Oregon Historical Quarterly/Volume 25/The McNemees and Tetherows with the Migration of 1845
THE McNEMEES AND TETHEROWS WITH THE MIGRATION OF 1845
ORGANIZATION DOCUMENTS OF THAT MIGRATION
By Fred Lockley
"When my father, Job McNemee, moved to Portland there were only three houses here," said Andrew Jackson McNemee, when I interviewed him recently at the home of his niece, Mrs. C. A. Morden, in East Portland. "My father built the fourth house in Portland, a good sized log cabin. I was born two years later, 76 years ago last spring."
"I was born in a cabin made of shakes, located on the S. W. corner of Yamhill and Front streets, March 5, 1848. My people spent the winter of 1845 on Dick Richard's place at Linnton. Boiled wheat and salmon was their staple diet that winter. Next spring father bought a couple of lots of A. L. Lovejoy in his newly laid out town- site, Portland. Father put up a log cabin and brought the family from Linnton to Portland. He traded two thin oxen for a fat young steer, which he killed. With this meat he started the first butcher shop in Portland. People going from Vancouver to Oregon City usually tied up their canoes at the clearing on the river bank near our house. Father sold meat to these travelers, as well as to settlers in the vicinity of Portland. Father also started the first hotel in Portland. He called it the Ohio Hoilse after his native state. Father made the first pumps used in Portland. He bored a hole through the center of a log and fixed up a handle and plunger. Later he took the contract to make the pipes for Portland's first water system. Later my father worked for Leonard & Green, when they bought the City Water department.
"When gold was discovered in California in 1848 every able bodied man in Portland went to the gold diggings. My father was among the first to go. My oldest brother,, Francis, who was not yet 12 years old, chopped wood for many of the women who were left husbandless here in Portland. I was a baby in arms at the time. Mother had no money to buy feed for our cow, so she took the straw from the ticks on our beds, mixed flour with it and fed it to our cow, so the cow could give milk for myself and the other children.
"Father made big money in the mines but invested it in other claims, so he came back broke. Later he went into the stock business and became well-to-do, having at one time over a hundred Durham cattle.
"My father, Job McNemee, was born near Columbus, Ohio, October 14, 1812. My mother, Hannah Cochrane McNemee, was born near Chillicothe, Ohio, January 29, 1815. Her father, David Cochrane, was born in Virginia, but went to Kentucky with Boone and Kenton and the other pioneers of Kentucky. He moved from Kentucky to Ohio. Father was 21 and mother 17 when they were married. They struck out for themselves, going first to Indiana and later to St. Joe, Missouri. Father bought 160 acres of land on the edge of St. Joe. When he took the Oregon fever he traded his quarter section for $400 in cash and eight horses. Today his farm is in the heart of the residence district of St. Joe.
"Fred Waymire married my mother's sister. Fred's brother, George Waymire, was elected lieutenant of the wagon train when my people came across the plains in 1845. Col. W. G. T'Vault was captain of the wagon train.
"Dr. Elijah White, who was on his way East met the wagon train of which my father was a member and told them of a more direct route. The T'Vault wagon train, with others, swung south to take this cutoff. Stephen Meek, a brother of Joe Meek, said he could guide the immigrants to the Willamette valley by this cut-off. Mountain men and Hudson's Bay trappers, in former days, had crossed the Cascades by this cut-off and he was confident he could follow the old trail. He became confused and bore off too far to the south. They struck the desert country in Central Oregon, where the cattle suffered severely from lack of pasture and lack of water. In place of saving 200 miles as they had expected, and having an easier way, they suffered severe hardships, lost three weeks, and finally made their way to The Dalles.
"Stephen Meek guided them by the old trail for some time, but when they got into the foot-hills of the Malheur Mountains all signs of the old trail had disappeared. The alkaline water was the cause of many of the immigrants becoming sick with mountain fever. My sister, Emaline, who was a babe in arms, died, and for three days they carried her body in the wagon until they could find a good place to bury her.
"The cattle became restless and tried to take the back track. The wagon train would have to halt while the immigrants hunted for the lost cattle. While Dave Herron was out looking for his lost cattle, he noticed in the bed of a small stream, a piece of metal that looked like copper or brass. He picked it up, put it in his pocket and took it with him to camp. Another member of the party also brought a lump of dull yellow metal to camp. They were unable to determine whether it was gold, copper, or brass. This was in 1845 before the discovery of gold in California. One of the gold nuggets was given to a member of the party, who hammered it flat with a hammer on his wagon tire. He threw it into his tool chest and paid no more attention to it. The immigrants were more interested in finding the lost trail to the Willamette valley and securing water for their thirsty children than in discovering gold, so no attention was paid to the stream on which the nuggets had been found. The stream ran in a southwesterly direction, but whether it was a branch of the Malheur river or not the immigrants did not know.
"A few years later, when gold was discovered in California, the finding of these nuggets was recalled. When my brothers went to the Oro Fino mines in Idaho, my father said he believed he could guide them to where the gold had been found, in what was called the Blue Bucket mines. One of the immigrants, when asked about finding the gold there, said he could have picked up his blue bucket full of nuggets if he had known it was gold. Several parties were later organized to find the Blue Bucket mines, but they were unable to locate the place.
