| Letters
and Diaries of Narcissa Whitman |
Narcissa
Whitman was (along with Eliza Spaulding) the first
white woman to travel the Oregon Trail. Her letters
and journal cover March-December 1836
Read the full
text
|
| Across
the Plains in 1844 by Catherine Sager Pringle |
Catherine
and her six siblings were orphaned along the Oregon
Trail. Her first-hand story is a gripping account
of the Oregon Trail experience.
Read the full text
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|
| William
Porter's Oregon Trail Diary (1848)
|
Porter's
diary was fairly typical of the era. It contains
complete information about how far they had travelled--but
not many details about the Trail experience.
Read the full text
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|
Diary
of William H. Ashley (1825)
|
Ashley's
diary covers a period well in advance of the primary
pioneer migrations (which began in 1843). However,
he followed the Oregon Trail route and provides
insight into life before the "Great Migration."
Read the full text
|
| Diary
of James Madison Coon & Nancy Miller Coon (1847) |
In
1847 The Coon family headed west from Mercer County,
Illinois to Clackamas County, Oregon. While there
is not a lot of description of the Trail experience,
the diary is detailed.
Read the full text
|
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| Diary
of James Akin, Jr (1852) |
James
Akin Jr. went west in 1852. This diary, never before
available online, was provided by his descendent George
E. Aiken.
Read
the full text
|
| |
| Diary
of Amelia Stewart Knight (1853) |
Amelia
Stewart Knight left Iowa with her family in April
of 1853 and successfully made it to Oregon that
fall. This day-by-day account is an engrossing story
that offers an inside look at the Trail experience.
Read
the full text
|
| Letters
of Mollie Zemmer (1887) |
Mollie
Zemmer wrote these two letters to Mary Jane Warren
Zemmer in the summer of 1887. The letters are a
little late in the Trail period, but they remain
an interesting insight into the era.
Read the full text
|
|
| Letters
of Wilhelm Keil (1855) |
Wilhelm
Keil crossed the Oregon Trail in 1855. His
son, Willie, died just before, so his family pickled
him in a lead lined casket and took him across the
plains. It was the only funeral procession to cross
the Oregon Trail. Wilhelm's letters are excerpted.....
Read the full text
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