Oregon Republican League: History 104 Biographies

Every Wednesday, the Oregon Republican League will post the biographies of important figures, in the League's/State of Oregon's history. Feel free to comment or share stories of your family's Republican affiliation.

"Portrait and Biographical Record of the Willamette Valley - Oregon," Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago, 1903

John Q. Vaughan

In 1863 John Q. Vaughan bought his present property which consists of one hundred and seventeen acres located in the neighborhood of Coburg, Lane county, and since that time he has been energetically engaged in its improvement and cultivation, eighty acres of which are cultivated. He was born in Missouri, January 30, 1840, and came to Oregon in 1847 in company with his parents, who were seeking a home among the broader opportunities of the western states. He remained with his father until 1858, when he went to the mines in the hope of finding fortune which awaited the miner. He continued in the same mines for a year, and in 1861 he went to Idaho, still conficdent of his ability to succeed, and time justified the faith in himself, for after a winter spent in the neighborhood of Salmon river, during which he experienced hardships and privations which proved his courage, he returned to Oregon with $6,000 as the result of his persevering work. January, 1862, found him once more located on the home place, and there he remained until 1870, when he married and went to the farm which he had purchased seven years earlier.

The wife of Mr. Vaughan was formerly Miss Flora Canterbury, and she died in 1895, the mother of four children, of whom Wilbur is located in Coburg; Oma is the wife of L.P. Protzman; Eulia is the wife of A.C. Wheeler; Strahan St. Clair, who is engaged in agricultural pursuits with Mr. Vaughan. In political convictions Mr. Vaughan adheres to the principles advocated in the platform of the Republican party, and fraternally affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

*****************************

"Portrait and Biographical Record of the Willamette Valley - Oregon," Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago, 1903


Thomas J. Vaughan

Connected as he was with the earliest history of the state, Thomas J. Vaughan, a resident of Lane county for a half century or more, is familiar with all that has gone before the greatness and prosperity of Oregon. Toward the fulfillment of developed resources he has given the enthusiastic help of youth, the steadier decision of more mature years, and in the evening of his life enjoyts the peace and contentment which rewards labor well done. His name is surely enrolled among the useful pioneers of the state, and the honor accorded such is given to him by all who know him.

Mr. Vaughan was born in Wayne county, W. Va., August 13, 1830. Five years after his birth his parents removed to Illinois and located near Springfield, where they remained six months, then returning to the former state. In 1839 they moved across the river into Kentucky and remained for a period of four months, then continuing the journey west until they located in Platte county, Mo., from which state they emigrated toward the more remote lands. In 1845 the father was attracted toward the opportunities of Oregon, traveling by pack animals across the plains in the party, which had an unpleasant experience in Meek’s cut-off, and on his arrival in the state he went to work in a sawmill in Salem, where he remained throughout the winter. He returned to the Mississippi valley in 1846, and found that his own family did not know him, as he had not cut his hair nor beard in the entire time. Having been a favorably impressed with the outlook, he outfitted with oxen and three wagons and necessary supplies, and in the spring of 1847 started again across the plains with his wife and nine children. Just before leaving he had purchased some cows and two hundred and fifty-eight sheep, and, these were the first blooded sheep brought into the state from the east, some of which were afterwards sold to Benjamin Fields, who purchased fifty head of the original flock, but Minto’s history of the sheep industry of Oregon makes an error by giving Benjamin Fields the credit of importing these same sheep. During the trip which occupied the time from May 17 to September they lost all but one hundred sheep. Mr. Vaughan first located in Marion county, where the family remained for a few months, after which the father took up a donation claim in Linn county, consisting of six hundred and forty acres in the neighborhood of West Point. In August, 1848, Mr. Vaughan went to California by pack animals and mined on the American river, and while there helped to hang some men at Hangtown. He was successful in his venture and came north with $14,000 in gold. Again in 1849 he and two sons, Alexander and Thomas, went to California and mined on the Trinity, and were once more successful. Returning in the fall, of the year to Oregon, he remained at home until 1851, when he again tried his fortunes in the Golden state, in that year being one of the first to discover the Yreka mines. He returned home, and the family continue to live in Linn county, until 1857, when the removed to Lane county, the father purchasing three hundred and twenty-five acres near Coburg. He continued a resident of that county until his death, which occurred near Thurston, November 18, 1888, at the age of eighty years and twenty-seven days. His wife died October 12, 1901, when nearly ninety-one years old.

Thomas J. Vaughan was seventeen years old when he crossed the plains with his parents, his duty on the trip being to drive the sheep. In 1849 he accompanied his father to California, and June 5, 1850, he was married to Elizabeth S. Sampson, a native of Platte county, Mo., with whose sister and brother-in-law, Luther White, he had crossed the plains in 1847. He then moved to his father’s six hundred and forty acre donation land claim, where he lived seven years, when he came to his present location and purchased a farm of three hundred and twenty acres, upon which he now carries on general farming and stock-raising. Eleven children were born to himself and wife, of whom Phoebe E. is the wife of Mr. Meyers and lives in Washington; Benjamin F. was postmaster at Heppner, Ore., and he and his wife were both drowned in the Heppner flood; Oren is a cattleman of Nevada; Olive is the wife of Henry Bollin, of Lane county; Martha is the wife of A. Simmons; Orella lives in Seattle; Mary J. is the wife of Joseph Klien, of Healdsburg, Cal., Emma is the wife of J.W. Shumate, of Walterville, Ore., Jeremiah is located near his father’s farm, Alta G. died in 1888; and Lizzie is the wife of P.L. Barber, who is connected with the interests of Mr. Vaughan.

