James D. Savage, 1823-1852 I've spent five years trying to unearth information on Jim Savage. He's elusive...enigmatic...an anomaly. But he's certainly never boring! Strangely, from what little we know of Jim Savage's early life, he seemed destined for a "normal" pioneer life. According to family history, his parents, Peter and Doritha Savage, left New York in the winter of 1822-23 bound for Illinois. They stopped briefly in Indiana. Jim was probably born there in 1823. The Savage family arrived in Illinois in 1824, settled in Morgan County until 1835 when they moved to Putnam County. Jim's mother died that spring. His father remarried in 1836 and the family moved to Selby County. The history books tell how Jim Savage was kidnapped by Indians and held for days, weeks, months, or even years. One story relates how he and his brother, Morgan, were kidnapped and raised by Indians, passed from tribe to tribe until they reached the west. Not only is there no substance to this myth but I suspect that the source of that story is Jim Savage himself. Apparently he even told the Indians he arrived here on a moonbeam. However, like many pioneers, he arrived in California in a most conventional way, overland via wagon. In Illinois, on 4 December 1845, he married Eliza Hall. In early 1846, Jim and Eliza left Illinois with a large group of relatives and friends, heading west. He wore a black coat with the word "Oregon" painted on the back in large, red letters. Part 2 to follow... Anne Trussell atru@ns.net