I saw this on the Benton Co., OR web page: http://www.rootsweb.com/~orbenton/wpa/IntervB.html Mrs. Elma WEST BLANCHARD Mrs. BLANCHARD was interviewed at her home in Philomath. She seemed not well informed about the early lives of her parents, and their activities in Oregon. She said: "My parents were both born in England. My father, Ashby WEST, came to Oregon first about 1850. Then he returned and brought his parents over in 1852. It is my understanding that they came to Oregon by water, but I do not know whether they came around the Horn, or by way of the Isthmus of Panama. " "At that time in England children of the poorer people were often bound out at a very tender age. My mother, Anna SCOTT, was bound to her future mother-in-law as a traveling companion. She was nine years old at the time. Later she grew up and married the son of her mistress. " "With my father came his brother William WEST who was a preacher and doctor. He rode on horseback and preached all over Marion County. Later he had a drug store at Jefferson. The site of the town then was a mile or so below the present location. Because the old townsite was on the lower river bottoms and overflowed frequently the new location was chosen on higher ground. " "Father took a claim about one mile north of Jefferson. This was covered by timber and brush and had to be cleared. Father raised grain on this farm. " "My parents had five children: Albert, Edna, myself, Homer and Alice. Edna is dead but the others are all living within forty miles of the old home place. " "I went to school at Jefferson and remember among the teachers there, Mrs. PEEL and Mr. BARZEE. I studied only reading, arithmetic, writing and geography. I did not get much education. " "I married - BLANCHARD and we lived on farms in different parts of the upper Willamette Valley. My husband died a few years ago. Our children were Gilbert, Elma (Mrs. YORK) and Warren. " - ----------------------------------- E-mail: skipb@nh.ultranet.com Date: 10/04/99 Time: 08:50:19 - ---------------------------------- ALBERT EDWARD BELANGER 128 Middle Road Brentwood, NH 03833 Researching 1851 Oregon Trail Migration