Sarah Stanfield Aldrich was born on August 21, 1844, in Mahaska County, Iowa. In April 1862 she left Iowa with her parents and other family members on a wagon train bound for Walla Walla. She would eventually marry Milton Aldrich and reside at the family farm until her death on January 1, 1929.

She raised three children, two of whom attended Whitman Collage: Dora, who was in the second graduating class, and Fred, who went on to attend Boston College. On the adjacent farm lived Milton’s brother Newton Aldrich, with his wife, Ann, and their two children. On May 7, 1908, the body of Ann Aldrich was found near the headwaters of the Copper Creek around ten miles from her home.

In this Living History presentation, Sarah will recall her trip west on the Oregon Trail, and discuss the tragic murder of her sister-in-law and her son’s upcoming marriage.