Blogs

In Centennial Farm Family: Cultivating Land and  Community 1837-1937, Amy McVay Abbott does for northeastern Indiana what David McCullough did for southeastern Ohio. So moved by McCullough’s The Pioneers, Abbott wove family documents and history into a compelling narrative about four generations. Her Prussian immigrant family struggled to retain ownership of their 1837 farm. Facing untimely deaths, vengeful Mother Nature, cholera and typhus outbreaks, war and its ugly aftermath, the family fights to keep their land for a century. An unsolved, mysterious poisoning opens the book and hooks the reader immediately. 

Anyone who loves history will find the tale of four generations of the Long family compelling and relatable.  Centennial Farm Family features nearly 80 illustrations that provide great details, including photographs from before 1880, vintage clippings and advertisements.

The Long family dealt with many sorrows and few joys; their survival was never taken for granted. Yet, the book also shares family joys, the wonder of threshing days, family reunions, and the simple pleasures of wildflowers and stargazing.

Abbott is a longtime columnist and humor writer but has turned her focus to Indiana history. Her first book on the subject, Always Carl, was released in 2019.  Centennial Farm Family can be ordered through favorite bookstores and online. Abbott is originally from South Whitley, Indiana, and has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in journalism from Ball State University. She currently resides in southwestern Indiana.