The Gift

The year was 1823. Peter, a farmer and father of 9, living near Pitney, Somerset, England, was struggling to make ends meet. The Napoleonic Wars had ended and England was flooded with soldiers and sailors looking for work. Agricultural labor was becoming less and less sufficient to support a family. It was time for a change. But the change he had in mind was not one easily undertaken and was fraught with risks. Yet, there were significant risks either way.


He needed to take care of his family. Others had left and found a better life. He could not possibly know what lay ahead, whether they stayed or left. But conditions were worsening. He decided it was time to go.


Ann trembled with excitement as she opened the gift from her sister. In fact, the whole family was excited these days--yet a bit nervous and sad too. But for the moment, this young woman of 18 was occupied with the book in front of her—her own prayer book! It was beautiful and new . . . and waiting.


You see, it was up to her to get the most momentous family events chronicled in her new book. Not like a diary or a journal, mind you, just a notation for each--mostly births, marriages and deaths. She set to work writing them in.


“I shall note the birth dates of Father and Mother first,” she told herself. “December 20th: 1774, Was Born Peter Spracklen,” she wrote. Then she wrote an entry for her mother, Elizabeth, followed by one for each of her siblings, in order of their birth.

She had to get everything entered soon. In just a few hours--the following day, in fact--there would be yet another entry, one including most of the family. And it would be life-changing for them all. It read simply:

It must have been a bittersweet journey. The land of opportunity was their destination. Yet all they knew as “home” at that moment was growing smaller and smaller behind them in the distance. With the money Peter’s grandfather had left him and the few belongings they could take with them, they made their way to the coast--all of them, except the family’s 3 oldest.

John, age 28, had already left about 6 years earlier; they were following his footsteps. Sarah, age 27, may have been married, with children of her own by this time. Whatever her circumstance, there is no record that she accompanied the family. And Mary, age 25—the one that had given Ann the book—it appears she also stayed behind. The book must have been a farewell gift, given the day before departure. The inscription reads:

Ann Spracklen’s
Book the gift of her
Sister Mary Spracklen
August 12th in 1823
Old England –
Now Let our bodys part
to difrent Climes repair
and serve the Lord with all our heart
and live to him by Prayer--


At Bristol, Peter, Elizabeth (who was called Betty) and 6 of their children boarded the ship Earl of Liverpool. The ship arrived in New York, September 29, 1823. The Peter Spracklen family had made it to AMERICA!


The family settled in Ohio, near the oldest son, John. A few years later, Ann married Sylvanus Cook and noted their wedding date in her prayer book. Peter and Elizabeth lived out their years in Ohio, as did most of their children. Their son Peter may have moved to New Jersey, but I haven’t been able to prove that the Peter Spracklen I find there is him. Circumstantial evidence makes is look like him, though.


The family’s youngest son George was only 9 when he arrived in New York. At age 26 he married Arloa Turner Miner. Around age 50 (give or take a couple of years), he left Hardin County, Ohio, moving his family to Shelby County, Illinois. One of the children that moved with him was my great-great grandfather, Marvin.


Ann’s prayer book is disintegrating with age now. After all, it was 188 years ago that she made the first entry. Who knows if Mary or Ann intended that the prayer book would stay in the family for generations. But it has, and now is in the hands of a 3rd great-grandson of Ann’s brother Alfred. It is giving Peter’s descendants a little insight into their ancestors’ lives--a gift that keeps on giving, I’d say.