A Letter from La Grande Ronde, 1862

Nancy Glenn

INTRODUCTION

In the spring of 1862 when Nancy Cordelia and her husband William Stone Glenn, of Pleasantville, Iowa, were packing wagons for the long journey to Oregon — along with a host of their neighbors — little did they think that they would spend most of the rest of their lives within a few miles of the Oregon Trail in that far-off land. After a long tedious trip the Pleasantville wagon train arrived in what the French Canadian voyageurs had named La Grande Ronde at an altitude of 2788 feet amidst the Blue Mountains, in the state of Oregon. The valley was then and is now a thing of beauty, a round alpine meadow twenty miles across surrounded by towering fault block mountains.

When Nancy Beckwith had met William Glenn, he was a widower, his first wife having been Maria Yates Glenn. There was one son by that marriage: Tolbert, who was 18-years-old at the time of the 1862 journey. The wedding of William and Nancy took place in 1851. She was 20 years old, having been born in Lake County, Ohio, on November 24, 1831. The new husband was born in Barron County, Tennessee, on March 4, 1815. He was an energetic merchant, established general stores wherever they settled. On the journey west there were five other children: Amanda M., age 10; Emma A., 8; William R., 6; Arthur W., 3; and Charles, one-year-old. There would be five more born in Oregon.

The Pleasantville wagon train, of which William Glenn was elected captain, traveled the usual route over the Platte road to Oregon. In Wyoming they took the newly surveyed Landers cutoff. Although they had no troubles with the Indians, there was Indian-white conflict just ahead of them in southern Idaho.

Upon arrival in the Grande Ronde valley, they settled near Summerville just north of present La Grande. They lived there until they moved to the mining town of Eldorado in Malheur County in 1868. There William opened another store; he did the same in a brand new town which he named Glennville — now a ghost of its former self. The Glenns moved once more to the new town of Vale on the Malheur River. The little town was literally astride the Oregon Trail, and was the county seat of the huge new Malheur County. Vale’s main center of business was really Boise, Idaho, some 75 miles to the southeast.

So it was that for the rest of their lives William and Nancy Glenn’s activities centered in Vale, a focal point of huge ranges and ranches, with livestock as the principal source of wealth. William died there and was buried in the Vale cemetery on May 7, 1890, at age 75. After his death “Mother Glenn” as she was fondly called, moved to Portland, there to stay with her oldest daughter, Mrs. Amanda Rinehart. The Portland Oregonian published her obituary in its April 18, 1909, edition, saying she died surrounded by four of her children on April 15th. The final words of the obituary read “The remains were taken to Vale on yesterday’s train and the funeral will be held at Vale this afternoon, when she will be laid to rest beside her husband.”

Decendants of William and Nancy Glenn have treasured the letter printed below and have been most cooperative in supplying information about Nancy and her family.

Woodrow Glenn of Libby, Montana, has supplied us with several pictures of members of the family. We have used one of the portraits of Nancy Glenn from this collection. He has also sent us photocopies of some of her other letters. This made possible comparison and verification of her handwriting.

Rod Linkous of Seattle has the precious original letter and provided us with a photocopy of the handwritten document.

We appreciate also the help given us by John W. Evans, librarian of Eastern Washington State College in La Grande, Oregon, in our pursuit of information about the Glenn family.

The letter was published in 1950 by Jacob Ray Gregg in his book, Pioneer Days in Malheur County. It was in the following up on information in this rare book that we were led over a devious trail to the original letter. The published letter was mainly faithful to the document, but there were several words left out and mis-copied passages.

PERSONS NAMED IN NANCY GLENN’S LETTER

(Note: Others are mentioned, but the references are so meager
— usually a surname only — that we cannot identify them)

David Cassidy was a 23-year-old single man, oldest son of Samuel and Mary Cassidy of Marion Co., Iowa. They had moved from Ohio to Iowa when David was in his teens and had farmed there over the years. U.S. Census, 1860, Marion Co., Iowa.

Jefferson and Esther Hilles are listed in the 1860 census of Marion Co., Iowa, also five children. He was a physician. The Glenn letter tells of the death of the youngest child, probably a 4-year-old girl named Sylvia.

William Kincaid was living in LaGrande, Oregon, when the 1870 census was compiled. He was a 33-year-old farmer, a single man.

John and Susanna Lewis had farmed in Iowa for several years. They were the parents of six children. The 1870 census taker listed them as 55 years old, farming in Summerville precinct, north of LaGrande in Union Co. Oregon. There were two sons, J.A., 19, a “teamster,” and John, Jr., 22, a “hostler.” One daughter, Jane, was the wife of Alpheus Terwillger; the second daughter, Maria, was the wife of Terry Tuttle. They are listed under their husbands’ surnames below.

