Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 16.djvu/41



Wm. H. Packwood of Baker is one of Oregon's earliest pioneers and is the last surviving member of the Constitutional Convention held in Salem in August-September, 1857. Although he has borne the name of Packwood all his life, as did his father before him, yet it is not their family name. His real name is believed to be Duncan. In speaking of the matter Mr. Packwood said "My forefathers lived in Virginia. They came from Scotland. In the colonial days some little time before the Revolutionary War, there was a big flood in the Potomac River Valley in Virginia. Some river men who were out in a boat on the swollen stream saw a little boy on a big tree that was drifting down stream. He was just a little chap and when he was taken ashore they asked him what his name was. He was too small and too much bewildered to tell them what his name was so they called him Billie. He was adopted by one of the river men and soon grew to be a strong and vigorous boy. He was a good worker. Part of his work was to carry loads of wood to the boat. His adopted father used to attract the attention of strangers and say proudly. "See Billie, there, pack wood." Having no other name than Billie, they fell into the way of calling him Billie Packwood. He grew to manhood, settled on the James River where he married and raised his family. He was a stockman and he eventually owned much land and a large herd of cattle.

"I learned of the origin of our family name from Uncle Elisha Packwood. In 1854 he visited his grandmother in Virginia who at that time was nearly 100 years of age and who was cared for by two negro slaves. His grandmother had a large plantation in Virginia on which at that time in '54 there were about 300 slaves. When his grandfather died he left a will in which it was provided that all of the slaves who would emigrate to Texas should have their freedom and whatever money they made on the plantation for a start in life, when