Is this a Westward Ho! badge-request thread? Yes it is.

Question

In response to popular demand, I'm opening this thread for members to request the Westward Ho! Project badge.

The Westward Ho! Project is a "top level" project to help tell the stories of the people who contributed to the exploration, settlement, and sometimes the exploitation of the American West (roughly defined as the region west of the Mississippi River).

There are 8 sub-projects with their own missions (but all sub-projects use the same badge):

• Cowboys and Cowgirls 
• Homesteaders
• Immigrant Pioneers
• Lewis and Clark Expedition
• Pony Express
• Trails and Wagon Trains
• The Way West
• Wild Wild West

Please post an ANSWER in this thread (not a "comment") to request a badge. In your answer, tell us what you are working on -- or hope to work on  -- in the context of Westward Ho!

Comments

A number of my ancestors married Eastern Cherokees, and related tribal members.  They migrated west...from the Carolinas, to Virginia, to Kentucky, to Missouri, Oklahoma, and then into Colorado where they were pioneer miners, farmers, and cattle ranchers. We have traced them through census data, marriage records, and historical written stories.

I am interested in helping with the "Native Americans and the Western Ho Movement."

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The Native American Project is here.

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I believe I would also qualify for the Westward Ho. Some of my family were from Iowa and Ohio then to Missoui before coming to Oregon, Washington, California.  

I have family that were on the various westward trails by wagon.

John Colter a grand Uncle  was one of the Mountain Men Guides for Lewis and Clark and especially through the Yellowstone Teritory.

I have immigrant pioneers that moved to the areas of Kansas, Nebraska, and  Missouri.

So I guess I will joining several all that much more fun

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I opened this question thinking it related to the seaside resort village of Westward Ho in my home county of Devonshire, England oops.

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Apparently the person who named the project had a US-centric perspective.

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Malcolm, thanks for the note about the same named town in Devonshire.  It was interesting to read about its history and how it got its name. Funny how things come about.

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So did I. Interesting to learn that the same term was used among the pioneers of the American West. The first time I learnt of it was when I read the book by Charles Kingsley, as a child. 

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If I had a dollar (or a pound) for every time I have seen Kingsley's Westward Ho in a flea market or 'antique' store  book stall on the shelf with books on the American West, I'd not be rich but further ahead.

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 I hope I never stop learning to look over the top of my silo at the reality others know.

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My mother's side of my family were some of the first families to settle in Whatcom county, I am researching my mother's grandfather Hubert Hoff, and his lumberyard that were in the area for many years, also he was a government official of some sort , so I am interested in learning more about that to

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Hello..John Colter was my 5th great grandfather...

Answer 1

Immigrant Pioneers sub-project of Westward Ho now has its own sticker.  Thank you Ellen!

Go here for more information. Place {{Immigrant Pioneers}} below == Biography == to add the sticker to a profile.

Comments

Hi Jillaine and Kathy. As part of prep for some reorganization of Westward Ho sub-projects I reviewed the categorization lists for each sub-project and the general Westward Ho catch-all. I found no additional readily identifiable (by name or place of birth) Native Americans other than Sacajawea. Granted, the name is not always an indicator. Unless someone has already gone through and done recategorization or I've missed something due to a missing link from a category page I don't think this is large issue. I'll keep an eye out on it.

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Thanks, T. I had fixed a few I came across. It will be great if there are no more.  We will also keep an eye out for them.

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Since the forced movement of Native Americans from the SE US to OK is called the Trail of Tears, maybe that could be a sub of Westward Ho, or The Five Civilized Tribes, since that is who are recorded in the Dawes Rolls.

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If there is a Trail of Tears project or category it should be under the Native Americans project.  The Trail of Tears applies to a very specific group, but only a small fraction of the individuals who suffered the Trail can be identified by name. I’m unclear what the value is. To me the risk of placing the category inappropriately,  and thus disrespecting those who suffered, is high. It seems to be impossible to limit any category to only documented members of a group.

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Robert,

T. Stanton, as project leader of Westward Ho, and I, as project leader of Native Americans, already decided that Trail of Tears is more appropriately associated with the NA project than with the WH project.

