Thomas J. Farnham
Encyclopedia
Thomas Jefferson Farnham (1804–1848) was an explorer and author of the American West in the first half of the 19th Century. His travels included interaction with missionary Jason Lee
, and he later led a wagon train on the Oregon Trail
. While in Oregon Country
he wrote a petition to federal authorities that requested federal protection of the region from the United States
government, which was signed by many of the local settlers who had come from the United States.
, in either Vermont
or what would become the state of Maine
. He would then receive an education at Phillips Academy, Andover and moved to Peoria, Illinois
, where became a lawyer. Farnham was married in 1836 to Eliza Woodson Burhams
, and they would have three children. In 1839 he heard a lecture by Jason Lee on Oregon
where Lee had set up a mission
to preach to the Native Americans in the Willamette Valley
. At the time Lee was recruiting more people for the mission. After this lecture Farnham joined the Peoria Party
that was headed for Oregon, and became the captain of the group of 19.
The Peoria men called themselves the Oregon Dragoons and carried with them a flag, a gift from Mrs. Farnham, emblazoned with their motto "OREGON or the GRAVE".
along the Columbia River
with only five people of the 19 that began the journey. The other members of the party deserted the group along the way. Farnham wrote a petition for the American settlers while in the region. This document was signed by many of the U.S. pioneers, and called on the federal government to extend its jurisdiction over the area in order to protect Americans and their interests. At the time the region was uncontrolled by any country, though both the British and Americans had economic interests and citizens in the region.
Thomas Farnham then left the settlements of the Willamette Valley
and sailed for the Sandwich Islands
. Returning to the mainland, he landed at Monterey
, capital of Alta California
. While there, Farnham helped to secure the release (in 1841) of a group of Americans, British and Californios, arrested in Alta California in 1840 and sent by ship to San Blas
, then overland to a prison in Tepic
. Governor Juan Alvarado, assisted by military commander Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
. accused the men, involved in what became known as the Graham Affair
, of plotting a revolt against the Mexican government.
During the Graham Affair, Farnham traveled to San Blas, arriving on May 16, 1840, the went on to Tepic to meet with the prisoners. Following the prisoners' release, Farnham continued across Mexico to New Orleans. In 1841, he moved on to New York City, then to Wisconsin
for a brief time. Farnham later moved to Alton, Illinois
, before moving back to California in 1846. In 1843, Farnham wrote and published an account of his travels and studies of the West in, Travels in the Great Western Prairies. He also wrote Travels in Oregon Territory, Memoir of the Northwest Boundary Line, Travels in California and Scenes in the Pacific, and Mexico, its Geography, People, and Institutions. Thomas Jefferson Farnham died in San Francisco, California
on September 13, 1848. Farnham's widow Eliza moved to Santa Cruz, California
and went on to become a leading abolitionist, novelist and early feminist.
Native American activists note Farnham's comments on the policy of "Manifest Destiny"; Farnham is quoted as saying; "Thomas Farnham, a Vermont lawyer, demanded that the 'Indians' bones must enrich the soil, before the plough of the civilized man can open it.... [They] must fatten the corn hills of a more civilized race!'"
Jason Lee (missionary)
Jason Lee , an American missionary and pioneer, was born on a farm near Stanstead, Quebec. He was the first of the Oregon missionaries and helped establish the early foundation of a provisional government in the Oregon Country....
, and he later led a wagon train on 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...
. While in 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 wrote a petition to federal authorities that requested federal protection of the region from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government, which was signed by many of the local settlers who had come from the United States.
Early life
In 1804 Thomas Farnham was born in New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, in either Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
or what would become the state of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. He would then receive an education at Phillips Academy, Andover and moved to Peoria, Illinois
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
, where became a lawyer. Farnham was married in 1836 to Eliza Woodson Burhams
Eliza Farnham
Eliza Farnham was a 19th-century American novelist, feminist, abolitionist, and activist for prison reform. Her fame as a writer rests upon her work Life in Prairie Land , an account of life on the Illinois prairie near Pekin between 1836 and 1840. She strongly believed in the use of phrenology...
