ST. PAUL - The only Revolutionary War veteran buried in Oregon finally got his government issue tombstone. Saturday at St. Paul's Old Cemetery, [Oregon] a color guard and a priest gave Willaim Cannon a proper sendoff - a black powder gun salute, a benediction and blessing, followed a taped recording of taps. Cannon. who died in 1854 at age 99, had to wait 150 years because he didn't have the proper papers required by the Veterans Administration. Cannon's burial site and war service were authenticated in 1991 after years of research, then a former St. Paul mayor and the Sons of the American Revolution worked for 12 years to get the tombstone. Genealogist Keith Miller of Beaverton (Oregon), a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, said Cannon was born in 1755 in Virginia. He was a private in the 4th Regiment of Artillery, Pennsylvania regiment, Continental Line, fighting in the battles of Cowpens and King's Mountain. Cannon headed west to Oregon in 1811 with the expedition of the John Jacob Astor Fur Company. Later, he was one of the 52 men who voted for a provisional government at a meeting at Champoeg (Oregon) on May 2, 1843. Miller says Cannon's descendants are lost. Records show him listed as the widower of a Chinook woman, Polly Clackamas (the Clackamas tribe was part of the Chinook nation, and women often took the last name of the tribe they came from). Records show they had a son, John, who was baptized and may have been raised in the Clackamas tribe. The ceremony Saturday drew about 50 people to the north Marion County town, some from as far away as Texas. Many said it honored not just Cannon, but all veterans. The event also served as a tribute to the former mayor, Joe McKay. Besides trying to get the tombstone, the mayor, who died three years ago, used to put out temporary markers for Cannon. The Dalles Chronicle April 14, 2003. Written permission to reprint given by The Dalles Chronicle, The Dalles, Oregon Copied and submitted by Earline Wasser Member of Columbia Gorge Genealogical Society c/o The Dalles/Wasco County Public Library 722 Court Street The Dalles, Oregon 97058 http://community.oregonlive.com/cc/genealogy Browse http://historysavers.com/orwasco/ recently updated information regarding Wasco County - Links are at the bottom of page http://searches.rootsweb.com/ "Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant." Robert Louis Stevenson _________________________________________________________________ Help STOP SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail