Henry Rogers was a miller who lived and worked in Mt. Pleasant, Ohio during most of the 19th Century.  In 1838, Henry, his wife, and her parents traveled from their home in southwestern Ohio to New York City via horse-drawn wagon.  Henry, a literate businessman with diverse interests, kept a daily journal to "mention all interesting subjects and things that come under my observation."

Henry recorded observations of and thoughts about landforms and waterways, soil and crops, buildings other architectural features, mills and other forms of industry, places and institutions with tourist appeal, and emerging transportation facilities.  The social and political environment of the times, as well as the health and comfort of his party--both humans and horses--as they traveled eastward, were all commented upon in the journal.

Some 150 years after Henry's trip, his great-great-great granddaughter, Tracy Lawson, received a typewritten copy of his journal as a gift, and almost immediately fell into an extensive, diverse exploration of the content and context of the documents.  Thirteen years into her research, she, along with her young daughter, benchmarked the exploration of Henry's journal by retracing his route from southwestern Ohio to New Jersey.