# Oregon Historical Quarterly/Volume 27/Oregon Immigration prior to 1846

Oregon Immigration prior to 1846
By M. L. WARDELL , Assistant Professor of History, University of Oklahoma
The Oregon country was , for nearly half a century after Captain Gray's visit to the Columbia , but little known in the United States . When the Louisiana territory was made a part of the national domain it was necessary to send out exploring parties to determine what had really been purchased . One of these parties was under the direction of Lewis and Clark, commissioned by President Jefferson. Their expedition took them to the Pacific coast by the way of Oregon, which region was favorably reported on. Several years later this report furnished no little material for Hall J. Kelley. The second factor in advertising Oregon was the commercial enterprise of John Jacob Astor. Many shared his belief that here was a field of activity and possibilities. As early as 1815 Hall J. Kelley became interested in Oregon and for a quarter of a century allowed himself to be violently agitated by reference to this Northwest Coast. His intense interest seemed to lessen his usefulness in planting a colony there, but much can be said for his keeping the Oregon question more or less before the public .
The diplomatic relations with England , beginning in 1818 with the treaty providing for joint occupation, claimed the attention of the government probably more than anything since the report of Lewis and Clark. Excepting occasions now and then there was little mention of the Oregon section that interested the people until time for the renewal of the ten-year agreement. But with the opening again of negotiations with England Hall J. Kelley once more seized the opportunity to interest the people in his favorite theme. He was pleased to see his ideas take material form in 1827, when he had convinced
Edward Everett of the practicability of the occupation of Oregon. Floyd, of Virginia, presented to the House of Representatives, February 11, 1828, a petition of Kelley's and two years later Everett again found himself looking after Oregon interests. In January, 1831, Benton of Missouri presented to the Senate a memorial prepared by Kelley . In 1829 Kelley partially completed the organization of the Oregon Colonization Society , which was fully incorporated by a special act of the legislature of Massachusetts and approved June 22 , 1831. He was actively engaged in promoting this scheme but found difficulty in making it a success. In 1832-6 he went there himself and returned a sadder but wiser man.
It is not strange that Benton should interest himself in Oregon . For many years St. Louis had been the market for nearly all the products from the region to the westward . Benton knew much about the fur traders who made their way each year to the mountains and was thoroughly cognizant of the reports circulating in Missouri which aroused the land -hunger proclivities of the westerner . Westport was the frontier town that received the first word from the West and was thus alive to the situation . Missouri was the most western state and had within its borders that restless , adventurous citizenship always ready to move on farther and farther beyond the western horizon . The bordering states were not far be hind in their interest in the occupation of the West - particularly the Oregon country.
In 1831 Nathaniel Wyeth of Cambridge , Massachusetts , became interested in the commercial relations that might be established between Oregon and the eastern part of the United States . Kelley claimed that it was through his own efforts that Wyeth became a promoter of Oregon interests . Wyeth did not make a success of his trading project , but did contribute much information concerning the West and even acted as guide for the first party of missionaries to that country.
The call for missionaries to go and preach to the Oregon Indians was answered by the efforts of Wilbur Fisk, president of the Wesleyan Academy in Connecticut. He secured the services of Jason Lee , a former pupil of his, for the Methodist Missionary Board in New York. This enterprising missionary enlisted his nephew, Daniel Lee of New Hampshire, and Cyrus Shepard of Lynn, Massachusetts. He received from Washington the proper credentials for his entrance into the Oregon country, $3000.00 from the Missionary Board, and authority to select other persons.
At Independence , Missouri , this party , to which P. L. Edwards had been added , was joined by the hunting party under the guidance of Wyeth , and then made its way to Oregon . Upon their arrival they made the Wil lamette Valley their headquarters for reasons apparent to themselves and which will be shown later in this paper .
Early in 1828 the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (A. B. C. F. M.) was collecting in formation on Oregon.1 Letters of General Ashley, then engaged in the western fur trade , were copied or abridged and placed on file in its office . At this time the A. B. C. F. M. was maintaining many Indian Missions west of the Mississippi river and it appears that Indians of the far West were considered with regard to missionaries being sent them . However , there was nothing done until 1835 , when Doctor Whitman and Reverend Parker were sent on an exploring expedition to the Rocky Mountains . The prospect looked favorable for missionary work so far as they were able to learn . Without further loss of time Parker went on to Oregon while Whitman returned to the home office and reported their findings . He returned to the West the next year , 1836 , with his wife , Reverend 1These letters are to be found in the A. B. C. F. M. Library in Boston . Letters , volume 248, Letter number 78 .
Spalding and his wife and Mr. Gray. They reached Oregon safely and set to work in the "upper country" east of the mountains. This marks the beginnings of the Presbyterian Missions.
