History at Work: "Oregon at Work, 1859-2009" - Tom Fuller

January 19, 2017 Episode.
Ever wonder if your line of work was important in early Oregon? What sorts of employment opportunities were available to our ancestors? Was your occupation even imagined in 1859?  I know mine were not even a glimmer in some eccentric inventor's eye: historic preservation specialist? internet blogger? radio host?  What a hoot!  On the other hand, I feel certain that the majority of us do not possess the "skill set" to be successful in the most important trades of those early days: trailblazer, wagon driver, land-clearing farmer, tree faller, log cabin builder, blacksmith, fur trapper/trader, securing food on your own, providing protection from hostile attacks, and many other "survival skills" that are not as necessary in today's world.​

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Some of these questions are answered in Oregon at Work, 1859-2009, a book compiled for Oregon's Sesquicentennial by Tom Fuller and Art Ayre, both employees of the Oregon Employment Department at that time.  You may recognize Tom's name as our co-host Christy Van Heukelem's co-author in their "Images of America" books, Salem, McMinnville, and Newberg.  In fact, Tom told us that it was during the research phase of this book that he first met Christy. Christy, the avid genealogist, was able to provide a plethora of material on her Oregon ancestors, including William Hunt Wilson, who came to Oregon in 1843 as a wagon driver for Jesse Applegate, and Arthur Gardner, who, in 1901, began a legacy of detailed journals that provides volumes of information about the rigors of daily life in the early years of the 20th century. 

Tom shared some of his favorite stories and photos from the book with us today. One was about Ada Bell, a 16-year old young woman who was hired in 1897 to be a teacher, one of the few jobs available for women at the time, in the town of Bakeoven in eastern Oregon. Scared, cold, and penniless, no town folks came to meet Ada at the stagecoach and she was forced to find her own way to her lodging and the schoolhouse where she was to teach the children of the immigrant German and Swiss homesteaders and shepherds how to become Americans. She taught there until the end of the school term in July 1901.

William Eads was a mixed-race slave in South Carolina when he escaped the plantation and enlisted in the Army as William Williams. He served under General Taylor in the Mexican-American War in 1846 and gained respect as a loyal soldier. He later volunteered to replace federal troops maintaining posts in Oregon. After discharge, he tried his hand mining in California, but returned to Oregon c1860 and homesteaded on Thief Creek in Douglas County. This was quite unusual, as Oregon was still debating legislation against blacks and there were strong biases against all non-Caucasian peoples. 

William Eads, Slave, Soldier, Laborer

William H. Hunt c1900

William Eads, Homesteader

Tom reported that William Hunt Wilson, Christy's great-great-great-grandfather, settled in Oregon City after meeting the Hudson's Bay Company factor John McLoughlin, who hired him to clear brush from the town's streets. Wilson proved to be a dependable worker and was quickly entrusted with higher levels of responsibility. He married young widow Hannah (Dickinson) Gilliam and settled on a Donation Land Claim near Yoncalla in Douglas County and began to farm and raise a family.

One of the men Wilson hired to help with his farming operation was none other than Wiliam Eads, considered quite a controversial act in pre-Civil War Oregon. Wilson was a strong opponent of slavery (as was Jesse Applegate) and had come to Oregon as a result of an argument with his father over the sale of a slave he considered his friend.  Eads soon became accepted as a member of the Wilson family and was buried in the Wilson Family plot when he died in December 1900.

William H. & Hannah Wilson with their nine children, c1890

Hannah Wilson & Sons, C1910 Standing is William W. Wilson

William Hunt Wilson was elected to serve as the Umpqua County representative in the second regular session of the Oregon Legislature in 1862. Jesse Applegate's brother Lindsay represented Jackson County in that same 40-day session, where they both served on the Military Affairs Committee. The contentious subject of slavery was paramount. William and his colleagues were urged to pass laws designed to prevent "Negroes and mulatoes [sic] from coming into the state." Wilson's group was successful in defeating that bill. Unfortunately, they were not successful in defeating another bill that placed a $5 tax on all blacks, Chinese, Hawaiians, and mulattos. Wilson paid this tax for his friend William Eads but he never returned to state politics. His friendship with the Applegates and his staunch anti-slavery views continued until his death in 1902.

As a small world note, Wilson's son, William W. Wilson, is also the grandfather of our program engineer, Jim Wilson--another historic connection to our modern lives.  

Tom's book is chockful of wonderful stories involving everyday folks trying to make a living all over Oregon, probably touching many of our own ancestors. The easiest way to locate a copy of his book is through Amazon.com.  

Over the coming year, we plan to highlight several of the long-term businesses in the mid-Willamette Valley area, speaking with family members about the heritage of their family business and their plans for the future.  We hope you will join us as we explore another factor of our historic legacy.