Martha Gay Masterson (November 8, 1837 – December 12, 1916) was an American settler who kept a diary throughout her life, beginning with her family's journey west on the Oregon Trail when she was just 13.
The crossing took five months, and the family eventually settled in Lane County, Oregon.
[6] In 1990, historian Lois Barton published Masterson's diary-cum-reminiscences with explanatory notes under the title One Woman's West: Recollections of the Oregon Trail and Settling of the Northwest Country.
[5] This passage gives a sense of her style and subject matter: In 1995, writer Rebecca Stetoff based a nonfiction book for young readers, Children of the Westward Trail, on Masterson's diary.
In 2014, poet Jana Harris published You Haven't Asked About My Wedding or What I Wore, a book of poems based on writings by American pioneer women.