Susan Shelby Magoffin (1827-1855) married merchant trader Samuel Magoffin (1801-1888) in 1845. From June 1846 until September 1847, she traveled with Samuel while he traded along the Santa Fe Trail from Independence, Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
In 1926, her diary was published as "Down the Santa Fe Trail and Into Mexico: The Diary of Susan Shelby Magoffin, 1846-1847." At the time of publication, it was dismissed as simply the writings of a love-struck young girl. However, historians now agree that it is one of the finest first-person accounts of people and events surrounding the Mexican-American War (1846-1848).
In 1926, her diary was published as "Down the Santa Fe Trail and Into Mexico: The Diary of Susan Shelby Magoffin, 1846-1847." At the time of publication, it was dismissed as simply the writings of a love-struck young girl. However, historians now agree that it is one of the finest first-person accounts of people and events surrounding the Mexican-American War (1846-1848).