Pleasant M. Armstrong (1810-August 24, 1853) was an American pioneer in
Oregon Country in an area that would become the state of
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
, United States. He helped build a ship that was sailed to California to exchange for cattle, and voted at the May 2, 1843,
Champoeg Meeting.
Oregon Country
Armstrong immigrated to the Oregon Country in 1840.
[Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. ]Binfords & Mort Publishing
Binford & Mort Publishing is a book publishing company located in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1930, the company was previously known as Metropolitan Press and Binfords & Mort. At one time they were the largest book publisher in t ...
, 1956. In 1842, he settled a farm in the Yamhill Valley, in what is now
Yamhill County, Oregon
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 ...
.
[ During this time he helped build the '' Star of Oregon'' along with Felix Hathaway, John Canan, Ralph Kilbourne, Henry Woods, George Davis, Jacob Green, and later ]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 ...
.[
] The ship was then sailed to California where it was sold in a three-way deal where the Oregon pioneers received cattle.[ Armstrong and the others then drove 1,250 head of cattle, 600 horses and mules, and 3,000 sheep overland back to Oregon, arriving in early 1843.][
On May 2, 1843, Pleasant Armstrong attended the meetings held 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 ...
, where the pioneer settlers voted on whether to form a government.[ Armstrong voted for the creation of a government, and that faction won with a vote of 52-50, creating 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, ...
.[ Then in 1845 he married fellow Champoeg participant ]Alvin T. Smith
Alvin Thompson Smith (November 17, 1802 – January 22, 1888) was an American missionary and politician in what became the state of Oregon. A native of Connecticut, he lived in Illinois before moving to the Oregon Country to preach to the Na ...
’s daughter, Jane Smith.[
When troubles in ]Southern Oregon
Southern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon south of Lane County and generally west of the Cascade Range, excluding the southern Oregon Coast. Counties include Douglas, Jackson
Jackson may refer to:
People and fictional charac ...
led to the Rogue River Wars, Armstrong volunteered.[ On August 24, 1853, he was killed in action at Pleasant Creek in Jackson County, which now is named in his memory.][
]
References
External links
Pleasant Armstrong memorial at Findagrave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Pleasant M.
Champoeg Meetings
1810 births
1853 deaths
Oregon pioneers
Rogue River Wars