"Portrait & Biographical Record of the Willamette Valley Oregon." Chapman Publishing Company, 1903. p. 315. HON. LEE LAUGHLIN who, as a youth of fourteen, crossed the plains in 1847 with the largest caravan which had as yet raised the apprehension of the Indians, and paved the way for succeeding home and fortune seekers, has been substantially identified with the growth of Yamhill county, and has contributed to its agricultural, political and general well-being. The Laughlins, and there are many belonging to this special family, have proved themselves pioneers in the highest sense of that important term, and one and all have left the impress of strong and rugged personalities on whatsoever they have found to do in the great northwest. James Laughlin, the paternal grandfather of Lee, was born in South Carolina, and participated in the Revolutionary war at the battle of Cowpens. He was a farmer by occupation, and when a man of middle age, with his family, removed to Hopkins county, Ky., where his death occurred. He married Rachel Dalrymple, who died in Missouri at the age of seventy-five years. Of the large family of children born into the family of James Laughlin, Samuel, the father of Lee, was the oldest, and was born in the Pendleton district, South Carolina, December 2, 1791. He was ten years of age when the family fortunes were shifted to Kentucky, and he remained on the paternal farm in Hopkins county until his twenty-second year. About 1814 he began to have pioneering inclinations, and, saddling his horse, started forth on a journey to what is now the great city of St. Louis. Arriving at the then small town, then a French settlement, he was offered five acres of land in the heart of the now busiest section of the city for his horse, but refused the offer as inadequate. In Franklin county he purchased a farm, but a high-water washout induced him to move north into Lincoln county. Reports from the journal of Patrick Gass, who accompanied Lewis and Clark, filled him with the fever of unrest, and he disposed of his Missouri farm, and joined the largest train that, up to that time, had ever braved the dangers of the plains. There were twenty-nine wagons under Capt. Joseph Magone, and besides Samuel and his brother, James, there were eleven Laughlins in the party. No braver or more determined band ever carried the flag of civilization before them, nor did any have more typical and varied pioneering experiences. Starting on their way April 19, 1847, they arrived at Wapato lake November 1, of the same year. In January 1848, Mr. Laughlin took up a donation claim of six hundred and forty acres, three miles north of Yamhill, and there engaged in general farming and stock-raising until his death, June 22, 1869. A former Democrat, he left his party on account of its slavery attitude, and died firm in the faith of Republicanism. He was a member of the Baptist Church. While his father was living on a farm in Lincoln county, Mo., Lee Laughlin was born January 17, 1833. His expedition across the plains, at the age of fourteen, was both interesting and developing, and so imbued had he become with western ideas and chances, that at the age of sixteen, during the gold fever of '49, he went down into California, on the Trinity river, and engaged in mining for about three months. He was fairly successful on the Sacramento and Trinity rivers, making sometimes as high as $150 per day. With his little hoard he returned to Oregon in January, 1850, and the next year made another trip overland to the mines of the New Eldorado. As soon as age permitted, he took up a claim of one hundred and sixty acres, three miles north of Yamhill, and engaged in farming thereon until engaged 1864. In the meantime, Mr. Laughlin had realized the importance of education, and as opportunity offered, had applied himself at the public schools, also attending the Pacific University for a couple of years. For two terms he applied this knowledge as an educator in Yamhill county. After disposing of his Yamhill county farm he removed to Horseshoe Bend, near Boise City, Idaho, and engaged in the hotel business for a couple of years, and in 1866, returned to Yamhill county,and opened up a general merchandise business in North Yamhill. As the largest merchant in that section, he catered to an increasing trade for nine years, his affability and business ability enlarging both his capital and his list of friends. After retiring from business, in 1876, Mr. Laughlin paid a visit to the east for a few months, but finding the need for active occupation, returned to the store the same year, remaining there until 1886, when he permanently retired from business activity. The business aptitude and progressive spirit of Mr. Laughlin has created a demand for his services in connection with many undertakings in this county. He is credited with being one of the principal organizers of the Republican party in Oregon, and since then has closely and actively watched the trend of Republican affairs. His first definite service was in 1860, when he was elected county assessor, and ten years later, in 1870, he was nominated to the state legislature. However, the Democrats being in the ascendancy, his seat, with that of others, was severely contested, and the political plums passed into the keeping of the opposition. In 1874, Mr. Laughlin was duly elected to the state legislature from Yamhill county, and so satisfactory were his services for the best interests of the people, that his re-election followed in 1880. During the last session he was chairman of the committee on public lands and was also instrumental in securing the erection of the State Insane Asylum. Other offices were duly maintained with credit by this broad and liberal minded citizen, including that of school director and clerk for many years, and mayor of North Yamhill for a couple of terms. As a politician, he has won additional respect and confidence from those who placed him in office, and his services have invariably been accompanied by substantial and popular results. Mention of the creditable war record is due so valiant an Indian fighter, he having served in the Yakima Indian war of 1855. In 1857, Mr. Laughlin was one of the organizers of the McMinnville National Bank, and was a member of the first board of directors, and first vice-president, which position he held until the death of Judge Cowls, in 1897, when he succeeded him as president, holding the position at the present time. October 8, 1856, Mr. Laughlin was united, in marriage with Emma Stewart, who was born in Putnam county, Ohio, and whose father, Benjamin E., crossed the plains in 1847, locating in North Yamhill. Mrs. Laughlin, who died February 11, 1901, left no children, but homeless children have at times found shelter and care under the hospitable Laughlin roof, and have grown to maturity under the most kindly and parental influences. Mr. Laughlin is a man of broad information and most liberal ideas, and his services to his adopted state are of all enduring and highly appreciated nature. ******************* Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in March 2007 by Diana Smith. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.