A family history and genealogical notes on the Leabo Family of Oregon and California, handwritten by Alonzo Reas Leabo in 1936-1938, with some later additions. The Leabo Family is descended from Jacob Leabo (1795-1880), who made his first trip to Oregon in 1847. The Leabos settled in Forest Grove, Oregon in the 1860s, where several family members attended Pacific University. In 1919, many members of the Leabo Family began moving to Monrovia, California, where they lived for much of the 20th century.
Alonzo describes the Leabo Family's genealogy as well as many personal details of their lives, including an account of their travels from the East Coast to Oregon in the 1840s-1860s; encounters with Native Americans on the Oregon Trail; the founding of and attendance at Pacific University and Tualatin Academy in Forest Grove; work at Forest Grove businesses including the Hinman, Haines and Bailey stores, the Forest Grove Hotel and the First National Bank of Forest Grove; life and family properties in Portland, McMinnville and St. Joseph, Oregon and in Monrovia, California; and his family members' personalities, interests, health, deaths, and burials.
Alonzo provides brief biographies and/or genealogical notes about many family members, including:
Great-grandparents: Francis Isaac Le Bas (b. 1754) and Sarah Jennings
Grandparents: Jacob Leabo (b. 1795) and Elizabeth Bailey
Parents: Oredon James Leabo (b. 1838) and Amanda Melvina Newton (b. 1835)
Parents-in-law: Alanson Hinman (b. 1822) and Elizabeth Jones Gerrish; and some of their Hinman and Gerrish relatives; and Alanson's second wife Sophia Margaret Bowen
Himself: Alonzo Reas Leabo (b. 1857)
Wife: Ida Hinman Leabo (b. 1854)
Siblings: Albert Henry Leabo (b. 1854), Flora Ann Brobst (b. 1855), Adella Letha Leabo (b. 1859), Ida Ladocia Leabo (b. 1861), William Leabo (b. 1863), Effie Olive Dunham (b. 1864), Kate Webber (b. 1870), Dorothy Fulmer (b. 1872), and Perry Bailey Leabo (b. 1874); and some of their spouses and children.
Children: Bertha Alice Morley (b. 1884), Roy Hinman Leabo (b. 1888), Lloyd Alonson Leabo (b. 1893)
Several grandchildren and great-grandchildren and their respective spouses are also mentioned.
A Leabo Family Tree and some other genealogical notes that were laid into the volume are included at the end.
An audio recording of an oral history of Duffy Hamilton taken in Newberg, OR. Hamilton starts by sharing that her ancestors were pioneers who settled in the Tualatin area. She mentions various family names, including Cumin, Shaver, Otterstrom, and many others. Most were people that came to Oregon and established businesses in the Tualatin area. She mentions that her mother's father was adopted by French parents and that West Woodburn was a majority French area at the time. Some of her ancestors came to Oregon to take donation land claims. She mentions memories of a family member who had tuberculosis and noticing the use of isolation as treatment for this relative. At about 6:30, she mentions having 17 direct ancestors who came through the Oregon Trail and settled in the Tualatin area. At about minute 7:40 she begins to mention some of the names of these relatives, where they came from and about their journey to Oregon. She mentions her experience as a young girl during the Great Depression, as well as living through two floods, the first being around 1937. She has fond memories of the legendary 'Old Hing', who was a Chinese immigrant that worked in the railroads and stayed in the area, and shared an incredible story about him. She remembers the Oregon Electric being the main mode of transportation to get to Portland and that bus service arrived around 1938. She went to Tigard High School, started off going to Linfield College and graduated from Portland State University in 1942. She also briefly lived with her father in Aberdeen, WA. At minute 31:00 she mentions a gravesite that is now deteriorated by the junction at Wilsonville road and Ladd Hill road in Sherwood. At about minute 39:00 she shares about her two marriages as well as speaking of her current descendants (children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren) and where they are living now. At about minute 44:00 she begins to mention the names of people from the Tualatin area that were killed in WWII and the names of a few veterans that are no longer living. She then shares a funny story that explains why the streets of downtown Salem are so wide today at minute 48:30 and then proceeds to explain why some pioneers decided to head west. She also mentions that one of the pioneer families, The Shavers, were originally Haitian Germans that came to fight in the American revolution. At minute 52:00 she mentions a family that were early fur-traders and how one of their descendants has now conducted research on the French connection, which has resulted in a museum that's in France. She touches on the floods again starting at minute 55:30, and at 1:07 she talks some more about the pioneers. At 1:17 she mentions seeing Blank Angus cattle by Washington Square when she used to live on Scholls Ferry road. She end the interview by sharing a spunky story of how she hit her principal with a baseball and reminisces on a couple of 'town characters' that she remembers from her childhood. There is an index for this interview.
