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Ewing Young (1799-February 9, 1841) was an American fur trapper and trader from
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
who traveled in what was then the northern Mexico frontier territories of
Santa Fe de Nuevo México Santa Fe de Nuevo México ( en, Holy Faith of New Mexico; shortened as Nuevo México or Nuevo Méjico, and translated as New Mexico in English) was a Kingdom of the Spanish Empire and New Spain, and later a territory of independent Mexico. The ...
and
Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...
before settling in the
Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been created by the Treaty of 1818, co ...
. Young traded along the
Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, th ...
, followed parts of the Old Spanish Trail west, and established new trails. He later moved north to the
Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, ...
. As a prominent and wealthy citizen in Oregon, his death was the impetus for the assemblies that several years later established the
Provisional Government of Oregon The Provisional Government of Oregon was a popularly elected settler government created in the Oregon Country, in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Its formation had been advanced at the Champoeg Meetings since February 17, 1841, a ...
.


Early life

Ewing Young was born in Tennessee to a farming family in 1799. In the early 1820s he had moved to
Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
, then the far western edge of the American frontier, not far from the border of the Spanish-controlled territories of present-day
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
,
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
and the
Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...
. While residing in Missouri he farmed briefly on the Missouri River at Charitan.


New Mexico

Under the Spanish colonial system, trade between Americans and the Spanish outpost at Santa Fe was prohibited, but with the end of the
Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...
Spanish authorities were removed from the area in 1821. American traders, mainly operating out of
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
, were eager to test whether commercial activities in Santa Fe would now be allowed, and a small group of Americans returned successfully in December 1821 from a small trading foray. At age 18, Young sold the farm he had recently purchased and eagerly signed up to join a somewhat larger group bound for Santa Fe. In May 1822 this party departed, becoming the first overland wagon train to traverse the
Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, th ...
. Young and the others found that they were welcomed by the new Mexican authorities in Santa Fe. The Spanish and later Mexicans had not focused on trapping fur-bearing animals of the Southwest as demand was small within the Spanish trading system. Expeditions of the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...
, the
American Fur Company The American Fur Company (AFC) was founded in 1808, by John Jacob Astor, a German immigrant to the United States. During the 18th century, furs had become a major commodity in Europe, and North America became a major supplier. Several British co ...
and others established the
North American fur trade The North American fur trade is the commercial trade in furs in North America. Various Indigenous peoples of the Americas traded furs with other tribes during the pre-Columbian era. Europeans started their participation in the North American fur ...
(mainly
beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
) in response to demand for furs in American and European markets, and the new trail opened up fresh hunting grounds. For the next nine years Young pioneered trapping in the region, dividing his time between Santa Fe and Missouri. He led many of the first American expeditions into the mountains and watercourses of the present-day states of
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
,
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
,
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, and
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
. Young and his associates established a commercial route between Nuevo México and Missouri that exchanged Mexican furs, horses and mules for American-produced trade goods.Young, F. G. and Joaquin Youn
''"Ewing Young and His Estate: A Chapter in the Economic and Community Development of Oregon."''
The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society 21, No. 3 (1920), pp. 171-315.
When they returned to Nuevo Mexico, they sold the American goods for gold and silver coin. During the trapping expedition of 1827–1828, Young employed a teenaged
Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman. He was a fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, and U.S. Army officer. He became a frontier legend in his own lifetime by biographies and n ...
. Despite tension that developed with Mexican authorities trying to restrict American activities, Young became a successful trapper and businessman. He eventually set up a trading post in Pueblo de Taos in northern Nuevo Mexico, in the late 1820s. During his time in Mexico he was generally called Joachin John or Joaquin Jóven by fellow inhabitants. Bancroft, Hubertbr>''History of California, Volume III''
San Francisco: A. L. Bancroft & Co. 1885, pp. 174-175


