Do you have family history or an interest in Oregon? Join us in the Oregon Project! [closed]

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Do you have family history or an interest in Oregon? Join us in the Oregon Project! [closed]

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The Oregon Project covers the people, places, and events through time in the geographic region that we know today as Oregon. See the Oregon Project page for information on our scope of activity and some related projects.

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closed as a duplicate of: Do you have ancestors in the United States? Join us in the United States Project!

asked Apr 17, 2022 in Requests for Project Volunteers by Azure Robinson G2G6 Pilot (557k points)
closed Oct 7, 2023 by Azure Robinson

39 Answers

Page:

Answer 1 · 2022-04-18T04:43:54+0000

I was born and still live in Oregon. One Great-Great grandmother (Walling-527) came across the Oregon Trail in 1847, and another (Arnold-18415) followed the Applegate trail in 1854. So yes, I'm interested. But I don't know how much help I'll be - I'm still pretty new to Wikitree.

Answer 2 · 2022-04-20T12:03:45+0000

Interested in learning about OR. I have an interest in creating profiles of Veterans & OR Veterans rise to the top of my to do list. As an example I discovered the Eugene Army Reserve Center is named for World War II Silver Star winner [[Webb-24012|Edwin Leighton Webb (1925-1945)]]. I will be trying to create profiles for his parents during the upcoming connectathon.

Answer 3 · 2022-04-20T13:09:08+0000

My 4th great grandfather Alexander Frakes journeyed to Oregon by covered wagon from Knox County, Illinois in the spring of 1853 along with his wife Elizabeth, four sons and one daughter and several neighbors and relatives from Knox County. They took out an Oregon Donation Land Claim and were among the earliest settlers of Linn County, Oregon. I am interested in learning more about my pioneer ancestors and their journey along the Oregon Trail!

Answer 4 · 2022-04-20T13:24:02+0000

I love the state of Oregon, visiting and knowing 4 generations was always a delight. From Ashland and Oakridge to Linn county, lots of family connections.

