Journeys of Faith; A Family Saga; Book 1

By Chris Weisling

It is May 1634 when Jonathan and Elizabeth Pratt arrive in the Massachusetts Bay Colony from England. They are as yet unaware of the beauty and dangers that they will encounter in this wilderness as they embark on their journey of faith. As they establish a home and family in this new world, they and their companions will experience loss, tragedy, and death. They will also experience joy, love, and renewal as they serve one another in compassion, love, and charity-the pure love of Jesus Christ. They will learn that family can include much more than blood relations as they band together with others in their community of saints to face the challenges life in the wilderness. They learn that when they are in the service of their fellow man and women, they are in the service of God. They also learn that as they do their best to keep the commandments and live the Gospel, they prosper in this land that is choice above all other lands. In doing so, they plant the seeds of what will become this great country of the United States of America.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9781644680407

Book preview

Foreword

While this series of books are a work of historical fiction, they are loosely based on some of the author’s actual family history and ancestors. It is the author’s hope that this book will inspire others to research their own family histories and share those histories with their children and grandchildren. Many of us have heritages that go back hundreds of years in this great land of America; heritages built upon faith in God the Father, and in His Son Jesus Christ, and upon the belief in men and women’s right to be free—free to live, love, and worship according to the dictates of our conscience and the teachings of the Holy Scriptures. We live in a land that is choice above all other lands, a land in which we enjoy freedoms and privileges that are not available in other parts of the world. However, our rights, freedoms, and religion are under attack, and we are at risk of losing them. We need to catch the spirit of Elijah and turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers (Malachi 4:5–6). Understanding the importance of the freedoms they won for us and the importance that faith in God the Father and in His Son Jesus Christ and following Christ’s teachings and commandments play in the preservation of our freedoms and our continued prosperity in this choice land.

There are many online sources that can help people research and find their ancestors and family history, from paid services such as Ancestry.com and many others to free resources such as FamilySearch.org. At no time in history has it been easier to research, find, and learn about our ancestors and our own personal connections to great events of the past. Find out what heroes, patriots, and even ordinary people who did extraordinary things and built our nation and secured our rights and freedoms, are in your family tree. Then honor them and their sacrifices by how we live our own lives.

It was May 15, 1634, and Jonathan and Elizabeth Pratt were in their small cabin aboard the ship Covenant. The passage had been somewhat rough, and even though they had their own cabin, they could not escape the stench that hung in the air below deck.

It was mid-morning when Jonathan heard the lookout cry, Land ho!

Elizabeth was washing some clothes when Jonathan grabbed her by the arm and said, The lookout has spotted land! Perhaps our journey is almost over. They rushed up the stairs together to the deck.

The captain asked the lookout, Where away?

The lookout responded, Two points off the starboard bow, Captain.

As Jonathan looked off into the distance, he could see a dark speck on the horizon. Gradually, as they drew closer, the dark spot became larger. Soon, they could smell land, the fresh smell of pine, the sweet smell of the freshly tilled earth mixed with the faint smell of wood smoke from some distant chimney. As Jonathan gazed at the dark spot on the horizon, he reflected upon his life and what had brought him to this place.

Jonathan had been born in 1607 to loving parents. His father was vicar of the Church of England in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. His father was strict but a fair and loving man. Jonathan’s mother was a very special and wonderful woman, not just because she was Jonathan’s mother, but because of her kindness, tenderness, and truly Christlike love for other people. Jonathan, being the first-born son, had a very special place in her heart.

Growing up the son of the village vicar had had its challenges, but it had also had many rewards. Through their example, Jonathan’s parents had taught him the value of hard work, the wonderful blessings that come from giving Christlike service to those in need and, most of all, a deep love of Heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. He had learned that when he was in the service of his fellow men and women, he was in the service of God.

Jonathan had also learned the importance of family and the joy that comes from a happy home. His parents truly loved each other and all their children. In a time and a society where little affection was shown, inside the walls of the Pratt home, love and affection abounded. As Jonathan reflected on his childhood, he could vividly remember his mother singing sweetly to him as she rocked him to sleep. He also recalled how his father, though strict, always showed an outpouring of love and affection after discipline had been administered and the ends of the law satisfied. Mother would always plead for mercy, which cries father could not withstand, and in the end, the law of mercy prevailed in the Pratt home.

Jonathan and Elizabeth had been married by his father, Reverend Pratt, on July 2, 1626, in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. Prior to marrying Elizabeth, Jonathan had completed an apprenticeship to a carpenter. Jonathan had become a skilled carpenter and could build most anything from wood—houses, cabinets, doors, and many other things.