, and they would have three children. In 1839 he heard a lecture by Jason Lee on 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...
where Lee had set up a 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...
to preach to the Native Americans 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...
. At the time Lee was recruiting more people for the mission. After this lecture Farnham joined the Peoria Party
Peoria Party
The Peoria Party was a group of men from Peoria in the U.S. state of Illinois, who set out on May 1, 1839 with the intention to colonize the Oregon Country on behalf of the United States and drive out the English fur trading companies operating there...
that was headed for Oregon, and became the captain of the group of 19.
The Peoria men called themselves the Oregon Dragoons and carried with them a flag, a gift from Mrs. Farnham, emblazoned with their motto "OREGON or the GRAVE".
Travels
Captain Farnham and the Oregon Dragoons traveled the Oregon Trail and arrived at Fort VancouverFort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District...
along 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...
with only five people of the 19 that began the journey. The other members of the party deserted the group along the way. Farnham wrote a petition for the American settlers while in the region. This document was signed by many of the U.S. pioneers, and called on the federal government to extend its jurisdiction over the area in order to protect Americans and their interests. At the time the region was uncontrolled by any country, though both the British and Americans had economic interests and citizens in the region.
Thomas Farnham then left the settlements of 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...
and sailed for the Sandwich Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
. Returning to the mainland, he landed at Monterey
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
, capital of Alta California
Alta California
Alta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...
. While there, Farnham helped to secure the release (in 1841) of a group of Americans, British and Californios, arrested in Alta California in 1840 and sent by ship to San Blas
San Blas, Nayarit
San Blas is both a municipality and municipal seat located on the Pacific coast of Mexico in the state of Nayarit.-City:San Blas is a port and a popular tourist destination, located about 100 miles north of Puerto Vallarta, and 40 miles west of the state capital Tepic. The town has a population of...
, then overland to a prison in Tepic
Tepic
Tepic is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Nayarit.It is located in the central part of the state, at.It stands at an altitude above sea level of some 915 meters, on the banks of the Río Mololoa and the Río Tepic, approximately 225 kilometers north-west of Guadalajara, Jalisco....
. Governor Juan Alvarado, assisted by military commander Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo was a Californian military commander, politician, and rancher. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of Mexico, and shaped the transition of California from a Mexican district to an American state...
. accused the men, involved in what became known as the Graham Affair
Isaac Graham
Isaac Graham was a fur trader and mountain man. In 1830, he joined a hunting and trapping party at Fort Smith, Arkansas that included George Nidever. Graham attended the rendezvous of 1832 and took part in the battle of Pierre's Hole. From there, Graham joined Joseph R. Walker's party headed for...
, of plotting a revolt against the Mexican government.
During the Graham Affair, Farnham traveled to San Blas, arriving on May 16, 1840, the went on to Tepic to meet with the prisoners. Following the prisoners' release, Farnham continued across Mexico to New Orleans. In 1841, he moved on to New York City, then to Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
for a brief time. Farnham later moved to Alton, Illinois
Alton, Illinois
Alton is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 27,865 at the 2010 census. It is a part of the Metro-East region of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area in Southern Illinois...
, before moving back to California in 1846. In 1843, Farnham wrote and published an account of his travels and studies of the West in, Travels in the Great Western Prairies. He also wrote Travels in Oregon Territory, Memoir of the Northwest Boundary Line, Travels in California and Scenes in the Pacific, and Mexico, its Geography, People, and Institutions. Thomas Jefferson Farnham died in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
on September 13, 1848. Farnham's widow Eliza moved to Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
and went on to become a leading abolitionist, novelist and early feminist.
Native American activists note Farnham's comments on the policy of "Manifest Destiny"; Farnham is quoted as saying; "Thomas Farnham, a Vermont lawyer, demanded that the 'Indians' bones must enrich the soil, before the plough of the civilized man can open it.... [They] must fatten the corn hills of a more civilized race!'"