History of Oregon : the Growth of an American State Vol. 2

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

History of Oregon : the Growth of an American State Vol. 2 I -Y - iII i 406 THE GROWTH OF AN AMERICAN STATE nine miles down the river from Gervais'. Lucier is that he had himself decide, often spoken of as the first to locate a claim. He in consequence came up t] have selected a place on the east side of is said to after the transfer to the British co the Willamette near the present site of Portland, tinued their occupation as free I in 1829, but was informed by Dr. McLoughlin transfer of the Astor company's int pany of Montreal, Canada, which to to date of commencing the French Prairie settlement. Permit me our late war with Great Britain, s to give in corroboration of what I learned from Dr. McLoughlin and mostly Canadians, refused to enter the settlers themselves, the proof fixing the date by men yet living. Company, preferring to become w The venerable Donald Manson, who arrived at Vancouver Jan., 1825, side as Free Trappers, which posi now a resident of Champoeg, says: 'I married Felicite, the eld- tained. In the time intervening est daughter of Etienne Lucier, in October, 1828. Her father was tioned and the date when the free then living on his land claim two miles above Champoeg, where he on French Prairie, they had made had settled in the fall of 1827.' Hon. F. X. Matthieu, residing near of profitable trapping and huntir Butteville, who came to Oregon in 1842, says: 'On my arrival in bordering mountain ranges. Aboy Oregon I lived the following two years with Mr. Lucier, who told me Northwest Company and the Hu( he had lived on his farm fifteen years when I reached his home in mated, 1821-2, Gervais and their 1842.'" trapping on the Hons-u-cha-chac As to the first exploration of the Willamette Valley, which proba- name of Pudding River, their carn bly led to the desire to make here their home, Mr. Rees says: " In Willamette; while here they expe' the fall following the arrival of Mr. Hunt at Astoria, Mr. McKenzie, storm, which confined them to t one of the Astor partners who with so much pomp took for his forth in search of game. The litt wife the Princess Chowa, daughter of old king Comcomley, the the Indian trail crossed the strea celebrated Chinook chief-[probably allusion to McDougall's mar- their camp. Here they came upoi riage]-left Astoria on an exploring expedition to the Willamette succeeded in shooting. The Ind Valley country. Among the small party who accompanied him were suspecting what was going on, st Joseph Gervais, Louis Labonte, and a brother of Comcomley, his to assist their liege lords of the large canoe being manned by his slaves. This expedition, said Jo- the blood, which was soon made i seph Gervais, was for the purpose of establishing trade with the as blood pudding, upon which, wi Indians, to instruct and encourage them to capture and properly tuously every day during the co preserve the skins of such fur bearing animals as the company While this memorable feast was most desired. The explorers proceeded as far south as the Cala- christened the stream Riviere au pooia country. They found the natives very numerous and friend- other account makes Thomas Me ly. Their principal towns were confined to the rivers, where incident.] they kept large fleets of canoes. Champoeg was the largest vil- Rees continues: " In the time lage they found on the upper river, their cedar houses occupying all the free trappers had seleci both banks of the stream. The Indians were all pressed, or flat, had also some of the old retire heads, except their slaves, who were owned by the principal men The first men retired from the s4 generally." by Dr. McLoughlin, commenced Mr. Rees states that Gervais and the other Astor men, refused, of 1830.".
Recommended publications
  • Etienne Lucier
    Etienne Lucier Readers should feel free to use information from the website, however credit must be given to this site and to the author of the individual articles. By Ella Strom Etienne Lucier was born in St. Edouard, District of Montreal, Canada, in 1793 and died on the French Prairie in Oregon, United States in 1853.1 This early pioneer to the Willamette Valley was one of the men who helped to form the early Oregon society and government. Etienne Lucier joined the Wilson Price Hunt overland contingent of John Jacob Astor’s Pacific Fur Company in 1810.2 3 After the Pacific Fur Company was dissolved during the War of 1812,4 he entered the service of the North West Company and, finally, ended up being a brigade leader for the Hudson’s Bay Company.5 For a short time in 1827, he lived on what would be come known as East Portland. He helped several noted pioneers establish themselves in the northern Willamette Valley by building three cabins in Oregon City for Dr. John McLoughlin and a home at Chemaway for Joseph Gervais.6 Also as early as 1827, Lucier may have had a temporary cabin on a land claim which was adjacent to the Willamette Fur Post in the Champoeg area. However, it is clear that by 1829 Lucier had a permanent cabin near Champoeg.7 F.X. Matthieu, a man who would be instrumental in determining Oregon’s future as an American colony, arrived on the Willamette in 1842, “ragged, barefoot, and hungry” and Lucier gave him shelter for two years.8 Matthieu and Lucier were key votes in favor of the organization of the provisional government under American rule in the May 1843 vote at Champoeg.
