Research: Don Guenther (2013 – 2019)
Written: Ed Guenther (2014, 2019)

Wiley Origins

The name Wiley is Anglian-Scottish, that is, from the part of Scotland settled by the Angles.  So, if you say a person is Scottish, it just means he is from Scotland. Ethnically, though, he may be Germanic (Anglian) or Celtic. If Celtic, then possibly from the Scottish invaders or the original Picts.  The Anglo-Saxon-Jutish invaders also took wives from the local Celtic population. One may ask, what is in a name? We know little of Richard Wiley’s ancestors, but we know a lot about Richard Wiley. Richard gave the Wiley handle something to be proud of, a name exemplifying the old west. Not to say everybody liked him, probably not, as he headed up a saloon business in Hillsboro, Oregon. That said, Richard’s life was full of color with many wonderful exploits. He befriended the mountain man Joe Meek, bested Ulysses S. Grant, warred with Indians, found his girl, and carried on the family name of Wiley with grandeur. 

1781-1834 John Wiley

From Sally Ryan and Samuel Linn’s family records we learn that Richard’s father, John, was born June 22, 1781 in Londonderry, Derry, Ireland to William Wiley; mother unknown. And Richard’s mother, Ann Rickets, was born December 20, 1787 in Havredugrace, Hartford County, Maryland.

Richard’s father, John Wiley, we can presume crossed the Atlantic to America around 1800. A possible route for him could have been on one of the cotton ships returning to New Orleans after delivering a load of cotton. Passage was cheap in order to fill the empty cargo holds. Finding his way to Baltimore, Maryland, the oldest record found on John Wiley, akin Wilie, is the 1804 census record. He married an English woman, Ann Rickets, in 1804 and was living in Baltimore at that time. When Anna Rickets was born on December 20, 1787, her father, Samuel, was 27, and her mother, Susanna, was 13.

1823-1839 Carthage, Ohio

John Wiley was 42 and Anna was 35 when Richard E. Wiley was born September 23, 1823 in Carthage, Hamilton County, Ohio. Richard had 11 siblings, all born to John and Ann. In order of birth they were Joseph Wiley(1781-1834), Jane Wiley(1807–), William Wiley(1810–1852), John Wiley(1812–1817), James B. Wiley(1814–1888), Vincent R. Wiley(1817–1851), Lydia A. Wiley(1820–), Richard Evert Wiley(1823–1889), Emeline Wiley(1825–1899), Margaret E. Wiley(1828–1910), and Sarah A. Wiley(1831–). Typical of that time the children did not all live to adulthood. Richard was number eight.

1781–1834 Richard’s Childhood, Ohio

In his big family, dinner would have been called once and if you missed it, chances are there was no food left. You made sure you were available. All that was prepared got eaten, Richard and his teenage brothers made sure of that! Richard’s father died when he was 11 in 1834 and his mother remarried in 1844. At age 16 Richard Wiley was apprenticed to James G. Edwards at The Hawk Eye Press in Burlington, Iowa.

1840-1845 Printer’s Apprentice, Burlington, Iowa

With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, (the sale of which France’s Napoleon used to fund his war efforts), Americans proceeded to settle along the 3,800 mile stretch of the Mississippi River. Steamboats, with their ability to travel shallow waters and move against fast currents, caused towns and commerce to spring up along the mighty river. Burlington started up in 1833; it was located on the river’s west side in Iowa. Along with the solid commerce came gambling, drinking, and crime. It could be a tough lot, and Burlington was just such a town in 1839 when Richard came to be apprenticed in the newspaper business. He would be trained to set type, write articles, and do layouts, as well as learn the business end of running a newspaper. 

Apprenticed with James G. Edwards, after 5 years Richard Wiley became a certified printer. In those 5 years Richard was heavily exposed to politics, in particular the Whig Party, of which Edwards belonged and supported. The paper voiced opposition to slavery, as well as the Democrat party. This experience influenced Richard’s view of politics. The Whig party eventually merged with the Republicans.

By age 22 Richard had the itch for adventure. It was in his blood. His father had come to America from England. Richard had likely paid careful attention to his father’s tails of his journey. The American west was the new frontier to conquer. It was a rough place and needed tough men and women to tame it. This country was big and it needed big families, big people, to make it grow. Richard wanted to be part of it all. He was American, as good as any of them. He was young and invincible!

Everybody in America had come from someplace else, at least their ancestors did, and Richard was no exception. His parents were Scottish. Richard was born in America and was proud to be an American! People born in America did not have the same ties to the old country as their parents did. Here he was in Burlington, Iowa, having been apprenticed in the printing business and had that wonderful craving for adventure! … to go into the mostly uncharted, the great wilderness where they said Indians still lived wild on the land, free and glorious. There was talk of The Oregon Trail, traveling off the edge of civilization! Rich soil in Oregon. A chance to be part of a great western movement! And make no mistake, these people knew they were doing something great!

The Oregon country was calling him. His dad had crossed the Atlantic, he would cross the wilderness. The shores of the mighty Columbia River would be his shores, a place to set a mooring. Stories were coming in that this big country was a country for the future, a place where a man could put roots down. And, he didn’t have a girl in Hamilton County anyway. But then, their weren’t many, if any, girls in the far west to be had either. Well, he would deal with that business later. The trappers were content to go with local Indian girls. Why couldn’t he? Still, if he had his choice, he would probably prefer a white girl, one more like himself. Surely the girls would come out west eventually. Wouldn’t they? A man needed a girl for sure. But what did he have to offer… yet? 

His father would have understood the opportunity for his son and probably would have encouraged him. Many were heading west, out where the trees grew tall and waters ran abundantly, where the soil was black and deep, where good men were needed. This was a rare chance and Richard took it. He would record the frontier with a printing press!

1845 The Oregon Trail

At age 22 Richard was raring to go. All the talk was about the Oregon Trail. Richard, most likely, was with the group that showed up in Independence, Missouri, on a horse and with a bit of money. Sally Ryan says she got a report that Richard walked the whole way, so it could be that he couldn’t afford a horse. But he would have needed to hook onto a wagon to share the load of the trip with them. Nobody was allowed in the caravan unless they were connected to a wagon. It may have been Isaac Butler and his wife. At any rate, in May of 1845 there were about 2500 people with 400-500 wagons and livestock, that set out on the Oregon Trail. Many were women and children.

The Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804-1806 set the precedent for the future pioneers to travel to Oregon. In 1836 Marcus and Narcissa Whitman came to the Walla Walla country to open a mission. Narcissa sent home colorful letters that moved many in America to go west. Oregon would eventually grow to become a territory of the United States in 1848.

In 1859 Oregon became a state, but in 1845 it was wide open. The Oregon Trail opened up in 1843 and over the 20 years or so hundreds of thousands traveled the trail. Of those, it is estimated that only about 80,000 came to Oregon.

