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Local histories

History of the Columbia River Valley from the Dalles to the Sea

Janet knew where some of her ancestors had lived in Oregon, so she tried looking through local histories to find out more about them. By searching the library catalog with the keywords "dalles history" and "wasco history." Janet was able to find some books about areas in Oregon where her ancestors lived.

For example, she found Fred Lockley's History of the Columbia River Valley from the Dalles to the Sea

She read the article and learned that her great grandmother, who was the source, included quite a bit of information about the Herke family as well as the Fleck family. Janet was very impressed with the article, because her great grandmother had listed all of her children and grandchildren--so Janet's very own MOTHER was named in a history book!!

Janet Irwin's mother and second cousins, 1929

Janet's mother (front center with doll). Fleck cousins, about 1929

The next time Janet read Lockley, the following paragraph struck her:

Anthony Herke came to the United States in 1870 and located at Athanam valley, near Yakima, Washington, where he took up a homestead, which was mostly covered with timber. He was one of the pioneer settlers in the Yakima valley, as may be inferred from the fact that as late as 1879 there were but thirty-six families resident in the territory now included in Benton, Yakima and Klickitat counties. He cleared off most of his land and engaged extensively in raising vegetables, which he traded to the Indians for cattle and horses, there being no other markets near by. Ready money was scarce and in order to support his family he went to work at The Dalles. While there, he was notified of the death of his wife, which occurred July 5, 1879, and he at once started to walk home, a distance of about one hundred miles, which he covered in two days, arriving in time for the funeral.

Related resources

Books

Multnomah County Library can provide some local histories. Use the library catalog with the keywords "history" or "genealogy" combined with the geographic place you are interested in ("oregon history," "wasco county history," "gresham genealogy," etc.) to find titles like:

Builders, Brewers, and Burghers: Germans of Washington State by Dale R. Wirsing
Ghost Towns of Washington and Oregon by Donald C. Miller
A Guide to Oregon South Coast History: Traveling the Jedediah Smith Trail by Nathan Douthit

Related Web sites

American Local History Network: http://www.alhn.org/

The American Local History Network is "a non-profit, unincorporated association of historical and genealogical researchers." You can search for information by state.
HistoryLink.org The Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History: http://www.historylink.org/this_week/index.cfm

More than 70 million files about the history of Washington state available.
Oregon Historical Society: http://www.ohs.org/

Search the collections on the Oregon Historical Society website to find their online catalog, oral histories, photographs, manuscripts, and more. Try using the catalog to search for local place names, like Lane County.
Washington State History Museum: http://www.wshs.org

Offers a variety of services to researchers, historians, scholars, and lifelong learners. Non-Washington State residents may have to pay a fee for this service.