Yesterday at lunch I read The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh.

I really enjoyed reading this short book and I also enjoyed the wonderful illustrations of Leonard Weisgard.

The Courage of Sarah Noble is a Newbery Honor book so is part of my Newbery Challenge.

Many of the Newbery books are Historical Fiction. I really enjoy this genre.

In the Author’s Note at the beginning of the book, Dalgliesh mentions that the book is based on a true story.

New Milford, Connecticut – Google Maps

The story is about eight year old Sarah Noble who goes with her father to New Milford, Connecticut to help him prepare a new place for their family to live. In the story she is left with an Indian family when her father goes back to bring the rest of the family to the new settlement.

Westfield, Massachusetts – Google Maps

Sarah and her father John start out in Westfield, Massachusetts. They travel for three days to reach New Milford. Along the way they spend a night in the woods and also with another family.

While spending the night with the family the other children talk about their fear of the Indians. This was a common fear for settlers and the author does a great job of portraying this scene.

Walking Directions – Google Maps

I decided to use Google Maps to see how long it would take to walk from Westfield to New Milford. I chose a route that would follow the valley and then cut across the hills to New Milford. As many highways follow old paths, they would most likely have taken a similar route.

The distance was just under 70 miles and Google said that it would take 22 hours and 22 minutes. The two nights spent on the trip would be realistic.

The story takes place in 1707. I had ancestors who lived near Westfield, MA during that time so I decided to check and see if I had a family connection to Sarah Noble.

Sarah Noble was the daughter of John Noble and Mary Goodman. I then found out that John was the son of Thomas Noble and Hannah Warriner. The name Warriner sounded familiar, so I made a quick search in my genealogy program.

Hannah was widowed in 1704 when Thomas Noble died. In the same year Abigail Strong Pomeroy the second wife of my ancestor Medad Pomeroy died. In 1705 Hannah Warriner Noble married Medad Pomeroy in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Medad Pomeory is the 3rd great-grandfather of Mercy Pomeroy who married my 4th great-grandfather Orsamus Braman.

You can read more about Orsamus and Mercy Braman in the following posts: Ancestor Description and Ancestor Description II

Sarah Noble was six years old at the time of the marriage of Medad and Hannah and lived very close to them. I can imagine her visiting her grandmother and meeting her new grandfather.

History comes alive when you can make a personal connection to events of the past.

Steven