WILLIAM GREEN CHANCE
The story of the founding of the Chance family in Oregon in 1852 possesses innumerable elements of interest and pathos, and its wester way was probably started under more unfavorable circumstances than those of any who have since become prominent in the affairs of the state. William Green Chance, representing the second generation to identify itself with Tillamook county, was born in the town of Shelbyville, Shelby county, Ky., January 18, 1849, and was therefore four years old when he came to Oregon. His father, Samuel Chance, was born in Ohio, and his mother formerly Cecelia Elnoria (Comiskee) Chance, was born in Allegheny county, Pa., March 17, 1825. The paternal ancestry is English and Scotch, and the maternal German. The parents were probably married in Kentucky, and nine children were born to them, William Green being the youngest. Samuel Chance was a merchant during his entire active life, and when William was very young, he took his family to Logansport, Ind., where he engaged in business until the spring of 1852. The winter previous had been spent in perfecting plans for immigration to the far west, and the provisions and equipment for a family of eleven was necessarily large. Mr. Chance had succeeded in business and was therefore able to live in as much comfort as the times permitted. Dire disaster confronted the family ere they reached their goal in the west, for illness entered their ranks, and laid low the father and two children, the former being left in a wayside grave at Fort Laramie. Distressed beyond measure, the mother hired a man to drive the team the rest of the distance, and a comparatively comfortable journey followed in the wake of their terrible loss.
Mrs. Chance was made of the fiber which withstands trouble and deprivation, and which has a remedy for any woe, however great or seemingly overwhelming. Arriving at the Dalles, she supported herself and children by keeping a boarding tent for about sex weeks, and then came down the Columbia river, across from Sauvie’s Island, where she spent the winter. Here she met George Watkins, who had crossed the plains the same year, and whom she subsequently married. In the spring of 1853 Mr. and Mrs. Watkins went to Shoalwater Bay, Wash., and built a sawmill, which they operated with considerable success. In the meantime Mr. Watkins had become prominent in politics, had filled a number of important local offices, and had finally been elected to the state legislature. While absent at the session high water washed the mill away and completely destroyed the machinery, and it was to this scene of desolation that he returned, after serving his district in a highly creditable manner. Gathering together what little remained to them, they traded the mill site for a place on Willapa Prairie, Wash., but sold out the next year and removed to Cascades. There Mr. Watkins took up building and contracting on a large scale, and in the spring of 1856, when at the height of his success, he was killed while at work, by the Indians, who unexpectedly appeared and engaged in a general massacre.
In the spring of 1856 Mrs. Watkins removed to Portland, where she met and married her third husband, Daniel Bailey.
While a resident of Portland she was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1858 they went to Yamhill county, locating on a section of land in the Chehalem Valley, seven miles from Lafayette, and there Mr. Bailey conducted general farming and stock-raising enterprises until disposing of the farm in 1860. For a year they lived in Lafayette, and then bought a farm of one hundred and eighty-seven acres, which is at present the property of William Green Chance. In 1862 they removed to a farm upon a portion of which Garibaldi has since been built, and here they made their home for some years, in 1862 removing to Netarts Bay, where they conducted a boarding house. William Green was thirteen years old at this time, and he accompanied his mother and stepfather back to the Garibaldi farm in the winter of 1863, little thinking at the time that he would one day be the sole possessor of its fertile acres. In 1874 the mother sold her farm and retired to her present home in Tillamook, where at one time she was an active and energetic woman, deeply interested in the happenings around her, and in the success of her children. For the past ten years has been an invalid. Her father and grandfather were with Washington in the Revolutionary War, the latter the first four years and the former the last four. One brother, James S. Comiskee, was a soldier in the Mexican war, and died while crossing the Gulf of Mexico.
William Green Chance left the home place in 1868 and engaged in fishing in Astoria, the following year transferring his efforts to Eagle Cliff. June 29, 1869, he removed to a farm constituting a suburb of Portland, and soon afterward found employment in the press room of the Oregonian, where he arose from an humble position to that of assistant pressman, remaining in that office for nearly eleven years. In 1880 he left Portland and engaged in railroad construction with the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company, in 1881 returning to Tillamook county, where he found that the farm sold by his mother in 1872 had never been paid for and was incumbered with a heavy mortgage. He took possession of the farm, bought the mortgage, and has made this his home ever since. Mr. Chance has made about all of the improvements on his farm, bringing it to a high state of cultivation, and has one of the most paying properties in his neighborhood. The farm is four and a half miles southeast of Tillamook, and has excellent watering facilities, as well as modern and convenient barns, outhouses and general appointments. A tract of one hundred acres has been cleared of timber and is available for general produce, the balance being devoted to stock-raising, a specialty being made of Durham cattle. Mr. Chance milks thirty-five cows.
