Manuscripts
HM 80829: Autobiography of Edwin Eells, Book I (copy). This notebook appears to have been copied from Edwin's original diary and the remainder of the volumes were edited by his daughter, Ida Myra Eells (b. 1872) using his original accounts, now apparently lost. Eells begins his autobiography by mentioning the gift of a pocket diary from his father, Cushing Eells, and states that it has helped him to recall events from his past. Following his introduction, as a backdrop, is a history of Dr. Marcus Whitman's visits to the Nez Perce people in the early 1830s. This provides an explanation of how his father came to the territory in 1838. Eells recalls a monotonous early life. He had fond memories of horseback riding and yearly trips to Walla Walla County, Washington. During the family's absence, "...we left our houses in the care of the Indians, who were faithful and honest, and nothing was lost" (p. 17). He provides lengthy accounts, which include how they built their settlement, changes in the Mission of the American Board, "The Great Migration of 1843", the harsh winter at Tshimakain of 1846-1847, and how Whitman was eventually massacred by the Indians on November 29, 1847. Eells cautions that the subject of the Whitman killings was the topic of fireside conversation by others as he was too young to understand at the time.
mssHM 80829-80834
