Book #3 of 40

Life of Adam Wilson. He has had a complicated childhood. His mother died while birthing him and his father remarried. His stepmother despises him. Through tragedy, Adam is force to move in with his older brother.
Time passes, Adam is a skilled worker and inventor. His family sends him to England for family business affairs. He meets a poor girl named Molly Burns. Molly’s father is an abusive drunk. Adam arranges for Molly’s escape, she will be an indentured servant for ten years.
Back in America Adam invents, Molly matures, and French and Indian War is fast approaching. ( )

This book is about Adam Winslow and an indentured servant (a common practice at the time) from England who is taken from her home in England to the American colonies. It has 3 settings, Boston (1740-1745), Northampton (1745-1750), & Virginia (1751-1755).

The story begins with Adam Winslow's 13th birthday, when he met Benjamin Franklin. Franklin flirted with Adam's sister, Mercy, while talking business with his father, Miles. They had traveled from Boston to Philadelphia, the last part of the journey in a buggy where Adam had listened to his father & his older brother, William, talk business while taking in the scenery. They had made the trip to speak to Mr. Franklin about printing Miles' grandfather's journal, which the printer believed would be an excellent production. Miles introduced his children. During the discussion, the visiting preacher, George Whitefield from England, was discussed & Franklin invited the Winslows to hear him preach. William insisted they go because he expected Whitefield's effect on England to be repeated in the colonies. That evening Rev. Whitefield was preaching from the courthouse steps, the crowd making it difficult for them to get close...people were hanging out the windows to hear him! William put Adam where he could see just as Whitefield stepped out. When Whitefield spoke everyone could hear him even though he was speaking in a normal speaking voice. His text was "Come unto me and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth" and William felt that George Whitefield was speaking directly to him! William felt a tremor in his brother & asked how he liked the sermon as they were disbanding. The boys expression changed before he said it was alright. The next day Franklin & Miles were discussing his grandfather's death, that it was caused by the Salem witchcraft trials. Although he hadn't been executed, Miles' whole family had been named & his grandfather had been weakened by the conditions at the prison and had not recovered his health. Miles felt that a revival was needed, but not what Whitefield would bring. Afterward Franklin discussed how the journal would be printed, while paying attention to Mercy. Franklin invited them to hear Whitefield preach in a field outside of town, and wondered if Miles would consider leaving Adam with him. Miles was amazed at Franklin's jest. Franklin rode in their buggy & directed them to the field. Although they stood hundreds of feet away from Whitefield, he could be heard as if he were nearby! People started falling over, and William caught a young woman before she hit the ground. Was this a fake? When Miles decided to leave, William put the young woman's head down & she thanked him. In the buggy, Miles disapproved of the wild scene. William said that if it was not of God it would die, which amazed Adam because he had never heard anyone stand up to his father. Mercy put her arm around Adam, for which he was glad.

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love the historical interaction ( )