This is a family history journey that begins in the very first days of New Hampshire settlement by English colonists. The story follows the Williams families through the bloody Indian Wars of the late 17th Century and their movement west to Illinois. There, in the first half of the 19th Century, John G. Williams married Ursula Miller whose family also can be traced back to colonial New England and Long Island, New York.

The history of the ubiquitous pine tree is wrapped up with the history of early America—and in the hands of a gifted storyteller becomes a compelling read, almost an adventure story.