Linda

Answer 5 · 2022-04-20T13:26:24+0000

I was born in Oregon and am a member of the Sons and Daughters of Oregon Pioneers. I am a descendant of numerous Oregon Pioneers whom traveled various routes of the Oregon Trail: Samuel Judd Gardner (1844), James Smith (1846), Elizabeth Mitchell Wright Smith (1846), Eliza Ann Smith (1846), James Valentine (1848), Mary Erdelia Geer Valentine (1848), Henry Valentine (1848), Cyrus Clarkson Lewis (1853), Mary Polly Brown Lewis (1853), Sarah Elizabeth Lewis (1853), Willis Willard Elliott (1867), Mary Polly Vanderpool Elliott (1867), Jane Carnes Guthrie Elliott (1867), James Willis Elliott (1867), and Sarah Frazier Elliott (1867). Samuel Judd Gardner came with the Gilliam Train as a cattleman over Mt. Hood's Lolo Pass to Oregon City while the rest of the train went down the Columbia River, settling in Bridgeport, Polk, Oregon. Samuel was engaged in the Cayuse Indian War after the Whitman Massacre 1847, then went briefly to Whiskytown in the Shasta Diggings to mine for gold in California. James, Elizabeth, and Eliza Smith came on the Smith Train accompanying at time the doomed Donner Party but later ventured on the unfinished Southern Oregon Trail aka Applegate Trail also a doomed party being without food, caught in the flooded Umpqua Canyon without an established Trail with wagons being burnt by Native Americans arriving on oxen back or on foot to the Willamette Valley in snow of December settling in Lewisville, Polk, Oregon. James Smith went to Hangtown in California as a Miner briefly. James, Mary, and Henry Valentine came to Oregon from Michigan in 1848 setting along Valentine Creek near Stayton/Mehama, Marion, Oregon. James and Henry later went to Puget Sound in Washington. Cyrus, Mary, and Sarah Lewis came to Oregon, settling first near Renton, King, Washington near Seattle, Washington of Puget Sound. Cyrus Lewis was engaged in the 1855 Indian War after his daughters were abducted by the Yakima Tribe. The Lewis Family were friends with Chief Sealth (Seattle). Henry Valentine and Sarah Lewis eloped being married by Chief Olympus. Then they moved to Rockwood, Multnomah, Oregon. Cyrus Lewis followed his daughter after the death of his wife. After losing their land in Missouri at the close of the Civil War, former Confederates Willis, Mary, Civil War widow Jane, James, and Sarah Elliott, along with other children and grandchildren of Willis and Mary Elliott, came to Oregon in 1867 with the Elliott Train traveling through the Ochocos settling in Yamhill and Polk Counties of Oregon. Some of the party settled near the Ochocos near Prineville, Crook, Oregon with some starting the Elliott Ranch. The Elliotts of the Willamette Valley and Crook County brought their cattle back and forth on cattle drives across the Cascades over Santiam Pass to the Elliott Ranch from Polk County. They were among the first to do so. In addition to the Pioneers, my ancestors James Henry Willis, Anna Rebecca Lent Willis, and William Henry Harrison Willis came to Oregon in 1888 to be near 1852 Pioneer cousin Oliver Perry Lent and sister Mary Willis Cox of Yamhill County and brother Joseph Lent of Multnomah County. My ancestors Jane Netta Wooten Wilson Goodpasture, George Worth Wilson, Martha Ann Smith, and Ananias Wilson came about 1898 settling in Marion County, Oregon. My ancestors Noah Coulson, Edith Mills Coulson, Marcus De Lafayette Swabb, Mary Josephine Coulson Swabb, and Edith Arminta Swabb came to Oregon in the late 1890s as well first settling in the Beaver area of Tillamook County, Oregon. My ancestors, Clarence David Shellenberger, Lillie Myrtle Stevens Shellenberger, and Hazel Marie Shellenberger came later in the year 1927 setting in the West Stayton and Aumsville area of Marion County, Oregon. I have contributed many additions to my ancestors on WikiTree as well as on Ancestry.com. I have also done my DNA test on Ancestry.com as well. I have been continuing the research originally started by my father for over 20 years visiting many relatives, ancestors, museums, archives, historians, cemeteries, and also finding information online.

answered Apr 20, 2022 by Misty Schulz G2G Crew (500 points)

Misty, you have a wonderful Oregon background that is impressive. My grandfather and two BURCH brothers were the last known cattle drive to come from Denver, CO to Elgin, OR in 1915. They did so to raise and break horses for the U.S. Army in WWI.

I attended a number of Oregon grade schools, 4 years of high school at Stayton, and lived near West Stayton in that, at the time famous bean country. Many of my Burch and related family lived and are buried at Scio Elgin, Monmouth, Philomath. I have done a lot of research on this family and have a lot of genealogy on this and other lines in Oregon such as, Martin's, Jacksons, Key's, Susee's and connecting lines. Ydna was tested by FTM in 2005. My father brought his brothers and sisters to Independence, Oregon in 1932. Some stayed and some returned to Oklahoma.

commented Apr 20, 2022 by Dale Key G2G6 (6.8k points)

