I Remember: Experiences Growing Up in Small-town America 1911-1929

by Jessie E Davenport, Hal Lewis (Editor)

The heart of this book is a candid memoir of a girl growing up a century ago in a series of small northeastern cities. Jessie Davenport was the fifth of nine children of a dedicated Irish American mother and a father who was a steam locomotive engineer. She wrote honestly and humorously of her family life and friendships, her antics and romances, and how she remembered them all several decades later near the end of her life. Two decades after her death, one of Jessie's grandchildren discovered a rough first draft of Jessie's story and soon found himself editing and annotating it and attempting to put her complex life into context. The book includes a detailed look at Jessie's family history, a story of diverse ethnic backgrounds, of life as coal miners, farm hands, politicians, entrepreneurs, and Civil War veterans in Pennsylvania's anthracite region. An account is also given of what happened in the lives of Jessie and her family in the years after she ended her chronicle in 1929. Historical context is added throughout to relate Jessie's story to local events and the world at large.

180 pages, Paperback

Published March 30, 2023

Reviews

[S. Jeyran Main · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘I Remember’ is a historical memoir about Jessie Davenport and is set between 1911 and 2000. Jessie is from an Irish-American family and is a wonderfully delightful woman who happens to have a very triumphant childhood.

Jessie’s life is interesting as her personality, being a woman, married twice, and with six children, creates a well-relatable read. Her earlier life is sometimes funny and sad. The editor has done a well-researched job in Jessie’s encounters. The memoir can also get you thinking and cause you to compare your style of living and your childhood upbringing.

This is a nicely written read, and its historical references take you back into that time and age where you certainly feel the difference from today’s society.

I recommend this read to memoir fans and those who like to read historical context.