Since casting his first presidential vote for U. S. Grant, Mr. Chance has stanchly sided with the Republican party, and has taken a keen interest in local and state politics. For years he has been connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is also a member of the Fraternal Union of Tillamook. James S., the only survivor of his four children, is living with his father, and aiding with the management of the farm. Mr. Chance is a typical western farmer, full of energy and push, and extremely progressive and broad-minded. His word is as good as the traditional bond, and his personal worthiness and integrity are unquestioned.
[Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well know citizens of the past and present. By: Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago, pub 1904, pgs. 496-498 w/portrait]
The story of the founding of the Chance family in Oregon in 1852 possesses innumerable elements of interest and pathos, and its wester way was probably started under more unfavorable circumstances than those of any who have since become prominent in the affairs of the state. William Green Chance, representing the second generation to identify itself with Tillamook county, was born in the town of Shelbyville, Shelby county, Ky., January 18, 1849, and was therefore four years old when he came to Oregon. His father, Samuel Chance, was born in Ohio, and his mother formerly Cecelia Elnoria (Comiskee) Chance, was born in Allegheny county, Pa., March 17, 1825. The paternal ancestry is English and Scotch, and the maternal German. The parents were probably married in Kentucky, and nine children were born to them, William Green being the youngest. Samuel Chance was a merchant during his entire active life, and when William was very young, he took his family to Logansport, Ind., where he engaged in business until the spring of 1852. The winter previous had been spent in perfecting plans for immigration to the far west, and the provisions and equipment for a family of eleven was necessarily large. Mr. Chance had succeeded in business and was therefore able to live in as much comfort as the times permitted. Dire disaster confronted the family ere they reached their goal in the west, for illness entered their ranks, and laid low the father and two children, the former being left in a wayside grave at Fort Laramie. Distressed beyond measure, the mother hired a man to drive the team the rest of the distance, and a comparatively comfortable journey followed in the wake of their terrible loss.
Mrs. Chance was made of the fiber which withstands trouble and deprivation, and which has a remedy for any woe, however great or seemingly overwhelming. Arriving at the Dalles, she supported herself and children by keeping a boarding tent for about sex weeks, and then came down the Columbia river, across from Sauvie’s Island, where she spent the winter. Here she met George Watkins, who had crossed the plains the same year, and whom she subsequently married. In the spring of 1853 Mr. and Mrs. Watkins went to Shoalwater Bay, Wash., and built a sawmill, which they operated with considerable success. In the meantime Mr. Watkins had become prominent in politics, had filled a number of important local offices, and had finally been elected to the state legislature. While absent at the session high water washed the mill away and completely destroyed the machinery, and it was to this scene of desolation that he returned, after serving his district in a highly creditable manner. Gathering together what little remained to them, they traded the mill site for a place on Willapa Prairie, Wash., but sold out the next year and removed to Cascades. There Mr. Watkins took up building and contracting on a large scale, and in the spring of 1856, when at the height of his success, he was killed while at work, by the Indians, who unexpectedly appeared and engaged in a general massacre.
In the spring of 1856 Mrs. Watkins removed to Portland, where she met and married her third husband, Daniel Bailey.
While a resident of Portland she was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1858 they went to Yamhill county, locating on a section of land in the Chehalem Valley, seven miles from Lafayette, and there Mr. Bailey conducted general farming and stock-raising enterprises until disposing of the farm in 1860. For a year they lived in Lafayette, and then bought a farm of one hundred and eighty-seven acres, which is at present the property of William Green Chance. In 1862 they removed to a farm upon a portion of which Garibaldi has since been built, and here they made their home for some years, in 1862 removing to Netarts Bay, where they conducted a boarding house. William Green was thirteen years old at this time, and he accompanied his mother and stepfather back to the Garibaldi farm in the winter of 1863, little thinking at the time that he would one day be the sole possessor of its fertile acres. In 1874 the mother sold her farm and retired to her present home in Tillamook, where at one time she was an active and energetic woman, deeply interested in the happenings around her, and in the success of her children. For the past ten years has been an invalid. Her father and grandfather were with Washington in the Revolutionary War, the latter the first four years and the former the last four. One brother, James S. Comiskee, was a soldier in the Mexican war, and died while crossing the Gulf of Mexico.
