JACK HEAD
About the Book
History is more than dates and events on a timeline, more than a handful of significant people who have an impact. It is comprised of the stories of individuals who are often forgotten and full of truths too often elided—until one begins to look for them.
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In The Wheel, Jack Head puts faces on the heroes of the Underground Railroad, bringing history to life through the stories of everyday people who all brought something unique to the fight for freedom. These personalities include William Poor, who doesn’t yet realize how the trade skills he learns from his father and grandfather will allow him to help those seeking freedom, Mingo Quameno, an enslaved person seeking freedom, and other notable figures from the abolitionist movement.
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In realizing these narratives, Head refuses to turn away from the realities often ignored in this history—like the covert ways slavery continued after abolition and the slave trade in Canada. A combination of the author’s passion for genealogy with his decades-long study of the individuals who make up history, The Wheel is a historically detailed, narratively compelling account of the Underground Railroad that is both engrossing and informative.
About the Author
Jack Head
Jack Head is a historian, genealogist, and educa
Jack Head is a historian, genealogist, and educator whose work connects the personal stories of America's founding generation with the documents and events that shaped our country.
I grew up in Stow, Massachusetts, where, annually on 19 April, men and women gathered to walk the trails to the North Bridge in Concord to pay homage to the men who did so in 1775. I wondered why independent villages, towns, and even colonies in the 1700s came together to throw off the yoke of the British Empire and all its territorial benefits. I started to study what brought them together for this unified fight. I discovered I wanted to understand the relationship of these men and women who are recorded as events. When Thirteen Became One.
I started to build my first family tree when I was ten years old and continue today. As I walked the trails our founding fathers created and our patriotic ancestors' travels, I realized I wanted to know more about them. My ancestor risked his family's life as well as his own in participating in the Underground Railroad: The Wheel. Not all her grandchildren know of her life, so I wrote Margaret Cole—a story of a woman dedicated to her family and country. Selected Memories of Vietnam 1969-1970 was written in personal therapy after my tour in Vietnam in the infantry with the 11th Light Infantry Brigade, Americal Division.
I have spent my life facilitating the growth of others, which started when I was an aquatic instructor at Camp Resolute Scout Camp, teaching swimming. I have been privileged to continue my work providing human solutions to business problems with industry leaders on Total Cycle Time and to college students on personal growth and knowledge.
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