The Orphan Train to Destiny

This novel has it all: adventure, edge-of-your-seat action scenes, martial arts, a little history, and a touch of romance. Marvel at John Brady's survival of childhood hardships, join him as he ventures into the rugged Alaska Territory in the late 1800s, walk the streets of early Juneau, Alaska, then, hang on tight during the harrowing dog sled race, meet a cast of characters as tough and unique as the wilderness they inhabit, and enjoy a front row seat to frontier justice with a martial arts twist. John (James) Green Brady (May 25, 1847-December 17, 1918) was an American politician who was the governor of the district of Alaska from 1897 to 1906. He arrived in New York City on a coffin ship during the Irish Potato Famine (1845-1852). He was orphaned at an early age and was found living in a sewer pipe by Theodore Roosevelt Sr., a well-known and popular New York City philanthropist and father of the future U.S. president, Theodore Roosevelt. After being picked up from an orphan train, he lived with the family of John Green of Tipton County, Indiana. He married Elizabeth Jane Patton in 1887 in Sitka, Alaska. Brady moved to the Alaska Territory, first as a Presbyterian minister, missionary and lawyer. He co-founded what is now Sheldon Jackson College as a school for training Alaska natives in 1878. Later he was appointed governor for three terms. The first portion of this novel, which deals with John Brady's early life, is historically accurate. His adventures in Alaska are fiction.