It isn't always easy to find records of, or clues to, your ancestors who came overland to the West Coast, but there may be more resources available than you think. I've put together what I hope are some helpful suggestions on my webpage, "Finding Overland Trail Ancestors" (link above). I've also compiled lists of names from various published or manuscript accounts of individual trips (also linked above). This time, I have taken a different approach, and have compiled two lists of people who arrived in Oregon in 1851. The first list is of people who, when applying for an Oregon Donation Land Claim, said they arrived in Oregon on a certain date. [The names and dates were derived from the Genealogical Forum of Oregon (GFO) compilations of genealogical information in donation land claim paperwork.] The second is a list of manuscripts held by the Oregon Historical Society [OHS] that describe 1851 overland trips, with a compilation of names mentioned in each manuscript [Manuscripts and names included are those listed in "Overland Passages: A Guide to Overland Documents in the Oregon Historical Society," compiled by K. White and M. C. Cuthill.] An every-name index to both lists is included.
Before you try to use the lists,
let me describe some of their limitations [and there are quite
a few]:
-Clearly, these lists do not include everybody who came overland
to Oregon in 1851. Few people got mentioned in journals, and not
everyone filed a donation land claim. The list I made from the
GFO compilations only includes those people who gave a definite
date for arrival in Oregon. [If all they said about their arrival
was "1851" or "September 1851," I didn't include
them. I limited my list in this way because I was trying to match
individuals to specific wagon trains.] Also, most of the records
are for arrivals between 20 July 1851 and 2 November 1851, because
arrivals before and after those dates were less likely to be for
travelers arriving in Oregon over the Oregon Trail.
-Probably not everybody on the list was an overland traveler. In most cases, the GFO compilations give no clues as to whether the applicant came overland, came by ship, or came up from California. [That's why I left off the very early and very late arrival dates.] The names in the OHS catalog are probably mostly overland travelers, but an "every name index" could include mention of friends they left behind, people they wrote to, people in towns they passed through, etc.
-Even though I only included people who gave a definite date for "arrival in Oregon," these are not all that definite. Most people took "arrival" to mean reaching the Willamette Valley [Foster's, Oregon City, or Salem, most often], but some people clearly used entering Oregon Territory [i.e. crossing the Snake River] as their date, or crossing over the Blue Mountains to the Umatilla River. From my personal knowledge of some of the wagon trains, I know there are many discrepancies of two to four days in dates given by members of the same trains, and in some cases the "arrival" dates of people on the same train are as much as two weeks different. Therefore, I have pooled the arrival dates into arrival periods of several days to a week. People listed in one time period were not necessarily traveling together. Also, since my pooling of dates is in most cases pretty arbitrary, members of the same train could show up in different groups [e.g., the time period just before or just after the main party].
-It probably goes without saying that names are not necessarily spelled correctly. I've tried to be careful with my transcribing, but remember that these names have been deciphered from original handwriting and transcribed and typed any number of times before me. In the case of journal entries, they may never have been spelled correctly in the first place. Don't forget to look for "look alike" and "sound alike" names when you go through the lists.
If you are interested in people who came to Oregon in 1851, I suggest you look in the INDEX for surnames that match [or sound like they could refer to] the names you are looking for. If you find something interesting, check it out on either the Donation Land Claim Arrivals List, or the Oregon Historical Society Manuscript List. In those sections, I have included suggestions for following up on whatever you find.
THE SURNAME INDEX
The following listing includes all the surnames on this page having to do with the 1851 overland emigration to Oregon. Names followed by a letter refer to names and arrival dates taken from the Donation Land Claim compilations of the Genealogical Forum of Oregon. Those followed by a number are taken from manuscripts at the Oregon Historical Society.