    [Show full text]
  • A Settlement Model at the Robert Newel Farmstead (35MA41
    AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Mollie Manion for the Degree of Master of Arts in Applied Anthropology presented on March 14 2006 Title: A Settlement Model at the Robert Newell Farmstead (35MA41). French Prairie. Oregon Abstract approved: -- Signature redacted forprivacy. David R. Brauner This thesis is based on the excavations of the Robert Newell farmstead (35MA41), excavated in 2002 and 2003 by the Oregon State University Department of Anthropology archaeological field school. Robert Newell lived at this farm from 1843- 1854. Major architectural features, including a brick hearth and postholes were discovered at the site. This is the first early historic site excavated with such intact architectural features since the Willamette Mission site found in the 1980s. The data from the excavation also revealed artifacts dating from the 1830s through the mid 1850s. I have hypothesized an occupation prior to 1843, when Robert Newell moved onto the property. Based on this hypothesis, a settlement model has been proposed for the site based on the analysis of the archival and archaeological data. I specificallypropose that John Ball, Nathaniel Wyeth's farm workers and William Johnson occupied the site prior to Robert Newell's arrival in 1843. ©Copyright by Mollie Manion March 14, 2006 All Rights Reserved A Settlement Model at the Robert Newell Farmstead (35MA41), French Prairie, Oregon by Mollie Manion A THESIS submitted to Oregon State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Presented March 14, 2006 Commencement June 2006 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are so many people to thank on a project like this both personally and professionally First, I would like to thank my husband, Ross Manion.
    [Show full text]
  • Joseph Delard by Connie Lenzen, CG
    Joseph Delard By Connie Lenzen, CG Joseph Delard Introduction Joseph Delard, son of Francois and Catherine (Lavaliee) Delard, was baptized on 30 December 1792 at St. Pierre de Sorel, Canada.1 He died in St. Louis, Oregon, and was buried in the St. Louis Cemetery on 26 August 1869.2 He first married Lisette Souchouabe. She died on 19 February 1841, aged 36 years, and was buried in the St. Paul Cemetery.3 After she died, he married Marie Poirier on 16 January 1843. She was the daughter of Tousaint Poirier and Catherine Clatsop. 4 She died in April 1914 in Portland, Oregon.5 Fur-trading companies Joseph joined the Northwest Fur Company in 1817. The Company, headquartered in Montreal, merged with the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) in 1821, and Joseph went to work for the HBC. From 1821 to 1824, he was stationed in the Columbia District. From 1824 to 1825, he worked as a bowsman. From 1825 to 1827, he worked as a steersman. He then worked on the Thompson River in British Columbia as a steersman.6 It was there that Hudson Bay Company Governor George Simpson called him “an able good Steersman and an active hand with horses.”7 Joseph’s wife and growing family were with him as he travelled the Northwest for the fur company. Pierre, his second child, was born on the trail when Joseph was on an Eastern Oregon trapping expedition. Pierre’s biography in An Illustrated History of Central Oregon provides information on the family’s life. The children learned the Spokane Indian language from Lisette and French from Joseph.
    [Show full text]
  • Interpretation and Conclusions
    "LIKE NUGGETS FROM A GOLD MINEu SEARCHING FOR BRICKS AND THEIR MAKERS IN 'THE OREGON COUNTRY' B~f' Kmtm (1 COfwer~ ;\ th¢...i, ...uhmineJ Ilt SOIl(mla Slale UFU vcr,il y 11'1 partial fulfiUlT'Ietlt of the fCqlJln:mcntfi for the dcgr~ of MASTER OF ARTS tn Copyright 2011 by Kristin O. Converse ii AUTHORlZAnON FOR REPRODUCnON OF MASTER'S THESISIPROJECT 1pM' pernlt"j(m I~ n:pnll.lm.:til.m of Ihi$ rhais in ib endrel)" \Ii' !tbout runt\er uuthorilAtlOO fn.)m me. on the condiHt)Jllhat the per",)f1 Of a,eocy rl;!'(lucMing reproduction the "'OS$. and 1:Jf't)vi~ proper ackruJwkd,rnem nf auth.:If'l'htp. III “LIKE NUGGETS FROM A GOLD MINE” SEARCHING FOR BRICKS AND THEIR MAKERS IN „THE OREGON COUNTRY‟ Thesis by Kristin O. Converse ABSTRACT Purpose of the Study: The history of the Pacific Northwest has favored large, extractive and national industries such as the fur trade, mining, lumbering, fishing and farming over smaller pioneer enterprises. This multi-disciplinary study attempts to address that oversight by focusing on the early brickmakers in „the Oregon Country‟. Using a combination of archaeometry and historical research, this study attempts to make use of a humble and under- appreciated artifact – brick – to flesh out the forgotten details of the emergence of the brick industry, its role in the shifting local economy, as well as its producers and their economic strategies. Procedure: Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis was performed on 89 red, common bricks archaeologically recovered from Fort Vancouver and 113 comparative samples in an attempt to „source‟ the brick.
