David Thomas Lenox
Encyclopedia
David Thomas Lenox was an American pioneer
who settled in the Oregon Country
where he organized the first Baptist Church west of the Rocky Mountains
. A native of New York
, he lived in Illinois
and Missouri
before he was captain of the first wagon train over the Oregon Trail
to what became the state of Oregon
. He also organized several schools and churches, and served as a judge and justice of the peace
. In Oregon, he settled on the Tualatin Plains
near what is now Hillsboro
and later lived in Eastern Oregon
.
, where he worked on a plantation
. There he married the plantation owner’s daughter, Louisa Swan, in 1826. The couple had ten children.
The Lenox family moved to a farm at Rushville, Illinois
, in 1829. There David Lenox farmed and served as a school teacher. He also converted to the Baptist sect in Rushville in 1832. In 1840, Lenox sold the farm and moved to Todds Creek in Platte County
, where he bought timberland for $5 per acre. In Missouri he served as the clerk at his local church. After a couple years they decided their land would not be productive enough to sustain the family, and they resolved to immigrate to the Oregon Country.
(now Kansas
) near Fort Leavenworth
when he heard a speech about Oregon from Peter Hardeman Burnett
. Lenox was already waiting to start for the Willamette Valley, but after the speech he signed up to travel with Burnett to Oregon. They formed a wagon train for the journey and hired a Mr. Ganntt to lead the group to Fort Hall
. On April 9, the party departed Platte City, Missouri
on what was the first wagon train to cross the Oregon Trail
all the way to Oregon. Burnett was selected as the captain of the wagon train at the beginning, but after one day he resigned and Lenox was elected as the new captain. After complaints that those traveling with livestock would slow down the entire group, the wagon train was split into two groups. The light column without the cattle was led by Lenox, and the cow column was captained by Jesse Applegate
.
Despite Gannt being hired as the pilot, the Rev. Marcus Whitman
arrived on May 15 at Westport, Missouri. Whitman arrived after his winter trip from his mission in the Oregon Country to Washington, DC, and joined the group after they had started out. He was then hired to guide them all the way to the Columbia River
, which was in addition to Gannt’s guide services. Asa Lovejoy
also joined the group after he had returned east from Oregon with Whitman.
During the trip Lenox and Whitman insisted the wagon train not proceed on Sundays due to their religious beliefs. On August 29, Whitman left the group after Fort Hall to return to his mission after word had reached him of trouble with the natives, but promised to send back a Cayuse chief to guide them across the Blue Mountains
and on to the Columbia. Whitman arrived at the Snake River
and waited for the wagon train to catch up after surmising the crossing was more difficult than anticipated. After the crossing Whitman again left, and a Native American guide sent by Whitman arrived when the wagon train was at the Grand Ronde Mountains, and led them to the Whitman Mission. After one day at the mission, the group headed for the Columbia River without Whitman. At The Dalles
the wagon train took rafts down the Columbia River to Fort Vancouver
opposite the mouth of the Willamette River
. Lenox arrived in Oregon City on the Willamette on November 26.
, in the community of West Union
on the east Tualatin Plains
, with that farm later known as the Joe Mecke farm. After a brief residence, he settled a 320 acres (129.5 ha) donation land claim
nearby and farmed the land. Lenox brought the first corn
to the Willamette Valley.
On May 25, 1844, he organized the West Union Baptist Church
in his home, the first Baptist congregation west of the Rocky Mountains
.
Lenox donated the land for both the church and adjoining cemetery. The church is located where his original cabin was located. Lenox was selected as deacon of the congregation. Two of his daughters became the first Baptists baptized in Oregon when baptized in 1845.
In 1845, the Rev. Ezra Fisher and his family arrived at the Lenox home and spent the winter with the Lenoxes. That winter the cabin held the thirteen members of the Lenox clan, six members of the Fisher family, and a widow and her three children. The cabin measured 18 feet by 22 feet, and Lenox left the cabin in the spring for a new cabin, with the Fisher family remaining on the old cabin.