Conestoga wagons, a popular wagon in the developed east, was too large and cumbersome for the rough Oregon Trail, so pioneers came in lightweight wagons which became known as prairie schooners. The prairie schooner was the original RV. It could be caulked with tar and rafted over the rivers. It could carry over one ton in weight, and was solidly built to withstand the rugged trail. It derived its name from its appearance at a distance on the prairie, looking like a schooner. Even so, discarded items along the trail were common as people were forced to lighten their loads. The oxen could only take so much. There weren’t any second hand stores along the way to take any of it.

The supply list was determined by the wagon masters and if you could not afford the required supplies, you could not join their train. A train was important, safety in numbers, help in time of need, common goals. If you ran out of supplies everybody suffered. The supply list was a matter of life and death. Prices included coffee at 9 cents/lb, beans 8 cents/lb, sugar 5 cents/lb, rice 5 cents/lb, beef 100 lbs for $5, oxen $25, a whip for $1. A prairie schooner may cost upwards of $200. And still, Cholera and other diseases were a source of nightmares along the trail, causing thousands of deaths over the years. Good water was the exception, not the rule.

Starting in Independence, Missouri, the trail wound across the Great Plains through Kansas and Nebraska, and into Wyoming, then across Idaho and finally to the Blue Mountains and the Promised Land of Oregon. Once in Oregon they would follow the dangerous Columbia River route down into Oregon City. Only this time, in the year 1845, there was a change of venue for about half of these travelers. Half would be following Stephen Meek on a route that varied from the known trail, branching off in Vale, Oregon, and heading onto a supposed new, shorter and easier trail. Richard, along with Isaac Butler and his wife, took the new trail that was to become known as the infamous Meek Cut-off.

Windlass Hill is located along the Oregon – California Trail in Ash Hollow, Nebraska. The hill marked the entrance from the high tablelands into the Ash Hollow area and the North Platte River valley. Wagon ruts are visible along the ridge and on the hill to this day. They used block and tackle, later termed windlasses to lower their wagons down the hill. One wagon traveler said the hill was ‘greater then perpendicular in steepness!’ With clean water scarce on the journey, the travelers were glad for the sweet water springs in Ash Hollow. The Indians looked at the spring as medicine waters and nearby they erected  an Indian Medicine Wheel.

A big marker along the Oregon Trail was Scotts Bluff, Nebraska. This heading took the travelers through the gap. In comparison to what was ahead, these were easy traveling days. No road to speak of, only ruts in the grass, the never ending prairie grass. Grass that fed the millions of buffalo.                        

Prairie grass waved in the wind. The sky was huge! Days trudged by, though for Richard they must have been full of wonder at the greatness  of this exploit. He made friends on the trip, (whom Richard would be living with in 1850). Bennett, a Kentuckian, would become sheriff in Hillsboro, Oregon, later. It was Bennett, who when 25 years old, hung the murderer Creed Turner with Richard Wiley as deputy. Creed’s words were, “I committed the deed and now I’m paying for it. If I had it to do over again I would.” The hanging was December 4, 1851. The west that Richard was heading towards was not for cowards; it was not tame.

The next big landmark the travelers came to was Chimney Rock in Nebraska. The wagon-master would set his sights on that mark and move toward it, veering just a little off to the side that would afford the best traveling. Up until the cut-off, Richard doubtless was thoroughly enjoying himself. He was in his element. The long grasses, the buffalo, the daily treks, the night fires. It was wide open wilderness every step of the way. Indians were a natural part of the landscape and trade took place with some of them. Thousands  of people were traveling together so firewood was an issue, river crossings a  challenge, threat of disease ever present, and water not always easy accessible, and not always clean. Richard would have fit in as a hunter, trying to keep some fresh meat available. He knew well how to shoot a gun. They all did.

The stars at night spoke to the travelers. They were bright and plentiful, edging down to the horizon line on the great American prairie. They spoke of distant places, things unseen, secrets to be found out, adventures to be had. Oh, the glory of God’s creation! Richard could hardly wait for each new day, but at night he hit his bed hard. What a great time to be living in!

Just west of Chimney Rock near Fairbury, Nebraska they encountered rough terrain of solidified limestone. Over the years, iron wheels of tens of thousands of wagons cut deep into this brick-like limestone, sometimes cutting as deep as four feet. 

Some 500,000 people passed through there. The ruts remain to this day, a testimony to the tenacity of these western travelers, to their wild and free adventurous spirit.

Often times the great prairie wolves, loafer wolves, would howl at night. At what, the moon? They howled without the moon too. Perhaps the stars. The sky was an inverted bowl. The days were met by the endless long prairie grasses creating ocean  waves in the breeze. And emptiness!                        

Hunting was grand. There was buffalo in those days, some used the animal’s rightful name – bison. Elk and deer, sage hens and rabbits were also on the menu.

Then there was always the threat of Indian attacks. God forbid that they should ever encounter the powerful Navajo people.  And with no real doctor, no hospital of any kind, disease was a constant worry. If a man got gangrene, cut it off. Dead, bury him

But trading with Indians occurred too, Richard may have traded for a pair of Indian made moccasins. They were said to be very comfortable and useful, with the fur turned in for comfort and warmth. Or maybe he traded for a buffalo robe. In exchange, Indians were always looking for a good white man’s shirt or blanket. They had dried salmon that was good too and the white pioneers were constantly needing food. Foolish people these white men, ‘long knives’ they were called by the Indians.

Laundry in the cold rivers may not have been to Richard’s liking. A bit of body odor was preferable, but women always wanted stuff smelling good. Perhaps Mrs. Butler did his laundry as her part of the bargain. Maybe she was glad to do it to rid herself of the unpleasant odors. Would Richard really care much about the bad smells? He really was still a boy after all… no, he was not a boy anymore. His mother had been left far behind. Far behind.

All along the way they looked for landmarks. Independence Rock in Wyoming where the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails all converged was a huge granite rock. Jailhouse Rock, Chimney Rock, Scott’s Butte, Devil’s Gate, Split Rock, Emigrant Gap, Prospect Hill, and Rocky Ridge were some of the visual locators for the wagon masters. Their life was in the trail master’s hands. Timing was essential. Getting to the Rockies well before the snow flies was critical. They went through South Pass, then came Three Island Crossing of the Snake River in Idaho.

South Pass took them over the Continental Divide. Even though South Pass wound through a low saddle in the Rockies, it is hard to imagine tens of thousands of Oregon bound travelers bringing wagons and families through here. If they didn’t get through before snowfall they were as good as dead. Once committed they must get through.Three Island Crossing in Idaho on the Snake River was dangerous, as all river crossings were. Many died and many wagons were lost in river  crossings.

