticity.
The first “promise” evident in Wooldridge’s second edition says so much about how the story unfolds, “Women were strong. Men were stronger. Both were determined to swallow the bitter disappointments of pioneer life and
push on... building their farms, families, and homes.”
Mildred Brewer awakens readers to the early days of the Territory of Iowa as her stalwart
characters come alive in this historical novel. In a descriptive style of writing that brings about visions of bright summer days that faded into fall, and nights that were so cold a freezing frost would float down through the trees—readers can almost touch the
leaves and timber that become magnificent with a blaze of color. She also deftly mixes up the tone, moving easily in an authentic, and sometimes wry dialogue between Ellen and her husband, neighbors, and children.