Robert Newell (Oregon politician)
Encyclopedia
Robert "Doc" Newell was an American
politician and fur trapper in the Oregon Country
. He was a frontier doctor in what would become the U.S. state of Oregon
. A native of Ohio
, he served in the Provisional Government of Oregon
and later was a member of the Oregon State Legislature
. The Newell House Museum
, his reconstructed former home on the French Prairie
in Champoeg
, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
. In 1829, Newell joined William Sublette
and his group on a party to trap beaver. Others in the group included Joseph L. Meek
and Jedediah Smith
. He trapped fur in the region west of the Rockies
in the 1830s, and married Kitty, a Nez Perce woman in 1833. During his time as a mountain man
, he became so skilled at basic surgery and healing, despite not having professional medical training, that he earned the nickname "Doctor" or "Doc" Newell that stayed with him the rest of his life.
In 1840, he moved permanently to Oregon Country
with his brother-in-law Joseph Meek. They settled on the Tualatin Plains
, arriving on December 25 on the plains with two cattle. This was the first time that a wagon completed the journey from Fort Hall
to the Columbia River
along the Oregon Trail
. The following year, they brought the first wagon into the Willamette Valley
.
at Oregon City, Oregon
. He would later become the director of the Oregon Printing Association that grew out of the Lyceum and started the first newspaper west of the Rocky Mountains
, the Oregon Spectator
. At the May 2, 1843, settler meeting
Newell voted in favor of creating a provisional government in the region. The vote passed 52 to 50 and a Provisional Legislature
was created. Newell served in that body from 1843 until it was replaced with the Oregon Territorial Legislature
in 1849, although he resigned during the final session. During the 1847 meeting of the group, Newell served as Speaker of the body.
Newell’s first wife died in 1845, and re-married in 1846 to Rebecca Newman. After the Whitman Massacre
and during the ensuing Cayuse War
, he was appointed as a peace commissioner. In that role, on March 7, 1848, he negotiated to keep the Nez Perce tribe out of the war. Newell was then appointed as Indian agent
for the tribes located south of the Columbia River
in the Oregon Territory
before moving to California
to mine during the California Gold Rush
in 1849. In 1850, he returned to Oregon where he platted the Champoeg
townsite with Andre Longtain. From 1855 to 1856 he was the commander of a company of army scouts during the Rogue River Wars
. In 1860, Newell was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives
after Oregon achieved statehood in 1859. He served as a Democrat representing Marion County
. Most of Champoeg was wiped away during an 1861 flood
, although Newell's house, situated on high ground, was one of the few to survive. Newell almost bankrupted himself taking in victims of the flood.
flood, Newell moved to Lapwai, Idaho
where he worked as an interpreter and commissioner for the army outpost at that location from 1862 to 1868. His second wife died in May 1867, and he married a third and final time in 1869 to Mrs. Ward. In 1868, he went to Washington, D.C.
, along with several Indian chiefs, to attempt to amend some treaties between the United States and the Native American
tribes. United States President Andrew Johnson
then appointed him as an Indian agent that year. Robert Newell died in November 1869 at Lapwai, Idaho
, from a heart attack. He fathered five children by his first wife, and eleven by his second wife. After his death, several Native American tribes granted him 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) of land in what is now Lewiston, with the deed dated June 9, 1871.
house is located in Champoeg State Heritage Area
. It is run as a house museum
by the Oregon State Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution
, who rebuilt the badly deteriorated house in time for the Oregon Centennial
in 1959. The house retains some of the original architectural details, including some of the windows.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician and fur trapper 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...
. He was a frontier doctor in what would become the U.S. 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...
. A native of Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, he served in 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...
and later was a member of the Oregon State Legislature
Oregon Legislative Assembly
The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the House of Representatives, with 60 members elected to...
. The Newell House Museum
Newell House Museum
The Newell House Museum, also known as the Robert Newell House, is located in Champoeg, Oregon, United States. Built by Oregon politician Robert Newell in 1852, the house was acquired in 1952 by the Oregon State Society, Daughters of the American Revolution...