In 1847, Lenox helped to establish the Baptist Church in Oregon City. He helped establish the first Baptist Association on the west coast in 1848, and served as the clerk of that body. After farming at first, Lenox later ran a mercantile. On November 12, 1851, he helped found the West Union School District, the first in the county. He served on the first board of directors of the district along with Caleb Wilkins and James W. Chambers. Along with George W. Ebbert
and Ralph Wilcox
and several others, he was one of the first people to buy a lot in 1852 in what became the city of Hillsboro. In 1857, he and several others formed the West Union Institute to serve as a Baptist school. The school never held classes, and instead was transferred to a school in McMinnville
run by S. C. Adams and became the forerunner of Linfield College
.
, Morton M. McCarver, and J. W. Smith elected to the House of Representatives instead of Lenox. From 1847 to 1848 he was a justice of the peace
in that district, and was a candidate to be a probate judge there in 1850. A Democrat, he served in that position, the only judge in the what had become Washington County
.
city of Weston
in 1870 where he purchased a farm. David Thomas Lenox died on October 18, 1874, near Weston at the age of 71. After his death he was buried on the farm, with the location of the gravesite at the Kees (or Blue Mountain) Cemetery later lost, but then rediscovered in 1924. In 1924, the Baptists of Oregon dedicated a monument in his honor at his gravesite. This group then moved his remains and their plaque in 1960 to the West Union Baptist Church Cemetery where his wife was buried.
American pioneer
American pioneers are any of the people in American history who migrated west to join in settling and developing new areas. The term especially refers to those who were going to settle any territory which had previously not been settled or developed by European or American society, although the...
who settled in the Oregon Country
Oregon Country
The Oregon Country was a predominantly American term referring to a disputed ownership region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from...
where he organized the first Baptist Church west of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
. A native of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, he lived in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
before he was captain of the first wagon train over the Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
to what became the state of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. He also organized several schools and churches, and served as a judge and justice of the peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
. In Oregon, he settled on the Tualatin Plains
Tualatin Plains
The Tualatin Plains are a prairie area in central Washington County, Oregon, United States. Located around the Hillsboro and Forest Grove areas, the plains were first inhabited by the Atfalati band of the Kalapuya group of Native Americans. Euro-American settlement began in the...
near what is now Hillsboro
Hillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Lying in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city is home to many high-technology companies, such as Intel, that compose what has become known as the...
and later lived in Eastern Oregon
Eastern Oregon
Eastern Oregon is the eastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity, thus the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmost counties in the state; in other contexts, it includes...
.
Early life
David Lenox was born in Catskill, New York, on December 8, 1802. His parents were English of the Scotch Methodist faith. He became an orphan at an early age, and had a limited education in the local schools. At 18 he left New York for Lexington, KentuckyLexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
, where he worked on a plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
. There he married the plantation owner’s daughter, Louisa Swan, in 1826. The couple had ten children.
The Lenox family moved to a farm at Rushville, Illinois
Rushville, Illinois
Rushville is a city in Schuyler County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,212 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Schuyler County.-Demographics:...
, in 1829. There David Lenox farmed and served as a school teacher. He also converted to the Baptist sect in Rushville in 1832. In 1840, Lenox sold the farm and moved to Todds Creek in Platte County
Platte County, Missouri
As of the census of 2000, there were 73,781 people, 29,278 households, and 20,231 families residing in the county. The population density was 176 people per square mile . There were 30,902 housing units at an average density of 74 per square mile...
, where he bought timberland for $5 per acre. In Missouri he served as the clerk at his local church. After a couple years they decided their land would not be productive enough to sustain the family, and they resolved to immigrate to the Oregon Country.
Oregon Trail
About 1843 Lenox was working as a contractor in MissouriMissouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
(now Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
) near Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, immediately north of the city of Leavenworth in the upper northeast portion of the state. It is the oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C. and has been in operation for over 180 years...
when he heard a speech about Oregon from Peter Hardeman Burnett
Peter Hardeman Burnett
Peter Hardeman Burnett was an American politician and the first state governor of California, serving from December 20, 1849 to January 9, 1851. He was also the first California governor to resign from office...
. Lenox was already waiting to start for the Willamette Valley, but after the speech he signed up to travel with Burnett to Oregon. They formed a wagon train for the journey and hired a Mr. Ganntt to lead the group to Fort Hall
Fort Hall
Fort Hall, sitting athwart the end of the common stretch shared by the three far west emigrant trails was a 19th century outpost in the eastern Oregon Country, which eventually became part of the present-day United States, and is located in southeastern Idaho near Fort Hall, Idaho...
