Recommended Reading - Personal Narratives of the Oregon Trail










	Diaries and reminiscences of people who were actually on the Oregon Trail are an example of what historians call "primary source material" -- that is, unless somebody invents a time machine, it's the best information we're ever going to have about what life was really like for the overland emigrants.

"Conversations with Pioneer Men" Conversations with Pioneer Men
Fred Lockley (Mike Helm, ed.), 1981
One Horse Press - $22.00
ISBN 0-931742-18-8

Fred Lockley was a newspaperman who spent a lot of time tracking down and interviewing survivors from the early years of settlement in Oregon during the 1910s and '20s. Some sixty years later, 58 three-ring binders stuffed with "the Lockley Files" were rescued from archival limbo and organized into books. It should be noted, however, that Lockley had a reputation for fictionalizing his interviews when the subject was not, in his estimation, telling interesting stories... Conversations with Pioneer Men was originally published under the title, Voices of the Oregon Territory: Conversations with Bullwhackers, Muleskinners, Pioneers, Prospectors, '49ers, Indian Fighters, Trappers, Ex-Barkeepers, Authors, Preachers, Poets & Near Poets, and All Sorts & Conditions of Men in 1981.

"Conversations with Pioneer Women" Conversations with Pioneer Women
Fred Lockley (Mike Helm, ed.), 1981
Rainy Day Press - $17.95
ISBN 0-931742-08-0

The recollections of the women interviewed by Fred Lockley are perhaps even more interesting than those of the men...

"Covered Wagon Days" Covered Wagon Days
Albert Jerome Dixon (Arthur J. Dixon, ed.), 1929
Bison Books - $12.00
ISBN 0-8032-6582-4

Though he apparently didn't keep a proper diary, Albert Jerome Dixon did keep copious notes on his journey across the plains and his early years in Oregon. In 1929 his son, Arthur, organized the notes into a book.

"Journal of Travels" by Joel Palmer Journal of Travels
Joel Palmer, 1847
Oregon Historical Society Press - $14.95
ISBN 0-87595-253-4

In 1845, Joel Palmer headed for Oregon to decide "whether its advantages were sufficient to warrant me in the effort to make it my future home." He left his family behind so he would be able to explore Oregon without the encumberance of responsibility for his wife and children. Palmer did, indeed, decide to settle in Oregon, and he headed back East in the spring of 1846 to fetch his loved ones.

"Narrative of a Journey" by John Kirk Townsend Narrative of a Journey
John Kirk Townsend, 1839
Oregon State University Press - $24.95
ISBN 0-87071-525-9

The full title of this text is Narrative of a Journey Across the Rocky Mountain to the Columbia River, and a Visit to the Sandwich Islands, Chili, &c., with a Scientific Appendix -- we kid you not! The author was a naturalist traveling with Nathaniel Wyeth's 1834 expedition to Oregon, almost a decade before the Oregon Trail was opened by the Great Migration of 1843. Townsend was a trained observer and took detailed notes which he later assembled into an account of his experiences. Bird watchers may recognize that the author is the Townsend of Townsend's thrush and Townsend's warbler fame.

On To Oregon
The Diaries of Mary Walker
and Myra Eells
Clifford Merrill Drury (ed.), 1963
Bison Books - $16.00
ISBN 0-8032-6613-8

Fully annotated with biographical and historical information, the diaries kept by newlyweds Mary Walker and Myra Eells date to 1838, making them among the earliest known accounts of the Oregon Trail. Mary Walker's diary is particularly interesting, as it chronicles a decade of life at the Tshimakain mission after she and her husband journeyed to Oregon.

"To the Land of Gold and Wickedness" To the Land of Gold and Wickedness
Jeanne Hamilton Watson (ed.), 1988
The Patrice Press - $14.95
ISBN 0-935284-87-7

Lorena L. Hays was an educated, enlightened woman of the mid-Nineteenth Century, and it comes through in her expressive, detailed account of life on the frontier. She began her diary in 1848, when she and her husband lived in Illinois, and continued writing until 1859, six years after the Hays family emigrated to California.

A Small World of Our Own
Robert A. Bennett (ed.), 1985
Pioneer Press Books - $10.95
ISBN O-936546-10-7

In 1892, a newspaper in Tacoma sponsored the "Old Settlers Contest", which challenged early settlers of the Northwest to write down their favorite stories and send them in to be judged -- the most accurate and interesting tale won its author a trip to the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. The paper published many of the reminiscences generated by the contest, and nearly a century later many of them were collected into a single volume. Though now out of print, A Small World of Our Own is a true gem and well worth taking the time to find.

