Joseph SMITH and his wife, Margaret MATHER SMITH; along with their daughter, Letitia C. SMITH (age 4); and son, Joseph Eddy SMITH (age 2), left Madison, IN in 1853 for St.Joseph, Missouri, there spending one winter. In the following spring of 1854 they started overland across the plains in an ox-wagon with Oregon as their objective point as members of a party commanded by Captain John M. Bell, there being about 20 wagons in the train. One of Margaret's unmarried younger brothers, John Addison MATHER, accompanied them on their journey. Other members of the party were the wife of the late Governor Pannoyer and General Ward, whose daughters married Captain Bell and Dr. Balt, of Salem. A second daughter, Seatta Gertrude SMITH, was born along the trail near Devil's Gate, WY. The journey across the plains required six months to accomplish, and both families settled five miles northwest of Portland on government land, densely covered with wood. The Smiths took up a donation claims of three hundred and twenty acres in Multnomah County, (Donation Lan Claim #3418) and Mr. Mather filed an adjacent claim of 160 acres. In their early experiences these pioneers were forced to carry their provisions two miles through the thick timber before a wagon road was constructed. Joseph and Margaret remained on their land until 1891, when they retired to Sunnyside, OR.

                                     ________________
                    ________________|
                   |                |________________
 Henry SMITH_______|                 ________________
|                  |________________|
|                                   |________________
|- Joseph SMITH                      ________________
|                   ________________|
|                  |                |________________
|Margaret UNKNOWN__|                 ________________
                   |________________|
                                    |________________

Sources:

Online Links:

http://jpaul.gwdi.com/silvey /larue/d0001/g0000070.htm#I1502

http://www.pinardfamily.com /displaytree.asp?ID=@I0322@

http://pedigree.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/pedview.dll?ti=0&ind=684&file=54898

Joseph Smith Family Bible, Family Record (photocopy)

Births - "Joseph Smith was born in Virginia on the 13th day of May A.D. 1818"

Marriages - "Mr Joseph Smith and Miss Margaret Mather Were Married in Madison Indiana August the 2nd A.D. 1849"

U.S. Census

- 1860 Oregon: Multnomah: North Portland Precint: Page 472: Line 8:
"Jos Smith, 43 M, (farmer), value of real estate 1650, value of personal estate 600, Virginia"

- 1870 Oregon: Multnomah: Portland: Page 147: Line ?:
"Smith, Joseph, 52 M W, farmer, value of real estate 5000, value of personal estate 245, Virginia"

- 1880 Oregon: Multnomah: Willamette Slough Precinct: E.D. 92: Page 28: Line 2:
"Smith Joseph W M 62, farmer, Virginia"

Genealogical Material in Oregon Land Claims - Volume II, page 47

"No. 3418 SMITH, Joseph, Multnomah Co; b 1818, Va; Arr. Ore. Sept 1854; SC 6 Aug 1855; m Margaret, 1840/ 49, Ind. Signed Oath of Allegiance 25 Mar 1864. Aff: H.E.W. East, John Hankins, J.A. Mather, Wm. Cornell"

Oregon Donation Land Claim:

Land Office: O(regon) C(ity); Cert. Number: 3418; No. of Acres: 320; Smith, Joseph & w(ife)
Township: 1N - Range: 1W - Sections: 25,26

"The Centennial History of Oregon"

1811-1912 Volume II, by Joseph Gaston, Chicago, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company 1912, pages 991 and 992 - sm-274b

Newspaper Clipping - 13 November 1904

"Sees Brother After Many Years
Lafayette Winchester, of Indiana, Visits an Oregon Pioneer" - mt-123b

The Sunday Oregonian; 6 December 1891 p.6

Died - "SMITH - December 4, at 2:40 P.M. Mr. Joseph Smith, aged 73 years, 6 months, and 21 days. Funeral this (Sunday) morning at 8 o'clock from family residence cor. N st and Laburuum(?) ave., Sunnyside."