46. Henry and Eliza Spalding

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46. When Marcus and Narcissa Whitman headed west as missionaries, they took with them another newlywed missionary couple, Henry and Eliza Spalding. The Whitmans settled with the Cayuse at Waiilatpu, near Walla Walla, Washington, while Spaldings established their mission about 100 miles east with the Nez Perce, at Lapwai, Idaho. The early years of the mission were highly successful, but as waves of white settlers continued to arrive along the Oregon Trail, tensions mounted, culminating in the so-called Whitman massacre. Although the Spaldings survived the incident, they were forced to relocate to the west near Fort Vancouver. Eliza died in 1851, but Henry eventually returned to his beloved Nez Perce, and continued his missionaries labors for many years to come.

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