Background
Holt Atherton Special Collections holds eight overland trail narratives
not associated with larger collections. They represent crossings between 1849
and 1859 and include two narratives of the New Mexico/Arizona route and one by
a female emigrant. Of these trail narratives, five are copies, the originals of
which are still in private collections. For those interested in overland trail
narratives, Holt Atherton also holds six other examples: the Lyman Burrell
correspondence (1849) [in Mss132]; the Thomas S. Wylly memoir (1849) [in
Mss124]; the Calvin B. West diary (1853) [in Mss2: Small Oregon Collections];
the Alexander Horn memoir (1855) [in Mss2: Small California Collections]; the
Elvira Dodge diary (1860) [in Mss271]; and, the William S. Moss correspondence
(1861) [in Mss2: Small California Collections]. Also of interest is the Jess
Machado Collection [Mss256], a compilation of narratives and research on the
Carson Pass leg of the Overland Trail.