The book starts in England in the 1500s and follows the family to America starting in Massachusetts and ending in in Southwestern Wisconsin. During the 1800s many of the family came from Norway and Germany. Although farming was the primary occupation up to the 1900s, there were inventors, boat captains, and military officers. You will find the personal chapters for Janet, Joe, and Jim to illustrate how different each of us perceive our lives while growing up. The emphasis of each viewed the world around them differently. Adas personal story of teaching in a one-room school will give you insight into how a nineteen year old girl viewed a class of forty students. You will gain insight into the formation of the town of Blanchardville, Wisconsin where many of the family lived. The quickest way to find information for an individual or their family would be to refer to the index. I tried to include every name in the index.