"Illustrated History of Lane County, Oregon." Portland, Oregon: A. G. Walling,
publisher, 1884.  pg. 476.
 
ELIJAH LAFAYETTE BRISTOW
     Was born in McDonough county, Illinois, January 2, 1832, and crossing the
plains to Oregon in 1848, joined his father Elijah Bristow, the pioneer resident
of Lane county, in October of that year.  He at once embarked in agricultural
pursuits and improved a farm at Pleasant Hill, and while a resident there served
as Justice of the Peace during the years 1857 to 1859 inclusive.  He now sold
his farm taking up his abode in Eugene city, and in 1859 was a clerk in the
office of the Surveyor General.  In 1860 he abandoned this position and engaged
in a mercantile business, and erected the first brick building in Eugene City in
1866.  In 1871 Mr. Bristow was elected Grand Master of the Independent Order of
the Odd-Fellows for Oregon, Washington and Idaho, and in 1882 was chosen Grand
Patriarch of the Encampment branch of that order, serving in each capacity one
year.  In 1873 he was appointed one of the Capitol Building Commissioners and
held the office for one year.  In 1874 he sold his business and moved to Salem
where he purchased the newspaper "Mercury," which he edited and published for
five years and a half.  After a residence of thirty-six years in Oregon, Mr.
Bristow is still as active as when he first made the acquaintance of the
"Wim-a-wha-la illahe," with its beautiful woods and undulating prairie lands.
When others went to the mines in quest for gold he remained at home, and,
finding the lack of companionship hang heavy on his hands he studied the
dialects of the Indians in Lane county and from them learned many of their
traditions, with which his memory to-day is well stored.  In business he has
always stood as a pattern of honor and integrity, while the distinguished marks
of favor bestowed upon him by the fraternities to which he belongs is a true
test of the high estimation in which he is held.  To Mr. Bristow we are indebted
for much valuable information concerning the history of Lane county; may his
honorable career accompany him to a green old age.
 
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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.