The Immigrant: One from My Four Legged Stool

by Alfred Woollacott III

A historical saga that covers a winter of 1650/1651 journey of John Law, a young Scotsman captured by the English Lord Cromwell's forces in seventeenth century Scotland during "The Battle of Dunbar". He survives a death march to Durham, England and is eventually sent to Massachusetts Bay Colony as an indentured servant, arriving aboard the ship "Unity" that was carrying around 150 prisoners of war from different Scottish clans. Now an outcast, and in the sanctuary of the new colony, John starts over as an immigrant in a Puritan theocracy. He is first indentured to the Saugus Iron Works and then to Concord as a public shepherd in West Concord (now Acton). The young man faces obstacles often beyond his control, and his only ally is his faith. After his indenture is served he struggles a near lifetime to obtain title to his promised land. From start to finish "The Immigrant" is an intoxicating journey that follows the travails of John, his faith in God, his good wife and growing family.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Scotland

416 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2014

Reviews

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a surprisingly awesome historical fiction. The greatest appeal this book has is that it follows the events surrounding the author's own ancestor, and that the author had the ability to put that history into a narrative that was both enlightening and entertaining.

We follow John Law from his prepubescent days deep until old age, from battles for the Scottish land to early colonial America. While I don't know enough to be sure, it certainly seems like a very well researched piece of work. I had fun reading this because I felt like I was learning about young America. John's voice was new one in all the hubbub of historical fiction.
Plus, there is a lot to be said about how well the narrative is done.

The voices all seemed authentic with the time period.
More than anything, I am just so amazed at how well this is written. I tend to stay away from nonfiction because it tends to be kind of dry, but that definitely was not an issue here at all.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Immigrant: One from My Four Legged Stool is a well written and great piece of historical fiction. I found it to be unique and refreshing that the characters of the book are those from the author’s own ancestors. As a family historian, I was fascinated by reading their story. I admire how much research the author did to bring his ancestors back to life. I give this tale a well deserved 5+ stars and look forward to the next work by Alfred Woollacott III.

I received this book from the author. This review was 100% my own honest opinion

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relive early days of colonial times in U.S.

This is an historical novel, which is fascinating, educational and dramatic. The author did a great deal of research covering these historical times and then encompassed it in a great novel of John Law, a fifteen year old Scot who had been grabbed by Scottish military to fight as a pikeman against the British forces of Cromwell. During the battle of Dunbar, the Scots were defeated and all Scots who were not wounded or sick were gathered up and sent overseas to the British colonies in Massachusetts to work as indentured servants for several years. There were factories there capable of making Englishmen good money, except there were no laborers. This is where these prisoners were to go. John originally was to be in a factory, but then instead was labeled a shepherd and placed in a tract of land where English farmers left their sheep with him to be grazed as long as necessary.
John, because of being a Scottish soldier, is not treated well by the English, but an Indian soon comes along and through sign language and a little English, teaches John where the best ground is for planting and how to learn to live in this wild, very cold country. This story encompasses John and Lydia, his wife, the births and deaths of their eight children, his continual struggle to hold his land because the English never designated him a land holder. The characters are filled with emotion because of the many experiences they had, good and bad, you live with John and his family, realizing his helplessness. His Indian friend who attempted to become a Christian, was badly treated in the end and taken off as a slave. The story includes Indian wars as they attempted to hold back the tide of English settlers.
This story is well written, realistic and certainly educational as to those times. At the end, the authors gives several of books relative to those times, which helped him produce this historical novel. I couldn’t lay the book down. In its way, it is a page turner and I highly recommend it.

[Marjorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Given To Me For An Honest Review


The Immigrant: One From My Four Legged Stool by Alfred Woollacott is an amazing HAVE to read. Once you pick it up, even before you open it up, it will grab you and hold you down. You won't be able to put it down as the pages turn and turn and turn some more until you get to the last page. There is no need for any twists and turns in this book. Alfred Woollacott just writes and that's all it takes for you to be drawn in and become a part of this story. You will know how it felt to live during that time in history. After retirement, Alfred wasn't sure what to do with himself. He decided "family genealogy". The result "The Immigrant". John Law was fifteen when he was taken by Scottish Military to fight against the British forces of Cromwell. After being defeated, John along with others were sent to the Colonies as indentured servents for several years. After being released from servitude, John Law begins his life with his English wife and children. Does his family live comfortably? Does John achieve all that he wants? I gave this book 5 stars but it deserves 10+, it is that good. I loved reading this book and I know you will too. This book would make a great gift to give. It would look good on your bookshelf or even a library's bookshelf. My copy is sitting on my bookshelf as I write this. I highly recommend this book to everyone especially if you enjoy historical fiction or genealogy. You will not go wrong at all in getting this book. I look forward to more books by Alfred Woollacott.

[Claire Osgood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining, thought provoking novel of immigration in postcolonial times

This novel would appeal to readers who relish historical fiction relating to the earliest founding of the English colonies in what would become Massachusetts. Woollacott's extensive research has given us a scary view of the plight of a Scott's experience as a prisoner of war under the control of the early 1600's English. The accounts of indentured servitude and it's resulting aftermath are quite heartbreaking. Well written, well placed account of a reluctant immigrant's striving to make a home for his English wife and sons and daughters born in the new world.

[Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

'We all have unique four legged stools, each leg an outshoot from our grandparents who contributed to our being.'

