The House on Tenafly Road
John Weldon: drug-addicted Civil War veteran originally from the Western Reserve. Injured at the Battle of the Wilderness. As a young man he ran off to the Carlisle Barracks and joined the cavalry and stole an illustrated Bible from the library. Served with General Crook on the Pacific coast, but volunteered for a New Jersey regiment when the war broke out. b. April 11, 1839
Katherine Frances McCullough: a smart girl who’s favorite book when she was 14 was The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. After her brother goes to war she lives for newspaper clippings and letters and hangs them on the staircase wall in a vast, yellowing collage, much to her father’s chagrin (they live in an expensive house just built). Once she stole a rowboat at river’s edge with her dog Boots and they nearly floated out to sea. b. June 25, 1847
Simon McCullough: a rakish young man sent off to military school after rescuing his sister. He can do no wrong in the eyes of girls and women.He’s the only friend Weldon’s got and he’s a better one than Weldon thinks. He only votes to get free drinks. b. December 12, 1840
Sarah McCullough: Simon and Katherine’s slightly passive aggressive mother.
Scott McCullough: Simon and Katherine’s father who’s not passive at all. Both parents mourn the loss of two older daughters they secretly imagine would have turned out better than the living siblings.
William Weldon: Son of John and Katherine Weldon. Sensitive, brave kid who feels neglected by his parents. He’s inherited his mother’s talent for sketching and riding fast horses.
Eliza Weldon: Daughter of John and Katherine. Spunky girl with black curls who flirts with the soldiers at the age of two.
Margaret Crenshaw: Outspoken, pushy best friend of Katherine.
Graham Crenshaw: Beaten-down husband of Margaret. Surgeon during the war who feels responsible for his brothers’ deaths. He consents to a big family so if anyone dies there will still be more.
The Tenafly Road Series
Buck Crenshaw: Striving, serious and always impulsive, Buck gets into more trouble than his family can keep up with.
Fred Crenshaw: Buck’s twin and the family favorite, Fred is conniving, egotistical and protective of his brother.
Thankful Crenshaw: Her father’s favorite and Buck’s best friend, Thankful carries the burden of the Crenshaw family secrets. Her own not-so-kept secret is that she’s in love with William Weldon now all grown up.
William Weldon: Years after traveling west with his family, William resents his father’s addiction and his mother’s passivity but is blind to how similar he is to both of his parents while secretly nursing a crush on Thankful Crenshaw.
Tenafly Road 