New by Award-Winning Author & Historian, Janelle Molony
Janelle Molony has done it again! In her new nonfiction, she shares the incredible and high-level cumulative tale of nearly 70 families drawn into a murderous trap. Until now, their tales have been told as mutually exclusive, happenstance events and some have never been told. Molony unites their eyewitness accounts into one of the clearest perspectives ever seen.
Emigrant Tales is 2023 Amazon Hot New Release for Biographies of the American Civil War!
As heard on Wake Up Wyoming and Report to Wyoming…
As seen in the Casper Tribune, Cowboy State Daily, RoundUp Magazine, the Tombstone Epitaph and the academic journals, Overland Journal, Annals of Wyoming and History Nebraska!
As praised by IndieReader, ReadersFavorite, the Western Association of Women Historians, Arizona Authors Association, WyoHistory.org and more…
Click HERE to Read the Professional Reviews
Read the Cover Blurb
While the Civil War raged in the east, the Platte River Raids would begin an entirely new battle for the American West. In July of 1864, Northern Plains Indians in Idaho Territory (Wyoming) appeared to be on a warpath to cease all emigrant travel on the Bozeman, Oregon, and Overland Trails by any means. On a signal, hundreds of warriors launched a series of attacks and robberies on unsuspecting emigrants through the winding “Black Hills.” Shots rang out and arrows whizzed as miners, doctors, farmers, families, and war widows rallied their covered wagons together. Some fought to defend their stock and protect their families. Others helped bury the bodies of those who did not survive.
In Emigrant Tales of the Platte River Raids, read the eyewitness testimonies of nearly 70 survivors, vetted by living descendants, mapped out, annotated, and presented in one accord for the first time in literary history.
Forward by Kylie Louise McCormick of KLM Historian.
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Emigrant Tales of the Platte River Raids features 68 eyewitness and authoritative accounts from travelers on the Oregon and Overland-California Trails in “Idaho Territory” (Wyoming). Their stories from 1864 are woven into one cohesive narrative on events that have been sorely absent from United States, Plains Indian, and literary histories for almost two centuries.
“This incident, and the balance of the journey, will be welcomed by trail fans.”
Robert Clark, Editor of Overland Journal, Overland-California Trails Association (2020)
Sources Incorporated:
Diaries and memoirs from emigrating families, correspondences from news journalists on site, memos and letters from the 11th Ohio Vol. Cavalry, media announcements, essays, and other records from verified relatives of survivors, and more.
Ft. the families of Wyatt Earp, Johnny Ringo, John Brown, Daniel Boone, Fanny Kelly, Sarah Larimer, Julius Merrill, & Col. Wm O. Collins.
Authenticated Content
Nearly 35 living descendants and subject matter experts have previewed the material and provided resources to ensure quality and credibility. The author is also a verifiable descendant of survivors.
“Janelle is an incredible historian whose award-winning investigations have challenged standard historical narratives.”
Kylie Louise McCormick, Wyoming Historian and Trail Preservationist (2023)
Academic Value AND a Thrill Ride!
This book will satisfy the casual Wild West and Civil War genre lovers, as well as strike up intellectual discussions on U.S. history. It will be a value-added text in all high school and college courses.
“This book will save future historians countless hours of duplicative efforts. Start here, then see where the journey takes you!”
Janelle Molony, Author & Historian
- ISBN: 978-1-7344638-7-3
- LOC: 2023918917
- Reading level: High School +
- Paperback and E-book options
- Foreword by former NPS Ranger & Oregon Trail Interpretive Guide
- Maps and Illustrations Included
- WHSL from the author or Amazon
Was YOUR family emigrating on the Overland and/or Oregon Trails during the Raids?
Descendant-researchers are warmly invited to get more involved by sharing their reviews, personal essays, and research articles… and even be interviewed by the author regarding the book. Click here to reach out.
Author-Approved Educational Articles and Episodes about the Content:
The 1864 Diary of Mrs. Sarah Jane Rousseau (M Press Publishing, 2023).
“Before Wyatt and Johnny Were Men,” Tombstone Epitaph, June, 2024.
“1864: More Than Massacres,” Janelle Molony’s award-winning research in the Annals of Wyoming.
“Fate and Fortune,” from the Photographs, Pistols, & Parasols podcast hosted by Lee McIntyre.
“A Woman of Grit,” a two-part feature in the Hometown by Handlebar blog.
“Murders and Misconceptions on the Oregon Trail,” Janelle Molony appears live on “Wake Up Wyoming” with Glenn Woods.
“Commentary on Sarah Jane Daglish Rousseau’s Diary,” by Pamela Greenwood (descendant of the Curtis family).
What’s Next?
- Invite Molony to speak at your next engagement. (Click to contact)
- Stay tuned on social media for more updates on the book project. (Facebook) (Instagram)
- Learn how Molony is bringing more female-centered history to life in Wyoming! (Click to learn about Women of Wyoming, Then & Now)
- Buy a copy of The 1864 Diary of Mrs. Sarah Jane Rousseau today (Amazon link)
- See Janelle Molony’s list of publications (click here)