Emma Rosser was a Yellowstone National Park tourist from Saginaw, Michigan.
In the late summer of 1888, Emma Rosser and two traveling companions identified only as "Louise" and "Budd" went on a camping trip through Yellowstone National Park in a private spring wagon. The party left a location near Billings, Montana and proceeded up the Yellowstone River valley to Livingston, then turned south to enter the park near Gardiner. They traveled through Mammoth Hot Springs, the Norris Geyser Basin, the Firehole River, the Upper Geyser Basin, and along the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone before returning to Billings by the same route. Through the journey Rosser describes the countryside with varying degrees of detail, and also mentions at least one other touring party, the Severns. Also mentioned in the diary are "Yankee Jim" (James George) and Dick Hunter, a soldier they met on duty at the Upper Geyser Basin. They stayed in no hotels or commercial establishments during their stay in the Park. The collection consists of Rosser's original diary composed in pencil and the original transcription prepared by Burlingame.
This collection is open for research.
Original diary kept by Emma Rosser and a typed transcription of the same prepared by Merrill G. Burlingame were donated to Montana State University in 1994. Initially found within the research papers accessioned as collection 2245, the Rosser diary was removed for separate processing. According to Burlingame's statement, the diary was found in the Fred Willson home in Bozeman, Montana in August, 1968.
This collection was processed 2009 May 28