"Portrait & Biographical Record of the Willamette Valley Oregon."  Chicago:
Chapman Publishing Company, 1903. p. 1213.
 
CAPT. JAMES BLAKELY

     In the lives of the founders of the northwest we find peculiarly effective
illustrations of those qualities which prepare the way for public prosperity and
happiness. James Blakely is one of those who has bravely borne his part in the
formation epoch of this country, and few there are who are more intelligently or
interestingly reminiscent of the days which tried the fiber of men, and either
made or ruined them with its parallel hope and discouragement. Out of this
period Mr. Blakely has emerged strengthened and hopeful, the possessor of a
comfortable home earned by the sweat of his brow. An evening spent with this
cheery, early settler would convince the most skeptical that the way of the
pioneer is thorny, although often an adventurous and exciting one, and that lie
who wins success without money or influence must needs be the possessor of more
than ordinary courage and sagacity.
     This pioneer of 1846 was born in Knox county, Tenn., November 26, 1812, and
in spite of the fact that ninety-one years have passed over his head, still has
youthful sympathies, and a heart attuned to the joy and expectancy of life. The
point of a joke is never lost in the meshes of his wary brain, nor are his
exceedingly humorous accounts of the early days without interest to his hearers.
His service in the Indian wars of the west in 1856 rounds out the third
generation of his family to shoulder arms in defense of this country, the first
to thus bring honor upon the name being his paternal grandfather, Charles
Blakely, who came to America from Ireland as a small boy, locating with his
parents in the Old Dominion. The oppressed colonists found in him a ready
defender, and he slept and fought in the tents and battlefields of the
Revolutionary war. After the war the soldier removed to Tennessee, and died on
his farm in Knox county at the age of four score years. His son, Joseph, was
born on this old Tennessee farm, and, emulating the martial spirit of his sire,
took part in the less famous and lengthy war of 1812. Aside from this his life
was spent in Knox county, Tenn., until 1838, in which year he moved to a farm in
Platte county, Mo., and engaged in farming and stock-raising. His death took
place in Nodaway county, Mo., at the age of seventy-four. His wife, formerly
Jensia Browning, was a native daughter of Knox county, Tenn., her father, James
Browning, having been born in North Carolina. The maternal family was
distinguished for the longevity of its members, and Mrs. Blakely exceeded her
husband in the length of her useful life.
     The third of the six sons and six daughters born to his parents, James
Blakely worked hard on the home farm, and at irregular intervals attended the
remotely located schoolhouse with its puncheon floors and greased paper windows.
He grew up a bare-footed boy, but with splendid health, and a superabundance of
spirits and vitality. His father profited by his services until he was
twenty-two years old, and at that time he hired out to a nearby farmer, as the
numerous children at home could easily perform all needed work on honor hoe
place. With the courage of the youthful and inexperienced he married early in
life, his choice falling on a native daughter of Jefferson county, Tenn., and
whose name was Sarah Dick. She was born November 24,1815, and was three years
the junior of her husband. Her death occurred June 14, 1888, at the age of
seventy-four years. After his marriage, Mr. Blakely rented a piece of land near
the home place, and in 1838 came overland with his father and the rest of the
family to Missouri, taking up a government farm of one hundred and sixty acres.
This did not prove particularly profitable, so he soon sold out and leased a
place for a couple of years.
     To this quiet inland farm came news of awaking possibilities in the far
west,and to Mr. Blakely this seemed the opportunity for which he had been
looking so for the long journey, and even though emigration to the west was as
yet in its infancy he bravely set forth, armed and provisioned against any
emergency that might arise. Arriving in this county after a comparatively
peaceful and pleasant journey, he took up a donation claim upon a portion of
which Brownsville is now located, and built a little one-room house in the
wilderness. He soon observed the mercantile chances which would abound as the
country should become better settled, and even the Indians in the neighborhood
offered a trade by no means to be despised by an ambitious storekeeper. In this
connection lie was warmly assisted by his uncle, Hugh L. Brown, who, was one of
the sincerest friends, and practically life-long helpmate,which have brightened
the existence of Mr. Blakely. Out of extreme appreciation for the character and
abilities of his friend, Mr. Blakely named Brownsville in his honor, and with
him started up a general store, which became the headquarters for trade and
sociability in the neighborhood. These early days contained material for a
highly interesting booty of narrative, and it is upon this adventurous epoch
that Mr. Blakely draws most freely for the entertainment which his friends so
much enjoy today. The Indian war coming on, he naturally took a part in the
effort to insure protection to settlers and their possessions, and, enlisting,
in Company D, Second Oregon Regiment lie served as captain in the Rogue river
campaign, being mustered out at the end of three months, on July 4, 1856.
     In connection with his farm Mr. Blakely took a prominent part in the early
upbuilding of Brownsville, and later on aided by his mature judgment the more
ambitious projects of the citizens. In partnership with another man he built the
first flour mill in the town, and he was one of the chief promoters of the
Woolen Mills of Brownsville, for many years being a stock owner therein. The
greater part of his success has come from stock-raising, in which he has engaged
nearly all his rife, and from his farm innumerable heads of fine cattle, horses,
and hogs have reached the markets. Generous to a fault, Mr. Blakely has retained
but a small portion of his large property for his own use, the balance having
either been sold or given to his children. In a comfortable and homelike little
cottage lie is watching the setting sun of a fine and honorable life, surrounded
by the love of his children, and the good will of a host of friends. With him
lives his grandson, James Blakely Conley.
     Mr. Blakely has subscribed to the principles of the Democratic party during
his entire voting life, and after coming to the west took quite a prominent part
in local affairs. For two terms he was a member of the city council of
Brownsville, and for many years he served as school director and road
supervisor. He is fraternally connected with the Masons. Of the twelve children
born to Mr. and Mrs. Blakely, Eleanor, the oldest child and daughter is the wife
of Kennedy Montgomery, a stockman and rancher of Crook county, Ore.; Catherine,
widow of Jeremiah Lewis; William, a farmer of Pendleton, Ore., and ex-sheriff of
Pendleton county; Harriet, the wife of G. C. Cooley, a merchant of Brownsville;
Henry, a retired farmer of this place: Caroline, deceased; Margaret, the widow
of Mr. Smith, and a resident of Montana; James, a stock-raiser of the Willow
valley; George, engaged in the drug business at The Dalles, and county judge of
Wasco county; Joseph, the chief of police of Pendleton, Ore.; Sarah, the wife of
Henry McFarlin, a farmer near Brownsville; and a daughter deceased in infancy.
Mr. Blakely has certainly been one of the thrifty, and resourceful upbuilders of
this county, but who, after all, can best tell his story in his own strangely
interesting manner.

     
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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in April 2010 by Diana Smith.  Submitter
has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.