Oregonian/1902/November 16/Frances Fuller Victor

FRANCES FULLER VICTOR.

Frances Fuller Victor, whose death occurred in this city Friday afternoon. was a notable figure in the literary life of Oregon and the Northwest. She was not one of the earliest pioneers of the state, but she was a pioneer in its literature and one of the earliest compilers of its history. Her style was graceful rather than forceful, and though, from the difficulty experienced in collecting data for her early historical work, this was not always accurate, still it may truly be said that accuracy was Mrs. Victor's aim in her historical work, and if she had been able to revise her books, as she fondly desired to do, many errors that unavoidably crept into them would have been eliminated by her own hand. She had written some before coming to the Pacific Coast in 1863, her literary efforts up to that time being chiefly poetical. She saw, upon her ar— rival in the Pacific Northwest, its story waiting to be written, its data (confined mostly to the domain of memory) in peril of being lost to history, and with such materials as she could, after much painstaking care collect, she set about the work. "The River of the West," published in 1870, was the first fruit of this endeavor. This was followed in 1872 by a volume with the comprehensive title, "All Over Oregon and Washington," in which such facts as she could collect upon a subject so vast were attractively set forth. Her diligence in historical research, combined with her ability to present facts of history in an attractive way, secured for her employment for a number of years in San Francisco upon the Bancroft historical series. This work ended, she returned to this city, where for several years she has lived in quiet seclusion a life of

nut» W m 'Theliteotl'rahoeot'uller'n bin itaeita hunched with! vital points thelite'otawidplecuon um tea new to civilization for its full and permanentfhiuory to pewritten. Tho-e who her in thémaflier as well as in the later year- now that she 1 was alway- ajtruggler invthexalkl oi llabor, though never an ch'trusive one. Disappointment rather than succe- igllowed many of her endeavors. but she kept thmughallagentleeourase. ado mirable in the dm 0! her elective Itrength, and became-x touched with patho- in 'the weakness that attended her declining yea Among the wide circle of acquain es formed bx Mrs. Victor during the long years of her active lit labor. aha .lett many friends who reco ined the value or hcr work and admired the iterllng qualities 0! her character-Arne voices of her critics. never harsh, will now takr- no gentler tones or can to be hear-i, and Frances,Fuller Victor will take her place among those Who did what they could for those that are to come after them. A'woman an utterly alone in the \ world as regards kindred as was Mrs." Victor is in bar ag'e a pgthetic figure on the dial of ; Ber M3 is in the course of Natu "d can only be viewed h the trot a gentle release from untoward conditions.