The Last Wagon - Amy C Crooks

They traveled by wagon long after others settled down-outsiders in their own country, bound by blood, tradition, and the open road. When a modern-day DNA test shattered everything Amy Crooks believed about her roots, it unlocked a hidden legacy of grit, love, and survival.

The Last Wagon uncovers the forgotten story of a Romani-American family as they journey through a century of change, discrimination, and resilience. Drawing from meticulous genealogical research and family records, Crooks pieces together the lives of the Wards, Masons, and Roes-nomadic families who crisscrossed the Midwest well into the 20th century, clinging to tradition while adapting to a world that rarely welcomed them.

From horse trading and seasonal farm work to unexpected moments of tenderness and loss, their story unfolds across dusty roads, border towns, and train yards-with Chariton, Iowa, becoming their spiritual center. It’s where they gathered not to settle, but to mourn, reconnect, and remember.

Woven into this narrative are powerful accounts of Romani men who fought for a country that often denied them a place within it-stories of valor and heartache from two World Wars, including Von Joseph Roe’s brutal campaign in the Pacific, and Thomas Roe’s choice to follow his father Pier into battle. Their patriotism, layered with complexity, is both a tribute and a reckoning.

The Last Wagon is more than a family history. It’s an invitation to remember those America forgot-and a powerful testament to the strength of those who keep moving forward, even when the road runs out.