“The Logans” were members of a large clan of that name living in Marion Co., Iowa, according to the 1860 census. The older ones had been born in Kentucky and emigrated northward, leaving the old South behind. They went first to Indiana, then to Iowa, from which place numerous members of the families migrated to northeastern Oregon.

Fletcher Pitman is so-far unidentified. He was one of a large clan of well-off farm families in the Pleasantville region of Marion Co., Iowa. The 1860 census lists them all, but there is no Fletcher Pitman among them. Probably he was a young single man, footloose and free, not staying in one place long enough for the census to catch up with him. Toward the western end of the Oregon Trail he might end up in the Idaho or Montana mines or in any of the western slope territories or states.

Alpheus and Jane Terwilliger were traveling over the trail with their three children. The family had followed the usual trek for residents of Iowa. From Kentucky they had moved north to Ohio, then to Indiana, and on to Pleasantville, where they farmed. When citizens of that town took the trail to eastern Oregon, they joined the caravan. Jane Terwilliger was the daughter of John and Susanna Lewis, listed above. An Illustrated History of Union and Wallowa Counties, (n.p., 1902), pp. 449–50. They settled near Summerville north of La Grande in Union Co., Oregon.

Andres F. (age 31) and Mary C. (age 29) Titus were not well-off farmers like the other families. They were a young couple with three children, William L., age 7; George, 5; and Margaret, 3. According to the 1860 census of Marion Co., Iowa, they had no property in land and only $150 in personal property. They disappear from view after their mention in 1862 by Nancy Glenn.

Terry and Maria Tuttle were traveling west with their four children. Maria was the daughter of John and Susanna Lewis, listed above, their children were John, age 8; Adin R., 3; and a younger child, whose name we don’t know, who died and was buried along the trail. They settled in Union Co., Oregon, near Summerville, on 320 acres. There they lived out their lives. Terry Tuttle was also a school teacher. He was Union County’s Superintendent of Schools for a period. Later on in life he was county assessor. In 1880 he was elected as State Representative for the county. An Illustrated History of Union and Wallowa Counties (n.p., 1902) pp. 345–46.

John Vallet, whom Nancy referred to as “Mr. Vollett,” was a single man who settled in Marion Co., Oregon, near the town of Silverton.

