The Letters of Narcissa Whitman

Narcissa Prentiss Whitman (March 14, 1808 – November 29, 1847) was born in Prattsburgh, New York. During the Second Great Awakening, she decided she wanted to be a missionary to the expanding West. Since she was single, she was not allowed to go. This impediment was solved when she married Dr. Marcus Whitman on February 18, 1836.Soon thereafter, Narciss and Marcus started their journey to Oregon County, in what we call Washington State. They traveled by sleigh, canal barge, wagon, river sternwheeler, horseback, and foot. The Whitman Mission began in 1837. They taught Bible classes to the Native Americans, and they informed them on the domestic chores thought necessary. Whitman had one natural child, but she drowned when she was two years old. Narcissa and her husband adopted many others. The Whitmans had on-and-off-again trouble with the nearby tribes, the Cayuse and the Nez Perce. An outbreak of measles especially decimated the tribes, and seemed to do little damage to the missionaries. On November 29, 1847, the Whitmans and eleven others died in an attack. Still others were taken hostage. These letters give insight to her remarkable journey, work, outlook, and eventual death.