ABBEY - J
AINSLER - J
ALDEN - 1
ALDERMAN - J
ALEXANDER - N
ALKIRE - G
ALLARD - M
ALLEN - C, F
AMSLER - J
ANDERSON - L
ANDREWS - 11
ARNOLD - 11
ARRINGTON - L
ARTHURS - 1
BAGLEY - E
BAKER - K
BALLARD - 8
BARFIELD - 11
BARNETT - N
BARNEY - 11
BARRETT - B
BARRON - M
BARTON - E
BASSETT - O
BAXTER - I
BECKWITH - L
BEERMAN - O
BELCHER - 11
BELL - H, J, N
BENTON - O
BINNICKER - C
BIRDSEYE - 3
BISSEL - 11
BLACK - 9
BLAND - E
BOHL - 11
BOHNERT - J
BOONE - C
BOXLEY - M
BOYLE - G
BRADLEY - J
BRAMAN - Q
BRANDON - K
BRANSON - H
BRAY - 11
BREEDING - H, N, Q
BREEN - N
BRIGGS - L
BROCKETS - 10
BROOKS - 1
BROWN - J, M / 11
BRYAN - L
BUCKINGHAM - L
BURKHART - K
BUSHNELL - Q
BUTTS - 11
BYROM - K
CALDWELL - L
CAMPBELL - K
CANON - J
CAPRON - K
CARSIDA - K
CARSON - J, K
CARTER - 3
CARTWRIGHT - 1
CASEY - F
CHAMBERS - 2
CHAPMAN - 11
CHENOWITH - 2
CHRISMAN - M
CHURCHILL - G, M
CLARK - L, O / 11
CLICK - P
CLINTON - E
COCHRAN - O
COGSWELL - E
COLE - J
COLVIG - O / 3
COMEGYS - C, F
COOKE - H, M
COOLIDGE - H / 9
COOPER - J, O
COOVERT - L
CORYELL - J, K
COSHOW - O
COWHORN - 10
COX, - M
COYLE - C
CRANSTON - J / 4
CRAWFORD - K
CROSBY - 8
CROSIAR - O
CROW - F
CULP - P
DALY - H
DARNES - D
DARROUGH - M
DAVENPORT - H / 9
DAVIS - 11
DAY - E
DEAL - C
DELANEY - C
DENNY - D
DERR - F
DESAUTEL - O
DILLAMETER - K / 5
DILLEY - O
DIXON - J
DOVEY - 9
DOWLING - 11
DRYER - 3
DUCKWORTH - L
DUFF - M
EAGON - M
EBEYE - 10
EGGERS - 1
ELLIOTT - N
ENNIS - K
FAULCONER - C
FELGER - G
FERGUSON - K
FERRIS - N
FINDLEY - H
FLANARY - L
FLEMING - 1
FLETCHERS - 10
FLINT - 11
FORTIME - O
FOSTER - L
FOUTS - 8
FROMAN - H
FRY - L / 5
GAGER - L
GAY - K
GAYLORD - J
GIBBS - H
GILLMORE - J
GLASS - K
GODFREY - 6
GRAY - E, F, K / 5
GREEN - 5
GREENSTREET - N
GRIFFIN - K, L
GRINSTEAD - I
HADLEY - A, D / 6
HALL - F / 11
HAMILTON - G, N, Q / 9
HAMMETT - Q
HANNON - J
HARDIN - K / 1, 9
HARKINS - D
HARPOLE - K
HARRY - O
HART - D
HARTLEY - H
HATHAWAY - D
HAYS - 5
HEDGES - H
HEDRIC - G
HELM - K
HEMBREE - K
HENRICI - L
HEPWOOD - 11
HICKLIN - H, I
HILL - N
HITCHCOCK - 11
HITE - D
HOLMES - M
HOPWOOD - O
HUDSON - 11
HUGHET - K / 11
HUNTLEY - F
HURLBURT - J
HURST - M
HUTCHINS - M
HYDE - F
INGELLS - 11