                    

Ahead they were looking at the fabled Blue Mountains, the last barrier to cross, and then the big menacing Columbia River to navigate. The conifer, mostly pine, covering these mountains shimmered a wonderful blue haze on a clear day, thereby acquiring their name.

These pioneers traveled the 1750 mile trail to Vale, Oregon in good time, 4 1/2 months, about 12 miles a day. The total trail to The Dalles was 2200 miles going the usual route, the Columbia River way.

The Blue Mountains
Guenther Collection

By 1848 Forts would be established to protect the travelers from Indians Along the way, but not so in 1845 and the report was going around that there were frequent Indian attacks by the Walla Walla and Cayuse Indians in the Blue Mountains and Columbia River part of the route. So when they arrived at Vale, Stephen Meek came to the wagon-master, proposing to take them on a short cut. Good trail. Water. After all, he was Joe Meek’s older brother. Everyone had heard of Joe Meek; a more sure man could not be found. That should be good enough reference. He was asking $5 a wagon.

Meek’s Cutoff

Part of the group, around 1000, headed out with Meek across the Eastern Oregon High Desert. What did they have to lose, knowing that the Columbia River route through the Blue Mountains had known difficulties in the extreme. Surely it couldn’t be any worse than that.

The Meek train consisted of about 200 wagons. Fur trapper Stephen Meek was their guide. He had a reputation of knowing the regions of Oregon. Isaac Butler took this Meek Cut-off and therefore it is believed that Richard Wiley did also. They headed due west from Vale through the trackless desert expanse.

This group traveled down the Malheur River through its rugged terrain. The desert was no longer yielding its beautiful flowers, but the golden and pink yews along with the setting and rising suns were dream-like. Not necessarily good dreams.

The supposed trail was not good. In fact, it was a nightmare! Things went from bad to worse. Hunger and thirst dogged their steps. 

As recorded in Meek’s Cut-off, University of Washington Press, one traveler noted in his journal: “Those who followed Meek experienced a terrible ordeal when his memory of the terrain apparently failed. Lost for weeks with little or no water and a shortage of food, the Overlanders encountered deep dust, alkali lakes, and steep, rocky terrain. Many became ill, and some died in the forty days it took to travel from the Snake River in present-day Idaho to the Deschutes River near Bend, Oregon. Stories persist that children in the group found gold nuggets in a small, dry creek bed along the way.” There was no escaping the desert heat of the day. As for the gold nuggets reportedly found in a small, dry creek bed along the way, nothing has ever been found since though many have tried. Perhaps these travelers had lost interest in gold in exchange for their lives.

Richard would survive. He knew it. Could feel it. His dad had survived the voyage from Ireland, and he had heard stories of the Atlantic Crossing! He would survive too. Young and full of life, he would not give up. If God existed then there was a future; if not, then there was only this. He would not give up. There was no yesterday, no tomorrow, just today, just now. Heat waves danced off the desert floor, shimmering and boiling upward, speaking to him that there was no water even when huge mirage lakes beckoned. What would he give for a glass of water now? The mirages were a lie.

Repetition. Sameness. Monotony. Sagebrush. Sand. And yet, the roughness of this great wilderness appealed to the young man in Richard. Had anyone walked here, right here where he walked? The Indians for sure, but any white man? This was a man’s country. This was a new degree of wilderness, a place off the well walked map.

No good thing in life came easy. Surely Richard had seen this in his dad. 

Get up. Eat. Break camp. Walk. Ride. Walk. Set up camp. Eat. Sleep. Get up. A Coyote yelped in the distance. Who cared?

The big iron clad wagon wheels trudged through the soft sandy surface. No wonder mules were preferred over horses. Richard had to help in whatever way he could to move their wagons along. It was brutal. He must try to remember what it was he set out to do. He was a newspaperman, Oregon needed a newspaper. He would document the growth of a new territory, a new state surely. Unless those Russians somehow got it or Britain. He was an American, born right here in America for this task. He would help America have the west, to own Oregon! He must keep that in mind, not dwell on their misery.

There wasn’t one among them who did not wish to be back home. Away from this cursed place of death. Away from Stephen Meek. They would have given all their possessions to be able to start over, anything to not be here. But maybe not Richard, his destiny was in Oregon, no matter how he got there. Besides, things could always be worse… or could they?

A general consensus among the men was that Meek had been irresponsible with their lives. He had gambled with them! This was a time when horse thieves were hung because to steal someone’s horse in the wilderness could be signing a person’s death warrant. They felt like Meek had signed theirs.

The idea of a lynching took hold. Meek would die for his sins. It is wondered how the women viewed this drastic measure, but it is doubted that they argued much. They probably felt like the men. But there was a relatively small group who did not believe that this was ethical; after all, Meek did not do it on purpose. Sure he was a snake, but a hanging? This was barbaric!

Richard had to be kicking himself about now for having been taken in by this fool Meek. Later, in Hillsboro, Meek’s brother Joe would be his good friend. Just the same, Richard was noted for his fair dealings. He was a straight shooter in his encounters with people. And above all, he was a man of law and order. Perhaps he learned something of the corrupt dealings of human beings in the harsh circumstances on the Meek Cut-off, the depredations of which men are capable. Even so, this was a desperate situation. Could anyone blame these men for their actions? Where did Richard stand in all this at age 22? 

So this desperate group while at the South Fork of the Crooked River, again split into two wagon trains, the smaller group led by a man named Samuel Parker took Meek; and the larger group, the one wanting distance from Meek, was led by a man named Solomon Tetherow. 

Through misery and lack of water the two groups struggled along separately and then on September 26th they both arrived at Sagebrush Springs near what is now Gateway, Oregon. It was not a joyous reunion. Meek was fearful for his life. Samuel Parker reported, “May codent (many couldn’t) get water and water was taken to them, 32 in number. Heare we beried 6 persons.”

It was the 27th day since they started Meek’s shortcut. Would Richard survive? Would his family learn of what happened? Would he be remembered? Why did he leave Ohio with all its security? But his dad was dead and his mother had remarried the previous year, so there was really nothing behind for him. Life as he knew it was gone. There was just this. The barren sameness of the desert. What in the world had he been thinking anyway? Why didn’t they go the known route?

How many had they buried so far, 20, 30, 40? Was anybody counting anymore? Who would be next? It was hardest when the women and children died. Families were devastated. Richard would never be the same. He would become extremely reluctant to share this journey throughout his life. It was like a war zone. Death. Sickness. Thirst. Hunger. Anger. Despair. Hope. He would make it, but what about all of those who had dreamed of Oregon and now it ends like this. There was no going back. There to the north were the Blue Mountains. What a sight. What made them so blue? Surely they were an omen of the magical land of Oregon, just ahead. This was bear country and cougars and Indians. Always there was the thought of the Indians. The white man did not understand the Indian nor the Indian the Long Knives.

