Oregon Trail Diaries Online


Created by Lynne Anderson-Inman, Ph.D.
Center for Advanced Technology in Education (CATE)
College of Education, University of Oregon,
July, 2002

  1. Oregon Trail Diaries
    1. Journal of a Trip to Oregon
      1. by Abigail Jane Scott
      2. http://cateweb.uoregon.edu/duniway/notes/DiaryProof1.html
      3. Diary of Abigal Jane Scott whose family traveled the Oregon Trail in 1852. Better known by her married name as Abigail Scott Duniway, she became a writer and leader in Oregon's suffrage movement. She met her husband, Benjamin Charles Duniway,near the end of the Oregon Trail, when he came out from the Willamette Valley to help his father and family who also migrated in 1852.
      4. Available at the Project INTERSECT Digital Library, University of Oregon
    2. Letters and Diaries of Narcissa Whitman
      1. by Narcissa Whiteman
      2. http://www.isu.edu/%7Etrinmich/00.n.dairies.html
      3. Narcissa Whitman was (along with Eliza Spaulding) the first white woman to travel the Oregon Trail. Her letters and journal cover March-December 1836 from Pittsburgh to The Dalles..
      4. Provided by The Oregon Trail website, Idaho State University.
    3. Memoranda of Travel from Iowa to Oregon 1864
      1. by Julia & W.J. Campbell
      2. http://www.cityonahill.com/pioneers/pioneers.html
      3. Even though this couple left Iowa for Oregon in late May, 1864, they didn't get to The Dalles until early December, traveling through rain, cold and snow.
      4. Posted on The City on a Hill website.
    4. The Coon Oregon Trail Diary
      1. by James Madison Coon
      2. http://www.rootsweb.com/~orbenton/COONDIAR.htm
      3. The Diary of James Madison Coon and Nancy Iness (Miller) Coon on the Oregon Trail from Mercer County, Illinois to Clackamas County, Oregon in 1847. Includes a map of the journey.
      4. Posted on the RootsWeb website.
    5. The Journal of William Lieuallen, emigrant of 1864
      1. http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/piofam/famlieu.html
      2. Record of the daily conditions and mileage during his trip to eastern Oregon with his new wife. Not a record of personal feelings or detailed information except where it pertained to wagons, livestock, and traveling conditions. The text of the journal was taken from family annals shared with the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center by the descendants of William and Margaret Lieuallen.
      3. Found on the website sponsored by the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
    6. Diary of Philemon D. Morriss
      1. http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/philemonmorriss.html
      2. Describes trail experiences in 1851 of the Morriss family as they traveled from Polk County Iowa to the Santiam River Valley. Interesting observations and creative spelling .
      3. Found on the website sponsored by the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
  2. Oregon Trail Memoires
    1. Crossing the Great Plains by Ox-Wagons
      1. by Harriet Scott Palmer (sister to Abigail Jane Scott)
      2. http://www.isu.edu/%7Etrinmich/00.ar.palmer.html
      3. Well written remembrancce describing the family experiences on the Oregon trail in 1852, at which time the author was 11.
      4. Provided by The Oregon Trail website, Idaho State University.
    2. Across the Plains in 1844
      1. by Catherine Sager Pringle
      2. http://www.isu.edu/%7Etrinmich/00.ar.sprenger.html
      3. Gripping story of a child's experiences on the Oregon Trail from Missouri to Oregon with her parents and 6 siblings. Orphaned on the trail, the children were all adopted by Narcissa and Dr. Whiteman.
      4. Provided by The Oregon Trail website, Idaho State University.
    3. Pioneers of 1859
      1. http://www.isu.edu/%7Etrinmich/00.n.memoirs.html
      2. Describes the experiences of William and Lavina McCormick on the Oregon Trail from Kansas to Roseburg, Oregon in 1859. As told to their daughter Maud Rachel McCormick in 1919.
      3. Provided by The Oregon Trail website, Idaho State University.
    4. Elijah & Catherine Oliver: Emigrants of 1864
      1. by Charles Oliver
      2. http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/piofam/famoliver.html
      3. Tells the story of Elijah and Catherine Oliver, their three adult sons and their sons' families as told by Charles Oliver, grandson (who was 8 years of age at the time of the crossing.)
      4. Found on the website sponsored by the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
    5. Across the Plains in '64
      1. Recorded by Anna Dell Clinkinbeard from stories told by her mother Philura Vanderburg Clinkinbeard
      2. Part 1: http://www.isu.edu/%7Etrinmich/00.ar.vanderburgh1.html
      3. Part 2: http://www.isu.edu/%7Etrinmich/00.ar.vanderburgh2.html
      4. The story of the Vanderburgh family crossing the plains in a covered wagon in 1864.
      5. Provided by The Oregon Trail website, Idaho State University.
    6. Reminiscence of Sarah Sprenger
      1. http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/sprenger.html
      2. Written 73 years after Sarah and her family traveled the Oregon Trail from Ohio in 1852. Although Sarah was only a child of 10 on the trip, the narrative is filled with wonderful detail.
      3. Found on the website sponsored by the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
    7. Reminiscence of Henry Garrison, Immigrant of 1846
      1. http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/garrison.html
      2. Henry Garrison crossed the Oregon Trail with his family when he was 14. He wrote this account nearly 60 years later. Inlcude information about his life prior to leaving Missouri and after arriving in Oregon. Describes many exciting adventures along the trail.
      3. Found on the website sponsored by the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
    8. The Narrative of Samuel Hancock
      1. http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/hancockpart1.html
      2. Interesting description of his overland journey to Oregon in 1845. Written in 1860, it was not published until 70- years later.
      3. Found on the website sponsored by the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
  3. Background Information
    1. The Oregon Trail
      1. http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Oregontrail.html
      2. Website created by Dr. Mike Trinklein (Idaho State University) and Steve Boettcher, creators of an award-winning documentary film of the same name which aired nationally on PBS. During the three years they spent researching the film they found more information than they could use in the film, so they built the web site to make it all available. Webiste has information about major sites along the Oregon trail, a collection of trail diarie,s and a free online teacher's guide.
    2. End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
      1. http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org
      2. Information about the Oregon Trail, local historic sites and a collection of emigrant biographies and diaries.
    3. Emmigrant Road: An Oregon Trail Adventure
      1. http://www.emigrantroad.com/contents.html
      2. Follow the route of the pioneers and visit Oregon Trail sites as they exist today.
    4. Emigrant Narratives and Biographies
      1. http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/biomenu.html#PioFam
      2. Collection of 27 family narratives describing experiences on the Oregon Trail. A few are actual diaries or journals.
      3. Found on the website sponsored by the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
    5. Echoes of Oregon History, 1837-1859
      1. http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/echoes/defaultechoes.html
      2. An educational resource featuring documents from the Oregon territorial period."
      3. From the Oregon State Archives.
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