In 1895, my great-great-grandfather, John Henry Rising, packed up his family and left Henryville, Tennessee, where they had been living for two or three years. They were heading west for the "Territory" -- Oklahoma. On the way, they would also visit the relatives of the Caltons, the other family traveling with them.
 The diary: Tattered and torn but rich with history. |
John Henry, or J.H., kept a travel diary of the eight-week journey. The original journal is in a 6-by-9-inch, stitch-bound flip-top notepad. J.H. wrote in pencil, and the faded words are nearly illegible. Fortunately, someone who was apparently on the journey -- his daughter Annie, probably -- copied the diary into another notebook, this time in ink. She sometimes recalled events with a slightly different perspective and changed some of the original entries. She also, for some reason, removed all of the first-person references, so there is no "I," "my" or "me." John Henry is "J.H.," and Annie is "Annie" or "Annie R," to distinguish herself from Annie Calton. I've transcribed the copied version. I've also added some historical context and interesting facts about the places they visited.
 The writing: Faded. |
The people
The person who copied the journal also scratched out notes about the people who were on the journey, with their birthdates and ages at the time:
|
J H -- May 2 -- was 43
Alfretta -- Sept 3 -- was 36
Annie R -- Aug 5 -- was 17
Hattie -- Oct 25 -- was 14
Harry -- Dec 14 -- was 12
Grandma Whitcomb -- Apr 13 -- was 64
|
Mr. [Scott O.] Calton
Mrs. [Sarah] Calton
Annie C -- Aug 28 -- was 22
Hessie -- May 21 -- was 20
Lena -- July 13 -- was 19
Earl -- Dec 20 -- was 18
Ernest, 9; Mary, 7; Bernice, 5
|
 J.H. and Alfretta |  Grandma Whitcomb |  Harry Rising at 12 |  Annie Rising at 18 |
The journey
Each family had a covered wagon and a buggy. J.H. kept careful track of how far they traveled each day. They followed well-traveled roads and met other people going both ways. They used ferries to cross large rivers. They traveled alongside railroad tracks. They noted which crops were planted along the way. They camped in areas set aside for travelers. So this was no lonely pioneer trek across the lonely plains. They were part of a widespread migration across the country.
And now, some background info.