From Sagebrush Springs they decided to follow the Deschutes River due north to intercept the regular Oregon Trail. One dad who had buried two sons was so distraught that he was determined to kill Meek outright. When Meek received this news he crossed the river and ‘lit a shuck.’ He was assisted across the Columbia River by rope and was able to send help back for the suffering train. Arriving at the Columbia River, they had to dismantle their wagons to raft down the River. When the train finally arrived in Oregon City they were in desperate shape, and many died after arriving from thirst and hunger and weakness. Some of the men could not dismount from their horses, so weak were they. About 50 people died on Meek’s Cutoff. 

Parker added this epilogue to the event; “Tuck what is called Meeks cutoff- a bad cutoff for all that tuck it.” (https://www.oregonhistorictrailsfund.org/trails/meek-cut-off-1845/).

Stephen Meek did not settle in Oregon, maybe an unpopular person there. He died in Northern California. It was a sad story to be sure, but many made it through, their lives forever changed, always remembering the anguish of that awful short cut. And if Richard hadn’t made it, what of his progeny, of you and me? Of our children. The streams of our lives run together with others who had hopes and dreams like ours. We are not alone. Never alone. There are always those who went before, we who go now, and our children who have yet to go. We are connected. God is real.

1845–1850 Richard Starts Washington County’s First Newspaper

Oregon City was a growing settlement, they already had a newspaper. It had just been started in 1844. Richard headed for the more remote Hillsborough area, later to be changed to Hillsboro by popular spelling demand. Some of these folks weren’t the most educated people in the world. Richard was attracted to the country atmosphere and when he saw what Joe Meek was up to he wanted to be part of it.

Richard was a trained newspaper man. A hard working kid in the western wilds where many were illiterate. Used to being around professionals, he wanted to be a source for dependable news in the Oregon Territory. 

The future state of Oregon was settling up fast with people and there would be good news items here. He got his hands on the first press brought into Oregon and opened shop in a little log house in the Hillsboro area. There was news here all right, with people like Joe Meek and William and Maria Baldra.

Listening to their stories of coming into the country confirmed to Richard that his Meek’s Cutoff wasn’t the greatest story out there. Besides, Joe was his friend and he wasn’t about to make an issue out of his brother Stephen’s foolish shortcut.

Richard set up shop with John Smith Griffin, who had purchased the printing equipment. Griffin had started a church in 1843 in Hillsboro, the same church where Joe Meek and the Baldras attended. But two years later, in 1845, Griffin was kicked out of his own church because of his rigid beliefs. He probably opposed liquor all together. The nerve…

With their shop set up in Griffin’s barn, they named the paper The Oregon Pioneer Newspaper. Knowing they were part of something great, something bigger than themselves, the locals were supportive of the paper and very concerned that a record be set down. Also, a paper was a good step toward statehood. Joe Meek was always yapping about statehood. Why not? They were all Americans here, even people like the Baldras who came through the back door of Canada as British subjects. You didn’t get any more American than the Baldras! Besides all that, Maria Baldra could cook!

And Meek was a resource for news all by himself being an ex trapper and up and coming political force. If you listened to Joe for a minute or two you were American all right! None of this Russian or British stuff for Joe. If it was good enough for Joe, Richard figured, it was good enough for him! In 1847 they were sending Meek back to Washington D.C. to straighten everything out for Oregon’s situation.

If they could push this statehood thing through for America they were all land rich! Six hundred and forty acres Joe kept harping. If those British folks got it no telling what would happen, probably the King would confiscate the whole thing. Richard’s newspaper would not let that happen. He would tip the hand of this territory in favor of the United States of America. They would get their 640 if he had any say.

It gave Richard a tremendous rush every time a copy of his paper came out. Folks would gather around and discuss his articles. Joe and William beamed when they would see their ideas reflected in the news. Richard was an okay guy, a good friend. They were all on the same page. Only problem was, Richard had to make a living, and somehow this newspaper thing just didn’t pay the bills. Guys like William Baldra couldn’t even read! By 1847 Richard was elected sheriff of Washington County. Maybe this would pay the bills.

1847 Richard a Man of Law and Order

1847 The Hanging of Creed Turner

As a deputy to W. H. Bennett, Richard saw the county’s first hanging, that of murderer Creed Turner. This was a new endeavor for the young man, but he could shoot and believed in a lawful community. Richard Wiley would end up being elected sheriff on three separate occasions between 1847 and 1862 for a total of 5 years.

In between terms as Sheriff, Richard tried a few other things, like in 1850 when he ran a little shingle business with William Bennett. People needed good roofs. In 1852 he was made Sergeant at Arms of the Oregon Legislature, then County Assessor. He opened a grocery store for a short time, and engaged in the livery business of Portland and even delivered mail. Work as a compositor for the Oregonian was also added to his list of endeavors. Like many men of his time, Richard had his hand in many things.

1853 un-Masonic Conduct

“Richard E. Wiley was the first to petition Tuality Lodge for membership in the Masonic Lodge. His petition was received on October 22, 1853, and he was raised on December 17, 1853. In 1870 R.E. Wiley was suspected for un-masonic conduct.” It is uncertain what the un-masonic conduct might have been, but it has been thought to have been connected to his drinking establishment.

1854 Ulysses S. Grant Crosses Sheriff Wiley

Ulysses S. Grant, Civil War hero and future President of the United States of America, was stationed at Fort Vancouver, a Captain in the United States Army. His wife had not been able to come with him to keep tabs on him so he fell into drinking, heavy drinking. Taking a draft of $1200 from Adams and Co. through agent Justin Steinburger, Grant then failed to make payment on the draft. Suit was filed in District Court.

Sheriff Wiley could not touch Grant unless he stepped foot on the Oregon side of the Columbia River. Wiley patiently waited for his chance and kept his eyes and ears open. Grant could be a pain and was slippery, but he was no match for seasoned Sheriff Wiley.

You didn’t mess with Sheriff Wiley!

 ” (Wiley) watched his opportunity to catch the young captain on the Oregon side. After several trips he happened to be in Portland one day when Captain Grant came in on a boat, bringing with him his horse. Sheriff Wiley attached the animal as soon as the Captain landed. As soon as Grant recovered from his surprise, he asked Wiley to go with him to the Adam’s and Co. agent, where he thought he could arrange things satisfactorily. Arriving, Grant paid a part of the judgment in cash and gave his note for the balance, thus securing his release. ” Oregonian Newspaper, Thursday, August 16, 1900.

