Starting in the early 1840s, whispers of a new territory rich with opportunity were beginning to reach the ears of those living in the east. Its name was Oregon, and it promised a fresh start for whomever dared make the journey west. It was the start of a mass exodus. Brave settlers craving better lives took their fates into their own hands, packed what they could into covered wagons, and left their old lives behind. They knew what they sought would be dangerous to obtain, and that many would not survive. But they were determined to fulfill their dreams, or to die trying.
My ancestor Catherine Abbott was one of them. At the age of 10 she left her home of Council Bluff, Iowa, and began the treacherous journey west. Her father, John, suffered from consumption, and the family thought that a different climate would do him some good. The family of four left in 1850. That first year, they made it as far as Salt Lake City before they had to stop for the winter. Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, granted them permission to build a cabin there. The plan was to stay only for the winter, but the Abbotts ended up staying for two years after Keturah, Catherine’s mother, had her third child. At the end of those two years, however, the family was greatly pressured into joining the Mormon Church, and in order to keep their religious beliefs they set out to finish their journey in 1852.
After years of dreaming of their lives in the west, the family finally made it to Oregon City. They rented a home from John McLoughlin, owner of the general store that most consider to be the end of the Oregon Trail. Undoubtedly, the clean air did Catherine’s father some good, because he lived for three more years before he passed away in 1855.
The Abbott’s lives took a turn for the worse after the loss of their father. Keturah Abbott, now with five children to look after and no job to sustain them, had a nervous breakdown shortly after her husband’s passing. The court deemed her unstable and she was thrown in jail, and later put in an insane asylum. The children were all separated and given to other families, for they had no one else to take them in. It was a very sad ordeal, to reach Oregon without loss of life, but to be separated a few years after their arrival due to circumstances beyond their control.
Eventually, however, their mother was released from the asylum and was taken in by Catherine and her sister, Amanda. Keturah Abbott lived to be 90 years old, and see her daughter Catherine married to my great-great-great grandfather, Hercules LaTourette Kelly. She had seven children, three grandchildren, and one great-grandchild, my grandmother. Catherine Abbott Kelly is buried in Oregon City with her husband and a few of her children.
I have always loved history. In elementary school, I would spend hours reading library books about girls who lived during memorable events in the past, like the Civil War, the Great Depression, and the American Revolution. When I learned that one of these events took place so close to home, I fell in love with the Oregon Trail. I remember the excitement I felt when I would open one of my books and recognize the names of landmarks listed there, knowing that I had visited many of them in my home state. Suddenly I was the owner of a pioneer bonnet, and my grandparents were taking me on trips to Flagstaff Hill, Three Island Crossing, Whitman Mission, Old Fort Hall, the Blue Mountain Crossing, Clover Creek, and the Barlow Road, among other things. When my fourth-grade class did an Oregon Trail unit, I was proud to bring in pictures from my adventures and share them with my classmates.
Sisters Abby and Johanna Walker of Odell won the Sons and Daughters of Oregon Pioneers (SDOP) 2015 Junior Awards, as reported in the Jan. 24 Kid Space page, where Johanna’s drawing was published. This is the full essay by Abby, a sophomore at Hood River Valley High School.
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