> > My sisters and I just had such a wonderful 2-day jaunt to Oregon in quest of > our NOBLE and MARKS heritage, I'd love to share it. I know I have been in > touch with many of you in search of my family, so some of this information > is a repeat. I hope I don't bore you too badly. > > We found the donation land claim of our great-great-grandparents, William > Sherman Noble and Sarah Noble, who crossed the Oregon Trail from Ohio (via > Iowa) in 1850. It is such a gorgeous piece of property in the Willamette > Valley -- mostly flat, rich farmland with gentle, rolling hills around, and > the Cascade Mountains majestically rising to the east. The Santiam River > runs nearby, and the Old Santiam Wagon Road also passes very near. "Noble > Slough" runs through the property. They must have felt they'd arrived in > heaven when they got there! We found the Liberty/Nye cemetery where William > was buried, though not his grave. Lots of wonderful old graves of Oregon > Trail pioneers, however, which were fascinating. > > We also found the DLC of our great-great-grandparents Bluford and Martha > Marks, who crossed the trail from Missouri in 1853 with a large group of > Marks relatives. Their claim is across the Santiam River from the Nobles' > claim, on a high ridge (Marks Ridge) overlooking the valley and the city of > Sweet Home. What a breath-taking view! > > We visited the Lebanon Library, and found some documentation of our > ancestors. Many, many thanks to Jane Hutchings for her help! > > The most moving part of the trip was at the grave of our great-grandmother, > Charity Noble Marks, wife of James P. Marks and mother of our grandfather, > George Alfred Marks. Charity was buried at the top of the Santiam Pass with > her infant child, beside the Old Santiam Wagon Road, where they died in > 1875. It is in the Willamette National Forest, near Fish Lake campground. > We walked a length of the old road to get to the grave, with wagon ruts to > remind us of its history and towering evergreens making the forest almost > dark. I pondered how Charity must have felt, only 19 years old, going into > labor in such a beautiful, lonely place, with snow falling around her and > closing her in. At the grave we met a group of hikers on a 4-day "Living > History" trek, and the teenage daughter of one of the rangers presented a > monologue, in costume, of the events of that sad day. The whole group > appeared touched by Charity's story. Several rangers were there, and > expressed gratefulness that we had come. They seemed to have some emotional > attachment to Charity and her baby, and may have felt some comfort to think > that after 125 years of being tended faithfully by strangers, her > descendants had found her and come to visit, and even mourn. > > My two sisters and two cousins joined me on the trip, and one cousin brought > an old Bible that I had never seen, with family names inscribed. A note in > it said it had come over the Oregon Trail to Oregon. Pages were missing, so > we weren't sure which side of the family it came from, but it had Noble and > Marks names and dates written in it. What a treasure! > > A team of high school students was at the grave, working on a short PBS > program called "Through Their Eyes," focusing on a young person's view of > Oregon history. They interviewed us, and may include Charity's story in > their film. > > Our next step will be to get to eastern Oregon (Crook County), where the > Noble and Marks families moved around 1870. I believe other descendants of > William and Sarah Noble are still there. I'd love to find relatives with > some photos! > > It amazes me that in March we knew no more than my grandfather's name and > that he was born in the Willamette Valley, and now we know so much about our > ancestors! It makes history to so personal. We owe a debt of gratitude to > many on these lists who helped us find our roots. Thank-you! > > I know this may not be interesting to everyone, but I'm just so excited > about what we're finding, it's fun to share it. Thanks for your patience. > > Marilyn Schwartz > Chelan, WA >