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So our whole trip was a research venture, following up on genealogy work we have been doing on my husband's family. Much of this trip was focused on his great grandfather and great great grandfather and grandmother. This extended family all left Missouri in 1865 and went to northeastern Oregon when it was still pretty rough country. In fact, they were there in plenty of time for the "Indian Wars" of 1878 and his great grandfather's property was involved in some battles.
Noone still living knew where this great grandfather had gone after he and Jeff's great grandmother split up in 1885. With some luck, we were able to find that he and the rest of the extended family moved to Idaho and that they are buried there. His great great grandfather and grandmother are buried in Moscow, Idaho, and his great grandfather is buried in an unmarked grave in a cemetery in Melrose, just 30 miles away.
Melrose doesn't exist anymore but the cemetery remains and we had been in touch with a lovely woman there who maintains it. She confirmed his burial there and said there was no marker of any kind. So we arranged for a small marker to be made in a town nearby and then we met her at the cemetery while we were there and laid the monument in the ground over his grave.
Then, with a little more detective work and some incredible luck, we were able to find the person who owns the land that belonged to Jeff's great grandfather in the 1880s near Pilot Rock, Oregon. He put us in touch with another wonderful person whose entire family lived in that area in the 1880s and actually owned land in and around Jeff's great grandfather's and his daughter's land. The land is part of a gated cattle ranch now and they took us up and gave us a personal tour of the whole area and told us all kinds of history of their family and the area.
We had hoped to see the land but once found it gated thought it wouldn't happen. But then we found a name of the owner and then an address and we just took a shot that he still lived there. Showed up at his door!
So it was pretty amazing.
Thanks to the cemetery, we learned the married last name of one of Jeff's great grandfather's daughters who had disappeared from the record. We were able to get her marriage record from the Umatilla County recorder, along with a bunch of other records!, and got her husband's first name. Their name is attached to a piece of the property we toured.
We also learned for sure what happened to five of the great grandfather's children. They were all buried there with their mother and died between 1874 and 1879, mostly most likely in the diphtheria epidemic that swept through that country at the time.
We took a ton of pictures, dozens of copies of old records from three different county seats and an incredible history society in Moscow, and lots of GPS readings. We have so much information it will probably take us a year to sort it all out!!
Did more driving than we originally planned as the steps to the tour of the land unfolded. Covered about 2,300 miles altogether in seven days through Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada. Much of the land the family owned in the 1880s through the 1900s is really beautiful. Timbered with tall white pine stands separated by camas meadows. One of the things we were trying to locate was a sawmill that operated on or near the great grandfather's land near Pilot Rock, Oregon and the couple who took us out there showed us where an old saw mill had been. The original was burned by the Indians in 1878.
Will post a picture or two later...
Natalie
Noone still living knew where this great grandfather had gone after he and Jeff's great grandmother split up in 1885. With some luck, we were able to find that he and the rest of the extended family moved to Idaho and that they are buried there. His great great grandfather and grandmother are buried in Moscow, Idaho, and his great grandfather is buried in an unmarked grave in a cemetery in Melrose, just 30 miles away.
Melrose doesn't exist anymore but the cemetery remains and we had been in touch with a lovely woman there who maintains it. She confirmed his burial there and said there was no marker of any kind. So we arranged for a small marker to be made in a town nearby and then we met her at the cemetery while we were there and laid the monument in the ground over his grave.
Then, with a little more detective work and some incredible luck, we were able to find the person who owns the land that belonged to Jeff's great grandfather in the 1880s near Pilot Rock, Oregon. He put us in touch with another wonderful person whose entire family lived in that area in the 1880s and actually owned land in and around Jeff's great grandfather's and his daughter's land. The land is part of a gated cattle ranch now and they took us up and gave us a personal tour of the whole area and told us all kinds of history of their family and the area.
We had hoped to see the land but once found it gated thought it wouldn't happen. But then we found a name of the owner and then an address and we just took a shot that he still lived there. Showed up at his door!
So it was pretty amazing.
Thanks to the cemetery, we learned the married last name of one of Jeff's great grandfather's daughters who had disappeared from the record. We were able to get her marriage record from the Umatilla County recorder, along with a bunch of other records!, and got her husband's first name. Their name is attached to a piece of the property we toured.
We also learned for sure what happened to five of the great grandfather's children. They were all buried there with their mother and died between 1874 and 1879, mostly most likely in the diphtheria epidemic that swept through that country at the time.
We took a ton of pictures, dozens of copies of old records from three different county seats and an incredible history society in Moscow, and lots of GPS readings. We have so much information it will probably take us a year to sort it all out!!
Did more driving than we originally planned as the steps to the tour of the land unfolded. Covered about 2,300 miles altogether in seven days through Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada. Much of the land the family owned in the 1880s through the 1900s is really beautiful. Timbered with tall white pine stands separated by camas meadows. One of the things we were trying to locate was a sawmill that operated on or near the great grandfather's land near Pilot Rock, Oregon and the couple who took us out there showed us where an old saw mill had been. The original was burned by the Indians in 1878.
Will post a picture or two later...
Natalie
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