A journal kept by Miss Sarah Foote (Mrs. Sarah Foote Smith) while journeying with her people from Wellington, Ohio to Footeville, town of Nepeuskun, Winnebago County, Wisconsin, April 15 to May 10, 1846.

              Introduction.
To the reader of highly seasoned modern fiction the following plain narrative may- seem to have no excuse for publication. But appreciation w^ill not be wanting from those few still living, who were members of that family of movers nor from their numerous prosperous families of children and grand children.
To the educated and thoughtful person, though unacquainted with the author, there is always a charm about a bit of real history.
Sarah Foote is one of the six children of Mr. and Mrs. Percival Foote of strict New England Puritan stock. Mr. Foote was a cousin of United State senator Solomon Foote, c^ New Hampshire. Mrs. Foote was a Snow, a relative of Mrs. Henry Ward Beecher.
This Foote family had been pioneers in Ohio and were go;ng farther west to the territory of Wisconsin.
Sarah was a country school girl in her teens. She had learned in the district school in Ohio, to read, write, cipher, and to parse and spell. She was known as a good speller by schools surrounding her district, which fame had been won in rival spelling contests.
Considering the fact that this Puritan maiden wrote this journal without a thought of its being seen by others, and that it was seen by no other eye until fifteen years after¬ wards, we get a vivid idea of the every day practical discipline of the youthful life of sixty years ago.
Considering also the fact that this bit of writing was done mostly at night, after the diay's journey, and that the precious manuscript made of folded sheets of the old blue writing paper, is perfect in spelling and grammatical expression and remarkably direct and definite in language, we may well hesitate before claiming immeasurable superiority for the modern schools.
With the exception of a few changes in capital letters this publication is a verbatim copy of the original which is now in possession of her son,
Chester. W. Smith.
Kilbourn. Wis.. April. 1905.