Narcissa (Prentiss) Whitman (1808 - 1847)

Born 14 Mar 1808 in Prattsburg, Steuben County, New York, USA

Ancestors

Wife of Marcus Whitman — married 18 Feb 1836 in Angelica, Allegheny County, New York, USA

Died 29 Nov 1847 at age 39 in Waiilatpu (now Walla Walla), Walla Walla County, Washington, USA

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Narcissa (Prentiss) Whitman was involved in the westward expansion of the USA. Westward Ho! Join: Trails and Wagon Trains Project Discuss: wagon_trains_and_trails

Wagon Train Details

"Wagon Trains", large groups of covered wagons that travelled together for safety and protection, were a common way for pioneers to travel as they migrated west. These are the known details of the wagon train this person travelled on:

For more information on wagon trains you can also check out the Trails and Wagon Trains sub-project

Biography

Narcissa Prentiss was the daughter of Judge Stephen Prentiss and his wife Clarissa.

She married Dr. Marcus Whitman. They had one child, who died very young.

Marcus and Narcissa were Methodist missionaries and Oregon Pioneers, who traveled along the Oregon Trail, settling in what is now Walla Walla, Washington. They established the Whitman Mission, with the intent of bringing christianity to the Cayuse Indian tribe. However, relations between the Whitman family and the Cayuse was continually strained, and eventually broke down.

Marcus and Narcissa adopted the seven orphaned children of the Sager Family, after both Henry and Naomi Sager died along the Oregon Trail.

After a measles outbreak sickened and killed many members of the Cayuse tribe, the tribe blamed the Whitmans for attempting to poison them, and attacked the mission in what is now known as the Whitman Massacre. Both Marcus and Narcissa Whitman were killed, along with fourteen other members of the mission, including two of the Sager orphans.

Sources

• Narcissa Whitman's Wikipedia Page

• The Letters and Journals of Narcissa Whitman 1836 - 1847, transcribed on PBS.com as a companion to Ken Burns' documentary "The West"

• Find-a-Grave Memorial ID#1097, created by unknown, maintained by Find-a-Grave