FRED GORTON'S PAGE

This is the place to find THE LIFE OF A PLODDER: FRED GORTON'S 95 YEARS
compiled by his granddaughter, Kathy Lynn Gorton Emerson.
Interested in the history of the Liberty, New York area
from the 1870s through the 1970s?
Or this branch of the Gorton family?
For Fred Gorton's writings
about his family and people he knew,
use the buttons below.
The original version of this book was made for Fred's children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. There were five copies printed in 1980 and then thirty-five more including additional photographs. This new version is revised and expanded, with an attempt made to identify the people Fred Gorton wrote about. Unless I was certain of the correction, I have left the spelling of names as he wrote them. I've also left his spelling for "trashing buckwheat" and the like. Typographical errors are mine. Those involving dates may well have been missed in proofreading, since they wouldn't be caught without checking each one against the original. Please feel free to send corrections to me at emerson@megalink.net.
The opinions expressed in these pages are Fred Gorton's. He was not politically correct by modern standards. Neither was he concerned about libel or slander. He may have been wrong in some of his statements, but he believed he was recording nothing but the truth. I make no apology for him, nor for sharing these records of historical interest with a wider audience. If any of the descendants of those mentioned herein wish to dispute one of my grandfather's comments, I will be happy to add their side of the story to this document and put the revised version on line.

INDEX TO LIFE OF A PLODDER: FRED GORTON'S 95 YEARS
CHAPTER ONE: THE CHILD
CHAPTER TWO: THE YOUTH
CHAPTER THREE: THE MARRIED MAN
CHAPTER FOUR: THE R.F.D. CARRIER
CHAPTER FIVE: THE COMPANY MAN
CHAPTER SIX: THE SENIOR CITIZEN
APPENDIX I: EXCERPTS FROM DAVID HALL'S DIARY
APPENDIX II: ACCOUNT WRITTEN BY FRED GORTON ON MAY 2, 1963
APPENDIX III: MISCELLANEOUS NOTES ABOUT PEOPLE FRED GORTON KNEW

Questions? Click here:

Kathy Lynn Emerson
is a writer by profession and the author of
a number of novels and non-fiction books.
To visit her website, click here:

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of JULIA'S MENDING, the children's book (ages 8-12) based on Fred's memoirs, please click here:

If you are interested in reading about the other side of Kathy Lynn Gorton Emerson's family and about NO MORTAL REASON, her adult novel set in 1888 Liberty (published in 2007), please click here and scroll down until you come to the Hurleyville section:

to read an excerpt from NO MORTAL REASON, click here:

© 2005-10 Kathy Lynn Gorton Emerson. All rights reserved.