Sweet Briar Rose



Sweet Briar Rose



Once in awhile you plant something in the soil without realizing the consequences.

My GG Grandmother's sister Elizabeth Dinwiddie Blain, wife of Reverand Wilson Blain,  planted the first Sweet Briar Rose in the Union Point community out side Brownsville, Oregon.

It has now spread all over the dry hillsides and is a nuisance in pastures and fields.

Works Progress Administration

Although I have been very fortunate to have a copy of my GG Grandparents diary as they traveled over the Oregon Trail in 1853, much was left out and if it were not for the W.P.A. projects I would not have many facts of the journey.

The Works Progress Administration or referred to as the W.P.A. was introduced in 1935. The program was for the purpose of giving employment to the needy and covered a broad area of project work. The largest number of persons employed through the W.P.A. was 3,000,000 in February 1936 and 3,250,000 in October 1938.

About 80% of the W.P.A. activities were in the construction field, but there were also other projects, including a project called W.P.A. Interviews. In each county, a person was selected to interview elder residents and record past history of the area. Leslie L. Haskin conducted interviews in Linn County, Oregon. If it were not for the foresight of the W.P.A. to preserve a part of our history through these interviews, I would be at a loss as to some of the historical facts about my ancestors that settled in the Brownsville, Oregon area in 1853.

There is now much interest in early history and the only available original copies of the Linn County W.P.A. Interviews are in very poor condition. Through the efforts of Nina L. Williamson and Richard R. Miligan these interviews were transcribed and put into booklet form and can now be found in multiple volumes at the Linn County Museum in Brownsville, Oregon. For more information on the interviews please go to http://www.lgsoregon.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=34:wpa-interviews&Itemid=100049&layout=defaultW.P.A. Interviews

Correspondence from Oregon

Mary Dinwiddie Wilson

The letters from the Oregon Territory were full of encouraging words and enthusiasm about starting a new church. Prior to deciding to sell off their land in Hebron, Indiana and many belongings, my GG Grandfather, James Wilson had been corresponding with his brother-in-law the Reverend Wilson Blain living in Union Point, Oregon. (Reverend Blain was married to my GG Grandmother Mary's sister, Elizabeth). The Reverend Blain was active in organizing a church at Union Point, Oregon, calling it the Presbyterian Church and wanted to enlist the help of GG Grandfather James Wilson and his family.

Reverend Blain was eventually instrumental in promoting a union of the church in Union Point, Oregon along with the Willamette Congregation at Oakville, Oregon to become the first two United Presbyterian Churches in the world.

The Journey Began in 1853

There were many reasons that the pioneers left their homes and friends to travel to Oregon.
 

James H. Wilson

My great, great grandfather and grandmother, James H. and Mary Wilson owned 360 acres of fertile farm land just outside Hebron, Indiana in an area known as Indian town. A family not with monetary problems or any of the other problems inflicted on pioneers of that era. No, they were against slavery. Being very religious people this conflict did not set well with their beliefs. They felt that they could find a better life for themselves and their 5 children by heading west to Oregon. It took them a year to sell their property, settle their accounts and lay in supplies for the trip. On the 18th day of March they left Boone Township, Porter County, Indiana and along with 10 other wagons of friends and relatives they headed west to Oregon Territory.