IRVINE - P
JAMES - 7
JAMISON - J
JOHNSON - G / 1, 7, 8
JONES - C, E, F, 8
KANDLE - E
KEENEY - H / 9
KELLY - Q
KENNEDY - K
KESLING - M
KING - 5
KIRKLAND - E
KNOT - 5
LAME - H
LANIER - E
LAUGHLIN - E
LAUREY - M
LEEPER - J
LEHNHERR - H
LEISURE - J
LEMMON - K
LEWIS - I
LINDLEY - K
LINK - 11
LIVERMORE - M
LIVINGSTONE - K
LOCK - C
LONG - M
LUCAS - D
LYNCH - J
LYNN - 8
MAHON - 1
MALONEY - L
MARKHAM - C, E
MARSH - 4
MARSHALL - L
MARTIN - K
MASTERSON - K
MATLOCK - C
MATTE - K
McCAIN - K
McCARTNEY - C
McCLURE - 8
McCORMACK - H
McCULLOUGH - M
McCULLY - 8
McDONOUGH - K
McFADDEN - G
McKAY - I
McKEE - K
McKINLEY - 8
McKUNE - N
McLOUD - L
McMURRY - J
MERRILL - 5
METHOIN - M
MILLER - C, E, J, M / 9, 11
MOGNETT - H
MOORE - J
MORRIS - L, Q
MORRISON - O / 8
MULHOLLAND - K
NAYLOR - O
NEALY - K
NEEDHAM - E
NELSON - O
NEWTON - J
NICKERSON - K
NOLAN - 11
NORTHCUTT - J
NOWLEN - M
NYE - G
ODELL - L
OGDEN - 11
OLDS - L
OLNEY - B
PALMER - 11
PARKER - 2
PARRISH - O
PATTERSON - 9
PAYNE - I
PEFLY - M
PENLAND - J
PHELPS - K
PHILLIPS - F
PHILLPOTT - G
PHIPPS - L
PIPER - M
PITZER - M
PLANT - A
PLUMMER - M
POTTER - L
POWELL - G, L
PRATHER - 11
PRICE - H, J
PRICHARD - K
PRINGLE - K
PUTNAM - M
RAYMOND - B
REAVES - J
REINHART - 1
REXFORD - F
RICE - D, O
RICHARDSON - N / 10
RIDDLE - M
RIGGS - J / 5
RITCHEY - E
ROBE - E / 9
ROBERTSON - E, M
ROBINETT - C
RODECKER - 3
ROSE - E / 6
ROSS - K / 2
RUDDELL - 10
RUSSELL, - K, O
RYCROFT - G
SALTMARSH - O
SAMPSON - P
SANDERS - N
SAXTON - K
SEELY - L
SHADEL - 1
SHANKS - K
SHAW - G
SHELBY - 3
SHEPHERD - E
SHIELDS - C, D
SHOUGH - L
SIMONS - M
SIMPSON - H, K
SISK - N
SKINNER - J
SLOUGH - 11
SMEAD - 8
SMITH - A, F, K, L, O, Q / 9, 11
SOUTHWELL - O
SPENCER - E
SPICER - M
SPINNING - 2
SPONG - M
STANDIFER - Q
STARK - K, M
STARKEY - 8
STAYTON - J
STEELMAN - E
STEHMAN - N
STEWART - 2, 9
STOUFFER - L
STRINGER - M
STRONG - 6
STUMP - K
TATE - F
TAYLOR - E, L
TEDROW - L
TERHUNE - H
TERVIT - J / 9
THOMAS - M / 11
TICE - P
TREVIT - J / 9
TUCKER - H / 11
VANCES - 11
VANDUYN - I
VANNOY - M
VAN NUYS - K
WAHRUM - J
WALKER - M
WALTER - J
WALTON - F
WAMPOLE - 11
WARREN - Q
WEBSTER - 11
WELLINGTON - 11
WELLS - 11
WELSH - K.
