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Walker Family Trunk

Walker Family Trunk - Trunk
Accession #: 500.87
Title: Walker Family Trunk
Object Type: Trunk
Participants:
Walker, Mary (user)
Physical Description: Black leather trunk studded with brass tacks as corner re-enforcement, with a brass latch plate (see inscription field for details) on the front, and addressed on the wooden bottom of the trunk (see inscription field for details).
Description: Missionary couple Elkanah and Mary Walker used this trunk to carry their belongings to Tshimakain Mission, near present day Springdale, Washington. Either they strapped it to their wagon for the six-month overland Oregon Trail journey, or shipped it around South America to the Hudson's Bay Company post at Vancouver, Washington, then overland to Tshimakain. Protestant and Catholic missionaries, among the earliest Euro-Americans to arrive in the region, employed very different approaches in their work with Native Americans.
Category: History
Subjects/Topics/Concepts:
Carrying & Storage (Personal Artifact->Personal Gear), Storage (Tools & Equipment->Container), Religious (Communication->Ceremonial)
Geographical Reference: Tshimiakain (Washington->Stevens County)
Dimensions:
Object H x W x D 15 1/2 x 30 x 16 1/2"
Materials/Techniques:
paper (fiber product) (Material)
leather (Material)
wood (plant material) (Material)
brass (alloy) (Material)
Marks/Inscription:
E. Walker Col. River Oregon Ter (latch plate)
Rev. A. B. Smith Ca. of Dr. J. McLaughlin Fort Vancouver H. B. Co. Oregon Territory (painted in black paint on wooden bottom)
Related Exhibits:
Credit Line: Museum Purchase, 1973

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