Medorem Crawford
Encyclopedia
Medorem Crawford was an American
soldier and politician in what became the state of Oregon
. A native of the state of New York
, he immigrated to the Oregon Country
in 1842 where he participated in the Champoeg Meetings
and served in the resulting Provisional Government of Oregon
as a legislator. A Republican, he later served in the Oregon House of Representatives
after statehood and was appointed to several federal government offices. During the American Civil War
he escorted emigrants over the Oregon Trail
.
, on June 24, 1819, to S. G. Crawford. He was sent to apprentice as a farmer at age 13 to a farm in Seneca County where he remained until age 16. Crawford then settled in Havana
in Schuyler County
and lived there until 1842. On March 17, 1842, he began his journey to the Oregon Country
with stops in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
, Cincinnati, Ohio
, and St. Louis, Missouri
, before reaching Independence, Missouri
, and the start of the Oregon Trail
.
with the Elijah White
wagon train and arrived in the Willamette Valley
in late 1842. He first settled in Salem
where he taught at the Methodist Mission
’s school for nine months. In 1843, he married Adalene Brown, whom he met on the trip to Oregon. They had five children; Medorem, Jr., Mary, Henrietta, John, and Frederick. Medorem, Jr. was the first white American male born on the west side of the Willamette River when delivered in January 1844.
Also in 1843 he bought part of James A. O'Neil
’s land claim at Wheatland
downriver from Salem. The Crawford family remained on the farm there until the fall of the next year. Crawford moved to Oregon City
in April 1845 where he worked portaging goods around Willamette Falls
for seven years. He moved to a farm on Joe McLoughlin’s old land claim at the mouth of the Yamhill River
in 1852 and filed and received a Donation Land Claim on the property. Crawford retained his farm near Dayton
in Yamhill County
until his death.
In 1861, he returned to New York to visit his father, and on his way back to Oregon was pressed into service by the United States Army
to assist Captain William Murray Maynadier in escorting emigrants to Oregon over the Oregon Trail. Crawford returned to the east in 1862 and received a commission from President Abraham Lincoln
of captain. Assigned as an assistant quartermaster, he organized a 100 man unit under orders to protect emigrants over the Great Plains. Upon completion of the task that year, the unit disbanded in October at Walla Walla
in the Washington Territory
. Crawford did this one final time in 1863.
Crawford resigned from the Army after the last escort and received appointment by the President as collector of internal revenue for Oregon. He served in that office from 1864 until 1869. President Ulysses S. Grant
appointed him as Portland’s
appraiser of merchandise in 1871, where he remained until 1876.
that were held to determine if Euro-American settlers wanted to form a government. On May 2, 1843, a vote was held creating the Provisional Government of Oregon
, with Crawford voting for the creation of the government. In 1847, he was elected to the Provisional Legislature
to represent the Clackamas District
. He returned for the next session, held from 1848 to 1849, the final session of the Provisional Government.
The United States created the Oregon Territory
in 1848, displacing the Provisional Government. In 1859, Oregon became the 33rd state of the Union. In 1860, Crawford was elected as a Republican to serve Yamhill County in the Oregon House of Representatives
, his last elected office. While in the legislature he helped elect Edward Dickinson Baker
to the United States Senate.
where he graduated in 1867. He worked his way up to Brigadier General in the Army and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery
. Medorem, Sr. was involved with the Oregon Pioneer Association in retirement, serving as the organizations president from 1878 through 1881. Medorem Crawford died at his home near Dayton on December 26, 1891, at the age of 72.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soldier and politician in what became the 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 the state of New York
New 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...
, he immigrated to 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...
in 1842 where he participated in the Champoeg Meetings
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...
and served in the resulting 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...
as a legislator. A Republican, he later served in 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 statehood and was appointed to several federal government offices. During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
he escorted emigrants 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...
.
Early life
Medorem Crawford was born in Orange County, New YorkOrange County, New York
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located at the northern reaches of the New York metropolitan area. The county sits in the state's scenic Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley...
, on June 24, 1819, to S. G. Crawford. He was sent to apprentice as a farmer at age 13 to a farm in Seneca County where he remained until age 16. Crawford then settled in Havana
Montour Falls, New York
Montour Falls is a village in Schuyler County, New York, United States. The population was 1,797 at the 2000 census. A waterfall in the village gives the village its name...
in Schuyler County
Schuyler County, New York
As of the census of 2000, there were 19,224 people, 7,374 households, and 5,191 families residing in the county. The population density was 58 people per square mile . There were 9,181 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...
and lived there until 1842. On March 17, 1842, he began his journey to 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...
with stops in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, and St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, before reaching Independence, Missouri
Independence, Missouri
Independence is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri, and is contained within the counties of Jackson and Clay. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
, and the start of 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...
.
Oregon
Crawford crossed the Great PlainsGreat Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
with the 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...
wagon train and arrived 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...
in late 1842. He first settled in Salem
Salem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
where he taught at 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...
’s school for nine months. In 1843, he married Adalene Brown, whom he met on the trip to Oregon. They had five children; Medorem, Jr., Mary, Henrietta, John, and Frederick. Medorem, Jr. was the first white American male born on the west side of the Willamette River when delivered in January 1844.
Also in 1843 he bought part of James A. O'Neil
James A. O'Neil
James A. O’Neil was an American businessman and politician in the Oregon Country and later Oregon Territory. A New York native, he took part in the Champoeg Meetings and helped form the Provisional Government of Oregon...
