Pioneers: The Legend of Little Germaine
Germaine Van Bibber was nine years old in 1845 when her family joined the wagon train bound for Oregon at Independence, Missouri. Her father, Isaac, was from a venerable Virginia […]...
25 May 1845: Will Gives Me a Compliment
Last night, we camped on the main fork of the Blue River. I was much too tuckered to write my diary, so I will try to remember about it. The […]...
23 May 1845: A Clamor in the Night
The pots and pans made a horrible clamor in the middle of the night. Uncle Luke got up to see what it was, and it turned out to be a […]...
22 May 1845: We Meet Some Travelers
This morning we met some travelers who were coming back from Oregon. There were six wagons, camped out along the Little Blue. They said that another company of nearly forty […]...
21 May 1845: Some Salt Pork is Missing
Some salt pork went missing from Mr. Pembrook’s wagon this morning. Papa immediately said that it was the Indians. “Thieving, no-good savages,” are his precise words. I think that the […]...
20 May 1845: Grandma and Grandpa Charlebois
I have not written yet about Grandma and Grandpa. Neither of them speak very much English, and I have not known them for very long. They came out to Missouri […]...
19 May 1845: We are Seven Wagons
A new family joined us, and now there are seven wagons in our little company and 26 people. 1. Papa’s wagon with Mama, me and Annabelle. 2. Uncle Luke and […]...
18 May 1845: A New Wagon Joins Us!
The adults had another meeting today. They fought again. I could hear Papa and Mr. Bradford yelling at one another, and then Mr. Hedrick and Uncle Luke started yelling, and […]...
17 May 1845: On the Little Blue River
This morning we turned away from the Missouri River, and will follow the Little Blue River up to The Platte. The shocking thing I learned this morning while I helped […]...
16 May 1845: To Oregon!
When the wagons began to move, and all of the cattle and the men on horseback, a great cloud filled the air and the sound grew to a terrible rumble, […]...