Alfred Woollacott, III is a fascinating man obsessed with history - in the right kind of way. As he states on his website, `My genealogical journey began while chauffeuring [wife] Jill, her mother and two of their octogenarian cousins around England in 1999. As I lay awake, I said to Jill, "Once I retire, I'm going to work on my family tree." In 2002, I retired from KPMG, a firm where I had spent my entire career spanning some 34 years. When a fellow partner asked, "Al, you're too young to retire, what are you going to do now?" I responded, "What I have always done, except I won't be going to work." Filling in the '50 to 60 hour per week void' that retirement created was easy. Believe me, retirement is highly underrated. I honored the vow I made while in England and dabbled with my family history until a post on a genealogy website from a Charles HB Cole looking for information on the Fitchburg Woollacotts captured me. Charles's work was extensive; I was even in it. In no time, the Woollacott leg of my stool was far extended. I was hooked on family history and needed more. When my brother and I traveled to Devon in 2007, we had a lovely lunch with Charles and his family. After lunch, Charles calculated that we were 6th cousins. Like a dutiful auditor, I checked his calculations - he was correct. I told him about the love/hate relationship with genealogy that he had created within me. He laughed, and I sensed he knew what I was experiencing. When his wife added that while on their honeymoon Charles was in the library doing genealogy, I was certain that Charles knew. My adult life was spent crunching numbers and verifying assertions. So researching dates and concluding on supporting evidence comes easy to me. I received a B. S. in Business Administration ('68) and later an MBA ('71), both from Boston University. English literature, composition and creative writing were not in my college education. And at KPMG, creative writing was strictly forbidden - just the facts and then a conclusion. So transporting my wonder about an ancestor out of my head and onto paper does not come easy. So now my family history dabbling has become an obsession with dates and places stuck to my head like tossed Velcro balls hanging from a fuzzy dartboard. And the wonder, why it just permeates continuously.'

Given all that, what unveils in his THE IMMIGRANT is a story written with such verve and grace that every page captures past time and makes it now. Perhaps that is because it comes form Woollacott's genes, but fine reading it is for a long winter's night. Very briefly, `John Law is the author's seven-greats grandfather who comes to colonial America in chains as a Scottish Prisoner of War of The Battle of Dunbar. Upon landing in Boston in the winter of 1651, Law serves his remaining indenture in the community of Concord as a public shepherd. Although Concord will become his "New Scotland", Law must negotiate some challenging hurdles to make that happen --Puritan theocracy, English bigotry, and Native American dangers, among others. Throughout all of Law's ordeals, he wonders if God ever hears him. One day God does.'

Writing of this quality is immensely rewarding for the reader. Not only does the author treat us to history - he also entertains us with a multifaceted tale that has a new level of pertinence as the chapters unfold. Highly recommended.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I initially thought. I admit to my ignorance of Scottish prisoners of war, and how they played into the settlement/dominion of the Puritan colonies.
You can tell the author spent a lot of time researching this time period, and it shows in the story.

[Jennifer Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Immigrant by Alfred Woollacott III is a story of his ancestor, John Law, who under circumstances beyond his control, was brought to America. It is a story of survival against all odds, against prejudice and discrimination. It is story of how one man’s strength to survive influenced the generations that came after him.
The story opens in 1775, Reuben Law is in the midst of the opening battles of the American Revolution. While marching away from Concord, Massachusetts, he thinks about the stories of his great grandfather. The reader is then transported to Doon Hill, Dunbar Scotland in 1650, where 14 year old John Law is fighting in the Scottish Royal Army against the English. He is captured and taken to London where John is sold as an indentured servant and sent to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. When he arrives, he is met with prejudice and discrimination as he tries to learn this strange new land. When his indenture is over, he is given a parcel of land, which he calls New Scotland, and builds a home. He makes friends with the Indians who teach him about the land. He catches the eye of a local Puritan girl named Lydia Draper and dispute ridicule and social shunning, they marry and start a family on the farm against the struggles of nature and political strife.
I really enjoyed this story because it is full of history and shows the ugly side of early American history. The hostility and discrimination that was such a part of America then, simply because John Law was Scottish, he was not to be trusted. It also shows the strength of one man to overcome this treatment and gain the respect of a number of his community, even though some never do. The book covers major historical events with vivid detail from the Battle of Dunbar to King Philip’s War to the American Revolution. If you want a book which details a story so often untold, I highly recommend The Immigrant.

[A.E. Albert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many who ventured into the new world didn't begin their journey of their own free will. The Immigrant tells the story of one such man. John Law was taken prisoner by the English when Scotland fell to England at the Battle of Doon Hill.

He arrived in the new world in chains, but as many have done and continue to do, he changed his start.

I love the story all immigrants have to tell. They are stories of determination and hard work. And no matter how humble our beginnings are, anything is possible with a vision and the passion to see it through.

Throughout the book, historical facts and events were weaved into the story, creating a real and authentic world. The author did a superb job of shaping characters the reader can't help but become emotionally connected to. I found myself hoping, celebrating and grieving right along with them.

The Immigrant is an extraordinarily well researched and written novel. The author used his talent and evident passion for history to construct a vivid and engrossing saga. An epic tale akin to the stories of so many pioneers who are the foundation of our nation.

If you love historical fiction, I absolutely recommend this book.

[Rebekah · Rating 1 out of 5]

So disappointing. I thought this would be a good story and really wanted to enjoy this book, but the writing is terribly weak. It reads like a high school essay, unclear, inaccurate word choices, incomplete descriptions, shallow characterizations and predictable emotional responses. It is based on some research but completely lacking in imagination and literary style. Don't waste your time on this book. I wish I hadn't.