The Seekers (novel)
Encyclopedia
The Seekers is a historical novel
written by John Jakes
and originally published in 1975. It is book three in a series known as the Kent Family Chronicles
or the American Bicentennial Series. The novel mixes fictional characters with historical events and figures, as it narrates the story of the United States of America
from 1794 through 1814.
, in the Northwest Territory
. Abraham Kent, the son of Philip Kent and Anne Ware, had enlisted in the Legion of the United States
to help neutralize the threat of American Indians
against expanding white settlements. He led a cavalry charge in the battle, but let a chance to kill Tecumseh
slip away.
Philip Kent, his father, had grown affluent as the proprietor of the publishing firm, Kent and Son in Boston
, and would have preferred to have Abraham follow him into the family business; however, Abraham was not interested in that trade and was uncertain what he wanted to do in life. Politically, father and son also had diverging views. Philip supported the Federalists, a party more friendly to urban industrialists, but Abraham did not.
Abraham fell in love with Elizabeth Fletcher, his stepsister, the daughter of Judson Fletcher and Peggy McLean Kent. Philip had married Peggy after the death of his first wife, but never adopted Elizabeth as his own daughter. Elizabeth resented him for this and did not want to live by his conservative rules. Sharing a common desire to leave Boston and Philip, Abraham and Elizabeth married and planned to start a new life in the Northwest Territory. They purchased a tract of land on the Great Miami River
, near Fort Hamilton
, though Abraham feared that his young wife was too frail to make the journey. Along the way Elizabeth revealed that she was pregnant, but she lost the baby when their riverboat crashed in the Ohio River
.
Once reaching their tract of land, Abraham took advice once given to him by Thomas Jefferson
and began farming corn. There, a son, Jared Adam, was born to Abraham and Elizabeth. Having lived there two years had not made Elizabeth any more content then she was when she was living under Philip’s roof in Boston. Not wanting to see her in such distress, Abraham decided to sell his farm and move to a more populated settlement. This news seemed to raise her spirits, but just before the move, two Shawnee
Indians wandered onto Abraham’s farm looking for whiskey. In attempting to expel them, Abraham killed one of the men, but the other one killed Elizabeth. Afterwards, Abraham, distraught, sold the farm, then made his way back to Boston with Jared to learn that Philip had recently died.
Gilbert Kent, the son of Philip and his second wife Peggy McLean, inherited control of Kent and Son after his father’s passing. He gave Abraham, his half-brother, a job there. Gilbert tried to arrange for Abraham to participate in the Lewis and Clark expedition
, but Abraham informed him that he could not participate because he had caught a disease from a prostitute. When Gilbert expelled him from his house, Abraham tried to take his son with him, but Gilbert’s wife, Harriet, would not allow it. Abraham pushed her down the stairs and she went into premature labor. After a violent scuffle, Abraham left without Jared, and Harriet gave birth to a daughter, Amanda.
Jared Kent never saw his father after that. He was raised by Gilbert and Harriet, though Harriet detested him and treated him cruelly. After the War of 1812
was declared, Jared enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served aboard the USS Constitution
. He participated in the battle with HMS Guerriere
that took place on August 19, 1812. During the battle Jared contributed to the maiming of Hamilton Stovall, a superior officer who had earlier demanded sex from Jared, but was denied.
Later that year Gilbert Kent, had a seizure and died, and Harriet quickly remarried. Her second husband, Andrew Piggott, appeared to be a suitable mate before they were married; however, this was to prove illusory. He was a compulsive gambler and womaniser and would lose the entire Kent and Son publishing firm to Stovall in a game of craps, which proved a setup as retribution for Jared's having rejected Stovall's advances. In his rage upon hearing this news, Jared set fire to the firm attempted to kill Stovall, instead shooting an associate of his. Thinking the man he shot was dead, Jared fled the city with his young cousin, Amanda. Earlier that day, Harriet had been hit by a carriage and died, leaving Amanda an orphan.