"Where Wagons Could Go" Where Wagons Could Go
Clifford Merrill Drury, 1963
Bison Books - $12.00
ISBN 0-8032-6606-5

Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Spalding are believed to have been the first white women to cross the continent on the Oregon Trail. Traveling with their missionary husbands in 1836, both women kept diaries of their journey. In addition to the text of the Whitman and Spalding diaries, Where Wagons Could Go also includes a third diary, that of Mary Gray, as well as biographical information on the ladies.

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	Conversations with Pioneer Men Fred Lockley (Mike Helm, ed.), 1981 One Horse Press - $22.00 ISBN 0-931742-18-8 Fred Lockley was a newspaperman who spent a lot of time tracking down and interviewing survivors from the early years of settlement in Oregon during the 1910s and '20s. Some sixty years later, 58 three-ring binders stuffed with "the Lockley Files" were rescued from archival limbo and organized into books. It should be noted, however, that Lockley had a reputation for fictionalizing his interviews when the subject was not, in his estimation, telling interesting stories... Conversations with Pioneer Men was originally published under the title, Voices of the Oregon Territory: Conversations with Bullwhackers, Muleskinners, Pioneers, Prospectors, '49ers, Indian Fighters, Trappers, Ex-Barkeepers, Authors, Preachers, Poets & Near Poets, and All Sorts & Conditions of Men in 1981.
	Conversations with Pioneer Women Fred Lockley (Mike Helm, ed.), 1981 Rainy Day Press - $17.95 ISBN 0-931742-08-0 The recollections of the women interviewed by Fred Lockley are perhaps even more interesting than those of the men...
	Covered Wagon Days Albert Jerome Dixon (Arthur J. Dixon, ed.), 1929 Bison Books - $12.00 ISBN 0-8032-6582-4 Though he apparently didn't keep a proper diary, Albert Jerome Dixon did keep copious notes on his journey across the plains and his early years in Oregon. In 1929 his son, Arthur, organized the notes into a book.
	Journal of Travels Joel Palmer, 1847 Oregon Historical Society Press - $14.95 ISBN 0-87595-253-4 In 1845, Joel Palmer headed for Oregon to decide "whether its advantages were sufficient to warrant me in the effort to make it my future home." He left his family behind so he would be able to explore Oregon without the encumberance of responsibility for his wife and children. Palmer did, indeed, decide to settle in Oregon, and he headed back East in the spring of 1846 to fetch his loved ones.
	Narrative of a Journey John Kirk Townsend, 1839 Oregon State University Press - $24.95 ISBN 0-87071-525-9 The full title of this text is Narrative of a Journey Across the Rocky Mountain to the Columbia River, and a Visit to the Sandwich Islands, Chili, &c., with a Scientific Appendix -- we kid you not! The author was a naturalist traveling with Nathaniel Wyeth's 1834 expedition to Oregon, almost a decade before the Oregon Trail was opened by the Great Migration of 1843. Townsend was a trained observer and took detailed notes which he later assembled into an account of his experiences. Bird watchers may recognize that the author is the Townsend of Townsend's thrush and Townsend's warbler fame.
	On To Oregon The Diaries of Mary Walker and Myra Eells Clifford Merrill Drury (ed.), 1963 Bison Books - $16.00 ISBN 0-8032-6613-8 Fully annotated with biographical and historical information, the diaries kept by newlyweds Mary Walker and Myra Eells date to 1838, making them among the earliest known accounts of the Oregon Trail. Mary Walker's diary is particularly interesting, as it chronicles a decade of life at the Tshimakain mission after she and her husband journeyed to Oregon.
	To the Land of Gold and Wickedness Jeanne Hamilton Watson (ed.), 1988 The Patrice Press - $14.95 ISBN 0-935284-87-7 Lorena L. Hays was an educated, enlightened woman of the mid-Nineteenth Century, and it comes through in her expressive, detailed account of life on the frontier. She began her diary in 1848, when she and her husband lived in Illinois, and continued writing until 1859, six years after the Hays family emigrated to California.
	A Small World of Our Own Robert A. Bennett (ed.), 1985 Pioneer Press Books - $10.95 ISBN O-936546-10-7 In 1892, a newspaper in Tacoma sponsored the "Old Settlers Contest", which challenged early settlers of the Northwest to write down their favorite stories and send them in to be judged -- the most accurate and interesting tale won its author a trip to the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. The paper published many of the reminiscences generated by the contest, and nearly a century later many of them were collected into a single volume. Though now out of print, A Small World of Our Own is a true gem and well worth taking the time to find.
	Where Wagons Could Go Clifford Merrill Drury, 1963 Bison Books - $12.00 ISBN 0-8032-6606-5 Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Spalding are believed to have been the first white women to cross the continent on the Oregon Trail. Traveling with their missionary husbands in 1836, both women kept diaries of their journey. In addition to the text of the Whitman and Spalding diaries, Where Wagons Could Go also includes a third diary, that of Mary Gray, as well as biographical information on the ladies.