William Green T'Vault (1806–1869) was a
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 dev ...
of 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 ...
and the first editor of the first newspaper published west of the
Missouri River. T'Vault led a
wagon train of 300 that arrived in Oregon in 1845, after traveling on 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 ...
, a branch of the
Oregon Trail. He settled 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 ...
, and was appointed Postmaster General by the
Provisional Government of Oregon.
T'Vault became president of the Oregon Printing Association, which was an outgrowth of the
Oregon Lyceum The Oregon Lyceum or Pioneer Lyceum and Literary Club was founded in Oregon City, Oregon Country around 1840. The forum was a prominent fixture for the leading pioneer settlers during its brief existence. It would begin publishing the first Ameri ...
, and published the first issue of the ''
Oregon Spectator'' on February 5, 1846. He was fired from the ''Spectator'' after 13 issues. T'Vault claimed it was because of differences with other association members, especially
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 ...
, though the association claimed it because of T'Vault's poor spelling.
T'Vault was a pro-slavery
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
who became a member of the
Provisional Legislature of Oregon in 1846. The same year he was part of a group that urged the
United States Congress to disallow the land claims of earlier
White residents of the region, including that of
John McLoughlin
John McLoughlin, baptized Jean-Baptiste McLoughlin, (October 19, 1784 – September 3, 1857) was a French-Canadian, later American, Chief Factor and Superintendent of the Columbia District of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver fro ...
at
Willamette Falls. The petition was partially successful and McLoughlin's claim was not recognized.
In 1851, T'Vault led an exploring party of ten people from
Port Orford
Port Orford (Tolowa: tr’ee-ghi~’- ’an’ ) is a city in Curry County on the southern coast of Oregon, United States. The population was 1,133 at the 2010 census.
The city takes its name from George Vancouver's original name for nearby Ca ...
in order to seek an overland route to the interior of the region. The party was ambushed by Native Americans and five members were killed, but T'Vault survived.
He moved to
southern Oregon and established the ''
Table Rock Sentinel
The ''Oregon Sentinel'' was the first newspaper in southern Oregon. It was published in Jacksonville, Oregon from 1855 to 1888. The Oregon Sentinel was founded by pioneer William G. T'Vault, and was initially named the ''Table Rock Sentinel'', cha ...
'' newspaper in 1855, and later the ''
Oregon Sentinel
The ''Oregon Sentinel'' was the first newspaper in southern Oregon. It was published in Jacksonville, Oregon from 1855 to 1888. The Oregon Sentinel was founded by pioneer William G. T'Vault, and was initially named the ''Table Rock Sentinel'', cha ...
'' in 1858. T'Vault represented
Jackson County in the
Oregon Territorial Legislature in 1858, its final year, and served as
{{R from other capitalisation ...
during its first session, in 1858–59.