Pioneer Women in the

Western Reserve

Many years ago, a young woman named Margaret Van Horn Dwight left her home in Connecticut and made a long, difficult journey to Ohio in 1810.  She came to live with the family of her cousin, Joseph Woodbridge, who had already settled here in Warren.  Margaret was born into a prominent New England family.  Her great-grandfather was Jonathan Edwards, one of America’s first great preachers, and her uncle, Timothy Dwight, was the president of Yale for 22 years.  She was very sad when she left her family and friends behind to start a new life.

Margaret’s traveling companions were the Wolcott family.  Deacon Wolcott, his wife and their two children Susan and Erastus.  They left Milford, Connecticut on October 19, 1810 and arrived in Warren six weeks later on December 1.  Why did it take them such a long time?  Their transportation was a covered wagon pulled by horses, one of the primary methods of transportation back then.  The roads were terribly bumpy, often with deep gullies and trees on the ground, obstructing their path.  If there were no bridges, rivers were crossed by ferries.  They traveled 600 miles across Connecticut, New Jersey, and seven mountain ranges in Pennsylvania.  The bad roads, as well as the many mountains to cross, limited their progress to about 10 miles a day.

During her journey, Margaret kept a journal of everything that happened to send to her friend and cousin in Connecticut, Elizabeth Woolsey.  Margaret wrote about the Wolcotts, the taverns they stayed in, bad roads, the people they met, the many towns they traveled through, and having to walk over most of the mountains they crossed.  Whether it was good or bad, Margaret documented all of it. 

When Margaret reached Warren, she sent her journal to her cousin Elizabeth.  Many years later, Margaret’s journal was published as a book, called “Journey to Ohio in 1810,” and now people can read what it was like to be a pioneer from the perspective of a young woman almost 200 years ago.  Would you like to have been a pioneer like Margaret?  Try writing your own journal.

The Mahoning Valley Historical Society educates and promotes an interest in the history of the Mahoning Valley by collecting, preserving, and developing material representative of the people who have inhabited the region.

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