There are many things wrong here: wagons did not go from New York to Southern California. Wagons leaving St. Louis before 1869 (and the transcontinental railroad), would have gone, typically, to Oregon or Northern California. I suppose you're talking about the sort of wagon train trek across the Great Plains and Great Basin that occurred between 1845 and 1869. Is that right? And can we land our family someplace other than Southern California? And they can't have started in New York by wagon. Chew on that and it may be able to help focus your question.