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John Henry Howard

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John Henry Howard

Birth
Hardinsburg, Breckinridge County, Kentucky, USA
Death
17 Dec 1908 (aged 76)
Westfall, Malheur County, Oregon, USA
Burial
Westfall, Malheur County, Oregon, USA Add to Map
Memorial ID
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PIONEER OF '44 IS DEAD

DEATH CLAIMS JOHN HENRY HOWARD OF WESTFALL

Escaped from Indian Massacre of Walla Walla on Learning of Plans of Red Man.

John Henry Howard, who died at his home at Westfall, Malheur County, Oregon, December 17, aged 76 years, was born in Hardinsburg, Breckenridge County, Kentucky, October 28, 1832, and when a small boy removed with his parents to Missouri. He crossed the plains to Oregon in 1844 and Wintered at what was then known as Whitman Station. Howard's father, James Howard, was a gunsmith and a great friend of the Indians, who looked on him as a wonderful man.

John and his sister, Mrs. Sarah Ann Ross, now of Mitchell, Wheeler County, Oregon, went to school that Winter to Dr. Marcus Whitman.John and Ann were with the Indians so much they learned to talk the Indian language, and a few days before the Whitman massacre Ann overheard the Indians plotting the massacre and told her folks what she had heard.

"Uncle Jimmie," as he was known in after years, thinking it was best to leave that part of the country, packed up to leave, and the Indian's offered him a band of horses and two squaws if he would stay, but this offer was no temptation and after telling Dr. Whitman what the Indians had planned and the doctor refusing to go, the Howard family took their departure only a few days before that memorable massacre.

The Howard family then settled where the City of Portland now stands.Later they moved to Eugene and Dallas and in 1848, when the gold rush was discovered in California, they rushed to the mines, in the early 50's coming back to Oregon. They spent several years in Jacksonville and other points in Southern Oregon.

John Howard, familiarly known as "Uncle John," often told of the early days in Oregon. He told of the famine of '51 and '52, when money could not buy flour or other necessaries of life and the early settlers subsisted on meat alone without salt, using deer's liver fried brown and hard for bread. This was only one of the many hardships the old pioneers endured.

In 1870 the Howard family moved to Prineville, Crook County, where they engaged in farming and stock raising. Howards mother died in the year 1877 and was buried at Harrisburg, Or., his father dying six years later.

In 1866 Uncle John moved to Harney County with his family and made a success as a stock raiser and farmer.

In 1896 he moved to Westfall, Malheur County, where he resided the remainder of his life. He was married three times, his first wife being Nancy Eddins, by who he reared several children, those living being Mrs. Frankie Martin and Mrs. Elizabeth Corcoran, both of San Francisco. His second wife was Jane Clover, daughter of Paul Clover, who at one time lived near Albany, Or. The children by this marriage are: James P. and John M. Howard, of Westfall, and Mrs. Julia C Gilham, of Vale, Or.

His third wife was Elizabeth Tucker, once a resident of Aumsville, OR. Mr. Howard leaves three brothers and four sisters, James H. Howard, of Elmira, Or.; Marcus F. Howard of Dallas, Or.; and Lytle Howard of Portland; Mrs. S. A. Ross and Mrs. Emma Grisham, of Mitchell, Or.; Mrs. LizzieBlakeley, of Wallowa County, Or. and Mrs. Mary Jackson of Bellingham, Wash.

In early days Howard was a warm friend of the late Ben Haden, ex-Senator Nesmith, Joe Meek and other noted men in Oregon.

Published in The Oregonian (Portland, OR) Sunday, December 27, 1908
PIONEER OF '44 IS DEAD

DEATH CLAIMS JOHN HENRY HOWARD OF WESTFALL

Escaped from Indian Massacre of Walla Walla on Learning of Plans of Red Man.

John Henry Howard, who died at his home at Westfall, Malheur County, Oregon, December 17, aged 76 years, was born in Hardinsburg, Breckenridge County, Kentucky, October 28, 1832, and when a small boy removed with his parents to Missouri. He crossed the plains to Oregon in 1844 and Wintered at what was then known as Whitman Station. Howard's father, James Howard, was a gunsmith and a great friend of the Indians, who looked on him as a wonderful man.

John and his sister, Mrs. Sarah Ann Ross, now of Mitchell, Wheeler County, Oregon, went to school that Winter to Dr. Marcus Whitman.John and Ann were with the Indians so much they learned to talk the Indian language, and a few days before the Whitman massacre Ann overheard the Indians plotting the massacre and told her folks what she had heard.

"Uncle Jimmie," as he was known in after years, thinking it was best to leave that part of the country, packed up to leave, and the Indian's offered him a band of horses and two squaws if he would stay, but this offer was no temptation and after telling Dr. Whitman what the Indians had planned and the doctor refusing to go, the Howard family took their departure only a few days before that memorable massacre.

The Howard family then settled where the City of Portland now stands.Later they moved to Eugene and Dallas and in 1848, when the gold rush was discovered in California, they rushed to the mines, in the early 50's coming back to Oregon. They spent several years in Jacksonville and other points in Southern Oregon.

John Howard, familiarly known as "Uncle John," often told of the early days in Oregon. He told of the famine of '51 and '52, when money could not buy flour or other necessaries of life and the early settlers subsisted on meat alone without salt, using deer's liver fried brown and hard for bread. This was only one of the many hardships the old pioneers endured.

In 1870 the Howard family moved to Prineville, Crook County, where they engaged in farming and stock raising. Howards mother died in the year 1877 and was buried at Harrisburg, Or., his father dying six years later.

In 1866 Uncle John moved to Harney County with his family and made a success as a stock raiser and farmer.

In 1896 he moved to Westfall, Malheur County, where he resided the remainder of his life. He was married three times, his first wife being Nancy Eddins, by who he reared several children, those living being Mrs. Frankie Martin and Mrs. Elizabeth Corcoran, both of San Francisco. His second wife was Jane Clover, daughter of Paul Clover, who at one time lived near Albany, Or. The children by this marriage are: James P. and John M. Howard, of Westfall, and Mrs. Julia C Gilham, of Vale, Or.

His third wife was Elizabeth Tucker, once a resident of Aumsville, OR. Mr. Howard leaves three brothers and four sisters, James H. Howard, of Elmira, Or.; Marcus F. Howard of Dallas, Or.; and Lytle Howard of Portland; Mrs. S. A. Ross and Mrs. Emma Grisham, of Mitchell, Or.; Mrs. LizzieBlakeley, of Wallowa County, Or. and Mrs. Mary Jackson of Bellingham, Wash.

In early days Howard was a warm friend of the late Ben Haden, ex-Senator Nesmith, Joe Meek and other noted men in Oregon.

Published in The Oregonian (Portland, OR) Sunday, December 27, 1908


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