Hettie Olivia Burkhart was one of three children born to George Washington Burkhart (1845-1905) and Nancy Margaret (Cooper) Burkhart (1856-1949) of Albany, Linn County, Oregon. Her father was one of the children of John and Rebecca Burkhart, one of three founding families of Albany, having arrived with his parents in October, 1847. He had been born in Burlington, Des Moines Co., Iowa, his parents' last stop on their way West. His two oldest brothers, Raymond and "Crill" Burkhart, had gone ahead of the rest of the family to the Oregon Territory in 1846 where their father, John Burkhart, had learned that there were donation land grants of 320 acres per person available in the Oregon Territory; he wished to determine if one last move Westward would be of value to him and his children. They had returned with glowing reports of the Willamette Valley and the decision had been made for the extended family to take the Oregon Trail in the spring of 1847 with their arrival in the small hamlet of Albany on Oct 16th, 1847. Her father had been only 2 yrs. old, so had grown up in Albany and considered Oregon his home. He had met Nancy Cooper, the daughter of William Cooper and Mary Jane (Jobe) Cooper, (the daughter of Rev. and Mary Jobe).
Nancy and George had married and he provided well for his wife and their family which consisted of two daughters: Hettie Olivia, b.1873, and Lillian, b.1876. Hettie's grandmother, Rebecca Burkhart, was by now a widow as John Burkhart had died in 1856, just 3 yrs. before Oregon had become a state. "Grandmother" Burkhart, as she was lovingly referred to, had been born in 1800, had given birth to a dozen children and had set up at least six different households during her married life, the latest in 1847 when they had settled in Albany, and a temporary home was needed while John and his sons built their permanent home in the little town of Albany, most of the family living what would become the eastern section of town. [Raymond Sanderson Burkhart settled in Lebanon, Crill Burkhart settled near Brownsville, Rebecca Ann Burkhart Gay had moved North to Washington and John Baltzell Burkhart had relocated to California. The remaining adult children had settled in Albany.] Grandmother Burkhart was now no longer able to live alone, so spent her remaining years with different children, always welcome with a room at the ready for her. Hettie, her brother and sister got to hear the different stories of what life had been like before they'd been born and especially of their parents' and grandparents' travels to new homesteads as they continued Westward towards Oregon. Hettie's father and her uncle, Leander, founded Albany Brick Works in 1877 both for personal and commercial use. Hettie's father also provided horses for the stage coaches that came through Albany, as well as horses for the Pony Express, as long as it lasted. Following graduation from school, Hettie worked in a millinery shop, becoming the proprietor and quite successful. She chose not to marry, something that many girls did in the 1800's for a variety of reasons. Quite often they didn't find a suitable mate, but they often had seen their mothers or aunts give birth to many babies and die at an early age. Not wanting a life like that, they chose to remain single and just be friends with gentlemen, nothing more. This had been Hettie's decision. She lived at home all of her life, helping to care for her grandmother until she passed in 1884, when Hettie was 11 yrs. old. Her father died in 1905, at the age of 60 yrs., when Hettie was only 32 yrs. of age. Hettie's uncle Harry L. Cooper moved in between 1910 and 1920 after a marriage failed. Grandmother Cooper, her maternal grandmother, (Mary Jane (Jobe) Cooper), was living with them when the 1910 Census was taken, and stayed there until she died in 1913. Hettie, her mother and uncle took roomers in for extra income. Hettie continued to work at her shop and made good money at it, until she had to retire due to failing health. She had become diabetic and ended up in the hospital in a diabetic coma, finally passing from this life at the age of 79 in 1953. Her mother had died just 4 years before her in 1949, and her uncle died 3 years before Hettie in 1950. Her brother, Clyde, had died back in 1925 due to a cerebral hemorrhage. I haven't been able to locate Lillie, b.1876; Rebecca Burkhart, her son, George Washington Burkhart, his wife, Nancy Margaret (Cooper) Burkhart, Nancy's brother, Harry Lorane Cooper, and her daughter, Hettie Olivia Burkhart are all buried at Riverside Cemetery in Albany. Nancy Margaret (Cooper) Burkhart's mother, Mary Jane (Jobe) Cooper, is buried at Brownsville Pioneer Cemetery in Brownsville. Nancy's son, Clyde Marion Burkhart and his wife, Gladys M (Andrews) Burkhart are buried together at the IOOF Cemetery at Lebanon, as their farm was in Lebanon. Their son, Carl Andrew, is buried there as well. If you happen to visit any of these cemeteries, you might take a look to see if you can find any of them. (I bet you can!) Stop by to say "Hi" and think about what Oregon was like when each of them was born, when they lived here and when they passed. They are all Oregonians who helped make Oregon the beautiful place it is today.
Note:
Thanks to Diana Greb, I found she was baptized by Rev. S.G. Irvine on July 11, 1887. Information added Jan 28, 2014.