First Child Born in Oregon

By Stafford Hazelett, Kristin Johnson and Stephenie Flora

Note by Stafford Hazelett: C. Jackson's Children of the Fur Trade (Mountain Press Publishing Company, Montana, 1995) analyzes a huge number of primary sources (such as Hudson Bay Company archives and Harriet C. Duncan's 6-volume Catholic Church Records of the Pacific Northwest) to trace the history of Metis (part-Indian) French Canadians.

 c1785 Red-headed Indian met by Lewis & Clark in 1805, Jack Ramsay, the son of a British sailor and a Chehalis woman, per Robert Jones article in OHQ Fall 1997 �  The Identity of the Tonquin�s Interpreter.  Also see: The Chinook Indians: Traders of the Lower Columbia River, 1976 book by Robert H. Ruby and John A. Brown; Page 101: One of those who came was a man of some twenty-four years, of light complexion with a freckled face and red hair � very possibly Jack Ramsay, son of the English sailor-deserter and a Chinook mother.

1811 December 30, boy, Pierre and Marie Dorion, died January 1812 (Oregon) [No Descendants]

1815 July 1, Ellen Matthews, daughter of William W Matthews (an Astorian from New York by the Tonquin) (first husband) and Ki-la-ko-tah, daughter of Chief Coboway of Clatsop Indians, (Oregon), 1829 married George Barnston (HBC employee, b. ca 1800, Scotland), 1 son born in Canada, died unk (descendants unknown) 

1818 or 1819 date unk, Louis Labonte Jr., son of Louis Labonte Sr. (an Astorian overland) (second husband) and Ki-la-ko-tah, (Oregon), married three times with 12 children, died 1911, has living descendants by website updated 2009 Feb 18. 

1835 June 14, Francis Ermatinger Newell, son of Robert and Kitty (Nez Perce) Newell, (west of South Pass, probably Wyoming), no known children, no known date of death 

1837 March 14 or 15, Alice Clarissa Whitman, daughter of Dr. Marcus and Narcissa Whitman (Washington), drowned 1838/39 age 2 years ) [No Descendants] 

1837 November 15, Elizabeth �Eliza� Spalding, daughter of Henry and Eliza Spalding (Washington Territory, Idaho), married Andrew (4 children), died 1919 June 21; descendants living in 2002 

1837, Jason Lee White, son of Dr. Elijah and Mrs. White, (Oregon)died 1838 ) [No Descendants] 

1837 Helen Mar Meek, daughter of Joe and unknown (Nez Perce) Meek, (probably Wyoming or Idaho) d. 1847 November/December [No Descendants] 

1838 March 30, William Moore Newell, son of Robert and Kitty (Nez Perce) Newell, (west of South Pass, Wyoming), died 1855 March 29, no children) [No Descendants] 

1838 June 23 or 26, infant son, Rev Jason and Anna Maria (Pittman) Lee, (Oregon), died at birth [No Descendants] 

1838 August 21, Anna Maria Lee Shepard, daughter of Cyrus and Susan (Downing) Shepard, (Oregon) married Josiah Newhall (1 child), died unknown, 1 grandchild living in 1937 

1838 November 3, Henry Johnson Perkins, son of Henry KW and Elvira Perkins, (Oregon), married 1. Emeline Long (no children) 2. Mary Helen Dustin (4 children) 

1838 December 7, Cyrus Hamlin Walker, son of Rev Elkanah and Mary Walker, (Washington), married, 3 children, died 1921, descendants uncertain in 2005 

1839 March 20, John Henry Dix Gray, son of Rev. William and Mary Gray, (Washington, Idaho), married Laura Ward Bell (9 children), d: 26 OCT 1902; descendants living until 2006 at least 

1839 June 1, Helen J. Leslie, daughter of Rev David and Mary Leslie, (Oregon),  died 1890; never married; [No Descendants] 

1839 October, Courtney Walker Meek, son of Joe and Virginia (Nez Perce) Meek, (Wyoming), married Belle, died 1896, 1 child Josephine born 1880 Washington County, Oregonper census 

1839 November 5, Carolin Alice Hall, daughter of  Edwin and Sarah (Williams) Hall; Carolyn Hall died 29 Jan 1868 Honolulu, Hawaii

1840 March 17, Marcus Whitman Newell, son of Robert and Kitty Newell, (west of South Pass, Wyoming), died 1866 March, no children ) [No Descendants] 

1840 May 24, Abigail Boutwell Walker, daughter of Rev Elkanah and Mary Walker, (Washington), married, 12 children, died 1918, many descendants living in 2005 

1840 June 25, Mary Jane Munger (id by Warren Forsythe), daughter of  Asahel and Sarah �Eliza� (Hoisington) Munger (id by Stephenie Flora), (Washington), married Darius Smith 1852 April 18 Washington County, Oregon, no children, alive at 1870 census [Darius Smith, born in New York, arrived in Oregon on August 30, 1850.]