"While the immigrants were camped in "Stinky Hollow" many of the oxen lay down and refused to get up, for when an ox is all in he quits. An ox will stay with it as long as he can, but when he finally gives up it is almost impossible to persuade him to get to his feet again. For three days, while the men were out hunting for the lost oxen, the party camped there, suffering from thirst. My father rode three horses till they were beat out looking for water. Upon his return to the camp he found three wagons had been placed facing each other in the form of a triangle, their tongues raised and tied together at the top. The sullen and angry men of the party had put a rope around Steve Meek's neck and were about to hang him. My father, pointing his gun at the men, said, 'The first man that pulls on that rope will be a dead man. Steve Meek is the only man who has ever been in this part of the country before. If you hang him, we are all dead men. If you give him a little time he may be able to recognize some landmark here and find a way out.The men agreed to give Meek three days. Meek left during the night and made his way to The Dalles, where,he appealed to the Missionaries for help. The Missionaries there were either unwilling or unable to do anything, so Moses Harris, or the "Black Squire" as he was usually called, an old mountain man and a companion of Joe Meek, secured supplies from the Indians and started out to rescue the lost immigrants.
"The party did not reach The Dalles until the middle of October. More than twenty of the immigrants had died from mountain fever while wandering about the headTHE MCNEMEES AND TETHEROWS waters of the Malheur and in the Malheur mountains in search of the cut-off. My father, having no money to hire a batteau, cut some trees near the river bank, made a log raft, on which he put the family and the household goods, and on this raft they floated down the Columbia river to Fort Vancouver. "At Fort Vancouver he bought a batteau and plied for the next few months on the river, transporting pas- sengers and freight from The Dalles to Fort Vancouver. Dr. John McLoughlin furnished wheat and salmon to father on credit on which they lived during the winter of 1845 while staying at Linnton. "In the spring of 1846, when my father built the fourth house in Portland, he learned that Lovejoy and Petttigrove had only a squatter's right to Portland. They had never surveyed the land. Father hired a surveyor and filed a claim on 640 acres. For years this case was in the courts and, finally, the Supreme Court of the United States, in 1858, decided against my father. Salmon P. Chase, Montgomery Blair and William Gardin- our were my father's lawyers. They were to receive one-third of the 640 acres if they won the case. Ben Stark, D. Lownsdale and W. W . Chapman were the ones contesting my father's claim to Portland. "In 1849, the year after I was born, Rev. J. H. Wilbur built the Taylor Street Methodist church. Settlers had very little money, but Rev. Wilbur would go into a saloon and make his appeal; and very frequently the men who were gambling would say 'you can have the next jackpot.' Frequently Rev. Wilbur would come out of a saloon with a double handful of money in his hat, and not all of it was silver by any means, for times were flush in '49, and there were lots of $5 and $10 Beaver gold pieces in circu- lation ,as well as fifty dollar gold slugs."
There are not many pioneers who crossed the plains to Oregon in 1845 left. Among the interesting survivors of this immigration is Sam Tetherow of Dallas, whose 358 FRED LOCKLEY f father, Solomon Tetherow, was captain of one of the wagon trains that came to the Willamette valley in 1845. While in Dallas recently I decided to interview Mr. Tetherow. When I asked a fellow-townsman of Mr. Tetherow's at Dallas how to find Sam, he said: "Follow the road out toward the fair grounds till you come to a large house with a big walnut tree in front of it. That's Sam's place. Sam is apt to be there or thereabout. You will know Sam when you see him. You can tell a Tetherow as far as you can see him." I drove to the house with a wide- spreading black walnut tree in front of it, and found Sam piling his winter's wood in the woodshed. "I was just hoping some one would come and drag me away from the woodshed," said Sam. "Piling wood is too much like work on a day as pretty as this." We walked around to the front of his house and sat on the front porch. Sam's most visible and evident trait is good humor. "I have heard a lot from the old pioneers about your father, Sol Tetherow, and what a good man he was. Are you as good a man as your dad?" I asked. Sam gave a dry chuckle, and said, "That's a pretty hard question to start off with. Can't you lead off with a few easy ones and sort of work up to that one? It won't look well if I brag about what a good man I am, and, on the other hand, nobody likes to knock himself. As a matter of fact,, my dad was a pretty good man. He was capable as well as popular. They elected him captain of the wagon train when we came to Oregon in 1845. If you think it's any snap to run a wagon train of 66 wagons with every man in the train having a different idea of what is the best thing to do, all I can say is that some day you ought to try it and you'll change your opinion. Nearly 3,000 people came across the plains in 1845. Two wagon trains left from Independence. One of them was captained by PresTHE MCNEMEES AND TETHEROWS 359 ley Welch. Joel Palmer and Sam A. Barlow were his assistants. Another, of about 40 wagons, was in charge of Samuel Hancock. Three good-sized wagon trains left St. Joe. One of them had A. Hackleman as captain. An- other, of something over 60 wagons, chose W. G . T'Vault as captain, with John Waymire and James Allen as as- sistants. My father had charge of the other wagon train that left St. Joe. Nearly 200 families of the emigration of 1845 left the main road at Hot Springs, near Fort Boise, and