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.