Having no specific destination in mind, they traveled to Pittsburgh. Once there, Jared made the decision to settle in New Orleans, but he was sidetracked along the way. While in Tennessee
, near Nashville
, Amanda was raped and abducted by William Blackthorn. Having been beaten by Blackthorn, Jared was required to recover for a time at The Hermitage, the home of Andrew Jackson
. Jackson made inquiries as to Blackthorn’s destination, which he discovered him was St. Louis. Jared followed him there, discovered him in a brothel
and shot him dead. With his dying breath, Blackthorn told Jared he had sold Amanda to fur traders going up the Missouri River
.
Jared was jailed for ninety days for disturbing the peace; while in jail, he was visited by Elijah Weatherby. Weatherby, a fur trader, had witnessed Blackthorn’s murder and he was impressed by young Jared. He told Jared he was going to Indian country to trade and that he needed a partner. Weatherby offered to aid Jared in his search for Amanda along the way. After some consideration, Jared decided to accept the offer. The story ends without Jared and Amanda being reunited, but the reader learns that Amanda is alive and was sold by fur traders to an American Indian.
William Henry Harrison
Meriwether Lewis
William Clark
Tecumseh
George Washington
Martha Washington
John Adams
Abigail Adams
Robert Morris
Thomas Jefferson
Albert Gallatin
Isaac Hull
Charles Morris
James Richard Dacres
Abraham Lincoln
– Jared and Amanda stopped briefly on their journey from Boston at the log cabin on Knob’s Creek were Lincoln lived as a boy with his father, Thomas
, his mother, Nancy, and his sister Sarah.
Rachel Jackson
Andrew Jackson
William Clark
Book Two: The Enemy Land
Book Three: Voices of War
Book Four: Cards of Fate
Epilogue: In the Tepee of the Dog Soldier
Historical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
written by John Jakes
John Jakes
John William Jakes is an American writer, best known for American historical fiction.-Early life and education:...
and originally published in 1975. It is book three in a series known as the Kent Family Chronicles
The Kent Family Chronicles
The Kent Family Chronicles is a series of eight novels by John Jakes written to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. The books became best sellers, with no novel in the series selling fewer than 3.5 million copies...
or the American Bicentennial Series. The novel mixes fictional characters with historical events and figures, as it narrates the story of the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from 1794 through 1814.
Plot summary
The story begins in 1794, just prior to the Battle of Fallen TimbersBattle of Fallen Timbers
The Battle of Fallen Timbers was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between American Indian tribes affiliated with the Western Confederacy and the United States for control of the Northwest Territory...
, in the Northwest Territory
Northwest Territory
The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...
. Abraham Kent, the son of Philip Kent and Anne Ware, had enlisted in the Legion of the United States
Legion of the United States
The Legion of the United States was a reorganization and extension of the United States Army from 1792 to 1796 under the command of Major General Anthony Wayne.-Origins:The impetus for the Legion came from General Arthur St...
to help neutralize the threat of American Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
against expanding white settlements. He led a cavalry charge in the battle, but let a chance to kill Tecumseh
Tecumseh
Tecumseh was a Native American leader of the Shawnee and a large tribal confederacy which opposed the United States during Tecumseh's War and the War of 1812...
slip away.
Philip Kent, his father, had grown affluent as the proprietor of the publishing firm, Kent and Son in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, and would have preferred to have Abraham follow him into the family business; however, Abraham was not interested in that trade and was uncertain what he wanted to do in life. Politically, father and son also had diverging views. Philip supported the Federalists, a party more friendly to urban industrialists, but Abraham did not.
Abraham fell in love with Elizabeth Fletcher, his stepsister, the daughter of Judson Fletcher and Peggy McLean Kent. Philip had married Peggy after the death of his first wife, but never adopted Elizabeth as his own daughter. Elizabeth resented him for this and did not want to live by his conservative rules. Sharing a common desire to leave Boston and Philip, Abraham and Elizabeth married and planned to start a new life in the Northwest Territory. They purchased a tract of land on the Great Miami River
Great Miami River
The Great Miami River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in southwestern Ohio in the United States...