took what was said to be a cut-off for Oregon. Stephen Meek acted as their guide. They followed an old trail of a Hudson's Bay trapper, but they got off the trail in the Malheur country and had all sorts of grief. It was the members of this party, near the head of the Malheur river, who found gold known as the Blue Bucket diggings. - "Three of the 15 children in our family were born after we reached Oregon. We reached what is now Dallas on November 16, 1845. My father bought Sol Shelton's squatter's right to a section of land. He traded him a brindle oxen named Bright for a square mile of land. The city of Dallas is located on that claim, but it's worth a lot more than a brindle ox today. In 1847 father found a claim that he liked better than the Shelton claim. It was located where the two forks of the Luckiamute come together; so he took up 640 acres there as his donation claim. "I enlisted in Captain A. N. Armstrong's company. There were 104 men in our company and we were enrolled on October 15,1855. Two weeks later Captain Armstrong was elected Major and Ben Hayden became our Captain. Our lieutenants were Ira S. Townsend, Francis M. Goff and David Cosper. "While I was at The Dalles word came that two com- panies of volunteers were surrounded by Indians and were nearly out of ammunition. A detail of eleven men was selected to go from The Dalles to Walla Walla 360 FRED LOCKLEY country with 600 pounds of ammunition. Captain Hem- bree, who was on his way to join his company, joined us, and a French Canadian, who was familiar with the country, served as guide. We pushed forward as hard as the horses could go. This was in November, 1855. Quite a number of men from the companies of Captains Cornelius, Bennett and Hembree had been discharged at The Dalles by Colonel Nesmith, as there were no horses for them and the men couldn't do anything as foot sol- diers. Major Chinn, with about 150 volunteers, had been sent to the mouth of the Touchet to protect the baggage and pack trains. Colonel Kelly, at the same time, with 250 men marched higher up on the Touchet, where Chief Peu-Peu-Mox-Mox, with several of his tribe, came in under a flag of truce. In the battle that took place a day or two later,this chief, with the other prisoners who had come in with the flag of truce, were killed while they were trying to escape. "In the four days' fight that took place I got two Indians. One of them was hidden in some brush and kept shooting at our men. My gun didn't carry very far, so I had to crawl out quite a distance to get into good range, and when he rose to shoot I got him. I crawled out and scalped him and brought his scalp in to prove to the boys that I had made a good Indian of him. The other Indian I killed was where I couldn't get his scalp without losing my own scalp, so I let him keep his. "In the fight near the LaRoque farm, a lot of us on the fastest horses had got ahead of the others. The In- dians barricaded themselves where they could shoot us and where we couldn't get at them. Several of our men had been killed and wounded. Captain Wilson, of Com- pany A, soon arrived, and a little later Captain Bennett with Company F came up. We drove the Indians away from where they were. They fell back and went into a farmhouse, from which they kept picking away at us. Captain Bennett came to the major and asked for per- n. mi THE MCNEMEES AND TETHEROWS 361 mission to charge the farm house and dislodge the In- dians. The major was aganist it, and told him it would only result in the needless loss of men; that we could sur- round the place and capture the Indians. Captain Bennett came back again and asked permission to charge the farmhouse. The major said, 'I am against it, but do as you please about it. If you think best, go ahead.' Captain Bennett was a brave officer, but hadn't been trained to fight Indians as the Indians fight, by taking advantage of every bit of cover. The volunteers had enlisted to kill Indians and not to salute officers and to be taught to act pretty with a gun. Captain Bennett was strong for drill in the manual of arms, and so he wasn't very popular with the volunteers. When he had obtained permission to charge the farmhouse, instead of scattering his men out he had them charge in company front, as if they were at drill. As they started forward toward the fence around the farmhouse one of the Indians in the farmhouse picked off Captain Bennett, and a private in Company A was also killed. The Indians had all the fighting they wanted at the 'Four Day Fight' there, and skedaddled. "The next spring, while we were out scouting after Indians, we went up into the Yakima country. On Canon creek, early in April, we ran across the Indians. Captain Hembree, with several of the volunteers, started for the top of the ridge to see if he could locate the Indians and find out how many there were. Not far from the camp they ran across some horses, and as they approached them the Indians, who had sp.en Captain Hembree and the vol- unteers coming, attacked them. From camp we could see everything that happened. Captain Hembree fought bravely and killed two of the Indians, but he himself was killed and scalped. Major Cornoyer followed the Indians, overtook them and killed six of them. They took the body of Captain Hembree to The Dalles and from there they shipped it to his home in LaFayette, where they held a big funeral. FRED LOCKLEY "In the spring of 1856 we were mustered out. You can make up your mind we were pretty glad to get home where we could get something fit to eat, for a good deal of the time when we were chasing Indians we lived oil horse meat straight, without salt, coffee or bread. "After I came back from Walla Walla I went to work on the farm. When I was 22 I married Henrietta Griffith, daughter of John W. Griffith, who came across the plains in 1842. We had four children, all boys. My oldest boy, Columbus M. Tetherow, has a farm on the Luckiamute. My next boy, King Solomon