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.