William Green Chance left the home place in 1868 and engaged in fishing in Astoria, the following year transferring his efforts to Eagle Cliff. June 29, 1869, he removed to a farm constituting a suburb of Portland, and soon afterward found employment in the press room of the Oregonian, where he arose from an humble position to that of assistant pressman, remaining in that office for nearly eleven years. In 1880 he left Portland and engaged in railroad construction with the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company, in 1881 returning to Tillamook county, where he found that the farm sold by his mother in 1872 had never been paid for and was incumbered with a heavy mortgage. He took possession of the farm, bought the mortgage, and has made this his home ever since. Mr. Chance has made about all of the improvements on his farm, bringing it to a high state of cultivation, and has one of the most paying properties in his neighborhood. The farm is four and a half miles southeast of Tillamook, and has excellent watering facilities, as well as modern and convenient barns, outhouses and general appointments. A tract of one hundred acres has been cleared of timber and is available for general produce, the balance being devoted to stock-raising, a specialty being made of Durham cattle. Mr. Chance milks thirty-five cows.
Since casting his first presidential vote for U. S. Grant, Mr. Chance has stanchly sided with the Republican party, and has taken a keen interest in local and state politics. For years he has been connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is also a member of the Fraternal Union of Tillamook. James S., the only survivor of his four children, is living with his father, and aiding with the management of the farm. Mr. Chance is a typical western farmer, full of energy and push, and extremely progressive and broad-minded. His word is as good as the traditional bond, and his personal worthiness and integrity are unquestioned.
[Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well know citizens of the past and present. By: Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago, pub 1904, pgs. 496-498 w/portrait]
WILLIAM GREEN CHANCE
The story of the founding of the Chance family in Oregon in 1852 possesses innumerable elements of interest and pathos, and its wester way was probably started under more unfavorable circumstances than those of any who have since become prominent in the affairs of the state. William Green Chance, representing the second generation to identify itself with Tillamook county, was born in the town of Shelbyville, Shelby county, Ky., January 18, 1849, and was therefore four years old when he came to Oregon. His father, Samuel Chance, was born in Ohio, and his mother formerly Cecelia Elnoria (Comiskee) Chance, was born in Allegheny county, Pa., March 17, 1825. The paternal ancestry is English and Scotch, and the maternal German. The parents were probably married in Kentucky, and nine children were born to them, William Green being the youngest. Samuel Chance was a merchant during his entire active life, and when William was very young, he took his family to Logansport, Ind., where he engaged in business until the spring of 1852. The winter previous had been spent in perfecting plans for immigration to the far west, and the provisions and equipment for a family of eleven was necessarily large. Mr. Chance had succeeded in business and was therefore able to live in as much comfort as the times permitted. Dire disaster confronted the family ere they reached their goal in the west, for illness entered their ranks, and laid low the father and two children, the former being left in a wayside grave at Fort Laramie. Distressed beyond measure, the mother hired a man to drive the team the rest of the distance, and a comparatively comfortable journey followed in the wake of their terrible loss.
Mrs. Chance was made of the fiber which withstands trouble and deprivation, and which has a remedy for any woe, however great or seemingly overwhelming. Arriving at the Dalles, she supported herself and children by keeping a boarding tent for about sex weeks, and then came down the Columbia river, across from Sauvie’s Island, where she spent the winter. Here she met George Watkins, who had crossed the plains the same year, and whom she subsequently married. In the spring of 1853 Mr. and Mrs. Watkins went to Shoalwater Bay, Wash., and built a sawmill, which they operated with considerable success. In the meantime Mr. Watkins had become prominent in politics, had filled a number of important local offices, and had finally been elected to the state legislature. While absent at the session high water washed the mill away and completely destroyed the machinery, and it was to this scene of desolation that he returned, after serving his district in a highly creditable manner. Gathering together what little remained to them, they traded the mill site for a place on Willapa Prairie, Wash., but sold out the next year and removed to Cascades. There Mr. Watkins took up building and contracting on a large scale, and in the spring of 1856, when at the height of his success, he was killed while at work, by the Indians, who unexpectedly appeared and engaged in a general massacre.
