Elijah White
Encyclopedia
Dr. Elijah White was a missionary and agent for the United States government in Oregon Country
during the mid-19th century. A trained physician from New York State, he first traveled to Oregon as part of the Methodist Mission
in the Willamette Valley
. He would return to the region after a falling-out with mission leader Jason Lee
as the leader of one of the first large wagon trains across the Oregon Trail
and as a sub-Indian agent
of the federal government. In Oregon he used his authority to regulate affairs between the Natives and settlers, and even between settlers. White would leave the region in 1845 as a messenger for the Provisional Government of Oregon
to the United States Congress
, returning in 1850 before leaving again for California
in the early 1860s.
, in 1806. There he received his education, including medical training at a school of medicine in Syracuse, New York
. Prior to 1836 he would marry, and the couple would have a son named Jason as well as adopting another son named George. In 1836, White accepted an appointment to join Jason Lee in Oregon Country at the Methodist Church’s mission. White and his family sailed to the Sandwich Islands
aboard the vessel Hamilton, arriving in July 1836. Others on the ship bound for the mission included William H. Wilson
, Alanson Beers
, and Miss Anna Maria Pittman who would become Lee’s second wife. On the islands both White and his wife taught to the Native Islanders until May 1837 when they continued on to Oregon.
along the Willamette River
at Mission Bottom. His infant son Jason drowned in 1838 after a canoe his wife and David Leslie
were traveling in flipped over on the Columbia River
. His other son also drowned that year while trying to ford the Willamette River. Elijah White and Jason Lee would develop animosity towards each other and differences in opinion on the direction of the mission leading to White leaving in 1841 to return to the East. In 1842, White led the first wagon train over the Oregon Trail
to Oregon that had more than 100 people. Trapper and later politician Osborne Russell
served as guide to this migration. The party set out on May 16, 1842, from Elm Grove, Missouri
, with 112 people, 18 wagons, and a variety of livestock. Along the journey, some in the migration grew wary of White’s leadership and L. B. Hastings was selected as leader for a time until the party split into two groups. François X. Matthieu
along with several other Canadians joined the party along the way to Oregon
. White arrived at Fort Vancouver
ahead of the main party, arriving on September 20, 1842.
White also returned as an official agent of the United States Government, after appointment as sub-Indian agent. Also in 1842 in his official capacity he brokered a code of conduct for the Nez Perce tribe as well as placating tensions with the Walla Walla and Cayuse tribes near the Whitman Mission in the eastern section of the region. In Oregon he served as teacher to William J. Bailey, training Bailey as a doctor. On September 22, 1842, White organized a meeting at Champoeg
where he informed inform the settlers that he had been commissioned by the United States War Department as a sub-Indian Agent and implied that the pioneers could select him as their leader. He appointed judges to deal with disputes between Native Americans and United States citizens, and even between citizens.
In 1843, White was selected as one of twelve members of the second Wolf Meeting
to determine if the settlers wanted to form a government while waiting for the Oregon question to be resolved. He was not involved in the final meetings, but in May 1843 the settlers voted 52 to 50 in favor of creating the Provisional Government of Oregon
. The following year White was involved with the Cockstock incident when the provisional government’s recorder George LeBreton
was killed by a Native American by the name of Cockstock. He had tried to capture Cockstock prior to the bloodshed, and then worked to resolve tensions between the settlers and Native Americans after Cockstock and two settlers were killed. White then discovered a pass through the Oregon Coast Range
to what is now Newport, Oregon
in 1845 before leaving the region with a petition from the Provisional Government to the United States Congress
that same year.
in 1850 to promote the community of Pacific City, Washington along the Columbia River. Located near what is now Ilwaco, he partnered with James D. Holman to sell property to settlers. White received a second commission as an Indian agent in 1861 for the region west of the Rocky Mountains
and moved to California
. Doctor Elijah White died on April 3, 1879, at the age of 73.
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...
during the mid-19th century. A trained physician from New York State, he first traveled to Oregon as part of the Methodist Mission
Methodist Mission
The Methodist Mission was founded in Oregon Country in 1834 by the Reverend Jason Lee. The mission was started to educate the Native Americans in the Willamette Valley and grew into an important center for politics and economics in the early settlement period of Oregon.-Foundation:In 1831, several...
in the Willamette Valley
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...
. He would return to the region after a falling-out with mission leader Jason Lee
Jason Lee (missionary)
Jason Lee , an American missionary and pioneer, was born on a farm near Stanstead, Quebec. He was the first of the Oregon missionaries and helped establish the early foundation of a provisional government in the Oregon Country....
as the leader of one of the first large wagon trains across 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...
and as a sub-Indian agent
Indian agent
In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with Native American tribes on behalf of the U.S. government.-Indian agents:*Leander Clark was agent for the Sac and Fox in Iowa beginning in 1866....
of the federal government. In Oregon he used his authority to regulate affairs between the Natives and settlers, and even between settlers. White would leave the region in 1845 as a messenger for the Provisional Government of Oregon
Provisional Government of Oregon
The Provisional Government of Oregon was a popularly elected government created in the Oregon Country, in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It existed from May 2, 1843 until March 3, 1849. Created at a time when no country had sovereignty over the region, this independent government...
to the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, returning in 1850 before leaving again for California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in the early 1860s.
Early life
White was born in New YorkNew 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...
