Author: Donald Guenther
Written: March 1st, 2018
Three 1852 Oregon Bound NW Arkansas Wagon Trains
By Don Guenther
Three wagon trains left NW Arkansas in the Spring of 1852. The wagon train members would suffer many hardships and deaths on their way to Oregon. Arriving between October and November 1852, many went on to attain their goal of establishing new lives.
Conventional wisdom has David Harer as the captain of the Harer wagon and family folk lore has James Wilson Ingram as the captain of the Ingram wagon when the trains separated from the Tigard Gilbreath Wagon train. The Tigard-Gilbreath wagon train had Jacob Rush, Carroll Sears, David Harer, Ewing Craig and John Winn as captains.
The Harer and Ingram wagon trains took the Cherokee Trail while the Tigard-Gilbreath wagon train traveled north to Independence and took the California-Oregon trail. The Harer and Ingram wagon trains had members that were experienced traveling the Cherokee trail during the California Gold rush in 1849. The three trains met up at the Thomas Fork of the Bear River and traveled together for a month before splitting up.
Tigard-Gilbreath Wagon Train suffered horrible losses due to cholera on the Little Blue River. The Harer and Ingram wagon trains suffered heavy losses in the Oregon territory due to cholera. The death for the trip was right around 20%
Harer Wagon Train Families
Only the members that end their journeys in Oregon are listed.
Ingram Wagon Train Families
Only the members that end their journeys in Oregon are listed.
Tigard-Gilbreath Wagon Train Families
The table below includes a turn-back family and two families that split off and took the California Trail.
Why did they move west?
Many saw the west as an opportunity for a better life. The reports back from Oregon were glowing with the promise of free land and opportunities. It was hard to pass up 640 acres of free land. Moving to Arkansas with their parents in earlier years was only part of the continuing progression to stay on the frontier, it was a life style. Some were looking to better their lives, some were going for health reasons and others left in need of a new start.
Sources of Information.
1) U.S. Census
2) Donation Land Claims
3) Newspaper obituaries and articles
4) Cherokee Trail Diaries
5) Wilson Tigard letter
1852 wagon train family names list and FAN June 30 97 (1).xls