In the spring of 1856 Mrs. Watkins removed to Portland, where she met and married her third husband, Daniel Bailey.
While a resident of Portland she was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1858 they went to Yamhill county, locating on a section of land in the Chehalem Valley, seven miles from Lafayette, and there Mr. Bailey conducted general farming and stock-raising enterprises until disposing of the farm in 1860. For a year they lived in Lafayette, and then bought a farm of one hundred and eighty-seven acres, which is at present the property of William Green Chance. In 1862 they removed to a farm upon a portion of which Garibaldi has since been built, and here they made their home for some years, in 1862 removing to Netarts Bay, where they conducted a boarding house. William Green was thirteen years old at this time, and he accompanied his mother and stepfather back to the Garibaldi farm in the winter of 1863, little thinking at the time that he would one day be the sole possessor of its fertile acres. In 1874 the mother sold her farm and retired to her present home in Tillamook, where at one time she was an active and energetic woman, deeply interested in the happenings around her, and in the success of her children. For the past ten years has been an invalid. Her father and grandfather were with Washington in the Revolutionary War, the latter the first four years and the former the last four. One brother, James S. Comiskee, was a soldier in the Mexican war, and died while crossing the Gulf of Mexico.
William Green Chance left the home place in 1868 and engaged in fishing in Astoria, the following year transferring his efforts to Eagle Cliff. June 29, 1869, he removed to a farm constituting a suburb of Portland, and soon afterward found employment in the press room of the Oregonian, where he arose from an humble position to that of assistant pressman, remaining in that office for nearly eleven years. In 1880 he left Portland and engaged in railroad construction with the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company, in 1881 returning to Tillamook county, where he found that the farm sold by his mother in 1872 had never been paid for and was incumbered with a heavy mortgage. He took possession of the farm, bought the mortgage, and has made this his home ever since. Mr. Chance has made about all of the improvements on his farm, bringing it to a high state of cultivation, and has one of the most paying properties in his neighborhood. The farm is four and a half miles southeast of Tillamook, and has excellent watering facilities, as well as modern and convenient barns, outhouses and general appointments. A tract of one hundred acres has been cleared of timber and is available for general produce, the balance being devoted to stock-raising, a specialty being made of Durham cattle. Mr. Chance milks thirty-five cows.
Since casting his first presidential vote for U. S. Grant, Mr. Chance has stanchly sided with the Republican party, and has taken a keen interest in local and state politics. For years he has been connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is also a member of the Fraternal Union of Tillamook. James S., the only survivor of his four children, is living with his father, and aiding with the management of the farm. Mr. Chance is a typical western farmer, full of energy and push, and extremely progressive and broad-minded. His word is as good as the traditional bond, and his personal worthiness and integrity are unquestioned.
[Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well know citizens of the past and present. By: Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago, pub 1904, pgs. 496-498 w/portrait]
The story of the founding of the Chance family in Oregon in 1852 possesses innumerable elements of interest and pathos, and its wester way was probably started under more unfavorable circumstances than those of any who have since become prominent in the affairs of the state. William Green Chance, representing the second generation to identify itself with Tillamook county, was born in the town of Shelbyville, Shelby county, Ky., January 18, 1849, and was therefore four years old when he came to Oregon. His father, Samuel Chance, was born in Ohio, and his mother formerly Cecelia Elnoria (Comiskee) Chance, was born in Allegheny county, Pa., March 17, 1825. The paternal ancestry is English and Scotch, and the maternal German. The parents were probably married in Kentucky, and nine children were born to them, William Green being the youngest. Samuel Chance was a merchant during his entire active life, and when William was very young, he took his family to Logansport, Ind., where he engaged in business until the spring of 1852. The winter previous had been spent in perfecting plans for immigration to the far west, and the provisions and equipment for a family of eleven was necessarily large. Mr. Chance had succeeded in business and was therefore able to live in as much comfort as the times permitted. Dire disaster confronted the family ere they reached their goal in the west, for illness entered their ranks, and laid low the father and two children, the former being left in a wayside grave at Fort Laramie. Distressed beyond measure, the mother hired a man to drive the team the rest of the distance, and a comparatively comfortable journey followed in the wake of their terrible loss.