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Didn't know there was an NA project, will look into it as my wife has 2 greatgrandmothers that are Cherokee

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Native American is in the tags for this thread. So that is probably why people thought you guys thought it should go together since you basically said so. I'm not one of them btw just letting y'all know.

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I agree I don't think Native Americans should be excluded.

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I agree that Indigenous/Native Americans also went 'Westward Ho', and that includes whether voluntary or forced by some of the government treaties; and that there may be many people of multiethnic heritage who moved westward from states to the east. What unified was the desire to claim the land for the USA.

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This G2G thread is not about the scopes of Wikitree projects. It is about volunteering to get involved in the Westward Ho project.

The boundaries established between the WH and NA projects seem to be working OK and are not in need of discussion.

Answer 2

I'd love to work on The Wild West!

Who wouldn't, right? :-)

Answer 3

Enjoy researching those 'manifest destiny' notables who made some contribution to making it happen!  I adopt orphan profiles when I can, add sources to the unsourced and assist in building bios.   A few of my latest profiles are:

Fisher-17220, Pickett-3005, LaPrise-105, De-Lichte-5, Schwab-1286

Would love to be part of the team!  

Comments

I very much like the profiles you linked and everyone would love to have you aboard the Westward Ho team. Ellen Smith will get the badge set up for you. Let us know if you have some specific things you would be interested in working on. The project home page is here (but I think you already know it) and from there you can navigate to various sub-projects. Wild Wild West has its own members page where you can add yourself if you like.

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Thanx T!  I can work wherever there is a need; I will refer to the project page.  Scott

Answer 4

Hi group!  I'm working on the Baker-Fancher party and would like to be part of the Westward Ho/Trails and Wagon Trains project.  This wagon train departed northwest Arkansas for California in April 1857.  Although overshadowed by the tale of the Donner Party, they also met a gruesome fate, never making their destination. This little known chapter in westward expansion holds an important place in the history of pre Civil War manifest destiny.

Comments

Terrific work so far on the Baker-Fancher Party and the Mountain Meadows Massacre.

Answer 5

I have at least a couple of ancestors who could be covered by this project. I am trying to find out more about Mikkel Kittelson -26, who emigrated from Norway to America around 1850-60 and eventually settled in Minnesota.

Comments

Dan, were you wanting to join the project? I'll have a look at Kittleson-26.

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I don't have a lot of time for it at the moment, but okay, I'll join.

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You have the badge now.

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Well, thank you, Ellen.

Answer 6

I am interested in the Trails and Wagon Trains. My 58grandfather Daniel Matheny owned the first wagon to reach the Blue Mountains of Oregon.  I have documented many of the 1843 emigration, and plan to do more, but I am interested in others as well.  And I applied to be Leader of some sort, but never figured out how to complete that. Perhaps you can help?

Comments

Hi, Roger. So glad you posted here!

You already have the Westward Ho! project badge, having received it for the Trails and Wagon Trains Project back in 2017, a few months before Alison Andrus resigned from leading Westward Ho!.

The project was quiet for a very long time, and the new leadership did not receive a whole lot of information about earlier project history.  Unfortunately, it appears that your expression of interest in a leadership role is one of the pieces of information that fell through the cracks. Current project coordinators, including Todd Stanton and Ronald Prentice (who recently raised his hand to coordinate Trails and Wagon Trains) have been working to revitalize the project  Your free-space page on the Great Emigration of 1843 deserves to be categorized and linked as a part of the Trails and Wagon Trains project and expanded to become an informational page that is interlinked with people profiles, somewhat like what Mr. Prentice is trying to do on pages like Baker-Fancher Party and Mountain Meadows Massacre. I expect that Todd and Ronald will be delighted to chat with you about you ancestors, your interests, and what you want to contribute to the shared effort to document the Westward Expansion of the United States. I think it probably would be a good idea to have an additional Coordinator for Wagon Trains and Trails, to help generate more enthusiasm for telling the many distinct and fascinating stories about experiences of ancestors who traveled west on the various different wagon trains and trails.