California

In the spring of 1830, Young led the first American trapping expedition to reach the Pacific Coast from Santa Fe, traveling via the Salt River, Gila and Verde rivers, then cross-country to the
Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...
and on across the
Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...
following the trail marked three years before by
Jedediah Smith Jedediah Strong Smith (January 6, 1799 – May 27, 1831) was an American clerk, transcontinental pioneer, frontiersman, hunter, trapper, author, cartographer, mountain man and explorer of the Rocky Mountains, the Western United States, and ...
, eventually arriving at
Mission San Gabriel Arcángel Mission San Gabriel Arcángel ( es, Misión de San Gabriel Arcángel) is a Californian mission and historic landmark in San Gabriel, California. It was founded by Spaniards of the Franciscan order on "The Feast of the Birth of Mary," September ...
, where they recuperated. The group then visited
Mission San Fernando Rey de España Mission San Fernando Rey de España is a Spanish mission in the Mission Hills community of Los Angeles, California. The mission was founded on 8 September 1797 at the site of Achooykomenga, and was the seventeenth of the twenty-one Spanish mis ...
on their way north into California's great Central Valley via its southern
San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...
section. Once there, the group moved north to the
Sacramento Valley , photo =Sacramento Riverfront.jpg , photo_caption= Sacramento , map_image=Map california central valley.jpg , map_caption= The Central Valley of California , location = California, United States , coordinates = , boundaries = Sierra Nevada (ea ...
, where they encountered
Peter Skene Ogden Peter Skene Ogden (alternately Skeene, Skein, or Skeen; baptised 12 February 1790 – 27 September 1854) was a British-Canadian fur trader and an early explorer of what is now British Columbia and the Western United States. During his many expedi ...
of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). The two groups jointly trapped the valley before the Americans set off for the
Tule River The Tule River, also called Rio de San Pedro or Rio San Pedro, is a river in Tulare County in the U.S. state of California. The river originates in the Sierra Nevada east of Porterville and consists of three forks, North, Middle and South. The N ...
. After a short trapping excursion there, the party encountered an official from the
Mission San José Mission San José may refer to: *Mission San José (California), a Spanish mission in Fremont, California * Mission San Jose, Fremont, California, a neighborhood * Mission San Jose High School, a high school in Fremont, California *Mission San José ...
, who was trying capture members of the mission, possibly
Ohlone people The Ohlone, formerly known as Costanoans (from Spanish meaning 'coast dweller'), are a Native American people of the Northern California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the late 18th century, the Ohlone inhabited the ...
. With the aid of eleven of Young's trappers the "fugitives" were taken back to the mission, where Young visited on 11 July. From here the Americans moved on to
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...
to trade their pelts. After this they went south to
Pueblo de Los Angeles In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...
and then back to Taos before the end of 1830. At the time of his return to Taos with the proceeds of this expedition, Young was established as one of the wealthiest Americans in Mexican territory.Holmes, Kenneth (1967) pp. 46-60 Over the next few years, Young and his group continued traveling to Alta California to trap and trade. In 1834 in
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
, Young encountered Hall J. Kelley, the great promoter of the Oregon Country from
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. Kelley invited Ewing Young to accompany him north to Oregon, but Young at first declined. After re-thinking, Young agreed to travel with Kelley and they set out in July 1834, with a group including
Webley John Hauxhurst Webley John Hauxhurst Jr. (January 23, 1809 – January 23, 1874) was a pioneer in Oregon Country. He helped build the first grist mill in Oregon, participated in the Willamette Cattle Company, and was a participant at the Champoeg meeting where ...
and
Joseph Gale Joseph Goff Gale (April 29, 1807 – December 13, 1881) was an American pioneer, trapper, entrepreneur, and politician who contributed to the early settlement of the Oregon Country. There he assisted in the construction of the first sailing vesse ...
, both prominent figures in the
Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, ...
, accompanying them.


Oregon Country

Young and Kelley arrived at the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...
post
Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading post that was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was located on the northern bank of th ...
on October 17, 1834, center of the
Columbia District The Columbia District was a fur trading The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold ...
. Bancroft, Hubert and
Frances Fuller Victor Frances Auretta Fuller (Barritt) Victor ( pen names: Florence Fane, Dorothy D.) (May 23, 1826 – November 14, 1902) was an American historian and historical novelist. She has been described as "the first Oregon historian to gain regional and nat ...

