Trana Mathews
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After retiring to beautiful southeastern Arizona in 2015, I began researching and writing my family's history. This kept me busy and out of trouble, besides my third great-grandfather's life fascinated me. With my mother, aunt, and daughter, I had toured his Ohio home (which is owned by the Muskingum Historical Society) in the 1980s.
I'm actively involved in Friends of the Huachuca City Library, local community groups, and several writing groups. In my spare time, I also enjoy crafting. I have two adult children, and Macchiato (my rescue cat) has been kind enough to adopt me.
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The Mathews Family: Mathews Family Saga Book 1
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Historical Fiction
Their lives have been intertwined with American history. Increase Mathews witnesses the birth of the United States. Along with his mother and siblings, he remains on the farm while their older male relatives join the ranks of the Continental Army. After the Revolutionary War ends, social and political unrest continues during the period known as Shays's Rebellion with a battle taking place inside his town. Brigadier-General Rufus Putnam (Increase’s uncle) organized and sold shares in the Ohio Company of Associates to veterans to settle land in the Northwest Territory. Increase’s uncle, brother-in-law, and older brother are among the “First 48” settlers to Ohio in 1788. The peace of their settlement is soon shattered. Trying to divest the land of these new Americans, Indians attack and massacre many pioneers. The British also prove problematic. Conflict continues in the Ohio Country for ten years. Includes transcripts of letters written between family members. PDF Sample 
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Dr. Increase: Mathews Family Saga Book 2
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Historical Fiction
These early Americans were fundamental to the expansion of the United States after the Revolutionary War. Based upon a diary transcript and known facts, Dr. Increase is the second novel in the Mathews Family Saga. When Increase finished his medical apprenticeship, two physicians had already established practices in New Braintree, Massachusetts. Increase has always dreamt of owning land but now can’t save money for a future purchase. He wants to marry but doesn’t have the means to support a family. Some of his relatives have settled in the Ohio frontier, so he decides to travel to the Northwest Territory in 1798 to visit them and to view its opportunities. Dr. Increase Mathews recorded his thoughts in a journal, noting mileage and expenses along with people, places, and complications encountered. It was not an easy trip. Traveling hundreds of miles by horseback took weeks to accomplish, and a companion’s mare is injured traversing a difficult mountain trail. This 18th century man’s actual words provide a remarkable insight on this period of early American history. 
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