Tetherow, lives in Spokane. Kane Tetherow lives at Northport, to the northward of Spokane. My youngest boy, Sammy, is a farmer and lives about five miles east of Dallas. My first wife died in 1887. After her death I married a widow named Isoline Holman. "When I was younger, I used to do a good bit of run- ning around. I packed into the Caribou mines from Dallas. We weren't much on speed, be we were strong on distance. I traveled on horseback with a pack horse over 110 miles before I struck a claim that suited me, and at that I just about broke even on the trip. In 1862 I bought up a lot of bacon here in the valley at 10 cents a pound and packed it to the mines at Bannock City, where I sold it for 48 cents a pound. I also tried my luck at Canyon City and John Day. Some years later I took up a claim in Harney valley, about a mile and a half from Burns. I had to leave it for a little while to tome back to the valley, and while I was gone someone stole all my barb wire and tore down my cabin and carried off the lumber. That made me kind of peeved, so I sold my claim and decided to stay here in the Willamette valley. "I was 9 years old when we started for Oregon, so I remember our trip across the plains very clearly. One of my brothers, David Atcheson, a twin brother of Wil- liam Linn, died while we were crossing the plains. THE MCNEMEES AND TETHEROWS 363 "My father, Sol Tetherow, was born in Tennessee, March 25, 1800, so he was 45 years old when he headed westward with his prairie schooner for the Willamette valley. My mother's name before she married was Ibbie Baker. She was born September 15, 1806. They were married in 1823. They had 15 children and raised 10 of them, five boys and five girls. Yes, 15 children are quite a few, but in those days big families were the rule, not the exception. Now it's the other way around. A family of 15 gives you quite a chance to pick out names. My brother Amos was born on January 21, 1827. My sister Evaline, who was born March 27^ 1828, married Paul Hiltibrand, who crossed the plains with us in 1845. Lucinda, who was born August 1, 1830, married Bill Parker. Matilda was born October 30, 1832. My brother, Andrew Jackson Tetherow, was born June 20, 1834. I was next, and was born near Platte City, in Platte county, Missouri, March 6, 1836. Next after me came Thomas Benton Tetherow, born February 12, 1838; Emily, who was born January 21, 1840, married Harry Christian; David Atcheson and William Linn Tetherow, the twins, were born February 12, 1843; and they were followed by James K. Polk Tetherow, born on April 21, 1846. Martha was next. She was born May 25, 1848. After Martha came Cynthia Ann, born April 18, 1851. She married H. M . Johnson. "Sometime you must interview my niece, Mrs. L. O. Cottel, in Portland. She was born here in Polk county when Oregon had a provisional form of government. She has my father's Journal, kept while crossing the plains." Not long thereafter I visited Mrs. Cottel at her home in East Portland. In answer to my question she said: "My father, Paul Hiltibrand, came across the plains to Oregon in 1845. He was born in Ohio, June 7, 1823— 101 years ago. His father, John Hiltibrand, came to America in 1798, served in the war of 1812, and was 364 FRED LOCKLEY wounded in the battle of New Orleans. My grandfather, John Hiltibrand, settled in Kentucky, but later moved to Ohio, where my father was born. When my father was eleven years old, his father went back to Kentucky, where they lived until 1842, when they moved to Mis- souri. In 1845, when father was 22, he started across the plains for Oregon, in company with Stephen and Isaac Statts. My father was one of ten children. When he came to Oregon he took up a donation land claim five miles south of Monmouth. On July 3, 1846, my father and mother were married at the home of my mother's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Sol Tetherow. My mother, whose maiden name was Evaline Tetherow, crossed the plains in 1845. Her father was captain of the wagon train. My uncle, Sam Tetherow, of Dallas, who is 88, is the last of the children now living. "I was their first child and was born March 26, 1847. I believe I was the first white girl baby born in Polk county, and I am the oldest native born daughter of Polk county now living. When I was nine months old my father sold his squatter's rights to the place he had taken up and paid $300 to Porter Lock for 640 acres a mile to the south of his first place on the Luckiamute. He later bought an adjoining piece of land consisting of 466 acres; so it gave him a good sized place. He raised stock and engaged in mixed farming. I attended Christian college at Monmouth. Later I attended Dallas Academy. "When I was 18 I married Professor John Py Out- house. We were married March 27, 1865, by Rev. H. M. Waller. My husband was born in Nova Scotia in 1828, so he was 19 years older than I when we were married. My husband was one of a family of twelve children, all of whom stayed in Nova Scotia or New Brunswick ex- cept himself. He went to California in 1849, when he was 21. From there he came up to Portland, and when the public school was organized here in Portland he was employed at $100 a month as the first teacher of the if-. THE MCNEMEES AND TETHEROWS 365 Portland public schools. He commenced teaching Decem- ber 15, 1851, and taught until the summer of 1853. He served as county school superintendent of Polk county and also of Union county. My husband weighed about 150 pounds. He was 5 feet 8 inches in height and had light hair and blue eyes. "After our marriage my husband taught school at Amity, Dallas, Union and La Grande. We went to La Grande in 1870. He taught there for the next five years, and then took a school at Union. "You said you wanted to copy my grandfather's Journal. Here it is. It has been used later as a receipt book and an account book, and a good many of the pages have been torn out; but the first part of the Journal is intact."
