Eliza Spalding was the first white woman to cross the Rockies on what would be know as the Oregon Trail, that was explored and mapped by my kindred, John Fremont, who married Jessie Benton, the daughter of Senator Thomas Hart Benton, the author o Manifest Destiny. Eliza was born a Hart, and thus is kin to my great great grandfather, Isaac Hull, a Captain of the U.S. Constitution. That members of the Hart family played a huge role in the Western Expansion, will be seen in a new light by this Historian, who found a Continent born in the union of Christine Rosamond, and Garth Benton.

Eiza Spalding was very well liked by the Nez Perce peoples, whose women often followed her around her home wanting to see how the “white woman” cooked, cleaned, dressed, and cared for her children. She was quickly liked by them and respected for her…