Covenanter, Oregon Pioneer, Judge, Statesman

John Alexander Dunlap was born in Charleston, South Carolina, to William S. Dunlap and Eleanor McWhorters/McWatters/McQuarters.
He was the eldest of 16 children.
His grandparents settled on Grannies Quarter Creek about 12 miles north of Camden.
John's early education most likely came from the Beaver Creek Presbyterian church of which his father was an elder. It is likely that John received some higher education because of the positions he held in later life.
Due to slavery objections, a large portion of the Covenanter population had left South Carolina by 1832 and this is also the case for John. His parents and siblings show in the 1830 census but John is absent. Most of the related families, Wallaces, McCaws, McMillans, Knox's, etc. end up in Illinois which is where we find John in 1837.
December 21, 1837 John married Jane Carson Findley in Oquawka, Warren (Now Henderson) County Illinois.
The extended Findley Family had migrated from Pennsylvania to Clark and Scott Counties in Indiana in the early 1800's. After the close of the Blackhawk Indian War in 1832 and the Treaty of Chicago in 1833, James Findley (Youngest brother of David) and his wife Mary migrated to Warren County Illinois. The rest of the Findley Clan followed several years later.
David Findley Sr. died September 3, 1838 in Oquawka.
In 1845 Janes cousin Col. William C. Findley and her brother James Alexander traveled to the Oregon Territory with a company of 47 men, and then returned to Illinois. William Findley records the details of this groups travels in his diary of 1845.
John Courtney with 9 family members, and Josiah Osborne with wife Margaret Findley (Janes cousin and William C. Findley's sister) with 4 family members joined a group in St Joseph MO., named "The New London Emigration Company for Oregon." captained by Abner Hackleman. This was probably the last group to depart, on May 24th, from St. Joseph that year.
The 1845 emigration numbered about 2,500 people, which doubled the emigrant population of Oregon.
Josiah Osborne had married Margaret Findley, the daughter of Alexander Findley. John Courtney had married Margaret's mother Nancy, the widow of Alexander Findley, the eldest Son of David Findley Sr.
John Courtney's son John R. later married the widow of James Lindsay Findley, a grandson of David Findley Sr. (This is really confusing).
Upon reaching the Oregon Territory, Josiah Osborne learned of Marcus Whitman's need of a mill-wright to rebuild a mill that had been burned. Being skilled as a mill-wright and having his chest of tools, Josiah and Margaret with their children separated from the rest of their party at the foot of the Blue Mts., and went to Waiilatpu to work for Dr. Whitman. They were later to survive the Whitman Massacre by hiding under the floor of a cabin.
After the massacre the Courtney's settled south of the Upper Calapooia River near what is now Brownsville OR.
In 1846 part of the Findley Clan went to St. Joseph, Missouri, and started preparing for the trip to Oregon. They had arrived too late to leave for Oregon so they wintered over in St. Joseph.
After the spring wedding of James L. Findley to Caroline Buell (May 4th) the wagon train left for Oregon in 1847.
They were joined by John Alexander Dunlap, William McCaw, William Findley, Dave Findley, and their families.
John Alexander Dunlap and William McCaw had both married daughters of Dave Findley Sr. Captain John Findley was named Captain of their division of the wagon train, and John Alexander Dunlap was named the Secretary.
While in the Blue Mts., in Oregon the party was met by Josiah Osborne who encouraged them to continue on down the Columbia to the Dalles rather that make a stop at the mission at Waiilatpu. Stopping would have been expected since Josiah and Margaret were working at the mission.
Family history passed down says that the party reached the Dalles OR., three days before the Whitman Massacre.
They spent the remainder of the winter at Ft. Vancouver, and in the spring of 1848 moved on to Oregon City, where the women and children stayed while the men went farther to take up donation land claims.
The families were then moved to the Upper Calapooia river to claims near the Courtney's, and what are now the towns of Brownsville, Crawfordsville, and Union Point, Linn County Oregon.
Josiah Osborne's family and the Spaulding's from the Lapwai mission retreated to this community , Calapooia, after the Whitman massacre. Henry Spaulding formed a school
for the children of the rapidly growing community. He was reportedly poorly paid for his services and sacrificed his own family's comfort to build a school house which also served as the first Courthouse for Linn County.
At the first Territorial Election held in 1848, John Dunlap, William McCoy, and Alexander Kirk were elected as Probate Judges who at that time administered the whole county business.
John Alexander Dunlap was also elected as the Linn County Representative to the First Territorial Legislature. It was reported that he traveled by foot to the Legislature sessions in Oregon City.
The Union Point church was first organized at the home of Mrs. Nancy Courtney at Calapooia, June 18, 1849, as an Associate Reformed church, with Rev. Wilson Blain officiating.
John Alexander Dunlap's signature appears on the Churches Charter documents. Josiah Osborne and John Findley were elders and I believe Henry Spaulding's signature also appears there.
This would have been the second Presbyterian Church in Oregon, the first being formed at Oakville. On October 20, 1852 both Presbytery's met at Rev. Wilson Blain's residence and adopted the basis of a merger. Because of this historic merger the place took the name of Union Point and the two congregations became the United Presbyterian Church of Oregon.
John's eldest surviving son, David, married P.V Crawford's daughter, Mary Ann 1867, and John's daughter, Elizabeth Nancy married P.V Crawford's son Jasper Vincent 1865.
The Dunlap and Crawford families remained close for many years.
Jane Carson Dunlap died July 26th 1884 in Prescott, Walla Walla County WA, and John Alexander died March 2nd 1894 in Prescott.
They were living with a son John Knox Dunlap until their deaths.
They are both buried in the Oddfellow's Cemetery in Waitsburg, Walla Walla County WA, in adjacent unmarked graves.
At the time of John and Jane's deaths,  Jasper V. Crawford, their son in law was a member/elder/minister of the Christian Church in Waitsburg, and had a number plots that he had obtained when he had previously lost several children. John was buried in Block 27 , Lot 4, Space 4. Jane in in Block 27, Lot 4, Space 5.