Sentence:  Despite this short shrift from descendants and historians, the Jewish peddler was a valued person in rural life. Besides bringing much-needed goods and a break for those exhausted from plowing or laboriously <WSD>wresting</WSD> turpentine from pine trees, the visiting peddler was often respected by those God-fearing southerners for what they believed was his direct connection to the Old Testament stories they revered. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To obtain by pulling or violent force.