Message text written by INTERNET:ORMULTNO-L@rootsweb.com > Can anyone tell me if the city of Portland regulated or licensed ferries in the late 1880s or 1890s? Would the city or county have records that far back? Where should I start looking? Specifically, my "most wanted" is my GGGGrand, Daniel Walker Keith b) after 1810 Nelson Co KY d) 1901 Coffey Co KS. He left his family in MO sometime around 1855 and headed west (boy, that narrows it down). Family tradition has it that he was tracked down by his 2 youngest sons in 1895, operating a ferry on the Columbia River in Portland. Where he was for 40 years, no one knows. Have had no luck with census or tax info for Multnomah Co, so I thought I would try this angle. Any clues? Roger Keith Jacksonville, NC< Hmm. Yes, they did regulate ferries. But there are a few things that make me not sure how to answer you. In the early days (1840s-1850s) I know that the state legislature governed the ferries. I don't know when or if that changed, so don't know if the county would be where you should look. I don't think it is the city. Even today, Multnomah County controls the bridges across the Willamette in the middle of downtown Portland. A second problem is, if the ferry was on the Columbia River, that wouldn't have been Portland until a very recent time period. The Willamette river flows through the city, and meets up with the Columbia north of town. Before 1890, all that was city of Portland was west of the Willamette. And if the ferry did operate across the Columbia, he could have lived on either side, so maybe was in Washington. I checked an 1890 city directory, and he is not listed, in Portland or any of the surrounding towns. But, again, the banks of the Columbia would have been at the furthest reaches, and not a part of any city at that time. Have you checked out the information at the Oregon State Archives? I see there is a D. Keith enumerated in the 1895 Multnomah County census - you can email the archives and they will make you a copy for a quarter, plus postage. Presuming this is him, he is in precinct 20, page 33. The following page has a list of contacts, both e-mail and snail-mail. <http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/county/cpaddresslist.html> It's the only reference I see, but they don't have a lot of Multnomah County Records. Julie JulieKidd@compuserve.com http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JulieKidd/