Things continued to go downhill for Grant as his imbibing of whisky was nothing but trouble. He ended up resigning from the army shortly after the altercation with Wiley, left Oregon, and moved back to Missouri.   He was humbled and reduced to selling firewood. After the Civil War broke out in 1861 Grant feeling patriotic again rejoined the Army. Lincoln placed him in command because his other generals were too timid. It was reported to President Lincoln that Grant had a drinking problem and they wanted Grant removed from authority, to which Lincoln responded that the man could fight. “Ah!” exclaimed Honest Abe, “You surprise me, gentlemen. But can you tell me where he gets his whisky?” “We cannot, Mr. President. But why do you desire to know?” “Because, if I can only find out, I will send a barrel of this wonderful whisky to every general in the army.”  This was printed in the New York Herald on September 18, 1863. The rest is history.

A Girl for Richard

Richard befriended William and Maria Baldra. As fate would have it, they had a young marriageable daughter, Mary Jane. She was the Bell of the Ball in Washington County. Later she recalled of her childhood, “I was a great favorite with all of the sea captains. Captain Couch was always good to me.” Couch was Captain of the ships ‘Maryland’, ‘Chenamus’, and ‘Madonna’. Mary Jane was born on Wapatoo Island, one of the first white girls born in Oregon, and at a time when there wasn’t a single cabin in the Portland area! Mary Jane was all Oregon! All American!

Richard was 32 and still single, and some thought he was a confirmed bachelor. But Richard had finally found his girl in Mary Jane, pioneer daughter of Oregon. “All of her friends were being snapped up too,” she professed later in life in an interview.

It is wondered why Richard did not take advantage of the Donation Land Claim law that allotted 320 acres of land to a man and 320 more for his wife. But Richard opted for less land and purchased acreage from Joe Meek’s DLC to build their first home.

Mary Jane was 15 when she married Richard. She bore two sons and four daughters with him. Richard tried his hand at farming and built a small two bedroom house on his land in 1855. Wilbur, their first child, was born there in 1856.                

The couple lived here for about five years before Mary Jane prevailed and they moved into town.

A Connection to Early Hillsboro

“Memorial of Pioneer Days”, written by Caroline Babcock, states that the dwelling known as the “Ross Home” is situated four miles northeast of Hillsboro. It is a low rambling house nestled among giant old trees and is completely surrounded with flowers of all kinds cared for by Emma Dierdorff who has lived  there since the age of two, having come from Scotland with her parents when 10 months old. This place was part of the donation land claim of 640 acres belonging to Joe Meek and deeded to a Wiley family in 1855.

As the house was there when the Ross family bought it, it is believed that the Wiley family built it and accordingly it should be approximately 96 years old [in 1951]. It has wide floor boards made of hand hewn lumber.  There are three fireplaces which were the only means of heating. The firebox, face, and hearth are all made of brick. As there was dense timber near, it was necessary to construct high fences to keep wild animals away from the house. Mrs. Dierdorff recalls  her mother going outside many times at the end of the day and listening for the distant sound of their particular wagon and rejoicing with its safe return after an all day journey to Portland for supplies. They were friendly with the Indians, having many callers. Mrs. Dierdorff tells of her mother saying that  Indians did not pronounce the “r” and an old Indian woman would say, “Ms. Loss, save all yoo ‘linds ‘ and ‘glese’”. Then once a year they would come and make soap for them. It was made outdoors in a large iron kettle that was brought “around the horn” from Boston. It was cracked, but still serves as a fitting container for flowers.

Pausing a bit from the rush of modern living for an afternoon visit, one is graciously entertained because Mrs. Dierdorff, being kind and friendly to all, is surrounded in her peaceful home with many relics and beautiful antiques of the olden days. In 1916 while clearing away a fallen tree her brother uncovered a very large Indian bowl and two pestles in perfect  shape weighing 50 pounds. Also in her possession is an old faded and tattered American flag which her husband’s mother helped sew entirely by hand. It contains 34 stars and flew over the Courthouse at Oregon City in 1861. Mrs. Dierdorff still cooks on an old wood stove. There is a tall beautiful Seth Thomas clock which once told the time, month, day — it is now 74 years old and no longer runs. The old organ still sends beautiful tones through this old home. One does not need to know this gracious lady to realize that she is a pleasant link with the past history of this community and that here is a person enjoying life and living it at its fullest through 80 years young.

1855 The Yakima War

Tensions were mounting. The Yakima and Cayuse Indians had connections with King George and also with The Hudson Bay Company where they did a lot of trading. All these settlers coming into Oregon and Washington were starting to bother the Indians. They were pushed from one reservation to another and then land assigned from the treaty was reduced to a fraction after gold was found. They were mad all right and with good reason. The Long Knives had forked tongues. Joe Palmer was superintendent of Oregon at that time. The Yakima Indian War of 1855 really began in 1848 when the Cayuse Indians massacred Marcus and Narcissa Whitman at the Whitman Mission. 

Dr. Whitman, who had headed up the first wagon train on the Oregon Trail, was trying to help the Indians but they believed the doctor had tried to poison them. So war began to brew. The Indians attacked wiping out the mission, resulting in five Cayuse Indians hung do to this affair.  Joe Meek’s daughter, being at the mission at the time, died a short time after the attack. With Meek as sheriff of Hillsboro, the men of Hillsboro were now directly involved in the conflict. It escalated until 1855 when war was declared on the Yakima Indians under Chief Kamiakin.The Cayuse Yakima War had begun.

Richard Wiley was working carrying mail (a job he had in 1855 and 1856) so he seemed the likely choice to carry express and dispatches between Portland and Cascade, right through Indian country! He braved this for two years, with great risk to his life! Wiley could shoot and Wiley could ride. A perfect combination for a war dispatcher! With the war won in 1859, life was now safer along the Columbia.

The year 1856 also found Richard farming his Meek land purchase just northeast of Hillsboro.

1859 Statehood for Oregon

In 1859 Oregon became a state, a dream held by many of the pioneers, including Richard and Mary Jane, and William and Maria Baldra, not to mention the famous Joe Meek!

By 1861 the Wileys had sold their farm and Richard was trying his hand at a new business, a grocery on 2nd and Main in Hillsboro. They lived in a log cabin near the Hillsboro Hotel. Their children were in Sunday School and life went on. The town was growing, Portland was booming. Richard found work there at times.

1859 Statehood for Oregon

In 1859 Oregon became a state, a dream held by many of the pioneers, including Richard and Mary Jane, and William and Maria Baldra, not to mention the famous Joe Meek!

By 1861 the Wileys had sold their farm and Richard was trying his hand at business, first the grocery at 2nd and Main in Hillsboro. They lived in a log cabin near where the Hillsboro Hotel was located. The children were in Sunday School and life went on. The town was growing, Portland was booming. Richard found work there at times.

