Columbia Gorge Genealogical Society C/O The Dalles-Wasco Co. Library Tales and Trails 722 Court Street The Dalles OR 97058-2270 541-296-2815 April 2010 Volume 24, Number 2 Serving Hood River, Wasco and Sherman Counties in Oregon and Skamania and Klickitat Counties in Washington Inside This Issue Getting Acquainted Teddy Parkinson 2 Immigrants on the Oregon Tr ail by Albert Bierstadt Interesting Oregon Histories We have had some special committees 2 From the President at work. Darrell Hill and his group have Dear members, updated our By-Laws, making them History Tidbit It’s all about you. Your combined energy consistent with our operating 3 Maryhill - Biggs Ferry has moved us forward and into territory procedures, including our new eight that I had only dreamed of. I am member board. These have been Flash Drives, Thumb appreciative of the outgoing officers – approved and distributed. Drives: Whatever you Helen Dixon, Rose Denslinger, and Karen 4 call them Polehn, and pleased that other members Thanks to the work of Jim Bull you will find an updated Membership have been willing to step up and take their places – Fred Henchell as vice-president, Questionnaire in the center of this issue. Member Survey 5-6 Karen Polehn as secretary, Dee Hill as Please fill it out and return it. Renee treasurer plus our four new board Briggs and her committee have worked From Washington State positions: Billie Stevens, publicity chair; hard to complete the Cemetery Library Teddy Parkinson, membership chair; Jim Monument Project. The monetary goal 7 Bull, newsletter chair and the unfilled has been reached and the stone has been program chair position. What is ordered. There will be a dedication ceremony on Memorial Day Weekend in The First Census particularly heartening is that the outgoing 10 board did not fade into the woodwork. May. We will again participate in Helen is doing the programming until we Historic The Dalles Days which is in find a replacement, Rose is continuing July this year. Karen Polehn is in 10 Dues Reminder with the surname project, and Karen has charge of our information booth at Fort moved to another board position. Our Dalles on July 17. In additoni Fred new board members have immediately Henchell and Teddy Parkinson have taken ownership of their positions. stepped up to put together a Traveling Exhibit to go to area museums and We have some changes on the chairman libraries throughout the year. list also. Donna Holycross will chair the Telephone Committee and Barbara Georga Foster, Jim Bull, and Cindy and Pashek will take her place as society Fred Henchell, who take care of our Historian. Mark Adams is our new Blog, Newsletter, and Website, Information Technology (IT) respectively have been working together chairperson. He makes the equipment to make these three communication work and is the contact person for program presenters. Continued on Page 7, Column 2 . April 2010 and has been re-edited and re-printed by Board of Directors Getting Acquainted his descendant. It is somewhat hard to read in places but contains a host of President historical information about Wasco Teddy Parkinson County, City of The Dalles and the Sandy Bisset 541-298-1240 Teddy was born in New York and has people living there. [email protected] lived in a lot of states, the highlights being The book is sold at New York, Florida, Michigan, California www.QuintenPublications.com or type Vice President and now White Salmon, WA. She says in the name of the book at your search Fred Henchell 509-365-5404 she now lives in Heaven and intends to engine and it should get you to other [email protected] never move again. She has a husband places it can be found. Tom of 50 years, and 3 grown children, 2 of whom moved from San Francisco to 2. An Illustrated History of Central Secretary live nearby in Hood River. And five Oregon and was published by the Karen Polehn 541-296-1735 grandchildren. Western Historical Publishing [email protected] She retired 5 years ago after a lifetime Company, Spokane, WA., 1905. working as a physical therapist, the last 25 This book contains histories of Wasco, Treasurer years of which were spent around-the- Sherman, Gilliam, Wheeler, Crook, Lake and Klamath counties. Hood river world teaching the management of brain Dee Hill 541-296-6680 County was still part of Wasco County damaged adults – stroke mostly. [email protected] at the time. Now her passions are gardening eleven The Wasco County book is divided into Membership months 3 weeks and 6 days of the year , three parts, Historical Information, water color, creating heritage albums for Biographical Information, and Portraits. Teddy Parkinson 509-493-4751 her family, and writing the family You can print any portions of the book [email protected] memoirs. And enjoying of course those that you wish just