Iowa to Indiana 1867

In October of 1867, my great-great-grandmother Ann Millis Frazier Way and her family traveled by wagon from Iowa to Indiana. She kept a diary along the way, recording towns, roads, river crossings, and places where they camped.

Now in 2010, one hundred forty three years later, my cousins and I are following Ann's trail. Ann and her husband Henry took 26 days to make the journey. We will drive it in less than 5.

Ann's family had a long Quaker lineage, extending back to England. Because it was felt that the "idolatrous Saxons" named the days of the week after their gods (Sunday for the sun, Monday for the moon and so forth), Quakers kept their diaries by numbering the days of the week. Thus Ann's diary begins "10th month, 3rd day" in Green Plain, Iowa.

Does Green Plain still exist? Is it accessible by car? How does it look 140 years after Ann began her journey?

We will find out as we follow Ann's diary. The journey begins June 28, 2010!