Dr. John McLoughlin, the Father of OregonHolman, Frederick V.
History
Dr. John McLoughlin, the Father of Oregon
Holman, Frederick V.
McLoughlin, John, 1784-1857; Oregon Territory -- History
Ricord and Rev. Jason Lee sailed on the same vessel from the Columbia
River bound to the Hawaiian Islands. They left Oregon City January 4,
but did not cross the Columbia River bar until February 3, 1844. Ricord
did not intend to return to Oregon. He made his home at the Hawaiian
Islands (then called Sandwich Islands) and died there. Rev. Jason Lee
intended merely to make a trip to the Eastern States and return to
Oregon. He wished to see the Missionary Board in New York. He also
wished to go to Washington to see about land matters, particularly those
which the Methodist Mission wished to obtain the title to. When he
arrived at Honolulu he first learned that he had been removed as
Superintendent of the Oregon Mission, and that Rev. George Gary was on
his way to take charge. February 28, 1844, Rev. Jason Lee sailed on a
small schooner called the "Hoaikaika" for Mazatlan, Mexico.[64] After
his arrival at Mazatlan, Jason Lee crossed Mexico. He arrived in New
York May 27, 1844. In June he went to Washington. On his return to New
York he appeared before the Missionary Board for several days, beginning
with July 1, 1844, and submitted his oral report on the Oregon Mission.
As relating to land claims in Oregon, I make the following excerpts from
two letters written by Rev. Jason Lee after leaving Oregon. The
originals of these letters are in the possession of the Oregon
Historical Society. The first of these letters was written on board the
schooner Hoaikaika, March 23, 1844, to Rev. A. F. Waller. In this letter
Jason Lee says: "I paid Mr. Ricord Two hundred and Fifty dollars for you
and shall inclose your order to Bro. Abernethy.... What the result of
your land claim will be, of course, I can form no better opinion than
when I left. But I have less hopes of effecting anything for the Mission
more than to prepare the way for something to be done at the proper
stage, that is, whenever the Government shall be prepared to grant
title.... I long to hear how you are getting on with Dr. ---- &c., and
how the good cause is prospering. May the Lord bless all who have
embraced his cause and keep them unto 'that day.'"
The second of these letters is to Rev. Gustavus Hines. It is dated at
New York July 1, 1844, and written after the return of Rev. Jason Lee
from Washington. He wrote: "Met a favorable reception there [Washington]
and there is every reason to expect that the land claimed will be
cheerfully accorded to us.... Please tell Bro. Waller that his claim is
filed in the Office of the Commissioner General of the land office. This
will probably secure his claim, though the Supreme Court will probably
take no action till an Oregon Bill passes." Waller, however, had
"surrendered" all his rights in "his" (the McLoughlin) "land claim"
April 4, 1844.[65]
DOCUMENT J
_Agreement between Dr. John McLoughlin, Rev. A. F. Waller, and Rev.
David Leslie, of April 4, 1844; statement of cause and manner of making
said agreement._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account