Billy Kennedy

Andrew Jackson, Sam Houston and David Crockett were three men of destiny in 19th century American history who had much in common in family and ancestral ties, in character, mannerisms and political and social outlook as they shaped the fabric of a nation that was to gradually emerge as the greatest, most influential in the world.They were a gallant and fearless trio of men, hewn from the same genealogical and cultural stick that was rooted back across the Atlantic Ocean in lowland Scotland and in north-east Ireland (the province of Ulster) a century and more before they were born as first American citizens in what was then the outer ring of the Western frontier.The families of all three, folk with antecedents in lowland Scotland, had taken the arduous and dangerous passage across the Atlantic from Ulster in the mid-18th century in the daunting quest for freedom and a new life and opportunity in the American colonies.How truly remarkable it was that from this momentous trail-blazing emigration journey, that within a very short period of time, the Jackson, Houston and Crockett names were being carved with enormous pride across this great expanse of land that stretches from sea to shining sea in the United States of America.

American frontier women of the 18th century were an extraordinary people whose contribution to the creation of the United States is one of the most enduring stories in history.The gallant women of the frontier have never been given the full credit they deserve for settling with their families in an uninhabited wilderness. Women of the Frontier places on record the notable achievements of these heroines.Northern Ireland author/journalist Billy Kennedy, in the eighth of his Scots-Irish Chronicles, gives recognition to the women whose lot was far from glamorous in the bleak and lonely frontier territories. They faced personal hardships and tragedies in hazardous conditions. While the men toiled arduously from dawn to dusk to lay down a stake in the New World, the women were the cornerstones of the home, the church, and the wider community.Women had to be strong, self-reliant, resourceful, and loyal to their families. Through their honest and dedicated endeavours on the frontier, a democratic and decent civilization emerged which now extends across the great American expanse from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Indeed, the women of the American frontier deserve our honor and admiration.Women of the Frontier tells the stories of more than 50 women who were part of the making of America from the 1700s through the early 1900s.