1861-1866 Civil War

In 1861 the Civil War broke out. It seems the Indians weren’t the only problem. The South wanted to secede from the Union and President Lincoln said, ‘No.’ To lead the army he chose a man who could fight, Ulysses S. Grant. The very same Grant that Sheriff Wiley had outsmarted! It was a good thing for Grant that Wiley was on his side. Lincoln wanted to make sure that the West did not aid or side with the South so he had appointments made to secure the West for the cause of the North. And who better for an appointment then Richard Wiley? He could shoot, he could ride. He could lead men. He was Sheriff Wiley!

1863 Captain Richard Wiley

On June 27, 1863 Richard Wiley was appointed Captain, Aide De Camp, by Governor A. C. Gibbs. Captain Wiley was on the staff of Brigadier-General Stephen Coffin of the militia of the state of Oregon! 

With Richard’s help Grant and the North won that war for Mr. Lincoln! Imagine, Grant and R. E. Wiley on the same side. Who could beat them?                                                                                                                                    

Children were born to Richard and Mary Jane. In 1858 Anna was born; William in 1861; Aunt Dora in 1863; and  Ella in 1866, the year the war  ended.                                                                                                                 

Original Wiley’s Place
Washington County Museum,
Portland, Oregon

1869 Wiley’s Place

Another of Richard’s business ventures was Wiley’s Place, a western saloon. The grocery store business didn’t fair well for Richard, but he no doubt observed the booming business in alcoholic beverages. His friend William Baldra even had a permit to produce hard liquor, so Richard opened Wiley’s Place somewhere around 1869.

This was an up-scaled saloon according to some, the main evidence of this being the cherry bar that reportedly had been shipped around the horn. Sally Ryan and Edwin Doyle both attest to this idea. Others say it was a rough place, citing the Courtney Meek brawl and murder, plus the fact that this was the wild west of the 19th century. Either way, it offered a place where a man could gather with other men for a drink and dispense information. It was a western saloon, bat-wing doors and all; warmed by a wood stove. It was Wiley’s Place.

In 1877 Benema was born, their last.

By about 1880 the main street of Hillsboro boasted 4 saloons, giving it the nickname of Sin City. They would have horse races down the main street and there was betting. There were guns and knives. These were wild west times. These were not tame men. They were the pioneers and trappers and mountain men come to roost in Oregon’s promised land.

Saloons were plentiful across the wild west. Many famous men owned saloons, including Bat Masterson, Wild Bill Hickock, and Ben Thompson. Doc Holiday was a noted card dealer in saloons. The saloon was reflective of a rough western man and some rough western women. Contrary to common belief the women in the bars were mostly bar maids and they looked down on common prostitutes. Farmer’s wives looked down on bar maids. Everybody wanted to be better than somebody else. Wiley’s Place may have been one of the nicest saloons in Hillsboro, with carpet, cherry bar, and gas lights. The absence of bar stools also cut down on the bar flies. Smart businessman. Refrigeration did not present itself until the 1880’s so these folks were not always drinking ice cold beer. Nor was the beer pasteurized. Wiley’s Place likely had an ice box though. Joe Meek frequented Wiley’s Place.

Inside Wiley’s Place. The original bar
Washington County Museum, Portland, Oregon

                                                                 

Not all saloons employed saloon girls, such as in Dodge City’s north side of Front Street, which was the “respectable” side, where  guns, saloon girls, and gambling were barred. Instead, music and billiards were featured as the chief amusements to accompany drinking. In those hard scrabble days, the whiskey served in many of the saloons was some pretty nasty stuff made with raw alcohol, burnt sugar and a little chewing tobacco. The whiskey took on names such as Tanglefoot, Forty-Rod, Tarantula Juice, Taos Lightning, Red Eye, and Coffin Varnish. It was killer stuff for sure. Some believe that Wiley’s Place served top of the line liquor, possibly made by noted whiskey maker William Baldra.

Ed Lyon’s Saloon, Sampson’s Place, and J. Ryan’s Thirst Parlor all competed for the Hillsboro drinking establishment business.  Spittoons and ice boxes were the order of the day. Popular in the west was Cactus Wine, made from a mix of tequila and peyote tea, and Mule Skinner, made with whiskey and blackberry liquor. The house rotgut whiskey was often 100 proof, though it was sometimes cut by the barkeep with turpentine, ammonia, gun powder or cayenne.

Firewater was the preferred libation of the old west. It acquired its name because the Indians tested to see if it was good or not by how much the fire flared when the poisonous liquor was dumped on the flames. Big flame, good stuff. Signs advertised alcoholic drinks including Buchu Gin, El Rey Whiskey, and the Albany Brewing Company. The majority of western saloons served straight liquor, rye or bourbon.

A typical saloon was Nuttal and Man’s, where Wild Bill Hickock was killed in a card game. The year was 1876 in Deadwood, South Dakota.  Bill was nervous about that card game, too. He had had a premonition. Always keeping his back to the wall, this time he did not. He felt he was safe in such an upscale place.  Wild Bill was shot in the back by an unlucky poker player. The poker hand Bill was holding at the time was aces and eights, to become known as The Dead Man’s Hand. It was the Wild West, and saloons were part of it, maybe even at the center.

R.E. Wiley’s saloon was one of the saloons mentioned as giving early Hillsboro the distinction of being called Sin City. From a knife fight to Main Street horse races the Wiley saloon looks to have been a rather raucous frontier saloon full of activities. R.G. Dunn, a credit reporting company, believed that R.E. Wiley was a drunk. And there were the back stairs leading to the upper room. There is no doubt that Richard looked deep into the bottle and patronized with his clientele. 

Joseph Meek was his good friend and enjoyed entertaining at Wiley’s saloon by telling stories of his heroics. The saloon stories were greatly exaggerated, reflecting the condition of the teller. One report says that a goose was spotted drinking beer in Wiley’s saloon and then staggered down the street in Hillsboro offering  entertainment for Wiley’s crowd.

Pictured here is the home the children grew up in from about 1870 on. Richard Wiley had finally found his niche at Wiley’s Place. Despite his weakness for drink, R.E. was a gentleman and a respected businessman, being listed as a “Merchant” in Hillsboro’s business directory. Having to sell liquor by the bottle, R.E.’s son, Bill, tried to get a “by the glass” license arguing that it would cut back on drinking. 

19th Century Hillsboro
Arts and Culture in Downtown Hillsboro
by PlannersWeb Editor Wayne Senville

Was Wiley’s Place really a cut above the ordinary western saloons? Ronald B. Guenther says he doesn’t believe that. He says it was like the dives of the fifties in North Bend, Oregon, that he knew about … that is, he heard about them, not actually visiting such low life places. Oh, pooh pooh.