    [Show full text]
  • THE SIGNERS of the OREGON MEMORIAL of 1838 the Present Year, 1933, Is One of Unrest and Anxiety
    THE SIGNERS OF THE OREGON MEMORIAL OF 1838 The present year, 1933, is one of unrest and anxiety. But a period of economic crisis is not a new experience in the history of our nation. The year 1837 marked the beginning of a real panic which, with its after-effects lasted well into 1844. This panic of 1837 created a restless population. Small wonder, then, that an appeal for an American Oregon from a handful of American settlers in a little log mission-house, on the banks of the distant Willamette River, should have cast its spell over the depression-striken residents of the Middle Western and Eastern sections of the United States. The Memorial itself, the events which led to its inception, and the detailed story o~ how it was carried across a vast contin­ ent by the pioneer Methodist missioinary, Jason Lee, have already been published by the present writer.* An article entitled The Oregon Memorial of 1838" in the Oregon Historical Quarterly for March, 1933, also by the writer, constitutes the first docu­ mented study of the Memorial. Present-day citizens of the "New Oregon" will continue to have an abiding interest in the life stories of the rugged men who signed this historiq first settlers' petition in the gray dawn of Old Oregon's history. The following article represents the first attempt to present formal biographical sketches of the thirty-six signers of this pioneer document. The signers of the Oregon Memorial of 1838 belonged to three distinct groups who resided in the Upper Willamette Valley and whose American headquarters were the Methodist Mission house.
    [Show full text]
  • Etienne Lucier, a Man of Firsts by Connie Lenzen
    Etienne Lucier, a Man of Firsts; Connie Lenzen, CG, 28 September 2014 Etienne Lucier, a Man of Firsts By Connie Lenzen Etienne Lucier, son of Michel Lussier and Victorie (Deline-Edeline) Lussier, was born and baptised on 9 June 1786 in Ste Familie de Boucherville, Canada. He married Josephte Nouite on 23 January 1839 and Marguerite Tschinouk on 10 August 1840; both marriages took place in St. Paul, Oregon. He died 8 March 1853 and was buried 9 March 1853 in St. Paul.1 As a member of the Wilson Price Hunt expedition of 1811–12, he was one of the first North Americans to arrive in Oregon. As one of the twenty endorsers of the 1836 petition to the Bishop of Juliopoles to send a priest “as quick as possible,” he was instrumental in obtaining a Catholic priest to minister to the Oregon settlers.2 In 1829, when he settled into a cabin in what is now Portland, Oregon, he was that city’s first resident.3 As one of the first settlers in French Prairie, he broke sod on one of the richest farmlands in Oregon.4 In 1841 he was a member of the first committee charged with forming a government in Oregon Territory.5 On 2 May 1843, Lucier, along with F. X. Matthieu, provided the deciding votes when the question of establishing an Oregon provisional government was called. With the tally of 52-50, Oregon became part of the United States rather than England.6 Because of his contributions to Oregon’s history, he is one of the 158 names of prominent Oregonians memorialized in the frieze in the Oregon State Capitol.7 The Wilson Price Hunt Expedition and first years in Oregon John Jacob Astor formed the Pacific Fur Company in competition to the Canadian fur trading firms.