I took Captain Tetherow's Journal to my home and copied it and compared my copy with the original, so I can vouch for the accuracy of the following interesting records which add much to one's knowledge of the per- sonnel of the Sol Tetherow wagon train, and which also gives a vivid picture of the preparation made in the early Forties for the long and toilsome trip by ox team and prairie schooner across the plains to far-off Oregon. OREGON SOCIETY. CONSTITUTION, &c. At a meeting of a number of persons wishing to emi- grate to Oregon, held at Elizabethtown on the fifth day of April 1845, The Rev. Wm. Helm being called to the chair & the Rev. Lewis Thompson being elected secretary The following constitution was adopted The committee that had been previously appointed reported as follows:— Whereas—in order the better to prepare the way for & accomplish our journey to Oregon with greater har- mony it was deemed advisable to adopt certain rules & regulations resolved therefore— 366 FRED LOCKLEY Art. 1st This Association shall be known by the name & style of the Savannah Oregon Emigrating Society. Art. 2nd Any male over the age of sixteen may be- come a member of the Company by subscribing the Con- stitution & paying into the Treasury the initiation fee of one dollar. Art. 3rd No Minors shall be received into this Com- pany without the consent of their legal Guardian. Art. 4th No person shall be admitted whose obvious intention is to avoid the payment of his honest debts. Art. 5th A majority of the members may expel any one for good cause. Art. 6th The Officers of this Company shall consist of a President, Commandant Captain, Lieutenant, Secre- tary, Treasurer, an Executive Council of 12, the com- mandant being Chairman of the Council exOfficio & such other inferior Military Officers as the Executive Council shall determine. Art. 7th The President shall be elected on the adop- tion of this Constitution & shall continue in Office until the Commandant Captain shall have been chosen, when his functions as presiding Officer shall cease. Art. 8th The Secretary shall be elected on the adop- tion of this Constitution & shall continue in office until the completion of the objects of this Company. He shall keep a record of the transactions of the Com- pany & perform such other duties as usually appertain to his office. Art. 9th The treasurer shall be elected on the adop- tion of this Constitution, shall collect, safely keep & at the direction of the Executive Council shall disburse all the monies in the Treasury. Art. 10th The Commandant Captain, Lieutenant, & such other Military Officers as the Council shall determine, THE MCNEMEES AND TETHEROWS 367 shall be elected when the Company shall have assembled at the place of Rendezvous preparatory to a final start, and they shall hold their offices until the completion of their journey & shall perform such duties as usually ap- pertain to Military Offices of their respective grades. Art. 11th The Executive Council shall be elected when the company shall be assembled at the place of Rendevouz. They shall have the general superintend- ance of the affairs of the company & shall perform all duties assigned them. Art. 12th After the company shall have been as- sembled at the place of Rendevouz, They shall appoint six persons to inspect the outfit of the Company, who being sworn shall faithfully perform their duties & report to the Executive council who shall determine upon their report. Art. 13th The Funds of the Company shall be faith- fully appropriated for contingent expenses in furthering the objects of the Association. Art. 14th The necessary outfit shall consist of 150 lbsofFlouror 100lbsofflour&75lbsofmealand50lbs of bacon for every person in the Company excepting infants. Art. 15th The Wagons shall be capable of bearing one fourth more than their load, and the Teams able to draw one fourth more than their load. Art. 16th The number of Loose Cattle shall never ex- ceed 33 to one driver. Art. 17th. No ardent spirits shall be taken or drank on the route except for medicinal purposes, & if smuggled in shall when discovered be destroyed under the control of the Commandant. Art. 18th Each male over the age of sixteen shall furnish himself with a good & sufficient gun and 1% of powder & 6 lbs of lead to be inspected & reported on as in other cases. 