“Where Eagles Fly Free” is the second book in the Courageous series. It tells the story of Thomas and Anne Wright, real-life immigrants who came to America and interacted with noteworthy people and played a role in historical events. The photos of the people above are depictions of the main characters taken from a trailer for the book. | Courtesy photos IDAHO FALLS — As the son of an orphan, David Jacinto grew up knowing almost nothing about his mom’s side of the family. His mom told him everything she knew about her biological great-grandparents, which led him to do some research of his own. What he discovered compelled him to write a book and tell their story. “Where Eagles Fly Free” is the second book in the Courageous series. The historical novel, which was released on May 6, tells the story of Thomas and Annie Wright. The couple immigrated to America from the British Isles during one of the most transformational decades in history. The Wrights interacted with noteworthy people and played a role in significant historical events. Jacinto, who will be in Idaho Falls on May 24 for a book signing, tells EastIdahoNews.com the Wrights’ journey brought them through Idaho before they ultimately settled in California. Although the book is historical fiction, the characters and the key events are real. “What I’ve tried to do is keep as close to the real facts as possible, but weave into it fictional interpersonal relationships because I don’t know exactly how they interacted with those around them,” Jacinto says. In the first book, the Wrights are driven from their home in England by the promise of freedom, liberty, economic opportunities and land of their own in America. “Where Eagles Fly Free” begins in June 1868 with the family on board the Brigantine Colorado as it sets sail towards the North Atlantic and on to the east coast of the United States. RELATED | Historian says Lincoln won Civil War with the ‘idea of Idaho,’ and early governor might have prevented assassination At this point in history, Americans were three years removed from the end of the Civil War and President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Lincoln had signed the bill that made Idaho a territory in 1863 and construction on the transcontinental railroad began that same year. RELATED | President of Pocatello Model Railroad and Historical Society shares history that ‘built this town’ and why it matters Central Pacific and Union Pacific started laying track in opposite directions in 1863. They met in the middle and connected at Promontory Summit, Utah, in 1869. For the first time, the western frontier was connected to the cosmopolitan northeast and cross-country travel that previously would’ve taken months could now be done in a week or less. A telegraph line was installed along the rail line, making national and international communication possible. “Thomas and Annie played a key role in all these events,” Jacinto explains. “It’s a fascinating story and review of immigrants coming to this country at that time.” A celebration of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad on May 10, 1869. | Courtesy Wikipedia Who were Thomas and Annie Wright? Jacinto’s discovery of the Wright family happened shortly after his mother’s death in 2021. He’d grown up hearing about other Wright family members but didn’t hear about Thomas and Annie until he laid his mother to rest at a cemetery in Evanston, Wyoming. “We found out that the largest tombstone in the entire cemetery (belonged to) Thomas and Annie Wright. It piqued my interest,” Jacinto says. That began a two-and-a-half-year journey of discovery and research that culminated in 2024 with the publication of the first book in the series. Thomas’s story begins when he went to work in the coal mines in England as a 7-year-old boy. Jacinto provides the background that kicks off the Wright’s saga. “His mother was six when she was sold as an indentured servant to Lord Fitzwilliam (a member of Henry VIII’s inner circle who served as an admiral under his reign). She becomes a voracious reader and one of the country’s most educated women because he had the largest library in the UK,” Jacinto explains. Later, something happened between Fitzwilliam and Thomas’s mother and she was forced to leave. She ultimately married a coal miner who couldn’t write his own name. Thomas spent most of his childhood in the coal mines. Like his father, he was uneducated, though Jacinto describes him as a “very bright boy.” “He went on to work with Queen Victoria to fight child labor and do a whole bunch of really exciting things,” he says. Years after coming to the U.S., Thomas and Annie were part of a wagon train out West and had some interactions with the Shoshone tribe in Idaho. Among them were Chief Pocatello and Black Eagle. Black Eagle was one of numerous native Americans involved in the Bear River Massacre near Preston. Black Eagle sacrifices his life and family trying to preserve the heritage of a doomed Shoshone nation. | Courtesy David Jacinto The Wrights also interacted with Brigham Young, former president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and governor of Utah. Though Annie converted to the church before leaving England, she and her husband’s interactions with Young pertained mostly to his involvement in the transcontinental railroad. Young “had his fingers in everything of importance west of the Mississippi,” according to a news release, and was a major player in that project. Jacinto says Young was also “intimately involved” in helping the Wrights buy some property. “I can’t tell you how because that’s part of the mystery,” says Jacinto. “That point is part of a key twist in the story.” Thomas’s connections to noteworthy people and historical events is what compelled him to tell this story and it’s that aspect that he says makes it a book worth reading. “It shows how much Thomas and Annie’s lives were interwoven with so many influential parts of America and its foundation,” Jacinto says. “We get to learn about how these really honorable people … dealt with challenges.” Jacinto will be signing books at Barnes and Noble in Idaho Falls on May 24 at 1 p.m. “Where Eagles Fly Free” is available for purchase here. David Jacinto, right, and a cover of his book. | Courtesy Javier Perez The post New historical fiction novel tells story of real-life immigrants who played key role in building transcontinental railroad appeared first on East Idaho News.
Source: eastidahonews.com