The seven children of Dr. and Mrs. Calvin Preston--Charles, James, William, Platt, Sophia, Maria and Calvin--were raised in rural Galway, New York, their lives to be influenced by major events of the latter part of the 19th century including Manifest Destiny, the Second Great Awakening, Gold Rushes, Civil War, the Transcontinental Railroad, Galveston Hurricane and the Second Opium War. Their intertwined stories, from the time they departed Galway for destinations far away to the passing of the last sibling were researched in great detail and provide an interesting saga of that time period.