An audio recording of a talk by George Williams about the descendants of Alanson Hinman and the early history of Forest Grove, Oregon. George was the great-great-grandson of Alanson Hinman. Includes information about the Hinman House, an historic house located at 1651 Hawthorn Street in Forest Grove, Oregon.
An audio recording of a talk by Nellie Walker on early Forest Grove, possibly given at a meeting of the Tualatin Plains Historical Society in the late 1970s or early 1980s. Nellie Walker was a descendant of Elkanah and Mary Richardson Walker, who emigrated to the Oregon Territory as missionaries in 1838. Nellie recalls memories of Forest Grove in the late 1800s passed down from Mary Richardson Walker, and her own memories of Forest Grove from the early 1900s. Topics include the Forest Grove Indian School, changing land use patterns, the arrival of electricity, telephones and automobiles, picnics at Naylor Grove and juvenile delinquency, including the burning of the local Chinese laundry. The recording begins approximately halfway through the talk; the first half is missing. This recording is accompanied by a transcript.
An audio recording of an oral history of Jim Reeher. The interview took place at the Reeher homestead next to the Tillamook Forestry Center. Part 2 of 2.
An audio recording of an oral history of Jim Reeher. The interview took place at the Reeher homestead next to the Tillamook Forestry Center. Part 1 of 2.
An audio recording of an oral history of Rosemary Mead on her Grandmother, who came across the Plains in covered wagons in 1852 to be an early settler in Oregon. Audio is a little fuzzy due to high recording levels.
An audio recording of an oral history of Mary Patton Kurtz on the Native Americans of Patton Valley, which is near Gaston and Cherry Valley, Oregon. Her family, the Pattons, were among the earliest white settlers in the area. The land nearby was, up through the mid-1800s, the center of population of the Tualatin (Atfalati) tribe. Mary recalls family stories about Native Americans as well as her experiences finding Native American artifacts. There is a transcript of this interview. Note: the recording and transcript have been redacted to protect sensitive information related to Native American graves and artifacts.
An audio recording of an oral history of Reynold Geiger on Indians in the Tualatin Valley. Reynold’s grandfather came to Oregon as missionary in 1839 claiming land outside the present town of Cornelius. Talks about stories passed down to him from his older family members and their interactions with the Indians living close by. Stories about the sweat house were shared. The interview ended with Reynold sharing that his great-grandfather was a minister, relating back to the conversation at the beginning of the interview. There is a transcript of this interview. Note: the recording and transcript have been redacted to protect sensitive information related to Native American graves and artifacts.
An audio recording of a talk by Mrs. Wayne Gurley on Washington County donation land claim owners. Sponsored by the David Hill Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Interview with Felix McCullough, a member of one of the first pioneer families in Washington County. The McCullough family included Michael McCullough from Ireland who married a woman from originally Missouri, her name was not stated during the interview. The couple had six children, four girls and two boys. During 1862 the family migrated west to Seattle then moved to Washington County where they were able to buy forty acres of land for ten dollars a acre. The father and mother were both teachers. Felix was drafted to attend camp in 1918 at Fort Lewis, but because of the deathly flu that was occurring his draft was cancelled. The youngest daughter of the family is also there during the interview and mentions comments throughout the interview that are hard to hear and understand. The interview cuts out at 29:46 briefly.
