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Lincoln at the Library

Family History Research Leads to a Box of Civil War Letters

Hear the story of how Tonya McQuade’s new book, A State Divided: The Civil War Letters of James Calaway Hale and Benjamin Petree of Andrew County, Missouri, came to be.

On October 28, 2026, at 6:30 PM, the Allen County Public Library is hosting Tonya McQuade via Zoom.

Hear the story of how Tonya McQuade’s new book, A State Divided: The Civil War Letters of James Calaway Hale and Benjamin Petree of Andrew County, Missouri, came to be. It’s the story of what happens when someone contacts you on Ancestry.com, offering you a box of old family letters rescued from a garbage heap, and suddenly your life trajectory changes. In this latest installment of the Allen County Public Library’s Lincoln at the Library program series, Tonya McQuade presents “When Family History Research Leads to a Box of Civil War Letters and Writing a Book.” Join this free program via Zoom on October 28, 2026, at 6:30 PM ET.

Tonya Graham McQuade is the author of A State Divided: The Civil War Letters of James Calaway Hale and Benjamin Petree of Andrew County, Missouri, 1862-65, and is a contributing writer to the Emerging Civil War website. She has a love for both history and historical fiction, as well as a passion for travel and writing, both of which she is now pursuing more fully since retiring – after 36 years – from teaching English at Los Gatos High School. A longtime resident of San Jose, California, Tonya is an active member of Emerging Civil War, South Bay Civil War Round Table, South Bay Writers/California Writers Club, National League of American Pen Women, and Poetry Center San Jose. She earned B.A. degrees in English and Communication Studies, as well as a Single Subject Teaching Credential in English, from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and later earned her M.A. in Educational Leadership from San Jose State University. You can learn more about Tonya on her website at tonyagrahammcquade.com.

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For questions, contact Lincoln@acpl.info

Lincoln at the Library is sponsored by the Friends of the Allen County Public Library