Hi, my name is Dedra. I was a slave until I won my freedom. I am moving west because I have nothing, and if I find gold I can start a new life. I will make the trip,west in a wagon train. I am going to have a ranch with cattle. While on the way there I met my future husband, Manuel. We got married on August 4th. A few months later my husband went to guard our land near the reservations. When he came home that cowboy went straight  to the caves to mine  from the gold rush. We had a good life, that got much better when I got a telegraph saying my niece had a baby. We put a lot of hard work into our life and now we pass down our good fortune. We wish the best for our 3 kids, 4 grandkids, and a farm full of animals.