(Annals of Wyoming, Autumn 2021, vol. 93, no. 4)
1864: More Than Massacres
Article Abstract:
Sensational historical Overland-California Trail accounts are merged into a comprehensive bird’s-eye view by historian Janelle Molony. She identifies the links between several well-known moving pieces that contributed toward one of the largest series of depredations, theft, and bloodshed in the “Black Hills” of Wyoming during the summer of 1864. Molony consults eighteen first-hand traveler accounts to create the clearest picture we have yet, including details of who rescued and restored Sarah Larimer after her kidnapping, and a play-by-play of the earliest shoot-out on record of the famed lawman, Wyatt Earp.
Article Access:
Read all about it in the Fall, 2021 Annals of Wyoming, an academic journal published through the Wyoming Historical Society. Her research contribution to Wyoming history is a game-changer for legendary Wyatt Earp and classic Oregon Trail story fans, though the celebrity she prefers to feature is not the teenaged future lawman, but her ancestor, Sarah Jane Rousseau. Mrs. Rousseau’s eyewitness account from the Overland-California Trail is the critical link that brings perspective to a major sequence of events in the Summer of 1864, Wyoming.
The publication is distributed to supporting members of the Wyoming Historical Society. Discover more about the publication at www.WYSHS.org.
This particular article helped Molony qualify for membership in the Western Writers of America, for which she is incredibly proud. She extends gratitude to several others who assisted in the research and finding niche details to sweeten the plot: Earp family expert, Nicholas Cataldo; Pella, Iowa historian, Valerie Van Kooten; Daglish surname expert, Stephen Daglish; Marion County, Iowa Genealogist Carl Nollen; and former Rousseau historian, Richard Molony (her uncle).
See Molony’s live interview and article discussion with Earp expert, Nicholas Cataldo on YouTube.
What’s Next?
Grab hold of your hats and bonnets because this story has EVOLVED into a major publication of note. Emigrant Tales of the Platter River Raids (M Press, 2024) is the full play-by-play that invites readers to see just how “Wild” this Western tale could really be. Read more about the new release here (A Legendary Roll Call) and view the official page here (Emigrant Tales…).
Explore the people and events in Rousseau diary even further in month-by-month stories. Click here to start reading “A Day In The Life…”
Author Information:
Janelle Molony, M.S.L. is the g-g-g-granddaughter of Dr. James and Sarah Rousseau (sur. Daglish). She is the authoritative family historian, an award-winning novelist, and freelance journalist. Molony is currently authoring From Where I Sat, a fictional novel based on the Pella Company, with the generous support of fellow wagon train descendants and several historical societies stretching from Pella, Iowa to San Bernardino, California. More info on Molony and the upcoming book can be found at www.JanelleMolony.com/Rousseau or on Facebook and Instagram @RousseauProject.
For more on Janelle Molony’s writing, see her list of current publications.
To follow up with Janelle Molony about the research, speaking engagements, or for general inquiries, please use the Contact page.
Those with a more general interest in the book projects and research findings should follow along on social media:
