From Maine to Galveston, Republic of Texas
Available Book
From Maine to Galveston is a unique tale of struggle, triumph, life and death in an era that is now long in the distant past of 1840's Texas and Maine. It is not a book of fiction that depends on the imagination of a present author, but is the actual letters of a highly educated women, Lucy Parker Shaw, to her mother far removed.
Lucy's missives are augmented by notes that will aid the reader to understand the political, and social elements that occured in the United States and the Republic of Texas, and documents the important and not so famous people she meets. Lucy carries you into her world. One Americans will have a difficult time recognizing.You will marvel at her curiosity, resilience, and strength in a land of danger, change, and constant challenges. The reader will feel her pain at lost loved ones or difficult challanges she faced.
For the Maine or Texas geneologist this book is a must have. Lucy mentions 239 people she meets, many forgotten now, from distant points in Maine towns like Eastport, Calais, Bath, Bangor and others. Others are notable figures. Politicians, ambassabors, captains of industry, physicians, and soldiers. Lucy writes about ships that visit Galveston, including the first vessel of iron construction. that she and her husband were allowed to visit.
For the historian, the past of Texas will come alive in ways you may have not felt before as a primary source connects you, not with an event or movement, but with a life itself at a romantic though difficult time in a world now only seen darkly. Anyone interested in Texas history will also recognize many figures Lucy Shaw meets now immoralized on street signs and town names. Your personal libray is not complete without this book.
.jpg)
Looking Over the Gray-Green Bay by James Valentino
A collection of nine historical vignettes, musings, and personal accounts of one person's experience working on, and living close to Galveston Bay, one of the United States' greatest natural resource, though the book will appeal to anyone that loves the water and the extraordinary, and interesting people that are attracted to it. Click on the book cover to read one of its stories.
My Story
From the age of eight until fifty three James Valentino led a life primarily on Galveston Bay. Commercial fishing with his father began at an early age where sunsets, salty men, and shrimp consumed his summers. After two years of college he began his own career on the water as captain and later owner of two shrimp boats, most notably the twin screw steel hull, the Ruffian. In addition, he bought and sold oysters wholesale from docks on the bay. As markets collapsed in the early 2000's James returned to an old love, history.
He went back to college, and achieved his Master's Degree in American History in 2011. While engaged in teaching history in several community colleges his greatest passion is to to reach a wider audience by uniting his own experiences with scholarship. Valentino's first book, now out of print, told the story of a simple promontory on Galveston Bay.
In 2014 he self-published Looking Over the Gray-Green Bay, a book of personal stories and historical oddities of bay life. His latest effort is From Maine to Galveston, Republic of Texas: the Life and Letters of Lucy Parker Shaw. Early in 2024 he will publish an historical novel.
I'm a paragraphNews . Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
In The Press
"Imagine yourself setting sail on a tall ship destined for a new republic, leaving family, venturing to the unknown to begin life anew.That is what a young woman, Lucy Parker Shaw did...Through her letters, augmented by Valentino's additional clarifications and explanation, readers get a picture of life in the developing Galveston community as well as the republic."
Margaret Barno,
Galveston Daily News