Lang, H. O., ed.  "The History of the Willamette Valley, Being A Description 
of the Valley and its Resources, with an account of its Discovery and 
Settlement by White Men, and its Subsequent History; Together with Personal 
Reminiscences of its Early Pioneers."  Portland, OR, Geo. H. Himes, Book and 
Job Printer, 1885.  p. 618.

J. W. NESMITH

     Of all the early pioneers of Oregon, none have become more widely known,
and none have done more to deserve celebrity, than Mr. Nesmith.  Through more
than forty years his name and his person have been familiar to the people of
Oregon, who have come in the lapse of time to regard his fame and that of the
State as one and the same.  From the time of his arrival here, coming as he did
with the Applegate party in 1843, he has been a leader in enterprises and deeds
demanding vigor of mind and body, and determination of spirit.  He was the
adjutant of the emigration of 1843, and the list given in these pages of the
names of his party was compiled by him in the pursuit of his official duties.
His birthplace was New Hampshire, and his ancestry of Scotch-English type.  He
took a valiant part in the Cayuse war, as narrated elsewhere.  Somewhat later
Captain Nesmith, as he was then called, led an exploring band southward through
the dangerous Indian country of Southern Oregon, seeking for a practicable route
to California.  In the Yakima was he served the country, having previously led a
company of volunteers from the Willamette to the Rogue, in defense of the
settlers of Southern Oregon, and was present at the Lane treaty of peace, in
September, 1853.  At a later date he entered upon political life.  He had,
however, been judge of Oregon in 1845 under the Provisional Government.
Subsequently, he held many high offices, culminating in his election as U. S.
Senator, his colleague being E. D. Baker, who fell at Ball's Bluff, in Virginia.
His conduct during the trying times of the civil war, when he stood up manfully
for the Union, is his best passport to fame.  It is impossible to give within
the brief limits of a sketch like this, the names and dates of all the offices
he held, or all the services he rendered to the people of the Northwest; but, to
sum up all in a sentence, it seems clear and indisputable that he has done more
for Oregon than any other Oregonian, and that he has attained an equal position
among the three greatest of them.  Gen. Nesmith's residence for many years was
at Derry, Polk County, where he farmed on a large scale and kept house in the
old style of hospitality and welcome.  As for his qualities of mind, he will be
longest remembered for his wit and strong sense of humor.  He is of a border
type of mankind -- not refined, but masculine, forceful and strong in art and
expression.  His stories and sayings gained a world-wide celebrity, and rivaled
Lincoln's in their appositeness and wit.

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