[or-roots] Coos County Index lookup

[Sue Steward]

A Century of Coos and Curry by Emil R. Peterson and Alfred Powers (1952)

Page 280
Russell Cook Dement, whose father, Samuel Dement, was a member of the 1853
Coos Bay Company, wrote his pioneer story for R. L. Tucker of the Myrtle
Point Herald.  It appeard August 6 to November 16, 1931.  Dement was a child
of four when he came to Empire City.  His home was in Myrtle Point but he
owned ranches throughout the county.  He died in 1936.

Page 318
Binger Hermann was out hunting with Samuel M. Dement, Coos pioneer of 1853.
Hermann, shaking with buck ague, discharged his gun prematurely.  Dement
asked him what he was shooting at.  "At randon," said he.   "Zooks, Binger,
I didn't know that there was any randoms in this country.  What kind of
animals are they?"

Page 527
Dement, Russell C., b. Ohio 1847, son of S.M. and Caroline.  Grew up on his
father's cattle ranch; bought and sold cattle; partner in a Coos Bay meat
market; interested in steamboating.  At Myrtle Point joined with others to
organize the Security Bank; was president for many years.  Married 1874 Lucy
Norris (a descendant of Daniel Boone).  Children: Nellie, Eunice (Braden),
Ray B., Winifred (White); Lester T. and Ellis S., twins; Clara, Harry,
Lorain.

Dement, Samuel Maxwell, b. Ohio 1823.  Married Caroline Spencer; three
children, including Russell C.  Married second Luisa Lovett 1866, Children:
W. Taylor, George, Clay, Caroline, Max.  To Coos 1853.  A blacksmith.  First
settled at Empire; then on donation claim on upper South Coquille; became a
leading Coos cattleman.  His original ranch in the Eckley area, now enlarged
to about 4,000 acresof range, is still in the family.

Pioneer History of Coos and Curry Counties, Oregon by Orvil Dodge, Historian
2nd Edition (1969)

Page 28
Dement, Maxwell H., was born at Cliff ranch, South of Coquille, April 7,
1876, and still resides thereon, and is completing his education.

Page 29
Dement, William Taylor, was born in Coos Co., at Cliff ranch, and has lived
on the South Fork of the Coquille ever since.  His occupation is farming and
stock raising.  His wife's maiden name was Nellie Figg, born in Coos Co.,
Oct 10, 1870, married Dec. 20, 1907.

Page 330
Recollections of russell C. Dement, whose father, Samuel Maxwell Dement, was
born the 5th of Oct 1822, in Monroe County, Ohio, and was raised on a farm
until the 16th year, when he began work as an apprentice in a blacksmith
shop, remaining there until he was twenty years old, barely earning his
board and clothing while there.  For three years after he traveled from
place to place through several states and worked at his trade.  Returning to
his old home in 1845, he started a blacksmith shop of his own.  In 1846 he
was married to Caroline Spencer.  About 1847 he went into the grocery
business, which he followed until the fall of 1851, when taken with the
Oregon fever, he sold out his store, had a wagon made and bought a team of
horses, and with his wife and child, a boy of five years of age, started for
the "promised" land.  Came as far as St Joseph, Mo., where he spent the
winter of '51-'2.  While there he met many kindred spirits of adventure.  It
being considered dangerous for a company of a small number to travel such a
great distance, on account of hostile Indians, therefore they formed a large
company and as the majority were in favor of ox teams, to make the long
journey with, Dement sold his horses and bought oxes instead, and started as
soon as the grass started in the spring, with five yoke of oxes and five or
six cows, and the wagon well loaded with provisions and household goods.
Everything went well for awhile, when the cholera broke out in the company,
and many found a burial place on the lonely plains; on account of the alkali
water the stock had to drink they soon began to die, and as the teams became
reduced in number and strength, their loads had to be reduced in proportion,
which necessitated the leaving of everthing which was not absolutely
necessary on the road.  The consequence was, after six months hardship, he
arrived in Oregon, with one yoke of oxen, and two wheels of a wagon (in form
of a cart), and no money.  His trade then came in good play.  The first
winter he spent in Corvallis, then Marysville, and in the spring of '53 he
sold the old yoke of oxen which hauled the cart alone over the Cascade
mountains, and moved his small family, by a pack train to Jacksonville,
Oregon, and there he worked through the summer at the blacksmith business,
also doing some mining, at the same time belonged to the Home Guard, during
the Indian war of 1853, known as the Rogue River War....

I discovered this goes on several more pages, maybe I should just copy and
mail the pages to you.

----- Original Message -----
From: <Pearlsoup at aol.com>
To: <or-roots at sosinet.sos.state.or.us>
Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2004 9:36 AM
Subject: [or-roots] Coos County Index lookup


> Dear Sue,
> I would love to know what your book has on Samuel R. Dement and his first
> wife Caroline Spencer. She was cousin to my grt grt grandfather. The
Dement's
> were an early pioneer family. I think they came in 1847. Then around 1900
or so,
> a son of my grt grt grandfather lived in the area of Myrtle Beach. His
name
> was Theodore Carthwell Spencer but went by William T. C. Spencer. He
married
> Marguerite Barney and had three children, Jasper, May and I can't think of
the
> third right now. Jasper died in Eugene. If you need more info, let me know
and I
> will look it up. Thanks for your kind offer of lookups.
> Linda Purvis
> Beaverton, OR
> Oregon-HUNT, DOWNING, EDWARDS, QUEENER, ESTEP
> Washington-REDDICK, WEAVER, SPENCER
> _______________________________________________
> or-roots mailing list
> or-roots at sosinet.sos.state.or.us
> http://sosinet.sos.state.or.us/mailman/listinfo/or-roots
>