On July 4, 1844, the Independent Colony celebrated Independence Day on the banks of the Platte River. Henrietta Naomi 'Rosanna' Sager (born along the Oregon Trail in present-day Kansas).Hannah Louise 'Louisa' Sager (born 1841 in Platte County, Missouri).Matilda Jane Sager (born Octoin Buchanan County, Missouri).Elizabeth Marie Sager (born Jin Union County, Ohio).Catherine Carney Sager (born Apin Union County, Ohio).Francis 'Frank' Sager (born 1833 in Union County, Ohio).John Carney Sager (born 1831 in Union County, Ohio).The children's names were (from oldest to youngest):
Today it is regarded as one of the most authentic accounts of the American westward migration. About 1860 Catherine, the oldest daughter, wrote a first-hand account of their journey across the plains and their life with the Whitmans. Later adopted by Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, missionaries in what is now Washington, they were orphaned a second time, when both their new parents, as well as brothers John and Francis Sager, were killed during the Whitman massacre in November 1847. During it, both Henry and Naomi died and left their seven children orphaned. In April 1844 the Sager family took part in the great westward migration and started their journey along the Oregon Trail. The Sager orphans (sometimes referred to as the Sager children) were the children of Henry and Naomi Sager. The Sager family at the beginning of their journey west