THE LETTER

Grand Round Valley Oregon
Oct the 8 621

Dear Father Mother sisters, and brothers after so long a silence I am again permitted to write a few lines to you to let you know that we are all yet upon the land among the liveing I doubt not but you have had many fears concerning our safety crossing the plains if you have heard of the many depredations committed by the Indians, but we are all here but Wm and Tolbert they started day before yesterday down to the dalls [The Dalles] 180 miles after a load of provision, and all well except myself I have the summer complaint We arrived at the upper end of this Valley the first day of this month the next day we went acrost over to a little town called Grand Round City2 not knowing where we would stoop [sic] or where we would spend the winter. we stopped there hearing that Fletcher Pittman and John Lewis had stopped about 15 miles below us The next day Robert Logan, Isaac Glenn and Wm went down to see them Found that Fletcher had gone after provision the rest of his folks have gone to Wilamet Valley he staid on account of wintering his cattle Pittmans lost a great many of their cattle had to by about $300 worth on the road when They got here Fletcher bought the rest out and hailed them down to the dalls where they would take a boat for Portland. We received your kind letter at Ft Larimie and were truly glad to hear from you but sorry to hear of the deaths among our old neighbors We also sent you a letter from there and expected to have an opportunity of sending one every week or two but were disappointed in that as in many other things as they moved the stage stock from there on another road and immediately after we passed there We start from there out into the black hills and I thought they were the most beautiful of any thing I had seen on the road. They reminded me of the dear old home of my childhood3 and soon the unbidden tear was finding its way down my cheek. yes I do often think of that place and some dear ones there. But not so often as I do of my once happy home in Iowa and the dear ones there that such a short time ago could sooth and cheer my heart by their presence. but now what a change No Father nor Mother sister nor brother to cheer my home. Think of me when you enjoy each others society and think also what a blessing it is to be where you can see each other often but I do not despair I hope to meet you all again this side of the grave if the Lord will but if not I hope we may be able to say his will be done When we left Sweetwater we took Landerses4 cut off represented to be a saving of about 100 miles and a good road which we found to be so except where the high water had washed and spoiled the road. We had not traveled more than 50 or 60 miles on this road until we came up to where the Indians had stolen some emigrants horses and in trying to get them back the Indians had killed one man and badly wounded two more this was done but a few days before we got there You nor any one else would have thought that there could ever have been such a good road made over such a country but there has been a great deal of work done on Landerses cut off I wish I could have had a chance to wrote some more on the road as I cannot recollect exactly every place that I want to tell you about — Well we came on and one day we had just got up a big hill and there was buried a man found by some of the emigrants supposed to be killed by the Indians he was buried but six inches under ground for they could not move him he had been dead so long but we believed he had been killed by white men as the ferrymen at Ft Hall5 could tell all about him and how much money he had they said he had five thousand dollars and his name was Camel from Denver but he was killed by the Indians as there was a company of emigrants crossed at Ft Hall and came down on the north side of snake river and saw an Indian with a nice gold watch and it had Camels name inside of it and one of them traded something to the Indian and got the watch he has since came to powder river6 where he met with Camels brother and let him have the watch they said also that the Indians had plenty of twenty dollar gold pieces coined at Denver and plenty of treasury notes they do not know any thing about the value of money they would give a $20 gold piece for a blanket or any thing of that kind so the Indians likely killed him but no doubt in my mind but there are a plenty of white men on the plains that are as bad as an Indian dare be and I think some of them were there at the snake river ferry near Ft Hall Well we came on and before we got to Ft Hall we came to where some men from Denver had been attacked by the Indians there was but six men and it seems to me they said there was 30 or 40 Indians they killed 4 of the men and badly wounded another so badly that he soon died one man alone made his escape went on and overtook a train and some of them went back and found the dead bodies of those 4 men that had been killed they were all scalped they buried them all in one grave but the men that had been wounded they could not find they were killed on Saturday we passed there the tuesday following we had a company of about 40 wagons and some of our men were walking all the time sometimes they would be out a half mile from the road this morning as they were walking along about a quarter of a mile from the road they discovered the dead body of a man they sent to have the captain that was William come down and say what they should do with him they brought him up near the road where his clothes were searched to see if they could discover what his name was but they could find nothing here they buried him leaving his coat and boots I think on the grave thinking perhaps some one might recognize them I told you there was but one escaped but as we afterwards found out this man that we buried had his wife with him she got away and those ferrymen at Ft Hall were mormons they said they sent her to Salt lake telling her they had found her husband and buried him as we were traveling along on burnt river we met a large train of packers going to Boise river prospecting they said there had been a company there and had been driven off by the Indians they think there will be as rich mines discovered there as on Salmon river Well among this train was the man that had made his escaped from the Indians he told Wm, all about it7 he had heard that our co had found and buried that man he thanked them very much said he would write to the mans wife and tell her about it He said he thought they killed twelve or 14 of the Indians but they had taken them all away before they got back and every thing they had in their wagons that they wanted and one wagon Well we came on and between Ft Hall and Salmon falls we came to where a company of 13 wagons had been attacked by the savages we thought by that they had run and left their wagons and the Indians had taken what they wanted for from the quantity of feathers there they must have emptied as much as 6 or seven good beds and there was lots of things scattered around I tell you some of our women began to be a little frightened Well 4 or 5 miles from here we came to where there was five men buried that they had killed out of the same train and soon where a woman was buried that was wounded at the same time.

