Page:Centennial History of Oregon 1811-1912, Volume 1.djvu/519



THE CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF OREGON n->l

also his address before the Pioneer associatioi for 1879, on the iminij^ration of 1847; see also Salem Or. Statesman, June 20, 1879.

John E. Ross was born in Madison connty, Oliio, February 15. 1818. Emi- grated with his parents to Ind., when 10 years of age, and to 111., when 16 years old. At the age of 29 he started for Oregon, and was captain of his ti-ain of forty wagons. In the Cayuse war which broke out soon after he arrived in Oregon, he served a.s lieutenant and captain. He resided for some time at Oregon City, engaged in various pursuits. When gold was discovered in Cal- ifornia he went to the Feather River mines, and in 1850, after having returned to Oregon, explored in the southern valleys and in northern California for gold, discovering several rich places, known as Yankee Jim's, Wambo Bar, Jack- sonville, etc. For a number of years he was almost constantly engaged in mining or selling supplies to miners ; and in 1852 again commanded a company who went out to fight the Indians on the southern route. In the winter of 1852-3 he was married to Elizalieth Hopewood, of Jacksonville, their 's being the first wedding solemnized in that place. They have nine children, five girls and four boys. When the Rogue River war broke out, in 185;}, Ross was elected colonel, and again in 1855 was elected colonel of the 9th regiment and commissioned by Governor Davis. He was a member of the territorial council in the same year; and in 1866 was elected to the state legislature. When the I\Iodoc war broke out, in 1872, he was commissioned by Governor Grover as brigadier-general in com- mand of the State troops. In 1878 he was a member of the senate from the county of Jackson, where he has resided for many years. The Salem States- man, in remarking upon the personal appearance of Ross, describes him as having a well-shaped head, pleasant face and a reserved but agreeable manner. Ashland Tidings, December 13, 1878.

Ahio S. Watt was born in Knox Co., Ohio, Jan. 15, 1824 ; went to Mo., in 1838, and to Oregon in 1848. He was married in 1850 to Mary E. Elder, and settled in Yamhill county. He was a member of the senate in 1878 ; has been clerk of the court, surveyor, and farmer, and a useful and honorable citizen.

E. L. Massey, well known in Oregon, at the breaking out of the mining excitement of 1861, removed to Walla Walla, where he was justice of the peace. In 1867 while traveling in Idaho he had his feet frozen, from the effects of which he died in August of that year. Walla Walla Statesman, August 30, 1867.

Burrell B. Griiifin settled in Linn county, where he discovered in 1851 a moun- tain of bluish gray marl near the junction of Crabtree and Thomas forks of the Santiam. The stone was easily worked, and hardened on exposure to the air, and came to be much used in place of brick for hearthstones and chimney pieces. In 1852 Mr. Griffin removed to the Rogue River valley, where he dis- covered in 1875 valuable ores of cinnabar and antimony near Jacksonville. Oregonian, September 25, 1875.

George A. Barnes, a native of Lockport, Monroe county, New York, first emigrated to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and from there to Oregon in 1848. He went to the gold mines in California in 1849, returned to Fort Wayne via the Isthmus that winter, and in the spring of 1850 started across the plains to Oregon with his family, locating in Portland. He was active in aiding to secure the passage of an act incorporating Portland as a city in January, 1851, and at the first city election. April 7, 1851. was elected a member of the council. In the spring of 1852 he removed to Puget Sound, with the history of which he has since been identified.

David Stone who was captain of the company with which Barnes traveled, settled in the Cowlitz Valley, a few miles north of the Columbia.

Thomas W. Avery emigrated to Oregon with his parents at the age of 15, and in 1849 went to the gold mines in Ca lifornia from which he returned in 1857, when he settled in Douglas county. Working as a carpenter and teach- ing a country school, he continued to reside in the Umpqua valley unti