THE HILLS WE CALLED HOME: An Andrews–McFarland Family Saga

From the rolling hills of northern England in 1768 to the rural communities of Belmont County, Ohio, in 1988, The Hills We Called Home chronicles working-class survival, pioneer determination, and a family legacy spanning generations. Historian and Bible scholar Edward D. Andrews turns his analytical eye toward his own family’s past, drawing together county land deeds, military records, and vivid childhood recollections to create a carefully documented historical narrative.

The journey begins with the threat of eighteenth-century English enclosures, which drives the Andrews family across the Atlantic to the Pennsylvania frontier. Decades later, the McFarland family braves a dangerous crossing of the flood-swollen Ohio River to establish a homestead in the timberlands of Belmont County in 1803. As these two family histories converge, the narrative follows Clara and Clem Andrews through life on the home front during two world wars and the economic hardships of the Great Depression. Their Baptist faith, a single treadle sewing machine, and the steady labor of their hands sustain a household through years of uncertainty and change.

Richly detailed memories of childhood summers, hidden creeks, a weathered one-room schoolhouse, and the neighboring Sampson cattle ranch connect the pioneer era with the modern world. Written in measured, evocative prose, this volume brings together the personal depth of a family memoir and the careful research of a historical study.

The Hills We Called Home honors the ordinary people who cleared the woods, tended the land, and helped build America. Their lives reveal how family history takes shape through daily work, enduring commitments, and the places one generation leaves to the next.