Saturday the 11 [of October] Well I will now tell you something about the old neighbors that left Iowa last spring Uncle Alonzo Harry Dr. Williams Mr. Vollett A Terwilegar [Terwilliger] Terry Tuttle Harrison Logan stopped up at the powder river mines about 50 miles from where we are now — about 30 miles from the upper end of this Valley P. M Logan Uncle Me Mr Lefolet [La-Follette] Mr Titus Mr Rhodes Thomas Glenn R. Glenn S Glenn have started for Wilamet valley He left his loos cattle here and calculates to send his work cattle back to have them wintered here Mr Coon I Glen and our selves are here Tell Mrs Casady or Rachiel that David is with them and they are all well They had bad luck with their stock lost all they started with but one yoke of cattle and one cow — we lost 2 steers This is one of the most beautiful valleys in the world surrounded by high mountains William thinks it the most beautiful valley he ever saw and a plenty of the nicest timber and the best springs in the world almost I wish you were all here and had provision enough to last until you could raise some But nearly all the emigrants that has went down into Oregon this year intend coming back as soon as they can get back in the spring and I expect the land will then all be claimed up there is a real good valley on powder river we thought some of stopping there but concluded it would be to cold there this winter there is also a good valley on the Umatilla river Wm liked the country down where Pittman and lewis was so well that he sent us down the day he started we are all camped close together and have not one of us got a house put up yet Wm Kinkaid is at work for us and Mr Coon was going down with John to bring back his cattle so Tol went in his place and Bill and him have been putting up hay they say cattle will not need any hay but we thought we had rather not risk it. girls I have got to be quite a mule driver I drove a good deal on the road I will now tell you a little about what I have heard of the Salmon river gold mines we concluded not to go there this fall as we heard at Ft hall that we could not get there only by comeing down past Ft Wal lah Wal lah and then we must pack 30 miles Well I saw a woman that had just come from there I saw her in Powder river valley she said she lived in Wilamet valley when she was at home her and her husband was packing to powder river mines she said the mines were as rich there as had ever been reprisented to be she said she had seen them get from one pan of dirt 30 or 40 dollars she told me also that there was a man went there that had lived 3 years with them in oregon and he had sent a good deal of gold dust back by express and when he started home he had a leather sack made on purpose not quite so wide as a 50 lb flour sack but as long and he had it plum full of little sacks of gold dust when he started home she said he was almost afraid but the gold mines there are not very extensive I think they say 8 miles square cover the whole mines that will pay to work at all. a great many think its powder river mines will pay pretty well Wm thinks there is a great deal of good mining country about burnt river powder river and all along there I will now give you the prices of provision here. we had a plenty to have lasted us a year but we sold a good deal of it when we concluded not to go to Salmon river there was a great many out of groceries on the road at Grand round city flour is 15 dollars per hundred bacon 30 cts per lb. beef 8 to 12 onions 20 cts per lb potatoes 10 coffee 50 sugar 40 tea 80 cts to $1.00 per lb turnips 5 cts per lb We all on the road our company had good luck as to sickness until we came on to snake river here a good many took the diarea and Harrison Logans buried their youngest child, and in about a week Terry Tuttles and Mr. Tittuses their youngest, one died in the night the other the next morning were buried side by side I have not wrote half what I want to but I shall have to quit for this time remember us all to Serepta and Carlosse children I should like to know if the boys have got home from the Peak I have neither heard a word from home nor David and Mary since we were at Ft Larimie give my best respects to Uncle Edwin and aunt Paulina and family and all the rest of our relatives there it is of no use to name them all for I should be glad to see or hear from any of them I want you to write as soon as you get this write a long letter Farewell

Nancy C Glenn to Wm and Mary A Beckwith
brothers and sisters one and all

PS direct your letters to Ft Wallah Wallah or Grand Round Valley

1 The date of arrival is given as October 1 in Jacob Ray Gregg, Pioneer Days in Malheur County (Los Angeles, 1950), p. 103.

2 The full name of the valley is La Grande Ronde. It is an attractive, grass covered valley in present Union Country, Oregon, right on the old Oregon trail. It was named by French Canadian trappers of fur trade days. The city of La Grande is in about as scenic a locale as any town in northeastern Oregon. A post office was established there on May 28, 1863. Lewis A. McArthur, Oregon Geographic (Portland, 1982), 5^th edition, revised and enlarged by Lewis L. McArthur, pp. 327 and 426. The pioneer Oregonians were very ingenious at mis-spelling this French name as will be seen in Nancy Glenn’s letter.

3 Lake Co., Ohio.

4 See the diary of Martha Missouri Moore, Volume VII above, p. 282, fn. 11. Colonel Frederick West Lander surveyed this cutoff in 1857–8. W. Turrentine Jackson, Wagon Roads West (Berkeley, 1952) pp. 207–8; also E. Douglas Branch, “ Frederick West Lander, Road-Builder,” Mississippi Valley. Hist. Rev., XVI (Sept. 1929), pp. 172–87.

5 Jennie Broughton Brown, Fort Hall on the Oregon Trail (Caldwell, Id.), says this was named “Gibson’s Ferry,” but she tells nothing of his given name. She quotes Alexander Toponce, Reminiscences (Ogden, 1923), p. 346, as saying Gibson was “afterwards a great prize fighter.”

6 The Powder River gold rush began in 1862 when James W. Virtue discovered the precious metal about 12 miles east of present Baker, Oregon. Thousands of miners rushed in. This area was a major gold producer well into the 20th century. Howard M. Corning, Dictionary of Oregon History (Portland, 1956), p. 203.

7 This Indian attack happened a few miles northeast of present-day “Massacre Rocks,” so-named in the 1920’s for the event of August 9–10, 1861. Although the rock structures look as if they might have been ideal for a sneak attack, the event did not take place at the rocks. The area is today an Idaho State Park of 566 acres, about ten miles southwest of American Falls. Most of the park is sandwiched between U.S. Highway 30 and the Snake River. The most even-handed treatment of the event is in the National Park Service’s Comprehensive Management and Use Plan of the Oregon National Historic Trail, Appendix III (Washington, D.C., Aug. 1981), pp. 258–9, which reports that the number of whites killed by Indians was 10.