''History of Oregon''
San Francisco: History Co., 1890
The HBC was the preeminent economic force in the region's
fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...
. At the time the Oregon Country was jointly occupied by the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Great B ...
and the
United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
. Young decided to settle permanently on the west bank of the
Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward b ...
, near the mouth of
Chehalem Creek Chehalem Creek is a tributary of the Willamette River in Yamhill County in the U.S. state of Oregon. It drains a watershed of , about 68 square miles. Its headwaters rise on the eastern slope of the Northern Oregon Coast Range above Larsen Reservo ...
, opposite
Champoeg Champoeg ( , historically Horner, John B. (1919). ''Oregon: Her History, Her Great Men, Her Literature''. The J.K. Gill Co.: Portland. p. 398.) is a former town in the U.S. state of Oregon. Now a ghost town, it was an important settlement in the W ...
. His home is believed to be the first house built by European Americans on that side of the river.Hussey, John A. ''Champoeg: Place of Transition, A Disputed History.'' Portland: Oregon Historical Society. 1967, pp. 73-74 Dr.
John McLoughlin John McLoughlin, baptized Jean-Baptiste McLoughlin, (October 19, 1784 – September 3, 1857) was a French-Canadian, later American, Chief Factor and Superintendent of the Columbia District of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver fro ...
of the HBC tried to discourage American settlers in the region. The Mexican government of
Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...
accused Young and his group of having stolen 200 horses when they left. The group denied this, saying some uninvited traveling companions had stolen the horses. McLoughlin blacklisted Young from doing business with the HBC. In 1836, Young secured a vat from
Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth (January 29, 1802 – August 31, 1856) was an American inventor and businessman in Boston, Massachusetts who contributed greatly to its ice industry. Due to his inventions, Boston could harvest and ship ice internati ...
's failed post on Wapato Island and began a distillery to produce alcohol.Allen, A. J
years in Oregon.''
Ithaca, NY: Mack, Andrus, & Co. 1848. p. 78
The Methodist Mission superintendent
Jason Lee Jason Lee may refer to: Entertainment *Jason Lee (actor) (born 1970), American film and TV actor and former professional skateboarder *Jason Scott Lee (born 1966), Asian American film actor * Jaxon Lee (Jason Christopher Lee, born 1968), American v ...
organized the Oregon Temperance Society and, along with McLoughlin, tried to get Young to stop his efforts. McLoughlin and the HBC prohibited alcohol sales to the Indigenous peoples, as they had seen that it caused problems. Late in the year, U.S. Navy Lieutenant William A. Slacum arrived on the ship ''
Loriot Bernhard-Viktor Christoph-Carl von Bülow (12 November 1923 – 22 August 2011), known as Vicco von Bülow or Loriot (), was a German comedian, humorist, cartoonist, film director, actor and writer. He was best known for his cartoons, the s ...
'' and helped to dissuade Young from following through on the venture.


Willamette Cattle Company

Slacum was an agent of the U.S. President; he helped put together a joint venture among the men to purchase cattle. In January 1837, Young was selected as the leader of the
Willamette Cattle Company The Willamette Cattle Company was formed in 1837 by pioneers in the Willamette Valley of present-day Oregon, United States. The company was formed with the express purpose of purchasing cattle in Mexican California. Nearly 750 head of cattle and ...
. He traveled to California on the ''Loriot'' (assisted by Slacum). After purchasing 630 head of cattle, he brought them back along the
Siskiyou Trail The Siskiyou Trail stretched from California's Central Valley to Oregon's Willamette Valley; modern-day Interstate 5 follows this pioneer path. Originally based on existing Native American foot trails winding their way through river valleys, t ...
. Previously, the HBC had owned all the cattle in the Willamette Valley and rented animals to settlers. Accompanying Young on the cattle drive were
Philip Leget Edwards Philip Leget Edwards (July 14, 1812 – May 1, 1869) was an American educator from the state of Kentucky and first teacher in what became the state of Oregon. After teaching in Missouri, he traveled to the Oregon Country with Jason Lee and helpe ...
, Calvin Tibbets,
John Turner John Napier Wyndham Turner (June 7, 1929September 19, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Canada from June to September 1984. He served as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and leader of t ...
,
William J. Bailey William J. Bailey (January 13, 1807 – February 5, 1876) was a British-born physician who migrated to the United States, where he became a pioneer and politician in the Oregon Country, particularly the Willamette Valley. Bailey participated in the ...
, George Gay, Lawrence Carmichael, Pierre De Puis, B. Williams, and Emert Ergnette. During the drive Gay and Bailey murdered a native boy, rationalising it as justice for the attack several years earlier by the
Rogue River Indians Rogue River Indians are a conglomeration of many tribal groups in the Rogue River Valley area, belonging to three language families: Athabascan, Takelma and Shastan. Groups The principal tribes grouped under the name Rogue River Indians were: * ...
on Young’s group.