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I would be thrilled to work with Roger on improving and expanding the Trails & Wagon Trains sub project!  It is a large topic and there are many facets to add to the resources.  Let me know when Roger is official.

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I gave Roger the Project Coordinator badge. Here's to your collaboration on Trails and Wagon Trains!

Answer 7

I'd like to join the Westward Ho project and the Homesteaders sub-project.  I have ancestors with documented homestead claims in California and military bounty claims in Tennessee, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.  I'd like to find mineral claims during the gold rush also!

Comments

You have the badge now, James. Your next step is to get in touch with the relevant Project Coordinators: Alison Andrus, T Stanton, and Bart Triesch.

Happy hunting!

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Hi, James. Wonderful to have you as part of the Westward Ho team. It seems like what you are working on might fit with either Homesteaders or Pioneer Immigrants. Here's a list of Westward Ho sub-projects which also contains contact info for the various coordinators. Just let any of us know how we might be of assistance.

Answer 8

If members of the Westward Ho! Project are interested in participating in Connect-A-Thon, do not already have a team and have an interest in United States Great Plains history, I invite you to join a new team, Dust Bowlin' Daddies and Mamas, focusing on Colorado, Kansas, (eastern) Montana, Nebraska, (northeast) New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and (panhandle) Texas. I would hope to keep the team together for future Wikitree efforts, as well.

PS - May I join Westward Ho! focusing on sub-projects Homesteaders and Immigrant Pioneers. Thank you.

Dust Bowlin' Daddies and Mamas

Comments

We'd love to have you join Westward Ho, Ellen. Ellen Smith will set you up with the badge. I'm part of Twisted Thistles for the -thon but wish your new team well.

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Thanks.

Answer 9

I'd like to join the Westward Ho project. I have an interest in the Westward Expansion era. Also on more personal (and less likely) note, I have a 2nd great grand uncle who left Wisconsin for Rapid City, South Dakota in the mid to late 1800's and apparently went missing. No one in the family heard from him or saw him again. It's kind of an impossible wish of mine to find out what happened to him.

Comments

Good to have you aboard, Chandra. Ellen Smith will get you set up with the badge.

Do you know if your second great grand uncle ever reached Rapid City? Or, did he go missing en route?

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I believe he did but I'm not 100% sure. The story that traveled down my branch of the family didn't have many details. Only that a "cousin" went "out west" and disappeared. It was only recently through collaboration that I found his identity, Lorenzo Dodge, that he was actually my 2nd Ggreat grand uncle, and that he went out to South Dakota. According to the cousins I spoke to he was officially listed as missing in South Dakota in 1880, but I haven't found any actual documents yet.

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Chandra, believe it or not, Lorenzo is my 6th cousin 3 times removed. Can you create a new g2g question geared toward finding out the fate of cousin Lorenzo and we'll put the Westward Ho team and maybe some of the sub-project teams to work on it. So, the last 'sighting' of him is the 1870 census when he still lives at home in Wisconsin with his parents? What is the source of his being listed as missing in 1880 in Rapid City? If it's just family lore that is fine, if there is something more specific we might have some basis on which to start the research. This will be fun!

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This IS going to be fun! I've opened a question on g2g. I haven't found a source for him being listed as missing, so I think it's probably family lore.

Answer 10

My direct ancestor Green Berry Tolleson (1850-1895) bought land through the Homestead Act.

Answer 11

I'm currently working on a lot of profile of Michigan homesteaders, and this seems like a very good fit.

Thanks!

Comments

Hi, Susan. Glad to have you aboard to help with the Homesteaders part of Westward Ho. Ellen Smith will get you badged. The Homesteaders sub-project page is here and please feel to contact Alison linked from that page with any questions.

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Thanks. I'm looking forward to it.

Answer 12

Ronald Prentice and Ellen Smith,  please add me to the Westward Ho Project Team. I've researched much of the Indigenous Nations, French, Spanish, British, Russian and American History and Expeditions.    