It is with these two groups of misionaries — Methodist and Presbyterian - that a portion of this paper has to deal. Their labors, influence and results are of marked importance in many respects.
The Methodist missionaries can best be studied by periods. The first period, beginning at the time of Lee's going to Oregon , 1834 , and closing with 1840 , the time of his second trip. The second period begins with 1840 and extends to 1844, when the Missions were abandoned.
The history of Jason Lee is the history of the first period. Outside of missionary annals he appears in the role of a colonizer of no small importance. He went to Oregon under favorable circumstances and made the very best of them. He hesitated not at all when he learned of the rich Willamette Valley and just why he chose this location is expressed in the opinions of several men . Parker, who visited this region while exploring , found it very good. In reporting he wrote, in part, as follows: “The whole country around,” speaking of the Willamette, “particularly the east side, is pleasant and fertile. And can the period be far distant, when there will be a busy population?”
this fertile section of the country , " now writing ” of French Prairie , " which is the best of the Oregon Territory that I have as yet seen ” is being settled by Canadians .
"It is well diversified with woods and prairies, the soil is rich and sufficiently dry for cultivation and at the same time well watered with small streams and springs."
Slacum , an agent sent there by the government in 1837 , confirms this report when he reported : 2Parker , Samuel , Exploring Tour Beyond the Rocky Mountains , pages 171-172 .
the land is of the most superior quality , rich alluvial deposite , yielding in several instances the first year 50 bushels of fine wheat to the acre . ........... I consider the Wilamet as the finest grazing country in the world . Here are no droughts , the lands abound with rich grasses , both in winter and summer . ” 3
This valley is almost as good as these men reported it to be and Jason Lee could not fail to see the advantages , although he probably did not commit himself to its praises . His nephew , writing in 1843 , gave his reasons for their choice of this valley rather than the “ upper country . " This is what he wrote : “ A larger field of usefulness was contemplated as the object of the mission than the benefiting of a single tribe . The wants of the whole country , present and prospective, so far as they could be , were taken into account , and the hope of meeting those wants , in the progress of their work , led to the choice of the Wilamet location , as a starting point , a place to stand on , and centre of a wide circle of benevolent action . Here any amount of supplies could be produced from the soil that might be required in the enlargement of the work ;
Dr. White , who was sent to the Oregon Mission in 1837 , reported his reason for Lee's choice of this fertile valley and the results . This he incorporated into his book as follows :
" Mr. Lee's object seemed principally to introduce a better state of things among the white settlers, which to a great degree , succeeded . He had originally been sent to labor among the Flathead Indians and passing through the country , leaving them far to the right, went to the Willamette , intending to spend there a winter before proceeding to his destination . He found the mild , equit able climate and society , though small , of whites , more congenial to his habits than anything he could expect in 3Senate Documents , volume I , No. 648 , 2nd Sess . 25 Cong . ( Slacum's Report ) .
4Lee and Frost , Ten Years in Oregon , page 127 .
the section to which he had been sent . Thinking that he discovered signs of the colony becoming an extensive and valuable field of usefulness , and that for various reasons , the Flatheads had less claim for missionary efforts than had been supposed , he determined to assume the re sponsibility and commence a mission on the Willamette . He directed its principal energies to bear for the pro motion of the interests of the white population with the results which have been seen in the erection of mills , etc. , and through this influence also a perfect form of provisional government has been established and en forced for years . " 5
Such a country was the ideal spot for the beginning of a State and to make conditions better in this embryonic commonwealth , Jason Lee and his helpers farmed 24 acres the first year and produced a crop of 150 bushels of wheat, 35 of oats, 56 of barley, 87 of peas, 250 of potatoes . Certainly this was not a bad start . The next year , 1836 , from 150 acres they harvested 500 bushels of wheat, 40 of oats, 30 of barley, 200 of peas, 319 of po tatoes , 31/2 of beans, 41/2 of corn .
Yet these people were called missionaries!
Since farming proved so successful in the valley , it seemed that the grass covered hills should be grazed . Following the desire of the settlers in the colony and the suggestion given them by Slacum that he would invest in cattle and at the same time provide transportation to California , as well as encouraging them in pre - emption rights , a meeting was held at the mission for the purpose of forming a cattle company . Lee invested in the capital stock to the amount of $ 600.00 of the mission funds and allowed Edwards , a member of the mission , to become treasurer . A few more than 600 cattle were brought from California , and of these the mission's share was 5Allen , Miss A. J. , Ten Years in Oregon , page 194 6............ Senate Documents , volume I , No. 648, 2nd Sess . 25 Cong. ( Slacum's Report ) .
eighty .? This was a profitable investment and led to the organization of other cattle companies. In 1838 Lee left the Mission for an absence of two years in the States . The work was then conducted by Leslie , who had been sent to Oregon in 1837. The mission folk stated that Lee was allowed to return for a rest from his arduous labors in Oregon , but another reason may be read into his letter to Caleb Cushing under the date of January 17 , 1839 .