368 FRED LOCKLEY 'J ..y Art. 19th All members of this Association shall as- semble at Wolf River between the 15th & 25th of April. Art. 20th This Constitution may be altered or amended at any time, by a vote of two thirds of the mem- bers present at any regular meeting of the Company or at any special meeting called by the Commandant. James Officer was elected president & Rev. William Helm Treasurer. Officer & Moreland were appointed a committee to procure a public tent & other necessaries for the Company. L. Thompson Secretary. The following persons paid their initiation fee of one dollar to the Treasurer. J . Officer, L. Thompson, Wm. Helm, Ab'm Patterson, Zechariah Moreland, Christopher Cooley, G. W . Helm, Franklin Pomeroy, John Kitchen, Eli C. Cooley, Jackson Cooley, Thomas Pollock, Dr. John- son. L. Thompson Secretary. MINUTES OF THE COMPANY Oregon Encampment, Missouri bottom, April 28, 1845. Company met, Daniel Dodge Bailey was called to the chair. The resolution to organize on Wolf River was re- considered. The Oregon Company agreed to organize here subject to revision at the Agency. James Officer was elected Capt. pro-tem. Zachariah Moreland, Lieu- tenant. An executive council was also chosen pro-tem consisting of the following persons. Daniel Dodge Bailey, John Loyd, Andrew Foster, Solomon Tetherow, Jesse Henderson, William Vaughan, William Helm, William Marcum, John Ridgeway, Charles Craft, Joseph Cun- ningham, Joseph Hughart. The following persons were appointed a committee of inspection. James Officer, Zachariah Moreland, Wil- liam Wilson, Christopher Cooley, William Kitchen, John Foster. The following persons were appointed a com. to draft laws & regulations for the journey. S. Tetherow, Wm. Helm, L Thompson, Z. Moreland, J. Officer. ii THE MCNEMEES AND TETHEROWS 369 PROCEEDINGS The Third Articles of the Constitution was rescinded. The Second Articles of the Constitution was so changed as to require the heads of families only to pay the one dollar initiation fee. It was resolved that the Treasurer be required to keep an account of all the monies received & expended & that his report be examined by the Ex-Council & reported on to the Company. The 18th article was so changed as to read a good & sufficient gun, instead of rifle. The Capt. & Lieutenant were requested to negotiate with Mr. Clark to procure his services as Pilot to the Inde- pendence Trace. The Treasurer was authorized to refund to the young men the dollar fee which had been paid previous to the alteration of the 2nd article of the Constitution. Lewis Thompson Secretary. Miss-Bottom, Oregon Encampment, April 29th, 1845. Executive Council met. The report of the Committee of Inspection was received. The Council determined that the Inspection so far be sustained that as it regards the wagons & provisions all except the Teams. The following report was ordered to be put on record. 370 FRED LOCKLEY CENSUS OF THE O. EMIGRATION . Armed Meal Flour Bacon Powd . Men Persons Wag's, lbs. lbs. lbs. & Lead C. M . Johnson 5 10 3 300 1700 500 17&68 Zachariah Moreland 21023501000400617 Alford Marcum 38240010004221318 Daniel D. Bailey 512230014305001016 John Ridgeway 3721259503001230 Joseph Cunningham 291450900350920 Franklin Pomeroy 241200600300611 William Kitchen 151200600300611 James Officer 412440018006802545 Christopher Cooley _ 2924001000300620 William Wilson 272500800350728 John Loyd 311250017006001119 Andrew Foster 57230012003702525 Jacob Wooley 16 21000500300312 Lewis Thompson 4412006001501420 Abraham Patterson 131300350200712 H. M. Knighton 4822501400425612 William Wilson 272500800350720 William Dawson 251 506002001230 H. D . Martin 231 50 600 200 12 David Carson 3411006006001020 Adam Smith 3821501000500822 Robert W. Hamilton 18 1 700 300 2 4 John Martin 271 900350520 James E. Hall 515225011003501538 Jesse E. Henderson 39225012004251210 Joseph Hughart 3822501200425 10 Nicholas Ownbey 6124125010005001330 Woodford Holman 1612001200300 Solomon Tetherow 413330016001002750 Joseph Henderson 251125600180642 Charles Craft 2822001000400715 William Helm 392 1400 450 6 20 George Smith 28115012004004 8 David Tetherow 171150750300 Robert Miller 419430029007002532 100 293 66 10450 37280 13980 354 752 females over 14 2 2 2 3 1 1 1 2 2 1 4 1 2 1 2 3 1 1 1 2 1 1 3 2 2 1 2 3 2 3 1 1 1 5 63 THE MCNEMEES AND TETHEROWS CATTLE DRIVERS females males under und. Loose 14 16 Cattle Oxen 1 2 James W. Johnson 30 13 3 4 Francis M. Moreland 111 12 1 1 Joseph Watt 712 3 1 Daniel D. Bailey 612 3 Rodolphus Kent 19 8 4 2 Samuel Hancock 4 6 1 Samuel Hancock 6 1 3 Reason Foster 25 6 James Officer, John & 2 4 Eli Officer 20 22 4 2 James Cooley 410 1 3 Abner Loyd 24 18 1 James Foster 16 14 1 2 Edward Wooley 5 8 Lewis Thompson, P. Hil- terbrand, F. Kitchen 60 6 1 Lewis Thompson 15 8 John Moore, H. M. 2 Knighton 30 12 William Wilson 810 2 William Dawson 8 6 H. D. Martin 13 6 H. D . Martin 1 8 1 2 Adam Smith, Ezekiel 17 12 2 4 Adam Smith 1 4 2 William Martin 6 6 3 4 James Jackson 19 12 3 1 James O. Henderson 20 12 2 2 Wayman St. Clair 612 Thomas W. Glasgow, W. 2 3 A. Goulder, D. McKinny 80 22 Dillard Helm Goul- 1 1 der Impiry 13 8 1 5 Solomon Tetherow 22 30 1 Solomon Tetherow 16 6 2 1 William Craft 812 1 4 John W. Helm 18 12 2 3 George Smith 13 8 2 3 George Tetherow 3 2 Robert Miller R. E. 4 5 Miller 24 32 56 68 624 398 Mules & Horses 4 3 1 3 3 1 6 6 3 1 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 3 1 2 5 22 6 3 1 1 5 74 371 Guns & Pistols 10 3 7 8 5 }1 9 3 5 4 2 4 1 9 3 3 4 4 7 1 4 7 4 3 13 4 11 3 3 3 3 1 15 170 372 FRED LOCKLEY ill OREGON SOCIETY CONSTITUTION At a meeting of the emigrants intending to go to Oregon held at Wolf River on the 5th day of May 1845 William Held was called to the chair & Lewis Thomson Seer.