try schools, though they were still supported by pri-
1841–2, and early took an interest in Oregon matters. He emigrated with his family to the new west in 1847, and settled in Yamhill County, where for many years he lived, a useful and honored citizen. He was the friend of education and temperance. Early in the history of the territorial government he was elected to the council; and in the political excitement of the civil war of 1861–5, was an ardent supporter of the administration. In 1863, while his eldest son, John R. McBride, was in congress, Dr McBride received the appointment of U. S. commissioner to the Sandwich Islands, which position he held for several years. He died at St Helen, Oregon, in Dec. 1875, aged 73, leaving a numerous family of useful and respected sons and daughters. Portland Oregonian, Dec. 25, 1875. His wife Mahala, a woman of marked talent, survived him 2 years, dying February 23, 1877, at St Helen. Olympia Transcript, March 3, 1877.
Jeremiah Ralston in 1847 removed from Tennessee, where he was born in 1798. He laid out the town of Lebanon, Marion County, on his land claim. He died Aug. 1877, leaving a large property, a wife, and 7 children, namely, Joseph Ralston, Tacoma; William Ralston, Albany, Or.; Charles and John Ralston, Lebanon; Mrs Moist, Albany; Mrs D. C. Rowland, Salem, Or.; and Mrs John Hamilton, Corvallis, Or. Seattle Tribune, Aug. 17, 1877.
Luther Collins came to Oregon in 1847, residing there until 1850, when he went to Puget Sound, and was the first to take up a claim in what is now King County. He was drowned in the Upper Columbia in 1852. His widow, a native of New York, died in July 1876, leaving 2 children, Stephen Collins and Mrs Lucinda Fares. Seattle Intelligencer, July 8, 1876.
Andrew J. Simmons in Oregon in 1847, and settled in Cowlitz prairie. He died Feb. 12, 1872, in Lewis County, of which he was sheriff, at the age of 45. Seattle Intelligencer, Feb. 12, 1872; Olympia Standard, March 2, 1872.
Mr and Mrs Everest located in 1847 near Newburg in Yamhill County, where they permanently settled. They were both born in Eng. in 1792, on the 8th of March, being of equal age. They reared a large family, most of whom married and had also large families, nearly all living on the same section of land. Olympia Courier, Aug. 9, 1873.
Mrs Agnes Tallentine, mother of Mr Thomas Tallentine, died at Olympia, April 13, 1876. She was born at Harrisburg, Pa., in 1820, crossed the plains in 1847, and settled in the Puget Sound country in 1851. She left 2 children, a son and a daughter. Olympia Transcript, April 15, 1876.
Samuel Fackler, a native of Md., in 1847 came from Ill. to Oregon, and died at Bethany, Marion County, Feb. 22, 1867, aged 81 years. Salem American Unionist, March 11, 1867.
John Davis Crawford, born in Onondaga Co., N. Y., Aug. 16, 1824, was by trade a printed; thence he came to Milan, Ohio, where he studied law; but repeated solicitations by brother Medorum Crawford, finally induced him to come to Oregon in 1847. In the Cayuse war he was appointed in the commissary department under General Palmer. When Geo. L. Curry established the Free Press, Crawford was for a time employed upon that paper as printed; but when the California gold excitement came, he joined the exodus to the mines, returning soon to Oregon with some of the precious metals, with which he purchased in 1851 a half-ownership in the Hoosier, the first steamboat that ran on the Willamette River, between Oregon City, Portland, and Vancouver; and afterward on the upper Willamette and Yamhill rivers. In 1852 he went into mercantile business with Robert Newell in Champoeg, where he continued to reside till the flood of 1861 swept the town away. Mr Crawford was a member of the state legislature in 1872. He was a mason, a member of the state grange, and of the Oregon pioneer association. He died in Clackamas County in the summer of 1877. Or. Pioneer Assoc., Trans., 1877, 66–7.
