“Tuesday the 3rd. Started at the usual hour, crossed two very bad creeks, the last was the Walkarnsha, camped about 5 o’clock, commenced raining about 8 o’clock pm and rained all night, a very bad night to guard stock, which we are compelled to do rain or shine.” —Elizabeth Goltra’s journal entry, May 3, 1853
Elizabeth Julia Ellison married Nelson Goltra in Jacksonville, Illinois, in 1851. Two years later the couple journeyed west on the Oregon Trail from Missouri to Oregon. Having graduated from college, Elizabeth assumed the task of recording the events of the trip, which she planned to send back to friends who were going to make the same trip later. Little could she know the extended journey her diary would ultimately make.
Sounding similar to a new college student, Goltra shared, “April 29th, 1853. To-day we started across the dreary plains. Sad are the thoughts…
