WILLIAM M. BLAKELEY. – The subject of this sketch, a prominent citizen of the rapidly developing upper country, was born in Missouri in 1840. In 1846 he crossed the plains with his father, who located near the present site of Brownsville, Linn county, Oregon, where he still resides. Mr. Blakely was here favored with the educational advantages afforded by the public school, and assisted his father on the farm until 1860, when he moved to a point near the present site of Prescott, on the lovely Touchet river, in Washington Territory. In the spring of 1861 he tried his fortune in the Oro Fino mines in Idaho, and returned to the home of his father at Brownsville in the autumn. In 1862 he made an expedition to the Powder river mines, returning home for the winter. He was engaged in the cattle business from 1863 to 1864. In the latter year he disposed of his herds, and entered upon substantial life, marrying Miss Margaret Baird. In 1868 he moved to his present location near Adams, in Umatilla county, Oregon, where he is largely interested in agriculture.
