The Harnetts came to America in 1889, during the Great Depression of British Agriculture. Their farm in Kent, England, was suffering financially. With Britain’s refusal to tax grain imports they could no longer support a family of eleven children. Ernest and Julia Harnett had a hard decision to make — either leave their beloved England or give up six of their youngest children. It was something they would not do. A letter from a friend who had moved to Southern California wrote of an alcohol-free, religious community, with good farmland. They made up their minds. They would move to the American Colony — created a few years earlier by a fellow Englishman, William Willmore. There they would create a new life on the Pacific Squab and Poultry Farm at Atlantic Avenue and 25th Street.
The book follows their journey across the Atlantic and explores their new home — an area called Burnett (no relation to me!), close to Signal Hill, which would eventually become part of Long Beach, California. Through the eyes of Ivy, the first of three children to be born in America, readers get to know Jane (Bessie), a teacher, who left an indelible mark on California history; Norah and Josie who found love and marriage in faraway Alaska; Anne, the artist; Kathleen, the top student graduate at UC Berkeley; Ethel; Helen; Jack, the engineer; Tom and his milling company; Edward and Frank, Long Beach civil servants who contributed much to the growth of the city. Also discussed are the tragic deaths of Geoffrey, Caroline, and the patriarch of the family, Ernest Harnett, struck by a hit and run driver a few weeks after his daughter Jane’s death.
I added more to the book than what Ivy and Polly had written, augmenting their stories with historical events I am sure they experienced. By going through newspapers, I uncovered additional information about the family which I incorporated in the book.
I published the book under Ivy’s name (Ivy Harnett), which is what Polly had planned to do. I also listed Polly as an editor as well as myself. It’s priced at $16.99 paperback; $7.99 e-book. Available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble the publisher, Author House and the Historical Society of Long Beach.