remember that Wasco grandchildren, one of who has her name. and Hood river Counties were all one at Publicity the time. Glenna McCargar 541-478-3495 Teddy’s genealogy interests are based on This book is filled with a lot of history [email protected] a grandmother with a great story from and the Biographical names and photo’s Riga, Latvia, English ancestors who can be accessed by clicking on the item moved from an island in Lake Superior to or person you want to see. Programs the warmer climate of northern North This book is very well done and easy to Dakota and who have great stories, and a select the chapters, bio’s and pictures great great grandfather who was one of you want. the very first settlers in Minnesota This book is found by typing the name Tales & Trails Editor Territory and - you’ve guessed it – has of the book in your search engine or at great stories. www.homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.co Jim Bull 509-395-2755 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ m/~westklic/anihoco.html . [email protected] Interesting Oregon 3. A couple of other books about Oregon History can be found at “Google Standing Committees Histories Books”. There is a two volume set titled By Darrell Hill The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Education – Linda Colton titled History of Oregon, Volume 1 [email protected] 541-490-0344 If you are interested in the history of with dates from 1834 – 1848, and Historian – Unfilled at this time Oregon you might try the following Volume 2 with dates from 1848 – 1888. Hospitality – Mary Watts documents found on the internet . 541-296-3590 1. The History of Wasco County, Phone – Jim Bull, Anita Burris & Oregon by William H. McNeal . This Continued on Page7, Column 1 Donna Holycross book was originally published in 1953 Publications – Unfilled at this time Research – Lorna Elliott TALES & TRAILS is published quarterly in Jan., Apr., Jul. and Oct.Su bmissions 541-298-5687 th Surnames – Rose Denslinger by the 25 of the previous months may be e-mailed to Jim Bull at [email protected] 541-296-4140 [email protected] or sent by USPS mail to: Editor, CGGS C/O The Dalles Wasco County Library, 722 Court St., The Dalles, OR 97058-2270. We welcome articles related to genealogy and family history. 2 . Tales & Trails After little more than a year ferry at the Sam Hill's ferry began operations in History Tidbit: lower landing was discontinued and was 1925 and held five cars placed in a Maryhill - Biggs Ferry never re-established. ..." single line. By Lyn Topinka http://www.columbiariverimages.com/Re The Klickitat County Agriculturist, Hill boasted that the ferry would make gions/Places/biggs_rapid_bridge.html Goldendale, Washington, April 24, 1924, the round-trip from The first ferry in the Maryhill-Biggs area stated that entrepreneur Sam Hill Maryhill to Biggs in 10 minutes. was established in 1868 by William announced he would run a ferry from Hicenbotham. During the early and Maryhill to Biggs. The January 15, 1931 Goldendale middle 1880s ferry business was such Sentinel, Goldendale, Washington, in a that two ferries ran simultaneously. "... In spite of vigorous opposition by the report on the proposed The Dalles Historian Jeffrey Elmer (Rootsweb.com, owners of the present ferry at Maryhill, Bridge, stated that the The Dalles to 2006) quotes from the Goldendale the board of county commissioners have Grand Dalles ferry had an income of Sentinel June 15, 1944: granted Samuel Hill, good roads booster $17,250 per year, the Maryhill to Biggs and owner of a 5000-acre farm at ferry made $25,700 per year, the "... Wagon and teams were crossed fo r Maryhill, a license to operate a ferry from Roosevelt to Arlington ferry made the sum of three dollars, and horse and the Klickitat shore to the Oregon side, at $30,000 per year and the Lyle to rider were charged one dollar. During the mouth of Rowena ferry made "about $9,000 per this period, the early, and middle Spanish Hollow, not far from the railway year". eighties, business increased so that two station of Biggs. H.G. Van Allen, John H. ferries were run simultaneously, the Johnson, and Ralph L. MacDonald, doing The 1942 U.S. Department of "Nellie" with its accompanying sail business as the Maryhill Ferry Company, Commerce and Labor Coast and barge at the upper landing where the and who hold a Klickitat county license, Geodetic Survey's "United States Coast present ferry docks; and the "Rattler," a resisted the granting of a license to Mr. Pilot, Pacific Coast", Serial No.649 lists self-propelled boat with the steam engine Hill on the ground that issuance of a four ferries installed in the barge, at the lower license to him would be an infringement across the Columbia upstream of landing, about a mile west of on rights granted under their license.