Wild Onion

Two young immigrant lads, one Irish, one German, arrive in New York on the same day in 1831. Both have fled their homelands when their lives were threatened. Only in their teens, they are forced to leave their parents and the only homes they have ever known. Both are anxious as they separately cross the Atlantic. Will they ever see their families again? Will they survive the putrid conditions of steerage in the holds of the sailing ships? What will they face in the new land? The two meet on the docks of New York when Axel Konrad, tall and muscular, rescues Seamus O'Shea, short and light weight, who is being attacked. Without money, they struggle to survive. They go west, following the Lewis and Clark trail until attacked by Indians and decide to settle in the tiny village of Chicago instead of going on. Seamus is hired as a scribe by Colonel Grege who must assess the military needs to combat Chief Black Hawk. Grege and Seamus become observers of the brutality of the Black Hawk War. Axel finds work in a tavern. Chicago, named for the Indian word for wild onion, is primitive and presents challenges to daily existence. "Wild Onion" tells the story of Axel and Seamus including their encounters with real historic figures who help found what becomes the fastest growing city in America. "Wild Onion" is the first of a series about Seamus and Axel's lives and families through the decades. Sequels will tell of the roles of the Konrads and the O'Sheas in the Mexican War of 1846, construction of the I&M Canal, the U.S. Civil War, the Chicago Fire and much more.