Books in Progress

Born a slave in Kentucky, freed by a river crossing, dispossessed by a probate court, vindicated by two juries, and made a landowner by her own labor — the first Black homestead patent in Oregon. Summary, ten chapters, and appendices.

The same true story, told for readers about 12–15: Kentucky and Ireland, the Oregon Trail, the Soap Creek homestead, the courtroom victories, and the creek that still carries her name. Ten chapters.

A gentle version for young readers — a brave woman who crossed the country in a covered wagon, stood up for what was hers, and won her own farm with a hundred apple trees.

The turn west at Red Bluff, the redwood coast, the attack at the Umpqua, and the long way to Fort Vancouver — told from the record, with the dated campsite maps. Paced to the 2028 bicentennial. Introduction and ten chapters.