The Oregon Trail

Francis Parkman Jr. was an American historian and gardener who lived from September 16, 1823, until November 8, 1893. Before his passing in 1893, he served as a trustee for the Boston Athenaeum from 1858. His writings are respected both as literary and historical materials. His father was a prominent Boston family member named the Reverend Francis Parkman Sr. (1788-1853). On the history of the American forest, he produced numerous books. He undertook an eight-month Grand Tour of Europe in 1843 when he was 20 years old. By the end of Parkman's lifetime, the histories of early America had grown popular due to the popularity of his writings. Parkman received a special dedication in Theodore Roosevelt's frontier history. On May 13, 1850, Parkman wed Catherine Scollay Bigelow; they had three kids. Early in life, a son passed away; shortly after, his wife passed away. He was successful in raising his two daughters, integrating them into Boston culture, and seeing both of them get married and start their own families. Parkman passed away in Jamaica Plain at age 70. In Cambridge, Massachusetts' Mount Auburn Cemetery, he is buried.