WHITAKER - 11
WHITE - D, J, M / 2
WHITSON - K
WILES - L
WILHELM - O / 11
WILLIAMS - D, K, L
WILSON - I, L, N
WOODWARD - F
YATES - C
YATER - P
YOC0M - M
ZIEBER - 11
ZIMMERMAN - O
DONATION LAND CLAIM NAMES
One source of information on when our Oregon Trail ancestors got to Oregon, and with whom, is the Donation Land Claim record. Some claim filers gave their date of arrival in Oregon, which can be compared with dates given by other pioneers to see who else arrived on the same date, an indication [but no more than that] that certain people arriving on the same date might have been traveling together. Sometimes [but not always], people traveling together filed for their donation land in the same area on the same day, or within a few days of one another.
The original Donation Land Claim data are on file in the Oregon State Archives at Salem, but you'd have to spend a few years going through a lot of papers to make comparisons such as I suggested above. Fortunately, the Genealogical Forum of Oregon, Inc. [GFO], has done the basic work for us. In their several volumes of "Genealogical Material in Oregon Donation Land Claims" [available from GFO], they have recorded the claims in numerical order, and have recorded for each claimant the date [when given] he or she arrived in Oregon. It is still a time-consuming exercise to go through all the volumes to pick out all the claimants in the year or other time period you're interested in, but it is possible - as I recently proved to myself with the records for 1851, which I have presented below, so you don't have to do the work all over again, yourself.
This is not a complete list of 1851 travelers because (1) not everybody filed a land claim, and (2) not everybody gave a date of arrival in Oregon. [Because I was interested in matching individuals to the wagon trains they came on, I did not include records that had as their arrival date (for example) "1851," "Sept 1851," or "between August and October 1851." Those records are in the GFO publications, if you want to expand your search.]. There were other problems with the study, also. For example, the claim summaries in the GFO publications do not say whether the applicant arrived in Oregon on the overland trails, came north from California, or arrived by steamship. [I got rid of some of these non-Oregon Trail folks by omitting arrival dates before 20 July and after 12 November, but I'm sure there are still quite a few in the list. I probably lost some overland travelers by setting these arbitrary dates, but certainly the bulk of overland travel in 1851 came between those dates.]
Also, I found that "date of arrival in Oregon" was not as definite as it sounds. Most people felt they had "arrived" when they reached the Willamette Valley, but clearly some folks were using crossing into Oregon Territory as their arrival date. [I found dates for people that I am positive were on the same wagon train that were up to two weeks apart.] Also, some people did not file for several years after arrival, and more than one probably guessed at the actual date. For these reasons, I found that the search for trail mates was unrealistically limited [and also made a very long list!] if I recorded everyone separately on the exact date they gave. Instead, I compiled the names into time periods of arrival - somewhat arbitrarily, but also based somewhat on the volume of traffic arriving during various time periods. [Because of the artificial nature of my time divisions, be sure to look over several groups at a time to see possible trail mates.]
A follow-up study that can be done using these names is to compare them with the names of 1851 overland travelers included in manuscripts held by the Oregon Historical Society (list below this one). For example, your ancestor may not be noted in a trail journal [only a few of the thousands who traveled the overland trails were mentioned by name], but you might find that people who seem to have been traveling with your ancestor are mentioned. Journals and reminiscences often name the date and place the wagon train departed for the West - those facts may confirm or rule out the train as the one you are looking for.
A. 20-25 July
HADLEY, Samuel B.
PLANT, Charles
SMITH, Peter
B. 1-8 August
BARRETT, Charles
OLNEY, Cyrus
RAYMOND, Felix L.
C. 10-15 August
ALLEN, Jacob
BINNICKER, George F.
BOONE, William W.
COMEGYS, Pressley
COMEGYS, Wilmer
COYLE, James
DEAL, Columbus A.
DELANEY, Thomas E.
FAULCONER, Thomas W.
JONES, Charles
LOCK, Daniel
MARKHAM, Seth
MATLOCK, William
McCARTNEY, James F.
MILLER, John S.
ROBINETT, John
ROBINETT, Stephen
SHIELDS, William
YATES, William
D. 17-20 August
DARNES, Samuel E.
DENNY, James M.
DENNY, John
HADLEY, Henry G.
HARKINS, Daniel
HART, Abner
HATHAWAY, Sylvester
HITE, William
LUCAS, Daniel
RICE, Samuel
SHIELDS, James P.
