Jesse Applegate (July 5, 1811 – April 22, 1888) was an American
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 de ...
who led a large group of settlers along the
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and 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 is now the state of Kans ...
to the
Oregon Country. He was an influential member of the early government of Oregon, and helped establish the
Applegate Trail
The Applegate Trail was an emigrant trail through the present-day U.S. states of Idaho, Nevada, California, and Oregon used in the mid-19th century by emigrants on the American frontier. It was originally intended as a less dangerous alternative t ...
as an alternative route to the Oregon Trail.
Early life
Jesse Applegate was born in
Henry County, Kentucky
Henry County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky bordering the Kentucky River. Its county seat is New Castle, but its largest city is Eminence. The county was founded in 1798 from portions of Shelby ...
, on July 5, 1811.
In 1821, he moved with his family to
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
where he soon was employed in the law office of
Edward Bates
Edward Bates (September 4, 1793 – March 25, 1869) was a lawyer and politician. He represented Missouri in the US House of Representatives and served as the U.S. Attorney General under President Abraham Lincoln. A member of the influential ...
.
He attended
seminary
A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...
in
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
, worked as a schoolteacher, clerk, and deputy
surveyor to the Missouri Surveyor General, where he met
Jedediah Smith,
William Sublette
William Lewis Sublette, also spelled Sublett (September 21, 1798 – July 23, 1845), was an American frontiersman, trapper, fur trader, explorer, and mountain man. After 1823, he became an agent of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, along with his ...
, and
David Edward Jackson—men who were instrumental in blazing the
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and 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 is now the state of Kans ...
. Applegate married Cynthia Ann Parker on March 13, 1831 and settled outside
Osceola, Missouri
Osceola is a city in St. Clair County, Missouri, United States. The population was 909 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of St. Clair County. During the American Civil War, Osceola was the site of the Sacking of Osceola.
History
Located ...
on the
Osage River
The Osage River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 31, 2011 tributary of the Missouri River in central Missouri in the United States. The eighth-largest river ...
the next year. His farmstead lasted for twelve years, with the labor force primarily slaves from neighboring farms, despite Applegate not owning any personally.
The Great Migration
Along with his brothers
Charles and
Lindsay and their families, he joined what became known as the "
Great Migration of 1843" on the Oregon Trail. He became one of the leaders of the expedition after it split into two parties over a dispute about whether the large amounts of livestock being driven by some members of the group would slow down their travel. Applegate's party became known as the "cow column" and the other party was called the "light column".
[ (Originally published in '' The Overland Monthly'', 1868.)] He memorialized the journey in an essay that gained in fame in the ensuing decades, "
A Day with the Cow Column in 1843".
After leaving their guide
Marcus Whitman
Marcus Whitman (September 4, 1802 – November 29, 1847) was an American physician and missionary.
In 1836, Marcus Whitman led an overland party by wagon to the West. He and his wife, Narcissa, along with Reverend Henry Spalding and his wife, E ...
at his mission and abandoning their wagons at
Fort Walla Walla
Fort Walla Walla is a United States Army fort located in Walla Walla, Washington. The first Fort Walla Walla was established July 1856, by Lieutenant Colonel Edward Steptoe, 9th Infantry Regiment. A second Fort Walla Walla was occupied Septem ...
, the Applegate brothers built boats for traveling down the
Columbia River to
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 ...
. Near
The Dalles
The Dalles is the largest city of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census, and it is the largest city on the Oregon side of the Columbia River between the Portland Metropolitan Area, and Hermiston ...
, a boat capsized and Jesse and Lindsay each lost a son to drowning. Lindsay later wrote, "We resolved if we remained in the country, to find a better way for others who might wish to emigrate."
Settlement and involvement in politics
In 1844, Jesse Applegate started a farm in present-day
Polk County Polk County is the name of twelve counties in the United States, all except two named after president of the United States James Knox Polk:
* Polk County, Arkansas
* Polk County, Florida
* Polk County, Georgia
* Polk County, Iowa
* Polk Count ...
, and also built a mill and worked as a surveyor, including surveying the site of
Oregon City. During the elections for the Legislative Committee 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, ...
1845, Applegate was elected without his prior knowledge
[Land of giants; the drive to the Pacific Northwest, 1750-1950, Lavender, David S., Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1958] as the representative of
Yamhill County (one of five counties in Oregon at the time). Soon, he was appointed, along with
David Hill and
Robert Newell, to draft a revision of the Organic Laws, eventually being voted and adopted by the settler population.
The Provisional Government had tense relations with 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 di ...
centered on
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 ...
across the Columbia River, and Applegate led the way for a political settlement. He created a new oath for members of the government that was inclusive for British subjects as well as American citizens. In a meeting with
John McLoughlin and
James Douglas, the Yamhill legislator was able to induce the men to join the Provisional Government. A previous episode of an American squatting on Fort Vancouver's farmland and his subsequent threat of burning the Fort down helped produce the agreement.
The Provisional Government was to tax the Hudson's Bay Company only on transactions with the settlers. Douglas was one of the judges elected to the newly established Vancouver district, encompassing the lands of north of the Columbia. Upon hearing of an upcoming battle between two men over a woman, Applegate was able to get dueling banned.
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 ...
was one of the last series of events in Oregon that Applegate was active in. After the
Whitman massacre
The Whitman massacre (also known as the Walla Walla massacre and referred to as the Tragedy at Waiilatpu by the National Park Service) was the killing of the Washington missionaries Marcus Whitman and his wife Narcissa, along with eleven others ...
