My First Trip to Seattle, by Nora Leonard Vandeventer, circa 1938

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Image of My First Trip to Seattle, by Nora Leonard Vandeventer, circa 1938 — MS.COLL.1523_1

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Manuscript

My First Trip to Seattle, by Nora Leonard Vandeventer, circa 1938

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In her story "My First Trip to Seattle," Nora Leonard Vandeventer (1863-1944) recounts the trip she made with her family, as a child of around 10, when they moved from Tumwater to Seattle. She recounts the perilous January trip on the Zephyr, a sternwheel steamer of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet. Nora traveled with her parents Amy and Thomas Austin Leonard, and two younger sisters, Mary and Sarah. She describes her sadness at leaving Tumwater; the fraught journey; being comforted by Susannah (Mercer) Graham (daughter of Seattle pioneer Thomas Mercer) aboard the ship; meeting Reverend Daniel Bagley upon landing at Seattle; and learning to love her new hometown.

Vandeventer dedicated her story to her "beloved playmate, school mate and friend of those early days, Sophie Frye Bass." Sarah Sophia "Sophie" (Frye) Bass (1867-1947) was a granddaughter of Seattle pioneers Arthur Armstrong Denny (1822-1899) and Mary Ann (Boren) Denny (1822-1910). She wrote two children's books about the early history of Seattle, "When Seattle Was A Village," and "Pigtail Days in Old Seattle."

ID Number: MS.COLL.1523

Date: Circa 1938

Creator(s): Vandeventer, Nora Leonard, Author

Physical Description: 1 manuscript (4 pages) ; 8.5 x 11 in.

Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.

Credit: MOHAI, Manuscript Collection, MS.COLL.1523

Subjects: Maritime, Transportation, Washington Territory, European American Settlement

Media: Download PDF File