In this communication he urged congressional action which would protect the Oregon settlers and confirm them in their holdings . He made no mention of the joint occupation agreement - in fact , he disregarded it en tirely by considering but one problem for the United States . The problem was that of protecting the settle ments which would " greatly increase the value of the government domain in that country , should the Indian title ever be extinguished .” It seemed to have been his great desire to make Oregon safe for intending settlers . Upon his arrival in St. Louis he began the Oregon campaign which he conducted in at least twelve states before his return to the Oregon country . His lectures and sermons delivered in this section of Missouri and western Illinois brought him good results as will be shown later in this paper . He was , however , merely supplying more information for the Oregon enthusiasts who were listening for any faint rumor of favorable action on the part of congress .
In the East, where he lectured until October , 1839 , he was quite successful in securing financial support . He collected $ 40,000.00 from private donations , missionary funds and government aid from the secret service fund . This latter amount was probably about $ 5000.00 , but this was not made public until after the settlement of the
7Lee and Frost , Ten Years in Oregon , page 146.
Oregon question with Great Britain.8 All of this money enabled him to secure sufficient supplies and necessary articles for the colony which was to gain more than fifty recruits among whom were five preachers . This was the last reinforcement sent out by the Missionary Board . With the rapidly growing colony and a good future assured by the added members , it appeared to Jason Lee that he must provide a market for the surplus products . This opportunity was afforded when he reached the Sandwich Islands . ( This was the ordinary route when going to Oregon by sea . ) Here he made an informal agreement with the king to exchange products . Upon the arrival in Oregon the second period of the missionary history begins . On the 21st of May , 1840 , the party reached the country from which Lee had been ab sent for two years . He soon learned that during the time he had been away the Indian population had rapidly de creased and that fields other than the Willamette Valley would have to be opened . His methods of doing this resulted in opposition from Dr. White , who soon left the Mission and returned to New York , where the Missionary Board accepted his resignation . The task of supervising the colonization scheme and the mission folk , who now numbered more than seventy persons , was too great a task for Lee . Then , too , at this time the Island Milling Company absorbed the attention of three - fourths of the members of the mission as stockholders . Before this enterprise was finally disposed of it brought them into collision with interests of the Hudson's Bay Company . This ven ture with the Island Milling Company seems to have been a part of the colonization scheme of Lee's . 8 Hines, Gustavus , Missionary History , pages 120-121 . Bashford , James W., in his Oregon Missions , page 227 , states that the amount was $2,600 .00 . 9Bancroft , Hubert Howe , History of the Pacific States , volume I , pages 206-209 . This account is quite comprehensive .
"10 The Mission failed in its object after several unpleas ant circumstances had arisen — such as quarrels among the missionaries , the resignation of Dr. White , the diffi culty of placing new missionaries and the trouble that arose over the mill site selected by the Island Milling Company . Finally unfavorable reports concerning Lee and his method of management reached the home office in New York . The condition of operations are well set forth by Dr. White who , in 1842 , was appointed Indian sub - agent for the region west of the Rocky Mountains . When he reported to the Secretary of War in 1843 , he wrote as follows :
" The Rev. Mr. Lee and his associates, aside from their well conducted operations , upon the Columbia , and a school of some thirty scholars successfully carried for ward upon the Willamette , are doing but little for the Indians...
“Some thirty scholars ” after nine years spent in the field was a poor showing compared with the Presby terians ' labors farther north .
Lee found plenty of reasons for returning to the States in 1844. He hoped first to clear himself of the charges that had been brought against him . This he was really able to do , but before reaching New York Rev. Gary had been appointed to succeed him , ordered to Oregon , and was clothed with authority to close the business of the Mission .
