Collection consists of a diary written by William Smedley ca. 1862-1864 describing an overland journey from Omaha, Nebraska to Salem, Oregon, as well as a typescript of the return trip to Westchester, Pennsylvania. The original diary was published in book form in 1916 under the title, 'Across the Plains in '62." Smedley was a dentist and a native of Philadelphia, who later moved to Denver, Colorado ca. 1870.