The Immigrant: the untold story of an indentured servant

The Immigrant by Alfred Woollacott III is a story of his ancestor, John Law, who under circumstances beyond his control, was brought to America. It is a story of survival against all odds, against prejudice and discrimination. It is story of how one man’s strength to survive influenced the generations that came after him.

The story opens in 1775, Reuben Law is in the midst of the opening battles of the American Revolution. While marching away from Concord, Massachusetts, he thinks about the stories of his great grandfather. The reader is then transported to Doon Hill, Dunbar Scotland in 1650, where 14 year old John Law is fighting in the Scottish Royal Army against the English. He is captured and taken to London where John is sold as an indentured servant and sent to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. When he arrives, he is met with prejudice and discrimination as he tries to learn this strange new land. When his indenture is over, he is given a parcel of land, which he calls New Scotland, and builds a home. He makes friends with the Indians who teach him about the land. He catches the eye of a local Puritan girl named Lydia Draper and dispute ridicule and social shunning, they marry and start a family on the farm against the struggles of nature and political strife.

I really enjoyed this story because it is full of history and shows the ugly side of early American history. The hostility and discrimination that was such a part of America then, simply because John Law was Scottish, he was not to be trusted. It also shows the strength of one man to overcome this treatment and gain the respect of a number of his community, even though some never do. The book covers major historical events with vivid detail from the Battle of Dunbar to King Philip’s War to the American Revolution. If you want a book which details a story so often untold, I highly recommend The Immigrant.

The Immigrant by Alfred Woollacott III

is available on Amazon

in paperback for $15.99 and

subscribers of Kindle Unlimited for free.