What the missionaries had really done was to assist in planting a colony in Oregon . Opportunity was now offered the emigrant to come and build the " great State . " Other than those persons directly connected with the Mission , it was somewhat difficult to estimate the num ber of emigrants that entered into Oregon as a direct re sult of their efforts . Probably twelve or fifteen persons were induced to go to Oregon . Through the advertising 10Allen , Miss A. J. , Ten Years in Oregon, page 194. 9
of Oregon by their frequent petitioning of congress , reports and other means , the Methodist missionaries did indirectly help to keep alive the Oregon question. It seems to have been the aim of Lee to make Oregon safe for emigrants rather than secure for himself . Yet this was not the aim of the Missionary Board , if one may believe the report of the Christian Central Advocate , the Methodist organ , of February 7 , 1844. Occasion for this report arose when the Oregon question was being con tested in congress . Senator Dayton of New Jersey , a strong anti -Oregon man , read from the above paper the following lines :
“ We have some opportunity from our position to form a correct estimate of the soil , climate , productions , and facilities of the country from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean , as we have had a large mission there for several years , distributed in small parties over the Territory ; and from all we have learned , we should prefer migrating to Botany Bay . With the exception of the lands of the Willamette , and strips along a few of the smaller water courses , the whole country is among the most irreclaimable barren wastes of which we have read , except the desert of Zahara . Nor is this the worst , the climate is so unfriendly to human life that the native population has dwindled away , under the ravages of its malaria , to a degree which defies a l l history t o furnish a parallel i n s o wide a range o f country ....... One i s inclined t o wonder what Jason Lee reported t o his superiors four years earlier . While a l l this was taking place among the Methodists , the Presbyterians were busy i n their field i n the " upper country . ” Parker , Whitman , Gray and Spalding were followed b y Eells , Rogers , Smith and Walker i n 1838 . They carried o n their work largely i n what i s now Wash ington and Idaho , where the real missionary activities bore fruit among the Indians . This section o f the coun " 11 1 1 Speech o f Senator Dayton i n the Senate February 2 3 and 2 6 , 1844 .
51 "12 try was not so favorable to settlement and it appears that in no instance did these missionaries urge emigrants , either directly or indirectly , to come to Oregon . Walker reported most discouragingly to the Boston office con cerning the prospects of the Oregon country . Writing to the secretary of the A. B. C. F. M. in October, 1841, he says : “ I think I am safe in saying that there are thousands of acres where a man by ordinary cultivation could not raise enough to support himself and if he could he would not find wood or water sufficient to cook it ............. It is a fact that as a general thing the soil is not as productive as that of the states or even in New England . . . One year later h e wrote more encouragingly
“ There i s now every reason t o suppose that there will b e a t n o distant day a numerous white population . They are coming i n not only from the States but from other countries , altho ' i t may never become a great agricultural country , yet there i s good reason t o suppose that i t will become a manufacturing country ....... Spalding had a much better opinion o f the country . Of course , i t must b e remembered that Walker was far t o the north , where there was but little inducement for settlement s o long a s the Willamette was open . Spalding visited a t Fort Vancouver and found the " lower country " quite favorable for agriculture . His letter o f September 2 0 , 1836 , was published i n the Missionary Herald the fol lowing year , and i n i t h e depicts the trip t o Oregon a s quite difficult . On his journey h e wrote
“ From the Forks o f the Platte , excepting a little spot a t Fort William , Fort Hall , Snake Fort , Grand Round , Walla Walla , t i l we came t o within a hundred miles o f this fort ( Vancouver ) the whole country i s a barren desert , with here and there a little patch o f grass and willows , planted , i t would seem , by the hand of Provi dence , reminding one o f the Great Sahara o f Africa . " 1 4 " 13 1 2 A . B . C. F . M . Library , Letters , volume 138 , Letter No. 7 8 . 181bid . Letter No. 8 0 . 1 4 Missionary Herald , volume 3 3 , pages 122-123 .
In Whitman was located among the Cayuse Indians , about twenty miles from Walla Walla . Here he was busy with the Indians and his work as a physician . He was a good missionary and gave his attention to that work . 1838 the Missionary Herald carried an account from him which was quite characteristic of all his reports . It shows where his interests lay and what his plans were : “ We have now seen two winters in this climate and I think I can say it is as fine as anyone could desire . Our animals wintered in good order in the plains . We have no want of provisions and seeds for the Indians..... I am anxious to cultivate largely as I expect we may have associates and perhaps some of our friends from the Sandwich Islands may spend some time with us for health . Our situation renders it necessary to entertain passing strangers . ” 15 His interest was evidently with his work and conse quently he was little troubled about emigrants . When he reported in person to the A. B. C. F. M. in 1843, he gave a very comprehensive estimate of the Mission's needs . He asked for one preacher and further remarked that a " company of some five or ten men may be found , of piety & intelligence , not to be appointed by the Board or to be immediately connected with it , who will go to the Oregon country as Christian men and who , on some terms to be agreed upon , shall take most of the lands which the mis sion have under cultivation , with the mills and shops at the several stations , with most of the stock and utensils , paying the mission in produce , from year to year ........ When he reached Independence on his way back to Oregon he must have been gratified to have seen several hundred ready to go to Oregon . But his mission bene fited only in a small way by these large migrations , for they drew heavily on the stock of supplies that might be in store besides putting the Indians in a bad temper . Concerning emigrants , Spalding wrote to the home office : 2 11 "16 15Missionary Herald , volume 34, page 388 . 16A . B. C. F. M. Library , Letters, volume 248, Letter No. 78 .