—a nd a Committee of seven men elected to draw resolutions &c for the adoption of the company viz David Carson Solomon Tetherow James Officer William Wil- son Nicholas Ownbey William Dawson Robert Miller Committee. Art. 1st This society shall be known by the Oregon emigrating Company. Art. 2nd The majority in all cases shall rule. Art. 3rd The officers of this company shall consist of a Captain two lieutenants Secretary Treasurer & In- spector, an executive Council of 12 men the Captain shall be chairman, all other sub officers shall be determined by the Executive Council and the Executive Council shall have the general superintendence of the Company. Art. 4th The Officers & men shall come under the Military law of the United States. Art. 5th Any man going to sleep on duty or deserting his post without leave The executive Council shall deter- mine the fine or punishment. Art. 6th The Treasurer shall collect safely keep & disburse the money in the treasury at the discretion of the executive Council. Art. 7th The Executive Council shall lay on an ad- valorem tax on property for the purpose of defraying expenses—all private property exempted. Wm. Dawson Chairman Art. 8th Whenever repeated complaints shall be made to the Executive Council, of the inefficiency of any of the officers of the company it shall be their duty to cause him to resign.
- H THE MCNEMEES AND TETHEROWS
373 Constitution Oregon Encampment—Wolf River, April 5th, 1845. One O'Clock Company met. The committee reported the constitution on the previous page which was adopted. Solomon Tetherow was elected Capt. Hardin Martin 1st Lieutenant, William Thompson second Lieutenant. Wil- liam Helm Treasurer, Lewis Thompson Secretary, Jo- seph Cunningham Inspector. The following is a list of those who were elected to constitute the Executive Coun- cil : William Helm, David Carson, John Loyd, James Of- ficer, John Ridgeway, Nicholas Ownbey, H. M . Knighton, William Dawson, Lewis Thompson, Robert Miller, Zach- ariah Moreland, Andrew Foster. ROLL OF ARMED MEN Capt. Solomon Tetherow; 1st Lieut., Hardin Martin; 2nd Lieut., William Thompson; 1st Serg., Daniel Dodge Bailey; 2nd Serg., William Vaughan; 3rd Serg., Paul Hillerbrand; 4th Serg., Jesse Ownbey. Pri't.— Robert Miller, Jesse Walker, Joseph Charlton, Benjamin Allan, James N. T . Miller, David Tetherow, George Smith, Abraham Daviess, James E. Elkins, James Mallory, Nathaniel Bowman, William Kitchen, Franklin Pomeroy, Reason Foster, Ezekiel Burbage, Alford Mar- kum, Joseph Watt, Riley Bean, William Helm, George Waulor Helm, Charles Craft,William Pollard, Joseph Hen- derson, William Henderson, Woodford Holman, George D. Smith, Timothy Bailey, George W. Smith, Joseph Cunning- ham, Samuel Hancock, Mitchel Whitlock, Nicholas Ownbey, Thomas W. Glasgow, William A. Goulder, John Ownbey, Daniel McKinney, John Loyd, Sebastian Ritner, William Scott, Abner Loyd (Abner Lloyd), Andrew Foster, James Foster, Isaac Foster, Charles M. Johnson, James W. Johnson, John Foster, John' F. Johnson, Finess Walker, William Monroe, Joseph T. Hughart, Wayman St. Clair, Christopher Zumwalt, Jesse C. Henderson, Cy374 FRED LOCKLEY rus Barnes, James O. Henderson, John Ridgeway, Isaac Sullivan, Rodolphus Kent, James E. Hall, James Jackson, Thomas Jackson. MUSTER ROLL Berry Hall, Benjamin F. Hall, John Martin, William Martin, Robert W. Hamilton, Adam Smith, James P, Smith, Paschal Smith, James Officer, Eli C. Cooley, Jack- son Cooley, John Ketchum, Zachariah Moreland, David Carson, John Fleming, Aldis A. Robinson, William Daw- son, Henry Baggas, H. M. Knighton, William Melvin, Felix Dorris, John Moore, Henry C. Marshal, Frederic Ketchum, Christopher Cooley, Thomas Pollock, William Wilson, Josiah W. Linkinfelter, John G. Johnston, Jacob Wooley, Abraham Patterson. ROLL OF CATTLE DRIVERS James W. Johnson, Francis M. Mooreland, Joseph Watt, Daniel D| Bailey, Rodolphus Kent, Samuel Han- cock, Reason Foster, James Officer, John Officer, Eli Officer, James Cooley, Abner Loyd, James Foster, Edward Wooley, Lewis Thompson, Paul Hilterbrand, Frederic Ketchum, John Moore, H. M. Knighton, William Wilson, William Dawson, H. D . Martin, Adam Smith, Ezekiel Smith, William Martin, James Jackson, James O. Hen- derson, Wayman