Marriage and family

He took María Josefa Tafoya, the daughter of a prominent Taos family who were Mexican citizens, as his wife in a common-law marriage.Holmes, Kenneth (1967) p. 40-43. By the late 1820s and early 1830s, the Mexican authorities were growing concerned about American settlers and their influences in Nuevo México. They began to impose increasingly severe restrictions on trade and trapping. Perhaps in part to avoid these restrictions, Young was baptized a Catholic in 1830 (perhaps he also became a Mexican citizen and formalized his marriage to Maria Tafoya; however, if he did so, no record of these two events survives).


Legacy

In February 1841, Young died without any known heir and without a will. This created a need for some form of probate court to deal with his estate, which had many debtors and creditors among the settlers. Doctor
Ira L. Babcock Doctor Ira Leonard Babcock (c. 1808 – March 21, 1888) was an American pioneer and doctor in the Oregon Country. A native of New York, he was selected as the first Supreme Judge with probate powers in February 1841 in what would become the stat ...
was selected as supreme judge with probate powers to deal with Young's estate. The activities that followed his death eventually led to the creation of a
provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...
in the Oregon Country. The Ewing Young Historical Marker located along Oregon Route 240 notes the location of Young's farm and grave. Ewing Young Elementary School in Newberg, Oregon, is named in his honor. In 1942 the Liberty ship ''Ewing Young'' (hull #631 from Calships in
Terminal Island, California Terminal Island, historically known as Isla Raza de Buena Gente, is a largely artificial island located in Los Angeles County, California, between the neighborhoods of Wilmington, Los Angeles, Wilmington and San Pedro, Los Angeles, San Pedro in t ...
) was named in his honor. The ''Ewing Young'' served in the Pacific theater during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and was scrapped in 1959.


Ewing Young Heritage Oak Tree

On May 6, 1846, an acorn was planted on Young’s grave near his cabin site by Miranda Bayley and Sidney Smith. The oak still survives as of 2018 and was listed among ''Oregon's Heritage Trees'' on April 7, 1999. It i
located west
of Newberg, Oregon on private property but can be seen from Highway 240. In 2011 the tree had a trunk circumference and a crown measuring .


Notes


References

* Carter, Harvey L. "Ewing Young", featured in "Trappers of the Far West", Leroy R. Hafen, editor. 1972, Arthur H. Clark Company, reprint University of Nebraska Press, October 1983. * *Carter, Harvey Lewis ''"Dear Old Kit": The Historical Christopher Carson'', University of Oklahoma Press, hardcover (1968), 250 pages; trade paperback reprint, University of Oklahoma Press (August 1990), 250 pages, Pages 38 to 150 of ''"Dear Old Kit"'' consist of an annotated edition of "The Kit Carson Memoirs, 1809–1856", an original manuscript dictated by Kit Carson with 322 annotations by Carter. {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Ewing American explorers Explorers of California Oregon pioneers American fur traders 1799 births 1841 deaths People from Tennessee People of pre-statehood New Mexico Oregon Country Willamette Valley Explorers of North America Explorers of the United States