Nancy Kelsey

Female, Person

 Credit ยป
51

Who is Nancy Kelsey?

Nancy Roberts Kelsey was the first white woman to visit Utah, and she was the first to cross the Sierra Nevada mountains, arriving in California on November 25, 1841.

With those words Nancy Kelsey began a journey across country no white woman had ever made. With her baby on her hip, Nancy, who had just turned 18 a few days earlier, became the first woman, other than Native Americans, to walk on Utah soil. The year was 1841 and the Kelsey clan, often on the move, once again had itching feet. A letter from a Dr. John Marsh in California praising the new land excited many Missourians yearning for a great adventure.

However, when spring came, only a small group gathered at Sapling Grove near Weston, Missouri, to actually make the trip. Among them were several members of the extended Kelsey family, including Nancy, her husband Ben, and their daughter Martha Ann. Known as the Bartleson-Bidwell Party, this group followed dim traces of the new Oregon Trail. Thomas "Broken-Hand" Fitzpatrick, famous mountain man, was their guide as far as Soda Springs, Idaho. Then they were on their own. Seven long, weary months would pass before they arrived at Sutter's Fort in California. The second lap of the trip earned Nancy Kelsey the distinction of being the first white woman to cross the Sierra Nevada. An exhibit detailing these events can be seen at the Women's Museum of California in San Diego.

We need you!

Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!


Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"Nancy Kelsey." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/nancy_kelsey>.

Discuss this Nancy Kelsey biography with the community:

0 Comments

    Browse Biographies.net