, his reconstructed former home on the French Prairie
French Prairie
French Prairie is a prairie located in Marion County, Oregon, United States, in the Willamette Valley between the Willamette River and the Pudding River, north of Salem...
in 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...
, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Early life
Newell was born on March 30, 1807, in Zanesville, OhioZanesville, Ohio
Zanesville is a city in and the county seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. The population was 25,586 at the 2000 census.Zanesville was named after Ebenezer Zane, who had constructed Zane's Trace, a pioneer road through present-day Ohio...
. In 1829, Newell joined William Sublette
William Sublette
William Lewis Sublette Born near Stamford, Lincoln County, Kentucky on September 21, 1798. Died on July 23, 1845 in Pittsburg. W.L. Sublette was a fur trapper, pioneer and mountain man, who with his brothers after 1823 became an agent of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company exploiting the riches of the...
and his group on a party to trap beaver. Others in the group included Joseph L. Meek
Joseph Meek
Joseph Lafayette "Joe" Meek was a trapper, law enforcement official, and politician in the Oregon Country and later Oregon Territory of the United States. A pioneer involved in the fur trade before settling in the Tualatin Valley, Meek would play a prominent role at the Champoeg Meetings of 1843...
and Jedediah Smith
Jedediah Smith
Jedediah Strong Smith was a hunter, trapper, fur trader, trailblazer, author, cartographer, cattleman, and explorer of the Rocky Mountains, the American West Coast and the Southwest during the 19th century...
. He trapped fur in the region west of the Rockies
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...
in the 1830s, and married Kitty, a Nez Perce woman in 1833. During his time as a mountain man
Mountain man
Mountain men were trappers and explorers who roamed the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through the 1880s where they were instrumental in opening up the various Emigrant Trails allowing Americans in the east to settle the new territories of the far west by organized wagon trains...
, he became so skilled at basic surgery and healing, despite not having professional medical training, that he earned the nickname "Doctor" or "Doc" Newell that stayed with him the rest of his life.
In 1840, he moved permanently to 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...
with his brother-in-law Joseph Meek. They 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...
, arriving on December 25 on the plains with two cattle. This was the first time that a wagon completed the journey from 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...
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...
along 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...
. The following year, they brought the first wagon into 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...
.
Oregon
In 1842, Newell helped to establish the Oregon LyceumOregon Lyceum
The Oregon Lyceum or Pioneer Lyceum and Literary Club was founded in Oregon City, Oregon Country around 1840. The forum was a prominent fixture for the leading pioneer settlers during its brief existence...
at Oregon City, Oregon
Oregon City, Oregon
Oregon City was the first city in the United States west of the Rocky Mountains to be incorporated. It is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon...
. He would later become the director of the Oregon Printing Association that grew out of the Lyceum and started the first newspaper 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...
, the Oregon Spectator
Oregon Spectator
The Oregon Spectator, was a newspaper published from 1846 to 1855 in Oregon City of what was first the Oregon Country and later the Oregon Territory of the United States. The Spectator was the first American newspaper to be published west of the Rocky Mountains and was the main paper of the region...
. At the May 2, 1843, settler 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...
Newell voted in favor of creating a provisional government in the region. The vote passed 52 to 50 and a Provisional Legislature
Provisional Legislature of Oregon
The Provisional Legislature of Oregon was the single-chamber legislative body of the Provisional Government of Oregon. It served the Oregon Country of the Pacific Northwest of North America from 1843 until early 1849 at a time when no country had sovereignty over the region...
was created. Newell served in that body from 1843 until it was replaced with the Oregon Territorial Legislature
Oregon Territorial Legislature
Oregon’s Territorial Legislature was a bicameral legislative body created by the United States Congress in 1848 as the legislative branch of the government of the Oregon Territory...
in 1849, although he resigned during the final session. During the 1847 meeting of the group, Newell served as Speaker of the body.
