WPA Interviews for Linn County Oregon

Smith, George -- Joseph

INTERVIEW, July 8, 1940

Interview with George and Joseph Smith whose homes are in the country about three miles east of Lebanon. These men were interviewed separately, and at another time while together, and still later additional facts were obtained from each one separately. However, as they are brothers and of similar age and the facts given by each agreed with those obtained from the other, their interviews are here written up as one.

The names of these informants are Joseph A. and George Smith. They were born on the Smith claim east of Lebanon. Joseph Smith was born June 21, 1865 and George Smith was born May 29, 1869.

Our names are now Smith, but our father's name was William Messersmith. We changed our name to plain Smith as simpler and less cumbersome. Our father was of German descent.

The oldest member of our family to reach Oregon was our grandfather, Andrew Messersmith. He was born in the year 1800 and came to Oregon in 1852, some years after our father came. Grandfather took up a claim north of Waterloo and lived there for some time. Later he sold it and purchased a half section of land near Scio. Grandfather's old claim near Waterloo is now commonly known as "The Old McKinney Place."

Grandfather Messersmith had a family of eight sons and three daughters but not all of them came to the west. Their names as accurately as we can give them were:

Barney Messersmith. He was much older than my father and was killed in the Mexican War.

Granville Messersmith. Also killed in the Mexican War.

John Messersmith. He died before his father came to Oregon.

Jacob Messersmith. Came to Oregon, 1852.

Philip Messersmith. Came to Oregon in 1852.

Frank Messersmith. He went to California in the early gold mining days. Later he returned to Missouri and ten years later he came west again, this time to Oregon, accompanying the family of John Isom as did all those members of the family who came in 1852.

William Messersmith. (Father of the informants.) He came to Oregon in 1847.

The daughters of the family were:

Elizabeth Messersmith. She was born in 1824, in Virginia. She first married Jubal Duncan and to them one son was born. This was John Duncan for many years well known in the Shedd neighborhood. His widow still lives in that neighborhood. John Duncan was born in Cole County, Missouri, Apr. 13, 1845. He came to Oregon with his mother, stepfather and several uncles of the Messersmith family in 1852. After the death of Jubal Duncan, Elizabeth Messersmith married John Isom already mentioned. They settled in the Plainview region in central Linn County.

Rilla (Sarilda) Messersmith. She married a Frenchman named Villard and lived near John Day in eastern Oregon.

Our father, William Messersmith, (or plain Smith if you wish), came to Oregon in 1847. He first worked for a time for Dr. McLaughlin in Oregon City. Then, in 1848 he went to the mines in California. There he ran a sawmill for a time, working for $50.00 per day. Father sawed the first planks that were ever taken to Sacramento. He rafted them from the mill to the town and had a number of Kanakas as his helpers. These were natives of the South Seas and could swim just like a fish. I have heard father tell how at one time they lost an axe overboard from their plank raft and how a Kanaka dove into the deep river for it and brought it up. It did not matter in the least how deep the water was; they would bring up any tool lost from the raft. Father came back from the California mines in 1849 and took up a claim here where we now live. His first log cabin was just across the road from this present house. Here he lived until the time of his death. We have neglected to tell you of his age and birthplace. He was born in Cole County, Missouri in 1823. He was about 23 years old when he came to Oregon.

Our father was in the Cayuse Indian war but not in the Rogue River troubles. He was standing close at hand and saw General Gilliam killed by an accidental shot as he was taking a gun from a wagon. Another member of the Cayuse Indian volunteers was Jason Wheeler who was my father's neighbor near here. Wheeler was seriously wounded in the knee in one of the engagements and upon his return after partially recovering from his wound he was elected the first Sheriff of Linn County. This was under the provisional government.

After father returned from the mines and from the Indian troubles he worked as sawyer at the Kees mill at Waterloo.

Among the very early neighbors here when father first came were such men as Arthur Saltmarsh, Andy Kees, Jason Wheeler whom we have already mentioned, James Combs, David Jones and Berry James. A.J. Rose was another early settler here, the Bylands, though they were somewhat further north, and William Bishop who was later a prominent woolen mill man. A. Bridgefarmer and Martin Bridgefarmer lived a short distance and James Ridgeway lived near the Santiam River just at the east end of the present wagon bridge. Ridgeway was the first man to operate a ferry across the Santiam here at Lebanon. The butte just back of his house was called Ridgeway Butte for many years in his honor although it is now generally called "Chamber's Butte". The ferry, which Ridgeway operated, was situated just between the present Railroad and Wagon Bridges. The approach led down the steep bank from the north. That ferry was continued until 1875 when a large wooden bridge was erected. It was a heavy-timbered bridge of hewed fir and stood for many years, or until the present steel bridge took its place.

I (George) remember that at one time old Jim Ridgeway's ferry broke loose from its cable and started down stream. The water was rather high at the time and the current was swift. It traveled down stream five miles before they could check its course. When the water was too high the ferry would be tied up and not used. Then if anyone on this side of the river wished a doctor or had urgent reasons to cross there was nothing to do but swim a horse across. It was some task, going for a doctor then. We would start with two horses-go well up the river and the current would usually carry us far down before the landing could again be made. Then we would bring the doctor back on the led horse. There isn't one man in a hundred, now, who would dare hit that river on horseback during high water. One of our neighbors had an old trusty ox that he always rode when he had to swim the river. The ox was slower but nothing excited him and he was considered safer in the rapids and the brush along the shores.

Our father's family consisted of eight children. I do not believe that I can even remember the exact order in which they were born. They were:

Eva Messersmith (Or Smith). Married William Beard.

Anna Messersmith "

Emma Messersmith "

Mary Messersmith "

Johnnie Messersmith "

Ira Messersmith "

{Joseph Messersmith "

{George Messersmith "

(The latter two are the informants.)

The very early school in this neighborhood was held on the claim of Jason Wheeler about three miles northwest of father's claim. It was a log schoolhouse with a fireplace and two windows. There were puncheon seats and desks-each bench or desk simply having four holes bored in and pegs for legs. Malissa Wheeler, Jason Wheeler's daughter was one of the early teachers. She sometimes boarded at our place. Malissa Wheeler married George Kitchen who formerly had been one of Price's soldiers. Another teacher here was Fanny Griggs. By the way, Malissa Wheeler Griggs may still be living though very old.

Now we will tell you somewhat of our Mother's family. Mother was a daughter of Jack Settle who came to the west in 1846. She was born in 1838, in Indiana. When the Settle family reached the Whitman Mission Dr. Whitman urged them to stay through the winter and as there seemed to be plenty of feed for his stock grandfather decided that it might be a good plan. He stayed there the greater part of a year and during that time he built a sawmill about twenty miles from the mission. He also helped to erect a number of cabins at the settlement there.

While staying at the Whitman station Grandfather became friendly with the Indians and found that they were becoming very dissatisfied with Whitman and his methods. He warned Whitman of his danger and urged him to leave that place but Whitman would not consent. He decided that trouble was coming soon and that it was best to leave.

During the year while they were at the Whitman mission our mother went to school there. Her schoolmates were the Bridger and Meeks children. She was then about twelve years old and one of her especial friends was Eliza Spalding, daughter of Rev. H. H. Spalding, Whitman's friend. There was also the Sager children. John Sager was killed during the massacre. The story of the Sager children and their trip to Oregon has since been put into a novel by one of Oregon's native writers.

When grandfather Settle decided that an Indian attack was sure to come he left the Whitman station. The massacre occurred just three days after he left there. Some of the hostile Indians followed the Settle train for three days and threatened their lives but they fortunately escaped.

Grandfather Settle's family at that time consisted of six girls and six boys but I cannot tell you their names. After leaving the Whitman Mission he came on to the Willamette Valley and settled on a claim about three miles north of Lebanon. He was very active in the establishing of the Willamette Valley and Cascade Mountain Wagon Road and it was while viewing a route for that road that he discovered the beautiful Settle (Or Suttle) Lake on the eastern slopes of the mountains. That lake was named for him but the spelling of the name has been altered since then. Grandfather was also a silent partner in the establishment of the Red Crown Flouring mill at Albany. His partner in this was John Isom who married my aunt, Elizabeth Messersmith. Grandfather also worked to establish the Albany-Santiam Canal between Lebanon and Albany, which is still used for power purposes. In the early days it was used for the transportation of grain, by barges, between the two towns.

Among the daughters of John Settle, my mother's sisters, were Mrs. Parker of the Sand Ridge neighborhood, Mrs. Etna Cooper, and Mrs. Polly Hudson. Another sister was Aunt Libby Wiley, the wife of Andrew Wiley who first explored the South Santiam Pass Route across the Cascades.

In the early times here wheat sold for 15 dollars per bushel. At the mines flour sold for $1.00 per pound and bacon for 50 cents a pound. Much of the living of the pioneers came from hunting until they had cleared land and raised a crop of wheat.

When father came from the east his last stop in a civilized region was at St. Joseph. The trader there then was a Frenchman named Joe Roby. His wife was a Sioux squaw. That was the last sight of white settlement until they reached the Whitman Station. We still have the old muzzle-loading rifle with powder horn and shot-pouch which father carried. It is very old but still in perfect condition. When our people first settled here there was no fruit to be had except wild berries. Later apples and plums were introduced from the Luelling nurseries and from a small nursery business carried on by Henry Peterson whose claim was at Peterson's Butte. After that we had apples and "Peterson" plums to dry. Later my mother learned how to can fruit. Her first cans were merely wide mouthed bottles, or common bottles which were made fit for canning by winding a oil-soaked string around the top and setting it afire. When the string grew hot the bottle was plunged in water and often the glass would break in an even line, cutting off the bottle just below the neck. After the fruit was put in these prepared bottles it was sealed by tying on several thickness of cloth which had been dipped in hot rosin or wax.

In early days the neighborhood gunsmith was one of the very important persons of the settlements. Guns were not made with interchangeable parts as now, and the only way to get a gun repaired was to take it to the smith and have a new part fitted to it. Joe Mossholder was among the earliest gunsmiths in the Lebanon neighborhood. Asa Peterson, son of Henry Peterson was perhaps the first dentist, although George Crawford did some tooth pulling at his home claim as early as 1852. Dr. Biddle was an early dentist at Albany. He made false teeth for my mother in the 1860's that were in all sense as good as are made now. I believe that the first blacksmith in Lebanon was "Boss" Derr.

In pioneer days the blacksmiths made nails by hand in the local shops. It was a long time before cut and wire nails came into common use.

After the first "broken bottle" fruit jars which my mother used, she put up fruit in tin cans. The tinners made them at local shops. They, too, were sealed with wax or rosin.

All the mills in those days ground with stones. Steel burrs were unheard of for many years. The pioneers always contended that stones made the corn meal "sweeter" than any which could be made with steel burrs. When the stone burrs were allowed to run empty they would grind each other and then the cornmeal mush would be gritty with sand. There was always a little grit in stone ground meal. People jokingly said that it was good for your gizzard.

One peculiar thing about those early days was the number of unmarried men who lived in the neighborhood. These single men had no permanent homes but would stop with neighbors wherever they chanced to be. They would come to our house and drop their bundle in the corner of the kitchen and hang up their hat. We understood that they expected to stay and they were always welcome. Sometimes they would stay for a day, sometimes for a year. They were welcome just the same. They took part in the work just like one of the family.

In our early days silver and gold was plentiful and each man, when traveling, carried his supply with him. There were no banks, no checks to cash and no small change. It was considered somewhat of a disgrace to try to make change nearer than "two bits" or even "four bits". To worry about dimes, nickels or pennies seemed cheap. When a traveler would come to our house he would usually have his money, sometimes a lot of it, in a sack on his back. When he came into the house he would dump the heavy sack in the corner and think no more of it than if it were so much beans or potatoes. It would just lie there until he was ready to go. Seamless flour sacks were mostly favored to carry silver in.

It seems as though there were more real distinctive characters in the country then than now. People were not so uniform and conventional in character. When you met a man you never again could forget him. Men were distinctive personalities. Some of them were queer, too. I think that it was a lack of uniform education that made the difference. A self-educated man who had lived alone, or at least far from neighbors most of his life developed a character of his own. Now men as well as machine parts are interchangeable, then each one was hand fitted to his environment.

There was a Doc Simons at Lebanon who was a personality and a character. He was something of a recluse. Everyone called him "Doc". I never learned what his real name was. He first had a drug store on Sand Ridge and sold liquor to the Indians. Later he had a drug store at Lebanon. He was built just like a crane, tall and just as thin as he could be. (Another informant said that "he had to wear two overcoats to cast a shadow. L.H.) "Doc" Simons was expecting a brother to come from the East and someone was asking, "What is your brother like? Does he look like you?" The reply was, "He's taller'n me but not so thick-sot." (Note: Members of the Simons family still remaining in the neighborhood are mostly very thin and tall. L.H.)

Another Doctor, famous in this region was the noted pioneer Doctor Ballard. Ballard belonged to the Civil War period.

We forgot to tell you some of the things about "Doc" Simons. He prescribed a liniment for all hurts and bruises which he named "Hell-fire Liniment." It was very hot, but also very effective. He would give the receipt for liniment to no one. When "Doc" was getting very old and about to die, our mother went to see him and begged for the receipt for that liniment but "Doc" would not give it up. When he died the secret was lost. "Doc" Simons died in 1873 or 1874. (Note: "Doc" Simons' true name is believed to be Nelson Simons. L.H.)

Our father (Messersmith) and our grandfather (Settle) knew such men as Jim Bridger and Joe Meek. Bridger's wife was a Blackfoot, Meek's was a Flathead. They also knew the early military leaders of the early days, Sherman, Palmer, Grant, and Grant's brother-in-law named Dent. Sherman was a young man and was going with Palmer's daughter but Palmer would have none of it and sent Sherman packing.

When the Ridgeway ferry was running the Indians would come to cross on it and, especially when drunk, would make some trouble. There was one bad Indian named "Three-finger-Jack". One day he was at the ferry and making trouble. Father tried to quiet him and he aimed his gun at father and fired, but, fortunately, missed. Most of the Indians were good. When we were young mother always had a big Indian woman to do her washings. There were no electric washing machines then. Just a washboard and homemade soap.

When the apples began to bear there was lots of homemade apple butter manufactured in the settlements. Father had an old-fashioned cider mill and the settlers came from miles about to make cider. They would bring tubs and six or seven barrels to fill. The cider mill was geared with oak cogs and the press was a heavy oak lever. The timber which held it above was embedded in growing trees and is still there though older than either of us can remember.

Much of the activities in this region centered about traffic on the Willamette Valley and Cascade Mountain Wagon Road. Luther Elkins was a prominent figure in its promotion, together with grandfather Settle and Andrew Wiley, our uncle, and many others. In 1874 Ike Nick and Henry Burmeister (spelling uncertain) were running a stand and barns at Fish Lake. Burmeister was a great singer. He was an early pioneer, raised on Thomas Creek in Bilyeu Den. He went all through this region singing at 4th of July celebrations and other gatherings. He died only about two years ago. Ike Nick, his partner, (His name was Isaac Nickerson) died in the mountains. He was somehow overtaken by a blizzard and frozen to death. His body was found, later, on the banks of the creek which flows into Clear Lake. That creek is now known as "Ike Nick" Creek.

Among those who came to Oregon with my grandfather Settle were Raymond Burkhart, Washington and Asbury Pugh, the Clymer family, William Coon and Owen Bear. In crossing the plains fuel was often scarce and in places they were entirely dependent upon buffalo chips. Owen Bear, who was the founder of the town of Burlington, in Linn County, would go out with his sacks to secure "chips". When his sacks were full he would return and he invariably carried an extra "chip" in his mouth. Buffalo chips are really good fuel if you are used to them. To the beginner they seem somewhat repulsive.

(Joe Smith then related the following incident). "I was not used to "chips" when I was a boy. One time I went with two old trappers, Pete Hensley and Al Schwartz, to show them the best trapping lakes and streams in Linn County. The first day out I got pretty tired and hungry, for I was a growing boy and we traveled for miles. When dinner time came I saw some winks passed between my companions and so knew a joke was being planned. Hensley cooked pancakes for dinner and when the first one was done he raked up a dry cow chip for a plate. When there was a tall stack of cakes, we fell to eating. All ate until the pile was lowered to that first cake resting on the cow chip. I was still good and hungry. I saw Hensley wink again and look at Schwartz. I made up my mind to take it; they couldn't put anything over on me, so I picked up that cake and ate it also. Hensley lived until he was very old. He dropped dead near Three Finger Jack, on the Metolious, about two years ago. He had been far out in the mountains looking over a section of the country where he had killed lots of elk years ago. I think the trip was too much for him.

We used to trap a great deal in the early days. (Joseph Smith was a trapper for thirty years.) When I was young and started out, the first week I trapped I caught six otters, worth five dollars each. That was fine money for a young boy just starting out. There were lots of beaver, otter, muskrat, mink and coons in those days. When I first lived in this neighborhood, (near Lebanon) the deer were very plentiful. Then they became scarce. I was away from here for thirty years and now I have returned and the deer also are coming back. It is not uncommon to go out in the morning and see from three to six deer feeding on our grain fields. (Note: This is within three miles of Lebanon. L.H.)

We have told of the individual characteristics of the pioneer men. Some of them were really odd. Some of them were wonderful storytellers. Joe Mossholder was a great storyteller. He used to tell about hunting quails with his dog above timberline where the air was so thin that when the dog tried to bark it could make no noise. He also said that he was lost once, above timberline, and nearly starving. He shot a buzzard and boiled it three days and still it was too tough to eat. The wild geese, he said, flying over these high peaks found the air so thin that they had to stop flying and walk over until they found air dense enough so that they could again fly.

This house where we live (George Smith) was built during Civil War days.

We told you about Jim Ridgeway running the ferry here at a very early day. The house was directly east of the present wagon bridge. For many years they got their water from a fine spring on the riverbank. Then they wanted to have a well up nearer to the house. They got me (Joseph) to water witch for them. I located a fine vein of water near the house and dug a well for them. I struck a fine vein of water there but the spring below the house immediately dried up. Evidently I had cut the vein that fed the spring.

People sent from all over the country for us (both) to locate water. We have been very successful in that work. It is all a matter of electricity. We take a green twig and when water is near, in the ground, the twig will bend down and show both where, and how near, the water is. Green twigs are good for water witching but a copper sire is the best of all. Anyone who can charge paper with electricity can water witch. (Joe Smith then gave a demonstration of charging paper with electricity. He warmed common newspaper, rubbed it briskly between his hands, and showed how the electricity generated would pick up small objects, attract or repel a suspended cotton cord, or hang suspended from rods or sheets of glass. L.H.).

Among the members of the Settle family who are still living in this region are Mrs. George Price of this neighborhood and Mrs. Charles Mitchell who lives about three miles north of Lebanon.

John Settle, my grandfather, was twice married. His first marriage was to Martha Hudson. She died and he again married, this time Julia (Johnson) Settle who was the widow of his brother, Milton Settle, who died in the east. Milton Settle had a number of children; John Settle had children by his first and by his second wife, so that the family relationship becomes a bit complicated. This is further mixed by the fact that cousins in the various families later married each other, doubling and twisting the relationship.

Copyright © 2000 Patricia Dunn. All rights reserved. This transcription may not be reproduced in any media without the express written permission by the author. Permission has been given by the Transcriber to publish on the LGS web site.