Francis Fletcher (March 1, 1814 – October 7, 1871) was a prominent

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and dev ...

of the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and a member of the

Peoria Party The Peoria Party was a group of men from Peoria in the U.S. state of Illinois, who set out about May 1, 1839, with the intention to colonize the Oregon Country on behalf of the United States and to drive out the English fur-trading companies ope ...

.Dobbs

Biography

Born in

Allerston Allerston is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England, about east of Pickering. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 309, reducing slightly to 302 at the 2011 Census. The pari ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, England, he immigrated with his parents, William and Mary Fletcher and four brothers, to

Nassagaweya Township, Ontario Nassagaweya Township is a geographic township and former municipality in Halton Region, Ontario, Canada, now part of Milton. The township was created in 1819, its name derived from the Mississauga word ''nazhesahgewayyong'', meaning 'river with t ...

, Canada in 1825. Moving as a young man to

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...

he joined the

Oregon Dragoons The Peoria Party was a group of men from Peoria in the U.S. state of Illinois, who set out about May 1, 1839, with the intention to colonize the Oregon Country on behalf of the United States and to drive out the English fur-trading companies ope ...

and traveled overland on what was to become the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...

, arriving 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, ...

of Oregon in 1840. There he took a

Donation Land Claim The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850, sometimes known as the Donation Land Act, was a statute enacted by the United States Congress in late 1850, intended to promote homestead settlements in the Oregon Territory. It followed the Distribution-Preem ...

along the

Yamhill River The Yamhill River is an tributary of the Willamette River, in the U.S. state of Oregon. Formed by the confluence of the South Yamhill River and the North Yamhill River about east of McMinnville, it drains part of the Northern Oregon Coast Rang ...

adjacent to his lifelong friend and fellow dragoon Amos Cook. On May 2, 1843, Cook and Fletcher were among the settlers present at

Champoeg, Oregon 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 ...

who voted to create 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 ...

, the first American government west of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

Personal

In 1843 he married Miss Elizabeth Smith who had arrived in the Willamette Valley earlier that year after crossing the Oregon Trail with her parents, Andrew and Polly Smith. The Fletchers raised eight children. Fletcher volunteered for service in the

Cayuse War The Cayuse War was an armed conflict that took place in the Northwestern United States from 1847 to 1855 between the Cayuse people of the region and the United States Government and local American settlers. Caused in part by the influx of disease ...

of 1848 and was on the first board of trustees of

Willamette University Willamette University is a private liberal arts college with locations in Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United States. Originally named the Oregon Institute, the school was an unaffiliated ...

. He died on his farm near

Dayton, Oregon Dayton is a city in Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. The population was 2,534 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History The city was founded in 1850 by Andrew Smith and Joel Palmer. Palmer, who also served as Oregon Superintend ...

and is buried in Brookside Cemetery. His house in Dayton is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

References

*Corning, Howard M., editor. Dictionary of Oregon History. Portland, Oregon: Binfords & Mort, 1956. *Dobbs, Caroline C. Men of Champoeg. 1932. Reprint Cottage Grove, Oregon: Emerald Valley Craftsmen, 1975.

External links

Oregon or the GraveFrancis Fletcher in FindagraveFrancis Fletcher - Oregon Pioneer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fletcher, Francis 1814 births 1871 deaths Champoeg Meetings Cayuse War Willamette University people People from Yamhill County, Oregon Oregon pioneers People from Dayton, Oregon People from Peoria, Illinois