Becky
Ohio to the Oregon Territory
In the early spring of 1851, nine families in western Ohio begin the long trek to the Oregon Territory. Rebecca Harrigan, the 12-year old daughter of one family, tells the story of how and why they decided to go west and relates several events leading to their departure. She continues the story, as it relives the Oregon Trail historically, telling of the people who traveled it in search of free land in a place more than 2,000 miles from their Ohio homes.
This book came about after Charlotte Lewis became a volunteer at the Clark County Historical Museum in Vancouver, Washington. Her first volunteer task was to verify the inventory of the research library. In so doing, she encountered several ledgers, journals and diaries about migrants crossing the continent along the Oregon Trail.
This photo is a prairie schooner such as the Harrigan family and their friends took to the Oregon Territory. The wagon bed is 4 feet x 10 feet. The canvas top was rubbed with linseed oil in an effort to make it waterproof.
The majority of the stories in these books were very dark, dismal and dismaying. Charlotte thought that, while the journey surely was arduous, a 12-year child might have viewed the trip in a different light. And thus, Becky was born.
Many of the names used in “Becky” are family names. Charlotte’s grandparents migrated to the United States and settled in the mid-west. While none of them traveled the Oregon Trail, they did suffer the uncertainties of a new land. Mrs. Lewis wove some their names into the story to honor their efforts to provide a good life for their descendents.