I would like to add a little more info on my family on what they were involved with in Oregon. First of all I attended Scotts Mills Elementary School through 8th grade, then home schooled for high school, after that got a degree at Chemeketa in Salem. My ancestor Samuel Judd Gardner had fun stories such as working in the rain in his buckskin pants. He warmed by a neighbor William Gage's fire and also had dinner. His buckskin pants tightened as they dried and William Gage cut them off him. Another time his neighbor Adam Brown worked their properties together for awhile as single men on their Donation Land Claims. They were so hungry they killed a wolf and forced each other to eat it. The Native Americans were on the war path sometimes and they hid in the woods outside their cabin circa 1845-1848. Samuel got a lung condition while at the gold fields. Came home married Eliza Smith in 1853, had 5 sons, then he went by steamer to California for help from doctors. He died there of consumption in 1866. Their son Chester Gardner my ancestor grew hops and had long haired cattle which he took to the Oregon State Fair each year. He married Harriett Elliott and they were among the Pioneers whom took cattle back and forth to her Uncles' ranches in Crook County from Polk County. The old house they built in 1903 replaced the old house built by Samuel is on the old Donation Land Claim on Gardner Road near Bridgeport south of Dallas, Polk, Oregon. The family lost $5000 during the depression as they also had a bank in Falls City and a restaurant the "Blue Garden" in Dallas. Their son Orville Cyrus Gardner worked in the mills with spruce and other woods used for airplanes and ships during World War I. He married Emma Willis, had 2 sons one being my father Robert Gardner. The family lived mainly in the Salem and Keizer areas before moving to North Howell closer to Mt. Angel in Marion County. On their farm they had dairy cows and sold cream to the Mt Angel Creamery. Orville worked as watchman, then later as a Millwright at the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill in Salem. During World War II Orville caught salmon in the mill creek and fed his family. Robert slept in the wool uniforms and blankets as they prepared them for the troops at the mill before going to school as he would ride in early with his father to go to Parish Middle School and Salem High School. My father later served in the Korean War and bought a 108 acre farm with his father near Brooks, Marion, Oregon. Back to another family, after the White River Massacre which killed their neighbors, during the 1855 Battle of Seattle Mary Lewis with her children ran through the streets of Seattle to the fort as arrows and bullets were flying at them, as well as canons were firing in the sound just off shore toward the town. Her husband was trying to locate their children whom were abducted by the warring Yakima Tribe. Later his daughter, my ancestor Sarah and her husband Henry Valentine moved to Rockwood, Oregon. Henry was a blacksmith. They had a house connected to their blacksmith shop under large fir trees. During the hurricane of 1880, they lost their house when the trees fell on it burning it to the ground as they were having dinner with the fire going to cook their food. They hid in tree roots during the storm. Wind reached 200 miles per hour. They moved later to the Springwater area of Clackamas County. Cyrus was the postmaster at both Rockwood and Springwater as well as Public Notary. Sarah spoke and sang chants in Chinook which she learned from her friends, Chief Sealth and Chief Olympus. Chief Sealth teased her as she limped with one leg longer than the other. This was a result of an illness at age 9 when she was thought dead. She was even placed in a coffin and just before it was covered she moved her pinky. Anyway Henry and Sarah Valentine had 9 children only 3 made it to adulthood Alice (my ancestor), Estella, and Albert (Shanghaied in Portland later made his way back to America). Henry Valentine later worked for the water company and died in 1900. I have been unable to find his grave. Alice Valentine married William Henry Harrison Willis (son of James Henry and Anna Willis)whom had come to Oregon after being Postmaster in Platte, South Dakota. His mother Anna Rebecca Lent Willis died in 1888 three weeks after arriving to Oregon. William and Alice Willis lived in Willamette Falls (near Oregon City), McCoy, West Yaquina (near Newport), Yaquina, Little Elk (near Eddyville), Salt Creek, and Dallas, Oregon. William lost his eye while defending his eldest 16 year old son in a bar against a drunk trying to force him to drink. The man punched him with a sharp ring. During World War I the family moved away from Yaquina to keep the sailors away from their daughters including Emma, my ancestor. To my other side: Jane Netta Wooten Wilson was a Civil War widow losing her husband Ananias Wilson during the war. She remarried and brought her children and grandchildren including Ananias Wilson to Oregon. The Ananias Wilson, my ancestor married local schoolmarm Edith Arminta Swabb. The family were Quakers and settled in the Marion and Jefferson area in Marion County, Oregon. Ananias worked for the city water company and later was sherif. Their son, Clifford Allen Wilson was my grandfather. He didn't make it to 8th grade as he was rather a naughty child at the Bever Connor School. He married Hazel Marie Shellenberger in 1936. Their daughter Linda Wilson is my mother. Clifford Wilson worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad in the Cascades living at Railroad Camps such as Fields and Cruzatte above Oakridge, Lane, Oregon. Later he worked on the White Pass Railroad in Alaska as well as at the lumbermill in Kings Valley in 1944 in Benton County, Oregon. Hard times hit branches of the Wilson Family as Jane Netta died at the Insane Asylum where elderly were often placed when no one could take care of them. Some of her children were living in the Multnomah County Poor Farm in Troutdale including my ancestors, George and Martha Smith Wilson. Ananias her grandson luckily escaped that fate, but his parents both died there. My parents both grew up in the Willamette Valley. We had a berry farm all of my life which we grew Boysen and Marionberries. We also had corn, wheat, and onions as crops over the years as we grew on the fertile soils of the Willamette Valley. My father was also a machinist at a local onion packing plant. He was a good carpenter and mechanic as well. We always went on driving trips and hiking around Oregon as well as other states. My father instilled history int9o me at a young age as we toured, we learned all of the history of every region we visited, this included searching for cemeteries and lands of our ancestors. I know Oregon very well. If anyone has any questions about Oregon, I am here. I have also found many parents of adoptees whom were linked to myself or my husband's DNA on Ancestry.com.

