Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Genealogy Report: Descendants of Daniel Pegg Wilson

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Descendants of Daniel Pegg Wilson

Generation No. 2

2. MARY JANE⁵ WILSON (DANIEL PEGG⁴, JAMES³, THOMAS², JAMES¹) was born 20 August 1828 in Ohio, and died 4 February 1884 in Pacific County, Washington. She married JOHN S. M. VAN CLEAVE 21 January 1855 in Pacific County, Washington. He was born April 1823 in Indiana, and died 3 February 1889 in Pacific County, Washington.

Notes for JOHN S. M. VAN CLEAVE:
J. S. Van Cleave's tombstone, located in Pacific County, Washington, states that he was a Mason. He originally settled on the Naselle River of Pacific County in 1852 on what was later called the Mill ranch, he later sold the property to Julius Mack in 1868 and moved to Willapa. His daughter, Mary was drown in Willapa River while attempting to cross in a canoe. J. S. Vancleave was prominent in Pacific County politics, was a probate judge and a mechanic. He moved his family to East Portland, Oregon in the 1860's. He is listed in the 1874 East Portland (Multnomah County) City Directory as Vancleave J. S. M., carpenter, res nw cor Sixth and H. He returned to Pacific County where he is buried in the Wilson family cemetery near Bay Center, Washington.

Children of MARY WILSON and JOHN VAN CLEAVE are:

	i.		ANN⁶ VAN CLEAVE.
	ii.		GEORGE VAN CLEAVE.
	iii.		ELLEN VAN CLEAVE, b. Abt. 1856, Washington Territory.
	iv.		LEANDOR VAN CLEAVE, b. Abt. 1858, Washington Territory.
	v.		MEARIS R. VAN CLEAVE, b. Abt. 1860, Washington Territory.
	vi.		MARKES C. VAN CLEAVE, b. Abt. 1864, Washington Territory.
	vii.		FRANCIS EUGENE VAN CLEAVE, b. Abt. 1865, Oregon.
	viii.		MARY J.R. VAN CLEAV, b. Abt. 1868, Oregon; d. 16 September 1884.
	ix.		JOHN D. VAN CLEAVE, b. Abt. 1870; d. 2 April 1877.

3. GEORGE WASHINGTON MOUL⁵ WILSON (DANIEL PEGG⁴, JAMES³, THOMAS², JAMES¹)¹⁵ was born 17 September 1830 in Ohio ¹⁶, and died 17 April 1911 in Pacific County, Washington. He married (1) ANN ELIZA CLARK 22 December 1850 in Cass County Illinois ¹⁷. She was born 18 July 1829 in Virginia ¹⁸, and died 13 August 1868 in Pacific County, Washington. He married (2) ELIZABETH GOODPASTURE 22 January 1873 in Eugene, Oregon, daughter of HAMILTON GOODPASTURE and ELEANOR ELLISON. She was born 9 November 1836 in Morgan County, Illinois, and died 30 August 1925 in South Bend, Pacific County, Washington.

Notes for GEORGE WASHINGTON MOUL WILSON:
George played the flute in the Murphysboro, Illinois band. George served two terms as Pacific County, Washington County Commissioner.