While Jonathan was apprenticed to the carpenter, Mr. Jones, he became familiar with the teachings of the Reverend Thomas Hooker. Reverend Hooker had been a classmate of Jonathan’s father at Oxford but had steered in a different direction after graduation. Jonathan was fascinated by the Reverend Hooker’s views on life, grace, faith, and the need for men and women to re-earn God’s grace through their good works and obedience to the Gospel. These views were blatantly Puritan and did not follow the doctrine of the Anglican Church. This had caused some contention in Reverend Pratt’s congregation. Jonathan reflected on an argument he had with his father over Reverend Hooker’s views on theology. They never let their differences of opinion come into the home or to take away from the love and affection found there. Jonathan’s mother had always kept their home a boon of peace and love, where the Holy Spirit dwelled and where charity, the pure love of Christ, abounded. In the end, strife, contention, and anger were left outside. Mother saw to that. In her gentle way, she would soothe the wounded heart, mend the injured pride, and make everything right with her stew and blueberry pie! What beautiful memories Jonathan had of his mother and their modest home. She had truly made their home a Christ-centered home from their morning family prayers and their education in learning how to read the Holy Bible and to write about the holy prophets and the Savior and all his miraculous deeds. Let’s not forget the blessings on the meals—morning, mid-day, and evening. Nor the family prayers each evening. Jonathan remembered how his mother taught him to pray. She told him, You start with ‘Dear Heavenly Father,’ then you thank Him for all the many blessings that you have, then you ask Him for the things that you truly need, and close, ‘In the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.’ She told him, When you ask for something you truly need, which is for a righteous purpose, having faith in Jesus Christ that you will receive it, you will always receive what you need. She had taught Jonathan and his siblings, Knock and it shall be opened, ask and ye shall receive…

As Jonathan reflected on his early life, he felt the Holy Spirit fill his heart with thanksgiving. The dark spot on the horizon was now becoming larger, and it was taking the shape of land. He could begin to see the trees and hills from which the wonderful smells of freshness came. Such a sharp contrast to the stench of the lower decks of the ship—the combination of unwashed bodies, chamber pots, rotting food, vomit, and so on… How he longed to be on dry land with a fresh breeze of pine and newly tilled earth!

Jonathan’s mind drifted back to his father’s church, where he and Elizabeth were married. He remembered the deep feelings of love which he had for Elizabeth, how she was the most beautiful girl in the county. He pictured her in his mind as she was on their wedding day and how his heart begins to throb! Then he looked at his wife standing beside him. As he looked at Elizabeth again, he was amazed at what he beheld! Elizabeth, despite almost ten years of marriage, was even more beautiful than she was on their wedding day. Jonathan suddenly realized that he loved her more now than he had ever loved her. Age had not marred her beauty but enhanced it. She was no longer the prettiest girl in the county, she had become the most beautiful woman in the world to Jonathan. She had become so much more to him than a wife. She had become his best friend, lover, confidant, his companion, and he could not imagine life without her. He now better understood the bond of love that his parents shared and how they were truly in love with each other until his father died and beyond. Jonathan believed that there had to be more than to death us do part. He felt that the love his parents shared with each other, and the love they had for him and his siblings, was eternal, just as the love he felt for Elizabeth was eternal. He knew in his heart that loving families should be together forever.

