INTRODUCTION Courts of the Ancients 13
PROLOGUE A Window on Their World 15
CHAPTER 1 The Burning of Waldkappel 27
CHAPTER 2 Oberkaufungen Garrisoned 41
CHAPTER 3 The Seeds of Life 57
CHAPTER 4 The Growing Season 87
CHAPTER 5 French Hugenots in Hessen 109
CHAPTER 6 Hans Ludwig at Blenheim 131
CHAPTER 7 Johann and The Seven Years War 147
CHAPTER 8 The Weaver's Daughter 181
CHAPTER 9 The Marriage of Two Nations 241
CHAPTER 10 The Child of the New Century 253
CHAPTER 11 The Smuggler’s Loom 259
CHAPTER 12 The Wise Old Man of Oberkaufungen 263
CHAPTER 13 The River Journey 269
CHAPTER 14 A Dangerous Frontier 283
CHAPTER 15 The Wooden Grave 307
CHAPTER 16 The Adelsverein 319
CHAPTER 17 Land Ho! 333
CHAPTER 18 The Gunrunners 343
CHAPTER 19 Typhoid Strikes 367
CHAPTER 20 Joseph Johnson Hall 379
CHAPTER 21 High Street Decisions 395
CHAPTER 22 Castle Garden 409
CHAPTER 23 The Carpenter Master 421
CHAPTER 24 Hannah Billing 427
CHAPTER 25 My Augustine 449
CHAPTER 26 The Great Western Cattle Trail 457
CHAPTER 27 A City is Born 473
CHAPTER 19 Tuberculosis Tragedy 487
CHAPTER 28 Mama Jake, Papa Jake 497
CHAPTER 29 The Great Galveston Storm 507
CHAPTER 30 A Place to Grow 527
CHAPTER 31 A Chance Encounter 545
CHAPTER 32 Tiny Bubbles 557
CHAPTER 33 The Importance of Wasp Creek 571
CHAPTER 34 Test of Wills 591
CHAPTER 35 Trains and Tractors 603
CHAPTER 36 The Prairie Dog Ranch 627
CHAPTER 37 The Great Depression 641
CHAPTER 38 Laura of Sunny Hill 683
EPILOGUE The Prodigal Daughter 703
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 713
Author's Note Scarcity and Plenty 715
BIOGRAPHY Henry Lee Hering 718
BIOGRAPHY Lisa K Hering 719
APPENDIX A BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX 721
APPENDIX B BURIALS: ALPHABETICAL BY LAST NAME 735
APPENDIX C BURIALS: BY CEMETERY 737
APPENDIX D ALBERT HERING AND LAURA HALL TIMELINE 739
APPENDIX E: JOSEPH JOHNSON HALL AND HANNAH BILLING TIMELINE 745
APPENDIX F JOSEPH JOHNSON HALL PATENTS 747
European and American Wars 751
PRAISES 761
Chapter Summary 763
Character Summary 765
Hering Lineage 769