In the summer of 1864, Sarah Rousseau (sur. Daglish) crossed Civil War divided America through the Wild West and uncivilized, unmapped territories to settle with her family in San Bernardino, California. Diarist for the wagon train, Sarah counts the days of wonder and total chaos. She is poetic in expression, frank in disapproval, strongly opinionated, but bites her own tongue to chastise her sense of ire and justice. She dare not speak aloud the thoughts in her writing unless sugar-coated in an appropriate layer of Victorian elegance.
“I did not think there was so much barren country in Iowa for miles so far as your eye can reach. Not a tree or shrub to be seen, but a fair wilderness of Prairie.”
Sarah Rousseau
Wednesday, May 25th, 1864
With optimism that constantly contradicts her circumstances, readers will fall in love with those she loves and be woefully disappointed by however little she showed them. Torn between knowing her place and stepping out beyond everything she is familiar with, Sarah explores issues of human rights, health, womanhood, equality, and freedom in the territorial United States of America.
Author Janelle Molony is excited to be deep in the throngs of Civil War and Westward Expansion research for her fictionalized memoir of the 1864 pioneer and ancestor, Sarah Jane Rousseau.
In From Where I Sat, wheelchair-bound, Mrs. Rousseau traveled along the Oregon Trail, Overland Trail, Mormon Trail/Old Spanish Trail to relocate her family and heal from a debilitating case of rheumatism. In a time when no one can be trusted from day-to-day, and life or death is only a meal or arrowhead away, Mrs. Rousseau’s adventure challenges the definitions of family, friends, and foe.
Characters include brothers and famed Wild West lawmen, Wyatt Earp, Morgan Earp, and Warran Earp (Virgil Earp is still in active duty at this time). In addition, she details interactions with massacre survivors Fanny Kelly and Sarah Larimer, the Mormon President Brigham Young, and the Paiute (Pahvant Ute) Chief Kanosh.
Read how Molony found the earliest Wild West shoot out on record to involve the Earps against a band of thieves, while on this very trip! Click here for more.
See Janelle Molony, A.K.A. “Mrs. Rousseau,” interview an Earp family expert from San Bernardino, CA and Daglish surname genealogist from London, UK.
Stay connected – see the story unfold!
Follow along the journey to San Bernardino with Sarah and g-g-g-granddaughter Janelle to see character profiles, historical notes, and author commentary.
Instagram: @RousseauProject / https://www.instagram.com/rousseauproject/
Facebook: @RousseauProject / https://www.facebook.com/rousseauproject
Read more: A Day In The Life With Sarah Rousseau
Glimpse into her summer, one month at a time (Starts in May, ends in December)