George Wilson migrated with his Father's family from Illinois to Oregon in 1852.
The following is an account of George Washington's experiences beginning after their arrival in Oregon City, as written by George Washington Wilson's son, Emerson J. Wilson:
They arrived in early September, made camp to rest a few days, then sold their wagons and animals and hired some Indians to take their household goods down to Portland. The goods were transported in Indian canoes, but they no more than got started when one upset and most of their things were lost. At Portland, camp was made near what is now Stark Street between First and Second. There were no buildings near them --- just uncleared land and stumps. (In after years, about 1882, Father took his family on a visit to Portland; it wasn't much of a town even in the '80's. He tried to find their old house. I remember Father said to Mother: "It was just about here the house stood --- there should be a big stump over there." However, the stump was gone and we could only approximate the location of the first Wilson home in the West.) In the late fall of 1852, Father went to work as a carpenter in Portland. He got $1.50 for a ten hour day, and he had to pay $50 for a sack of flour, with other goods proportionately high. A pair of hip-length rubber boots sold for $50 that year. Before spring came, one of the employers owed him $150. Unable to pay in cash, he offered to deed him two lots on Morrison Street for the bill. But Father said: "No, I don't want the lots. I'll wait until you can pay me the cash." I don't know if he ever got the cash, but the two lots would have later brought him a lot more than the wages. In the spring of 1853, Father heard of the oyster business on Shoalwater Bay. He decided to see this country, so he bought some lumber and built a large flat-bottomed skiff, also making oars, sails and a mast. After making arrangements to provide for his family while he was gone, he started out early one morning, sailed out the Willamette into the Columbia, down that river and turned into Baker's Bay. He then proceeded up the Wallicut as far as navigation was possible. Hauling his boat out of water, he covered it with brush and grass. Making up a pack of all he could carry, he took an old Indian trail north to Bear river, which empties into Shoalwater Bay. When he arrived at the head of Bear river, he found the country very rough and thickly covered with underbrush, making foot travel difficult. Nearby was an Indian burial place where the natives had placed their dead in canoes in a grove of trees. Father cut down one of these canoes, scooped up the bones which he buried in the ground, repaired the hull, made a launching into Bear river, and paddled on down the bay. He paddled past Long Island, the Naselle and Nemah rivers, Sand Point, Goose Point; it was clear, bright weather with not a cloud in the sky. As he looked across the Palix river he saw a beautiful shore, ablaze with the setting sun. He determined to go to that shore and camp for the night, as it was too late to go farther. When he landed, he said to himself: "I think this is what I have been looking for." He hauled his canoe up to high water mark and made camp under some sheltering spruce trees. Not far from where he camped there was a small Indian village. The next morning, while he was cooking his breakfast, an old Indian came up to converse by means of the Chinook jargon. Father asked the old man where the Bostons (Americans) were located, and the Indian pointed north, saying "Siah, wake siah kopa Willapa Chuck", which in English means "Not far up the Willapa river." Mud flats in front of the camp extended as far north as could be seen. A close inspection showed them to be covered with native oysters. Directly across the Palix river which, in conjunction with the Niawaukum, ran in front of his camp site, there was a peninsula running in a northerly direction, the tip of which was Goose Point. About three-quarters of a mile away, where the town of Bay Center is now located, Dr. James R. Johnson filed his homestead. Father explored the area thoroughly, and was sure this was the place for him. He fell to work building a cabin, a small one of logs. Then, launching his canoe again, he paddled north along the shore, passing Bone river, then called Querquellin by the Indians. Here James G. Swan compiled his book Northwest Coast; Three Years at Shoalwater Bay; or Three Years in Washington Territory. In due time, Father rounded Stony Point, which place was occupied by Charles J.W. Russell and afterward taken up by W.B. Clark, who lived there with his family of wife, three sons and two daughters for many years. One half mile east of Stony Point was the settlement of Bruceport. This place consisted of about twelve families and as many or more of Indians. There was a trading post on the order of the Hudson's Bay stores. About once every month a two-masted schooner from San Francisco would call and buy oysters. Father inquired as to selling oysters, and was told the prospects were good. He was advised to bring along all he could get, but to make it a point to have them there the day before the schooner was due. At the store, he purchased a pair of oyster tongs, a rake, scoop shovel, and other needed supplies. These he loaded into his canoe and returned to his cabin on the Palix river. The more he looked around, the more he was convinced that this was the spot to settle on. The rivers were full of king, silver and calico salmon. There were many ducks, geese, brant, and snipe. He saw herds of deer and elk grazing on the tidelands, mud flats were filled with an abundance of oysters and clams. Truly, a good living was just a matter of a muzzle-loading shot gun and a shovel! Father consulted with the old Indian he had met the morning after his arrival; his American name was Sam, and he became a fast friend and good companion. He brought two or three of his fellow tribesmen to help in harvesting oysters for market. These they brought closer to shore to cull, or sort, then left them until the schooner was expected. At the schooner bed, they pulled along side and waited their turn to discharge the cargo. After being paid off, they would go ashore, buy such supplies as they needed, and return home. On the days the tides were wrong for oystering, they made exploratory trips together, looking over the land, paddling up the Niawaukum and Palix rivers, finding areas suitable for stock grazing. In the early fall of 1853, Father returned to Portland, and that winter he again worked as a carpenter. He filed for a donation claim of 620 acres, though in the following years he took up other lands adjoining the original claim until at one time he had a thousand acres. By the spring of 1854, there was a river steamer running between Portland and Astoria. Grandfather Daniel, one son and two daughters, came in April of that year to Astoria, across the Columbia into Baker's Bay by canoe, and on to the claim on the Palix to clear land and otherwise improve the place. In the summer, Father brought his wife and son down, and engaged in planting seed oysters on his grounds in the bay. Grandfather took up a claim on the south fork of the Palix, and the Indians called it "Yeomstead", and by that name it was known for many years. In addition to his muzzle loading shot gun, Father had a muzzle loading rifle, known as a Yauger, which shot an ounce round ball; balls and patches were carried in the storage compartment in the stock of the gun. With this rifle, he killed many elk, deer, bear and a few wolves. Grandfather, too, was quite a hunter; in fact, he was given the nickname of "Cougar Wilson".
Lest this account grow too confusing, let me here give a brief history of my immediate family. Father's wife Ann Eliza, whom he brought to the claim that summer of 1854, was not my mother; she was the mother of Orlando, Mary Van, Edward, Eugene and George, Jr.

