Sophia's Journey - Softcover

Frances M. Shelfantook

Softcover

ISBN 10: 098768910X ISBN 13: 9780987689108

Publisher: Art Bookbindery, 2011

Synopsis

Sophia Horn was born in 1831 to a prosperous Swedish family. She had an illegitimate child in 1855 and later married Elias Peterson who accepted the child as his own. Elias, who had been in the employ of the Horn family in charge of their stables, was an ambitious man who knew that persons of his station would never own land in Sweden. He convinced Sophia that their chance for a better life would be emigrating to America where homesteads were given away to people who agreed to occupy and improve the land. The Petersons first settled near Taylors Falls, Minnesota where they became friends with Peter Beckman, a traveling preacher who had settled on a homestead near Murdock, Minnesota. The Reverend Peter encouraged the Peterson family to pull up stakes and move to the Murdock area. They remained there the rest of their lives. Sophia's Journey is a historical novel on the life of this remarkable woman who endured many difficulties and much tragedy and through it all, maintained an indomitable strength and courage. Her descendants, now scattered around the globe, owe a debt of gratitude to Sophia and Elias for their willingness to travel to a strange new land and carve a life out of the wilderness with determination and tenacity. It is also a story shared by so many immigrants who came to America in search of a better life for their families and future generations.

About this title

About the Author

Frances Carnahan Shelfantook, a great granddaughter of Sophia Horn Peterson, was born in Northern Minnesota in 1913. Her family moved to Northwestern Ontario in 1917, where she still resides. She became a teacher in the 1930s and taught in Flanders, Ontario, the site of a lumber camp where her future husband was head clerk. She married William Shelfantook and moved to Fort Frances, Ontario, in the early forties. They raised three children, Linda, William Jr., and Lynn Prior. Frances returned to teaching at Robert Moore School in Fort Frances while earning her Bachelor of Arts in English. After retiring, Frances found her true passion to be writing, and she continues to write to the present. Besides Sophia's Journey, she has written several other books about her family's past. Frances has a special place in her heart for her cabin on Rainy Lake where she spends the summer months. Frances first became acquainted with Sophia through genealogical research done by her cousin, Lois Beckman Kanne. Frances found the threads of Sophia's life which emerged from this research to be fascinating and she began forming the story of Sophia's life. Out of this comes the compelling story of Sophia Horn Peterson.

Edition details

• Publisher: Art Bookbindery
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 098768910X
• ISBN 13: 9780987689108
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 356
• Editor: Douglas Skrief
• Illustrator: Art Bookbindery-Yvonne