Thomas Dove Keizur (his name is incorrectly spelled Keizer, Keiser, Kaizur, Kaiser, Keysur, Keyser, Kizer, or Kisor in various documents) was one of the earliest American pioneers to settle in 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 1843, he led his large family from

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

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 ...

over 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 ...

. He homesteaded in Oregon's

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, ...

in an area north of modern-day

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 ...

. Keizur was one of eight citizens elected to serve on Oregon's third pre-provisional legislative committee which helped lay the foundation for the establishment of the

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 ...

. He was also the first captain of the

Oregon Rangers The Oregon Rangers was the first organized militia of the white settlers located in the Willamette Valley in the contested region of the Oregon Country, later the U.S. state of Oregon. First established in 1844, the force was never called out to ...

, the first militia unit organized in Oregon. Today, the city of

Keizer, Oregon Keizer () is a city located in Marion County, Oregon, United States, along the 45th parallel. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 36,478. It lies in the Willamette Valley, and is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Ar ...

, is named in his honor.

Early life

Keizur was born on 20 November 1793 in

Buncombe County, North Carolina Buncombe County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is classified within Western North Carolina. The 2020 census reported the population was 269,452. Its county seat is Asheville. Buncombe County is part of the Asheville ...

. His parents were George A. and Mary (Dove) Keisur.McArthur, Lewis A. and Lewis L. McArthur, "Keizer", ''Oregon Geographic Names'' (Seventh Edition), Oregon Historical Society Press, Portland, Oregon, 2003, p. 526."The Trail to Oregon"
''They Lived Along a Rocky River'', WordPress, San Francisco, California, posted 14 March 2014; accessed 18 February 2018. Keizur married Mary Girley in 1812. Together, they had ten children, five boys and five girls.Lossner, Ann
"Keizer’s First Families, Part 1: The Keizurs and Pughs"
''Keiser Times'', Keizer, Oregon, 30 May 1980 (article reprinted from the book, ''Looking Back People and Places in the Early Keizer Area'' with the permission of its author, pp. 5–7). In 1828, the Keizurs moved from North Carolina to

Giles County, Tennessee Giles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,346. Its county seat is Pulaski. History Giles County is named after William Branch Giles, a Senator from Virginia who sponsored the ...

. Five years later, he moved further west to

Van Buren County, Arkansas Van Buren County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,295. The county seat is Clinton. The county was formed on November 11, 1833, and named for Martin Van Buren, President of the Uni ...

."T. D. Keizur Statue"
City of Keizer, Keizur, Oregon, accessed 15 February 2018.Wild, Tammy
''Keizer''
Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, South Carolina, 2015, pp. 10–11. In 1842, the Keizur family traveled to Missouri hoping to join an emigrant wagon train bound for the Oregon County. However, they arrived too late to start crossing the continent with that year's migration. As a result, the family spent a year in Missouri waiting for the 1843 wagon train to form up.

Oregon Trail

Keizur and his family left

Independence, Missouri Independence is the fifth-largest city in Missouri and the county seat of Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson County. Independence is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro ...

, for Oregon on 20 May 1843. On the journey to Oregon, Keisur was joined by his wife, five sons, five daughters, two sons-in-law, eight grandchildren, and a brother of one of his sons-in-law."1843 The Oregon Trail"
''New Perspectives on the West'', Oregon Public Broadcasting, Portland, Oregon, accessed 18 February 2018. There were over one hundred wagons and approximately 900 pioneers traveling west to Oregon in 1843. In addition, the pioneers brought a herd of 5,000 cattle that followed as the wagons moved along the trail. The trek was guided by

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 ...