. On April 9, the party departed Platte City, Missouri
Platte City, Missouri
Platte City is a city in Platte County, Missouri, along the Little Platte River. The population was 3,866 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Platte County.-Geography:Platte City is located at...
on what was the first wagon train to cross the Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
all the way to Oregon. Burnett was selected as the captain of the wagon train at the beginning, but after one day he resigned and Lenox was elected as the new captain. After complaints that those traveling with livestock would slow down the entire group, the wagon train was split into two groups. The light column without the cattle was led by Lenox, and the cow column was captained by Jesse Applegate
Jesse Applegate
Jesse Applegate was an American pioneer who led a large group of settlers along the Oregon Trail to the Oregon Country. He took part in the early government of Oregon, and helped establish the Applegate Trail as an alternative route to the Oregon Trail.-Early life:Jesse Applegate was born in Henry...
.
Despite Gannt being hired as the pilot, the Rev. Marcus Whitman
Marcus Whitman
Marcus Whitman was an American physician and Oregon missionary in the Oregon Country. Along with his wife Narcissa Whitman he started a mission in what is now southeastern Washington state in 1836, which would later become a stop along the Oregon Trail...
arrived on May 15 at Westport, Missouri. Whitman arrived after his winter trip from his mission in the Oregon Country to Washington, DC, and joined the group after they had started out. He was then hired to guide them all the way to the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
, which was in addition to Gannt’s guide services. Asa Lovejoy
Asa Lovejoy
Asa Lawrence Lovejoy was an American pioneer and politician in the region that would become the U.S. state of Oregon. He is best remembered as a founder of the city of Portland, Oregon...
also joined the group after he had returned east from Oregon with Whitman.
During the trip Lenox and Whitman insisted the wagon train not proceed on Sundays due to their religious beliefs. On August 29, Whitman left the group after Fort Hall to return to his mission after word had reached him of trouble with the natives, but promised to send back a Cayuse chief to guide them across the Blue Mountains
Blue Mountains (Oregon)
The Blue Mountains are a mountain range in the western United States, located largely in northeastern Oregon and stretching into southeastern Washington...
and on to the Columbia. Whitman arrived at the Snake River
Snake River
The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
and waited for the wagon train to catch up after surmising the crossing was more difficult than anticipated. After the crossing Whitman again left, and a Native American guide sent by Whitman arrived when the wagon train was at the Grand Ronde Mountains, and led them to the Whitman Mission. After one day at the mission, the group headed for the Columbia River without Whitman. At The Dalles
The Dalles, Oregon
The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is...
the wagon train took rafts down the Columbia River to Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District...
opposite the mouth of the Willamette River
Willamette River
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
. Lenox arrived in Oregon City on the Willamette on November 26.
Oregon
He settled first in 1844 on a land claim that he purchased near what is now Hillsboro, OregonHillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Lying in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city is home to many high-technology companies, such as Intel, that compose what has become known as the...
, in the community of West Union
West Union, Oregon
West Union is an unincorporated community in Washington County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1851, the community had the first school district in the county, and also contains the oldest cemetery in the state and the oldest Baptist church west of the Rocky Mountains...
on the east Tualatin Plains
Tualatin Plains
The Tualatin Plains are a prairie area in central Washington County, Oregon, United States. Located around the Hillsboro and Forest Grove areas, the plains were first inhabited by the Atfalati band of the Kalapuya group of Native Americans. Euro-American settlement began in the...
, with that farm later known as the Joe Mecke farm. After a brief residence, he settled a 320 acres (129.5 ha) donation land claim
Donation Land Claim Act
The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 was a statute enacted by the United States Congress intended to promote homestead settlement in the Oregon Territory in the Pacific Northwest...
nearby and farmed the land. Lenox brought the first corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
to the Willamette Valley.
On May 25, 1844, he organized the West Union Baptist Church
West Union Baptist Church
West Union Baptist Church is a Baptist congregation and historic church structure in West Union, Oregon, United States.-History:The Baptist congregation was founded in 1844 and met in the home of pioneer David Thomas Lenox until 1853, when he donated of his land for a church and cemetery...
in his home, the first Baptist congregation west of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
.