THE ERA OF THE INDIAN WARS

Now, let us go back to the year 1855 and resume our narrative. At that time, the Indians east of the mountains went on the war path and the Indians in the Sound country "raised", as the settlers termed their uprisings. The natives on this bay were peaceful, as the coming of the white man had been an asset rather than a liability. There was plenty of game and seafood for all, and by working at gathering oysters, they could buy goods at the store; they were not inclined to make trouble. The Indians had their own grape-vine method of obtaining news from east of the mountains, Vancouver, British Columbia, and even as far north as Alaska. This was via the trade route. The Columbia river, Shoalwater bay and Grays Harbor Indians traded dried and smoked salmon and oysters east of the mountains in exchange for basket grasses which grew in the Cascades, food and flints for arrows. They also traded Kliskwiss, mats made of local flag reeds; these were used for bed blankets and to line their houses to keep out the cold. On these trading expeditions, the news from various parts of the country was passed along. When the uprisings of 1855 took place, the local Indians were badly worried. They held a pow wow among themselves and, after it was over, the head man, or local chief, came to see Father and said he represented the tribe and wished to make a treaty with him. The Indians valued their freedom to come and go above everything else, and their greatest dread was of being put on a reservation. "So," said the local head man, "We have held our counsel. We like the Boston people and wish to have a good feeling talk with you and make a treaty." Father said he was willing to do this and asked the Indian to state his case. "You see that the Great White Father does not put us on a reservation and we, the head Indians, will not go on the warpath or in any way molest the people around here. We will live in good spirit with the Boston men." Father agreed to do all he could, and all through the Indian trouble around the Sound country, the local natives kept their agreement with my father, and lived in peace and harmony forever after. One morning, a little before daybreak, Pather heard a knock on the cabin door. He found the Indian with whom he had made the treaty standing outside. The man was excited and said: "Come quick. Bad Indian come from far away, wants Indians to shoot white people. Take your gun and shoot bad Indian." Father quickly dressed and, grabbing his Yauger and powder horn off the wall, set out with the Indian. They took a trail over the hill that led down to the sandy beach on the east side of the long point of land jutting out into the bay. It was on this beach that the strange Indian had landed. But when Father and his friend reached the spot, the canoe and the trouble maker were gone. Looking across the water, Father could see the Indian paddling for all he was worth in the direction of Tokes Point, but he was out of shooting range. Perhaps other Indians had warned the intruder to clear out. At any rate, that was the nearest thing to an uprising happening on the bay in my father's time. Meanwhile, at the little settlement of Bruceport, a block house had been erected. Father bought supplies there. One day Captain Riddell asked him when he was going to bring his family in so as to be near the block house in case of trouble. He replied: "I am not going to bring my family in at all. We are going to stay right where we are." Others spoke up then, and there was a general discussion of the matter. Finally some one said: "Wilson, you can stay there and be scalped if you want to, but we are going to bring your family here where they will be safe." Father told them: "Don't try that. I've got guns and plenty of ammunition and you will have a war on your hands that you will long remember --- if you live through it. The Indians are my friends and will help defend my family and me." With that, he carried his goods to the canoe and paddled away. Blockhouse life was rough, and Father did not wish to expose his family to it. After returning home, he looked up the head Indian for a pow-wow, and was told: "You stay here and we will protect you from both bad Indians and bad white men. We will help each other and we will remain 'Kloshe tillicums' (good friends)." The men at the blockhouse did not go through with their threat, and father was never bothered by them. The oyster industry on the bay had increased rapidly, and some of the oysterman began to build sailboats and flat-bottom bateaus to use instead of the native canoes. There were two small boats shipped out of San Francisco to our bay on the deck of a schooner. They were twenty-two feet long and seven foot beam, clinker built cat boats with sail and mast, with long overhanging stern and center board. Father bought one of these boats and built a bateau, twenty feet in length and seven foot beam, square stern, half deck, which carried the oysters in the hold. This bateau was propelled with a long pole, cut and peeled from a spruce sapling. Using the pole, one would walk along the deck, bow to stern, pushing the en on the muddy bottom. There was also a sculling chock on the stern with an oar to scull with when the water was too deep to pole. Sometime after Father purchased the Staten Island skiff, he had occasion to go north across the bay to Tokes Point was in the month of January, just after a very cold spell of weather, and the bay had been frozen over. The rise and fall of the tides had broken up the family in so as to be near the block house in case of trouble. He replied: "I am not going to bring my family in at all. We are going to stay right where we are." Others spoke up then, and there was a general discussion of the matter. Finally some one said: "Wilson, you can stay there and be scalped if you want to, but we are going to bring your family here where they will be safe." Father told them: "Don't try that. I've got guns and plenty of ammunition and you will have a war on your hands that you will long remember --- if you live through it. The Indians are my friends and will help defend my family and me." With that, he carried his goods to the canoe and paddled away. Blockhouse life was rough, and Father did not wish to expose his family to it. After returning home, he looked up the head Indian for a pow-wow, and was told: "You stay here and we will protect you from both bad Indians and bad white men. We will help each other and we will remain 'Kioshe tillicums' (good friends)." The men at the blockhouse did not go through with their threat, and father was never bothered by them. The oyster industry on the bay had increased rapidly, and some of the oysterman began to build sailboats and flat-bottom bateaus to use instead of the native canoes. There were two small boats shipped out of San Francisco to our bay on the deck of a schooner. They were twenty-two feet long and seven foot beam, clinker built cat boats with sail and mast, with long overhanging stern and center board. Father bought one of these boats and built a bateau, twenty feet in length and seven foot beam, square stern, half deck, which carried the oysters in the hold. This bateau was propelled with a long pole, cut and peeled from a spruce sapling. Using the pole, one would walk along the deck, bow to stern, pushing the end on the muddy bottom. There was also a sculling chock on the stern with an oar to scull with when the water was too deep to pole. Sometime after Father purchased the Staten Island skiff, he had occasion to go north across the bay to Tokes Point. It was in the month of January, just after a very cold spell of weather, and the bay had been frozen over. The rise and fall of the tides had broken up the ice with the exception of the shore line. As Father's business was pressing, he decided to try the journey. He hired an Indian to go with him to help bail in case the waters grew so rough as to make that necessary. The day was dark and cloudy, and a fair breeze was blowing as they set sail on their five mile run across the bay. They proceeded north down the Palix channel, past Pine Island, across the Willapa river to Tokes Point which is now called Tokeland. When they rounded to, off the point, the wind had increased to a gale from the southeast, and the bay was showing white caps. The boat began to ship water and the Indian started bailing. He thought he could sail in behind the point and find a harbor from the wind and seas, but on closer approach he could see that the ice extended out from the shore too far at that spot. He tried to put about and beat to windward, but the increasing gale and high seas were too strong and the little craft was soon blown back against the ice over which the waves were breaking. The first crash against the ice shook the little boat until it seemed her planking would give way. The Indian was badly seared, but kept on bailing and soon had the water in the boat reduced, but had to keep at it steadily to prevent swamping. Father looked astern some fifty feet and saw a crack in the ice running toward shore. He said: "Our best chance is to try and work the boat back to that crack and see if we can chop along through the ice to where we can get some protection from the wind." They had two axes aboard and when they had the boat secured they both got out on the ice and began chopping a channel wide enough for the boat to enter. They cut in about twice the length of the boat, then cut a right hand turn in the ice so the seas wouldn't have a clean sweep at her. Then they hauled the boat in the opening, ran their anchor line out, cut a hole in the ice, and secured the anchor. By this time, the boat was nearly full of water again, so they bailed her out and felt she was pretty safe for the time being. They were nearly frozen and, as they walked ashore across the ice, their discomfort was increasing every minute. They made for the cabin of the settler whom Father had come to see. As they neared the house, the door was flung open and the man welcomed them into a warm room where he had a good fire going. Their host said: "Come in! I put the coffee pot on when I saw you crossing the bay. I was afraid you would lose your boat for sure." The warm stove and hot coffee soon thawed them out, and Father and the man transacted their business. After about an hour the wind shifted to the northwest and the storm was over. They boarded their boat, worked her out of the improvised channel, hoisted sail and were soon on their way. When Father paid the Indian for his help he said: "Mike delate kumtux, klatawa kopa skookum chuck," which meant, "You are a good sailor in a storm or rough water." The family was proud of this little sail boat and kept her many years, even after Father bought a much larger one. He finally sold her to an Indian named George Squamaup, who was the father of Joseph George who became famous for building round-bottomed crab and trolling boats. When W.R. Marion was a young boy, he left his native Ireland, following the sea, sailing in English ships. On one voyage he landed at Panama. After being paid off, he got a job carrying railroad iron along the path where a track was being built. Though he stood a good six feet and was a husky young man, this was a Herculean task; he had a hump on his back which he claimed was caused by carrying these loads of iron. Working his way across the Isthmus to the Pacific side, he shipped up the coast to San Francisco, where he took a job with a company handling oysters from Shoalwater bay and it wasn't long until he made up his mind to come up here. On his arrival in 1870, he had just fifteen cents in his pockets. Father gave him a job and took him into our home to live. In about a year, he and my half-sister, Mary Van, were married. Father gave "Dick" and Mary thirty acres of the donation claim as a wedding gift, land north around the point from the home place. They had one child, a daughter, who died when she was five years old. Dick worked hard and saved his money. After they had built a house about 300 yards from the beach he, with the backing of my father, bought an old flat bottom sloop and went into the oyster business for himself. In the meantime, he had staked out about 60 acres of tide flats between Bone river and Stony Point which was suitable for raising oysters. This was known as "the mountain bed" because it was of a higher elevation than the surrounding ones. Dick used his sloop to gather oysters from the South bay and transplant them to his own private grounds. In 1875, Dick, Father, his oldest son Orlando Wilson, Fred Craft, A.S. Bush, Captain West, Swanberg, L.H. Rhoades and L.A. Rhoades formed the Bay Center Oyster Company which was referred to as the BCO Co. Swanberg and West handled the San Francisco end; the other members shipped the oysters via schooner which generally loaded at Bruceport.

