"An Illustrated history of Baker, Grant, Malheur and Harney Counties : with a
brief outline of the early history of the state of Oregon." Chicago?: Western
Historical Pub. Co., 1902.  Page 512.  Grant County.

JOHN H. HAMILTON

     Among the sturdy bands of men and women that left the comforts and quiet of
their eastern homes to endure the hardships of the weary trip across the plains,
and to suffer from the frequent attacks of the savages while they were making
their way to the unexplored and wild regions of the west, where they put forth
herculean efforts in their endeavors to subdue the wilderness and bring from the
new ground sustenance for themselves and their little ones, we are bound to
mention the gentleman whose name initiates this paragraph and who stands as a
worthy specimen of this valiant number.
     Mr. Hamilton was born in Kentucky, to James and Julia Hamilton, on April 5,
1826, and while still a child was removed by his parents to Decatur county,
Indiana.  He spent the years of his minority on a farm and in 1831 came to
Randolph county, Missouri, where he spent but one winter, starting across the
plains the next spring.  That dread disease, cholera, came in the train and one
night three of his sisters were taken.  The next day their bodies were laid in
one grave, where they sleep beside the weary trail of many years ago.  Mr.
Hamilton came on to the Willamette valley and located near Oregon City, where he
took up a half section and went at the task of opening a farm in the midst of
the forests.  That was the scene of his labors until the spring of 1872, when he
came to Grant county and settled near where the town of Hamilton is now located.
He was the first settler in this section and the town was named after him.  He
took a homestead and increased his holdings to one thousand acres of good land
and prosperity seemed to smile on him, but as the golden years came on he was
unfairly dealt with and his property was largely taken from him unjustly, so
that now he has but a small amount compared with the princely estate and stocks
that he had accumulated by his care and thrift.
     On October 9, 1848, the marriage of Mr. Hamilton and Miss Mary J., daughter
of Nathaniel and Nancy Robins, of Greensburg, Indiana, was celebrated and to
them have been born the following children:  John Milton, married to Lettie
Fuller, but he was killed in the mines in Fox valley; James N., of Burns, Harney
county; Arthur J., married to Mary Chapel and living near Portland; Sebastian
E., in Portland; Jacob W., married to Emma Shirts and living near Hamilton;
Lewis H., married to Mary Wills, near Prineville; William, married to Ella
Hinton and living in Hamilton; Edith, deceased; Nancy C., wife of John Hinton,
of Sumpter; Permelia J., wife of George Baker, of Sumpter.  On May 4, 1900, Mrs.
Hamilton was called from the walks of earth to the home beyond, and her demise
was mourned by all.  Mr. Hamilton is one of the most highly respected and
esteemed of the old pioneers, having ever been faithful in the walks of life.

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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in October 2005 by Diana Smith.
Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned
above.