After developing the AI-assisted ABC Biographies of my 3rd great-grandparents Jonathan Oatley (ABC Biography of #46 Jonathan Oatley (1790-1872) of Rhode Island and Connecticut ) And Amy (Champlin) Oatley (ABC Biography of #47 Amy (Champlin) Oatley (1798-1865) of Rhode Island and Connecticut ), I wondered how they decided to accept a call to East Killingly, Connecticut in 1834. Jonasthan Oatley was a Baptist minister serving in South Kingstown, Rhode Island at the time, and this was a significant turning point in their lives.
(AI NotebookLM infographic of the Jonathan and Amy Oatley Decision in 1834)
I asked Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.5 to write a story about it based on information in the biographies (which are based on my genealogical research). Here is the prompt: "Please create a dialogue between Jonathan and Amy (Champlin) Oatley in 1834 as they ponder the call by the East Killingly church - the challenge of being called to be a pastor, the challenge of the actual move (more than 50 miles) with 12 children ages 2 to 19, leaving family and friends behind, how to earn money other than from the church, etc."
The AI-assisted story is:
A Decision That Will Change Everything
Jonathan and Amy Oatley Discuss the Call to East
Killingly - Spring 1834
The scene: The Oatley farmhouse in South Kingstown, Rhode
Island, on a quiet evening after the children have been put to bed.
Jonathan, 38, sits at the kitchen table with a letter in his hands,
while Amy, 36, mends clothing by candlelight. The older children—John
Alfred, 19, and Joseph, 17—are in the next room, but the younger
ones, including little Hannah, just 2 years old, are finally asleep
upstairs.
Jonathan: Amy, I've been reading this letter from
the church in East Killingly again. They're pressing for an answer.
Amy: (not looking up from her mending) I
know, Jonathan. You've read it to me three times now. They want you
to come as their pastor, and they need an answer soon.
Jonathan: It's not just about me, Amy. It's about
all of us. Twelve children... (shakes his head) When I felt
the Lord calling me to preach, I never imagined it would mean
uprooting our entire family.
Amy: (sets down her sewing and looks at him
directly) Tell me honestly, husband—in your heart, do you
believe this is God's will for us?
Jonathan: (long pause) I do. When I pray
about it, I feel a peace that passes understanding. But when I think
about the practical matters... (gestures around the room)
This house, our land, our neighbors, your family just down the
road...
Amy: My family will still be my family, whether
we're five miles away or fifty. And this house is just wood and
stone, Jonathan. Our home is where we are together.
Jonathan: But the children, Amy. John Alfred is
nineteen and settled here. He's got his eye on the Edsonn girl, and
you know he's been helping me with the farm. And what about little
Hannah? She's barely walking, and the journey alone...
Amy: John Alfred is a man now, and he can make
his own choices about following us or staying. As for Hannah,
children are more resilient than we think. She'll adapt faster than
we will, I'd wager. (pauses) It's not the children I'm
worried about most.
Jonathan: What then?
Amy: The church itself, Jonathan. You've been a
member here for twenty years. You know these people, their families,
their struggles. In East Killingly, you'll be starting fresh with
strangers who will expect you to be their spiritual leader from the
first day. Are you ready for that responsibility?
Jonathan: (runs his hand through his hair)
Some days I feel called by God Himself, and other days I wonder if
I'm just a fool with delusions of importance. What if I fail them?
What if my preaching doesn't feed their souls? What if they expect
more learning than I possess?
Amy: Jonathan Oatley, you stop that right now.
(voice firm but loving) I've listened to you read scripture
and explain God's word to our children for years. I've seen you
comfort the Hendricks family when their baby died, and I watched you
help resolve that land dispute between the Clarks and the Smiths with
nothing but biblical wisdom and patience. The Lord doesn't call the
equipped—He equips the called.
Jonathan: (smiles slightly) When did my
wife become such a theologian?
Amy: When I married a man who talks to God more
than he talks to his neighbors. (returns his smile, then grows
serious) But Jonathan, we must speak practically too. What will
we live on? The letter mentions a salary, but you know how small
congregations struggle to pay their pastors regularly.
Jonathan: That's what troubles me most. I can
farm here, and I've learned enough about stone cutting to earn extra
income. But in Connecticut, I'll be starting over completely. What if
the church can't pay what they've promised? What if there's a poor
harvest and the congregation can't support us?
Amy: Then you'll learn a trade there, just as
you've learned here. Your hands are strong, and your back is willing.