, who was returning to his mission station on the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

.Hanson, T. J.
"1843 Emigrants"
''Oregon Country, The Story of the 1843 Oregon Trail Migration'', Inkwater Press, Portland, Oregon, 2006. To prevent over grazing along the route the pioneers divided into smaller traveling groups. The Keizurs joined what became known as the Applegate party, which traveled slowly with the cattle herd. Along the trail, Keiser became an active leader among the emigrants.Thompson, G. N.
"Early Days Recalled, Story of Keizer Real Saga of the West"
''Statesman Journal'', Salem, Oregon 14 November 1929, p. 6.Thompson, G. N.
"New School at Keiser Recalls Early History of the Community"
''Statesman Journal'', Salem, Oregon 15 September 1940, p. 10. The Keizurs covered over on the Oregon Trail. First, their wagon train followed the

Platte River The Platte River () is a major river in the State of Nebraska. It is about long; measured to its farthest source via its tributary, the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which itself ...

and then headed north to

Fort Laramie Fort Laramie (founded as Fort William and known for a while as Fort John) was a significant 19th-century trading-post, diplomatic site, and military installation located at the confluence of the Laramie and the North Platte rivers. They joined ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

. From there, they followed the

North Platte River The North Platte River is a major tributary of the Platte River and is approximately long, counting its many curves.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 21, 2011 In a ...

and the Sweetwater River before crossing the

continental divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

at South Pass in central Wyoming. Once on the west side of the continental divide, the wagon train headed for

Fort Bridger Fort Bridger was originally a 19th-century fur trading outpost established in 1842, on Blacks Fork of the Green River, in what is now Uinta County, Wyoming, United States. It became a vital resupply point for wagon trains on the Oregon Trail, Ca ...

and then turned north to

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 ...

. From there, the party followed the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snake ...

and then the Columbia River to the Willamette Valley. It took six months for the Keizurs and their fellow emigrants to cross the continent.

Oregon pioneer

The Keizur family arrived in the Willamette Valley in mid-November. They spent the winter in temporary quarters on the west bank of the Willamette River across from the Methodist mission station at Mill Creek which had been established by

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 the spring of 1844, the family re-crossed the river and established a number claims on the west bank. The Keizur family land claims were north of the mission. In total, the adult members of the Keizur family claimed of farm land along the Willamette River."Donation Land Claim"
City of Keizer, Keizer, Oregon, accessed 15 February 2018. Thomas Keizur himself claimed . He filed his claim under the provisional government's original land act. His property was bordered on the west by the Willamette River. To the north his land ended at Cummings Lane, a road that was built by the Keizur family. The eastern boundary was River Road and then Cheery Avenue heading south to what is today Salem Industrial Drive. The southern boundary ran from the junction of Cheery Avenue and Salem Industrial Drive west to the river. After Oregon became a

United States territory In the United States, a territory is any extent of region under the sovereign jurisdiction of the federal government of the United States, including all waters (around islands or continental tracts). The United States asserts sovereign rights for ...

, Keizur refiled his claim in accordance with the

Donation Land Claim Act 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 ...

of 1850. In 1844, Keizur was one of eight citizens elected to the Oregon Country's third pre-provisional legislative committee. He was one of the three representatives from the Champoeg district. This was the first legislative body in the Oregon Country selected in a regular election. Members of the two previous legislative committees were selected at open public meetings. The committee met twice. Both sessions were held in Oregon City. The first meeting was at the home of Felix Hathaway from 18 to 27 June 1844. The second meeting took place at the home of Doctor

John E. Long John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

from 16 to 21 December the same year. These meetings helped lay the foundation for the establishment of the

.Carey, Charles H.
"Under Provisional Government"
''General History of Oregon'', Pioneer Historical Publishing Company, Portland, Oregon, 1922, p. 389.Scott, H. W.
"The Formation and Administration of the Provisional Government of Oregon"
''The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society'' (Volume II, Number 2), Oregon Historical Society, Portland, Oregon, June 1901, pp. 109–110.Brown, James Henry
''Brown's Political History of Oregon''
Lewis and Dryden Printing Company, Portland, Oregon, 1892, pp. 127–130. In 1844, a dispute between settlers and a local Indian lead to several deaths at

