Reverend Gustavus Hines (September 6, 1809 – December 9, 1873) was an American missionary in

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 ...

. Working for the

Methodist Mission The Methodist Mission was the Methodist Episcopal Church's 19th-century conversion efforts in the Pacific Northwest. Local Indigenous cultures were introduced to western culture and Christianity. Superintendent Jason Lee was the principal leader fo ...

in what became the 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 ...

, the New York native became involved in early attempts to form a government at the

Champoeg Meetings The Champoeg Meetings were the first attempts at formal governance by European-American and French Canadian pioneers in the Oregon Country on the Pacific Northwest coast of North America. Between 1841 and 1843, a series of public councils was held ...

in 1841. Later he served on the board of trustees for the

Oregon Institute The Oregon Institute was an American school located in the Willamette Valley of the Oregon Country during the 19th century. Begun in 1842, it was the first school built for European Americans west of Missouri. Founded by members of the Methodist M ...

, which became

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 ...

, and wrote several books on Oregon.

Early life

Gustavus Hines was born on September 6, 1809, in

Herkimer County, New York Herkimer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,139. Its county seat is Herkimer. The county was created in 1791 north of the Mohawk River out of part of Montgomery County. It is named a ...

, to Betsy Round and James Hines.Corning, Howard M. (1989) ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 114. He then entered the ministry in 1832 as part of the Genesee Conference.A Voyage Round the World.
Bryant's Rare Books and Documents. Retrieved on May 31, 2007. The Reverend then joined missionary

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 ...

in 1839 as part of the Great Reinforcements for the

in the Oregon Country.

Oregon

Reverend Hines arrived in

in 1840 aboard the ship ''

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

''.Flora, Stephenie
Emigrants to Oregon in 1840.
Oregon Pioneers. Retrieved on May 31, 2007. He, his wife Lydia, and his sister-in-law all journeyed to the Pacific Northwest via

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...

at the tip of South America. After arrival, he went with Lee to the

Umpqua River The Umpqua River ( ) on the Pacific coast of Oregon in the United States is approximately long. One of the principal rivers of the Oregon Coast and known for bass and shad, the river drains an expansive network of valleys in the mountains west ...

valley to scout a site for a new mission location. The following year Gustavus Hines was involved with the

as a person selected to a committee designed to draft laws that were an attempt at creating a government in the region that was under no formal government at the time. At the February 1841 meetings at David Leslie’s home, Hines served as secretary for the legislative body gathered on

French Prairie French Prairie is located in Marion County, Oregon, United States, in the Willamette Valley between the Willamette River and the Pudding River, north of Salem. It was named for some of the earliest settlers of that part of the Oregon Country, Fr ...

. These meetings did not create a government in 1841, but did elect 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 ...

as a judge to deal with the estate of

Ewing Young Ewing Young (1799-February 9, 1841) was an American fur trapper and trader from Tennessee who traveled in what was then the northern Mexico frontier territories of Santa Fe de Nuevo México and Alta California before settling in the Oregon Country. ...

. Two years later continued meetings led the formation of 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 ...

. Hines' younger brother

Harvey Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit * Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most important awards ...

would journey to Oregon in 1853. In 1842, Lucy Anna Lee was born to Jason Lee's second wife who died shortly after child birth. The Reverend Hines and his wife took in the child and raised her after losing their own daughter, their only child. After the closing of the Methodist Mission, Hines returned to New York in 1845. Hines believed that God killed off the native people of Oregon with disease so that whites could take their land. "The hand of Providence is removing them to give place to a people more worthy of so beautiful and fertile a country," he wrote.''The Good Rain''.

Timothy Egan Timothy P. Egan (born November 8, 1954) is an American author, journalist and op-ed columnist for ''The New York Times'', writing from a liberal perspective. Egan has written nine books. His first, ''The Good Rain'', won the Pacific Northwest B ...

. Vintage. New York: 1990.

Later life

However, he would return to what became

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Ori ...

in 1853. There he was involved as a trustee for

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river ...

, including work on the committee that designed

Waller Hall Waller Hall is a building on the campus of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, in the United States. Opened in 1867 as University Hall, it is the oldest higher-education building west of the Mississippi River still in use, currently housing t ...

.Hines, Gustavus. ''Oregon and Its Institutions; Comprising a Full History of the Willamette University''. Carlton & Porter, 1868. Gustavus Hines also wrote several books before dying in

Oregon City ) , image_skyline = McLoughlin House.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = The McLoughlin House, est. 1845 , image_flag = , image_seal = Oregon City seal.png , image_map ...

, but buried at

Lee Mission Cemetery Lee Mission Cemetery is a pioneer cemetery in Salem, Oregon, United States. History Lee Mission Cemetery was established in 1842 with the burial of Lucy Thompson Lee, the second wife of Rev. Jason Lee. The cemetery's gate has the date 1838, which ...

in Salem. He died on December 9, 1873.

Works authored

*''Oregon and Its Institutions; Comprising a Full History of the Willamette University''. Carlton & Porter, 1868. *''A Voyage Round the World: With a History of the Oregon Mission and Notes of Several Years Residence on the Plains Bordering the''... George H. Derby & Co., Buffalo: 1850. *''Wild life in Oregon'':... Hurst & Co., New York: 1881.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hines, Gustavus Champoeg Meetings Methodist Mission in Oregon People from Herkimer County, New York 1809 births 1873 deaths Willamette University people People from Salem, Oregon Oregon pioneers