Story Behind the Book

Faith and Fortune is an extensively researched work of American history that spans the years 1780 to 1880, bringing to life a remarkable but largely forgotten chapter of the nation’s past through the true story of Captain Henry Champlin and his wife, Amelia.

Beginning in the Connecticut shipbuilding town of Pettipaug (renamed Essex in 1823), the book follows Henry and Amelia as they build a life together during one of the most transformative periods in American history. Guided by faith, family, and determination, they navigate the opportunities and uncertainties of a young nation finding its place in an increasingly interconnected world.

At the heart of their story is the rise of the transatlantic packet ship—a revolutionary form of regularly scheduled ocean transportation that connected New York and Great Britain. These swift, powerful vessels carried everything from raw cotton, finished textiles, artwork, and gold… to immigrants, mail, and ideas, helping shape America’s emergence as a global commercial power.

Beginning in the Connecticut shipbuilding town of Pettipaug (renamed Essex in 1823), the book follows Henry and Amelia as they build a life together during one of the most transformative periods in American history. Guided by faith, family, and determination, they navigate the opportunities and uncertainties of a young nation finding its place in an increasingly interconnected world.

Through the Champlins’ experiences, readers discover how families in Essex and throughout the Connecticut River Valley played a vital role in a vast maritime network stretching from New England to New York, the American South, Europe, and beyond. Their story reveals how ordinary lives were intertwined with extraordinary historical change.