Jonathan’s father had died in 1629, a few years after he had married Jonathan and Elizabeth. His mother, who was a minor aristocrat, her great-grandmother being the princess of Leinster, Ireland, and wife to Sir William Marshall, had been left a sizable inheritance. Jonathan’s father, having been somewhat of a proud man, insisted that the family live on his salary as vicar. After his father’s death, however, Jonathan’s mother, knowing of his desire to go to the New World and further study under the Reverend Thomas Hooker, who had left England and was settling in New England, gave Jonathan and Elizabeth enough money to book passage to Massachusetts and to purchase land when they arrived in New England before she died. His father had died in September 1629, when a plague had swept through the county. His older sister Sarah and his younger sisters Mary and Arnet all died shortly after father. But mother had hung on until December. He remembered how his mother had insisted that they take the money so that they could create a new life for themselves and, God willing, their children. She had wanted them to live in a land that was choice above all other lands, a land in which they could prosper if they kept the commandments and remembered Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in all that they did. He remembered the dream that she had told him she had had, a dream in which he and Elizabeth traveled across the ocean to America. While it would not be easy—there would be many struggles, hardships, and some heartaches—if they stayed true to the Lord, they would be preserved. They and their posterity would prosper in the land and help to raise a great nation which, in time, would be a bastion of freedom in a world of oppression—a place where religious freedom would allow the faithful seekers of the truth to find the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jonathan had two younger brothers, William and Richard, and one older sister left, Elizabeth, who was married and lived in Yorkshire. William had already left for Rotterdam to join Reverend Hooker shortly after the death of their parents. Richard was only eleven years old at the time, and Jonathan was responsible to care for him. Richard did not want to go to America; he wanted to stay in England. Jonathan’s sister, Elizabeth, was not in a position where she could have taken Richard, and Richard did not want to go to Yorkshire. So Jonathan and Elizabeth had stayed in England until Richard was fifteen years old and old enough to enter Oxford. Jonathan had given guardianship of Richard to one of his father’s old classmates, who was now a professor at Oxford. Richard was happy with the arrangement, and there had been enough money from their father’s estate to pay for his tuition, room, and board for Richard to obtain his bachelor’s degree. Jonathan had not had to use any of the money that his mother had given him and Elizabeth and, with it, booked passage to Massachusetts Bay and obtained a small cabin on the Covenant, a small but seaworthy vessel.

Elizabeth’s grasp on his arm jolted Jonathan back to reality as the ship shuttered and bucked as the hands took in the sails and prepared to come into port. They were approaching Boston harbor and the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Jonathan and Elizabeth hoped to find land to build a small farm. Prior to their departure from England, Jonathan had sent a letter to Reverend Hooker, who was establishing a settlement in Cambridge, across the Charles River from Boston. He hoped that Reverend Hooker could help him and Elizabeth to purchase land for a small farm near Cambridge and find workers or indentured servants to assist them to build a house and farm the land. Jonathan and Elizabeth were excited to meet Reverend Hooker and hoped that he had received their letter. As the Covenant approached the dock, Jonathan could see Reverend Hooker waiting on the pier. Reverend Hooker had become a close friend to Jonathan and Elizabeth when they were in England despite Jonathan’s father’s disapproval of Reverend Hooker’s views on religion. The Reverend Thomas Hooker held much too puritan views in Jonathan’s father’s opinion.

As Jonathan and Elizabeth disembarked from the ship Covenant onto the soil of the Massachusetts Bay colony, they were filled with great excitement. The presence of Reverend Hooker greatly increased their excitement. Reverend Hooker greeted him warmly and was very happy to see them.

Reverend Hooker said, I am so happy that you have made this difficult crossing and are with us in this great new world. He continued, I have found some nice land on the edges of Cambridge which I think you will find will be a suitable farm and upon which you’ll be able to build a home for yourselves. I have also found two indentured servants who I think will work well for you until you have built your home you are most welcome to live with me and my family.

Both Jonathan and Elizabeth were overcome with emotion at seeing Reverend Hooker again and hearing his generous offer to take them into his home until their house was built.

Jonathan said, Reverend I do not know how we can ever repay your kindness, as he choked back the tears he felt at this joyful reunion and this kind offer to take them into his home. Reverend Hooker had become somewhat of a father figure to Jonathan after his father’s death and had been a great source of comfort to both Jonathan and Elizabeth in that difficult time.

Reverend Hooker said, Let us get your belongings off the ship and into my wagon, and I will take you home. Tomorrow, I will show you the land that I think you will like and which will make a suitable farm for you. It is just a short distance southwest of Cambridge and has timber and fertile soil. It will take some doing to clear the land, but with the help of your servants, it should not take too long. The trees on the land are very suitable to use to build your home, and with your carpentry skills, I know that you will build a beautiful home for Elizabeth.

Jonathan and Elizabeth thanked the Reverend for his kindness. As their belongings were unloaded from the ship and placed into Reverend Hooker’s wagon, both Jonathan and Elizabeth were filled with excitement. As the wagon entered the streets of Cambridge, it was so rustic compared to the standard they had known in England, but they found it beautiful and exciting. Everyone they saw waved and was friendly, happy to see a new couple arrive. Reverend Hooker’s home was a few miles from the waterfront and on the edge of what seemed to be a great and impenetrable forest. Jonathan was impressed with the great beauty of this new land and the potential which it presented.

Reverend Hooker said, As thou may have known, thy brother William is here in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He hath obtained a commission in the militia and is a lieutenant. He is currently on assignment, assisting the Plymouth Colony with some Indian problems.

