The Severances Book

The Severances: An American Odyssey, from Puritan Massachusetts to Ohio’s Western Reserve, and Beyond reveals how John and Abigail and a line of their descendants fared on these shores, from the mid-1630s to the present day. Biographies seldom look back more than a few generations. The Severances spans nearly the entirety of America history and touches on almost every geographical section of the country. The book describes in remarkable detail how each successive generation of a family whose arrival here predated the nation’s founding met the challenges of its time and place, took advantage of the opportunities presented by a country undergoing the process of self-invention, built on the sacrifices and gains of forebears, chose to enjoy mounting success, implanted family traditions and beliefs, and endeavored to give something back to society. Millions of immigrants from countries around the world have followed the same path as the Severances (the spelling upon which custom finally set