This book is a story about an Irish family living in County Antrim during the second half of the eighteenth century. They are ordinary people who love their God, love their country, love their family, love their neighbors and love the land.Andrew and Anthony Hamill are the youngest sons of a well-established Presbyterian farming family who lived in the Bushmills area of Antrim. They both choose not to take up the land and farm in the Hamill tradition. One goes to Belfast to learn the 'white trade'. The other follows his mother's religion and enters a Catholic seminary, but later abandons his calling and returns to Belfast to join his brother at Lally's Linen Mill.After a tragedy at the mill, Anthony gives up the white trade and returns to the land. He marries, takes a lease in Ballyclare and sets out to establish his homestead. Anthony and Margaret operate a successful farm, raise their family, create lasting friendships and strive to deal with the bloody conflicts in Ireland during the last decade of the eighteenth century.
I grew up in an Irish neighborhood in Waltham, MA, among a large extended Irish family.
My father's ancestors were Ulster Irish, descendents of Hugh Hamill, who in 1605, joined with Lord Montgomery in the first 'plantation' of Ulster. His progeny settled in the Six-Mile-Water Valley of Antrim, Ireland, where for generations they farmed, worked in the linen industry, became cabinetmakers and worked in the Belfast shipyards. My line of Hamills emigrated to PEI after the devastating Irish Famine and after two generations on the island, my grandparents came to America and settled in Waltham, MA. My mother was also of Irish descent. Her father, Mike O'Neill, was the son of immigrants who left County Tyrone after the Irish Famine and settled in Waltham. Her mother was born a Tyler, whose parents had also emigrated from Ireland. In 1907, her mother and father met, married and established their family in Waltham, MA.
All my life I have had an interest in history, especially things Irish. I also had a desire to learn more about my Hamill heritage. For many years, I even dreamed of someday writing a book. Unfortunately, life's demands left little time for history, heritage or writing.
At the age of 17, after graduating High School, I joined the US Navy, trained as an electronics technician and went to sea. Honorably discharged, I came home, got married and began my life as a husband, father and breadwinner. The next 38 years were spent working in the Power Electronics Industry. In 1996, I retired and my life changed dramatically... suddenly I had lots of time. It wasn't long before I discovered the power of the internet, acquired genealogy software and began the pursuit of my long side-tracked interests. I also built a woodworking shop and began making furniture and wooden toys.
Through the vast power of the internet, I was able to discover a great deal about my Hamill ancestors and used that information to assemble a long and detailed family tree. However, the more I dug, the more unfulfilled I felt. I had lots of names, places and vital statistics and yet, knew little about who they were and how they lived out their lives. My real interest was in the people, not the statistics. What followed was an orgy of reading Irish history books and web searches. This enabled me to add historical and geographical context to my long list of names and places.
One day, while sitting at my computer, it finally dawned on me... I had the makings for a historical novel based on my Hamill ancestors. My long suppressed itch demanded scratching. Six months later, much to my surprise and the surprise of many others, I published my first historical novel; A Place Called Tranquility. It was also obvious that I had enough for a series of books. Two years later, I published Across the Saltwater Bridge. I am now working on the third in the series and hope to publish in 2007. I have the outline for two more awaiting my attention. For a man in the twilight of life, that is a great expectation, but given my Irish genes, not beyond the realm of possibility. My Grandfather Hamill lived to be 100, as did my Grandmother O'Neill.
Talk about fulfilling a dream!
