Both the Freemans were born into slavery in Pennsylvania on the same farm. In their young adulthood a concerned Quaker purchased their manumission papers, and arranged employment with Alfred Middleton, newly married to a Quaker, in Paradise, a new settlement on the edge of the New York frontier.
Galileo and Curiosity have three young adult children in the first novel: Almanzo (called Manny), Polly, and Daisy. Daisy is present in all the novels, but it is Manny whose story arc expands.
The Bonner, Savard and Freeman families intermarry over the generations, which can be seen on the family tree.