commented Apr 21, 2022 by Misty Schulz G2G Crew (500 points)

Answer 6 · 2022-04-20T14:42:06+0000

I was born in Oregon and have deep roots here. My 4x great grandfather James Alexander Pearl (Pearl-416) and his family arrived by wagon train in 1853. His party included my 3x great grandparents Joseph A Pearl (Pearl-418) and Sarah H Wiseman (Wiseman-1286) and their son John Rush Pearl (Pearl-598), my 2x great grandfather. Also, Sarah's father, my 4x great grandfather John Wiseman (Wiseman-2240). My 3x great parents Thomas M Weger (Weger-89) and Mary Wilson (Wilson-53759) had arrived in 1847. Her father John Wilson (Wilson-92191) was settled in Oregon by 1848. My 2x great grandfather Benjamin Cutler (Cutler-2040) arrived in Oregon in 1850 by way sailing ship to San Francisco and mule train to Oregon. I have a lot of family and many more connections in Oregon. I am working on adding Donation Land Claim settlers in Linn County (and beyond) who were neighbors or connections of my ancestors. Plus I keep extending my tree to include families of in-laws, etc.

Answer 7 · 2022-04-20T15:21:36+0000

Hi. I'm Lori Watson (Baker). 4th or 5th generation Oregonian. Fisher Oliver Hereford Butler mainly. Lake county and northern California (modoc). Have volunteered before but got sick so I quit for awhile. I'm all better now, so I'd love to help. I've done census entry and have done an extensive family tree. Let me know what I can do.

Answer 8 · 2022-04-20T17:55:12+0000

I was born in Oregon and have lived in Oregon since 1938. I have memories of some of Oregon's hardest times like the start if WWII, living near Seaside when the Japanese shelled the hills after a blackout, the sinking of a food supply ship off the same area that carried food for our troops, I remember the day that war ended and then my father returning home from Japan. I remember too many wars. I joined the U. S. Army reserve in 1954 when I turned 16 in an effort to help and be ready for the Korean Police Action, my family had been in every conflict since and including the American Revolution. I may be able to help answer some questions on the subject. Happy to help anywhere I can. I have traveled Oregon all my life and was born at a railroad siding at a place known as Top hill, that was at the top of the hill between Buxton and Vernonia.

How can I help with the Oregon Project?

Answer 9 · 2022-04-20T18:55:24+0000

I am a 4th generation Oregonian descended from Oregon Trail pioneers. My interest in family rumors that some ancestor (but nobody had a name) came on the Oregon Trail are what got me started in genealogy about 50 years ago. I have contributed to Danell Aukerman's private database of Benton County pioneers since my ancestors also settled in that county. I continue to try to fill out the story of my Oregon ancestors by researching in archives.

