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Early history of Tillamook

 Collection
Identifier: Mss 213

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of the original manuscript of "Early History of Tillamook," by Warren N. Vaughn, as well as typescript copies and a microfilm copy of the history, and biographical information about Vaughn. The original manuscript, undated but probably created in the 1890s, is handwritten in four ledgers or notebooks, and consists of Vaughn's detailed recollections about the earliest emigrants to and events in the Tillamook Bay area, 1851-circa 1863. It begins as a history of Tillamook County but ends abruptly at the end of the fourth volume. Microfilm in the collection is a copy of Vaughn's original manuscript. The collection also includes two undated typescript transcripts of "Early History of Tillamook": one in which each volume is bound separately with paper and twine, and one that was copied, edited, and consolidated into a single book by Louise W. Goodrich of Tillamook, Oregon, for the Columbia Gorge Chapter of the Daughters of the American Colonists in Portland, Oregon. Other materials in the collection include an Oregon Historical Society questionnaire filled out by Vaughn and dated 1902, providing biographical and genealogical details, information on his journey to Oregon, and remarks on Native people, particularly Chief Kilchis; and a photocopy of a biography of Vaughn in "Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon" (Chicago, Chapman Publishing Company, 1904).

Dates

  • circa 1890-1904

Creator

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 / Historical

Warren Nicholas Vaughn was born June 9, 1823, in Barrington, New York and moved to Michigan with his family at age fourteen. In 1849, he traveled to California by way of Oregon to mine for gold; this endeavor was not successful so he returned to the Oregon Territory in 1850 and lived in Dayton. In 1852, Vaughn journeyed to Tillamook, on the coast, and settled on a claim of 320 acres, where he lived for the rest of his life. He was a farmer and cooper and worked with other emigrants to build the Morning Star, the first ship registered in Oregon, which was used to get supplies and transport goods to markets in Portland and Astoria. Vaughn was active in local and county government, serving as Tillamook County treasurer, commissioner, sheriff, and assessor. He married Harriet Trask in 1858, and the couple had fifteen children.

During the 1890s, Vaughn wrote what is considered to be the first history of Tillamook. These recollections, which he titled “The Early History of Tillamook,” were edited and published in 2004 as the book “Till Broad Daylight: A History of Early Settlement in Oregon’s Tillamook County.” Vaughn died in 1907 at the age of eighty-three.

Sources: "Warren Vaughn, 1823-1907," by Carla Albright, Oregon Encyclopedia, https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/vaughn_warren_1823_1907_/; "Warren Nicholas Vaughn," Geni.com, https://www.geni.com/people/Warren-Vaugh/6000000018670085329.

Extent

0.2 Cubic Feet (1 slim document case; 1 reel microfilm)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Original handwritten manuscript of "Early History of Tillamook," by Warren N. Vaughn, as well as typescript and microfilm copies. The collection also includes biographical information about Vaughn (1823-1907), who traveled to California in 1849 to mine for gold before living in Dayton, Oregon. In 1852, he journeyed to Tillamook, Oregon, where he would reside for the rest of his life, working as a farmer and cooper, and holding multiple roles in local government.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Manuscript and one typescript copy gift of Robert Holden, February 1968 (Lib. Acc. 10354).

Existence and Location of Copies

An additional typescript copy of Vaughn's narrative is held in the book collections of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library, 979.122 V372e.

Creator

Title
Guide to "Early history of Tillamook"
Status
Completed
Date
2012; revised 2024
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English.

Revision Statements

  • 2024-03-20: Revised to add biographical information about Warren Vaughn, expand and clarify description of materials, and add additional subject headings.

Repository Details

Part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library Repository

Contact:
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240