Told in the author's narrative style, The Maynard, North, and DeForest Families follows the story of Charles North and Isaac Maynard, immigrants who arrived in America in 1836 and found success in the early industries of upstate New York. Making their homes in Oswego and Utica, the two men's descendants came to occupy some of the most prominent seats in New York State's booming textiles industry. When North and Maynard's grandchildren married each other in 1907, they were at the apex of Utica's economic and social stratum and grew to be leaders in their thriving community.