Oregon-California Trails Association | Simonson, David Nevius

Simonson, David Nevius – A 49er’s Diary

Merrill J. Mattes Collection·

“When within 1/2 mile of the town they were met by the officer of the port, demanding of them their papers. They returned to the vessel and delivered them over to him. He appeared to be satisfied with them and said he would take them to the port with him and return in the morning with the physician to examine us and if he found no disease on board would permit us to land.” ~ David Nevius Simonson, March 30, 1849

Copied from the original diary owned by the daughter of David Nevius Simonson
Includes a trip via ship from New York City to the California goldfields, eventually purchasing a ship to transport passengers.
25 Pages

The collection was begun in 1991 by the late Merrill J. Mattes, a co-founder of the Oregon-California Trails Association. That original nucleus was a result of a generous donation from Merrill and reflected his many years as an award-winning National Park Service historian and also included works of his own authorship. The collection is housed at the national Frontier Trails Museum in Independence, Missouri. Here, you have access to many of the original trail diaries he collected in digital form.