Notes for ANN ELIZA CLARK:
CENSUS YR: 1850 STATE or TERRITORY: IL COUNTY: Cass PAGE NO: 125

22 850 867 CLARK William 42 M Miller 2,000 Va
23 850 867 CLARK Ann E. 20 F Va
24 850 867 CLARK Mary E. 15 F IL X
25 850 867 CLARK Frances V. 13 F IL X
26 850 867 CLARK Nancy J. 10 F IL X
27 850 867 CLARK William L. 7 M IL X
28 850 867 CLARK Helen L. 4 F IL
29 850 867 CLARK John H. 1 M IL

Notes for ELIZABETH GOODPASTURE:

Children of GEORGE WILSON and ANN CLARK are:

9.	i.	ORLANDO R.⁶ WILSON, b. 22 September 1851, Illinois; d. 14 June 1897.
10.	ii.	MARY VAN WILSON, b. 1 July 1854, Washington Territory; d. 1942.
11.	iii.	FRANK EDWIN WILSON, b. Abt. 1859, Oregon; d. 1933.
	iv.	EUGENE O. WILSON, b. Abt. 1860, Washington, Territory; d. 1946.

Notes for EUGENE O. WILSON:
Eugene was born almost totally blind,he was musically inclined, and was a violinist. He built boats, and was an oyster farmer..

12.

GEORGE WASHINGTON JR WILSON, b. 1866, Washington, Territory; d. 1941.

Children of GEORGE WILSON and ELIZABETH GOODPASTURE are:

13.	vi.	EMERSON J.⁶ WILSON, b. 31 March 1875, Wilsonville, Pacific County, Washington; d. 25 December 1963, Pacific County, Washington.
14.	vii.	HOWARD MORTON WILSON, b. 29 July 1878; d. 1960.
15.	viii.	OLIVE ELEANOR WILSON, b. 24 September 1880.

4. WILLIAM CHARLES⁵ WILSON (DANIEL PEGG⁴, JAMES³, THOMAS², JAMES¹)^19,^20,^21,^22,^23,^24,^25,^26,^27,^28,^29,^30,³¹ was born 21 February 1833 in Licking County, Ohio, and died Aft. 1900. He married (1) LOBIAH RICHMOND³² 3 March 1852 in Morgon County, Illinois, daughter of ALEXANDER RICHMOND and MAHALA HASSLER. She was born Abt. 1836 in Tennesse, and died Abt. 1857 in most likely Washington, Territory. He married (2) MARY JANE MILLS^33,³⁴ 27 November 1858 in Portland, Oregon ³⁵, daughter of ROBERT MILL and MARGARET MCGREGOR. She was born 29 June 1840 in Wood County, Ohio, and died 6 February 1910 in Melrose, Oregon.

Notes for WILLIAM CHARLES WILSON:
The William C. Wilson Family -

William Charles Wilson was born 21 February 1833 probably near the town of Utica in Licking County, Ohio. William is the second son of Daniel Pegg Wilson and Rosanna Moul.
William's father's family took up the call for it's westward destiny and in about 1836 migrated from Ohio to Illinois taking up a farm near Springfield, Illinois. The family in 1850 was living near Beardstown, Morgan County Illinois.
The great western movement was at that time under way. Economic depression and epidemics prompted more and more families to sell their farms, buy covered wagons and start the long journey across the plains. William's father had not given much thought to making the move himself until William's mother, Roseanna became ill with cancer and passed away in February of 1850. The family felt lost and discontented to remain where Roseanna had so long been a guiding spirit. After due deliberation with his father, brothers and sisters they decided to make the move, so William's father sold out, bought supplies and in April 1852, William Wilson, at the age of 19, set out with his father's family on the historic westward trek to the Oregon country. Just prior to starting on the trip, William married Lobia (also spelled Lobier or Lobiah) Richmond, the daughter of Alexander W. Richmond and Mahala Hassler. William and Lobia were married on 11 February 1852 in Morgan County, Illinois.
The present-day counties of Cass and Scott were part of Morgan County until 1837 and 1839, respectively. The boundary line with Cass County was originally further north than the current boundary, which was established in 1845.

