The author writes a biography of Phineas Staunton, an artist and scholar who died in 1867 at age 50. He began his career as an itinerant portrait painter. Through marriage he became involved with Ingham University in Le Roy, NY (his wife was the 1857 founder of this first all women's university in the U.S.) He painted famous people and people along the road during his travels. Staunton was Claude Peck's (the writer's husband) great uncle. Among famous sitters were Henry Clay and Chief Upi-a-h-dea (Sioux).