1869 Courtney Meek’s Knife Fight

On December 6, 1869, Joe Meek’s oldest son, Courtney, born of Joe’s Nez Perce wife Virginia, was sitting in Wiley’s Place minding his own business, just whittling on a stick with a small pearl handled knife by the stove. In those days the derogatory term ‘half breed’ was used to describe a person born of white/Indian marriages. Joe was there with his son when Jake Smith comes in and has a drink. Some say Jake Smith was no good. He had been known to harass Courtney Meek at the dance floor where Courtney was manager. 

Courtney Meek
Washington County Museum,
Portland, Oregon

Jake made a slurring racial remark about half breeds  and Courtney cut him with his knife quick as a flash in a scuffle. The cut was reportedly a small one on the shoulder. Two doctors arrived too late to stop the arterial flow of blood, from which Jake died the following morning. Courtney did not believe that a half Indian could get a fair trial, so he fled. A reward of several hundred dollars was issued on him for the murder of Jake Smith. Three years later Courtney was convinced to return and stand trial. Fifty extra jurors were appointed to ensure a fair trial. The newspaper reported that the state’s case was weak, they could find no witnesses to the fight. Courtney was acquitted. Hillsboro and the Wileys stood behind Joe Meek’s son you can be sure. Wilbur played on the same local baseball team, and Courtney held public offices later. One can also assumed that Richard had plenty to say in support of Joe Meek’s son. He may have been the only witness, besides Joe, but maybe his  vision was blurred. One could imagine that he called it a fair fight and if Jake couldn’t take a bath and clean out his wound, well, what could be said.

Another source suggested they had been drinking Firewater, a known precursor to a fighting man. Also, some believe Courtney Meek was packing an Arkansas Toothpick or a Bowie knife, not a small pocket knife. Three years after the trial would have been a long time for Joe Meek’s drinking buddies to remember stuff like that. It boggles this writer’s mind to think that Jake Smith could have bled out in a few hours with a small cut. It had to have been a good size slash all right, little question about that.

Wiley’s Place was in a little corner of the Wild West. Richard Wiley owned it. He still had it when he died in 1889. Remember, this is the Richard Wiley who was sheriff for a number of years in Hillsboro and practically arrested the young U.S. Grant. Richard Wiley really lived!

An inscription at Jake Smith’s grave in Pioneer Cemetery, Hillsboro:

“In memory of. Born in Fulton Co., Ill. Aged 34 yr 8 mo 25 da. [During a brawl in Wiley’s Saloon in Hillsboro, 12/6/1869, Jacob Smith (aggressor) was stabbed with a small knife in the hands of Courtney Meek. Two doctors arrived too late to stop the arterial flow of blood, from which Jacob died. At a trial Meek was found not guilty.”

1889 Richard’s Death

When Richard died in 1889 his son William took over the bar. William’s wife Kate was heavily involved in the temperance movement of the time. It is thought that the upstairs rooms of the bar was more than she could take. At any rate, around 1904 William tore down the historical Wiley’s Place and built a new Wiley’s Place. William’s newer version still stands today. As of 2015 it is inhabited by Joe’s Pastime Tavern.

When the Wiley’s moved into town in Hillsboro to run the grocery and then the saloon, they lived near the Washington County Courthouse which was on 1st & Main Street.

Richard and Mary Jane are buried in The Hillsboro Pioneer Cemetery. Mary Jane had a massive Wiley Monument stone put in to mark the graves.

Richard’s Obituary: Morning Oregonian June 1, 1889; Hillsboro Independent, May 30:

“Richard E. Wiley, Death of a Pioneer, Well Known to Many in Oregon: One by one our venerable pioneers are passing away. The last to join the silent column is Mr. R. E. Wiley, a man well known in Oregon and closely identified with its earliest history. Mr. Wiley quietly passed to the long sleep last Monday evening at 8 o’clock. He was born at Carthage, Hamilton County, Ohio, in 1823. From Ohio he emigrated to Iowa, and learned the printer’s trade, working five years in the Burlington Hawkeye, and traveled Westward across the wild plains, arriving in Oregon in 1845. Mr. Wiley was among the first printers to arrive in the land of the setting sun. Soon after coming to Tuality County (Tuality at one time included Washington, Multnomah and Colombia counties), he was employed by Rev. J.F. Griffin to put in type for a paper published by him in a farmhouse near Hillsboro. This paper was one of the earliest publications on the Pacific Coast. He was a participant of the first Fourth of July celebration ever held in Oregon at Portland in 1847. The road leading from Portland to Hillsboro was first opened by Messer’s(Monsieur’s) Wiley and Isaac Butler, still one of our living pioneers. Mr. Wiley was also our first sheriff appointed under the provisional government for the county of Tuality embracing Portland and the territory previously mentioned in this article. He was also a member of Oregon’s first legislature. In 1863 he was appointed Aide-De-Camp, with the rank of Captain on the staff of Brigadier General Stephen Coffin by Governor Addison C. Gibbs. This commission is dated June 27, 1863. Way back in the 60s during the Indian Wars, he carried the mails through hostile territory from Eastern Oregon to Portland. In 1855 he was united in marriage with Miss M. J. Baldra, daughter of Mr. W. Baldra, who still resides in Hillsboro. The remains of this early pioneer were laid to rest in Masonic Cemetery yesterday. The funeral sermon was preached by Rev. W. E. Smith, assisted by Rev. E. S. Craves.”

”He (Richard) was one of the pioneers who cut the old mountain from the plains to the Willamette where Portland now stands.”

Wiley Graves at Pioneer Cemetery in Hillsboro
Guenther Family Album

                                                                                                     
1889 Wilbur Wiley Marries Corena Landess

Richard Wiley and Mary Jane Baldra had Wilbur in 1856.  Wilbur married Corena Landess in 1889, the same year that Richard died. They had four children during their marriage. Their firstborn was George in 1890, then Wilda in 1891, Dora in 1893, and Virgil in 1895 who died at age two months of life. 

George Wiley(1890-1962) with Ella Wiley(1866-1954)
Washington County Museum

When Wilda R Wiley was born on September 26, 1891, in Hillsboro, Oregon, her father, Wilbur, was 35, and her mother, Corena, was 18. In 1898 Corena divorcedWilbur and in 1899 married August Stahl, letting no  grass grow under her feet. Some say she was justified  to divorce Wilbur, otherwise the courts would not have granted it.There are no known records to prove this as of this writing. Corena does seem to have lost control of   her own children and they appear to have been raised by her parents, the Landesses. This would explain why the Landess sisters showed up in Arago to assist Wilda when her daughter Louise died.

Wilbur had inherited his father’s saloon along with his brother William, but did not stay with it. He worked for Hill Railroad (Kennewick, Washington) in the river steamer end of the business, supplying the camps. 