The pioneer party consisted of William, along with his new bride Lobia, William's father, William's two brothers, his five sisters, the wife and infant son of William's brother George.
After a long trip the Wilson family arrived in Oregon City, Oregon on the 25th of October 1852. They made camp there to rest a few days then sold their wagons and animals, then hired some Indians to take them by two canoes down the Willamette River to Portland, Oregon. One of the canoes capsized and much of the Wilson family's precious supplies were lost. The Wilson's first home in this new western frontier was near what is now Old-Town Portland's 1st and Stark Streets. At that time there were few buildings near them mostly uncleared land and stumps.
William C. Wilson and his father Daniel Pegg Wilson set out making their way by boat down the Columbia River. They landed at a place called Chinookville, located on the north bank of the Columbia River near what is now called Baker's Bay, Washington. Chinookville was the first county seat of Pacific County, Washington, it had been a thriving Indian village, home to the Chinook Indians.
William C. Wilson explored the wild areas north of Chinook and around Shoalwater Bay, which is now known as Willapa Bay, Washington. William must have thought that the area looked very promising with its abundant wild life, timber, mild climate and waterways for transportation. William C. Wilson and his wife, Lobia, claimed and settled on a 326 acre Donation Land Claim there.

Donation Land Act of 1850
The Donation Land Act called for the orderly and legal ownership of property in Oregon Territory. It voided all laws previously passed making grants of land, but was worded to take into account existing claims in the Oregon Country. It granted every white settler and "American half-breed Indian" above the age of 18 already living in Oregon a free half-section of land if single or a full section (640 acres, the same as allowed under the Organic Act) if married, with half in the wife's name. Residence and cultivation for four years was required. Settlers arriving after 1850 were granted half a section if married, or one-quarter of a section if single.

The William C. Wilson Donation Land Claim is listed in Volume I of the Olympia Land office Certificate # 114, DLC #1284, patent dated Sept 27, 1865, recorded in Vol. 2, page 140; sent to Registrar at Olympia on Sept 30, 1865. The description of William Wilson's land claim is as follows:
Lots 8, 9 and 10 and NE 1/4 of NW 1/4 of Section 20 and Lots 21 of the W 1/4 of SW 1/4 and East 1/4 of SW 1/4 of Section 17 and Lot 5 in Section 18, all in Township 10 West and Range 10 North. The claim is located East of the Bear River near the southern part of Shoalwater Bay.

