The Great Migration of 1843 was the first significant group of emigrants to head west. That year between 700 and 1,000 emigrants left for Oregon, mostly families seeking free land. In 1843, it was still uncertain whether the United States or Great Britain would govern the Oregon Territory, but it […]
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A Visit to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, Baker City, Oregon
Ever since I began researching the Oregon Trail route for my novel about travel along the trail, I have wanted to go to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Baker City, Oregon, run by the Bureau of Land Management. I finally had the opportunity to visit it in late April, […]
Continue readingPresident Polk Acknowledges California Gold Discovery Ten Months After It Occurred
It wasn’t until December 1848 that President James Polk acknowledged that gold had been found in California. President Polk was a strong supporter of western expansion. He had worked to acquire Oregon south of the 49th parallel for the United States in 1846. The Mexican-American War which President Polk supported left […]
Continue readingNews of California Gold Decimates the Population of Oregon
Word of the Sutter’s Fort gold discovery reached Oregon in the summer of 1848. Oregon learned of the gold finds indirectly, not from travelers arriving straight from California. Ships from California came to Oregon after stopping in Hawaii that summer. They brought the news about the gold. In July 1848, […]
Continue readingThe Tao of Writing, of Geography, and of Clutter
While browsing in my local library recently, I saw the book, The Tao of Writing, by Ralph L. Wahlstrom. I don’t know much about Taoist principles or philosophy, but I thumbed through the pages, and it looked interesting. Anything that might immerse me more deeply in the writing life I […]
Continue readingHow Close Are We To the Civil War?
An article in The Wall Street Journal on May 10, 2014, by Michael M. Phillips, titled “Still Paying for the Civil War: Veterans’ Benefits Live On Long After Bullets Stop,” fascinated both my husband and me. My husband, because he has read many volumes of military history about the Civil […]
Continue readingA Northern Digression: The Seattle Museum of History and Industry
On my recent trip to Seattle, I went to the Museum of History and Industry (called MOHAI by locals). And I realized how little I knew about the history of my native state. I took the requisite Washington State history class in the ninth grade—it was a quarter or a […]
Continue readingAuthor’s Blog Chain
I’ve been asked to participate in an Author’s Blog Chain this week, which gives me the opportunity to tell you more about my writing. Juliet Kincaid, a Kansas author and member of the local Sisters in Crime chapter, tagged me on her blog, Juliet Kincaid, Writer. Juliet has recently written a series […]
Continue readingCalifornia Gold Rush: Discovery of Gold at Sutter’s Mill
Most of us who have studied American history are aware of the Forty-Niners—those intrepid souls who in 1849 left their homes to seek their fortunes in the California Gold Rush. But the Gold Rush actually began in early 1848, when gold was found at Sutter’s Mill. Over the last two […]
Continue readingWriting About Race in Historical Fiction
As a writer of historical fiction, one of the issues I struggle with is how to portray interactions between characters of different races. I could ignore the topic by not having characters of different races in my novels, but I think part of the purpose of writing historical fiction is […]
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