Kitturah Belknap was one of the very first pioneer settlers in Iowa. She came among the groups of the first settlers as a “trail woman” who kept pushing further west into the uncharted land. Several trail women settled in Iowa, but only a handful went further west, including Belknap. She did eventually finish her journey with the others in Oregon. These trail women challenged the stereotype of women being weak and insecure.
Belknap’s diaries give us so much insight on what the days were like for everybody out on the trail. She wrote about every detail about each day on the trail such as people passed, weather and terrain and even when they came across a nice family who offered a place to stay the night. Kitturah Belknap’s diaries give us as much information about the hardships faced everyday by the travelers. Belknap was a jack-of-all-trades on the trails. She helped with everything from navigating to cooking, even to helping the men save fellow travelers who had been taken during ambushes. She was a highly regarded woman in her group, and is highly regarded today as well.
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