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Sometimes it's the little people in history who make the most difference...and inspire the greatest stories. Seymour Finney was such a man. A hotel- and tavernkeeper in Detroit in the 1850's, he helped countless slaves escape to freedom via the Underground Railroad. He'd hide runaways in his barn, often while housing the very men who searched for them in his hotel!
I stumbled onto this story a few years ago while doing research for an upcoming trip to Gettysburg. (Yes, I spent an entire winter reading thick, dusty volumes in preparation for our family vacation. I'm odd that way.) I was so intrigued by Finney's story that I used him as the basis for my character Isaac Milford--the no-nonsense, innkeeping uncle to the heroine and a foundational figure in my book, The Candle Star. I would eventually write five more novels and three novellas set in the Civil War, all sparked by this everyday man who did extraordinary things.
The Candle Star has gone on to become my best selling children's novel, with many teachers placing bulk orders for their classrooms. I have an entire section on my blog devoted to images, maps, soundbites, and historical sources relative to the creation of the book--including pictures of Seymour Finney's Detroit properties. If you're like me and enjoy browsing that kind of thing, feel free to take a look around. Or point a teacher in that direction. I've got lesson plans posted, too.
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