In politics Mr. Vaughan is a Republican, and as such has represented his party in various offices, and was a member of the state legislature in 1897 and a justice of the peace for many years. He was the first chairman of the convention to organize the Republican party in Lane county, which was held in 1856, and he now has the minutes of the meeting in his possession. Out of forty men present he is one of three now living. In fraternal relations he has been an Odd Fellow for forty-three years, and also belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a member of the Christian Church.

************************

"An Illustrated History of the State of Oregon," Rev. H. K. Hines, D. D., The Lewis Publishing Co., 1893.

WILLIAM EDWARD WARREN

William Edward Warren, of McMinnville, is an honored Oregon pioneer of 1847, and was born in Halifax, nova Scotia, February 23, 1816, thus having witnessed the vast improvements of three-quarters of a century, which have not only been transforming the more eastern portion of the United States, but has, perhaps, been more visibly apparent in the extreme West. One can almost envy him the pleasure of having witnessed this stirring panorama, and especially of viewing the transformation in Oregon during the last forty-five years, from a wild and unpopulated region to its present flourishing and populous condition.

His father, Edward Warren, was born in Bristol, England, in 1785, and was a Purser in the English navy. He married, in 1815, Miss Elizabeth Gould, a native of Nova Scotia. Her father, William Gould, was a Flag Sergeant in the British army, and fought in the battle of Waterloo. They had eight children of whom the subject of our sketch was the eldest, and the only survivor. His father died in Halifax, in 1834, and his mother in Portland, Oregon, in 1849.

The mother, three sons and three daughters, left Buffalo, New York, in 1836, and drove with a team to Illinois, where they remained for four years, and then they went to Missouri; stopped there until 1847, and then drove on across the plains to Oregon, thus making the journey by wagon from ocean to ocean. When they arrived thirty miles this side of Walla Walla, they were robbed of their teams and outfit by the Indians, escaping with only their lives.

They arrived in Portland, where they remained until 1851. Here the subject of our sketch worked until he acquired the means to purchase a yoke of oxen, when he did draying, having for some time the only rig of the kind in the town, and his outfit consisting of two yoke of oxen and a wagon. He was very successful, but the Indians stole one pair of his oxen.

He continued in Portland until 1851, when he came to Yam Hill county, and settled on a donation claim of 640 acres, located eight miles west of the present site of McMinnville.

Just previous to coming to Oregon, Mr. Warren was married in Missouri, in 1847, to Miss Almira C. Martin, a native of Kentucky. Her parents were Lewis and Tobitha (sic) (Cash) Martin, the former born August 27, 1787, and the latter June 11, 1794, and were married in 1807. Then had ten children: Joanna, Nancy, Dillard, Washington, Wesley, Elizabeth, James Madison, Luson (?Susan) V., Mary Jane, and Almira C. Mr. Lewis was in the war of 1812, and in the Indian wars. By occupation he was a planter, in Virginia. Mr. Warren and his wife crossed the plains, and three children were born in Portland, with whom they came to the donation claim. They began life in a little log cabin, in which they lived until 1860, when he built a large and comfortable house and good barns, besides making other improvements. He had the rare foresight to retain possession of this farm, which is now very valuable. He continued to reside on it until 1887, when he purchased some lots in the city of McMinnville, on which he erected a cozy, pleasant home, where he and his family are now living.

Mr. and Mrs. Warren have seven children: William L., the eldest son, is the present Sheriff of Yam Hill county; Ann Amelia, is the wife of Mr. Jefferson Simson (sic), and resides in Amity; Rachel is the wife of Mr. James Rowland, and resides in Washington; Susan is the wife of Mr. Thomas J. Paine (sic), residing in Portland; James married Bertha Verstague of Holland, and resides in Salem; Emma Gene, married Mr. Ralph Kingsbury, and resides in Farmington, Washington; Ora R., is the wife of Mr. Peter Thomason, and lives near McMinnville.

Mr. Warren is a Republican, and during the war was a member of the Union League, and was loyal to the Government in its time of peril. He was one of the judges of the first election held in Portland, and copied the poll-books sent to the Governor.

He and his worthy wife are consistent members of the Baptist Church, to the support of which they liberally contribute.

Now seventy-six years of age, forty-five of which have been cheered by the sympathy and companionship of a good wife, Mr. Warren is an excellent representative of the hardy pioneer, who, by intelligent and persistent effort applied to the wonderful resource of this great State, has accumulated a competence and gained the confidence and esteem of his fellow-men.