, near Fort Hamilton
Fort Hamilton
Historic Fort Hamilton is located in the southwestern corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn surrounded by the communities of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, and Bensonhurst, and is one of several posts that are part of the region which is headquartered by the Military District of Washington...
, though Abraham feared that his young wife was too frail to make the journey. Along the way Elizabeth revealed that she was pregnant, but she lost the baby when their riverboat crashed in the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
.
Once reaching their tract of land, Abraham took advice once given to him by Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
and began farming corn. There, a son, Jared Adam, was born to Abraham and Elizabeth. Having lived there two years had not made Elizabeth any more content then she was when she was living under Philip’s roof in Boston. Not wanting to see her in such distress, Abraham decided to sell his farm and move to a more populated settlement. This news seemed to raise her spirits, but just before the move, two Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
Indians wandered onto Abraham’s farm looking for whiskey. In attempting to expel them, Abraham killed one of the men, but the other one killed Elizabeth. Afterwards, Abraham, distraught, sold the farm, then made his way back to Boston with Jared to learn that Philip had recently died.
Gilbert Kent, the son of Philip and his second wife Peggy McLean, inherited control of Kent and Son after his father’s passing. He gave Abraham, his half-brother, a job there. Gilbert tried to arrange for Abraham to participate in the Lewis and Clark expedition
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
, but Abraham informed him that he could not participate because he had caught a disease from a prostitute. When Gilbert expelled him from his house, Abraham tried to take his son with him, but Gilbert’s wife, Harriet, would not allow it. Abraham pushed her down the stairs and she went into premature labor. After a violent scuffle, Abraham left without Jared, and Harriet gave birth to a daughter, Amanda.
Jared Kent never saw his father after that. He was raised by Gilbert and Harriet, though Harriet detested him and treated him cruelly. After the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
was declared, Jared enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served aboard the USS Constitution
USS Constitution
USS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. Named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America, she is the world's oldest floating commissioned naval vessel...
. He participated in the battle with HMS Guerriere
HMS Guerriere
Two ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Guerriere, French for "warlike".*The first Guerriere was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line, originally the French ship Peuple Souverain, captured on 2 July 1798 at the Battle of the Nile...
that took place on August 19, 1812. During the battle Jared contributed to the maiming of Hamilton Stovall, a superior officer who had earlier demanded sex from Jared, but was denied.
Later that year Gilbert Kent, had a seizure and died, and Harriet quickly remarried. Her second husband, Andrew Piggott, appeared to be a suitable mate before they were married; however, this was to prove illusory. He was a compulsive gambler and womaniser and would lose the entire Kent and Son publishing firm to Stovall in a game of craps, which proved a setup as retribution for Jared's having rejected Stovall's advances. In his rage upon hearing this news, Jared set fire to the firm attempted to kill Stovall, instead shooting an associate of his. Thinking the man he shot was dead, Jared fled the city with his young cousin, Amanda. Earlier that day, Harriet had been hit by a carriage and died, leaving Amanda an orphan.
Having no specific destination in mind, they traveled to Pittsburgh. Once there, Jared made the decision to settle in New Orleans, but he was sidetracked along the way. While in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, near Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Amanda was raped and abducted by William Blackthorn. Having been beaten by Blackthorn, Jared was required to recover for a time at The Hermitage, the home of Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
. Jackson made inquiries as to Blackthorn’s destination, which he discovered him was St. Louis. Jared followed him there, discovered him in a brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
and shot him dead. With his dying breath, Blackthorn told Jared he had sold Amanda to fur traders going up the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
.
Jared was jailed for ninety days for disturbing the peace; while in jail, he was visited by Elijah Weatherby. Weatherby, a fur trader, had witnessed Blackthorn’s murder and he was impressed by young Jared. He told Jared he was going to Indian country to trade and that he needed a partner. Weatherby offered to aid Jared in his search for Amanda along the way. After some consideration, Jared decided to accept the offer. The story ends without Jared and Amanda being reunited, but the reader learns that Amanda is alive and was sold by fur traders to an American Indian.
