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William Henry Howard

William was born 3 Sep 1812 Bear Creek, Morgan TWP, Scioto Co. Oh. Died 4 Jan 1888 Monroe, Oregon. He was married in Vermilion County, Illinois on the 12th of December 1833 to Jane OSBORN, born 17 March 1814 in Lewis Co., Ky., died 2 March 1851 Stockport, Van Buren Co., Iowa. Jane and William had 8 children:

  1. Nancy Jane HOWARD, born abt 1834, married 1st to a Peacock and 2nd to Asa "Ace" WHETSTONE;
  2. Pansy HOWARD born abt 1835 (not sure about this one but she is shown in the 1850 Van Buren County, Iowa census in William Howard's house.);
  3. James HOWARD born 1838 Van Buren County, Iowa, died while crossing the plains in 1852 on the Oregon trail;
  4. Amos Henry HOWARD (my great grandfather) born 28th of August 1841 in Van Buren County, Iowa, died 3 Sep 1928 LaPine, Oregon, married Catherine [Katie ] HALTER the 21st of April 1869 on the Howard ranch near Alpine, Oregon;
  5. Rachel Anna HOWARD born 14 Jan 1844 Van Buren County, Iowa, died 28 Jan 1930 Corvallis, Oregon, married Ben LEVERICH;
  6. George Washington HOWARD, born 23 April 1846 in Van Buren County, Iowa, died 6 Oct 1927 Corvallis, Oregon, married Melissa Rebecca Ann WILLIAMS, 2 Nov 1876 in Albany, Oregon;
  7. Nathan HOWARD born 1849 in Van Buren County, Iowa, died ?, married Clara Ann ADKINS, 22 Dec 1870 in Oregon.

On the 17th of September 1851 William Howard married a second time to Essophena BOLEY, born 1824 in Iowa. Essophena died Oct 14,1873 in Jacksonville, Oregon. William and family came across the plains to Oregon in 1852 . The family came first to The Dalles and then to Molalla. They next moved to Harrisburg. The first year the family went to help a neighbor raise a barn and when they retuned home found their own log cabin had been burned to the ground. Another house had to be built. On account of of yearly high water problems the family moved to a place west of Monroe and bought 260 acres from a man named Philander Gilbert.

Essophena and William had three children:

  • Robert HOWARD, born 1855 Jacksonville, Oregon;
  • Ada HOWARD, born 1857 Jacksonville, Oregon;
  • Mary HOWARD , born 1859 Jacksonville, Oregon.

The journal, of Lafayette Spencer, one of the members of the wagon train, says the wagon train that brought the Howards to Oregon started about May 11, 1852, arrived in Oregon City October 29, 1852.

Submitted by Gary Poole , Wallowa, Oregon, Great great grandson of William Henry Howard, May 12, 1999.













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