In 1864, Ada Mercer (1839-1916) brought 12 girls and women aged 15-45 from Massachusetts to Seattle, Washington Territory. The journey was from March 14 to May 16, and cost $250 each (equal to nearly $3800 in 2018). His second trip left New York on January 16, 1866, and arrived in Seattle on May 28, 1866 with 34 women; 13 had stayed behind in San Francisco. Asa married Annie Stephens on July 15, 1866. This event is supposedly the basis for the television series "Here Come The Brides."
The reporter from the New York Times who traveled with the second group was Roger Conant (1833-1915). Thirty-five-year-old Elizabeth (Lizzie) Ordway was in the group of women who arrived in Seattle two years earlier.