Historians generally focus on the big picture. American history is, for the most part, ugly. It's easier to concentrate on large groups of people because the more narrow the focus, the more personal history becomes. When real history, honest-to-goodness truth, is presented, the tendency is to look away. At the same time, we want to learn about individual bravery, endurance, sacrifice, and accomplishments that collectively molded a vast wilderness into the United States.

Within these pages are stories from the 1600s, 1700s, and 1800s about members of my families and their contributions to the settlement of this nation. These stories evolved from my genealogical research. You, too, undoubtedly have ancestors with similar stories waiting to be discovered. Hopefully, this work will inspire you to explore your family history and learn from dynamic ancestors. Seeking religious freedom and economic opportunity, people came from England in the early 1600s on wooden ships. Many died from disease and starvation. Others froze to death. Natives killed the unwary. More ships arrived. Even the lucky endured unimaginable hardships to survive. With this inauspicious start, our European ancestors began laying claim to the New World. They settled in New England and along the many waterways in Virginia and what later became West Virginia. They grew large families while maintaining their strong Christian faith. A century later, many migrated south along wilderness roads through the mountains into North Carolina and what would become Tennessee.

America was built one individual, one dream, one step, one skirmish at a time. Beyond the Trees: Stories of Settlement in America contains eighteen honest stories about dynamic individuals who built our past and continue to impact America's future.