Newell’s first wife died in 1845, and re-married in 1846 to Rebecca Newman. After the Whitman Massacre
Whitman massacre
The Whitman massacre was the murder in the Oregon Country on November 29, 1847 of U.S. missionaries Dr. Marcus Whitman and his wife Narcissa Whitman, along with eleven others. They were killed by Cayuse and Umatilla Indians. The incident began the Cayuse War...
and during the ensuing Cayuse War
Cayuse War
The Cayuse War was an armed conflict that took place in the Northwestern United States from 1847 to 1855 between the Cayuse people of the region and the United States Government and local Euro-American settlers...
, he was appointed as a peace commissioner. In that role, on March 7, 1848, he negotiated to keep the Nez Perce tribe out of the war. Newell was then appointed as 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....
for the tribes located south of 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...
in the Oregon Territory
Oregon 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...
before moving 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...
to mine during the California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
in 1849. In 1850, he returned to Oregon where he platted the 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...
townsite with Andre Longtain. From 1855 to 1856 he was the commander of a company of army scouts during the Rogue River Wars
Rogue River Wars
The Rogue River Wars was an armed conflict between the US Army, local militias and volunteers, and the Native American tribes commonly grouped under the designation of Rogue River Indians, in the Rogue River Valley area of what today is southern Oregon in 1855–56...
. In 1860, Newell was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives
Oregon House of Representatives
The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 57,000. The House meets at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem....
after Oregon achieved statehood in 1859. He served as a Democrat representing Marion County
Marion County, Oregon
Marion County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was originally named the Champooick District, after Champoeg, a meeting place on the Willamette River. On September 3, 1849, the territorial legislature renamed it in honor of Francis Marion, a Continental Army general of the...
. Most of Champoeg was wiped away during an 1861 flood
Great Flood of 1862
The Great Flood of 1862 or Noachian Deluge was the largest flood in the recorded history of Oregon, Nevada and California, occurring from December 1861 to January 1862. It was preceded by weeks of continuous rains that began in Oregon in November 1861 and continued into January 1862...
, although Newell's house, situated on high ground, was one of the few to survive. Newell almost bankrupted himself taking in victims of the flood.
Later years
After the 1861 Willamette RiverWillamette 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...
flood, Newell moved to Lapwai, Idaho
Lapwai, Idaho
Lapwai is a city in Nez Perce County, Idaho, United States. The population was 1,137 at the 2010 census. It is the seat of government of the Nez Perce Indian Reservation.Lapwai is part of the Lewiston, ID-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
where he worked as an interpreter and commissioner for the army outpost at that location from 1862 to 1868. His second wife died in May 1867, and he married a third and final time in 1869 to Mrs. Ward. In 1868, he went to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, along with several Indian chiefs, to attempt to amend some treaties between the United States and the Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
tribes. United States President Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
then appointed him as an Indian agent that year. Robert Newell died in November 1869 at Lapwai, Idaho
Lapwai, Idaho
Lapwai is a city in Nez Perce County, Idaho, United States. The population was 1,137 at the 2010 census. It is the seat of government of the Nez Perce Indian Reservation.Lapwai is part of the Lewiston, ID-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, from a heart attack. He fathered five children by his first wife, and eleven by his second wife. After his death, several Native American tribes granted him 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) of land in what is now Lewiston, with the deed dated June 9, 1871.
Legacy
A replica of Robert Newell's 1852 Gothic RevivalCarpenter Gothic
Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic, and Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massing applied to wooden structures built by house-carpenters...
house is located in Champoeg State Heritage Area
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...
. It is run as a house museum
Historic house museums
A historic house museum is a house that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home...
by the Oregon State Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution
Daughters of the American Revolution
The Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based membership organization for women who are descended from a person involved in United States' independence....
, who rebuilt the badly deteriorated house in time for the Oregon Centennial
Oregon Centennial
The Oregon Centennial was the 100th anniversary of the statehood of the U.S. state of Oregon. The day of the anniversary was February 14, 1959, but centennial events took place throughout the year...
in 1959. The house retains some of the original architectural details, including some of the windows.
External links
- Historic images of Robert Newell and the Newell House from Salem Public Library