Connecticut has stones that need cutting and fields that need
working. We'll not starve, Jonathan.
Jonathan: And you? (reaches across to touch
her hand) You'll be leaving everything you've known since you
were fifteen years old. Your sisters Phoebe, Elizabeth, Abigail, your friends at
church, the graves of your mother and family...
Amy: (voice softening) That's the
hardest part, I won't lie. When I think of not being able to visit
Mother's grave or having Elizabeth nearby when the babies come...
(stops herself) But Jonathan, I married you for better or
worse, and I meant those words. If God is calling you to minister in
Connecticut, then He's calling me too. A pastor needs a helpmeet who
believes in his calling, not one who holds him back with her fears.
Jonathan: What about the practical matters of the
move itself? Fifty miles with twelve children, all our belongings...
Amy: We'll manage it the same way we've managed
everything else—one step at a time, with prayer and planning. The
older children will help with the younger ones. We'll sell what we
can't take and trust that God will provide what we need when we
arrive. (pauses) Though I confess, the thought of packing up
this entire household makes my head spin.
Jonathan: John Alfred could stay here, maybe live
with your sister Nancy’s family until he decides what to do.
Joseph's old enough to be a real help with the move and settling in.
And the middle children—Lorenzo, Stephen, William, Benedict—they're
at ages where an adventure might appeal to them more than staying
put.
Amy: And Amy Frances, Nancy, Almira—they'll
have new friends to make and new opportunities. The little ones won't
remember this place in a few years anyway.
Jonathan: (stands and paces) The letter
says they need an answer by month's end. If we decide to go, we'd
need to be there by early May for me to begin preaching on the first
Sunday.
Amy: That's only six weeks, Jonathan. Six weeks
to sell property, pack our lives, and travel fifty miles with a wagon
train of children.
Jonathan: It can be done. Others have made such
moves with less preparation and more hardship.
Amy: (stands and faces him) Then let me
ask you this directly: If you say no to East Killingly, will you
always wonder if you disappointed God? And if you say yes but we face
hardships there, will you blame yourself for bringing suffering on
your family?
Jonathan: (long silence) I think... I
think I could live with hardships that come from following God's call
better than I could live with the regret of refusing it.
Amy: Then you have your answer, don't you?
Jonathan: We have our answer. (takes her
hands) Amy, are you truly willing? Not just resigned to it, but
willing?
Amy: (meets his gaze steadily) Jonathan,
when I married you at fifteen, I thought I knew what I was promising.
Twenty-one years and twelve children later, I understand better what
"whither thou goest, I will go" really means. If God is
calling you to East Killingly, then He's calling all of us. I'm not
just willing—I'm ready.
Jonathan: (pulls her close) What did I
ever do to deserve such a wife?
Amy: You chose to serve the Lord, and He gave you
a partner foolish enough to follow you anywhere. (smiles)
Even to Connecticut with twelve children in tow.
Jonathan: (laughing) When you put it
like that, it sounds completely mad.
Amy: Perhaps. But think of the stories we'll have
to tell our grandchildren. "Let me tell you about the time your
grandmother packed up twelve children and followed your grandfather
into the wilderness of Connecticut to answer God's call..."
Jonathan: (growing serious again) We'll
face challenges we can't even imagine yet, Amy.
Amy: And we'll face them together, as we always
have. (touches his cheek) Write your letter of acceptance
tomorrow, Jonathan. Tell them Pastor Oatley and his family will
arrive in East Killingly by the first of May, ready to serve the Lord
and His people.
Jonathan: And if we fail?
Amy: Then we'll fail together, trusting that
God's plans are bigger than our failures. But I don't think we'll
fail, husband. I think we're about to begin the most important
chapter of our lives.
(They embrace as the candle flickers, casting dancing shadows
on the walls of the home they're preparing to leave behind)
Jonathan: (whispering) East Killingly,
Connecticut. Who would have thought?
Amy: (whispering back) God, apparently.
And I suppose that's enough.
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The Google NotebookLM Video Overview of this story is below.
This is historical fiction based on known events in the lives of my ancestors - it might have been this way. The family mentioned is my ancestral family (Jonathan and Amy (Champlin) Oatley ares my 3rd great-grandparents), and I have significant information about their lives from the available records, but know nothing about their day-to-day lives.
After I read these types of social history summaries, I wish that I could be a time traveler for one day to visit the Oatley family in Rhode Island in the 1830s and witness their daily lives. I'm glad that the general lifestyles and occupations are known from historical records and eyewitness accounts.
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