’s land claim at Wheatland
Wheatland, Oregon
Wheatland is an unincorporated community in Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. It is near the Willamette River where the Wheatland Ferry takes traffic across the river into Marion County. Its elevation is ; it is in the Pacific Time Zone.-External links:...
downriver from Salem. The Crawford family remained on the farm there until the fall of the next year. Crawford moved to 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...
in April 1845 where he worked portaging goods around 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...
for seven years. He moved to a farm on Joe McLoughlin’s old land claim at the mouth of the Yamhill River
Yamhill River
The Yamhill River is an tributary of the Willamette River, in the U.S. state of Oregon. Formed by the confluence of the South Yamhill River and the North Yamhill River about east of McMinnville, it drains part of the Northern Oregon Coast Range...
in 1852 and filed and received a Donation Land Claim on the property. Crawford retained his farm near Dayton
Dayton, Oregon
Dayton is a city in Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. The population was 2,119 at the 2000 census. As of July 2007 its estimated population was 2,495.-History:...
in Yamhill County
Yamhill County, Oregon
-National protected areas:*Siuslaw National Forest *Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 84,992 people, 28,732 households, and 21,376 families residing in the county. The population density was 119 people per square mile . There were 30,270...
until his death.
In 1861, he returned to New York to visit his father, and on his way back to Oregon was pressed into service by the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
to assist Captain William Murray Maynadier in escorting emigrants to Oregon over the Oregon Trail. Crawford returned to the east in 1862 and received a commission from President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
of captain. Assigned as an assistant quartermaster, he organized a 100 man unit under orders to protect emigrants over the Great Plains. Upon completion of the task that year, the unit disbanded in October at Walla Walla
Walla Walla, Washington
Walla Walla is the largest city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 31,731 at the 2010 census...
in the Washington Territory
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....
. Crawford did this one final time in 1863.
Crawford resigned from the Army after the last escort and received appointment by the President as collector of internal revenue for Oregon. He served in that office from 1864 until 1869. President Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
appointed him as Portland’s
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
appraiser of merchandise in 1871, where he remained until 1876.
Political career
In early 1843, Crawford attended the Champoeg MeetingsChampoeg 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...
that were held to determine if Euro-American settlers wanted to form a government. On May 2, 1843, a vote was held 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...
, with Crawford voting for the creation of the government. In 1847, he was elected to the 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...
to represent the Clackamas District
Clackamas County, Oregon
Clackamas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The county was named after the Native Americans living in the area, the Clackamas Indians, who were part of the Chinookan people. As of 2010, the population was 375,992...
. He returned for the next session, held from 1848 to 1849, the final session of the Provisional Government.
The United States created 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...
in 1848, displacing the Provisional Government. In 1859, Oregon became the 33rd state of the Union. In 1860, Crawford was elected as a Republican to serve Yamhill County in 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....
, his last elected office. While in the legislature he helped elect Edward Dickinson Baker
Edward Dickinson Baker
Edward Dickinson Baker was an English-born American politician, lawyer, military leader. In his political career, Baker served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois and later as a U.S. Senator from Oregon. A long-time close friend of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Baker served as U.S...
to the United States Senate.
Later years
Crawford retired to his farm near Dayton in 1876. His wife died on May 20, 1879, and he re-married the next year to Mrs. Eunice Burrows. In 1862, son Medorem, Jr. received appointment to West PointUnited States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
where he graduated in 1867. He worked his way up to Brigadier General in the Army and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
. Medorem, Sr. was involved with the Oregon Pioneer Association in retirement, serving as the organizations president from 1878 through 1881. Medorem Crawford died at his home near Dayton on December 26, 1891, at the age of 72.
External links
- Journal of Medorem Crawford. An account of his trip across the plains with the Oregon pioneers of 1842
- Guide to the Medorem Crawford Papers
- http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?wpa:3:./temp/~ammem_Kse4::@@@mdb=mcc,gottscho,detr,nfor,wpa,aap,cwar,bbpix,cowellbib,calbkbib,consrvbib,bdsbib,dag,fsaall,gmd,pan,vv,presp,varstg,suffrg,nawbib,horyd,wtc,toddbib,mgw,ncr,ngp,musdibib,hlaw,papr,lhbumbib,rbpebib,lbcoll,alad,hh,aaodyssey,magbell,bbcards,dcm,raelbib,runyon,dukesm,lomaxbib,mtj,gottlieb,aep,qlt,coolbib,fpnas,aasm,denn,relpet,amss,aaeo,mff,afc911bib,mjm,mnwp,rbcmillerbib,molden,ww2map,mfdipbib,afcnyebib,klpmap,hawp,omhbib,rbaapcbib,mal,ncpsbib,ncpm,lhbprbib,ftvbib,afcreed,aipn,cwband,flwpabib,wpapos,cmns,psbib,pin,coplandbib,cola,tccc,curt,mharendt,lhbcbbib,eaa,haybib,mesnbib,fine,cwnyhs,svybib,mmorse,afcwwgbib,mymhiwebib,uncall,afcwip,mtaft,manz,llstbib,fawbib,berl,fmuever,cdn,upboverbib,mussm,cic,afcpearl,awh,awhbib,sgp,wright,lhbtnbib,afcesnbib,hurstonbib,mreynoldsbib,spaldingbib,sgproto,scsmbibFederal Writers' Project interview with daughter]