    [Show full text]
  • Oregon City by Val Ballestrem Oregon City Was the First Incorporated City West of the Rocky Mountains and a Main Terminus of the Oregon Trail
    Oregon City By Val Ballestrem Oregon City was the first incorporated city west of the Rocky Mountains and a main terminus of the Oregon Trail. Its historic center is along the east bank of the Willamette River, at the base of Willamette Falls. Oregon City is the seat of Clackamas County government and is known for its one-of-a-kind municipal elevator, the McLoughlin House, early hydroelectric power, and its pulp and paper and woolen mills. For thousands of years, the area below Willamette Falls was home to the Clackamas Indians and was an important gathering place and fishing center. Salmon, steelhead, and lamprey in the river attracted Native fishers, including the Multnomah, Wasco, Tualatin, and Molala, who traded with the Clackamas for fish and fishing rights. White fur trappers first explored the area near Willamette Falls in 1811. After the British-Canadian Hudson’s Bay Company in 1824 established Fort Vancouver, about twenty-five miles to the north on the Columbia River, Chief Factor John McLoughlin showed interest in land at the base of the falls. In 1829, he claimed two square miles at the site and built three houses and a millrace, establishing the first permanent white settlement in the Willamette Valley. McLoughlin encouraged white traders, missionaries, and emigrants to settle in the valley, and some set up residence at Willamette Falls, strengthening the American presence there. He platted the town of Willamette Falls in 1842, and Oregon’s Provisional Government incorporated it as Oregon City two years later. The early town was built on a strip of land between Willamette Falls and Abernethy Creek to the north, the Willamette River to the west, and Singer Hill Bluff, rising one hundred feet or more, to the east.
    [Show full text]
  • Pioneer Houses and Homesteads of the Willamette Valley, Oregon Historic Context 1 Introduction
    Pioneer Houses and Homesteads of the Willamette Valley, Oregon 1841-1865 Prepared for the Historic Preservation League of Oregon May 2013 by Liz Carter Cover Images, clockwise from top left: Cartwright House (also known as Mountain House), Lorane, Lane County, HABS image Daniel and Melinda Waldo House, Marion County, Brian Waldo Johnson image W.H. Finley House, Corvallis, Benton County, from A Pictorial History of Benton County Blakely House, Brownsville, University of Oregon Libraries image (Philip Dole, photographer) McBride Log Cabin, Yamhill County, Oregon State Library image For more information, contact: Historic Preservation League of Oregon 24 NW First Avenue #274 Portland, Oregon 97209 [email protected] 503.243.1923 Liz Carter, Preservation Consultant Eugene, Oregon [email protected] This project has been funded in part by a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Richard and Julia Moe Fund Acknowledgements This project was completed with a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and additional support from the Historic Preservation League of Oregon. A number of people offered their knowledge and expertise to various aspects of the project, including Shannon Applegate, Stephen Dow Beckham, Bill Hawkins, Rosalind Keeney, George Kramer, Gregg Olson, Don Peting, Elisabeth Walton Potter, and Shannon Sardell. This work would not have been possible without their wisdom. The Oregon State Historic Preservation Office provided invaluable support and encouragement. Thank you to Deputy SHPO Roger Roper, Assistant Deputy SHPO Chrissy Curran, and particularly to Kenny Gunn, who visited and photographed all 300+ settlement-period houses and homesteads in the nine-county study area in the early months of 2013, providing us with current information on these important sites.
    [Show full text]
  • Fur Trade Daughters of the Oregon Country: Students of the Sisters of Notre Dame De Namur, 1850
    Portland State University PDXScholar Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses 2004 Fur Trade Daughters of the Oregon Country: Students of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, 1850 Shawna Lea Gandy Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds Part of the History of Religion Commons, United States History Commons, and the Women's History Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Gandy, Shawna Lea, "Fur Trade Daughters of the Oregon Country: Students of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, 1850" (2004). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 2717. https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.2715 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. -- -- --- --=- ---=~ - =--- ~--- ----=====--------=----=----=--- ~ - - -~ -~ - - ---=-=- ~ -=-----= FUR TRADE DAUGHTERS OF THE OREGON COUNTRY: STUDENTS OF THE SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME DE NAMUR, 1850 by SHAWNA LEA GANDY A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS m HISTORY Portland State University 2004 --- --~ --=~-~- -~ - ~------- 11 sharing with me her novel and brilliant approach to women's history. An apprenticeship with M.-C. Cuthill transformed me into a student of Pacific Northwest history and inadvertantly introduced me to the Sisters ofNotre Dame de Namur. Without their excellent example, insight, and encouragement I would not be where I am today. Finally, my husband, Steve Walton, with whom I share a love of world cultures, and la francophonie, encouraged a mid-life career change and cheerfully endured the consequences.