William and his family afforded assistance to travelers going to or coming from the Shoalwater Bay area. James G. Swan in his book, "The Northwest Coast" described how a Wilson family afforded assistance to travelers going to or coming from the Shoalwater Bay area. James Swan mentions the name "James' Wilson in this account, however, I believe that description of the location of the Wilson home and circumstances indicate that he was in error. The name "James Wilson" that James Swan mentions should be in fact William Wilson. William became an associate of an industrious man named Joel Brown. William, with Joel Brown and others including his father Daniel Pegg Wilson, Job Lamley, Samuel Woodward, Henry Whitcomb, Job, Mark and Seth Bullard and Captain Jackson had cut a wagon road on the portage, crossing from Shoalwater Bay and connecting to the Columbia River. Joel Brown died before he could finish his dream of developing the Shoalwater Bay area, so William C. Wilson and his associates carried on where Joel Brown left off. Their intention was to induce a large immigration of pioneers from Portland to settle on Shoal-Water Bay. Job Lamley ran an advertisement in the Oregonian newspaper in 1853 describing his route to Shoalwater Bay. Job solicited settlers to travel on the U. S. Mail Boat Union from Portland to Astoria, then to Chinook, then up the Wappalooche River to William McCarty's Landing, thence by their wagon road to William C. Wilson's Landing and Hotel, then via the Bear River to Shoal water Bay....... " Having the best of sea boats on this line are prepared to take passengers and freight safe and with dispatch from Astoria via Chinook, Shoalwater Bay, and back the same route. Accommodations rough and charges high "....... Quite an interest was excited by them among immigrants of Oregon to make Shoalwater Bay their home.
Two children were born to William C. Wilson and Lobia Wilson; a daughter Isadora and a son Wiley, both born in Washington Territory. The family probably lived on William's Donation Land Claim from 11March 1853 until about 1858. His wife Lobia died from causes unknown about 1857.
William C. Wilson was remarried in Portland, Oregon to Mary Jane Mills in 1858. Mary Jane Mills was the daughter of Robert Mill and Margaret McGregor who were from Scotland. Mary Jane was born in Wood County, Ohio. Her father and older brother, John Mill, were already in Oregon when she made the journey to join them in 1857. She traveled from Ohio with her younger brother William (Billy) Mills to Oregon via the Isthmus of Panama. William and Mary Jane Wilson eventually had nine children: William H., Frank, Rosa, Ida, Herman, Howard, Blanche, Daisy and George.
William had an adopted brother named William or Will Buchannan. Will Buchanan was a steam ship builder and a river boat captain.
The 1860 Clackamas County, Oregon Census lists William and Mary Jane Wilson as living in Milwaukie, Oregon along with William's daughter, Isadora from his first marriage to Lobia Richmond. Willliams occupation is listed as blacksmith. The 1860 Clatsup County, Oregon Census lists Wiley R. Wilson, William C. Wilson's son from his first marriage, as living with and under the guardianship of Matthew McCreary in Astoria, Oregon. William and Mary Jane's first child William H. Wilson apparently died as an infant in 1860, as evidenced by the 1860 Clackamas County Mortality Schedule.
From about 1861 to 1864, the William C. Wilson family was living in a house on the corner of Third and Mill Streets, the location where the "Market Building" now exists in Portland, Oregon. Their second child Frank and third child Rosanna was born in that house.
From about 1864 to about 1870 William and Mary Jane Wilson lived on a large farm that they owned in Clackamas County on Rock Creek near Damascus, Oregon. The land was 160 acres of a Donation Land Claim that William became eligible for through his second wife, Mary Jane. William and Mary Jane purchased additional lands adjoining this property. This property, was described in the Clackamas County, Oregon Agriculture Productions Report of June 1870, as 160 acres of improved land and 160 acres of woodland, $380 of livestock, producing 50 bushels of winter wheat, 100 bushels of oats and 10 bushels of buckwheat. According to the 1870 Census of Clackamas County, Oregon, William C. Wilson's son, Wiley R. Wilson, from William's first marriage to Lobia Richmond, was then living with William C. and Mary Jane Wilson. Mary Jane's Father, Robert Mill, her brothers John Mill and Billy Mills occupied farms next to William and Mary Jane's. William C. and Mary Jane Wilson's children Ida and Howard were probably born while they lived on their farm in Clackamas County.
From about 1871 until about 1887, the William C. Wilson family lived in East Portland in a house located on the northwest corner of 6th Street and Alaska (Alaska is now known as Harrison Street). The 1874 East Portland (Multnomah County) City Directory lists him as Wilson W. C., teamster, res NW corner of Sixth, Stephens add.
Their children: Herman, Blanche, Daisy and George M. Wilson were probably born while they lived in East Portland. George was the last child born to William and Mary Jane Wilson. George was born at the time when William was forty-eight years old. During this time when the Wilsons were living in East Portland, William was a blacksmith and had a horse and wagon drayage business in Portland located at 50 Ash Street. William's occupation was listed in the city of Portland's directory from 1873 until 1887 as " teamster, dray man or truck man ". William may have had business ties with Aaron Meier who founded the Meier and Frank stores. William got his son Frank a job working as the Meier's first employee in their first store on Front Street in 1873. William sold part of his Donation Land Claim on the Bear River in Washington to Aaron Meier.
William C. Wilson traveled with his son Frank to California in the summer of 1876. William was originally trying to finance a trip to Pennsylvania for "The Centennial Exposition", celebrating one hundred years since the signing of The Declaration of Independence. The exposition was to be held in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. He wanted to hear Theador Thomas' famous orchestra, which was scheduled to lead the ceremonies. William contrived a plan to exhibit a seven-legged calf along the way to Pennsylvania, thus paying for the trip as they traveled. He bought the calf for a few dollars from a farmer near William's home in Portland. He and his son Frank took the calf to San Francisco where that city was holding their own Centennial Exposition. William there hired a " fire eater ", bought a large tent and set it up along side the Grand Central Hotel on Market Street. There he put the seven-legged calf along with " fire eater " on exhibition and at fifty cents a person he started raking in the money. William and son Frank also found time to view the Fourth of July Grand Centennial Parade there. William then sold the calf for $3,000, but changed his mind about going east. Instead William bought a team of horses, a buckboard and together with son Frank they went on a tour of California, prospecting for gold and coal claims. They traveled through the Mother Load country working south as far as the Mexican boarder.
William's son, Wiley R. Wilson from his first marriage to Lobia Richmond, was married in Astoria, Oregon to Ida Hardesty in 1878. Wiley was killed in 1880 while working as an engineer on a steamboat. Wiley was scalded to death when the boat's boiler blew up near Portland.
In 1884 William's business was listed in the city of Portland directory as " Wilson, W.C. (Wilson and Poinsett) transfer agent ". In 1886 William's business was listed in the directory as " Wilson, W.C. and Company (Wm. C. Wilson and Fred R. Lownsdale), Drayman and Forwarders, 50 Ash ".
William C. Wilson in about the year 1887 moved his family to a large ranch that he owned in Melrose near Roseburg, Douglas County Oregon. The Wilson ranch house still existed in 1998 as the Carl Eder home located at 572 Cleveland Hill Road in Melrose, Oregon 97470. The ranch there consisted of 1608 acres comprised largely of: sections 25, 26 and 36 of Township 26 South, Range 7 West; section 1 of Township 27 South Range, Range 7 West; section 31 of Township 26 South, Range 6 West, also the Donation Land Claim of Augistine Foisy, Number 41 located in Township 27 South, Range 7 West and his Claim number 48 in Township 26 South, Range 7. The Wilson ranch was at one time one of the largest in Douglas County and here the family raised fine work horses and whippet dogs. William and Mary Jane's children: Frank, Rosanna and Ida stayed in Portland.
William and Mary Jane's son Frank became employed in the riverboat business and became a captain. Frank married Elizabeth Guild, a niece of R. D. Inman, founder of the Inman Poulsen Lumber Company. They had no children.
William and Mary Jane's daughter Rosanna married her first cousin, Van Marion Bullard, together they had six children: Ivan, Trevor, Marion, Flossie, Kenneth and Jean. They lived on a ranch in Menlo, Washington.
William and Mary Jane's daughter Ida married Thomas D. Richardson in 1887 but she died only nine months later, no children were born to them. She is buried in the Lone Fir Cemetery in East Portland.
William's gold fever in the 1880's led him venturing into a gold mine in southern Oregon along with his father Daniel Pegg Wilson and William's son Frank. The mine was on a tributary of Cow Creek located near Azalia, Oregon, it was called the Green Mountain Mine. William's son Frank described the mine as: " It was a five-stamp mill and they had quite a lot of stock in this mine but not enough for the controlling interest. The only hold Pa had on the property was a three-year lease. When this ran out, they wouldn't renew the lease so he lost out, except for the stock ". William and his father Daniel invested a great deal of money into the mine. William's speculation in gold mining caused him to loose almost everything he owned.
William's father, Daniel Pegg Wilson, died in 1890, after which William was sued by his father's estate. The executor of the estate, William's brother George W. Wilson, claimed that moneys invested by Daniel Pegg Wilson in gold mining were in fact loans made to William C. Wilson and that this money should be paid back to their father's estate. William fought this case all the way to the Oregon State Supreme Court where William lost the case in 1894. This family dispute over William's father's estate was the apparent cause of a rift between the William C. Wilson and George W. Wilson families for which the two families seldom associated with one another again.
It was soon after the year 1900 that William C. Wilson, the father of eleven, then disappeared, never to be heard from again by his family. The last story concerning William C. Wilson is that he was last known by his family to be heading south, possibly for California to prospect for gold. The 1900 Douglas County, Oregon Census lists William C. Wilson as the "Head of Family". The 8 February 1910 Obituary of William C. Wilson's wife, Mary Jane, states that "she leaves a husband". I have found no later records concerning him.