An audio recording of an oral history of Chester Robinson and his family’s history in Washington County, Oregon, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He describes the settlement of his great-grandfather on the Donation Land Claim and the original file that was signed by President Andrew Johnson. Talks about the farmland and how it has been used over the years, including its connection to the Milk Wars of 1930 and its business with the Red Rock Dairy. Also talks about politics and the county’s Republican leaning, his life as a teenager on the farm, the passing down of farmland in a family, taxes on farmland, and the historic water tower in the area that was built in 1905. The recording has a lot of background noise including other voices and sounds of automobiles outside. There is a transcript with an introduction and an index, but the transcript ends about halfway through the interview.
An audio recording of an oral history of Arthur P. Ireland recorded on April 28, 1978. The interview starts with a brief introduction to the Ireland family history dairy farming on their donation land claim starting in the mid-nineteenth century. He describes the uses of certain breeds of cows, the specifics of the dairy market, the building of cheese and creameries factories, and the growth of demand in Portland for milk. From personal involvement, he talks about the Milk War in Portland in 1930 and how the Dairy Cooperative Association was involved. Legislation on dairy production and a typical day on the farm in Forest Grove, Oregon, are also detailed. The last half of the recording is harder to hear due to some background noise and white noise. There is a full transcript of the interview along with an introduction and index to the interview.
Part one of an audio recording of an oral history of Elva Rossi and her life in Beaverton, Oregon, recorded on October 26, 1982. Rossi tells the story of how her family ended up in Oregon, starting with her grandparents on each side of her family. Her father’s side was originally from Italy and moved to Oregon in about 1870. They had a small farm on which her father had to work, forcing him to quit school after only attending it for four years. Rossi’s mother’s family is scattered throughout states across the country, but she and her parents ended up in the area of Portland, Oregon, in about 1888. Rossi’s parents likely met at school or at a community social event since they both lived in the same area. They married in 1894 and built their big house in 1912. Rossi describes each of her parents, August and Hattie Rossi, and their personalities as well as their little farm in Beaverton that Rossi grew up on. Rossi’s father died in March, 1927, leaving his business to be run by Hattie through the Great Depression. Hattie found other ways to make money also by renting out bedrooms. Rossi’s current house that she is living in was built in 1962 and she’s lived in it since. She finishes with commenting a bit about her two brothers. The voices are clearly audible throughout the recording. There is a full transcript attached with penciled-in corrections.
A video recording of an oral history of Molly Lipke and Susan Gardner, great-granddaughters of George Williams, on the Williams family of Sherwood, Oregon.
A video recording of an oral history of Dorothy Schlicting on the Schlicting Family of Sherwood, Oregon and the Schlicting Century Farm. Topics include: the Schlicting brothers immigrating from Germany to the United States in the 1860s and arrival in Oregon in the 1870s; history of their farm from the 1870s onward; founding of the St. Paul Lutheran Church; family genealogy; and other topics.
These notes compiled by Liberta Brown Schoch discuss pioneer life in the Forest Grove area of Oregon. She tells family stories about the arrival of the Orus Brown family in the Tualatin Plains; the Geiger Family land claim; the first buildings on the Orus Brown claim; recollections about crossing the Oregon Trail; and other details. The notes appear to have been based on the recollections of another Brown family member, perhaps one of Liberta's aunts or cousins.
Liberta was the great granddaughter Tabitha Moffatt Brown, who helped found Tualatin Academy and is known as the 'Mother of Oregon.' Liberta graduated from Tualatin Academy in 1899, received her Master's degree in Education at Columbia University, and married Alfred Diehl Schoch.
A transcript of an oral history of Elza Frances Zimmer on Lenox and Bolsinger Family pioneer history in Oregon. Much of the transcript consists of Mrs. Zimmer reading from and commenting on written sources about events in the 1840s. Topics include: her grandmother Margaret Bolssinger's journey on the Oregon Trail; her grandmother's second marriage to David Thomas Lenox; Lenox Family history; David Lenox's founding of the West Union Baptist Church near modern-day Hillsboro in the 1840s, which was the first Baptist Church west of the Rocky Mountains; ferries and paths on the Oregon Trail; events near Hillsboro in the 1840s; David Lenox's history in Kentucky and Missouri before coming to Oregon; and other topics. The transcript is undated but may have been created between the mid-1970s to mid 1990s.