Historic figures Abraham Kent interacts with throughout the novel
Anthony WayneAnthony Wayne
Anthony Wayne was a United States Army general and statesman. Wayne adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military exploits and fiery personality quickly earned him a promotion to the rank of brigadier general and the sobriquet of Mad Anthony.-Early...
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the...
Meriwether Lewis
Meriwether Lewis
Meriwether Lewis was an American explorer, soldier, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition also known as the Corps of Discovery, with William Clark...
William Clark
William Clark
William Clark was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in prestatehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Missouri...
Tecumseh
Tecumseh
Tecumseh was a Native American leader of the Shawnee and a large tribal confederacy which opposed the United States during Tecumseh's War and the War of 1812...
George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
Martha Washington
Martha Washington
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington is considered to be the first First Lady of the United States...
John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
Abigail Adams
Abigail Adams
Abigail Adams was the wife of John Adams, who was the second President of the United States, and the mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth...
Robert Morris
Robert Morris (merchant)
Robert Morris, Jr. was a British-born American merchant, and signer of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution...
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
Historic figures Jared Kent interact with throughout the novel
Henry ClayHenry Clay
Henry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
Albert Gallatin
Albert Gallatin
Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin was a Swiss-American ethnologist, linguist, politician, diplomat, congressman, and the longest-serving United States Secretary of the Treasury. In 1831, he founded the University of the City of New York...
Isaac Hull
Isaac Hull
-External links:* *...
Charles Morris
Charles Morris (naval officer)
Commodore Charles Morris, USN was a United States naval officer and administrator whose service extended through the first half of the 19th century.-Biography:...
James Richard Dacres
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
– Jared and Amanda stopped briefly on their journey from Boston at the log cabin on Knob’s Creek were Lincoln lived as a boy with his father, Thomas
Thomas Lincoln
Thomas Lincoln was an American farmer and father of President Abraham Lincoln.-Ancestors:Thomas Lincoln was descended from Samuel Lincoln, a Puritan from East Anglia who landed in Massachusetts in 1637...
, his mother, Nancy, and his sister Sarah.
Rachel Jackson
Rachel Jackson
Rachel Donelson Robards Jackson, born Rachel Donelson, was the wife of the 7th President of the United States, Andrew Jackson....
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
William Clark
William Clark
William Clark was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in prestatehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Missouri...
Books and Chapters
Book One: Kent and Son- Chapter I: Battle Morning
- Chapter II: The Charge
- Chapter III: Clouds of Homecoming
- Chapter IV: The Storm Breaks
- Chapter V: “Scenes of Life Among the Mighty”
- Chapter VI: Wedding Night
- Chapter VII: Wagon Road
- Chapter VIII: Ark to the Wilderness
Book Two: The Enemy Land
- Chapter I: The Cabin
- Chapter II: Old Ghosts and New Beginnings
- Chapter III: The Burning
- Chapter IV: Problems of a Modernist
- Chapter V: The Mark
- Chapter VI: Blood
Book Three: Voices of War
- Chapter I: Jared
- Chapter II: A Mackerel by Moonlight
- Chapter III: The Frigate
- Chapter IV: A Devil’s Companion
- Chapter V: “Her Sides are Made of Iron!”
- Chapter VI: Heritage
Book Four: Cards of Fate
- Chapter I: Mr. Piggott
- Chapter II: Act of Vengeance
- Chapter III: Act of Murder
- Chapter IV: Ordeal
- Chapter V: Reverend Blackhorn
- Chapter VI: Judge Jackson
- Chapter VII: Pursuit to St. Louis
- Chapter VIII: The Windigo
- Chapter IX: “I Will Seek That Which Was Lost”
Epilogue: In the Tepee of the Dog Soldier