William C. Wilson's wife, Mary Jane, died in Melrose in 1910 and she is buried in the Melrose Cemetery.
Frank Wilson had various jobs over the years with riverboats. Frank became a riverboat captain. He was also employed as a carpenter, building contractor, house painter and mining engineer. Frank and his wife owned a restaurant in Neuberg, Oregon in the 1920's and 1930's.
William and Mary Jane's son Howard became blind as a result of an accident while taking apart a shotgun ammunition. He became a self-sufficient farmer, was an accomplished musician, never married and lived the rest of his life in Melrose, Oregon. Howard is remembered by still living neighbors as always having a happy disposition.
The Wilson's son Herman married Mary Pierce and they lived in Melrose, Oregon. Herman and Mary had two sons, Alva and Lloyd and a daughter Ione or also called Cleo.
Blanche, the third daughter of William and Mary Jane Wilson was married to Charlie Keys. They had only one child, a daughter named Leona who died at the early age of eighteen. Charlie Kyes was in the real estate business in Roseburg.
The William C. and Mary Jane Wilson's youngest daughter Daisy was married briefly to a man named Frank Nelson who treated her badly. Daisy moved to California and worked in a candy factory there. Daisy returned to Oregon and married Tom Ward and together they lived the rest of their lives in Melrose and Roseburg. Daisy was well known for selfless concern for others, she was a charter member of the Melrose Comfort Society. Daisey had no children.
George M. Wilson grew up in Melrose and graduated from high school there. He became a mail carrier and drove a stagecoach.
The family was musically inclined. George Wilson played the fiddle, Blanche played the guitar and her husband Charley Keys played the banjo. Howard Wilson played many instruments and together with Daisy and her husband Tom Ward, they would all travel and perform at barn dances and Grange halls around the Roseburg, Oregon area.
George M. Wilson, in about the year 1900, moved to Portland where he worked for the Inman Poulsen Lumber Company and later became involved with a life long career in the food flavoring business. George married Estella Beckwith and they had two sons, one that died shortly after birth and a second son, Donald R. Wilson. George and Estella lived the rest of their lives in Portland.
The Van Marion and Rosanna Bullard families remained close to the rest if the W.C. Wilson families. The families of W. C. Wilson and V. M. Bullard often visited between the Bullard ranch in Menlo, Washington, the Wilson families around Roseburg and the George M. Wilson family in Portland. Rosanna Bullard died in 1926 and is buried in the Firndale Cemetery of Menlo, Washington.
Frank Wilson died in 1937 in Portland.
Howard Wilson died in 1937 and is buried in the Melrose Cemetery.
Herman Wilson died in 1942 and is buried in the Melrose Cemetery.
George M. Wilson died at the age of 81 in 1963 and is buried in the River View Cemetery of Portland.
Blanche Keys died in 1968 in Roseburg, Oregon and is buried in the Melrose Cemetery.
Daisy Ward was the last of the William C. and Mary Jane's children to pass away. Daisy died in 1972, having lived to be 97 years old. She is buried in the Melrose Cemetery.
The only known families to continue the line of William C. and Mary Jane Wilson to this day are from their children Rosanna Bullard, and George M. Wilson. The Bullard families often have large family reunions in Menlo, Washington. The last of the males to carry on the Wilson name from William C. Wilson are his grandson Donald R. Wilson of Salem, Oregon and William's great grandson Clark J. Wilson of West Linn, Oregon.

Information compiled as of October 1998.

Notes for LOBIAH RICHMOND:
Morgan County, 3 March 1852, Marriage record shows name spelled: "Lobiah" Richmond married to William C. Wilson.
Washington Territory Donation Land Claim for William C. Wilson says that he married "Lobier" Richmond on 11 February 1852 in Morgan or Scott County, Illinois.

Notes for MARY JANE MILLS:
Mary Jane Mills traveled to Oregon by way of the Isthmus of Panama and the ship Golden Gate in 1857.

Children of WILLIAM WILSON and LOBIAH RICHMOND are:

ISADORA A.⁶ WILSON, b. Abt. 1853, Washington Territory; d. Bef. 1926.

Notes for ISADORA A. WILSON:
Not verified that this is our Isadora Wilson:

Cemetery records of York Township, DuPage County, Illinois

Surname: PORTER, Mary Isadora, nee WILSON, born: 1853, died: 1918

ii.

WILEY R. WILSON^36,^37,³⁸, b. Abt. 1856, Washington Territory; d. 7 September 1880, Portland, Oregon; m. IDA L. HARDESTY, 2 March 1878, Astoria, Oregon ³⁹; b. Abt. 1868, Oregon.

Notes for WILEY R. WILSON:
Wiley R. Wilson was the second child born to William C. Wilson and Lobiah Richmond. Wiley was born probably on his father's donation land claim in Washington Territory, which was located on the Bear River south of Shoalwater Bay (now called Willapa Bay). His mother, Lobiah died when Wiley was very young. Wiley at the age of about 6 months then came under the guardianship of Matthew McCreary in Astoria, Oregon, probably because the loss of his mother made it difficult for his father to alone care for baby Wiley while earning a living at the same time. Wiley was later given to Hiram B. Parker as his guardian in Clatsop County, Oregon on 3 Jan 1859.
Wiley's father, William C. Wilson remarried Mary Jane Mills in 1858 and by 1870 Wiley was again living with his father and step-mother on their farm in Clacamas county, Oregon.
Wiley married Ida Hardesty in Astoria, Oregon on 2 March 1878. Wiley's father gave Wiley and his new bride one half of the donation land claim that Wiley's father owned on the Bear River in Washington Territory.
The 1880 Federal census shows that Wiley and his wife Ida were living in Vancouver, Washington and that he was employed as a river boat engineer.
Wiley invented a process of pumping from 4000 to 5000 gallons of water per hour, or more, to a height of 2000 feet or more, by the simple actions of the tides. Wiley intended to have a working model of his invention in Astoria, Oregon, but before he could apply for a patent he was killed in a horrible accident at the age of only 25. Wiley was scalded to death while working as an engineer on the tug Rip Van Winkle on 7 September 1880. The boat's boiler blew-out while he was near it, the boiling water and steam deluged him cooking his flesh to the bone. The boat was just leaving Portland for St Helens, Oregon at the time of the accident. Wiley died that same day in St Vincent hospital in Portland.

