Patrick Simpson

Whither Thou Goest Patrick Simpson

Whither Thou Goest is the first nonfiction book to focus on this little-known period in American history of 1878, when the world was in the depths of depression like none before. In two parallel journeys that take place in the past and the present, Whither Thou Goest attempts to make people long gone to come back alive. It examines who we are, where we've been, and has everything to do with where we are going. The first journey started in 1878. The author's great-grandaunt and uncle-pioneers Mary Jane and "Theo" Beardsley-left their small-town home in upstate New York with their two young daughters, Eva and Frankie, and followed their dream of a new life in the American West. Swallowed up by time, they became forgotten by all they knew back East. All-that is-but one. The second journey started in 1996. By chance, the author learned that Frankie's family home was now an Oregon museum. He discovered a small diary kept by Eva-a bare-boned chronicle of their journey west. The inspired author and his wife decided to follow their trail across America and learn all they could about 1878 America and his relatives, living and dead.