From Prairie To Palestine

This three-part work presents a comprehensive look at a unique woman whose life spanned almost the full 20th Century. Educated well beyond her peers in the 1920's, never satisfied with less than the high standards her upbringing had trained her to value and expect, Eva Marshall Totah struck out across the world to pursue her calling. She sought to pass on her prairie-bred character to those around her, to create beauty and to uplift her surrounding environment. Readers interested in the history of the American Midwest and the history of American Quakers will be drawn to her story, which begins with her birth in the claim shanty of her parents' homestead in the new State of South Dakota. Genealogy buffs will enjoy the well-documented family genealogical histories of Eva's eight great grandparents. Students of the history of the modern Middle East will be fascinated by her first-person accounts of life in Palestine during the waning years of the British Mandate, before the creation of Israel. Part I The Autobiography of Eva Marshall Totah From the South Dakota prairie, a young Quaker woman was recruited in 1927 to teach for a year in the Holy Land. Well-prepared by her college and graduate studies, as well as two years as a Bible teacher in a Chicago after-school religious education program, she ventures overseas. Not realizing there were Arabs in Palestine, Eva Rae Marshall was expecting to teach Jewish children at the Friends' Girls School in Ramallah. Discovering the varied religious landscape in Jerusalem's environs was only one of many surprises in store for her! In Eva's autobiography, she recounts her childhood in Wessington Springs, South Dakota and the choices she made that took her across the world at a time when most women did not even finish high school. Always supported and guided by her loving parents, Eva describes how she found her life's purpose at the Quaker school in Palestine among the varied and colorful religious groups that called the country their home, and recounts her travels throughout the surrounding Levantine region during the British Mandate period. Eva found love and purpose in Palestine, eventually marrying a Palestinian Quaker, Dr. Khalil Totah. She spent 17 years in Palestine before she and Dr. Totah moved their family to America, sailing on a Liberty Ship through the mine-strewn Mediterranean waters during World War II. After several years on the East Coast, Eva lived the rest of her years in California. Part II Eva's Letters Home from Palestine (1927 - 1944) The second section contains Eva's letters to her family in South Dakota from Palestine. The letters are the only ones known to remain from a correspondence that was carried on weekly for 17 years. They span from her arrival in 1927 to the family's departure from Palestine in 1944, and include remarkable observations of the colorful life of the Middle East of that period. Part III Genealogy of Eva Marshall Totah The third portion of the book contains well researched genealogy and family history narratives of eight of Eva's ancestral families: Jesse Marshall, Mary Pickering, William Owen Lancaster, Olive Ruddick, Phillip Strahl, Rhoda Ann French, Arthur Ginn and Mary Eliza Barton. Since Eva was of almost completely Quaker stock, the research benefits from the volume of rich sources of information available on members of the Society of Friends. Eva Rae Marshall was also a direct descendant of Mayflower pilgrim Stephen Hopkins.

The second edition of Prairie Directory of North America is a comprehensive guide to locating North American public prairies, grasslands, and savannas.

Khalil Totahs life spanned the waning days of the Ottoman Empire, the British Mandate in Palestine, and the foundation of the state of Israel. His passion for education drove him to leave his native Palestine for the US in 1906 to complete his education, which culminated in a PhD from Columbia University. His next adventure, in France during World War I, was followed by a return to Palestine with a beautiful American wife. Having achieved his education and successfully navigated life transitions, he set out to serve as principal of a teacher-training college in Jerusalem. Later he became principal of the Friends Boys School in Ramallah, the Quaker school that had taught and mentored him. In spite of work-related struggles and a family tragedy, he built and developed the school throughout the Arab Peasant Revolt and the British Mandate. He was esteemed and venerated by his people for his leadership. In 1944, Khalil and his family returned to the US, where he continued his career in education as director of the Arab information office in New York. He lectured, wrote, and became an activist on behalf of the Palestinians as partition was debated at the UN. Told by his daughter, the story of Khalils life sheds light on the history of Palestine of that period and of the Quakers in Palestine. His journal, diaries, articles, photographs, and her mothers letters to family in the US have formed the foundation for this story.

Robert Lachmann’s letters to Henry George Farmer provide insightful glimpses into his life and the successive research projects he undertook concerning Arab urban music from North Africa and later Arab and Jewish music traditions in Palestine.

If your interest lies in the history of small town living (especially the small town of Palestine, Arkansas), a narrative historical version of the birth, growth, and development of the town with chronological data, and testimonials of a number of its residents, then this book is for you. With it comes a story about a homeless woman who spent her life working in the homes of others for nothing more than food to eat and a bed to sleep in. She never received any money for her services. This woman never once traveled outside the Arkansas Delta and one whose final resting place has been at the Bell Cemetery since November 3, 1973. In addition, the book also contains an alphabetical listing of the people buried at the Palestine Bell Cemetery from 1800 to May 31, 2017. Why write about a woman who died over forty years ago, one might ask. And the answer would be: “Every life has a story and every story has a life regardless of how simple it might be!” Some of the world’s greatest people were typically known only by a “few” within the town they lived—and not commonly known outside of it. That was Jesus’ story too.