WHITE, Franklin
WILLIAMS, Oliver
E. 22-28 August
BAGLEY, Watson S.
BARTON, William
BLAND, Moses
CLINTON, David
COGSWELL, Francis
DAY, George W.
GRAY, Garrison J.
JONES, Samuel T.
KANDLE, Joseph
KIRKLAND, John R.
KIRKLAND, Joseph E.
LANIER, Harrison
LAUGHLIN, Robert R.
MARKHAM, Jeptha
MILLER, George W.
MILLER, Isaac
MILLER, Isaac Jr.
MILLER, Jacob Jr.
MILLER, John Sr.
MILLER, Nicholas
NEEDHAM, Jonathan
ROBERTSON, Thomas
RITCHEY, Hamilton
ROBE, Robert
ROSE, Aaron
SHEPHERD, Samuel
SPENCER, Peter L.
STEELMAN, Edward
TAYLOR, Absalom
F. 29 Aug-1 September
ALLEN, Nathan W.
CASEY, James
COMEGYS, Lucinda
CROW, Leonard H.
DERR, Martin
GRAY, Frederick
HALL, Luke
HUNTLEY, Joseph
HYDE, Perry
JONES, George W.
JONES, William R.
PHILLIPS, Lorenzo D.
REXFORD, John
SMITH, Albert G.
TATE, Robert
WALTON, James E.
WOODWARD, Elijah
G. 2-5 September
ALKIRE, George
BOYLE, Isaac
CHURCHILL, George
FELGER, Jacob S.
HAMILTON, Supplina
HEDRIC, John
JOHNSON, Curtis
JOHNSON, Waterman
McFADDEN, William
NYE, Adam P.
PHILLPOTT, William J.
POWELL, Alfred
POWELL, Franklin S.
POWELL, John A.
RYCROFT, George H.
SHAW, John
H. 7-10 September
BELL, George
BRANSON, Isaac N.
BREEDING, Elijah A.
COOKE, John J.
COOLIDGE, Matthew
COOLIDGE, Tero
DALY, James L.
DAVENPORT, Benjamin
FINDLEY, William R.
FROMAN, David
FROMAN, Isaac R
GIBBS, John
HARTLEY, Bryant Y.
HEDGES, John E.
HICKLIN, Henry H.
KEENEY, Eli
LAME, Joseph H.
LEHNHERR, John
McCORMACK, John R.
MOGNETT, Lydia A.
PRICE, Nimrod
SIMPSON, James W.
TERHUNE, Jabez
TUCKER, John J.
I. 11-13 September
BAXTER, William T.
GRINSTEAD, Samuel
HICKLIN, William C.
LEWIS, Daniel P.
LEWIS, Jesse H.
McKAY, James
PAYNE, Martin
VANDUYN, Isaac
WILSON, John
J. 14-17 September
ABBEY, Edwin A.
AINSLER/AMSLER, Jacob
ALDERMAN, Isaac W.
BELL, John W.
BOHNERT, Larence
BRADLEY, Kennon W.
BROWN, Silas
CANON, Sylvester
CANON, William R.
CARSON, Andrew J.
COLE, James
COOPER, Josiah
COOPER, William
CORYELL, Francis M.
CRANSTON, Ephraim
CRANSTON, Warren
DIXON, Jesse D.
GAYLORD, Charles
GILLMORE, John W.
HANNON, John E.
HURLBURT, Abel
HURLBURT, Riley A.
JAMISON, John C.
LEEPER, George
LEISURE, John
LYNCH, Aaron
LYNCH, David A.
LYNCH, John
McMURRY, Fielden
MILLER, Charles
MILLER, John F.
MOORE, John G.
NEWTON, Nathan
NORTHCUTT, Edward J.
PENLAND, Henry
PENLAND, Levi E.
PRICE, James D.
REAVES, George
RIGGS, Jane
SKINNER, William
STAYTON, Drury S.