St. Clair, Thomas W. Glasgow, W. A . Goulder, D. McKinney, Dillard Holman, Solomon Tethe- row, William Craft, John W. Helm, George Smith, George Tetherow, Robert Miller. May 6th Executive Council met. It was determined that the wagons should be numbered in 4 Platoons, so as to form a hollow Square every night. The following is a list of the names of those who vol- untary subscribed for a Pilot Mr. Clark to the Independ- ence Trace. r£ THE MCNEMEES AND TETHEROWS 375 William Dawson paid 25 H. D. Martin paid 25 Henry M. Knighton 2 wagons 50 David Carson 25 Solomon Tetherow 3 wagons 75 David Tetherow paid 25 George Smith paid 25 J. Ridgeway 2 wagons paid 50 Alfred Marcum 2 wagons paid 50 Zachariah Moreland paid 50 Robert Miller 2 wagons paid 50 C. M. Johnson 3 wag's paid 75 Joseph Hughart, 2 wgs 50 Lewis Thompson 1 wag paid 25 Nicholas Ownbey 4 wagons paid 1.00 John Loyd 2 wagons paid 50 Andrew Foster 2 wagons paid 50 William Helm 2 wagons paid 50 Jesse Walker 1 wagon paid 25 Joseph Charlton 1 wagon paid 25 James Officer 4 wagons 1.00 Christopher Cooley 2 wagons 50 Wolf River May 8th 1845 The Executive Council met and resolved that a driver be furnished for every 25 head of loose Cattle & that William Helm apportion the drivers according to that ratio. James E. Hall was elected Capt. of the Cattle Com- pany for two days & that James Officer after that time act in that capacity. Also resolved that we start at 8 o'clk in the morning & travel from ten to fifteen miles every day. Resolved that two separate rolls be made out by William Helm the one of the Teamsters the other of the drivers of loose cattle. Resolved that it is the duty of the Capt. Lieutenants to superintended the Sergeant of the Guard. Baggas & Christopher Cooley were appointed Corporals. Capt. Solomon Tetherow paid one dollar into the Treasury. Resolved that we go ahead tomorrow. Adjourned. Lewis Thompson Sec. 376 FRED LOCKLEY May 13, 1845. The Executive Council met. The min- utes of the last meeting were read & approved. H. D. Martin was requested to see all the Emigrants & ask them to contribute 25c each wagon for defraying the expenses of a tent &c And also to ask each one to contribute something towards the pasturage of the In- dians. And likewise H. M. Knighton was appointed to collect for the Pilot. Joseph Hughart was appointed Assistant Capt. and instructed to organize the drivers & report delinquencies* Independence Trace, May 15th, 1845. The executive Council met. Resolved that the Pilot be paid according to agreement 25c on each wagon. Six- teen dollar were paid to John Clark for his services as Pilot to the Independence Trace. Two dollars & 62% cts were paid into the Treasury for three spades. Executive Council met. Resolved that the money in the hands of H. D. Martin collected for passage fee paid to James Officer for Settlement. And that the money one dollar paid by four Young men be handed to Mr. Officer. Resolved that those who leave shall be repaid the money for teams. Resolved that the Treasurer be authorized to refund the money paid into the Treasury under the old Consti- tution, to those about to leave. L. Thompson Sec. Christopher Cooley, Jackson & Eli Cooley were each repaid the dollar that was handed in the Treasury under the old Constitution, also John Ketchen & Thomas Pollock & James Officer, likewise Zachariah Moreland. Twenty five cts. be returned were & handed to Mr. Officer. Sev- enty five cts were paid to Nicholas Ownbey. 24th May 1845—At a meeting held the last clause of the Constitution Art. 3 —the council of 12 men was voted
- <". down and the power the council had was voted to the com-
pany and James Hale was elected 2nd Lieut instead of James Officer—
May 20 David Carson paid a fine into the treasury of 50 cents for not standing guard.
BY LAWS &c
Murders—
Anyone guilty of wilful murder shall be punished by death and shall not be forced into trial before three days.
Anyone guilty of manslaughter shall be delivered to the authorities in Oregon.
Any one guilty of Rape or attempt at it shall receive thirty nine lashes for three successive days—
Any one guilty of open adultery, or fornication shall receive 39 lashes on their bare back.
Any one guilty of Larceny shall be fined double the amount, and receive 39 lashes on his bare back.
Any one guilty of indecent language shall be fined at the discretion of the Ex. Counsel.
Every Dog found running about Camp at large shall be shot at the discretion of the Capt. —
There shall be a driver of every 33 head of lose Cattle and every one shall drive in proportion to the lose cattle he may have.
The Committee for the purpose of drafting the Constitution, have wrote out a few by-laws for the Consideration of the emigrants. Signed in the Name of Committee.
Wm Dawson Chairman
Weston, Mo.