Hello Lists, Following is an e-mail conversation between Barbara McDonald Lewis and Cliff Thompson on the Richardsons of Linn County Oregon. Barbara is a direct descendant of John Griffin and Orpha Thompson Richardson. Cliff and I are descendants of Orpha’s brothers, Enoch (who moved to Linn County several years after Orpha and her family) and Elijah Thompson (who stayed in IL). 3/12/02 11:13 PM Hello Cliff -- Came across your interest in Richardsons of Linn Co., Oregon. I'll give you some of what I have. You may already have it, and more. I can't go into it in depth because it would end up a thesis. Here goes in condensed form: John G Richardson 10/1798-4/4/1873 m. Orpha Thompson 1799-1863. Children: Milton Emperson, Thomas Jefferson, William Winston', George Washington, Lewis Clark, Elijah Thompson, Obediah Waddle ("Wad" was Linn Co. Sheriff from 1864-1866), John Wesley, Andrew Jackson, Enoch Numbers, James Asher, Rebecca Jane. Obediah m. M. Elizabeth Cusick and had children Emma (my ggrandmother), Ida, Edward. Obediah had by No. 2 wife (a Mrs. Stone) Holly. John Wesley m. Mary Ann Conkrite and children were Melvina, Almira, Melissa, Wallace, Wilson and Truman. In 1851 John G. Richardson and Orpha Thompson Richardson came with their family of ten living children from Adams County, Illinois, and in 1852 settled on a Donation Land Claim in a small canyon between Rogers Mountain and Franklin Butte, about six miles southeast of where the town of Scio is now located. Shortly thereafter, son John Wesley took up a neighboring 160 acre Donation Land Claim. In 1879, sons William Winston, James Asher, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington owned land in the adjacent area. It was logical, therefore, that the name "Richardson's Gap" would be applied to the area; so it remains to this day, although there are no longer any Richardsons living there. The Walter Clute Miller family moved right across the road from the Richardson home in 1864. Ultimately two of the Miller sons married daughters of Obediah Waddle Richardson, who were raised by Mary Ann and John W. Richardson. Emma Richardson married Walter Clute Miller's son Henry Clarence Miller and from there my line descends to Cressie Leo Miller m. William Franklin McDonald, Roy Merle McDonald and then I come upon the scene. I have quite a bit more narrative re these people. If you can get hold of a copy of "The Millers of Richardson Gap, Scio, Oregon" published in 1979 by Owen G. Miller, you will be fortunate indeed. It is hard to come by as nobody in the Miller family will let one out of his/her hands. But maybe Powell's Books in Portland has a copy. Anyway, good luck. Barbara McDonald Lewis 3/19/02 9:21 AM Hi Barbara, I got your E-mail and went over it. My John Griffin Richardson was b. 28 Jan. 1797 and d.16 May 1873. Orpha was b. 1802 and a son named Milton Empson was named after a brother of Orpha's. The Waddell name was after the surname of the husband of Orpha's sister Milly (nickname for Orpha's mother Emily). The wife of Obediah was Martha Elizabeth Cisick and I have another wife whose maiden name was Mrs. Tone (could have been Stone???). I did not have any children for that marriage and suppose that Holly was a child of Obediah & Mrs. Tone/Stone? Your G-Grandmother "Emma" had the given name of Emily which presumably came from the name Emily above. I have Emily married to Henry Clarence Miller. I have a daughter of this couple, Cressie Leo Miller, married to William Franklin McDonald on 18 sept. 1907. I have seven children of their marriage...of these, four are married (Roy, Byron, Frank, and Harold). I have the names of the four spouses, but no dates beyond the birth dates of the 7 children. I have Roy Merling McDonald married to Hele Beal. Again, no dates other than Roy's bd. I would appreciate anything that you can contribute in the way of names and dates on your direct line, including siblings. Where I seem to have made a point of mentioning names or dates above, we may differ such as my "Merling" vs your "Merle". If you feel strongly please advise me of the conflict. I live on an island in the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis, MD and would not be likely to get a book re Richardson's Gap. What I have gotten comes from people on the Internet and/or from my direct line of Thompson's. Orpha Thompson, wife of John G. Richardson, was the daughter of my GGG-Grandfather, William Thompson. Regards, Cliff 3/20/02 9:35 PM Hello Cliff: Let's see if I can help you fill in a gap or two. The name "Cisick" is "Cusick" in the Richardson's Gap book and also on records in the Oregon Historical Society in Portland. They were apparently a quite well known family. Obediah' second wife a Mrs. Stone, brought two sons to the marriage and had a child by Obediah named "Holly". In my immediate family Cressie Leo Miller (daughter of Henry Clarence Miller and Emma Richardson) (b. 7-12-1886 d. 6-18-1961) m. William Franklin McDonald (b. 10-21-1884 d. 10-16-1961) on 9-18-1907. They had sons Roy Merle McDonald (and yes, it is MERLE) (b. 6-27-1908 d. 7-31-1982 ) m.1926 Helen Boutelle Beal (b. 4-2-1909 d. Feb. 1999). One child, Barbara Lee McDonald (b.1-30-1927) m. James Ford Lewis (b.10-14-1914 d.12-28-1998). Their children are James Ford Lewis, Jr. (b. 7-15-46) m. Linda Wheeler; Bronwen Lee Lewis (b.12-20-51) m. Gerald Gaddeberg; Mary Boutelle Lewis (b-10-24-53) m. David Samuel