Children of WILLIAM WILSON and MARY MILLS are:

	iii.		WILLIAM H.⁶ WILSON⁴⁰, b. 1860, Portland, Oregon; d. 1860, Clackmas County, Oregon.
	iv.		FRANK EMERSON WILSON^41,^42,^43,⁴⁴, b. 25 January 1861, Portland, Oregon; d. 2 March 1937, Portland, Oregon; m. MARGARET ELIZABETH (LIZZIE) GUILD, 3 May 1889, Portland, Oregon; b. December 1872, Oregon; d. Abt. 1929, Newberg, Oregon.

Notes for FRANK EMERSON WILSON:
Frank was born at 3rd and Mill streets in Portland Oregon. He attended the White School in East Portland until age twelve. Frank in 1873 became the first employee of Aaron Meier of the original Meier and Frank stores at their first store on Front Street, Portland, Oregon. His job there was counting and stacking eggs. For eight years in the 1880s Frank was on active service with Grant Fire Engine Company Number 2 in Stephens addition. Frank was in Company A of the Washington Guards under Captain Horatio Cooke. Frank became employed in the riverboat business, he worked on several river boats and became a captain. Frank worked as chief engineer in the construction of the Oregon lighthouses at "Hecta Head" and "Umpqua". Later Frank was a general repairman on the Portland Railways. He was also employed as a carpenter, building contractor and house painter. Frank worked as a mining engineer for several gold mines, including his father's "Green Mountain" mine in Douglas County. Frank served for twenty years on the Multnomah County grand jury. He spent much time prospecting for gold in California, the black sand beaches of Curry County, Oregon and the Coquille river. Frank and his wife owned a barbecue restaurant on the highway in Neuberg, Oregon during the 1920's. The restaurant was called "Peggy's Sandwich Shop". In 1936 Frank Wilson was living at 1240 S. W. Park Street, Portland, Oregon.

Notes for MARGARET ELIZABETH (LIZZIE) GUILD:
Margaret Elizabeth Guild was known to friends and family as Lizzie, she was the niece of Robert D. Inman, the wealthy lumber baron of the Inman-Paulsen Company.

16.	v.		ROSANNA MOUL WILSON, b. 4 July 1864, Portland, Oregon; d. 16 June 1926, Seattle, Washington.
	vi.		IDA M. WILSON, b. 1867, Clackmas County, Oregon; d. 10 April 1888, Portland, Oregon; m. THOMAS D RICHARDSON, 17 February 1887, Portland, Oregon ⁴⁵; b. Abt. 1860; d. 21 May 1920, Portland, Oregon.

Notes for THOMAS D RICHARDSON:
Thomas D. Richardson wife of Ida M. Wilson. He died at Good Samaritan Hospital, Portland, Oregon on 21 May 1920. He was watchman for Columbia Ship Co. His sister was Mrs. A.M. Mattingly,

vii.

HOWARD E. WILSON, b. 12 September 1869, Clackmas County, Oregon; d. 14 February 1937, Roseburg, Oregon.

Notes for HOWARD E. WILSON:
Herman Wilson was blind, he became blind by accident while loading ammunition. He overcame his blindness and made a living for himself, was an accomplished musician and a very likeable person.

17.	viii.		HERMAN ANDREW WILSON, b. 23 May 1872, Portland, Oregon; d. 29 January 1942, Roseburg, Oregon.
	ix.		DAISY ELIZABETH WILSON⁴⁶, b. 18 February 1875, Portland, Oregon; d. 7 May 1972, Roseburg, Oregon; m. (1) FRANK NELSON, 25 April 1894, Myrtle Creek, Douglas County, Oregon; m. (2) THOMAS FRAZIER WARD, 26 June 1906, Douglas County, Oregon ⁴⁷; b. 23 September 1874, Douglas County, Oregon; d. 2 March 1965, Roseburg, Oregon.

Notes for DAISY ELIZABETH WILSON:
Daisy lived most of her life in Melrose and Roseburg, Oregon. She first married Frank Nelson who treated her badly. She went to Los Angles, California for a while and worked in a chocolate factory there. She returned to Oregon and married Tom Ward. Daisy was a charter member of the Melrose Comfort Society. She was described as a person with a lot of energy and loved to talk. Tom and Daisy for lived for years on a homestead, in a log cabin which was destroyed by a forest fire. Don Wilson discribed that they lived as they did one hundred years ago with no electricity. Daisy had a stroke in about 1955 and was bedridden for the rest of her life. Clark Wilson remembers Daisy when he was about ten years old, on a family vacation to Oregon. Daisy was then able to speak but a few words such as "Oh boy". She shed tears of joy in seeing Clark his two sisters and her nephew , Don Wilson. In April of 1960, Daisy was living at 1646 SE Cobb Street, Roseburg, Oregon. Daisy is buried in the Melrose, Oregon Cemetery in Row 3, lot 32-3 and her husband, Thomas WARD in lot 32-4.

Notes for THOMAS FRAZIER WARD:
Thomas Ward was a logger and spent a lot of time in the woods.

18.	x.		BLANCHE A. WILSON, b. 3 January 1878, Portland, Oregon; d. 28 December 1968, Roseburg, Oregon.
19.	xi.		GEORGE MARION WILSON, b. 30 October 1881, Portland, Oregon; d. 11 March 1963, Portland, Oregon.

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