TREVIT, Victor
WAHRUM, Henry
WALTER, Ralph
WHITE, Henry
K. 18-21 September
BAKER, William H.
BRANDON, Alexander
BURKHART, Calvin
BYROM, Edward
CAMPBELL, Robert E.
CAPRON, Elias
CARSIDA, Martin W.
CARSON, David
CORYELL, Isaac
CRAWFORD, Philemon V.
DILLAMETER, John D.
ENNIS, Allen
FERGUSON, Robert L.
GAY, Charles F.
GAY, James W.
GAY, Martin B.
GLASS, John E.
GRAY, David D.
GRIFFIN, James
HARDIN, Amanda E.
HARPOLE, William P.
HELM, Lawrence S.
HEMBREE, Lycurgus
HUGHET, William M.
KENNEDY, Mordecai
LEMMON, Fielding
LINDLEY, Elihu
LINDLEY, Levi
LIVINGSTONE, Thomas
MARTIN, John S.
MASTERSON, William A.
MATTE, Lewis
McCAIN, James
McDONOUGH, Francis A.
McKEE, Robert M.
MULHOLLAND, Edward Sr.
MULHOLLAND, Edward Jr.
MULHOLLAND, Thomas
NEALY, Charles R.
NICKERSON, Hugh
PHELPS, Lucius W.
PRICHARD, John M.
PRINGLE, John S.
ROSS, Darius M.
RUSSELL, Levi
SAXTON, Henry
SHANKS, Noah
SIMPSON, Thomas K.
SMITH, Daniel
STARK, William K.
STUMP, Cuthbirth
VAN NUYS, John
WELSH, John P.
WHITSON, Benjamin F.
WILLIAMS, Loren L.
L. 22-26 September
ANDERSON, Samuel
ARRINGTON, James M.
BECKWITH Charles W.
BRIGGS, John Alexander
BRIGGS, Samuel B.
BRYAN, Francis S.
BRYAN, Parker
BUCKINGHAM, Henry
CALDWELL, Felix E.
CLARK, Abijah F.
COOVERT, Abram
DUCKWORTH, Isaac N.
FLANARY, William E.
FOSTER, Spencer C.
FRY, John
GAGER, Stephen D.
GRIFFIN, James H.
HENRICI, Edward
MALONEY, Edward
MARSHALL, George
McLOUD, Monroe C.
MORRIS, Claborn
ODELL, John
ODELL, Russell B.
OLDS, Martin
PHIPPS, Robert
POTTER, William A.
POWELL, Joseph A.
POWELL, Russell
POWELL, Samuel T.
SEELY, Lucius
SHOUGH, Adam
SMITH, William
STOUFFER, Jonathan
TAYLOR, David M.
TEDROW, Charles W.
WILES, James
WILLIAMS, Oliver C.
WILSON, Samuel
M. 27 Sept - 2 October
ALLARD, Magliore
BARRON, Hugh F.
BOXLEY, Isaiah
BROWN, John
CHRISMAN, Campbell E.
CHURCHILL, Willoughby
COOKE, Joseph
COX, Jesse
COX, Solomon
DARROUGH, William
DUFF, Eleanor
EAGON, Joseph P.
HOLMES, Richard
HURST, James A.
HUTCHINS, John
KESLING, James W.
LAUREY, William
LIVERMORE, Jonas
LONG, Wair
McCULLOUGH, Commodore P.
METHOIN, James
MILLER, Silas
NOWLEN, Michael
PEFLY, Peter J.
PIPER, John
PITZER, Nashley G.
PLUMMER, Wesley
PUTNAM, John O.
RIDDLE, William R.
ROBERTSON, Joseph
SIMONS, Alonzo
SIMONS, Daniel
SIMONS, Daniel Jr.
SPICER, Edward
SPONG, Alexander
STARK, Asa
STRINGER, Bluford
THOMAS, Stephen B.
VANNOY, James N.
WALKER, William
WHITE, Joseph
YOC0M, Franklin
YOCOM, James P.
