Sylvia: from Whence Cometh My Help

This is the inspiring true story of Sylvia Catheryn Folger Archer, a descendant of the famous Clark brothers William and George Rogers, pioneer explorers and Revolutionary War heroes, and Betty Zane, heroine of the Fort Henry siege of 1782. A widowed mother of nine in rural West Virginia in the early 1900s, redheaded Sylvia was the very embodiment of womanly strength, perseverance, and courage.

Born one of ten children in 1906 on Pursley Hollow, a narrow mud road four miles south of Sistersville, West Virginia, Sylvia?s loving family provided her with a happy childhood. But after her marriage at the age of nineteen to Arthur Daniel Archer, Sylvia experienced countless trials, including her own near-death experience, the loss of her husband to a brain tumor, the stroke of a daughter, the tragic death of a daughter and grandson and her own battle with cancer. A true survivor, Sylvia lived to see each of her children graduate from high school and happily marry.

Drawing upon meticulous research into family records, Sylvia?s son Elliott Archer pays tribute to his mother in this triumphant portrait of one American woman?s unwavering morals, exemplary work ethic, absolute pride in motherhood, and selfless sacrifice for her beloved family.