Answer 10 · 2022-04-20T19:14:16+0000

My husband Craig Foster has a number of relatives who came to Oregon as pioneers and early settlers- John L. Shelton, Solomen Shelton, Judith Cottrel Nichols, John Crowley, Elizabeth Atkins, William Wallis Taylor, Mary Ann Sayles, Edgar Eugene Coursen, Annie F. Griffin, John B. Cabell, Edward Henry Griffin, Emily C Roberts, Margaret St John Ferguson, Daniel Howes Ferguson, Benjamin F. Nichols, Elizabeth Morgan, Isaac Roberts and Katharine F. Conner. I am interested in writing interesting and sourced profiles for them. Edward Griffin was the first dentist in Portland and the 2nd dentist in Oregon. Both my husband and I were born in Portland, Oregon and now live in Oregon. This seems like a good fit for me. [[Lonski-12|Jill Foster]]

Answer 11 · 2022-04-20T19:39:59+0000

Hello! I am not sure if I would qualify to help or not because my roots aren't in Oregon but lived and grew up there. I would be able to help with info from my late husband's adopted mothers side that has extensive roots in the Willamette Valley. They are the Robinette's (also Robinett's and Robnet's) The spelling change to Robnet came from rumors of horse thievery, although I don't know which side of the law any of them were! LOL And the dropped "e" was from my husbands grandfather, Homer Dorpheus Robinett/e, who was hired with the railroad and got caught sleeping on the job and was fired about 1928. He waited a year and hired back on the railroad with the dropped "e" and spent the next 50 years with the railroad, finally ending up as the yardmaster in Salem for many years. They didn't realize he was one and the same until he was retiring and they discovered it in old records. Of course they were not computerized in 1928 so no one caught it. LOL Anyway! I will share anything I have on the family that can help.

Answer 12 · 2022-04-20T23:42:37+0000

Hello Azure, I am a Portland native and have lived here for most of my years, other than some time in the 1970s when I was in the midwest, east coast, and south,

My ancestors from both parents have been in Oregon for a number of generations.

One of my favorite ancestors is Robert Fletcher Walker, my 2nd GGF who surveyed much of the wilderness areas in Oregon and was involved in the development of The Freedom Road that led to Eugene. He was also the Sheriff in Lane County in 1854.

I would be happy to be involved in the Oregon Project.

Answer 13 · 2022-04-21T02:10:15+0000

My ancestors homesteaded to Central Oregon in the late1800s and we’re instrumental in developing, along with many others) the town of Madras. My great grandmother Leda Ramsey, was the first non Native American baby born on the Agency Plains in 1902. The small town was full of Ramsey descendants so it wasn’t unusual to bump into relatives on a regular basis. I’d love to learn more about my ancestors roots and their experiences homesteading in Central Oregon and to share what I know with The Oregon project

Answer 14 · 2022-04-21T18:52:10+0000

My late wife's 4th great grandparents and family came to Oregon from Georgis to Polk County, Oregon in 1844. They were part of the "Lost Wagon Train".

Her other 4th great grandmother came over on the first wagon train to travel up the Applegate Trail. She lost her husband on the way other.

Answer 15 · 2022-04-22T01:25:46+0000

Yes I would like to join the Oregon Project please.

I was born in Oregon and live here today. Both my parents were born here as well as two grandparents, a third grandparent was born in nearby Washington state. My other grandparent moved here from PA at age 20.

My maternal grandmothers father's ancestors all came to Oregon on the Oregon Trail. Her mother's side includes many pioneers to Ferndale, California before some of the family moved to Portland.

I enjoy researching the interconnectedness of the pioneer family groups. It is all very interesting to learn about as I sit here at the end of the Oregon Trail enjoying the freedoms our ancestors worked hard to achieve.

Answer 16 · 2022-04-24T18:17:51+0000

I too would like to give this project a try. My mother was Nellie Richardson. Her cousins came to Oregon via the Oregon trail in1843 and my 4-G grandfather followed in 1846. They built the 2nd home in the Long Tom Valley and taught the first school in Oregon from that home. My 2g, 3g, and 4g grandfathers are all buried in the Richardson cemetery that overlooks the Richardson State Park near Eugene. I am told that the Fern Ridge dam's spillway is located approximately where the hog pens used to be on the original homestead. My mother and father met when they were attending Junction City High School.

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