In the mid to late 1800’s tens of thousands braved the harsh landscape of the Oregon Trail to settle the West. Common to most all of them is that they were families whose collective efforts shaped towns, commerce and the history of the West. The collected stories in After the Wagon Wheels evolved from genealogical research into some of those families. While fascinating to build our family trees, what often comes out is a picture of the life they led; the hardships, the joys, the adventures, vignettes of the people themselves.
Mark Goddard has spent forty years examining, first his own family tree and history, and then those connections between family and other early settlers, to paint pictures of what life was like in those times. His stories are a blend of genealogy, history, and real life.
