LibriVox recording of Recollections of Life in Ohio, from 1813 to 1840 by William Cooper Howells.
Read by Sue Anderson.

Recollections of Life in Ohio is the autobiography of William Cooper Howells (1807-1894), father of the American novelist William Dean Howells. William Cooper's father brought the family from Wales to Ohio in 1813. This was a time and place where neighbors joined together to raise log barns and husk corn, where local peach brandy was a staple drink, and where religious revivalism permeated the social fabric, fanned by itinerant preachers such as Johnny Appleseed. Howells' recollections see him herding the family pig down the road with a noose around its hind leg, acting as "corner man" at a log barn raising, curing tobacco in a smoke house, grubbing stumps, fighting snakes, and wrestling with what it meant to be "religious" at the camp meetings to which father took him. Early on, William Cooper showed a literary bent and an interest in politics. He became a printer and a newspaper man and, in the 1870's and 80's served as U.S. consul in Quebec and Toronto. Recollections of Life in Ohio is a fascinating and enjoyable read for anyone interested in U.S. frontier history. (Summary by Sue Anderson)

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M4B audio book (181mb)

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