53 1 "17 " You will do as you think best about encouraging teachers and others to come out as emigrants and labor a time for the missions . There can be no doubt that this upper country will soon be settled ; and we very much need good men to locate themselves, two , three or four in a place , and secure good influence of the Indians , and form a nucleus for religious institutions , and keep back Romanism ...... The results of the efforts of these men are reported by Dr. White in the report already referred to . There is a contrast with the Methodist Missions much in favor of the Missions of the A. B . C. F . M. Regarding these Missions the following was written : " They have in successful operation six schools . Rev. Mr. Spalding and Mrs. Spalding ........ have a school of some two hundred and twenty -four in constant attendance . " A statement from one who a few years ago made copies of a l l the letters , i n the A . B . C . F . M . office , from the Oregon missionaries , i s worthy o f consideration i n determining the influence they might have had i n effect ing immigration t o that country . 1 8 + 1 7 Missionary Herald , volume 4 0 , page 177 . 1 8 Howard M. Ballou t o M. L . Wardell , January 3 , 1922 . “ From a thorough and most intimate knowledge o f t h e letters and r e ports written b y the Oregon missionaries - Messrs . Whitman , Spalding , Gray , Smith , Walker and Eells , back t o the A . B . C . F . M. i n Boston ( having proof - read every word aloud t o my stenographer , who had copied them for the Oregon Historical Society ) I can make an author itative statement that none o f the missionaries o f the American Board ever did o r wrote anything o f a nature tending t o the promotion o f im migration t o Oregon Territory . Their descriptions o f the agricultural possibilities are uniformly o f the most discouraging nature and not a t a l l calculated t o stimulate any encouragement for a n intending settler . The influence o f s o many immigrants upon such Indians a s they came i n contact with , was not such as t o make them ardent advocates o f the settlement o f the country b y the whites . “ I t must not b e forgotten , however , that their missionary stations were i n the s o - called ' upper country , ' now Washington and Idaho . " To relieve the missionaries o f the secular labor o f raising provisions f o r their own support , Dr. Whitman did suggest t o the Prudential Com mittee , a t the time o f his visit East , that five o r ten pious men might b e induced t o settle o n the cultivated lands o f his station , Wailatpu - near t h e present site o f Walla Walla , Washington - paying the missionaries i n produce for the use o f their land . ” .
The interest in the states was largely aroused by re ports of Congress . As has been pointed out in the pre ceding pages there was some agitation in Congress as early as 1828 for something more defitite than a mere postponement of the question by continued joint occupa tion . In fact , there was a period between 1820 and 1823 when the question was not allowed to rest . But gen erally , excepting these two periods , there was not a de mand of any great weight from the public until about 1838 , when Senator Linn and Representative Caleb Cushing brought out their bills , resolutions and reports . Senator Benton of Missouri, colleague of Linn , was also an ardent supporter of demands for the occupation of Oregon . Men in Congress from Illinois , Kentucky , In diana and Ohio championed the Oregon question . On May 17 and 22 , 1838 , Cushing reported for the Committee on Foreign Affairs to the House of Represen tatives . Again on February 16 , 1839 , he submitted a supplemental report . This contained the latest informa tion available on Oregon . On January 17 , 1839 , Jason Lee , then in Connecticut , submitted , upon request , a re port setting forth the true condition in Oregon. In this report Lee said : " We need a guarantee from Government that the pos session of the land we take up , and improvements we make on it will be secured to us . . . We need the a u thority o f the United States . . . . The country will b e settled , and that speedily , from some quarter
It may b e thought that the Oregon country i s o f little i m portance , but rely upon i t , there i s the germ o f a great State . " 1 9 I n addition t o the report , Cushing included exhaustive surveys o f Oregon from Nathaniel Wyeth and Hall J . Kelley , a s well a s letters from the Secretaries o f War and Navy , and a letter from Tracy , who was secretary t o 19Caleb Cushing i n the House o f Representatives , February 1 6 , 1839 , also found i n The Oregonian , page 267 .
55 the Oregon Provisional Emigration Society . This report , together with Linn's activity in the Senate , aroused the Westerners to the importance of Oregon as a land where they could recuperate their fallen finances and thus escape the results of the recent panic . In Lynn, Massachusetts , there was organized in Au gust , 1838 , the Oregon Provisional Emigration Society . In October of the same year a thirty - two page magazine , The Oregonian , later called The Oregonian and Indian Advocate , was first published as the organ of the Society . It suspended publication within a year . The object of the society was : ...to collect and furnish to its members all informa tion which might be valuable to persons emigrating to Oregon , to digest and prepare a plan for the Christian settlement of that country , and to make all preparations necessary previously to engaging emigrants , and it was declared that the purpose in doing this was to glorify God , and promote on earth the interests of Piety , Broth erly Affection , Justice and Liberty . " 2 0 This was a laudable purpose for “ eleven gentlemen " who were on the opposite side of the continent from Oregon , but it came to nothing . This society planned to form a company of two hun dred men with their families , which was to rendezvous on the borders of Missouri in April of 1840. Practically everything was to be furnished the immigrants - every thing except clothing , blankets and hunting apparatus . Even the settlers were guaranteed provisions for one year after their arrival . All this looked good on paper , but there were objections . The officers of the company were to be chosen by ballot in New York in October , 1839 ; each emigrant of sixteen years of age and upwards was to pay $ 400.00 , and under sixteen , $ 30.00 ; besides , the emigrants were 20 The Oregonian , page 286 .
