The Explorer’s Widow Visits Olympia
Lady Jane Franklin, still searching for answers about her husband's lost Arctic expedition, visits the Washington Territory.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Lady Jane Franklin, widow of the renowned Arctic explorer, Sir John Franklin, arrived here on Saturday last on the steamer Oregon, Captain Hudson. She was accompanied by her niece, Miss Craycroft. They remained but a few hours, and accompanied by Captain Hudson, called upon His Excellency Gov. McGill and Captain A. B. Gove. The party also paid a visit to Tumwater. Her Ladyship avowed herself much pleased with the visit, and it was a matter of regret to all that her stay was necessarily so short. Lady Franklin is an Englishwoman about sixty years of age, and has rendered her name immortal, by her constancy and devotion in efforts to ascertain the fate of the exploring expedition under her gallant and adventurous husband. In that search, she has expended a large fortune.
“She has rendered her name immortal, by her constancy and devotion in efforts to ascertain the fate of the exploring expedition under her gallant and adventurous husband.”
In 1861, Lady Franklin was a global celebrity for her relentless search for her husband, Sir John Franklin, whose expedition disappeared in 1845. Her visit to the small, frontier town of Olympia underscores how the Territory functioned as a node for maritime travelers, even those conducting international searches for lost souls.
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