Answer 13

Very much interested in Joining your Cowboys and Cowgirls. Wyatt Earp is just one of my relatives. My family came West to Oregon, Washington and California by wagon train.

I lived in the town of Milton-Freewater that still holds ruts of some of the original trains coming through the area to the Columbia River.

Answer 14

Several of my ancestors, including direct and indirect, were California and/or Missouri state pioneers.

Answer 15

I am willing to help coordinate the "Cowboys and Cowgirls" Westward Ho Project and am requesting a "Westward Ho" badge.  Many of my still living relatives and now deceased ancestors on my mother's side were Colorado ranchers who hosted (and created) early "Spud Rodeos" and local "Wild West Shows", with later still living family members who participated in amateur and professional (PRCA) rodeos throughout Colorado and the West.  They were individual and team calf ropers, and barrel racers. As a youth, I loved attending the Boulder County Fair... watching the rodeos, going through the animal barns, looking at the home and farm exhibits, etc. When I was a member of a high school drill team - we performed in county fair parades in Colorado and Wyoming and sold cotton candy at the fairgrounds.  I also photographed fair events and took many photos of my family's ranch activities and their arena. As a watercolorist, I have painted a number of old west paintings... mostly based on the women in my family as well as a lady sheriff and gun slingers from my imagination and the outlaw Belle Starr. My 95 years young mother still has lots of stories about the early SPUD rodeos and local Wild West Shows.  We also have the old family albums with fading photos of the rodeos they hosted on their ranch. My great and great great grandfathers and their brothers drove cattle to and from summer and winter pastures (Colorado and Wyoming) and when buying and selling cattle in Nebraska, Texas, and other nearby states. Would love to write and include photos of my mother's stories of ranching and cowboying in the late 1880s and early 1900s.

Answer 16

I am still interested in being the Project Manager for the group Cowboys and Cowgirls.

Answer 17

I think my great grandfather was a cowboy, he and his son raised horses in Texas and drove them to Missouri to sell before 1900.

As to pioneers or immigrants, I have ancestors who migrated to CA in late 1890s, early 1900s. Are they pioneers?

I looked at the criteria and I did not find any mention of time period. I may have been too hasty. Are there years used to qualify? I have ancestors who landed in 1600 on the east coast and were in Texas by 1880.

Comments

Hi, Kristina, and please excuse my missing your message from several months ago. Sounds like most of your folks are part of Westward Ho, generally encompassing anything west of the Mississippi after circa 1850. I've awarded the project badge and welcome.

Answer 18

I have quite a few ancestors that homesteaded in Mitchell County Kansas from around 1877-1884. Our family still owns some of the land from those homesteads, and my cousin is a still farming the land.

Please add me to the project and send me a badge?

Comments

Hi, Scott. I see that you never got the Westward Ho badge when it was requested. You now have it, welcome aboard, and thanks for your additions to the project.

Answer 19

Greetings, I would like to join Westward Ho and receive a badge.. My families  Brumley and Kendrick, are in MO, AR, CO, TX, NV, OR and CA. I can hit several sub-projects such as Cowboys and Cowgirls, Homesteaders and Wild Wild West. Also willing to work on non family members or help where ever needed.

Comments

Hi, Vickie. I see that your request to join Westward Ho had not been processed. Welcome aboard and thanks for your additions to the project. I've awarded the Westward Ho project badge.

Answer 20

I have a suggestion -- to have subcategories by state, to make choosing which one more clear and direct.....such as Iowa or Colorado or California pioneers, assuming most members will know which state their ancestors moved to but may not know which larger movement the moves were part of.  The states could also then be linked together into Lewis and Clark, Pony Express, etc, and not to forget the Oregon Trail and the Sublette Expedition as multi-state migrations.  Identification by state of destination seems easier to quickly identify.  Just a suggestion

Comments

This would also help facilitate state-specific history projects and state-specific pioneer organizations that can still be joined together into larger categories. For example, Lewis and Clark covers a lot of territory in various states. On the other hand, California was settled via more than one migration route but families ended up converging anyway, moving up and down the state over time.