Sackett

The Sackett family is a rich and diverse family much like the fictional American family featured in a number of western novels, short stories and historical novels by American writer Louis L'Amour.

Background

The Novels

The novels trace much of the history of family through individual members of the family as they move across the Atlantic from England, settle in the Appalachians, and then move west to the Great Plains, the Rockies, and California. Unlike novels by such writers as James A. Michener, these stories do not trace the rise and fall of the fortunes of a clan or extended family, but simply tie together significant and minor characters in various of the western novels.

L'Amour's Sackett family originates in The Fens of Cambridgeshire in East Anglia. The patriarch of the family, Barnabas Sackett, becomes a merchant captain and eventually settles with his wife Abigail (nee Tempany) in what will become the borderlands of North Carolina and Tennessee. The family quickly divides into three clans, sired by several of their sons: the "Clinch Mountain Sacketts", "the Cumberland Hills Sacketts", and the "Flatlands Sacketts." It is the Cumberland Hills Sacketts that produce some of L'Amour's most memorable and beloved characters, including William Tell "Tell" Sackett and his brothers Tyrel and Orrin, of the novel "Sackett" (see below) and others.Orrin was a lawyer,and Tyrel became a respected rancher and lawman, often simply known as the "Mora Gunfighter" after the town he settled in.

The main theme that runs through most of the Sackett books is that of loyalty to the family and helping the family when beset by foes. "When you step on the toes of one Sackett,they all come running." The deadly Sackett-Higgins feud in Tennessee lasted years.

The Clinch Mountain boys tend to be rougher. The twins, Nolan and Logan have hired out their guns, held up a stage or two, but are decent men. Logan came to the aid of Emily Talon, herself a Sackett by birth, in Colorado.

Two other families whose members L'Amour wrote about, and whose families have rubbed shoulders at different times over the three centuries his novels cover, are the Chantry and Talon families, with Borden Chantry and Milo Talon being contemporaries of Tell Sackett.

Sackett, the novel

This is the third of the Sackett novels and published in 1961 (Daybreakers was the first, published in 1960, though it is not the first chronologoically). It tells the story of William Tell Sackett, a Union Army veteran who makes his way West in the years following the War, hoping to settle down at the right place as a rancher. He is the main character in several other Sackett books including "Mohave Crossing", "The Lonely Men", "Treasure Mountain", and "The Sackett Brand", among others. He is the brother of Tyrel and Orrin Sackett, who went west to New Mexico circa 1870-1872. Tell is also the 'ugly duckling' (by his own admission) of the family. However, he does meet a beautiful woman named 'Ange Kerry' in 'Sackett' and falls in love. He loses her when she is brutally murdered in another novel. He meets another lady in 'Treasure Mountain', and presumably marries her. Mr. L'Amour has left the ending to the imagination of the reader in this novel.

L'Amour confirmed to Dr. John Sackett that he found the name on Sackett's Well in a place west of Yuma. The desert watering hole was named for cavalry Lt. Delos B. Sackett who was an Indian fighter in the region before the Civil War. L'Amour has used names and places that roughly parallel a real branch of the Sackett Family, but the accounts are fictional.

The Sackett Companion

This non-fiction book, published in 1988 a few months after Louis L'Amour's death, is his personal guide to the Sackett novels, with long lists of characters, locations, ships, weapons, and summaries of each of the novels.

Sackett's Land, the novel

"Sackett's Land", published in 1975, is the first novel in time of the Sackett novels, and takes place around AD 1600, in England (including The Fens and Queen Elizabeth I's London), on the Atlantic Ocean, and the Atlantic Seaboard of North America, particularly in the vicinity of Cape Hatteras. The main character and narrator is Barnabas Sackett, son of Ivo Sackett, a mercenary and freeholder.

The real Sackett Family

The real Sackett family originated in England in the Isle of Thanet, Kent, probably at Sackett's Hill in the parish of St Peter's. The earliest record is that of William Saket of Southborough, St Peter in Thanet, who, in 1317, was in a legal dispute with the Abbot of St Augustine.

The Sacketts were among the first colonists of America, with Simon Sackett arriving at the Massachusetts Bay Colony just a few months after the Winthrop Fleet of 1630, and John Sackett, possibly a nephew of Simon, arriving in New Haven sometime before 1641.

Derived from the website of The Sackett Family Association [http://www.sackettfamily.info/] .

Characters in mainstream novels

Barnabas Sackett- The founding member of the Sackett clan. Travels to the New World to escape the warrant of the Queen. Killed by Seneca Indians.

Kin Ring Sackett- First son of Barnabas Sackett, born on a buffalo robe in the heat of battle. First Sackett born in the New World. Married Diana Macklin from Cape Ann.

Yance Sackett- Second son of Barnabas Sackett. Best known for his quick temper and strength and willingness of action. Founder of Clinch Mountain Branch of Sacketts. Married a girl named Temperance Penney from Cape Ann.

Jubalain Sackett ("Jubal")- Third Son of Barnabas Sackett. He was the first Sackett to cross the mountains and see the plains. Known as the quiet one, he is a ghost in the woods. Spends much time away from home and eventually quits the hills of North Carolina for the Rocky Mountains. Marries Itchakomi Ishaia, a "Sun" of the Natchee.

Echo Sackett- Only female member of the Sackett clan to narrate a story. Aunt of Tell, Orrin and Tyrel.

Logan Sackett- Twin brother of Nolan Sackett. Comes from the Clinch Mountain branch of Sacketts. A bit rougher than Tell or Tyrel, he is nonetheless a decent man. Comes to the aid of his aunt, Emily Talon.