to make their own way to the place of rendezvous. It was further indicated that the overland trip would be made in preference to a sea voyage from New York because , it was said : " many of our members will be from western States, and our hardy pioneers of the backwoods, will scarcely con sent to pen themselves up in a vessel's cabin for six months . " 21 To anyone acquainted with the " hardy pioneers of the backwoods ” it is apparently obvious that the inducements offered would hardly be acceptable . Just what was wrong with all this grand scheme may be mere conjecture , but it at least seems quite imprac ticable from the emigrants ' point of view and that it was a money making scheme may be seen in the report sub mitted to Caleb Cushing by Tracy January 6 , 1839. In this report he wrote : " For our own emolument we shall depend principally upon the flour trade , the salmon fishery ; the culture of silk , flax and hemp ; the lumber trade , and , perhaps a local business in furs . We shall establish a regular com mercial communication with the United States, drawing supplies of men and goods from thence ; and eventually we shall contemplate the opening of a trade with the various ports of the Pacific . A few years only will be required to fill the plains of Oregon with herds as valu able as those of the Spanish savannas ; and various sources of profit will reveal themselves , as increase of population shall make new resources necessary . "22 This looks like an embryonic " Mississippi Bubble " even though it was instituted by "eleven gentlemen ..... all members or ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church ........ " claiming that “the Society which they formed had no sectarian character or purpose what ever.' So far as it can be learned no one went to Ore "23 21 The Oregonian , June , 1839, page 288 . 22 The Oregonian , June , 1839, page 298 . 231bid . , page 286 .
57 gon as a result of the work of the Oregon Provisional Emigration Society . New England , i t s principal field , was not t o b e aroused by mere advertising . Oregon was too far away and the advantages i t had t o offer were not s o well known a s i n the West . As early a s 1839 a company o f nineteen men led by Farnham , left Peoria , Illinois , for the Oregon country . This appears t o have been the first organized attempt o f any body o f men t o g o there for the sole purpose o f mak ing settlement . Yet these men had more o f a “ g o west ” spirit than anything else . Their motto was " Oregon o r the grave , " and they stated their object t o b e that o f driving out the Hudson's Bay Company . Nine o f these finally reached the Northwest Coast . This was the beginning o f greater things . One o f the members , Robert Shortess , wrote from Oregon t o Lind say Applegate , who became interested and published , about the first o f March , 1843 , i n the Booneville Herald ( Missouri ) that an effort would b e made t o create enough interest t o effect a n immigration t o Oregon . Jesse Applegate , his brother , also enlisted i n this enter prise a s well a s Hill , a friend o f theirs who read Shortess ' letter and was further encouraged by Linn's bill , then i n Congress.24 Burnett , a young lawyer , also aided very materially i n promoting this migration o f 1843. He both wrote and spoke i n western Missouri i n interests o f the Oregon country . Illinois was further represented by interest a t Alton and Quincy , and from the latter place several men went t o Oregon i n 1840. The State Register o f Illinois early i n 1843 stated that the largest meetings ever witnessed were held i n Springfield i n the interest o f Oregon . These meetings , held from time t o time i n various towns , helped t o secure settlers for annual migrations that were made about this time . 2 4 Eells , Myron , Immigration o f 1843 , a pamphlet
In Michigan City , Indiana , there was organized a society to promote migration , but the membership fee made the organization rather exclusive and little is read about it within a few weeks after its being perfected . Indiana , in comparison with her neighboring states, con tributed but few settlers to Oregon . Ohio had many interested citizens and promoters of immigration . The Zenia Free Press of February 17 , 1843, carried the news item that a farmer "s aid he could raise a company of 50 families who if ( supported ) by the government would march on short notice to Oregon . " 25 Meetings were also held to urge Congress to pass the Linn bill that was introduced in 1843. Cincinnati was the hot - bed of agitators . From there circular letters were sent out by an Oregon Central Committee calling a con vention for July 3, 4 , 5 , 1843, in order "to urge upon Congress the immediate occupation of the Oregon territory by arms and laws of the Republic , and to adopt such measures as may seem most conducive to its immediate and effectual occupation ............ The action of this convention virtually led to the writ ing of the plank in the Democratic platform of 1844 summarized in the phrase “ Fifty -four Forty or Fight , " and had to a marked degree an effect on immigration.27 Iowa , then a decidedly frontier section , furnished many meetings and aroused its citizens for the westward march . The Burlington Gazette ( Iowa ) stated : “ The Oregon fever is raging in almost all parts of the Union ............ companies are forming in the East and sev eral parts of Ohio , which added to those of Illinois , Iowa , and Missouri , will make a pretty formidable army . . . . Such items a s the following may b e found i n the news papers o f the early months o f 1843 , characterizing Iowa news
" 26 " 28 250regon Historical Society Quarterly , volume I V , page 173 . 261bid . , volume I I , page 271bid . , volume V I , page 388 . 281bid . , volume IV , page 175 .