I knew not that William had come here. When he left home, after the deaths of Father, our sisters, and then Mother, t’was not on the best of terms. Young Richard was opposed to coming to the colonies and wished to stay in England. At the time, I had asked William for some help with Richard, but he had refused. William was always headstrong and took not other’s feelings into account. He should make a good soldier, Jonathan said.

Unfortunately, those things can happen in families, Jonathan. But I pray that, someday soon, thee and thy brother will be able to reconcile thy differences and become friends, Reverend Hooker said.

That may take some time, Reverend, he replied.

Reverend Hooker’s home, while plain and simple, was very warm and inviting. Sister Suzanne Hooker, the reverend’s wife, was a plain but very beautiful woman who as was warm as the fire that burned in the hearth of their fireplace.

She warmly embraced Elizabeth and said, We are so happy that ye arrived safely and please consider our home as thine. Elizabeth, overcome with the excitement of arriving in the new world and with the warm greeting and love shown to them by the Reverend and Sister Hooker, could no longer contain her tears. Sister Hooker gently placed her arms around Elizabeth and said, Oh my child, everything will be all right. Thou hast arrived in a brave new world. Come, I will take thee to thy room, and we will get thee settled before dinner. Ye have had a great adventure crossing the ocean, and more great adventures lie ahead, but, my dear, I know that thou art equal to the task. Thy faith in Heavenly Father is strong, and thy testimony will bolster thee with courage as ye face the challenges of building thy home in this new world. Ye have a dear and faithful husband whose love for thee is very evident. With his help and our Heavenly Father’s guidance, ye and he will build a beautiful home and family in this new land. Sweet Elizabeth, thou art just embarking on thy journey of faith.

It felt so wonderful to Jonathan be back on firm soil after the long and turbulent sea voyage. The warm greetings of the Hooker family made his joy even greater. Jonathan recalled how Reverend Hooker and his family had been driven out of England to Amsterdam because of their puritan beliefs. He had felt great sorrow when Reverend Hooker was forced to leave. But how great was his joy now that they were reunited! The Hooker family and their home brought back memories to Jonathan of his own home and his loving parents. The Hooker home was simple; it was clean, neat, and warm—warm with both affection and with the Spirit of the Lord. Soon, Jonathan, Reverend Hooker, and several brethren from Reverend Hooker’s congregation had unloaded all of Jonathan and Elizabeth’s worldly possessions from the wagon and had them neatly arranged in their room. It took both Jonathan and Elizabeth a little time to adjust to not feeling the sway of the ocean under their feet. What a welcome feeling it was to finally be on dry land. After they had rested for an hour or so, it was time for dinner. They both felt refreshed after their short rest, and the smell of dinner was a welcome delight.

Sister Hooker had cooked a delicious dinner of roast pork, potatoes, and vegetables from her garden. She had also baked special bread and an apple pie. For Jonathan and Elizabeth, this was a welcome departure from the bland diet that they had experienced on their crossing of the ocean. Reverend Hooker offered a blessing on the food and thanked the Lord for Jonathan’s and Elizabeth’s safe arrival in the new world. Reverend Hooker said, In the morning I shall take thee both to see the land which I have picked out for thee. I think it will make a suitable farm. It is approximately forty acres, and it is wooded with Evergreen Pines and Oaks. It is about two miles from the river, but it has a stream that passes through it that has clear clean water. With the indentured servants’ help, we should be able to get enough land cleared so that ye can plant a garden and have enough timber to build the cabin before winter. During the winter, ye should still be able to clear some of the land so that, in the spring, ye will be able to have several acres to farm. It will take a lot of work and some time to clear enough land so that ye will be able to profit from thy crops, but it will provide ye with enough that ye will be able to live off it until then.

Jonathan asked, What do we owe you for the land?

Reverend Hooker said, Thy mother provided me with the money to purchase the land before her death so that you and Elizabeth will have a start in this new land. Ye only need to buy the supplies and provisions that ye will need to clear the land and plant thy garden. Our congregation will gladly help thee build thy cabin and barn.

Both Jonathan and Elizabeth could not help being overcome with emotion; they were so thankful to their Heavenly Father for the blessings he had provided, to Jonathan’s mother and all she had done for them, and to the reverend and his family for their kindness and the love they had shown to them.

When Jonathan had recovered, he said, I am so thankful to our Heavenly Father for the great blessings that he has provided, for all that my mother has done for Elizabeth and I, and for all of thy assistance. Elizabeth still too overcome with emotion to speak, nodded her head in agreement and smiled is she wiped her tears.