Nolan Sackett- Twin Brother of Logan Sackett. Comes from the Clinch Mountain Branch of Sacketts. Like his brother, he is rough generally, but has a sense of right and wrong. Wears two pistols.

Orlando Sackett ("Lando")- Son of Falcon Sackett. One of the last Sacketts to move west. Spends six years in a Mexican prison. Becomes a well-known fist-fighter and boxer.

Falcon Sackett- Father of Orlando Sackett. Formerly captain of a ship. Finds a lost treasure of great value and spends several years in a Mexican prison before finally escaping and being rescued by his son.

Flagan Sackett- Brother of Galloway Sackett. One of the younger Sacketts. Has a strong will to survive. Rarely found far from his brother.

Galloway Sackett- Brother of Flagan Sackett. Tall and handsome, nearly fearless in the face of danger. Known to brave danger and live.

Parmalee Sackett-- A "flatland Sackett", Parmalee's family moved down to the richer flatlands while the majority of the clan stayed in the mountains. His affluent lifestyle has not made him weak.

Three main characters

The three main and most well known characters are the three brothers, sons of Colburn Sackett; Tell, Orrin, and Tyrel. Although they often go long periods without seeing one another, they're completely devoted to one another, and come to each others aid any time needed, dropping all else that they might be involved in at the time.

William Tell Sackett ("Tell")- Oldest son of Colburn Sackett ("Ride the Dark Trail" section of "The Sackett Companion"). Fought for the Union in the Civil War. A quiet man that likes to be left alone, it takes much to anger Tell, but he will fight if pushed. He's a loner, often going years without seeing or communicating with his family back in Tennessee. He takes any job that suits him at the moment, from cowhand to miner, and drifts ever westward, rarely staying in one place any great length of time. He's killed several men in his lifetime, and is good with a gun, as well as the "Arkansas Toothpick" he carries draped in crossdraw fashion across his waist. Although outwardly he appears rough, he has a sound, strong moral character, never forgetting his fathers rule of always fighting on the side of the law, and never against it. In the film adaptations he is portrayed by Sam Elliott.

Orrin Sackett- Second son of Colburn Sackett. Orrin likes people and tries to see the best of them. Handsome, witty, and smart, he likes to believe that most people like him, however he can be a bit naive at times. Good with a gun, and always ready with a smile and a quote, he's strong willed and completely devoted to his family. He is calm during a fight, never getting excited or losing his head, a trait that is in all three brothers. Married twice, he killed a member of the Higgins family during a gunfight, only to have a Higgins brother come after him on his wedding day. Orrin was unarmed, and his new wife jumped in front of him as Higgins fired, killing her. Orrin's brother Tyrel killed the man, then left Tennessee to avoid further problems. Orrin left soon after, promising his mother they'd send for her. He then married the treacherous Laura Pritts who tried to use him as part of her bigoted father's land grab in Santa Fe against the settled Mexican Landowners. Later after she is exposed as a fraud she attempts to lure William Tell into Apache country to rescue her noneexistent son with Orrin, a plan which fails. Always honest and straight forward, the fights that Orrin usually finds himself a part of are generally started by his steadfast and unwaivering stance on something he believes strongly in. A smooth talker, Orrin has no problem making friends, especially of the female persuasion. He later was elected sheriff of Santa Fe, New Mexico, where his reputation as a man fair to all ethnicities, Hispanic and Anglo alike, gained him respect. In the film adaptations he is portrayed by Tom Selleck. Tyrel Sackett- Third son of Colburn Sackett. He idolizes his brothers Tell and Orrin. Known as the "mean one" or the "black sheep", Tyrel is the fastest with a gun of the three brothers. He always thinks things through, never acting prior to planning things out. Wherever Tyrel goes, he seems to attract trouble, and sooner or later someone always tries to outdraw him, but never succeeds. Compassionate to a fault, his sense of morals never leave him, and stands as a steady guide on his way west. In Santa Fe he is forced to kill a close friend who'd gone bad, which affects him deeply. Naive where women are concerned, he often seems like a shy schoolboy when facing a pretty girl. He becomes involved with the beautiful granddaughter of a rich Spanish don, whom he marries. In the film adaptations he is portrayed by Jeff Osterhage.

List of Sackett novels

All the Sackett Novels are told from the first-person perspective with some stories having a paragraph or two told through a third-person perspective. The following list is of all 17 novels that were completed during Mr. L'Amour's lifetime. The names that are ajoined to each title tells through whose perspective the story is told. Other Sackett Novels are frequently mentioned through passing and other Sackett characters are also mentioned in several of the novels.

*Sackett's Land-Barnabas Sackett
*To The Far Blue Mountains-Barnabas Sackett
*The Warrior's Path-Kin Ring Sackett
*Jubal-Jublain Sackett
*Ride the River-Echo Sackett
*Sackett-Tell Sackett
*The Daybreakers-Tyrel Sackett
*Mojave Crossing-Tell Sackett
*The Sackett Brand-Tell Sackett
*The Lonely Men-Tell Sackett
*Lonely on the Mountain-Tell Sackett
*Lando-Lando Sackett
*The Skyliners-Flagan Sackett
*Galloway-Flagan Sackett
*Mustang Man-Nolan Sackett
*Ride the Dark Trail-Logan Sackett
*Treasure Mountain-Tell Sackett

"Short Stories"

*The Courting of Griselda-Tell Sackett
*Booty for a Badman-Tell Sackett

ee also

*Delos Bennett Sackett, Civil War general