59 " Your committee of correspondence beg leave to re port that we have written to Independence , Missouri , and to Columbus , Ohio , and have requested information , and have also proposed to join at some point this side of the mountains . . . I t i s expressly understood that we emigrate for the purpose o f settlement
men o f families are requested t o join
we have already engaged a phy sician and expect a chaplain t o accompany the enter prise . ” 2 9 Below i s a compilation o f the membership o f the Ore gon Pioneer Association for the year 1876. The Associa tion was then three years old . Members from other states were added later , a s well a s an increased number from some o f the states appearing i n this list . ( This i s taken from the report o f 1876-1886 , pages 75-98 )
1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 Illinois 1 2 3 12 9 Missouri 1 2 27 20 41 29 Iowa 2 1 5 1 Ohio 3 4 Indiana 5 6 New York 3 1 Kentucky 1 Arkansas 1 . 2 Tennessee 1 Michigan 4 Virginia Pennsylvania 1 1 1 Massachusetts 1 New Hampshire 1 Georgia 1 South Carolina 1 North Carolina 1 Foreign countries 3 1 4 5 Further , according t o the Association's reports , i t was shown that i n each o f the years 1836 , 1838 , and 1839 , New York was represented by one emigrant . I n 1839 Kentucky and Connecticut each sent one . In 1838 Maine had one representative . The greatest number o f Oregon settlers from any single state seems t o have come from Missouri . I t has
291bid . , volume III , page 392 .
already been pointed out why that state was directly interested in the Oregon country . As early as 1838 the St. Charles Clarion ( Missouri ) printed a petition signed by eighty citizens of that vicinity , urging Congress to guarantee land grants to them in Oregon , to which place they desired to go.30 Benton presented their petition . The Weston Journal , another Missouri paper , carried news of the formation of companies ready to migrate . It was stated that preparations were being made along the whole frontier , that Savannah and Fort Leavenworth , as well as other towns , were organizing companies and that from Elizabethtown it was reported that one hun dred families would leave . This was preparation for the migration of 1845. 31 Elizabethtown , Kentucky , was the home of twenty seven men who , on January 13 , 1840 , sent a memorial to Congress asking that Oregon be opened for settlement . Other states , Arkansas , Michigan , Mississippi and Ten nessee , contributed men for the settlement of the Oregon area . The question of the settlement of the Northwest Coast was a live issue for that section west of the line ex tending north and south through the eastern part of Tennessee , excepting probably Alabama , where the cot ton lands were at that time being opened for occupation . It is true that New York furnished a few emigrants , with now and then one from Vermont . Other eastern states contributed very few . It appears that states with an active frontier were sending the largest numbers . There were sections in New York and Vermont , at that date , as well as Maine , that had all marks of the frontier . Massachusetts was too busy with other activities to be come interested to the extent of sending her citizens to Oregon . Already too many were leaving that state for the north central states . Then , too , while Caleb Cushing 30 The Oregonian , May , 1839, page 234 . Also Senate Documents , volume III , page 237 , 3rd Sess. 25th Cong. 310regon Historical Society Quarterly , volume IV , page 278 .
