The quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society, Vol. 4, March, 1903-December, 1903Oregon Historical Society
History
The quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society, Vol. 4, March, 1903-December, 1903
Oregon Historical Society
Oregon -- History -- Periodicals
NOTE.--The material from which this paper has been prepared
was derived from the following sources: manuscript account
of "Woolen Mill," the "Journey to Washington," and the
"Cargo of Wheat to Liverpool," written by Mr. Watt and
loaned to the author by Mr. S. A. Clark, of Washington, D.
C., in whose possession it has been. A series of articles in
the _Oregonian_ in 1881, by Mr. S. A. Clark, describing the
journeys across the country and other incidents, obtained
from manuscript and from conversations with Mr. Watt, with
whom Mr. Clark was on most intimate terms; a paper
containing recollections of his brother's life and incidents
by Ahio Watt, of Portland; conversations with the widow and
daughter of Mr. Watt, who are now living at Forest Grove,
Oregon.
A unique place in the industrial history of Oregon must be given to
Joseph Watt, the first to undertake the manufacture of woolen goods on
the Pacific coast and the first to send a cargo of wheat to the market
at Liverpool, both of which acts mark the beginning of important
industrial and commercial policies in the history of Oregon.
Joseph Watt, or "Joe," as he is more commonly called by those who
mention him in connection with the history of Oregon, was born at
Mount Vernon, Knox County, Ohio, on the 17th of December, 1817. His
earliest ancestor in America was a silk weaver of Scotch-Irish descent
who came to this country about 1760, settling in the vicinity of
Philadelphia. His grandfather, Joseph Watt, crossed the Alleghany
Mountains in 1802 and took up a donation claim in western
Pennsylvania. His father, John Watt, who had taken part in the war of
1812 and served with Perry in his first cruise on the Great Lakes,
migrated to Knox County, Ohio, in 1815. Here he married and reared a
family of ten children, of whom Joseph was one.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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