Medorem Crawford (June 24, 1819 – December 26, 1891) was an American soldier and politician in what became the state of Oregon. A native of the state of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, he emigrated to 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 ...

in 1842 where he participated in the Champoeg Meetings and served in the resulting Provisional Government of Oregon as a legislator. A Republican, he later served in the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 65,000. The House meets in the west wing of the ...

after statehood and was appointed to several federal government offices. During the American Civil War he escorted emigrants over the Oregon Trail.

Early life

Medorem Crawford was born in Orange County, New York, on June 24, 1819, to S. G. Crawford.Lang, Herbert O. (1885
''History of the Willamette Valley, Being a Description of the Valley and Its Resources, with an Account of Its Discovery and Settlement by White Men, and Its Subsequent History Together with Personal Reminiscences of Its Early Pioneers''.
G.H. Himes, Book and Job Printer, pp. 607–609. He was sent to apprentice as a farmer at age 13 to a farm in Seneca County where he remained until age 16. Crawford then settled in Havana in Schuyler County and lived there until 1842. On March 17, 1842, he began his journey to the

with stops in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Cincinnati, Ohio, and

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, before reaching Independence, Missouri, and the start of the Oregon Trail.

Oregon

Crawford crossed the

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

with the

Elijah White Dr. Elijah White (1806–1879) was a missionary and agent for the United States government in Oregon Country during the mid-19th century. A trained physician from New York State, he first traveled to Oregon as part of the Methodist Mission in t ...

wagon train and arrived in the Willamette Valley in late 1842.Corning, Howard M. (1989) ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 66. He first settled in

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where he taught at the Methodist Mission’s school for nine months. In 1843, he married Adalene Brown, whom he met on the trip to Oregon. They had five children; Medorem, Jr., Mary, Henrietta, John, and Frederick. Medorem, Jr. was the first white American male born on the west side of the Willamette River when delivered in January 1844. Also in 1843 he bought part of James A. O'Neil’s land claim at Wheatland downriver from Salem. The Crawford family remained on the farm there until the fall of the next year. Crawford moved to

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 ...

in April 1845 where he worked portaging goods around Willamette Falls for seven years. He moved to a farm on Joe McLoughlin’s old land claim at the mouth of the Yamhill River in 1852 and filed and received 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 ...

on the property. Crawford retained his farm near

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

Yamhill County Yamhill County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 107,722. The county seat is McMinnville. Yamhill County was named after the Yamhelas, members of the Kalapuya Tribe. Yamhill Cou ...

until his death. In 1861, he returned to New York to visit his father, and on his way back to Oregon was pressed into service by the United States Army to assist Captain William Murray Maynadier in escorting emigrants to Oregon over the Oregon Trail. Crawford returned to the east in 1862 and received a commission from President Abraham Lincoln of captain. Assigned as an assistant quartermaster, he organized a 100-man unit under orders to protect emigrants over the Great Plains. Upon completion of the task that year, the unit disbanded in October at Walla Walla in the Washington Territory. Crawford did this one final time in 1863. Crawford resigned from the Army after the last escort and received appointment by the President as collector of internal revenue for Oregon. He served in that office from 1864 until 1869. President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

appointed him as Portland’s appraiser of merchandise in 1871, where he remained until 1876.

Political career

In early 1843, Crawford attended the Champoeg Meetings that were held to determine if Euro-American settlers wanted to form a government. On May 2, 1843, a vote was held creating the Provisional Government of Oregon, with Crawford voting for the creation of the government. In 1847, he was elected to the Provisional Legislature to represent the Clackamas District. He returned for the next session, held from 1848 to 1849, the final session of the Provisional Government. The United States created the Oregon Territory in 1848, displacing the Provisional Government. In 1859, Oregon became the 33rd state of the Union. In 1860, Crawford was elected as a Republican to serve Yamhill County in the

, his last elected office. While in the legislature he helped elect Edward Dickinson Baker to the United States Senate.

Later years

Crawford retired to his farm near Dayton in 1876. His wife died on May 20, 1879, and he remarried the next year to Mrs. Eunice Burrows. In 1862, son Medorem, Jr. (1844–1921) received appointment to West Point where he graduated in 1867. He worked his way up to brigadier general in the army and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Medorem, Jr.'s son, Army Colonel Lawrence Carter Crawford (1880–1949) is also buried here. Medorem, Sr. was involved with the

Oregon Pioneer Association The Oregon Pioneer Association (originally known as the Oregon Pioneer Society), first established in October 1867, was a fraternal and lineage society and historical organization for early American settlers of the Oregon Territory. The Associat ...

in retirement, serving as the organizations president from 1878 through 1881. Medorem Crawford died at his home near Dayton on December 26, 1891, at the age of 72.

References

External links

Journal of Medorem Crawford. An account of his trip across the plains with the Oregon pioneers of 1842

Guide to the Medorem Crawford Papers

Federal Writers' Project interview with daughter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Medorem Champoeg Meetings Republican Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Members of the Provisional Government of Oregon Politicians from Orange County, New York Politicians from Oregon City, Oregon People of Oregon in the American Civil War 1819 births 1891 deaths United States Army officers People from Dayton, Oregon Oregon pioneers People from Montour Falls, New York 19th-century American politicians