"Illustrated History of Lane County, Oregon." Portland, Oregon: A. G. Walling,
publisher, 1884.  pg. 488.
 
WILLIAM M. STEVENS
     (Deceased)  The subject of this sketch was born in Raleigh, North Carolina,
June 27, 1805, where he grew to man's estate and married Hixey V. Jones, with
whom, in 1828, he moved to what was then known as Ray county, East Tennessee.
Here his eldest son, Harrison Andrew, was born, January 1, 1829.  In 1836 he
transferred his location to Polk county, Missouri, and there resided until
determining to cross the plains to the "ultima thule" of Oregon, for he had
heard of the large donation claims being given there to men of families by the
government.  May 7, 1847, found Mr. Stevens crossing the Missouri line alone
with his family, but falling in with other trains on the route, they together
made the journey and endured the hardships attending such an expedition,
eventually arriving at Barlow's Gate, near the Cascade mountains, on the
twenty-fifth of September.  From that point he moved onto and rented a piece of
land near Salem from Charley Matt, where a crop was raised, but being
dissatisfied with the location, Mr. Stevens sought elsewhere for property more
suited to his requirements.  In the month of October he came to the dwelling of
Jacob. C. Spores, accompanied by Mr. Ware, where they were ferried across the
McKenzie river by Indians, their horses swimming the stream, and proceeding but
a short distance found a tract of land that accorded with his taste, "located"
it and then returned to Salem, brought his three eldest sons with him and
commenced the erection of a house in December, 1847, the rest of his family
joining him on Christmas Day of that year.  This was the first house erected in
what is known as the Forks of the Willamette, the timber used in its
construction being the first cut by a white man in that vicinity.  At first they
had frequent visits from bands of Indians, who, beyond evincing an obtrusive
curiosity, scarcely ever molested them, yet their presence was not re-assuring,
and caused much anxiety to the female members of the family.  In the fall of
1848 Mr. Stevens and his sons broke forty acres of ground directly back of the
homestead with a wooden plow and iron share and six yoke of oxen, which was
afterwards sown to wheat; in the spring of 1849, they planted corn and garden
produce on fifteen acres of land, the balance of the six hundred and forty acres
taken up affording pasturage for the sixteen yoke of oxen and seventy-five head
of cattle Mr. Stevens had brought with him.  The return of vegetables was
enormous.  Our subject now erected a cabin for Captain Felix Scott in the summer
of 1849, the second dwelling in that section of the county, while during that
year he conducted what was afterwards called Briggs' Ferry on the South Fork of
the Willamette.   Further particulars of the life of this pioneer will be found
in the special history of the settlement of the Forks of the Willamette.  He
resided on his farm, leading a useful life, but on May 25, 1860, it was cut
short by accident, the immediate cause being a horse, an animal the he looked
upon with almost human affection.  He left a large family, consisting of the
following sons and daughters:
     ASHLAND ORLANDO, the second son of the above pioneer was born in Ray
county, Tennessee, August 22, 1830, and came to Oregon with his parents and now
occupies the old homestead.  He married Mary Margaret Steward, who came to Lane
county in 1852, on August 15, 1855, she being a native of Missouri, and has a
surviving family of three daughters, viz:  Mary Elon, Marth Elizabeth, and
Rowena Belle.
     ALVIN BURT, the third child, was born in Tennessee, March 14, 1832, and is
now a resident of California.
     SARAH JANE, now Mrs. George H. Armitage, was born in Tennessee, October 4,
1833, and resides with her husband near Eugene city.
     ISAAC E. was born in Tennessee, March 1, 1835, and is now a resident of
Lane county.
     MARY ANN was born in Hickory county, Missouri.
     JAMES ANDERSON was born in Polk county, Missouri, January 26, 1839, and now
resides on the farm adjoining the old homestead.  He accompanied his parents to
this State and county and, November 22, 1868, married Emily F. Greenwood, who
was born November 23, 1848, and crossed the plains in 1852.  Their family
consists of Charles Lenn, Welby and Maggie.
     EMMALINE MATILDA, the third daughter of Mr. Stevens, was born in Polk
county, Missouri March 16, 1841, and is now Mrs. Linville.
     WILLIAM HENRY was born in Polk county, Missouri, Marcy 7, 1843, and died on
the farm adjoining the old homestead on the north, October 11, 1883.
     CHARLES JEFFERSON was born in Polk county, Missouri, January, 28, 1845, and
died December 20, 1864.
     MANDELY CAROLINE, the youngest child of the old pioneer, was born under the
family roof-tree in Lane county, February 18, 1849, and died, February 5, 1854.

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