Couch family papers, 1811, 1852-1970
Scope and Contents
The papers include correspondence, photographs, wedding announcements, bills of sale, family memorabilia and ephemera relating to numerous Portland families related by ties of descendancy and marriage. A majority of the materials were created and used by the Robertson family, including numerous photographic albums, personal correspondence, and diaries. Two Robertson family world trips, from circa 1907 and 1910-1912, are documented with photographs, postcards, and correspondence with family in Portland. A small amount of materials relate to the business dealings of specific individuals, including Walter John Burns and members of the Robertson family. Also included are tickets and ephemera for the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland.
Other families represented include: Adams, Burns, Corbett, Couch, Failing, Lewis, Reed, Warren, Wilson, and Wood. Often, the inclusion of these materials is related to Robertson connections, in the form of marriage or other family relationships.
Dates
- 1811, 1852-1970
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Biographical / Historical
Originally from Newburyport, Massachusetts, Captain John Heard Couch was widely known for his voyages between New England and the Pacific Coast between 1840 and 1845. Skilled in the navigation of the notoriously tricky Columbia Bar at the mouth of the Columbia River, Couch would eventually go on to settle in the Portland area. In 1846, he became the treasurer for the Oregon Territory, and later a Multnomah County Commissioner and Oregon Port Commissioner. In 1850, Couch and his brother-in-law George H. Flanders founded a trading and wharf business.
With his wife, Caroline Flanders, he had four daughters, three of of whom married prominent Portland businessmen. His daughter Caroline Elizabeth (1833-1917) married Dr. Robert Bruce Wilson. One of their seven children, Mary Caroline Wilson, married Scotland transplant Walter John Burns in 1879. Their daughter, Kathleen Burns, married into the Robertson family, who were in turn closely tied to the Corbett and Failing families of Portland.
Extent
From the Collection: 9.46 Cubic Feet (13 legal size document cases, 5 oversize boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Creator
- From the Collection: Robertson family (Family)
- From the Collection: Robertson, William Edie, 1854-1939 (Person)
- From the Collection: Butler, Mary Couch, 1915-2008 (Person)
- From the Collection: Burns, Mary Caroline, 1857-1950 (Person)
- From the Collection: Hull, Ma'Carry Webster, 1917-2003 (Person)
- From the Collection: Robertson, Thomas, 1817-1900 (Person)
- From the Collection: Robertson, Kathleen, 1881-1970 (Person)
- From the Collection: Failing, Emily Phelps, 1836-1870 (Person)
- From the Collection: Robertson, Thomas, 1881-1924 (Person)
- From the Collection: Robertson, Jack Wood, 1894-1956 (Person)
- From the Collection: Robertson, Mary Corbett, 1891-1986 (Person)
- From the Collection: Corbett, Henry W. (Henry Winslow), 1827-1903 (Person)
- From the Collection: Warren, Nan Wood, 1885-1928 (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library Repository
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240
libreference@ohs.org