The Cowkeeper's Wish: A Genealogical Journey

by Tracy Kasaboski, Tracy Kasaboski

In the 1840s, a young cowkeeper and his wife arrive in London, England, having walked from coastal Wales with their cattle. They hope to escape poverty, but instead they plunge deeper into it, and the family, ensconced in one of London’s “black holes,” remains mired there for generations.  The Cowkeeper’s Wish  follows the couple’s descendants in and out of slum housing, bleak workhouses and insane asylums, through tragic deaths, marital strife and war. Nearly a hundred years later, their great-granddaughter finds herself in an altogether different London, in southern Ontario. In  The Cowkeeper’s Wish , Kristen den Hartog and Tracy Kasaboski trace their ancestors’ path to Canada, using a single family’s saga to give meaningful context to a fascinating period in history―Victorian and then Edwardian England, the First World War and the Depression. Beginning with little more than enthusiasm, a collection of yellowed photographs and a family tree, the sisters scoured archives and old newspapers, tracked down streets, pubs and factories that no longer exist, and searched out secrets buried in crumbling ledgers, building on the fragments that remained of family tales. While this family story is distinct, it is also typical, and so all the more worth telling. As a working-class chronicle stitched into history,  The Cowkeeper’s Wish  offers a vibrant, absorbing look at the past that will captivate genealogy enthusiasts and readers of history alike.

Genres: Nonfiction, Canada

448 pages, Hardcover

Published March 9, 2019

Reviews

[Margi · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the concept sounded daunting and dry, the authors researched the context of their story so deeply, and brought the characters to life so vividly that it was fascinating and delightful to read. Well worth the time.

[Gwen Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is fascinating - as much for the story as the approach. These two authors - Tracy Kasaboski and Krinsten den Hartog - sisters - have constructed the story of a family , relations and descendnats, from genealogical records (the usual - census, bmd, registrations) and added an abundance of context about the times that they obtained from newspapers, reports, and much else. It begins in London England in the 1840s with a family from Wales that sold milk from cows they kept in the city. The authors traced the family and offspring, the marriages and more offspring, through good times and bad. It's rare that that women and children driven to the poorhouse get any mention - but they receive their due in this account. There is WW1 - told well enough that you can almost hear the fright of the naval battles. And there is emigration - two families leave England for London, Ontario.

It helps to be interested in genealogical records in reading this - and without this the casual reader would probably not persist - but if you have any interest in stories revealed through records and an authentic narrative of the time you'll find reading this book very rewarding

[KTC · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the book, The Cowkeeper’s Wish: A Genealogical Journey , authors Tracy Kasaboski and Kristen Den Hartog tell the tale of a 1840s cowkeeper and his wife who uprooted themselves from the coast of Wales to forge a better life in London, England. Unfortunately, instead of improving their lot, the couple fell deeper into poverty. ...more

[Judy Cormier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I feel it would be enjoyed by genealogy and history enthusiasts. I could relate to and imagine the families in the book because my ancestry is very similar. It gave me some insight as to how my ancestors may have lived!!

[Jocelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rating. Good historical detail. I’m over half way through reading; on hold at the moment.

[Margaret Rusciolelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tracing generations of ancestors is a formidable task. Authors,
Kristen de Hartog and Traci Kasaboski succeeded in unfolding their family story along with timely events of each era. Well done!

[Slambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love history and genealogy, this is a great read! The characters come to life so vividly and it describes the time well.

[Susan Brunner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book’s full title is The Cowkeeper's Wish: A Genealogical Journey by Tracy Kasaboski and Kristen Den Hartog. They have blog here.

I got this book from a Ben McNally Brunch . When there will be more, I do not know. I doubt at this time that there will still be one on May 24 as it is uncertain when we will come out of the Lockdown by then. There brunches are great. You have breakfast at the King Eddy and then you hear 4 authors speak. If you buy a book you can get it signed. I have bought some wonderful books at these brunches.

This book is not as interesting as I thought it would be. I felt it bogged down in places, but I did preserve. This is the first genealogical book that I have read. At a Ben McNally’s Brunches I heard Kristen den and I was impressed and this is why I bought this book. Oh well, this is the first book that I have brought at a brunch that was a bit disappointing.

I used to be into genealogy. I did trace my family. My mother’s family came from Britain. My father’s family were early immigrants to Canada as my great grandparents come from Lutzelfluh, Bern, Switzerland. After doing a fair bit of work on my family history I moved on to other things. The only thing I really do now connected to genealogy is a newsletter from Lost Cousins Newsletter by Peter Calver. Peter writes from England and about tracing your English ancestors.

There is a review by the publishers at Douglas & McIntyre. Paul Jones did a review on Canada’s History. A lot of Canadians can trace ancestors back to Britain. I found a new Canadian book site with one review at 49th Shelf. I did not know this site existed. It is just for Canadian books.

There is another review on Genealogy Blog by Leland Meitzler. I did not know of this blog either. On another genealogical blog I found a review by Bobbi King on Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter.

In this video, Kristen den Hartog reads on Pivot Reading from her novel And Me Among Them. There is short interview on YouTube with Kristen den Hartog and Tracy Kasaboski in connection with The Occupied Garden book.

[Elaine Cougler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I heard one of the authors of this book speak about it and bought the hard cover version on the basis of her excellent talk. The book takes the ancestors of the two author sisters and puts their actual ancestors into what was happening at the times they lived in London, England. I started out loving the format of the book but, unfortunately, parts of it lost my interest. How many times can the authors wonder what their ancestor might have been doing against the history of their times before that technique becomes tiresome?
That being said, I did plod through to the end as parts of the book are really interesting. The excellent research of the authors is very evident, making this book a great resource for those wishing to attain in-depth knowledge about the poorest sections of London and the effect of the Industrial Revolution on the people in those districts.