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 Josiah Gregg - Author and Merchant on the Santa Fe Trail - New Franklin, MO Posted by:  YoSam.
N 39° 00.744 W 092° 44.274
15S E 522691 N 4318185
He was a merchant, explorer, naturalist, and author of Commerce of the Prairies about the American Southwest and Northern Mexico regions. He reportedly died of a fall from his mount due to starvation near Clear Lake, California, on 25 February 1850.
Waymark Code: WMQRM9
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 03/24/2016
Views: 1
County of memorial: Howard County
Location of memorial: MO-5 & Katy Trail, S. limits of New Franklin
Artist: Harry Weber
Dedicated: 31 August 2013
Granite Etchings artist: Kevin Hale
Engineer: Crockett Engineering
Contractor: Bill Sullivan Excavations
Plaque Text: Josiah Gregg
July 19, 1806 to Feb. 25, 1850
Josiah Greg was born in Overton County, Tennessee -- the youngest son of Harmon and Susannah (Smelser) Greggs' seven children. In 1812 his family settled at Cooper's Fort in Howard County, and later moved to Jackson County. Sickly, shy, and studious, he taught school near Liberty, Missouri, in 1824, then moved with his family to Independence to study law and surveying. By 1830 he was seriously ill with consumption (tuberculosis) and chronic dyspepsia (a painful digestive disorder). After several bedridden months and unable to sit on a horse, Gregg took his doctors' advice and made his first Santa Fe trip in the spring on 1831 with a merchant caravan. His health quickly improved, and Gregg was hired as a bookkeeper by Jesse Sutton, one of the merchants with whom he later formed a partnership. He returned to Missouri in the fall of 1833 and set out again as caravan wagon master. By the end of the decade he had traveled the plains eight times, drawing maps and keeping detailed notes. He learned Spanish and by 1840 was a successful merchant. In 1844 his two-volume Commerce of the Prairies was published and became an immediate success. Five editions were printed within a decade. It remains the cornerstone for all studies of the Santa Fe Trail. Gregg enrolled at the University of Louisville medical school in 1845 and was granted a medical degree. After the outbreak of the Mexican-American War he served as an interpreter, guide, mapmaker and war correspondent for the Arkansas volunteers. He practiced medicine in Saltillo, Mexico, until the spring of 1848. Having a lifelong interest in botany, he joined a botanical expedition to western Mexico and California, corresponding and sending specimens to the eminent botanist George Engelman in St. Louis. The American Botanical Society added the Latin name greggi in his honor to twenty-three species of plants. In 1849 Gregg sailed for San Francisco to join in the gold rush. In October of that year he led an exploring party through uncharted redwood forests to Humbolt Bay in northern California. Exhausted from vigorous travel near-starvation and continuous exposure to severe weather, Gregg died as a result of a fall from his horse. He is buried near Clear Lake, California. It is unknown if he married or had children.
Road of Trail Name: Santa Fe Trail
State: Missouri
County: Howard County
Historical Significance:
The “highway” concept seems strange by today’s standards considering the Trail was actually a route made up of several trails, originated by animal herds and Indians, and carved out of mostly uncharted prairies and high plains.
In 1846, the Mexican-American War began, with the Army of the West following the Trail to invade Mexico. When the Treaty of Guadalupe ended the war in 1848, the Trail became a “national road” connecting the United States to the new territories.
By 1880, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad reached Santa Fe, to be connected with the Southern Pacific Railroad a year later. The glory years of the Santa Fe Trail were over.
Years in use: 1821 - 1880
How you discovered it:
Driving home from a photo trip to Chariton County, I was cutting down MO Hwy 5, and just south of New Franklin as I came to where the Katy Trail State Park crossed the hwy there stood a new monument. This is part of that monument
Book on Wagon Road or Trial:
COMMERCE of the PRAIRIES.
by JOSIAH A. GREGG
Published in 1844 and 1845.
Website Explination:
http://www.genealogy.com/ftm/a/n/d/Darlene-Anderson-3/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0042.html
Why?:
rom 1821 to 1880, the Santa Fe Trail was “America’s Highway” to the Southwest. By the time it was replaced by the railroads, the Trail served as a link with Mexico and New Mexico Territory, and hastened the settlement of the American West.
In September 1821, Becknell organized a trading party for Santa Fe, and left Franklin with an ox-drawn caravan and 21 men, following parts of the Osage Trace. By mid-November, Becknell and his party arrived in Santa Fe, where they sold their goods at a huge profit.
Directions:
MO Hwy 5 south limits of New Franklin where the Katy Trail cross the hwy.
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Visit Instructions:
To post a log for this Waymark the poster must have a picture of either themselves, GPSr, or mascot. People in the picture with information about the waymark are preferred. If the waymarker can not be in the picture a picture of their GPSr or mascot will qualify. There are no exceptions to this rule.
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