, a commission led by Applegate contacted Douglas to request a loan from the HBC,
to fund a
military intervention
Interventionism refers to a political practice of intervention, particularly to the practice of governments to interfere in political affairs of other countries, staging military or trade interventions. Economic interventionism refers to a diff ...
. Douglas stated that he was not authorized to make a loan, but recommended the peace keeping mission of
Peter Ogden
Sir Peter Ogden (born 1940) is an English businessman who is one of the founders of Computacenter, one of the United Kingdom's largest computer businesses.
Education
Ogden was born in Rochdale, England. He was educated at Rochdale Grammar Sch ...
sent to the Cayuse. A loan of $999.41 was raised from the contributions of Applegate,
Asa Lovejoy and
George Abernethy
George Abernethy (October 7, 1807 – March 2, 1877) was an American politician, pioneer, notable entrepreneur, and first governor of Oregon under the provisional government based in the Willamette Valley, an area later a part of the American sta ...
, with others raised as well.
[''History of Oregon''](_blank)
Carey, Charles H., Chicago: Pioneer historical Pub. Co., 1922, pp. 405-406 Due to the isolation of the settler communities in the Willamette Valley
Joseph Meek
Joseph Lafayette "Joe" Meek (February 9, 1810 – June 20, 1875) was a pioneer, mountain man, law enforcement official, and politician in the Oregon Country and later Oregon Territory of the United States. A trapper involved in the fur trade b ...
and Applegate were appointed to request aid from other parts of the United States. Meek traveled to
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
to deliver a memorial written by Applegate appealing for military support.
While attempting to reach his destination of California, Applegate had to turn back due to the mountain passes being impossible to traverse in the winter.
Applegate Trail
A safer alternative to boating the Columbia River was still needed for settlers wishing to reach 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 eas ...
. The
Barlow Road
The Barlow Road (at inception, Mount Hood Road) is a historic road in what is now the U.S. state of Oregon. It was built in 1846 by Sam Barlow and Philip Foster, with authorization of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon, and served as the la ...
was safer than the river passage, but was considered to be worst stretch of the entire Oregon Trail. Another attempt at finding an alternate route, the
Meek Cutoff
Meek Cutoff was a horse trail road that branched off the Oregon Trail in northeastern Oregon and was used as an alternate emigrant route to the Willamette Valley in the mid-19th century. The road was named for frontiersman Stephen Meek, who wa ...
, resulted in the deaths of at least 23 people. Applegate wrote legislation that authorized him to survey a southern route to the Willamette Valley that would avoid the Columbia River.
Daniel Waldo, one of Applegate's fellow emigrants from the Great Migration of 1843, was made the expedition's outfitter. Also known as the South Road, the Applegate Trail started at
Fort Hall
Fort Hall was a fort in the western United States that was built in 1834 as a fur trading post by Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth. It was located on the Snake River in the eastern Oregon Country, now part of present-day Bannock County in southeastern Ida ...
in present-day
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...
and followed the
Humboldt River
The Humboldt River is an extensive river drainage system located in north-central Nevada. It extends in a general east-to-west direction from its headwaters in the Jarbidge, Independence, and Ruby Mountains in Elko County, to its terminus in th ...
before crossing the
Klamath Basin
The Klamath Basin is the region in the U.S. states of Oregon and California drained by the Klamath River. It contains most of Klamath County and parts of Lake and Jackson counties in Oregon, and parts of Del Norte, Humboldt, Modoc, Siskiyou ...
.
Jesse Thornton
Jesse may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible.
* Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Jesse (surname), a list of people
Music
* Jesse (album) ...
traveled along the trail in 1846, its first year, and later accused Applegate of starving his party to give him a stronger negotiating position for giving relief. Applegate was however defended by men who surveyed the road.
Later life
Applegate settled on a
land claim
A land claim is defined as "the pursuit of recognized territorial ownership by a group or individual". The phrase is usually only used with respect to disputed or unresolved land claims. Some types of land claims include aboriginal land claims, A ...
in the
Umpqua Valley
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 ...
in 1849. He named the place
Yoncalla after the local
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
tribe. In 1857, he represented
Umpqua County at the
Oregon Constitutional Convention
The Oregon Constitutional Convention in 1857 drafted the Oregon Constitution in preparation for the Oregon Territory to become a U.S. state. Held from mid-August through September, 60 men met in Salem, Oregon, and created the foundation for Orego ...
though he withdrew from the gathering before it was complete.
In an address in 1865, Applegate expressed a then-progressive position that "Every member of the commonwealth, no matter of which sex, what color or where born, if free from the tutelage imposed by the domestic relations should have the right to vote, if morally and mentally qualified to do so."
Applegate died on April 22, 1888 and is buried in a small private cemetery near Yoncalla, Oregon with his wife.
[Browning, James A. (1993) ''Violence Was No Stranger.'' Barbed Wire Press. .]
Footnotes
Further reading
* Joseph Schafer
"Jesse Applegate: Pioneer, Statesman and Philosopher,"''Washington Historical Quarterly,'' vol. 1, no. 4 (July 1907), pp. 217–233.
External links
Jesse Applegate—Pioneerfrom the
Oregon Encyclopedia
The ''Oregon Encyclopedia of History and Culture'' is a collaborative encyclopedia focused on the history and culture of the U.S. state of Oregon.
Description
The encyclopedia is a project of Portland State University
Portland State Universi ...
from End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Applegate, Jesse
1811 births
1888 deaths
Oregon Trail
Members of the Oregon Constitutional Convention
Members of the Provisional Government of Oregon
Oregon pioneers
American explorers
People from Henry County, Kentucky
People from Osceola, Missouri
People from Yoncalla, Oregon
Oregon Republicans