An Excerpt from my Homeschool Studies

I'm currently researching what I consider a great Christian lady of Canadian lore - Laura Secord. I thought this was interesting...

Laura Ingersoll, as a twenty two year old woman, met James Secord at the local dry goods store in Queenston, Ontario. James, several years older than Laura, owned the shop. She found him friendly and kind. She noticed how he went out of his way to lift heavy items into the wagon. She grew to enjoy seeing him when she went into town with one of her ten siblings to buy supplies. He would seek her out at church and at the shop - did her family enjoy the new sewing needles? Was she going to cook for the church ladies' luncheon?

Townspeople whispered about them - would James ask Laura's father for permission to court her? Laura, at age 22, and with several married sisters, was already labelled an old maid. Several young women - younger than 'old maid' Laura - actively attempted to capture James's attention.

Several months passed, full of earnest conversation between them, either at church or the shop - at least, until early May. Laura went for her weekly supply run. James was not behind the counter - not in town at all. His brother said that James had left to source shop goods in the United States.

Laura wrote him letters - a dozen letters - but did not get a response. In the first month, she prayed that he would return quickly. And after six months, she prayed for his safety. After a year, she prayed that God would show her if her devotion was misplaced.

Nearly two years to the day he left, James Secord arrived back in Queenston. He traveled directly to Mr. Ingersoll's farm. He knocked on the door; Laura's father answered.

"Mr. Ingersoll, I have been away for two years, and in that time, I have often thought of your daughter, Laura," said James. "I'd like to ask your permission to court her."

They wed shortly after; Laura became mother to 7 children; she helped drag soldiers from the fields of the War of 1812 and nurse them back to health; and she nursed her own husband for nearly a year after James was accidentally shot.