Kensington: Portal To A Family, Place & Time - Paperback

by David Gottfred (Author)

"In its heyday, Kensington was an architectural showplace, but Kensington: Portal to a Family, Place & Time chronicles the history of not just a house, but also the Singleton family, with whose lives it was intertwined. The Singletons were rich and powerful, rubbing elbows with governors, presidents, and European royalty. The halls of Kensington echoed with the voices of the high and mighty, the laughter of children, the clamor of war, and the laments of slaves. It is a slice of history, well worth savoring." - Cyndi Carter The Singletons arrived in South Carolina in the 1750s and built a vast antebellum plantation empire of wealth and power. The Kensington was the crown jewel of it all. This story is about people-the good, the bad, and the ugly, told through their letters, legal documents, and stories handed down through generations. There are heroes and villains, triumph and tragedy, joy and betrayal. It is also about social class and slavery. This story makes you laugh and maybe cry, shake your head, see the ironies, and marvel at it all. We get to know these people a little and maybe ourselves a little more.

Author Biography

The author was raised in Oak Park, Illinois and grew up in a family of storytellers. He earned a B.A. in history from the University of Wisconsin and taught history at the high school level for several years. He has remained a lifelong student of history with a special interest in the nineteenth century. The author has been writing for thirty years. This is his first published work.