The reverend said, I’m only too happy to help thee. Thou will both be such welcome additions to our little congregation and our community.

After dinner, as was the custom in the Hooker home, they all gathered for evening scripture study and then family prayers. It was such a welcome change from the routine aboard ship that Jonathan and Elizabeth had had to endure during the arduous crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. While they had tried their best to have their own family prayers and the scripture study at least twice a day, seasickness and illness among the others on the ship had often necessitated them assisting others and then trying to get in their scripture study and prayers when they could. Jonathan remembered what his mother had always taught him from his youth, Jonathan, thou must remember to do the small and simple things each day. It is by doing the seemingly small and simple things of scripture study, family and personal prayers at least twice a day, and blessing each meal that we show our Heavenly Father our appreciation for what He has given us. When thou doth these small and simple things, greater things will follow, and the Lord will greatly increase thy blessings.

As Jonathan and Elizabeth had tried their best every day to do these small and simple things, they could see the great outpouring of blessings that Heavenly Father had bestowed upon them. When Jonathan and Elizabeth had retired to their room for the night, they knelt in prayer and thanked Heavenly Father for their safe crossing, the warm welcome they received upon arriving in new world, and for the blessings of friends and family.

The next morning, Jonathan and Elizabeth awoke early and again knelt in prayer, thanking God for all they had. They were excited to see the land that the reverend had found for them. Jonathan was anxious to see where it would be best to clear the trees so that they could build their cabin and barn. Jonathan’s carpentry skills would prove to be of great worth not only in building his own home and barn but in assisting others of their congregation in building homes and other things they needed. During the long ocean crossing, Jonathan had dreamed of the home he would build for Elizabeth. He had made some sketches and floor plans of how he would like the home to be arranged, and he wanted to see if the sketches and layouts would work on the land which awaited them. He tried to envision the home near the clear bubbling stream nestled in the pine trees next to fertile fields.

After a light breakfast, the reverend loaded Jonathan and Elizabeth into his wagon and headed towards the land that had been purchased for them. As they drove through the street of the small village of Cambridge, Elizabeth was struck by how small the village was and how few people there seemed to be. She had grown up in England, and though Herefordshire had been a small village by English standards, people had lived there for thousands of years. The streets were all cobblestone, and people we usually busy bustling about town square. She marveled at how rustic and new everything was. The streets were not cobblestone but dirt or, in some cases, mud, and the buildings were mostly made of lumber or logs. Some of the buildings were connected by boardwalks, but most were not. The people seem friendly though as they waved and greeted the reverend and his guests. It did not take long at all for them to pass through the village. Soon, they were on a wagon road that ran along the west bank of the Charles River. About a mile out of town, the road turned west into what seemed to be a dark and forbidding forest. Elizabeth felt some fear at the prospect of being alone and far from town. She tried hard to push the fear out of her mind and think of all the blessings that had come to her and Jonathan—all that they had received which had enabled them to cross a great ocean and come to this new world. As Elizabeth thought of the many blessings that God had given her and Jonathan, her fear subsided, and she felt the warm glow of our Heavenly Father’s spirit fill her heart. She remembered how, when she was a little child, her mother always told her, Elizabeth, when thou feel sad, fearful, and alone, count the many blessings that God has given thee. Thou will feel God’s Spirit, and it will lift thee and strengthen thee, giving thee courage. Elizabeth had always tried to practice this when she was discouraged and felt that all was lost, and it had always worked just as it did then.

They drove about another mile into the forest and rounded a gentle bend in the road. As Elizabeth looked up, shafts of sunlight illuminated a very beautiful part of forest which lay just ahead off left side of the road. As Elizabeth looked at the shafts of sunlight brightening up the forest, the wagon came to a stop. The reverend, pointing to that part of the forest illuminated by the shafts of sunlight, said, Over here to the left is the land which is thine.

Elizabeth heart leap for joy in her breast as she felt the Holy Ghost fill her heart and rid her mind of her fears. She squeezed Jonathan’s arm tightly and said, Oh, Jonathan, it is so beautiful!

Jonathan nodded in agreement as he too was overcome with emotion. It was as if the Lord was saying this is the place, the place where you will make your new home and have the blessings of a family.

The reverend said, I thought thou would like it. I looked through the forests along this road, and I felt the Lord’s Spirit whisper to my heart that ye would be happy here.

They all got out of the wagon and walked into the forest, that part of the forest that