The Stout Family of Delaware: with the Story of Penelope Stout is masterpiece of geneaological work opened with a shocking tale of survival against the odds. Penelope Stout was attacked captured and eventually liberated after a fascinating but harrowing ordeal. Her experience makes the danger of settling in a New World palpable. Tracking from the late seventeenth century through to the mid nineteenth century, Streets tracks his family diligently through the original inhabitants of the American continent, their legislative and community roles, their family lives and tragedies. He even covers where branches of the family are tragically severed. As a patrician and a well-respected man, Streets was able to combine his knowledge of local history with legend to provide a picture of the developing colonies as well as his family. <br><br>Thomas Hale Streets family over the years held democratic assemblies, broke new territorial ground and died in tatters, with no estate to leave at various times. Any customary reader of genealogical works will wonder at the stories of the childless entrants in this book, their lives portrayed as prematurely short stories. Broader societal trends are visible in the lives of this small section of families, fewer sadly short children’s lives, fewer children, fewer avoidable deaths but we also begin to see the abandonment of certain nostalgic traditions. The handmade quilts and parcels of land for orchards vanish from last will and testaments to become cash sums, although the family clearly stays strong. <br>This book is a bonafide opportunity to rifle through the treasures of history.