Kelleys Island: The courageous, poignant & often quirky lives of island pioneers 1810-1861

Leslie Korenko
The Wine Press (2009)
ISBN 9780981961217
Reviewed by Carol Hoyer, PhD, for Reader Views (11/09)


Leslie Korenko, a Kelleys Island resident and historian, has give readers a fascinating view of the life on Kelleys Island from 1810-1861. If you are a reader like me who is interested in how towns, law and order and people settle themselves into a comfortable life, this is a book for you. It is filled with a great number of facts and stories taken from journals, diaries, letters and court documents. You will be amazed at how much time and research the author has done to make this enjoyable reading.

The author has provided pictures and sources consulted throughout the book. So, if you are inclined to look up more information on a particular topic, she has made it easier for you.

I found the era of 1861 to be quite interesting as the information covered includes such things as: cooking stoves and matches, getting married, the Johnson Island Prisons and soldier’s letters home. When reading “KelleysIsland” by Leslie Korenko you often feel as if the individual is personally telling you the story. It is not a book that one can breeze through. You need to read a little, dream a little and put yourself back at Kelleys Island.

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