The drawing Marcus Whitman who blazed the “Oregon Trail,” with his wife Narcissa from Prattsburgh NY
From staff reports, images from the Steuben County Hall of Fame
A new series on The History Channel, “The West,” hosted by Kevin Costner, features the role played by a couple who left Steuben County in the early 1830’s to deliver Christianity and medicine to the wilds of Oregon.
Marcus Whitman, a doctor, and his wife, Narcissa Prentiss, became national figures and heroes to many in the then-expanding United States when they trekked more than 2,000 miles from Prattsburgh to Oregon in 1833. Prentiss is acknowledged to have been first white woman to cross the Rockies. Both are members of the Steuben County Hall of Fame.
In the series’ Episode 3 which first aired Monday, May 26, followed the couple’s arduous travel and, at first, their disappointing failures in converting native Oregon tribes to Christianity. Whitman was recalled by the East Coast mission council to account for the failures but his tales of the new territory prompted a major migration of families who chose to return with him.
Whitman provided medical treatment to the natives but his inability to stop tribal deaths from an outbreak of measles after his return led to the couple’s murder by leaders who believe his medicine was poison. News of their deaths led Congress to pass a law designating Oregon as an official U.S. Territory.
The series is available to watch online at The History Channel website and will, no doubt, be rebroadcast.
History Channel link: https://play.history.com/shows/kevin-costners-the-west
Steuben County Hall of Fame: https://www.steubencountyny.gov/202/Hall-of-Fame
