Publisher's Synopsis
In 1672 Thaddeus and Elisabeth Haskins, a young couple, from Cape Cod, Massachusetts journeyed to Falmouth, Maine, hoping to establish a new life. In three years they became successful farmers producing abundant crops and managing a growing cattle herd until barely escaping with their two children from an Indian attack during King Philip's War. The Haskinses lost everything and limped back to their Cape roots, remaining there until their parents passed. With the proceeds of their families' estates the couple moved to Salem, Massachusetts, purchased and operated an inn, tavern, and several farms. They planned to acquire capital and return to their Falmouth lands. Thaddeus hired Almerk, a talented multibreed Indian, who became his right-hand man and later married his daughter. At Salem, Elisabeth was accused of witchcraft and died in prison awaiting trial. This enraged Thaddeus and enhanced his already intense loathing of the Puritan hierarchy and their religious beliefs. He passed his views on religion and the clergy to his progeny. Overtime the family became wealthy and prominent, if not dominant in Falmouth society. They acquired a fishing fleet, merchant vessels and an abundance of farm and forest lands. In short, they became colonial aristocrats. Their descendants participated in wars against the Indians and the French, the Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812, the Civil War, the Spanish American War and both world wars of the 20th century. The Haskins family became renowned for charity, assisting new settlers in surviving the extremes of the Maine winters. On many occasions their financial assistance helped Falmouth, later Portland endure hard times. In the 19th century the Haskins became international traders and bankers shifting some of their operations to New York, Canada and London while retaining their Portland mansion and position in the city's society. The family did not acquire all of its wealth legally. Critics considered their cooperation with the British during the Revolutionary War to be treason; and their later liquor smuggling flouted the law even as it added to the family fortune. The novel follows the Haskins family's adventurous march through three hundred years of war and peace ending with World War II and the final disposition of the Haskinses' Portland homestead and the dispersal of family members throughout the country and abroad. This is an account of a family's survival, and attainment of great wealth and influence, achieved largely through hard work and wise decisions. Throughout their history the Haskins preserved their skepticism of established religion.