61 . was an Oregon promoter in the House of Representatives , Rufus Choate was a strong opponent in the Senate . In 1844 the latter made a " brilliant " speech in opposition to the resolution giving notice to Great Britain of discon tinuing the joint occupation agreement. It is not unlikely that The Boston Rambler of May 22 , 1847 , expressed the sentiment of many of i t s readers when i t was remarked i n its columns
" Still hundreds , we believe we might say thousands , have been lured t o the valley o f the Columbia by false repre sentations and delusive expectations . Some twenty years ago a crackbrained school master o f Boston , named Kelley , got u p an excitement about Oregon i n the New England states , and a society, called the Oregon Colonization Society ............ to found a new state ....... From all we can learn , we believe that not a man has emigrated to the Columbia who has not bitterly rued his folly . " 3 2 The writer of this article hardly knew the condition of Oregon at the time o f his writing for then several thou sand farmers were there and doing well . At the time , 1847 , between 4000 and 5000 persons were o n their way t o settle the new lands i n Oregon . Prior t o 1842 there were but few who left the States for the sole purpose o f becoming permanent settlers . There were sporadic attempts t o organize companies t o migrate , some o f which more o r less accomplished their purpose . Such a company as that of Farnham from Peoria in 1839, or Clark from Quincy in 1840 was of this type. It devolved upon Dr. White as Indian sub-agent, being so directed by the government, to raise as large a company as possible and go with it to Oregon.33 He knew where the Oregon fever raged most and went there-the Missouri area. Upon reaching Independence, he
32 Kelley, Hall J., Notes on the Colonization of Oregon, a pamphlet, pages 49-50.
33 Marshall, William I., History v. Whitman Saved Oregon Story, page 29
was met with a warm reception and , with a view to in crease the number already willing to go , visited Platte City and the country around , as well as some portions of Jackson County . He finally succeeded in raising a com pany of more than one hundred persons . The number re ported varies from one hundred five to one hundred thirty -seven , but Dr. White gives the number as one hun dred twelve . 34 They came in from Illinois , Arkansas . and Missouri, he stated . Nearly everyone of these car ried a copy of Linn's bill proposing land donation . This together with Dr. White's being a government agent, no doubt suggested to many the advisability of going to Oregon at that time . There was ample reason for high hopes since Congress had heretofore been kindly disposed to " squatters " when necessity demanded it . Only the year before Linn's colleague , Senator Benton , had suc ceeded in putting through Congress his pre -emption bill. Then , too , there was need for some to start over for the recent panic had made itself felt over the whole United States . The agitation for the immigration of 1843 was begun as early as November , 1842 , with an active organization in St. Louis . J. M. Shively states in a letter to Rev. Eells that he was the first to get up the " excitement ” on the Oregon question and after many meetings he went to Washington with a petition to Congress.86 It is hardly reasonable to say that any one person is respon sible for the heavy migration that year . A few of those already mentioned , Hill , Burnett and the Applegate broth ers urged many to leave for the West . Jesse Applegate alone is said to have induced three hundred to migrate.36 If this is the case , it means that these last named men are 341bid . 35Eells , Rev. M. , Marcus Whitman , M. D. , Proofs of his work in Saving Oregon , page 29 . 36 Lyman , Horace S. , History of Oregon , volume IV , page 337, citing Kendall's Pacific Trail Campfires .
63 responsible for almost one -third of the total migration which is frequently reported to number eight hundred and seventy - five. In 1844 the number of emigrants was not so large . Men were still willing to wait for decided action of Con gress . However , in that year between five hundred and seven hundred made their way across the plains . A very important result of this migration was that of the settlers pushing across the Columbia and thus extending the claims of the United States north of the river . Whitman writing to the Secretary of War , speaks of this migration as coming from different states, but principally from Missouri , Arkansas , Illinois and New York.87 The West was well aware of the fact that Oregon could be reached with supplies taken in wagons during the summer months . Every year now saw the Oregon emi grant on his westward march . In 1845 probably as many as three thousand reached the territory to take up land and make their homes there . The number of emigrants was greatly reduced in 1846. In that year there were probably one thousand three hundred and fifty . But thereafter the numbers grew and Oregon continued to be filled with a sturdy pioneer citizenship now assured that they would still be citizens of the United States even though west of the Rocky Mountains . Various agencies had been at work and the treaty of joint occupation was terminated . Ore gon was United States territory . A great deal of attention has been given the mission aries and the Oregon Provisional Emigration Society . Such has been done in this paper , in order to show that the East as the home of these agencies did not contribute i t s citizens t o the annual migrations falling within the years prior t o 1846. I t seems evident that the Methodist 37Nixon , Oliver W. , How Marcus Whitman Saved Oregon , page 316 .
missionaries in Oregon did much to make the Willamette Valley the goal of the emigrant and that they did much in shaping the general activities of this section . On the other hand , the missionaries sent out by the A. B. C. F . M. did not in any appreciable way encourage emigrants . Neither did they engage in making Oregon the " germ of a great state . " It is apparent that the other eastern state enterprise , the Oregon Provisional Emigration Society , contributed no emigrants notwithstanding the fact that it was founded for that sole purpose . The occupation of Oregon was a national question promoted generally by men in Congress from western states and pushed to its ultimate success by their constitu ents going there and making good the claims set forth . Whatever the East may have done it seems to have been but little compared with the states farther west . New England probably aided in advertising Oregon , but the occupation was left for the other sections .