N. 3-8 October
ALEXANDER, Absolom
BARNETT, James Henry
BELL, John W.
BREEDING, John H.
BREEDING, Robert C.
BREEN, Edward
ELLIOTT, William
FERRIS, Amos
GREENSTREET, Absalom
HAMILTON, Bushrod
HILL, Erastus
McKUNE, Robert
RICHARDSON, John
RICHARDSON, John W.
SANDERS, Henry
SISK, Jordon M.
STEHMAN, Christian
WILSON, William
O. 10-20 October
BASSETT, Arnold S.
BEERMAN, Frederick
BENTON, Alva
CLARK, Charles C.
CLARK, Thomas
COCHRAN, Robert B.
COLVIG, William L.
COOPER, Philemon
COOPER, William E.
COSHOW, Oliver P.
CROSIAR, William
DESAUTEL, Samuel
DILLEY, Thomas W.
FORTIME, John
HARRY, John A.
HOPWOOD, Thomas
MORRISON, Matthew
NAYLOR, Granville
NELSON, Jesse P.
PARRISH, William W.
RICE, Horace
RUSSELL, George L.
SALTMARSH, Joseph B.
SMITH, Samuel
SOUTHWELL, Joseph
WILHELM, George
ZIMMERMAN, Jacob
P. 25-28 October
CLICK, William H.
CULP, George K.
IRVINE, Samuel G.
SAMPSON, Edwin R.
TICE, Isaac
YATER, James T.
Q. 1-12 November
BRAMAN, Jason
BREEDING, William
BUSHNELL, Jason A.
HAMILTON, George
HAMMETT, Austin W.
KELLY, Patrick
MORRIS, Joseph H.
SMITH, David
STANDIFER, Luke
WARREN, Francis M.
MANUSCRIPT NAMES
Sources of information on overland travelers include journals written during the trip, letters written back home describing the trip, and later life reminiscences of the trip. Some of these have been published; many more are in manuscript form at various libraries and museums. Sometimes, you may be lucky enough to find something actually written by one of your ancestors; sometimes, you'll find them mentioned in someone else's writing.
Trail writings are found in many collections. "Platte River Road Narratives" by Merrill J. Mattes [University of Illinois Press, 1988] includes brief descriptions of journals and reminiscences found around the country, including 60 items for 1851. Mattes' abstracts often include the place a wagon train originated and the dates of travel. Below, I have abstracted some of the information from an especially valuable publication for trail info seekers:
K. White and M-C. Cuthill (1993), Overland Passages: A Guide to the Overland Documents in the Oregon Historical Society. Portland: Oregon Historical Society Press. 125 pages.
What is especially useful about this publication is that there is an every-name index of people mentioned in the manuscripts reviewed. Not every name included is of an Oregon Trail traveler - the compilers made no effort to separately categorize names of fellow travelers, people met on the way, people back home, etc. - and, of course, seldom is everyone on a given wagon train mentioned by name, Nevertheless, here are more clues to who came when and with who.
Below, I've given a brief summary of each of the Oregon Historical Society manuscripts that cover the year 1851. Included are: the author of the manuscript; the OHS manuscript number [note that several contributions may be included under the same manuscript number]; a title and/or a brief description of what the manuscript includes; departure and arrival dates and places, if given; and a list of the people mentioned in the manuscript.
1. BROOKS, Quincy A. - Oregon Historical
Society Ms collection #1508: 7 pages typed. Departed St. Joseph,
Missouri 4 May 1851, arrived Olympia, Washington Sept 1851.
ALDEN. ARTHURS. BROOKS, Quincy A. CARTWRIGHT. EGGERS. FLEMING.
HARDIN. JOHNSON. MAHON, Tom. REINHART. SHADEL.
2. CHAMBERS, Margaret White - OHS
Ms collection #1508: 48 page printed booklet. Departed Indiana
1 April 1851, arrived Milwaukie, Oregon, fall of 1851.
CHAMBERS, Margaret White. CHENOWITH, Justin. PARKER, David. ROSS,
Charles. SPINNING. STEWART, Millie. WHITE, Jerusha. WHITE, Margaret.
