Eldene McGrady is the mother of two teenage children. Taylor, a strapping six-foot fifteen-and-half-year-old, and his little sister, Patty, who is fourteen, just eleven months younger than Taylor. Eldene is suddenly widowed due to an accident in which her husband, Jake, is killed. Her grief is such that she just can’t continue their life in Baltimore and sells all her holdings and decides, along with her children, to plan and join a wagon train and move West to the Oregon Territory. The year is 1848, the estimated travel time is seven months, and the going will be rough!Year 1848, Chesapeake Bay in Baltimore, Maryland, was a busy thriving seaport. Many ships sailing in and out of the bay, loading and off-loading cargo to and from foreign lands. Jake McGrady and his business partner, Dan, owned the largest shipping equipment and labor company in the bay.Little did our feisty redheaded heroine know how drastic life was about to change for her and her two teenage children, Taylor and Patty. The sadness and grief caused by the loss of her husband, Jake, who had provided a wonderful and happy home for their family was overwhelming. Now in the midst of her grief, she was the sole decision-maker and breadwinner for her little family.They were not prepared for such a tragedy that was sending them into an unexpected and adventurous trek across territories she had little knowledge of. But staying in Baltimore with memories at every turn had left her no choice.With the help of her parents, James and Patricia Sweeny (Irish immigrants), who helped her map out the trip and provided equipment, vehicles, and supplies for the long trip West, reservations for river crossings and a wagon train also had to be secured. Good wishes and prayers were sent along with love from all of their family and friends. The adventure begins!

--Melvin L. Edwards

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