They called him John David. He was a soldier, born in 1790 somewhere in Europe - probably Germany. The David family Bible says he was granted land on the picturesque Nova Scotia coast by King George III for his military service to England. Yet family lore suggests that he had fought in the great army of Napoleon and that John David was not his real name.

There was a second soldier named Martin Creary. The lives of John David and Martin Creary became entwined in two distinct ways: a beautiful farm property in a tiny Nova Scotia hamlet called Fox Harbour, and a much beloved woman, Eleanor. She was a daughter to one, a wife to the other, and a mother to all of us who make up the David family.

This tale of Martin, John and Eleanor is more of a journey than a story, and sometimes the way is not easy. But you have a guide, and you have the coins. Two special coins passed down through the David family to the author - and shown on the front cover - were carried by John David safely in his pocket across battlefields of Spain, into dungeons of Scotland and all the way to the new world, just as he carried in his heart the dreams of a future family which would live on across the centuries. His dreams have come true. We are his David family.

This is our story.