One of the best diaries of western migration I have ever read. You can really feel how this person felt traveling across the prairie. The vastness of the land, the many graves the wagons rolled past from prior wagon trains. Encounters with the Native Americans (or back then Indians). The simplicity of her writing makes this book very easy to read. Not sure how their maps were as she writes they are in Montana Territory however Independence Rock is in Wyoming. The wagon train was following a trail from prior wagons so I guess it did not matter what you called the area you were in as long as it was the correct trail. This book is definitely one to buy and be proud to have in your collection.
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From the Publisher
The Official Overland-California Trail Diary of Mrs. Sarah Jane Rousseau.
Descendant vetted, authenticated and edited.
Back Cover Blurb
For Sarah Jane Rousseau, an accomplished pianist from New Castle Upon Tyne, this seven-month journey means leaving all her gentrified comforts behind. It‘s a sacrifice she is willing to make, however, if she ever wants to walk again.
After years of trying everything he could for his wife, Dr. James Rousseau is desperate to find a cure for Sarah’s debilitating rheumatism. He hopes that a climate cure in the warm, dry air of California might be the answer she needs.
While the Civil War is raging in the east, the Rousseaus join with three other families from Pella, Iowa to make the arduous covered wagon journey across the American Plains. Along the way, tensions run high under the stern captaincy of Sgt. Nicholas P. Earp. While crossing through Idaho Territory, unsuspecting emigrants are caught in the crossfire of angry Northern Plains Indians. In Utah, Mormons put Dr. James to the test while sickness runs rampant. When they leave, Paiute Chief Kanosh sends them with a guide who leads the Pella Company across the desolate Mohave Desert and into the Valley of Fire. By the time they reach the Sierra Nevada, food and water supplies are exhausted and every bit of ammunition is spent. When the Rousseaus can go no further, the Pella Company leaves them stranded in Winter.
In the only complete, surviving account from the Pella Company, read how the Iowans face fierce enemies, quicksand, hailstorms, poison water, and the blazing sun. Feel the budding romance between youths. See who has enough mettle to survive. And meet the surprise heroes who restore the emigrants’ faith in humanity.
Sarah Jane Rousseau captures every exquisite detail in this precious family heirloom; now, a treasured tale of American History.
Who's Who in the Book?
Sarah Rousseau, Original Author
Daughter of William Daglish & Mary Elliott of North Shields, Northumberland. In the 1820s the family moved to London (Brunswick Square), where Sarah was taught piano by Ferdinand Ries (music master and former pupil of Beethoven). Sarah emigrated to the United States, arriving in New York in 1833. In Michigan, she met future physician, James Rousseau, who had been sent on a government mission to survey land. After marrying, they made their home in Iowa, where Sarah taught piano until her rheumatism turned debilitating.
The Pella Company "Originals"
The four families primarily featured in this diary are those of Dr. James Alexander Rousseau, Hon. Israel C. Curtis, Sgt. Nicholas Porter Earp, and John Bentley Hamilton (Jr.). Each family is known for being local pioneers in both Iowa and Southern California.
Specific members of the Earp family included in this journey are: Nicholas and Virginia, James, Wyatt, Morgan, Warren, and Adelia.
Descendant-Editor
Janelle Molony (3rd great-granddaughter of James & Sarah Rousseau) is a family historian and nonfiction writer with prolific stories about individuals from the Civil War Era, Depression Era, and in Westward travel. Her work has been featured in the Annals of Wyoming, Michigan Historical Review, Minnesota Genealogist, History Nebraska, Wild West magazine, and many other notable publications. Molony has won numerous awards from Writer’s Digest, Readers’ Favorite, BookFest, National Indie Excellence Awards, the National Federation of Press Women, and the Arizona Authors Association (and more).
Iowa Genealogical Society
“[Sarah Jane Rousseau] wrote about the marvels of nature, the hastily-dug burials along the trail, the bothersome Indians, thousands of buffalo on the plains, the wild game they ate, horses and cows who strayed, sickness of many, Mr. Earp’s profanity on many occasions, and the suffering of the end of the journey through the Mojave desert.”
– Carl Nollen 2020 (Marion County, IA Genealogical Society)
San Bernardino Historical Society
“…There were many diaries kept by pioneer women trekking West with their families… [but] Perhaps the most dramatic pioneer exploits of all, however, belong to Sarah Jane Rousseau, who became a well-known piano teacher in San Bernardino and gave lessons until her passing on February 20, 1872, at the age of 56. Although Sarah Jane has been gone for well over a century, her wonderful diary lives on.”
– Nicolas Cataldo, 1999 (San Bernardino, CA Historian)
Surname Historian
“…A remarkable diary written about a journey across the plains of the United States from Knoxville, Iowa to San Bernardino, California. ... It is a truly remarkable, historic document that I cannot do justice to here.”
– Stephen Daglish, 2007 (Verified relative of Mrs. Sarah Jane Rousseau)
Descendant-Researcher
“Comparing this Diary to those discussed in Women’s Diaries of the Westward Journey by Lillian Schlissel, one is struck by the uniqueness of [Sarah] Jane’s situation. … [Sarah] Jane never misses a day, and is remarkably factual in her reporting.”
– Pamela Greenwood, 2007 (Verified Descendant from the Pella Company families)
About the author
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