Some might describe Peter Kirk\'s story as one of riches to rags, but it is more like, top hat and tails to smart casual.
She had to write his story..
But one figure stood out in her research: Peter Kirk--a Victorian era steel tycoon, inventor, and town-builder.
Combining her love of writing, history, and genealogy, Saundra was recognized for her short story Of Donkeys, Mules, & Plains Ponies in a 2015 writing contest sponsored by the Kent Family History Society in England.
She compiled several scrapbook-style books for family and friends.
As time allowed, Saundra delved into the bottomless pit of family research.
She dabbled in journalism publishing dozens of articles in Alaska Magazine and Alaska Business Monthly, and other publications.
After a few years, she returned to Alaska, finished her undergraduate degree in English, and added two daughters to her genealogical pool.
Once there, she discovered the rich history of her Pioneering ancestors.
About author(s): Raised in Sitka, Alaska, Saundra Middleton was lured away to the Pacific Northwest when she heard its annual rainfall was only 37 inches a year.
This book is a journey of generations, across continents, through life\'s upheavals, celebrating successes, and adjusting to changing times and cultures.
Children died prematurely; scandal threatened his family\'s status
Mary Ann returned to England.
But troubles hit on the family front as well.
Unusual for the Victorian era, his wife, Mary Ann, partnered with him in some of his business dealings.
Away From the engineer\'s desk and out of the boardroom, Kirk was an accomplished musician and devoted family man.
However, he did not give up on Kirkland, the little town he carved out of the Pacific Northwest forests.
Confronted with hurdles like land laws prejudiced against immigrants, demanding mining companies, railroad and frontier town competition, insufficient cash flow, and the worst recession in American history, Kirk struggled to accomplish his greatest dream.
He traveled to the American continent on a fact-finding mission and discovered Washington Territory had resources and opportunity to build a new steel works.
Kirk had to branch out in the New World to keep his ironworks solvent and his 1000 employees working.
Britain\'s status as the world\'s top iron producer was giving way to America\'s burgeoning growth.
The story follows his early business successes in Workington (Cumbria county), often facilitated by Peter Kirk\'s inventions in creating efficiency in the iron-producing process and new products in a competitive market.
Family curses, rivalries, and a propensity for those named Peter to leave the security of the family business catapulted Peter out of the Derbyshire (county) valley where his Kirk family had lived for 600 years.
Transferring that legacy down the generations did not always go smoothly.
It explains his family\'s 100-year history in the iron industry, riding the wave of success during the Industrial Revolution through Britain\'s successful Victorian era rail expansion.
This biography begins with a short introduction to the English iron mogul and how he arrived in Seattle, Washington Territory in 1886.
Some might describe Peter Kirk\'s story as one of riches to rags, but it is more like, top hat and tails to smart casual