Mrs. Chance was made of the fiber which withstands trouble and deprivation, and which has a remedy for any woe, however great or seemingly overwhelming. Arriving at the Dalles, she supported herself and children by keeping a boarding tent for about sex weeks, and then came down the Columbia river, across from Sauvie’s Island, where she spent the winter. Here she met George Watkins, who had crossed the plains the same year, and whom she subsequently married. In the spring of 1853 Mr. and Mrs. Watkins went to Shoalwater Bay, Wash., and built a sawmill, which they operated with considerable success. In the meantime Mr. Watkins had become prominent in politics, had filled a number of important local offices, and had finally been elected to the state legislature. While absent at the session high water washed the mill away and completely destroyed the machinery, and it was to this scene of desolation that he returned, after serving his district in a highly creditable manner. Gathering together what little remained to them, they traded the mill site for a place on Willapa Prairie, Wash., but sold out the next year and removed to Cascades. There Mr. Watkins took up building and contracting on a large scale, and in the spring of 1856, when at the height of his success, he was killed while at work, by the Indians, who unexpectedly appeared and engaged in a general massacre.
In the spring of 1856 Mrs. Watkins removed to Portland, where she met and married her third husband, Daniel Bailey.
While a resident of Portland she was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1858 they went to Yamhill county, locating on a section of land in the Chehalem Valley, seven miles from Lafayette, and there Mr. Bailey conducted general farming and stock-raising enterprises until disposing of the farm in 1860. For a year they lived in Lafayette, and then bought a farm of one hundred and eighty-seven acres, which is at present the property of William Green Chance. In 1862 they removed to a farm upon a portion of which Garibaldi has since been built, and here they made their home for some years, in 1862 removing to Netarts Bay, where they conducted a boarding house. William Green was thirteen years old at this time, and he accompanied his mother and stepfather back to the Garibaldi farm in the winter of 1863, little thinking at the time that he would one day be the sole possessor of its fertile acres. In 1874 the mother sold her farm and retired to her present home in Tillamook, where at one time she was an active and energetic woman, deeply interested in the happenings around her, and in the success of her children. For the past ten years has been an invalid. Her father and grandfather were with Washington in the Revolutionary War, the latter the first four years and the former the last four. One brother, James S. Comiskee, was a soldier in the Mexican war, and died while crossing the Gulf of Mexico.
William Green Chance left the home place in 1868 and engaged in fishing in Astoria, the following year transferring his efforts to Eagle Cliff. June 29, 1869, he removed to a farm constituting a suburb of Portland, and soon afterward found employment in the press room of the Oregonian, where he arose from an humble position to that of assistant pressman, remaining in that office for nearly eleven years. In 1880 he left Portland and engaged in railroad construction with the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company, in 1881 returning to Tillamook county, where he found that the farm sold by his mother in 1872 had never been paid for and was incumbered with a heavy mortgage. He took possession of the farm, bought the mortgage, and has made this his home ever since. Mr. Chance has made about all of the improvements on his farm, bringing it to a high state of cultivation, and has one of the most paying properties in his neighborhood. The farm is four and a half miles southeast of Tillamook, and has excellent watering facilities, as well as modern and convenient barns, outhouses and general appointments. A tract of one hundred acres has been cleared of timber and is available for general produce, the balance being devoted to stock-raising, a specialty being made of Durham cattle. Mr. Chance milks thirty-five cows.
Since casting his first presidential vote for U. S. Grant, Mr. Chance has stanchly sided with the Republican party, and has taken a keen interest in local and state politics. For years he has been connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is also a member of the Fraternal Union of Tillamook. James S., the only survivor of his four children, is living with his father, and aiding with the management of the farm. Mr. Chance is a typical western farmer, full of energy and push, and extremely progressive and broad-minded. His word is as good as the traditional bond, and his personal worthiness and integrity are unquestioned.
[Portrait and biographical record of western Oregon, containing original sketches of many well know citizens of the past and present. By: Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago, pub 1904, pgs. 496-498 w/portrait]
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
