Gilbert, Frank T.  "Historic Sketches of Walla Walla, Whitman, Columbia and
Garfield Counties, Washington Territory; and Umatilla County, Oregon." Portland,
OR: Print & Lithographing House of A.  G.  Walling, 1882.  p. a19.

ORLEY HULL

	was born in Freetown, Cortland County, New York, June 18, 1821, where he
lived with his parents, who moved to Huron County, Ohio, in 1832.  At sixteen
years of age he left home, and started the battle of life, going to Indiana with
a brother.  For the ensuing eight years he passed through and worked in, first,
Illinois, then Missouri, and then Iowa in the city of that name.  For two years
he remained in Iowa City, and then went into the country and bought a farm
claim.  In 1842, September 11, he was married to Miss Mary Clark, whose parents
lived in Johnson Co., nine miles from Iowa City.  In 1850, they crossed the
plains with a team to Oregon, wintering at the Dalles.  In February of 1851,
with his family he passed down the Columbia river in an open boat, and located
for a time in the Willamette valley, and then moved to Yreka, California, where
he spent two years mining.  This proved an unsuccessful venture, and he returned
to the Umpqua Valley and settled 12 miles west of Roseburg, on Ten-mile prairie.
This was in 1853, and for the next five years that place became his home.  While
in this locality he participated in the Rogue River War, of 1856.  He moved to
the Coquille river, in Coose Co., intending to make stock grazing his business
and this point his future home.  "But the best laid plans o' mice and men, gang
aft aglee," says Bobby Burns, and Mr. Hull found that in his own case this line
had become a prophesy; for in December, 1861, there came a flood from the
mountains, through the Coquille river, that carried away his house and
buildings, leaving him afloat in a ferry boat.  He thought that, as this was not
quite equal to the drowning of the world, in Noah's time, he might find dry land
in some other part of it, and accordingly abandoned this locality and moved to
Walla Walla, in August 1862.  In January of 1863, he purchased 120 acres of the
place where he now lives, of E.  Davidson, for $2,500.00 Mr.Hull came to the
Walla Walla valley with 260 head of stock, $500, and a reputation for honest
dealing with his fellows as a capital to start with.  For three years stock was
the branch of industry that occupied his attention; but, as the years passed and
the country became settled up, he concluded to make a home of it, and turned his
attention to agriculture.  From year to year he has added to that original 120
acres, until he now has 960 all told, 400 of which constitute the home farm,
(see view in this book.) Horses and hogs are the principal stock now raised by
him; of which he has at the present time 21 head of the former, and over 100 of
the Magee Poland China species of hogs, that from personal inspection, we found
to be very fine.
	The home farm is situated seven miles east of Walla Walla City, and at the
base of the Blue mountains, Russell creek running through his door yard.  The
land is like the other foot hill farms; it is all inclosed and under
cultivation.  He has 41 stand of bees, something rare in Washington Territory;
an orchard of various kinds of fruit trees, including a number of varieties of
excellent apples.  Taken all together, it is a home worthy the effort to make it
such, combining merit in production, with beauty in location, from where the
Blue mountains loom up in the south east, and the beautiful Walla Walla valley
lies like a dream of Canaan, stretching away towards the Columbia below and to
the west.
	Mr. and Mrs. Hull have three children : Viola, wife of T. J. Anders, who
lives in Walla Walla City; Hila, wife of Smith Swezea, who lives in Garfield
Co., W.  T.  ; and Eva, who lives with her parents.  In conclusion we would say
of these two, Mr. and Mrs. Hull, that the fortune, which, in the autumn of life,
surrounds them, has been gathered by worthy hands and properly rewards the life
labors of two pioneers of this country.  It is not infrequent, that those who
struggle less and are favored according to their efforts, are envious of those
who succeed; but we can only say, success is generally the result, as in this
case, of intelligent and honorable endeavor to succeed.  In the wandering to
seek a favored spot for a life home, there have woven into their history some
strange adventures and hair-breadth escapes, where want of food and the Indian
scalping knife have lurked close upon their trail, but to detail these would
require more space than is admissible in this work.


* * * *

Submitted to the WA.  Bios Project in February 2007 by Diana Smith.

Notice: These biographies were transcribed for the Washington Biographies
Project.  Unless otherwise stated, no further information is available on the
individual featured in the biographies.