    [Show full text]
  • MEN of CHAMPOEG Fly.Vtr,I:Ii.' F
    MEN OF CHAMPOEG fly.vtr,I:ii.' f. I)oI,I,s 7_ / The Oregon Society of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution is proud to reissue this volume in honor of all revolutionaryancestors, this bicentennialyear. We rededicate ourselves to theideals of our country and ofour society, historical, educational andpatriotic. Mrs. Herbert W. White, Jr. State Regent Mrs. Albert H. Powers State Bicentennial Chairman (r)tn of (]jjainpog A RECORD OF THE LIVES OF THE PIONEERS WHO FOUNDED THE OREGON GOVERNMENT By CAROLINE C. DOBBS With Illustrations /4iCLk L:#) ° COLD. / BEAVER-MONEY. COINED AT OREGON CITY, 1849 1932 METROPOLITAN PRESS. PUBLISHERS PORTLAND, OREGON REPRINTED, 1975 EMERALD VALLEY CRAFTSMEN COTTAGE GROVE, OREGON ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS MANY VOLUMES have been written on the history of the Oregon Country. The founding of the provisional government in 1843 has been regarded as the most sig- nificant event in the development of the Pacific North- west, but the individuals who conceived and carried out that great project have too long been ignored, with the result that the memory of their deeds is fast fading away. The author, as historian of Multnomah Chapter in Portland of the Daughters of the American Revolution under the regency of Mrs. John Y. Richardson began writing the lives of these founders of the provisional government, devoting three years to research, studying original sources and histories and holding many inter- views with pioneers and descendants, that a knowledge of the lives of these patriotic and far-sighted men might be preserved for all time. The work was completed under the regency of Mrs.
    [Show full text]
  • Métis in Oregon: Intermarriage, Agency, and Religion in French Prairie, 1830-1840
    Portland State University PDXScholar University Honors Theses University Honors College 5-26-2019 Métis in Oregon: Intermarriage, Agency, and Religion in French Prairie, 1830-1840 Annie B. Amsden Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/honorstheses Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Amsden, Annie B., "Métis in Oregon: Intermarriage, Agency, and Religion in French Prairie, 1830-1840" (2019). University Honors Theses. Paper 734. https://doi.org/10.15760/honors.752 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in University Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. Métis in Oregon: Intermarriage, Agency, and Religion in French Prairie, 1830-1840 by Annie Amsden An undergraduate honors thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science in University Honors and Anthropology Thesis Adviser Douglas Wilson, Ph.D. Portland State University 2019 Introduction ​ Interpreting agency among historical peoples is difficult, especially when the individuals in question hold marginalized identities. Illiteracy and oppression forces Indigenous American people into European and Euro-American narratives. This predicament is further complicated when exploring motives of Native American women who were oppressed uniquely due to their intersecting identities. However, by listening to Indigenous anthropologists and deconstructing harmful narratives, the agency of Indigenous peoples can be better ascertained and appreciated. I was born in Salem, Oregon and grew up in a bend of the Pudding River, a body of water marking the eastern border of the French Prairie in Oregon.
    [Show full text]
  • National Register of Historic Places " - 171291 Multiple Property Documentation Form NATIONAL
    NFS Form 10-900-b QMB No 1024-0018 (Jan. 1987) - United States Department of the Interior National Park Service . National Register of Historic Places " - 171291 Multiple Property Documentation Form NATIONAL This form is for use in documenting multiple property groups relating to one or several historic contexts. See instructions in Guidelines for Completing National Register Forms (National Register Bulletin 16). Complete each item by marking "x" in the appropriate box or by entering the requested information. For additional space use continuation sheets (Form 10-900-a). Type all entries. A. Name of Multiple Property Listing Early French-Canadian Settlement, Marian County, Oregon B. Associated Historic Contexts Significant date range:1829-1842) Early settlement: First agricultural settlement of the Willamette Valley, Oregon Ethnicity: French-Canadians were the pioneer agriculturalists of the region ____Commerce:_______French-Canadians established the earliest independent commercial enterprises C. Geographical Data The first permanent agricultural settlement in the Pacific Northwest, beyond the confines of a handful of fur trade posts, took place in the Willamette Valley of western Oregon beginning in 1829. Within the Willamette Valley, settlement gathered on an area known as French Prairie. French Prairie is located in the north-central portion of the Willamette Valley, bound on 'the north and west by the Willamette River, on the east by the Pudding River, and on the south by the old northern shoreline of Lake Labish (now approximately the northern city limits of Salem). French Prairie now lies entirely within the political boundaries of Marion County (please refer to map). LJSee continuation sheet D. Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, I hereby certify that this documentation form meets the National Register documentation standards and sets forth requirements for the listing of related properties consistent with the National Register criteria.
    [Show full text]