Narcissa Prentiss Whitman (March 14, 1808 – November 29, 1847) was an American missionary in the Oregon Country of what would become the state of Washington.

[2] However, she was rejected for foreign mission because she was unmarried, a problem she solved by suddenly marrying Dr. Marcus Whitman on February 18, 1836, in Angelica, New York.

[6] Shortly after their wedding, the Whitmans along with the also recently married Henry and Eliza Spalding headed west for the Oregon Country in March 1836 to begin their missionary activities amongst the natives.

[7] The Whitman Mission began to take shape in 1837, eventually growing into a major stopping point along the Oregon Trail.

Then, in 1840, mountain man Joseph Meek, whom the Whitmans met on their journey to the area, stopped off on his way to the Willamette Valley.

Her daily activities included cooking, washing and ironing clothes, churning butter, making candles and soap, and baking.

[1] On March 14, 1837, on her twenty ninth birthday, Whitman gave birth to the first white American born in Oregon Country.

The American population had some limited immunity to measles which meant a lower mortality rate than the natives.

This discrepancy stirred discontent among the natives who felt Marcus was only curing the white people while letting Indian children die.

This event would be remembered as the Whitman massacre, in which eleven others were killed, including the young brothers John and Francis Sager.