Lenox donated the land for both the church and adjoining cemetery. The church is located where his original cabin was located. Lenox was selected as deacon of the congregation. Two of his daughters became the first Baptists baptized in Oregon when baptized in 1845.
In 1845, the Rev. Ezra Fisher and his family arrived at the Lenox home and spent the winter with the Lenoxes. That winter the cabin held the thirteen members of the Lenox clan, six members of the Fisher family, and a widow and her three children. The cabin measured 18 feet by 22 feet, and Lenox left the cabin in the spring for a new cabin, with the Fisher family remaining on the old cabin.
In 1847, Lenox helped to establish the Baptist Church in Oregon City. He helped establish the first Baptist Association on the west coast in 1848, and served as the clerk of that body. After farming at first, Lenox later ran a mercantile. On November 12, 1851, he helped found the West Union School District, the first in the county. He served on the first board of directors of the district along with Caleb Wilkins and James W. Chambers. Along with George W. Ebbert
George W. Ebbert
George Wood “Squire” Ebbert was a mountain man and early settler in the Oregon Country. Born in Kentucky, he settled on the Tualatin Plains in what would become Oregon and participated in the Champoeg Meetings that created a government prior to the formation of the Oregon Territory...
and Ralph Wilcox
Ralph Wilcox
Doctor Ralph Wilcox , was the first teacher and practicing doctor in Portland, Oregon, United States. He also served in the Provisional Government of Oregon, was a legislator during both the territorial period and when Oregon became a state, and a judge of Twality County during the provisional...
and several others, he was one of the first people to buy a lot in 1852 in what became the city of Hillsboro. In 1857, he and several others formed the West Union Institute to serve as a Baptist school. The school never held classes, and instead was transferred to a school in McMinnville
McMinnville, Oregon
McMinnville is the county seat and largest city of Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. According to Oregon Geographic Names, it was named by its founder, William T. Newby , an early immigrant on the Oregon Trail, for his hometown of McMinnville, Tennessee...
run by S. C. Adams and became the forerunner of Linfield College
Linfield College
Linfield College is an American private institution of higher learning located in McMinnville, Oregon, United States. As a four-year, undergraduate, liberal arts and sciences college with a campus in Portland, Oregon, it also has an adult degree program located in eight communities throughout the...
.
Political career
In the June 3, 1845, elections for the provisional government, Lenox was a candidate to represent Tuality District in the legislature. He finished sixth in the voting, with David HillDavid Hill (Oregon politician)
David Hill , was an American pioneer and settler of what became Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. He served in the Provisional Government of Oregon in both the executive and legislative branches, and later as a legislator in the first Oregon Territorial Legislature...
, Morton M. McCarver, and J. W. Smith elected to the House of Representatives instead of Lenox. From 1847 to 1848 he was a justice of the peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
in that district, and was a candidate to be a probate judge there in 1850. A Democrat, he served in that position, the only judge in the what had become Washington County
Washington County, Oregon
- Major highways :* Interstate 5* Interstate 205* U.S. Route 26* Oregon Route 6* Oregon Route 8* Oregon Route 10* Oregon Route 47* Oregon Route 99W* Oregon Route 210* Oregon Route 217* Oregon Route 219-Demographics:...
.
Later life
Lenox moved to the Eastern OregonEastern Oregon
Eastern Oregon is the eastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity, thus the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmost counties in the state; in other contexts, it includes...
city of Weston
Weston, Oregon
Weston is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. It was originally a post office called Mitchell's Station, established in February 1867. In September 1869, T.T. Lieuallen renamed the post office after his hometown, Weston, Missouri. The population was 717 at the 2000 census...
in 1870 where he purchased a farm. David Thomas Lenox died on October 18, 1874, near Weston at the age of 71. After his death he was buried on the farm, with the location of the gravesite at the Kees (or Blue Mountain) Cemetery later lost, but then rediscovered in 1924. In 1924, the Baptists of Oregon dedicated a monument in his honor at his gravesite. This group then moved his remains and their plaque in 1960 to the West Union Baptist Church Cemetery where his wife was buried.