Seventh Son starts out the Tales of Alvin Maker.

Imagine a 19th century America in which magic really works. Many people have a "knack," or gift.

A family is heading out to establish a new town. The mother is heavily pregnant, and as she labors, the wagon gets caught in a flooding stream. The eldest of the children dies but saves his mother. He lives just long enough that the new baby, Alvin, is the seventh living son of a seventh son. A Maker.

In this first book, Alvin is a child, using his knack unknowingly. Magic is a part of everyday life, and he doesn't realize just how special his skills are. Of course, the educated know that hexes and magic don't work, and the pastor of the church discourages their use.

The characters are quite believable, no one is all good or all bad. The Indians are connected quite deeply with the Earth.

There's just enough of the true history of the United States mixed in to make it all believable, even though there are far fewer states, and the technology is a bit different.