Lockley, Fred. "History of the Columbia River Valley, From The Dalles to the Sea." Vol. 3. S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1928. p. 115. H. D. VAN BLARICOM H. D. Van Blaricom, who enjoys the distinction of having lived longer in Vernonia, Columbia county, than any other present resident of that place, is numbered among the pioneers of the Columbia river valley, and has passed through some uncommon experiences during his life here. He has worked hard, has lived uprightly and is held in high esteem throughout the community, Mr. Van Blaricom was born in Iowa, on the 23d of March, 1865, a son of John and Nancy (Macnamer) Van Blaricom, both of whom were natives of Ohio. His father moved from his native state to Indiana, where he lived until 1853, when he went to Iowa, which was his home for two years. In 1855 he moved to Minnesota, where he obtained a tract of heavy timber land, a large part of which he cleared, and built there a good log house, in which he lived until 1872, He then sold the place and started across the plains for the Oregon country. He traveled with the typical outfit of that period, an ox team and covered wagon, and after a long and tiresome journey reached Walla Walla, Washington, where he remained for two years. In 1874 he came to Columbia county, Oregon, and took up a homestead of heavily wooded land one mile east of what is now Vernonia, and there, after building a log house, he entered upon the task of clearing the land and getting it under cultivation. He continued to farm there during the remainder of his active life, his death occurring in 1890. His wife passed away in 1887. Mr. Van Blaricom was descended from sturdy old Dutch stock, the American progenitor of the family having come to this country in 1776 and settled in Ohio, at a time when that section of the middle west was a wilderness. He dug saltpeter out of the hills and sold it for a living, that being about the only commodity for which there was a sure market in those days. To John and Nancy Van Blaricom were born thirteen children, of whom H. D. is the only one living. H. D. Van Blaricom attended the public schools of Minnesota and one term in the first log schoolhouse near Vernonia, Oregon, receiving a somewhat limited education. He assisted his father on the home ranch until his marriage, in 1891, when he moved onto land which he had homesteaded in 1876 and which is located one and a half miles northeast of Vernonia. It was covered with a heavy growth of timber and, after building a small frame house, he began clearing the land, in the course of time getting a large part of it in shape for cultivation. Subsequently he sold that place and bought thirty acres, a part of which is now included in the town of Vernonia, and here he has lived continuously to the present time, meeting with very gratifying success in its operation. In 1925 Mr. Van Blaricom erected a modern hotel in Vernonia, and in the following year built a garage, both of which are leased. He also owns another tract of twenty acres in the city of Vernonia and is very comfortably situated. On August 12, 1891, Mr. Van Blaricom was united in marriage to Miss Ida Vaughn, who was born in Washington county, Oregon, and is a daughter of Charles and Mary Ann (Mills) Vaughn, the former born in Missouri and the latter in Illinois. Mr. Vaughn came across the plains to Oregon in the '50s and lived for a few years in Jacksonville, where he followed gold mining. He then moved to Forest Grove, Oregon, but later took up a homestead in Cedar Canyon, Washington county, on which he built a log house and there engaged in farming during his remaining active years. He died in 1925 and his wife on April 5, 1927. Mr. Vaughn was a soldier in the Union army throughout the Civil war and was also a veteran of the Indian war after coming west. To him and his wife were born seven children, of whom four are living, namely: Mrs. Ida Van Blaricom; Mrs. Retha Johnson; Mrs. Lillie Copley, of Portland, and Mrs. Frances White. To Mr. and Mrs. Van Blaricom nave been born seven children, as follows: Fred, who lives at Klamath Falls, Oregon; Walter, at home; Dewey, who lives in Columbia county; Laura, who resides in Seattle, Washington; Harley, of Portland, Oregon; Macy, who lives in Columbia county; and Myrtle, who is at home. Fred and Dewey served in the United States Navy during the World war, Dewey being on the battleship "Mississippi" for twenty-eight months, while Walter was in the infantry at Camp Lewis, Washington, but was not ordered overseas. Mr. Van Blaricom has shown an active interest in the affairs of his community and has served as city marshal and constable and several terms as a member of the school board. In 1879 he took a four-year contract to carry the mail from St. Helens to Vernonia, a distance of thirty miles over the mountains, and during the winter months he sometimes had extreme difficulty in making the trip, as on the summit of the mountain the snow frequently was fourteen feet deep. He had many narrow escapes from accident or injury and in 1882 he was practically lost for five days, because of a severe snow and wind storm. His only road was a mere trail and on this occasion he became lost and suffered extremely from the severe cold. He lost his jackknife and was compelled to shoot the lock off the mailbag with his revolver in order to secure dry paper with which to start a fire. He used only third class mail, such as newspapers and catalogues, and undoubtedly saved his life by taking that action. In 1876, when the few settlers in the upper Mehalam valley got a post office established, they called a meeting for the purpose of selecting a name. About seventeen votes were cast and by a majority of one it was decided to call it Vernona, after a daughter of O. G. Cherington, Subsequently the letter "i" was inserted in the name, which has since been Vernonia. Some of those present were from St. Cloud, Minnesota, and were desirous of giving it that name. Mr. Van Blaricom has been a good citizen in the broadest sense of the term, has lived an earnest and consistent life and throughout the community commands uniform confidence and respect. ******************* Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in June 2008 by Diana Smith. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.