LOC/E-F/E5. Pioneers

The John H. Nicklin letter is a single letter, addressed to Nicklin's brother, describing the journey to and conditions found in Oregon in 1851. The letter focuses on the journey over the Oregon Trail and the available agriculture of the Willamette Valley.

Joseph Norris was a teamster in Eugene, Oregon. The collection (1868-1877) contains an account book.

Benjamin Franklin Owen (1828-1917) was a pioneer on the overland trail to Oregon. The collection consists of Owen's journal, My Trip Across the Plains, March 31, 1853-October 28, 1853.

Bethenia Owens-Adair was an American social reformer and one of the first female physicians in Oregon. This collection contains one letter written by Owens-Adair on December 29th 1924.

William Henderson Packwood (1932-1917) was an Oregon pioneer, who in 1857, was the youngest delegate sent to Oregon's Constitutional Convention. The collection (1915) contains a letter to Fred Lockley regarding Packwood's boyhood, along with a typed memoir of the Packwood family's overland journey to Oregon in 1849.

Collection consists of the memoir of Mrs. Inez Eugenia (Adams) Parker, who crossed the plains from Illinois to Oregon in 1848 and spent her childhood in Yamhill, Oregon. Her memoir, Early recollections of Oregon pioneer life, tells of her life in Illinois. Inez Adams Parker traveled on the Oregon Trail as a very young child and wrote her recollections late in life. The collection consists of her typed, autobiographical account of her life in Oregon.

Francis W. Pettygrove (1812-1887) was a pioneer and one of the founders of the cities of Portland, Oregon. The collection consists of a bond written by Pettygrove and his business partner Benjamin Stark to Rob McNamee.

Isabella Porter Spencer (1849-1924), of Ashland, was the daughter of James M. Porter of Iowa. The collection consists of both her own correspondence and that of her father.

Sarah Porter was born in Marion County Oregon September 16th, 1854 and was the daughter of William Porter. Her diary makes a few notes of each day, sometimes just on the weather.

William Porter was an Oregon pioneer who settled in Aumsville, Oregon. His diaries range from 1861-1885 and describe the weather, finances, events and daily routines along with some notes on his neighbors.

John B. Preston was the first surveyor general of the Oregon Territory. The collection consists of a single letter from Preston to Daniel Lownsdale of Portland.

Prichard left Polk County, Iowa in 1852; was in Marysville, Calif., in 1861; Union, Oregon, 1865-1867; and Rye Valley, Oregon, 1868-1869. In 1865, he built a toll road from Union to Express Ranch, Oregon, an investment that failed. His very occasional letters to a brother, Amos, and to other relatives in Iowa give a bare account of his experiences.

Charles Claudius Rarick (1870-1960) was raised in Kansas, learned the blacksmith trade from his father, and became a Methodist preacher, serving congregations in Kansas, Oklahoma Territory, Colorado, and Oregon. The collection contains an autobiography and sermons, including sermon notes, drafts, and journals.

Almira Raymond, wife of mission farmer William W. Raymond, arrived in Oregon in 1849 as part of the mission "reinforcement" aboard the Lausanne. Her letters reflect the hardships of mission life and the ambiguous attitude of the missionaries toward the Indians.

Kate Robbins, nee Pratt, was born in Cohasset, Massachusetts, and moved with her husband Abner to Ochoco, Oregon in 1868. The family was among the first settlers in the Ochoco area. The collection is composed of correspondence that describes living conditions in and near Ochoco and Prineville, with references to Indian uprisings, feuds between cattle and sheep ranchers, politics, and social life.

The James Henry Bascom Royal papers include a journal of an overland trip from Illinois to Oregon, June 5, 1853-October 27, 1853; diaries, June 17, 1849-February 24, 1853 and December 19, 1853-July 4, 1855; and two letters from James H. Wilbur.

Mrs. Lydia A. Rudd traveled overland from Missouri to Oregon in 1852; Notes by the Wayside En Route to Oregon is her journal from May 6, 1852-October 27, 1852.

The collection (1869-1878) contains handwritten personal correspondence between members of the Savage family that lived in Maine and Oregon.

Collection comprised of Hamilton Scott's diary of a trip from Fremont, Iowa to Walla Walla, Washington in 1862.

A. C. Smith (1831-1911) was a pioneer resident of the Grande Ronde Valley in Oregon. The collection consists of a photostat copy of a letter from Smith to James Slater, and an advertisement for the Union, Oregon newspaper, Mountain Sentinel.

Fabritus R. Smith (1819-1898) came to Oregon in 1846 with Joseph Waldo, where he lived and worked his land claim near Salem. The collection consists of the diaries of Smith and his son, Hamlin, as well as personal and legal papers.

Samuel A. Snowden came to Forest Grove, Oregon in 1853. Correspondence includes letter to his son Samuel D. Snowden about Oregon politics, government, and social life.

James Sperry (1833-1922) was a Oregon pioneer, farmer, trader, army veteran, sheep raiser, and politician. Collection contains one, ten paged history of the Sperry Family written by Sperry.

Viola Springer was from Sullivan County, Missouri and was an Oregon pioneer. The Viola Springer journal describes in detail her trip from Princeton, Montana to Harney Valley, Oregon in 1885-1886.

Orson Avery Sterns (1843-1926) was an Oregon Pioneer soldier who later became a successful agriculturist, politician and stockman. Collections contains 114 pages of handwritten reminiscences to Effie Taylor of Medford, Oregon.

John Sutherland (1846-1918) was a pioneer, union army veteran, and preacher. Collection contains two copies of his autobiography.

Sarah Sutton traveled to Oregon with her husband, John Sutton, their four children and other family and friends from Cass County, Illinois to Grand Ronde Valley, Oregon. Collection includes one volume of Sarah Sutton's printed diary of crossing the plains pasted into a ledger book.

The collection contains a letter dated April 17, 1889 from "T. J. S.," of Eugene, Oregon to Frank [Hyland?]. In the letter, T. J. S. advises Frank to proceed with county improvements regardless of the supposed will of the voters.

The Taylor family papers include a journal of an overland trip from Rockford, Illinois to Oregon in 1853 by Rachel Taylor; a diary of D. H. Taylor on military service against Indians, January 1862-May 1862; and a genealogy of the Taylor family and related families.

Joseph Nathan Teal (1858-1929) was an Oregon rancher, lawyer, investor, and civic leader who was an advocate of waterways development, and served as U.S. Shipping Commissioner from 1920-1921. The collection contains a manuscript of a series of reminiscences of ranch life during the 1850s through the 1870s, in eastern Oregon, that Teal wrote down for his family in 1921.