George W. Ebbert

Infobox Politician
name = George Wood Ebbert


imagesize =
caption =
office = Participant at the Champoeg Meetings
termstart = 1843
termend = 1843
constituency = Tualatin Plains
nominator =
appointer =
predecessor =
successor =
office2 = Constable in the Provisional Government of Oregon
constituency2 =
termstart2 = 1843
termend2 = 1844
nominator2 =
appointer2 =
predecessor2 = position created
successor2 =
birthdate = June 10 1810
birthplace = Augusta, Kentucky
deathdate = October 1 1890
deathplace = Hillsboro, Oregon
party =
spouse = Fanny Ebbert

George Wood “Squire” Ebbert (1810-1890) was a mountain man and early settler in the Oregon Country. Born in Kentucky, he settled on the Tualatin Plains in what would become Oregon and participated in the Champoeg Meetings that created a government prior to the formation of the Oregon Territory. During the Cayuse War he traveled with Joseph Meek across the Rocky Mountains to ask Congress for assistance with the war.

Early life

Ebbert was born on June 10 1810, in Augusta, Kentucky.Corning, Howard M. "Dictionary of Oregon History". Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.] His father died while Ebbert was still a boy, but left his mother well off financially.Clarke, S. A. 1905. " [http://books.google.com/books?id=bUcOAAAAIAAJ&dq=george+ebbert+oregon&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=Sc1ObQij62&sig=xikb-S3mQVsiIS9mz_Guvb6D6aw#PPA246,M1 Pioneer days of Oregon history.] " Portland: J.K. Gill Company.] At age eight, he shot and killed a cow that had rampaged through the family home, earning him the nickname Squire. At age thirteen Ebbert became an apprentice machinist, but left with only three months to go of the seven-year apprenticeship to elope to St. Louis, Missouri with a woman against his mother’s wishes. Ebbert’s mother refused to attend their wedding, so he abandoned the plans and joined William Sublette as a fur trapper.

In August 1830, he was bought out as a partner of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company by a group including Jedediah Smith. [Kohnen, Patricia. [http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Ithaca/5531/oregontrail.html The Oregon Trail: 1792-1830.] Accessed October 2 2007.] Later as a contract fur trapper, he worked for the Hudson’s Bay Company between 1833 and 1836, arriving in the Oregon Country in 1833. Following work for that fur trading company, he worked as a blacksmith at the Whitman Mission and the mission of Henry H. Spalding at Lapwai from 1837 to 1838.

In 1839, Ebbert moved to the Willamette Valley and became the first white settler at Champoeg. After a short time farming there, he sold his land on the French Prairie in 1841 to Andre Longtain for 100 bushels of wheat. [ [http://www.heritagetrailpress.com/About_US/ Oregon and Family History - "Entwined".] Heritage Trail Press, accessed October 2 2007.] In 1841, Ebbert arrived on the Tualatin Plains in the Tualatin Valley north of Champoeg to settle.Buan, Carolyn M. "This Far-Off Sunset Land: A Pictorial History of Washington County, Oregon". Donning Company Publishers, 1999.] There he met with other early settlers of the Plains such as Joseph Gale, Robert Newell, and Joseph L. Meek among others.

Political career

On May 2 1843, at the Champoeg Meetings pioneer settlers voted to create a government, with Ebbert voting for the creation in a vote that passed 52 to 50. After the vote to create the Provisional Government of Oregon, Ebbert was elected as one of the constables for the government. His neighbor Joe Meek was elected as sheriff.

Following the Whitman Massacre in late 1847, the Provisional Legislature of Oregon authorized Joe Meek to travel east to Washington, DC, to ask for the creation of a federal territory with the start of the Cayuse War.Terry, Jane. Oregon’s Trail pioneer forays east helped early Oregon. "The Oregonian", May 5 2002.] On March 4, 1848, Meek set off with Ebbert accompanying him on the journey. The two arrived in St. Louis, Missouri, on May 4 with Meek representing himself as an envoy from the Republic of Oregon. Ebbert would never be reimbursed for the expenses incurred on the trip.

Later life

After returning from the nation’s capitol, he settled on his farm with his wife Fanny. She was the sister of Meek’s Native American wife Virginia, and George and Fanny would have three children. Ebbert was one of the first purchasers of town lots in Hillsboro, Oregon, along with Ralph Wilcox, David T. Lenox, Alvin T. Smith, and others in the early 1850s. His land claim in Washington County was adjacent to what became the town of Orenco, Oregon, and is the site of much of the Orenco Station development in Hillsboro.Hanberg, Lou. "Orenco Heritage Series": Book One. 1992.] George Ebbert died on October 1 1890, and was buried at the West Union Baptist Church Cemetery in West Union, Oregon. [Historic names mark old gravestones. "The Hillsboro Argus", October 19 1976.] The Washington County Museum has a George Ebbert Society.

References

External links

* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E00E5D6103BE533A25750C0A9669D94619ED7CF New York Times obituary]