A History of Oregon, 1792-1849: Drawn From Personal Observation and Authentic InformationGray, W. H. (William Henry)
History
A History of Oregon, 1792-1849: Drawn From Personal Observation and Authentic Information
Gray, W. H. (William Henry)
Frontier and pioneer life -- Oregon; Oregon Territory -- History
This little incident, though small in itself, resulted in the
organization, in 1833, of the Missionary Board of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, the appointment of Rev. Jason Lee and associates, to
the establishment of the Methodist Mission in the Wallamet Valley in
1834, the appointment of Rev. Samuel Parker and Dr. Marcus Whitman, by
the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, to explore
the country in 1835, and the establishment of a mission by said Board in
1836.
Rev. Jason Lee, of Stansted, Canada East, a man of light hair, blue
eyes, fair complexion, spare habit, above ordinary height, a little
stoop-shouldered, with strong nerve and indomitable will, yet a meek,
warm-hearted, and humble Christian, gaining by his affable and easy
manners the esteem of all who became acquainted with him, was the first
to volunteer.
Rev. Daniel Lee, a nephew of Jason, was the second;--the opposite of the
former in every particular--of medium height. The general impression of
outsiders was, that his moral qualities were not of the highest order,
yet it is not known that any specific charges were ever brought against
him.
Cyrus Shepard, a lay member, was a devoted Christian, and a faithful
laborer for the advancement of the objects of the mission and the
general welfare of all in the country. We have never learned that he had
an enemy or a slanderer while he lived in it. On his first arrival he
taught the Hudson's Bay Company's school at Vancouver, consisting of
children belonging to persons in the employ of the company, till the
mission buildings were ready, when he gathered a large school of Indian
and French half-breed children, and was quite successful in teaching the
rudiments of an English education. Rev. D. Lee and Mr. Shepard were from
New England.
Mr. P. L. Edwards, of Missouri, also a lay member, was of the company.
But little is known of him; the inducements to become a permanent
settler in the country do not appear in his case.
Rev. Samuel Parker, of Ithaca, New York, a man of good education and
refinement, and exceedingly set in his opinions and conclusions of men
and things, came to explore the country, and report to the American
Board as to the feasibility of establishing missions among the Indians,
one of the missionaries of the American Board, from the Sandwich
Islands, having visited the coast in an American ship, several years
previous, and made an unfavorable report on account of the fur-trade
influence against American traders, giving the impression that American
missionaries would not be tolerated in the country.
Mr. Parker was inclined to self-applause, requiring his full share of
ministerial approbation or respect, though not fully qualified to draw
it cheerfully from an audience or his listeners; was rather fastidious.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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