Wilbur died on January 8, 1909, in Kennewick, Washington, at the age of 52 when he was run over by a train. Some think a woman was to blame, but Wilbur has to own his own life. He was buried in Hillsboro Pioneer Cemetery, Oregon.

1910 Wilda Wiley Marries Joseph Delsman

Wilda Wiley married Joseph Delsman in 1910 in St. Matthew’s Catholic Church in Hillsboro.

Wilda did not seem to be content in life. Perhaps she was deeply troubled by Corena’s remarriage, after which she went to live with the Landess grandparents and then sent to boarding school.

Wilda was deeply rooted in the clothing fashions of the day. When she ended up on the farm she must have been lost. She would have liked to go back to Portland to fit in. The plainly dressed farmer’s wife was not a good fit for her. 

Wilda Wiley and Joe Delsman
Married 11-24-1910
Guenther Collection

Wilda did not know how to cook.  After they married, even with kitchen and cooking ware, when Joe came home she would meet him at the door and say, ’Let’s go out to eat.’  After a week went by, he said,  ‘You know, we should start eating in”. That’s when Wilda made her confession, “Well, I  suppose I have to ‘fess up.  I don’t know how to cook.”  When she lived at home with her grandmother, her grandmother handled the cooking.  When with her mother in Hoquiam, Washington, her mother did the cooking and then in boarding school a cook did the cooking, so the young bride never learned to cook.  Only one thing to do, Joe taught her to cook. It is true that she did not like living on the farm, but she dug in and did what a farmer’s wife should do. 

During the summer, she sold fruits and vegetables at a little roadside stand. Selling produce was done with several other women, so there was a lot of interaction with the other families.  When haying took place, several farmers would get together going from farm to farm. Wherever they were, that family fed the fellows doing the haying. Wilda’s daughter, Clara, said she did a wonderful job making big meals for all the hands.  So, in that sense, this city lady became an excellent farmer’s wife. But, she did not like the life. She wanted off the farm, she wanted to go to the big city, she wanted to dress fashionably. 

According to Wilda, she brought a twenty dollar gold piece into her marriage.  She was shocked to find it was so little. She had expected a real inheritance, but it wasn’t there. At age 17 the courts had committed her to the custody of her Uncle William. If there was an inheritance from her Wilbur it was gone.  Her father was dead when she married and according to her, he ordered her a wedding gown from Paris and at the wedding reception Uncle William went to her and gave her the gold piece and said, that was it, there was no more. It’s all in the grave now, we’ll never know.

Wilda bore three children with Joe: Louise in 1913, Geraldine Clara in 1916, and Richard in 1917. When Louise died of polio at age 14, Wilda went into a deep depression, probably a nervous breakdown. Leaving the family farm in Arago, this distressed woman went to Portland to try to find comfort, presumably with the Landess family. Corena’s sister, Girtha, came to the farm and got rid of anything that brought back a memory of Louise. They burned it all. Geraldine and Richard were devastated. Geraldine was left to run the household at age 11. No one would talk about Louise with them, it was as though their big sister never existed. The two of them would go alone behind the barn and remember their sister together. Geraldine never fully recovered from her mother Wilda’s weakness, but in Wilda’s defense, she apparently wasn’t capable of dealing with life’s challenges. Her own childhood did not equip her for it. Over three decades later, Wilda still could not discuss Louise, her daughter. As for Geraldine, many decades later, she spoke very lovingly about her father, but avoided talking about her mother.                 

After Joe Delsman died in 1940, Wilda then married Frederick A Meier on April 7, 1947, in Multnomah County, Oregon. She died  on March 7, 1960, in Portland, Oregon, at the age of 68, and was buried in Portland. Later Fred died and was buried next to her. Fred had taken a third wife and when she died she was buried on top of Fred. Wow.     

1935 Geraldine Delsman married John Guenther

Geraldine Delsman married John Guenther June 4, 1935. They had fourteen children.

Afterward On Meek’s Cut-off:

“Never follow a path that is not proven. If it’s a bunch of guys exploring that’s one thing, but families? What were they all thinking? The group made the decision and Meek was trying to help them out. There were some sick people and they looked for a faster quicker easier path. I think the men blamed Meek when the blame should have been shared. I also think following a single man is a risk too. Safety in a multitude of counselors. He mouthed off and others listened. After the dust settled I think they all realized that together they had made a big mistake. Note that they didn’t hunt him down. I see there were some cool heads in the group and they prevailed. As for R.E. Wiley we find nothing to suggest he was a hot head, even in his youth. He got elected sheriff which suggests he wasn’t quick to judge but strong in his convictions. He was present at the first hanging. I agree with him, there is a time to do a person in. Meek’s cut-off wasn’t one of those times. Hard lesson to learn. That’s why I think history is so valuable if the telling is an honest account.”  Donald S. Guenther

Pictures of Interest

Bibliography

Fitzgerald, Kimberli,   and Raber, Deborah; Hillsboro, 2009: http://www.oregonlive.com/washingtoncounty/index.ssf/2009/12/authors_document_hillsboros_hi.html

Ferenz, Kathleen; Oregon Trail Price List, 2014: http://www.cyberbee.com/wwho/wwHOpricelist.pdf

Halpine, Charles E., Abraham Lincoln, posted Feb.18, 2013: http://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/02/18/barrel-of-whiskey/

Hines, Harvey Kimbal; An illustrated history of the state of Oregon, Lewis Pub. Co. 1893, pg 671; https:openlibrary.org/books/OL23719017M/An illustrated history of the state of Oregon

History of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, 1841-2009: http://www.co.washington.or.us/Sheriff/YourSheriff/upload/History-of-the-Washington-County-Sheriff-s-Office.pdf

Oldham, Kit; U.S. Grant, Washington State Encyclopedia, 2003: Sources; Fort Vancouver (Washington, D.C.: Division of Publications, National Park Service, 1981), 120; Charles G. Ellington, The Trial of U.S. Grant (Glendale, CA: A. H. Clark Co., 1987), pgs 103-21, 161-63, 225-27.

Randolph, Bonnie, Courtney Meek’s Knife Fight, pgs. 7-8

Tobie, harvey L., No Man Like Joe , Binfords & Mort, 1949

Washington County Historical Society; Land of Tuality, Washington County, Oregon; Vol I, 1975.

Wikipedia; Meek Cutoff, 2015; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meek Cutoff

Wikipedia; The Hawk Eye, Iowa’s Oldest Newspaper: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hawk_Eye

Wikipedia; Whitman Massacre: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitman_massacre

Wikipedia; Yakima War: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakima_War

Wiley, Richard; Richard Evett Wiley Papers, Mss 2158, Oregon Historical Society Research