In my debut novel, What Brings Us Joy, my main character, Delia Truitt, must leave a comfortable home nestled among a caring community and move to Texas with her family.
My book’s premise was inspired by the real-life experiences of my great-grandfather’s family, the Mobleys. They left Georgia in 1888 and moved to Navarro County, Texas, because land was cheap and plentiful. It sounds easy, but leaving one’s community, especially relocating out of state, often meant saying goodbye forever. There was no “see you at Christmas” when the ease and cost of travel prohibited visits back home.
What a difficult choice. In her memoir, my great-aunt Emma Lea Ola Mobley Wells tells what it was like when she was seven years old, and her father decided to move to Texas from their comfortable home in Troup County, Georgia.
“My father got in touch with Aunt Mary Pruit and Uncle William, and he decided to go to Texas. That was 1888, I was seven years of age. I remember there was an awful lot of talk and so many of their relatives didn’t want them to go to Texas. Since I have grown up, I have realized what a decision it must have been to make, to pull up and leave all their loved ones. His mother was in her late fifty’s, he had two sisters and his baby brother unmarried. My dear mother, how hard it was for her to leave her father who was seventy-five at that time. There were seven of us children. I remember they soon had things arranged to have an auction sale. How hard it must have been for mother to give up all her household things. I remember how she cried … it must have taken a lot of courage to make a move like that.”
Moving nowadays is still a big decision, but technology makes keeping up with old friends easy. We schedule movers, arrange for our mail to be forwarded, and most importantly, send an email or text with our new address to friends and family.
In the late 1800’s, travel between cities or states cost money and was usually done via train travel or by horse and wagons. Another branch of my family left their home in Toccoa, Georgia bound for north central Texas by way of a covered wagon just before The Great War (or World War I). Though wagon trains had long ceased, travel in the early twentieth century was inexpensive by covered wagon. It also meant being the lone wagon on a long and sometimes dangerous journey. One family story revolves around moving in a covered wagon to Oklahoma during a time of torrential rains. Ola and Clarence stopped along the way to ask for food and shelter, gratified when a widow graciously invited them in and gave them her own bed. They were astonished, and a little wary, when she told them her deceased husband had been a first cousin to the outlaw Jesse James. “I won’t ever forget that family. The name James has always had a different meaning.”
After hearing these tales of leaving home in the late 1800s, it makes me wonder if it was worth the heartache, expense, and trouble. But can you imagine what would have happened if those brave souls hadn’t ventured out of their comfort zones? I’m thankful those folks chose to explore new towns and states. I’m even more thankful relocating isn’t so treacherous these days!
After a successful career as a classroom teacher turned school librarian, Teresa Green Wells writes vintage fiction laced with hope. Her debut novel, What Brings Us Joy, released in 2025. She lives with her husband in Dallas, Texas, not far from family and friends.
Check out Teresa’s latest book:
In 1895, eighteen-year-old Delia Truitt’s world is shattered when circumstances force her family to leave their comfortable life in Georgia and relocate to a ramshackle Texas farm. Determined to help her parents dig out of their impoverished state, she plans to open a dressmaker’s shop—if she can win the county fair quilt contest and fund her business with the prize money. Delia sets her sights on success—until her heart takes an unexpected detour when she meets handsome Clarence Parker.
Determined to uphold his reputation, Clarence refuses to let his troubled past overshadow his pursuit of happiness, especially when he falls for the spirited and fearless Delia Truitt. His hopes are soon shattered when headlines reveal that his former gang members have escaped prison and are headed his way, driven by a ruthless desire for revenge. Though Clarence has no regrets about testifying against the outlaws, he fears his future with Delia is at risk. To protect her from the lurking danger, he’s willing to risk everything—his safety, his reputation, and their happiness.
Can Clarence keep her safe from the killers? And will Delia still love him once she learns the truth about his past?
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