While the Farley and Etingoff families are fictional, the events that happened in Cincinnati during 1832 are not. Cincinnati had one of the worst floods in history and was barely recovering from that disaster when cholera struck.
Dr. Daniel Drake, who befriends Rob and Emma in this story, is a historical figure. While his theory about “invisible insects” that spread disease was eventually proven wrong, he came very close to discovering germs. His efforts to get people in Cincinnati to clean up the rotting animal carcasses and other garbage in their streets after the flood is credited with saving hundreds of lives. While more than eight hundred people died in Cincinnati during the cholera epidemic of 1832–33, many more lives would have been lost without Dr. Drake’s cleanup efforts.