All The Way By Water


Byron Grush published his first novel entitled, All The Way By Water, a pioneer family’s travels by flatboat on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, in February of 2013. Grush based the work on the true story of his great great grandfather, Isaac Grush, who emigrated from Western Pennsylvania to Northern Illinois in 1846, bringing with him his wife and eight children. They embarked upon a long and often hazardous voyage along canals, over mountains, and along the two great rivers, to settle on the virgin farmland of the Rock River Valley.
“This is the story of what might have happened,” Grush tells us. “I had only a slim pamphlet written about my family’s history that hinted that my great great grandfather had come to Illinois by water, instead of by wagon and team as one might assume. I was intrigued and began researching river migration in the 19th Century. The result became a work of fiction, closely following the time line and the fascinating path of their odyssey.”
Their home on the water was a small wooden craft called a broadhorn, or flatboat, which was steered by long wooden sweeps. They were able to cross the high Allegheny Mountains by inclined railway, placing the flatboat on a railcar. On their journey along the Ohio and Mississippi they were to meet pirates, a runaway slave, a friendly wolf pup, and to hear stories of ghosts and Indians and sunken paddleboats.
“The story should appeal to young adults as well as older folks,” says Grush. “It is full of historical asides and some characters of the period you may recognize. It is a ‘PG’ rated novel, although I do use the word ‘bloomers’ at one point.” The interactions of the family members are central to the story. The eldest son, Philip, begins to wonder if he has made a mistake coming along. He jumps ship and finds adventure on the steam-driven paddleboats that chug up and down the river. Perhaps it is fate which reunites him with his family. A mischievous younger brother and his tomboy sister find trouble at each bend of the river. And another brother finds that romance sometimes arrives too soon and too strong for comfort.

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