Cayuse War

Biography of Gen. Joel Palmer

GEN. JOEL PALMER. – There have been few men in Oregon more universally respected, or whom the people have more delighted to honor, than General Palmer. A plain, unpretentious man, who assumed absolutely nothing, he was nevertheless conscious of his superior abilities, and had no hesitancy in assuming commensurate responsibilities. For natural capacity and sagacity in great affairs, he ranks with the first men of our state, such as General Lane, Colonel Cornelius, Judge Kelly or Governor Gibbs. He reckoned himself as a New Yorker, both parents having been natives and residents of that state, although at the time of … Read more

Biography of Thomas T. Redsull

Great, indeed, have been the changes that time and man have wrought since Thomas T. Redsull landed on the Pacific coast. California yet belonged to Mexico, and much of the land, especially in the southern part of the state, was divided into large estates, owned and occupied by Spanish families. Mr. Redsull was then but eleven years of age, yet had started out to make his own way in the world. He was born in the County of Kent, England, on the 15th of November, 1827, a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Goymer) Redsull, both of whom were natives of … Read more

Biography of Samuel Kimbrough Barlow

SAMUEL KIMBROUGH BARLOW. – Samuel Kimbrough Barlow was born in Nicolas county, Kentucky, January 14,1795. He was of Scotch origin, and inherited many of the sterling qualities of his ancestors. His race was remarkable for an unswerving fidelity to principles of right; and on every occasion these principles were disseminated or defended by courage which sometimes almost amounted to audacity. Freedom of speech and will and progression in all things were also marked characteristics of the ancestors of S.K. Barlow. Illustrative of these features of disposition in the Barlow family, a story is told of the fearlessness of the paternal … Read more

Biography of Hon. B. F. Burch

HON. B.F. BURCH. – B.F. Burch was born on the second day of May, 1825, in Chariton county, Missouri, where he lived during the first twenty years of his life, and received what was then considered a good, common-school education. It was complete enough to secure him the position of teacher for the families of Honorable Jesse Applegate and neighbors the first winter after his arrival here, – 1845-46. He also taught the first school in what is now known Polk county. In 1846, in company with Jesse Applegate, Lindsey Applegate, David Goff, William J.G. Parker, William Spotsman, John Jones, … Read more

Biography of Hugh L. Brown

HUGH L. BROWN. – There is usually something distinctive and characteristic about one who leaves the impress of his name upon any region or locality. This we find to be the case with reference to the pioneer whose name appears above, and for whom was named the well-known city of Brownsville. Hugh Leeper Brown was born in Knox county, Tennessee, January 24, 1810. He lived in Knox county until 1838, when with his little family, then consisting of his wife and three children, he emigrated to Missouri, settling in Platte county. He remained there until the spring of 1846, when … Read more

Biography of Col. Cornelius Gilliam

COL. CORNELIUS GILLIAM. – Colonel Gilliam was a native of North Carolina, and was born in 1798. But his recollection of that state in after years was like a dream; for when but a youth he accompanied his parents to Missouri, where he lived for many years. August 31, 1820, he married Miss Mary Crawford of that state. Ten years later he was elected sheriff of Clay county for a term of two years; and at the expiration of that time he joined the Black Hawk war. In 1837 he served as captain of the company which fought all through … Read more

Biography of Gen. Morton Mathew McCarver

GEN. MORTON MATHEW McCARVER. THE FOUNDER OF BURLINGTON, IOWA, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA AND TACOMA, WASHINGTON,- General McCarver was born near Lexington Kentucky, January 14, 1807. Of an independent, roving spirit, determination, courage and enterprise that knew no bounds, he quit his home at the age of eighteen years and went to Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, and not finding anything congenial to his tastes returned and settled in 1830 at Galena, Illinois, where he was married to a Miss Mary Ann Jennings. He served in the Black Hawk war, and after the surrender of the great chief of the Sacs and Foxes, … Read more

Biography of John Birch McClain

JOHN BIRCH McCLAIN. – This pioneer, whose record extends to the memorable year of 1843, was born January 31, 1820, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is the son of John and Mary Swallow McClane. At the age of twenty-two, he left Philadelphia for Texas with the purpose of assisting General Sam Houston to gain the independence of Texas. The ship, however, upon which he took passage, sailing from Delaware Bay in a storm, was delayed thirty days; and, upon his arrival in New Orleans, the young man found that Houston had withdrawn his proclamation of war against Mexico, and that he … Read more

Biography of Flemming R. Hill

FLEMMING R. HILL. – Mr. Hill’s experiences have been so varied and extensive, and his services on this coast so valuable, that we can here give but enough to serve as specimens. He was born in Overton county, Tennessee, in 1824. In 1829 he accompanied his parents west to a new home in Missouri, and in 1844, was ready for adventures of his own account. With three companions he set forth to the Rocky Mountains, but at the rendezvous left their enterprise, and joined himself as teamster to a train of emigrants bound for Oregon. The trip across the plains … Read more

Biography of Gen. John E. Ross

GEN. JOHN E. ROSS. – No view of our state would be complete without the figure of General Ross, who was so prominent as Indian fighter and legislator in the early days. he was born in Ohio in 1818, and after a residence in Indiana and Illinois, being married at Chicago to the daughter of Alexander Robinson of that city, whose loss by death he suffered eight years later, he came to the Pacific coast, arriving in Oregon in 1847. He was captain of a company that crossed the plains, and soon after reaching the Grande Ronde came upon some … Read more

Biography of Capt. J. H. McMillen

CAPT. J.H. McMILLEN. – Captain McMillen, a fitting example of the men whose stout courage, tireless energy and ready friendliness laid the groundwork of our state, is a pioneer of 1845, having crossed the plains with W.H. Rector, Colonel Taylor, Hiram Smith and others of that large immigration. Of Scotch ancestry, he traces his American lineage to a great-grandfather who crossed the Atlantic and settled in Rhode Island, where a numerous family grew up around him. The grandfather, James, pushed westward as far as New York; and in that state Joseph, the father, was born. Arriving at maturity he married … Read more

Biography of Col. James Taylor

COL. JAMES TAYLOR. – The immigration of 1845 was large, and furnished many of the leading men of the Northwest, among that number being Colonel James Taylor of Astoria, Oregon. Although now past eighty years of age, he is still one of the active citizens of a city which boasts of many men of energy. He is one of the fathers of the place, not only in point of time, but as owner of considerable property in the city and adjacent country, embracing the heights west of the city, which will one day be occupied with handsome residences, as they … Read more