| Notes |
- It is quite possible that John is buried in Adams Cemetery, Molalla,where both his parents are buried.
"Index to Pension Applications for Indian Wars Service, 1817-1898". pg625, Officer, John E., file number SA-5683, filed 29 July 1902, in WA.he served in Kelley's & Stafford's Cos of OR Mtd Vols.
George H. Rutledge, DESCENDANTS OF JAMES OFFICER; 1690-1980;
compiled 1 Nov 1982 by George Rutledge, 221 George Street, Hanover, PA17331;
p. 12; Copy in poss of Lesley Wischmann, Laramie, WY.
Officer Family on the Oregon Trail
In 1845, the Officer family decided to move to the Oregon Territorywith their eight children. They were hoping to receive a six hundredand fourty acre "Donation Land claim" under the Act of 1850. It gaveaway some of the richest farm land in the Willamette River Valley. TheAct expired Dec 1855. It was used to insure that the territory'spopulation would side with the United States and not British rule aspart of Canada.
In early May 1845, 223 wagons with 954 persons left St. Joseph,Missouri for The Oregon Territory. One of their children, Missouri,was born along the way in Ash Hollow, Nebraska.
The wagon train members payed Stephen Meek to be their trail guide, hepromised to show them a shortcut he knew to Oregon. Instead theybecame lost and traveled for months through the high rocky deserts ofOregon. This new trail became known as the "Terrible Trail" or "TheMeek Cutoff of 1845". The short cut brought them hunger, hightemperatures, little water, and loss of about 25 pioneers. Meek ranaway after the men threatened bodily harm for getting them lost. Theyhad to spend the winter in some cabins built by an earlier group oftravelers.
The wagon train finally stumbled onto some people that knew whichdirection to take and reached the end of the trail at Oregon City. Herparents settled on 641.60 acres of good farm land. The donation landclaim #469 was officially completed on 19 Feb 1846 in Oregon City.It's location was T4S R2E, sections 19,20,29,30. Located northwest ofwhere Highway 213 crosses the Molalla River and not too far north ofLiberal, Oregon and close to Molalla, Oregon. [End]
Originally fromhttp://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=50225905
Alterations: Text changed to be attached to entire family and not justMartha.
Notes: Ash Hollow was in Nebraska, rather than Wyoming, which wasoriginally posted.
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1835 - 1902 (67 years)
