Ten Generations

Book excerpt: TEN GENERATIONS is a family saga that follows the Watt family, generation by generation, from Edinburgh in the late 1500s to colonial New York, through the American Revolution, back to the Channel Islands, and then to Canada, where the family settles in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. The family rises to prominence in Edinburgh, then emigrates to colonial New York in the early 1700s. There, they are at the pinnacle of society, but are torn apart by Revolution and war. Forced into exile in Britain, the descendants of one branch return to the continent and settle near Montreal, where they once again become important in the cultural and political life of Quebec and Canada in the 1800s and 1900s. The author uses primary source materials such as personal letters, anecdotes, and illustrations from family collections and fits these expertly into the historical context of the times to provide a dramatic, readable and entertaining account of the family's history -- of fortunes made and lost, of war and revolution, of personal tragedy and triumph. Ten Generations provides an intriguing personal window into the real history of the times and into the lives of this interesting family.