Pony Express

Nearly a year ago, I dreamt about a family traveling west on the Oregon Trail. The dream seemed so real that I began writing a novel, EnchantedJournal, based on it.

During my research about the Oregon Trail, I kept an eye open for any of my Buck ancestors or relations who might have traveled the trail but never found any. I tried researching some of my more distant relatives who lived during that era but could not find any who traveled on the Oregon Trail.

My great-granduncle, John Hickman Buck (1872-1955), moved from Alabama to Arizona sometime in the early 1900s. My dad met John Hickman Buck when he returned to Alabama to visit family. He told my dad that he traveled to Arizona in a mule-drawn wagon. However, that was not the Oregon Trail.

William Wentworth Buck (1804-1886) was born in New York but traveled to Oregon in 1845, presumably by the Oregon Trail. W. W. Buck built and operated a sawmill on the Clackamas River. He also built a paper mill in Oregon City in 1866; however, it was not a successful venture. He was a member of the legislature from 1849-1850 and postmaster for many years. Insofar as I can tell, W. W. Buck is not a relative of mine.

Rinker Buck (1950-) is the author of The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey (2015). Rinker Buck re-enacted the Oregon Trail in a mule-drawn wagon and wrote about his experience. I read his book with great interest as I learned about the Oregon Trail. We are not related.

Even though I could not find any relatives who traveled the Oregon Trail, the trail and its end at Oregon City fascinated me. I finished writing Enchanted Journal and almost immediately began writing a sequel, Pony Express. Pony Express is nearly ready for publication.

 

Another book announcement! Sorry, fans of my novels, my latest publication is about genealogy; however, the sequel to my “Enchanted Journal” novel is nearly finished.

My great, great, great grandfather, William Calmes Buck I (1790–1872), was perhaps the most illustrious of my ancestors. Although much has been written about him, especially his ministry, I felt that his story deserved to be told in more detail. Fortunately, Wm C Buck (as he usually signed his name) wrote an autobiography. I have a transcribed copy of his autobiography and retyped it. This book includes some letters and excerpts from his daughter Emma’s diaries.

Wm C Buck was an American Baptist minister, author, editor, and publisher. Born in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, he was primarily self-educated. Still, he became a professor of religion at Waco University in Texas. Dr. Buck was the author of five books, a newspaper, and many religious tracts. He founded and pastored several Baptist churches, especially in Kentucky and Alabama.

Check it out at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFWV2DX9.

The Enchanted Journal

 

My third novel, The Enchanted Journal: Adventure on the Oregon Trail, has been published and is available on Amazon. 

The leather diary beckons Abigail Roberts from the ruts of the Oregon Trail. “Read me,” it teases, “I can help you,” but few pages contain writing. Mysteriously, a new page appears the next day to warn her of a dangerous river crossing and recommend a better one. The diary, written by teenaged Milli Madison in 1843, changes Abigail’s life as fresh pages of Milli’s adventure magically appear.

In 1859, fifteen-year-old Abigail Roberts begins her journey on the Oregon Trail. A farm girl and tomboy, she does not want the trail, but her father is eager for adventure and free land in Oregon.

Milli and William Anderson become sweethearts on the 1843 trail, but Abigail is determined to avoid romance and focuses on Oregon in 1859.

Captain Bridgewater, an experienced wagon master on his final trail, guides the caravan, and teaches the ways of the trail.

Follow Abigail’s adventures on the Oregon Trail in 1859 as she follows Milli’s adventures from 1843.