Susan Shelby Magoffin – Santa Fe Trail Traveler & Reporter (1827 – 1855); Southern Douglas County
Susan Shelby Magoffin traveled the Santa Fe Trail as a teenage bride and left one of the earliest diaries* written by a female. She provided valuable information not found anywhere else about the trail passing through Douglas County and enriched the history of our area.
Susan Shelby was born on July 30, 1827, on her father’s estate near Danville, Kentucky to a prominent and wealthy family. The Shelby family were pioneers and leaders in Kentucky along with the Magoffin family. Susan was 18 years old when she married Samuel Magoffin, 45, on November 25, 1845. They visited New York and Philadelphia before traveling the Santa Fe Trail as part of an extended honeymoon from 1846-47. Samuel was an experienced and successful Santa Fe trader. Due to her status, and his wealth, Susan traveled with a private carriage, a “small tent house,” books, a maid, driver, and at least two servant boys. A few other women may have accompanied their trader husbands to Santa Fe, but not in this style!
The Santa Fe Trail was a commercial trail – a trail used to transport goods for trading. Traders carried goods in both directions along the trail – Americans to Santa Fe and Mexicans to the US. At this time, men were the main trail travelers. They were the traders, the teamsters, and the “support staff.” Women rarely went along, due to safety concerns from the trail and from the men. Later, military wives would accompany husbands. Much later the Santa Fe Trail was used to transport families to new homes in the west.
If women traveled on the trail, they were the cooks or had other roles. Trail traveler Marion Sloan Russell’s** mother worked as a cook for a wagon train in 1852. Susan occasionally mentioned her maid, Jane, in her diary. Jane provided for all of Susan’s needs. She arranged the tent’s interior, set up and cleaned up Susan’s food, took care of her clothing and belongings, packed her things, was Susan’s companion when needed, and more. Jane’s presence allowed Susan to have the time and energy to write such a thorough diary.
Susan wrote about everything she found and did along the Santa Fe Trail in her diary. She described the country she passed through, landmarks along the trail, the names of people she met, and incidents that occurred. Some of her entries are the only information found so far about several key sites and events. In our area, she wrote about “nooning it” – stopping for the midday meal – in the Gardner area, camping at Black Jack Creek – around the Black Jack ruts or battlefield area, and being stuck in the mud in the Willow Springs area. She told about the animals, birds, plants, and wildflowers she picked along the trail. She described Bent’s Fort in Colorado, the native wives of the traders, and the activities at the fort.
At Bent’s Fort, Susan met Gen. Stephen Watts Kearney as he and the Army of the West passed through on their way to capture Santa Fe. Susan and Samuel resumed their journey three days after the army and the Magoffin wagon train left the fort. Susan and Samuel arrived in Santa Fe two weeks after Kearney occupied the city in August 1846. After spending 5 months in Santa Fe, the Magoffins traveled south into Mexico. Susan gave information about this important time in history including Kearney’s actions in capturing New Mexico and the Mexican War. She then wrote about the Santa Fe trade, Mexican people and their culture. Her descriptions print a picture of real life upon the Santa Fe Trail, and the people she encountered there and in Santa Fe, giving details not often provided by male travelers.
Before reaching Bent’s Fort, Susan had a terrible carriage accident with serious injuries. Susan’s first child was born prematurely at Bent’s Fort and was either stillborn or passed away soon after birth. Her second child was born in Matamoras, Mexico (near Brownsville, Texas) in September 1847 while she was ill with yellow fever. He passed away soon after birth.
She and Samuel left Mexico, traveled by boat to New Orleans, and went on to Lexington, Kentucky where they stayed for several years. Susan’s daughter, Jane, was born a healthy child in 1851. In 1852, they moved to the Kirkwood, Missouri area and lived on a large estate. In 1855, another daughter was born, named Susan. But Susan Shelby Magoffin’s health had been poor for years. She passed away soon after the birth of the child, on October 26, 1855, at age 28. She is buried in St. Louis.
*Down the Santa Fe Trail and Into Mexico: The Diary of Susan Shelby Magoffin, 1846-1847, Edited by Stella M. Drumm
** Read Marion Sloan Russell’s memoirs of her five journeys over the Santa Fe Trail in: Land of Enchantment: Memoirs of Marian Russell Along the Santa Fe Trail by Marion Sloan Russell
By M. Jardon, 5/2026
Bibliograghy:
Magoffin, Susan Shelby. Down the Santa Fe Trail and into Mexico: The Diary of Susan Shelby Magoffin, 1846-1847, ed. Stella M. Drumm. Yale University Press, 1962.
Image: sites.libraries.uta.edu/usmexicowar/node/6583
