Medorem and John D. Crawford papers

Collection

Identifier: Mss 191

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of both original and reproduced papers of and relating to Medorem Crawford and his younger brother, John D. Crawford. Medorem Crawford's papers include materials relating to his role as a U.S. Army officer for military escorts accompanying emigrants to Oregon during the U.S. Civil War. These include typescript copies, photocopies, and photostatic reproductions of his correspondence and reports, including ones published by the U.S. Senate, and a photostatic reproduction of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton's letter appointing Crawford as an officer. These also include a handwritten transcript of a diary by his brother LeRoy Crawford, who accompanied Medorem Crawford on the 1861 escort; and a photocopy of an Oregonian newspaper clipping showing a picture of officers from the 1861 escort, including Medorem Crawford and LeRoy Crawford. Medorem Crawford's other papers in the collection consist of a typescript copy of the journal he kept when he traveled overland to Oregon in 1842; a certificate for his marriage with Adeline Brown; property records, including a quitclaim deed; letters from his father, S. G. Crawford, and from Benjamin Stark; and a letter that he wrote to W. H. Rees about Oregon history.

John D. Crawford's papers in the collection consist of letters that his father, S. G. Crawford, wrote to him; a letter from Joel Palmer, appointing him as a commissary officer in the conflict between Euro-Americans and Cayuse Native people; and a letter from A. E. Wait about supplies, written during that same conflict. The collection also includes several letters that Medorem Crawford and John D. Crawford wrote to each other.

Dates

1842-1903
Majority of material found within 1842-1878

Creator

Crawford, Medorem, 1819-1891 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.

Biographical Note

Medorem Crawford was born in 1819 in New York. He emigrated to Oregon in 1842, and from 1847 to 1849 was a member of the Oregon Provisional Government. In 1852, he established a farm in Yamhill County. In 1860, he was elected to the Oregon state legislature. The following year, he traveled east to visit his father. During this visit, U.S. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton commissioned him as a U.S. Army officer and assigned him to a military escort to protect a train of emigrants to Oregon. He would command similar escorts in 1862 and 1863, after which he resigned his commission. From 1864 to 1869, he was the Oregon collector of internal revenue, and from 1871 to 1875, he was appraiser of customs, after which he returned to farming. He married Adeline Brown (1821-1879) in 1843; the couple had five children. Medorem Crawford died in 1891.

Sources: Obituary in the Oregonian, December 27, 1891; "Dictionary History of Oregon," 2nd edition, 1989, edited by Howard McKinley Corning; vital records on Ancestry.com.

Biographical Note

John Davis Crawford, Medorem Crawford's younger brother, was born in 1824, and came to Oregon in 1847 at Medorem Crawford's urging. In late 1847, Joel Palmer appointed Crawford as a commissary officer in the conflict between Euro-Americans and Cayuse Native people. In 1852, he went into the mercantile business in Champoeg, Oregon, and lived there until the town flooded in 1861. He was a member of the Oregon state legislature from Clackamas County in 1872. His wife was Agnes M. Barnhart (1832-1907); the couple had eight children, five of whom survived to adulthood. In August 1877, John D. Crawford died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, which was determined to have been caused by an accidental discharge.

Sources: Articles in the Oregonian, 1877-1907; vital records on Ancestry.com

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (7 folders in shared box)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Papers of and relating to Medorem Crawford (1819-1891) and his brother John D. Crawford (1824-1877). Medorem Crawford emigrated to Oregon in 1842, held a number of political offices, and commanded military escorts for emigrants to Oregon during the U.S. Civil War. John D. Crawford emigrated to Oregon in 1847, served as a commissary officer during the Cayuse War, and worked in the mercantile business in Champoeg, Oregon, in the 1850s.

Other Finding Aids

Medorem Crawford's 1842 diary is described in Overland passages: a guide to overland documents in the Oregon Historical Society, entry 53; and in Platte River road narratives, entry 63. Documents relating to military escorts for emigrants to Oregon are described in Overland passages: a guide to overland documents in the Oregon Historical Society, entry 54; and in Platte River road narratives, entries 1810, 1811, 1838, 1888, and 1939.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Letter from S. G. Crawford to Medorem Crawford dated August 9, 1851, and letter from Benjamin Stark to Medorem Crawford purchased from Fred Lockley, March 1947 (RL2022-140-RETRO). All other letters gift of Alice E. Bell, August 1988 (Lib. Acc. 18922). Marriage certificate gift of Etta D. Crawford prior to 1957 (Lib. Acc. 519). Property records and letter from Medorem Crawford to W. H. Rees most likely acquired in the late 19th or early 20th century. Reproduced or transcribed materials most likely acquired in the mid-20th century.

Existence and Location of Originals

Original of Medorem Crawford's 1842 diary is held at Whitman College and Northwest Archives, Walla Walla, Washington.

Related Materials

Other collections with materials of and relating to Medorem Crawford at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library include: Matthew Paul Deady papers, Mss 48; James Willis Nesmith papers, Mss 577; Joseph Henry Brown papers, Mss 1002; Doris Huffman papers, Mss 1864; letter from S. G. Crawford to M. Crawford, Mss 1500; and United States war veterans photographs collection, Org. Lot 26.

Papers of and relating to Medorem Crawford are also held at the University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives, Eugene, Oregon; Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Pullman, Washington; and University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, Seattle, Washington.

Separated Materials

Photographs of Etta D. Crawford and of John D. Crawford's home were separated to photograph collections, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Processing Information

Initially processed prior to 1971, with additions in 1988. Reprocessed in October 2022. Includes materials previously designated Mss 191-1. Collection was titled "Medorem Crawford papers" prior to 2022.