Hassin; and Robert Bradford Lewis (b. 5-26-55). Cressie and Frank had also sons Byron Laird (10-16-11 D.?)m. Verla Ingraham on 2-29-37 and they had many children. Frank Miller (b.12-8-1913 d. 6-16-1939) m. Helen Putnam and there is son. Harold Dean McDonald (b 4-5-1915 d. in 1944 a prisoner of the Japanese after the Bataan Death March) m. Grace Murdersbough 7-7-1936. Henry Keith McDonald( b. 8-24-1917 d.199?) m. Pearl?. Their last son is Clarence McDonald (b.12-12-1923) m. Aileen?. Clarence is still living and is in Redmond, Oregon. He knows much more about these folks than I. There is one son Harold McDonald and a daughter Marsha McDonald. Cressie and Frank had one daughter, Winona May (b. 7-8-1919 d. 9-26-1930 ) who died from complications following surgery. Enough for this time. barbaralewis9262@msn.com. 3/21/02 7:59 PM Hi Barbara, Thank you for the added info. There is one point that I would like to have clarified. When you say that Emma and Ida went to live with John Wesley Richardson when their father, Obediah, re-married...can you pin that date down? If that occurred when Obediah married for the 3rd time, the girls would have been rather old. Was it when Obediah married the 2nd time? Another point that has had me wondering, I do not seem to be able to put a name on the wagon train that brought the Richardson's to Scio, OR in 1851. Do you know of the name or the name of the leader of the wagon train? BTW, if I can supply any info on the Thompson line for you, I would be glad to do that. I have Orpha (Thompson) Richardson's parents and siblings back to North Carolina and South Carolina as well as the grand-parents of Orpha who died in SC. Sincerely, Cliff Thompson 3/22/02 3:28 pm OK Cliff. I'll try to answer your queries. Emma Richardson and her sister Ida married Miller boys who lived across the road from John Wesley Richardson and his family. After their mother died giving birth to Edward about 1869, (Edward died shortly after) the father, Obediah (after a few years) married Mrs. Stone, a widow with two sons and moved to a farm in Wasco County. (That was the time the girls were left behind in Richardson's Gap, or maybe even earlier after their mother died.) Their son Holly was born at the farm in Wasco Co. I have no dates for him. After the second wife's death Obediah was reputed to have married once or twice more -- no issue. He died in 1910. Holly inherited the farm and raised a family. There may have been some contact with the family left behind in Scio. Judging by the fact that we have the picture of Holly, it may well have been so. Getting to Oregon: John Wesley crossed the plains in 1851 with his family driving an ox team. The trip took six months. Obediah had left Illinois for the West ahead of the rest of the family, starting for California when he was 18 years of age in 1849. About 1858 he arrived in Oregon. Was Linn County sheriff from 1864-66. Emma was born in their quarters at the jail. Ida was born 3-9-1867. Then Edward who died as a baby. Their mother died shortly after his birth. By 1879 sons William Winston, James Asher, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington had come out and owned land adjacent to property owned by the earlier arrivals. The area is known as "Richardson's Gap" to this day. I don't know which wagon trains they arrived on. I know the Miller train only. If you write in "Oregon History'' you will probably find the Oregon Historical Society and an e-mail address. Give them the name of your pioneer families and see if they have anything on the wagon train designations. My grandmother, Cressie Leo Miller. Her father was Henry Clarence Miller and mother was Emma Richardson. Henry C. and Emma had a large family: Clarence M. - Cressie Leo - Ivan Herschel - Walter Obediah - John Earl - Idella Mae - Viola Alice - Lela Fay. I knew some of them as a child, but remember for sure Aunt Idella and Lela Fay, as well as my grandmother, Cressie Leo. I may have known others but that was a long time ago and my parents moved to California during the depression, (Oregon was not and never really has been an economic powerhouse) so my Dad could find work. His uncle Clarence M. for a time owned a lumbering enterprise and sawmill and could employ his relatives. But that too went bust. I was born in their house in Marcola, Oregon. I was taken to a few reunions in Scio and have attended three of them as an adult but it is hard to remember all those folks. I was usually in Oregon in the summer either in Redmond where my grandparents Miller /McDonald lived following WW1, on in La Pine on the ranch of my mother's parents. As I mentioned before, my Uncle Clarence McDonald lives in Redmond, Oregon and knows more than I do about the family since he is older than I. Good luck on your search. Barbara McDonald Lewis 3/24/02 1:19 PM Hi Barbara, I have enjoyed chatting with you re the Oregon relatives. I have a 3rd cousin who I have forwarded your info to. She descends from a brother of Orpha (Thompson) Richardson named Enoch Thompson. Her line comes from a daughter of Enoch named Martha Alice Thompson who married Theodore Warner Boone. This cousin would like your permission to put your Emails on the Oregon-L message board and on an Internet Page "Oregon Trails. I will forward your reply. Sincerely, Cliff Thompson cfthomp@Friend.ly.Net BARBARA LEWIS wrote: Yes, and you may send my e-mail address. barbaralewis9262@msn.com