Willamette Falls The Willamette Falls is a natural waterfall on the Willamette River between Oregon City and West Linn, Oregon, in the United States. It is the largest waterfall in the Northwestern United States by volume, and the seventeenth widest in the wor ...

near Oregon City. After the deaths, a citizens committee of Willamette Valley residents met on 9 March 1844 to discuss forming a militia. The committee was chaired by W. H. Wilson with Keizur serving as the meeting secretary. The committee approved formation of a mounted rifle company to protect settlers. As a result, a militia company of 25 men, known as the Oregon Rangers, was organized. Keizur was elected captain of the company. Keizur was duly commissioned by the executive committee of Oregon's provisional government. This was the first military unit authorized and formed in the Oregon Country. The company met several times for training, but was not called into action.Carey, Charles H.
"Indian Relations"
''General History of Oregon'', Pioneer Historical Publishing Company, Portland, Oregon, 1922, p. 542. In 1846, a special citizens meeting was held at the farm of Daniel Waldo to discuss the need for a militia company. Keizur was elected chairman of the meeting. Attendees voted reestablish the Oregon Rangers mounted rifle company. Charles Bennett was appointed captain of the company. After the meeting, 45 attendees volunteered to serve in the company. Keizur signed the meeting minute which were published in the ''Oregon Spectator'' newspaper. During the 1851–1852 session of the

Oregon Territorial Legislature Oregon's Territorial Legislature was a bicameral legislative body created by the United States Congress in 1848 as the legislative branch of the government of the Oregon Territory. The upper chamber Council and lower chamber House of Representati ...

Keizur and two other citizen were appointed to a commission tasked with determining the route of a territorial road between

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

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 ...

to Salem in Marion County. It appears that Keizur was unable to participate in the commission since records show that another citizen ended up serving in his place. When the proposed route was finally announced in 1853, Keizur and other Marion County residents signed a petition against building the road along the proposed route. As a result of the protest, the road was not built. Keizur's wife, Mary, died in 1853. Keizur died on 19 June 1871 in Marion County, Oregon. He was 78 years old at the time of his death.Lynn, Capi
"Keizer History Tour"
''Statesman Journal'', Salem, Oregon, 2 August 2017.

Legacy

Keizur's service in the 1844 pre-territorial legislature helped lay the groundwork for Oregon's territorial government and eventual statehood. When he was elected captain of the Oregon Rangers, he became the state's first militia commander and thus the founding leader of what is today the

Oregon National Guard The Oregon Military Department is an agency of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon, which oversees the armed forces of the state of Oregon. Under the authority and direction of the governor as commander-in-chief, the agency is responsib ...

. The Keiser post office was established in 1948, as a Salem delivery station. On 2 November 1982, the city of Keizer was incorporated and named in honor of Thomas D. Keizur. At the time, the city's population was 19,650. The city continues to grow. As of 2016, the estimated population of Keizer was 38,980."Keizer city, Oregon"
Quick Facts, United States Census Bureau, Washington, District of Columbia, accessed 19 February 2018. In 2010, a large bronze statue of Keizur on horseback was installed at the Keizer Civic Center. The statue honors Keizur for his service in pre-territorial legislature and as commander of the state's first military organization. It also recognized him as the founding father of the city of Keizer. Keizur's last name is spelled incorrectly in various military documents, land deeds, state records, history books, and newspaper articles. Researchers have found 15 different spelling including Keizer, Keiser, Kaizur, Kaiser, Keysur, Keyser, Kizer, and Kisor. However, the correct spelling is Keizur.

References

External links

Oregon Legislative GuideCity of Keizer—T. D. Keizur Statue
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keizur, Thomas D. 1793 births 1871 deaths Oregon pioneers Members of the Provisional Government of Oregon American city founders People from Keizer, Oregon People from Buncombe County, North Carolina Farmers from Oregon