Oregon-California Trails Association | Variel, Mary Alexander Ada

Variel, Mary Alexander Ada – 1852, Indiana to California

Merrill J. Mattes Collection·

Series of printed articles “A Romance of the Plains” by William J. Variel, from notes given by his pioneer mother Mary Alexander Variel

The collection was begun in 1991 by the late Merrill J. Mattes, a co-founder of the Oregon-California Trails Association. That original nucleus was a result of a generous donation from Merrill and reflected his many years as an award-winning National Park Service historian and also included works of his own authorship. The collection is housed at the national Frontier Trails Museum in Independence, Missouri. Here, you have access to many of the original trail diaries he collected in digital form.