Middling Folk: Three Seas, Three Centuries, One Scots-Irish Family
The author has dedicated this publication to her father, and rightly so. His desire to research and record his family history laid the groundwork for Middling Folk. Ms. Matthews has done a commendable job of expanding that research to include the Scottish and Northern Irish origins of the Hammill family. Her notes at the end of the book will show just how much research was involved. This book covers their earliest beginnings in Scotland, their migration to the Chesapeake Bay area in 1725, and the final settlement of her great-grandparents, Lucretia and William Hammill, in Washington State in 1880. She ties each generation to their time in history and shows how current events impacted their lives and those of future generations. More importantly, she has given us an excellent look at the middle class and its invaluable role in American history. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about one family’s march through time as well as a study of the unpretentious, hardworking middling folk who remain the backbone of America to this day.
