The Sager orphans (sometimes referred to as the Sager children) were the children of Henry and Naomi Sager. In April 1844 the Sager family took part in the great westward migration and started their journey along the Oregon Trail. During it, both Henry and Naomi died and left their seven children orphaned. 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. About 1860 Catherine, the oldest daughter, wrote a first-hand account of their journey across the plains and their life with the Whitmans. Today it is regarded as one of the most authentic accounts of the American westward migration. The children's names were (from oldest to youngest): John Carney Sager (born 1831 in Union County, Ohio) Francis "Frank" Sager (born 1833 in Union County, Ohio) Catherine Carney Sager (born April 15, 1835 in Union County, Ohio) Elizabeth Marie Sager (born July 6, 1837 in Union County, Ohio) Matilda Jane Sager (born October 6, 1839 in Buchanan County, Missouri) Hannah Louise "Louisa" Sager (born 1841 in Platte County, Missouri) Henrietta Naomi "Rosanna" Sager (born May 30, 1844 along the Oregon Trail in present-day Kansas) Before the Oregon Trail Henry Sager was described as a "restless one" by his daughter, Catherine. Before 1844 he had moved his growing family three times. Starting in Virginia they moved to Ohio, and later to Indiana. In 1839 they settled on a farm in Platte County, Missouri. Sager also worked as a blacksmith. The couple decided to head for Oregon, which Naomi thought had a more healthful climate. In late autumn 1843, they sold the farm and moved to St. Joseph, Missouri, a jump-off point for the Oregon Trail, where they stayed the winter. By then Naomi was pregnant with her seventh child. In March 1844 Henry joined a group of pioneers who called themselves The Independent Colony. On the Oregon Trail At the end of April 1844, the Independent Colony, 300 people in 72 covered wagons, crossed the Missouri River and started out on the journey along the Oregon Trail. The company was under the command of Captain William T. Shaw, a veteran of the war of 1812, who was traveling with his wife, Sally, and six children. The Sagers joined the wagon