Edward Evans Parrish (1791-1874), Oregon Trail Diary

Access and use

Location of collection:
West Virginia and Regional History Center
West Virginia & Regional History Center
West Virginia University
P.O. Box 6069
1549 University Avenue
Morgantown, WV 26506
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Lori Hostuttler
Phone: (304) 293-3536
Restrictions:

No special access restriction applies.

Terms of access:

Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Edward Evans Parrish (1791-1874), Oregon Trail Diary, A&M 0093, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
0.01 Linear Feet Summary: 1/4 in. (1 item in 1 folder)
Creator:
Parrish, Edward Evans, 1791-1874
Abstract:
Typescript copy of the diary of Reverend Edward Evans Parrish, a native of Monongalia County, West Virginia, written during a journey to the Oregon territory from 1843 to 1845. The diary begins in October 1843 when Parrish and his group left Hoskinsville, Morgan County, Ohio, and ends in July 1845. Diary is twenty-seven pages and chiefly consists of brief entries. Parrish primarily describes their route west along the Oregon Trail, including the rivers they crossed and other geographical features along the way. Other topics include the weather and heavy rains impeding their journey; moving up cattle and horses; animals on the prairie, including antelopes and buffalo; hunting buffalo; encounters with Native Americans; the health of his family and others in the camp; activities in the camps; the organization of the camps; and their arrival in Oregon City in December 1844. Transcript was made from a copy of the diary printed in the Transactions of the Sixteenth Annual Reunion of the Oregon Pioneer Association, 1888.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Edward Evans Parrish (1791-1874), Oregon Trail Diary, A&M 0093, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Background

Biographical / historical:

Reverend Edward Evans Parrish was born in 1791 and raised in Monongalia County, West Virginia. He married Elizabeth Bussey (d. 1826) in 1814 and had six children. In 1827, he married Rebecca Maple (d. 1880), with whom he also had six children. In October 1843, Reverend Parrish left Monongalia County, West Virginia, and traveled west to Oregon territory. Parrish died in 1874.

Physical location:
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard