John Hartley, Rebecca Arvecost and Family

Joseph Hartley and Family

Hartleys Flee To Oregon; Part I

Hartleys Flee To Oregon; Part II

Hartleys in Oregon & Washington

Charles Lycurgis Hartley Family Photographs

Bibliography

Hartleys Flee to Oregon; part II

In a short essay "A Wagon Train from Jefferson County to Oregon" by Beatrice Tuttle, Beatrice Tuttle acknowledges contributions for this story to "Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Hartley, neighbors at Waltonville, Illinois; also to Mrs. Dialtha Dudley Clampet, whom I met at the home of my grandmother, Mrs. Martha Clampet Newbury. More recently the following persons added and verified information: Mrs. Bertha Hetheringgton, Mrs. Melissa Wells, and Mrs. Leona Allen." Beatrice Tuttle recounts:

Preparation and Beginning of Trip

In the southwest part of Jefferson County, Illinois, and about a mile north of the Franklin County line, there once existed the small village of Winfield, Post Office, Fitzgerrell. Several families from this area and surrounding places farther east came to Winfield for the departure. It was early Spring 1865, when the troup congregated and started to Oregon in covered wagons.

There were many details to be accomplished. Wagons were strengthened by laying a second floor and doing additional bracing. Great amounts of food, clothing, bedding, utensils and tools had to be provided. The wagons were drawn by ox teams, sometimes using half a dozen oxen to a wagon. They took extra oxen, several horses, and milk cows. Scouts who rode ahead, used horses.

Persons from the immediate locality who went to Oregon were as follows: Elder Joseph Hartley, the founder of the Primitive Baptist Church near Winfield was one traveler. There were three sons of Elder Hartley and their families who went: The oldest son, Edmund Waller Hartley, his wife, and seven children; the second son, David F. Hartley, his wife and five children; the third son Henry H. Hartley, his wife and daughter. Another son Clayton Hartley, who was in military service at the time later joined the group in Oregon. Isaac Clampet, who built the first mill in Winfield, and his wife, Dialtha Dudley Clampet were also passengers to Oregon. Both the Hartleys and the Clampets obtained their letters from the Horse Prairie Primitive Baptist Church to take with them.

One lady from the Winfield group who had much pride and many beautiful clothes, knew little of the rigors or wagon train travel. Those making the trip were to leave just after daybreak on an appointed day. Some neighbor woman helped her dress the evening before the departure. The many clothes of her day included five or six petticoats and her best dress. The ladies laid the proud woman across the bed to await the morning.

Along the Trail

It is know that the train from Winfield traveled northwest to Waltonville. Mrs. Ida Newell remembered that her mother, Mrs. Augusta Philip, saw the wagon train (about a mile long) come across Knob Hill and west toward her home. My grandmother, age twenty-three, and several young ladies from the Winfield community rode horseback (sidesaddle) and accompanied the wagon train several miles toward East Saint Louis. The girls arrived home about dark that evening. The wagon train group gathered on the east bank of the Mississippi River father north across from Hannibal, Missouri. They joined a larger train in Independence, Missouri.

Indians were often seen along the way. According to Mr. Henry Hartley, they never experienced combat the Red Man. Often they would spy Indians on heights above and at a distance, who seemed to be watching the wagon train. If an Indian felt the travelers had seen him, he used a quick disappearance act. The Indian did this by sliding down on the far side of his pony (clinging to the pony's mane) then ride like the wind to get out of sight.

Isaac Clampet served as a scout and was called "Captain." His duties were fourfold: To determine the best and safest routing, to kill game for the evening meal, to locate desirable camping grounds, and to keep a lookout for Indians. Other scouts were spaced at intervals along the train to herald any trouble.

When evening came, the wagons were formed into a circle. The meals were cooked by individual families within the circle area. They considered this plan as a fort-like protection.

Several milk cows were taken and milk was on of their basic foods. The cream was poured into covered containers and allowed to sour. As a wagon bounced along, the sloshing churned the butter.

Their food consisted mainly of dry beans peas, and salt port was a bland died, which became tiresome. This caused much illness and furnished some of the worst hardships. A most pleasant experience awaited the wagon train people when they reached a Mormon settlement near Salt Lake City, Utah. The fall turnip crop was ready to use. Each person was given one turnip with the top. Some cut off the tops and ate the turnips raw. Others pooled the turnips for their family and cooked them. Some used the tops to cook for greens. The weary wanders were overjoyed with the specialty of that meal.

Often they stayed more than one day where an unusually good camping site was found. If the water was plentiful, they washed their clothes, or used the time for a rest period.

One day, somewhere in the high mountain country, the Henry Hartley wagon was bringing up the rear. Mr. Hartley was lying in the back of the wagon, as he had been sick with typhoid fever. Tom Ford, a bachelor, was driving the team. The mountain trail road was very narrow. Other wagons had gone ahead and had helped to make the trail more narrow. A back wheel slid off the road, and the distance to the valley below was a frightening depth. Some lusty yells from the family, plus a quick outcry from Tom Ford, and the use of a whip caused the oxen to jump and jerk the wagon to safety.

Near the end of the trail in Idaho, but still in mountainous country, the wife and mother of one family died. Boards were taken from the bottom of wagons and a coffin was constructed. She was buried in a pretty spot near the trail. A few years later, the husband went back to take the body to their new home for reburial. They found she had been buried alive, for in her hands was some of the hair off her head. They then realized high altitude had rendered her unconscious.

It was November 1865, when the Illinois people arrived in the Oregon Country. The families settled in various places. Edmund Waller Hartley lived near Salem, Oregon, at Macleay; David Hartley first went to Oregon but later moved to Goldendale, Washington. Henry H. Hartley settled at Oregon City about twelve miles from Forest Grove, Oregon. Clayton Hartley, who joined his family in the West, lived at Forest Grove, Oregon and later moved to Goldendale, Washington. .

Beatrice Tuttle goes on to describe how some folks returned to Illinois. Beattrice Tuttle is incorrect in stating that Clayton Hartley, James Clayton Hartley, was "in military service and later joined the group in Oregon." He was already in Oregon having gone to Oregon the previous spring, 1864. Her account is somewhat fanciful in that she claims the party passed through Independence, Missouri. David Franklin Hartley (see below) says the party crossed the Mississippi River at Burlington, Iowa, and thus never passed through Missouri at all. Beatrice Tuttle also says the party arrived in Oregon in November 1865 while David Franklin Hartley claims they arrived October 1, 1865.

Thus Joseph Hartley age 65, Edmund Waller Hartley age 40, his wife Ann Elizabeth Whitlow age 40, and children Malisa Jane Hartley age 16, Emily Drusilla Hartley approximate age 14, Charles Lycurgis Hartley age 12, Eleanor Sophronia Hartley approximate age 6, Hiram Albert Hartley age 5, Edgar Hartley approximate age 3, and infant Amanda I. Hartley; David Franklin Hartley age 28, his wife Amanda Dollins age 27, and their children Laura Hartley age 8, Frank Hartley age 7, Archelus D. Hartley age 6, and Canillis Hartley; Henry Harrison Hartley age 24, his wife Melissa Martin age 22, and their daughter Mary Elizabeth Hartley age 14, started for Oregon. There were seven adults and twelve children in the Hartley party. There were about 65 people in all, mostly relatives, friends and neighbors of Joseph Hartley, who Jefferson Co. IL on April 1, 1865.

According to "Recollections of David Franklin Hartley 1865-1915; the trip across the Plains and homes on the Pacific Coast as recorded by him on April 1, 1915--50 years, to the day, after leaving his home in Illinois" by David Franklin Hartley:

On the 1st day of April 1865, myself and family started to cross the great Western Plain, headed for the Pacific Coast. My family consisted of my wife and four young children, two boys and two girls. We had a large wagon with three yokes of oxen and one yoke of cows. It was in the Spring season, at the breaking up of a cold hard winter, with the mud to the axle trees of the wagon. The party consisted of abut sixty five persons, men women and children, all neighbors and friends, headed by my father, the Reverend Joseph Hartley.

Leaving our old home on the 1st of April 1865, we traveled through Illinois in a northwest direction, crossing the Mississippi River at Burlington, Iowa. From there we travelled directly Westward and crossed the Missouri River at Plattsmouth, Nebraska, and followed the regular Emigrant Wagon Trail on the south side of the Platte River until we arrived at a little place called Julesburg. There we was stopped by United States Soldier Frontier gaurd until a sufficient force of Emigrants had collected to make two hundred able bodied, fighting, well armed men. Then a military organization was made choosing a Captain, Lieutenant, Stgs and Cpls, with a wagon master, then we went on our journey, crossing the Platte River at Fremont Orchards by fording the stream. The River at this place was about one half mile wide and from 2 ft. to a swimming depth and it required one day and great care to prevent a disaster. Moving on we soon came in sight of the Black Hills. As I had never lived in or visited a mountain region, I thought they were mountains.

We soon came to the Sioux Indian Country and they were very hostile at that time. As their domain was for a distance of from six to eight hundred miles, we was traveling in their country for some time. We had some trouble with them in their attempting to stampede our animals during the night. As our animals was carefully guarded day and night we suffered no loss. We were too strong for them to attempt an open attack.

So day by day we wended our way over the prairies, plains and mountains, making our camp at streams or springs for water for the animals and for drinking purposes, traveling from ten to 25 miles per day, following the old stage lines of travel, with their stations about every twenty miles, with the stage coaches passing us both day and night.

After months of weary traveling through the now great states of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, part of Utah, Idaho and Oregon, we arrived on October 1, 1865 (six month out) in Willamette Valley, Marion County, in the Walnut Hills, where we purchased a small farm and engaged in farming, living there about three and one half years. Then we sold this farm and bought another farm near Silverton, Oregon, in the Fir Timber District, making quite valuable improvements on this place, we remained there seven and one half years. Selling out the lands we moved seven miles northeast to Silverton and leased an 860 acre farm for three years, paying $600 per year cash rental money, after the expiration of this lease we left Oregon and moved to Klickitat County, Washington, where we took up a homestead of 160 acres under U.S. Government Land Laws, all in the paririe, and engaged in farming and stock raising; remaining on the farm for eight years, when we sold out and moved to Goldendale, Washington a distance of eight miles from the farm, purchasing a tract of seven acres of land within the corporate limits of the town. With the exception of one half acre the land lay in the very fertile Creek Valley. We engaged in raising of fruit and vegetables with splendid success.

We lived in Klickitat County from October 1879 to March 1911, when we sold out our property in the State of Washington, and moved to Glendale, California a suburb of the City of Los Angeles. Purchasing a residence, number 252 Broadway, where we are now residing. (April 1, 1915)

Glendale, California is the pleasantest climate we ever lived in, it rarely gets cold enough to frost and is very healthy; we are delighted with the climate.

We have passed through many scenes of distress and disappointment, and have had many pleasant days and hours. We are still spared, for what the good Lord knows, we are 78 and 77 years old respectfully, and now in good health, and physical condition.

We live in the fellowship of the Old Primitive Baptist Church for many years, when a difference arose, we withdrew from them and joined the Christian Church, where our Christian relations are at this time.

Respectfully submitted,

David Franklin Hartley

David Franklin Hartley fails to mention that his wife Amanda Dollins gave birth to Martha E. Hartley on 13 November 1865 just a few weeks after their arrival in Oregon.

Map of the probable route taken in 1865 by Joseph Hartley and family to Oregon. Click on map go get larger view.