, in 1806. There he received his education, including medical training at a school of medicine in Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
. Prior to 1836 he would marry, and the couple would have a son named Jason as well as adopting another son named George. In 1836, White accepted an appointment to join Jason Lee in Oregon Country at the Methodist Church’s mission. White and his family sailed to the Sandwich Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
aboard the vessel Hamilton, arriving in July 1836. Others on the ship bound for the mission included William H. Wilson
William H. Wilson
William Henry Wilson was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.-Career:...
, Alanson Beers
Alanson Beers
Alanson Beers was an American pioneer and politician in the early days of the settlement of the Oregon Country. A blacksmith by trade, he was a reinforcement for the Methodist Mission in what would become the state of Oregon...
, and Miss Anna Maria Pittman who would become Lee’s second wife. On the islands both White and his wife taught to the Native Islanders until May 1837 when they continued on to Oregon.
Oregon
After arriving the family took up residence at the Methodist MissionMethodist Mission
The Methodist Mission was founded in Oregon Country in 1834 by the Reverend Jason Lee. The mission was started to educate the Native Americans in the Willamette Valley and grew into an important center for politics and economics in the early settlement period of Oregon.-Foundation:In 1831, several...
along 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...
at Mission Bottom. His infant son Jason drowned in 1838 after a canoe his wife and David Leslie
David Leslie (Oregon politician)
Reverend David Leslie was an American missionary and pioneer in what became the state of Oregon. A native of New Hampshire, he joined Jason Lee as a missionary at the Methodist Mission in the Oregon Country in 1836. In that region he participated in the early movement to start a government and his...
were traveling in flipped over on 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...
. His other son also drowned that year while trying to ford the Willamette River. Elijah White and Jason Lee would develop animosity towards each other and differences in opinion on the direction of the mission leading to White leaving in 1841 to return to the East. In 1842, White led 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 Oregon that had more than 100 people. Trapper and later politician Osborne Russell
Osborne Russell
Osborne Russell was a mountain man and politician who helped form the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. He was born in Maine....
served as guide to this migration. The party set out on May 16, 1842, from Elm Grove, Missouri
Elm Grove, Missouri
Elm Grove, Missouri is cited in historical accounts as the site of the start of the first Oregon Trail expedition. However it is more likely that the starting point was just across the Kansas border from Missouri at Elm Grove, Kansas in Olathe, Kansas....
, with 112 people, 18 wagons, and a variety of livestock. Along the journey, some in the migration grew wary of White’s leadership and L. B. Hastings was selected as leader for a time until the party split into two groups. François X. Matthieu
François X. Matthieu
François X. Matthieu was a French Canadian settler of the Oregon Country who was one of the people involved in forming the provisional government of what would become the U.S. state of Oregon...
along with several other Canadians joined the party along the way to 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...
. White arrived at 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...
ahead of the main party, arriving on September 20, 1842.
White also returned as an official agent of the United States Government, after appointment as sub-Indian agent. Also in 1842 in his official capacity he brokered a code of conduct for the Nez Perce tribe as well as placating tensions with the Walla Walla and Cayuse tribes near the Whitman Mission in the eastern section of the region. In Oregon he served as teacher to William J. Bailey, training Bailey as a doctor. On September 22, 1842, White organized a meeting at Champoeg
Champoeg, Oregon
Champoeg is a former town in the U.S. state of Oregon. Now a ghost town, it was an important settlement in the Willamette Valley in the early 1840s. It is positioned halfway between Oregon City and Salem and the site of the first provisional government of the Oregon Country...
where he informed inform the settlers that he had been commissioned by the United States War Department as a sub-Indian Agent and implied that the pioneers could select him as their leader. He appointed judges to deal with disputes between Native Americans and United States citizens, and even between citizens.
In 1843, White was selected as one of twelve members of the second Wolf Meeting
Champoeg Meetings
The Champoeg Meetings in Oregon Country were the first attempts at governing in the Pacific Northwest by United States European-American pioneers. Prior to this, the closest entity to a government was the Hudson's Bay Company, mainly through Dr...
to determine if the settlers wanted to form a government while waiting for the Oregon question to be resolved. He was not involved in the final meetings, but in May 1843 the settlers voted 52 to 50 in favor of creating the Provisional Government of Oregon
Provisional Government of Oregon
The Provisional Government of Oregon was a popularly elected government created in the Oregon Country, in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It existed from May 2, 1843 until March 3, 1849. Created at a time when no country had sovereignty over the region, this independent government...
. The following year White was involved with the Cockstock incident when the provisional government’s recorder George LeBreton
George LeBreton
George W. LeBreton was a pioneer politician in the Oregon Country and served as the official recorder in the Provisional Government of Oregon....
was killed by a Native American by the name of Cockstock. He had tried to capture Cockstock prior to the bloodshed, and then worked to resolve tensions between the settlers and Native Americans after Cockstock and two settlers were killed. White then discovered a pass through the Oregon Coast Range
Oregon Coast Range
The Oregon Coast Range, often called simply the Coast Range and sometimes the Pacific Coast Range, is a mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, in the U.S. state of Oregon along the Pacific Ocean...
to what is now Newport, Oregon
Newport, Oregon
Newport is a city in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. It was incorporated in 1882, though the name dates back to the establishment of a post office in 1868...
in 1845 before leaving the region with a petition from the Provisional Government to the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
that same year.
Later life
Elijah White returned to what had become the Oregon TerritoryOregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries , the region was...
in 1850 to promote the community of Pacific City, Washington along the Columbia River. Located near what is now Ilwaco, he partnered with James D. Holman to sell property to settlers. White received a second commission as an Indian agent in 1861 for the region 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...
and moved to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Doctor Elijah White died on April 3, 1879, at the age of 73.