Elbridge Trask
Encyclopedia
Elbridge Trask was an American
fur trapper
and mountain man
in the Oregon Country
. Immortalized by a series of modern historical novels by Don Berry
, he is best known as an early white settler along Tillamook Bay
on the coast of the U.S. state
of Oregon
.
, Massachusetts
. In 1835, he joined the employ of the Columbia River Fishing and Trading Company of Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth
. In December he arrived at Fort Hall
in present-day Idaho
and joined his first trapping expedition with experienced mountain men the following December. Much of what is known about this portion of his life comes from the journals of his traveling companion Osborne Russell
. In January 1838 he camped at Jackson Hole with Jim Bridger
and spent the next year acquiring a large number of beaver
pelts in the Yellowstone
area. In August 1839, he became separated from his party, which waited for him for several days until threat of an attack from the Blackfoot
forced his party to return to Fort Hall. The following month he returned to Fort Hall by himself unharmed.
On August 22, 1842, while in the Snake River
valley, he and Osborne Russell
joined a wagon train
led by the missionary
Dr Elijah White
headed the Willamette Valley
. While serving as a guide for the wagon train, he met Hannah Able, a young widow from Indiana
with a baby daughter traveling with the W. T. Perry wagon. On arriving at Willamette Falls
at present-day Oregon City
, the two were married on October 20, 1842.
Elbridge and Hannah set up a homestead Clatsop Plains
near Astoria
at the mouth of the Columbia River
. In 1852, they left the Clatsop Plains to settle near Tillamook Bay south along the coast
. They were the first white family to settle in the bay, establishing a homestead along the Trask River
, which is named for him. Trask Mountain
3412 feet (1,040 m) in the Northern Oregon Coast Range
is also named after him.
In 1960 Trask was popularized in the historical novel Trask by Don Berry. The novel, as well as its two sequels, are collectively known as the "Trask novels."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
fur trapper
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
and 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...
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...
. Immortalized by a series of modern historical novels by Don Berry
Don Berry (author)
Don Berry was an American artist and author best known for his historical novels about early settlers in the Oregon Country.He was born in Minnesota but moved to Oregon as a young man and came to think of himself as a native of that state. He attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon...
, he is best known as an early white settler along Tillamook Bay
Tillamook Bay
Tillamook Bay is a small inlet of the Pacific Ocean, approximately 6 mi long and 2 mi wide, on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Oregon...
on the coast of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
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...
.
Biography
He was born in BeverlyBeverly, Massachusetts
Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 39,343 on , which differs by no more than several hundred from the 39,862 obtained in the 2000 census. A resort, residential and manufacturing community on the North Shore, Beverly includes Beverly Farms and Prides...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. In 1835, he joined the employ of the Columbia River Fishing and Trading Company of Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth
Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth
Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth was an American inventor, ice harvester, and explorer and trader in the far west.-Early life:Wyeth was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Jacob and Elizabeth Wyeth...
. In December he arrived at 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...
in present-day Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
and joined his first trapping expedition with experienced mountain men the following December. Much of what is known about this portion of his life comes from the journals of his traveling companion 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....
. In January 1838 he camped at Jackson Hole with Jim Bridger
Jim Bridger
James Felix "Jim" Bridger was among the foremost mountain men, trappers, scouts and guides who explored and trapped the Western United States during the decades of 1820-1850, as well as mediating between native tribes and encroaching whites...
and spent the next year acquiring a large number of beaver
American Beaver
The North American Beaver is the only species of beaver in the Americas, native to North America and introduced to South America. In the United States and Canada, where no other species of beaver occurs, it is usually simply referred to as "beaver"...
pelts in the Yellowstone
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...
area. In August 1839, he became separated from his party, which waited for him for several days until threat of an attack from the Blackfoot
Blackfoot
The Blackfoot Confederacy or Niitsítapi is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native American tribe in Montana....
forced his party to return to Fort Hall. The following month he returned to Fort Hall by himself unharmed.
On August 22, 1842, while in 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...
valley, he and 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....
joined a wagon train
Wagon train
A wagon train is a group of wagons traveling together. In the American West, individuals traveling across the plains in covered wagons banded together for mutual assistance, as is reflected in numerous films and television programs about the region, such as Audie Murphy's Tumbleweed and Ward Bond...
led by the missionary
Oregon missionaries
The Oregon missionaries were collectively the religious-minded pioneers who settled in the Oregon Country of North America starting in the 1830s with the intent of converting local Native Americans to Christianity...
Dr Elijah White
Elijah White
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...
headed 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...
. While serving as a guide for the wagon train, he met Hannah Able, a young widow from Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
with a baby daughter traveling with the W. T. Perry wagon. On arriving at Willamette Falls
Willamette Falls
The Willamette Falls is a natural waterfall on the Willamette River between Oregon City and West Linn, Oregon, in the United States. It is the largest waterfall in the Pacific Northwest and the eighteenth largest in the world by water volume. Horseshoe in shape, it is wide and high with a flow...
at present-day Oregon City
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...
, the two were married on October 20, 1842.
Elbridge and Hannah set up a homestead Clatsop Plains
Clatsop Plains
The Clatsop Plains are an area of wetlands and sand dunes between the Northern Oregon Coast Range and Pacific Ocean in northwestern Oregon in the United States. They stretch from near the mouth of the Columbia River south to the vicinity of Tillamook Head near Seaside...
near Astoria
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
at the mouth 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 1852, they left the Clatsop Plains to settle near Tillamook Bay south along the coast
Oregon Coast
The Oregon Coast is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It runs generally north-south along the Pacific Ocean, forming the western border of the state; the region is bounded to the east by the Oregon Coast Range. The Oregon Coast stretches approximately from the Columbia River in the north to...
. They were the first white family to settle in the bay, establishing a homestead along the Trask River
Trask River
The Trask River is in northwestern Oregon in the United States. It drains a mountainous timber-producing area of the Northern Oregon Coast Range west of Portland into Tillamook Bay and the Pacific Ocean...
, which is named for him. Trask Mountain
Trask Mountain
Trask Mountain in the Northern Oregon Coast Range, is the tallest mountain in Yamhill County, Oregon.It is located in the northwest corner of the county....
3412 feet (1,040 m) in the Northern Oregon Coast Range
Northern Oregon Coast Range
The Northern Oregon Coast Range is the northern section of the Oregon Coast Range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, located in the northwest portion of the state of Oregon, United States. This section of the mountain range, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, contains peaks as high...
is also named after him.
In 1960 Trask was popularized in the historical novel Trask by Don Berry. The novel, as well as its two sequels, are collectively known as the "Trask novels."