WHITE, Elizabeth.
3. COLVIG, William M. - OHS Ms #337:
11 page typed autobiography. Departed Parksville, Missouri, 5
May 1851; arrived Portland, Oregon 5 Oct 1851.
BIRDSEYE, Addie. CARTER. Thomas. COLVIG, George W. COLVIG, William
Lyngae. DRYER, T. J. RODECKER, A. L. SHELBY, Joe.
4. CRANSTONE, Sarah Marsh - OHS Ms
#674: 14 page journal (typed copy). Left Missouri River 8 May
1851, arrived The Dalles, Oregon, 26 Aug 1851.
CRANSTONE, Sarah Marsh. MARSH.
5. FRY, John O. - OHS Ms #427: 35
page typed article. Left Know Co., Illinois 2 April 1851; trip
ended at Portland, Oregon (no date).
DELLAMATER. FRY, John O. GRAY, Henry. GRAY, J. B. GREEN. HAYS,
S. L. KING. KNOT. MERRILL, Joseph. RIGGS.
6. HADLEY, Amelia E. - OHS Ms #253:
54 page journal (typed copy). Left Council Bluffs, Iowa, 6 May
1851; arrived Oregon City 24 Aug 1851.
GODFREY. HADLEY, Amelia E. HADLEY, Melville. HADLEY, Samuel. ROSE.
STRONG.
7. JAMES, Samuel - OHS Ms collection
#1508: 14 page diary (typed). Left Dudley, Iowa 8 April 1851;
arrived Milwaukie, Oregon, 9 Sept 1851.
JAMES, Samuel. JOHNSON.
8. JOHNSON, John L, and Rev. Neil
JOHNSON - OHS Ms #1185: 51 pages diary (typed). Left Mt. Pleasant,
Iowa, 1 April 1851; arrived Willamette Valley Sept 1851.
BALLARD. CROSBY, Hart. FOUTS, Ben. JOHNSON, John L. JOHNSON, Neill.
JOHNSON, Esther. JONES. LYNN. McCLURE, Charles. McCULLY. McKINLEY.
MORRISON. SMEAD, Sim. STARKEY, J. L.
9. ROBE, Rev. Robert - OHS Ms #1163:
25 page diary (typed). Left St. Joseph, Missouri, 17 April 1851;
arrived Butter Creek, Oregon 16 Aug 1851.
BLACK. COOLAGE. DAVENPORT. DOVEY. HAMILTON. HARDIN. KEENEY. MILLER.
PATTERSON. ROBE, Robert. SMITH. STEWARD. TERVIT.
10. RUDDELL, W. H. - OHS Ms. collection
#1508: 18 page diary (typed). Left Council Bluffs, Iowa on unnamed
date 1851, traveled to Puget Sound, Washington.
BROCKETS. COWHORN, James. EBEYE. FLETCHERS. RICHARDSON. RUDDELL,
S. D. RUDDELL, Stephen L. RUDDELL, W. H.
11. ZIEBER, John S. - OHS Ms collection
#1508: 61 page diary (typed). Left Peoria, Illinois 19 Apr 1851,
arrived Portland, Oregon 14 Oct 1851.
ANDREWS. ARNOLD, Willis. BARFIELD. BARNEY. BELCHER. BISSEL. BOHL.
BRAY. BROWN. BUTTS. CHAPMAN. CLARK. DAVIS. DOWLING, James. FLINT,
James P. HALL, L. HEPWOOD. HITCHCOCK. HUDSON. HUGHITT. INGELLS.
KERN. LINK. MILLER, John. NOLAN. OGDEN. PALMER. PRATHER, David.
SLOUGH. SMITH, Rolin. THOMAS, Gideon. TUCKER. VANCES. WAMPOLE.
WEBSTER. WELLINGTON, Jack WELLS. WHITAKER. WILHELM. ZIEBER, John
S.
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