One Woman's West: Recollections of the Oregon Trail and Settling the Northwest Country

by Martha Gay Masterson

Book Overview

"The intriguing story of a woman who came to Oregon in a covered wagon in 1851 and lived long enough to see hundreds of automobiles passing by her home in the last year of her life. Here we have the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0960942025
• ISBN13: 9780960942022
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: Spencer Butte Press
• Length: 222 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

When just getting around was tough . .

What makes this book unique is that it is the diary of Martha Gay Masterson from the 1850's until her death at age 79 in 1916. Even more unique is editor Lois Barton's diligence in adding explanatory comments that help explain gaps and deliberate oversights in the narrative. The editor also steps in to define terms no longer in our vocabulary. Martha's father dragged the family from Missouri to Oregon in the 1850's, and her life was one of almost constant movement. She followed either her parents or her husband from place to place--frequently several times a year--while trying to adjust to each new location. We are privy to the day to day life in a time when weather, death, disease, and turmoil were commonplace amidst a background of a wilderness being opened up by railroads. The wildness of the country, the hardships of travel, and the challenge of keeping children alive are abundantly illustrated in this book.

Recollections of the Oregon Trail and settling the Northwest

The intriguing story of a woman who came to Oregon in a covered wagon in 1851 and lived long enough to see hundreds of automobiles passing by her home in the last year of her life. Here we have the West as it truly was, from the primitive era of the Oregon Trail to modern times of World War I. Dr. Richard M. Brown, History Dept. University of Oregon

Literary agents summary

"...gritty, marvelous portrait of life in mid-19th century America. I like the mix of the detail of everyday life and the tense and hair-raising moments."loisb@efn.org