Carey, Charles Henry. "History of Oregon." Vol. 2. Chicago-Portland: Pioneer Historical Pub. Co., 1922. p. 17. THOMAS J. HAYTER Thomas J. Hayter passed away at the family home at Dallas, October 30, 1918, at the age of eighty-eight years, eight months and twenty-two days, and in his demise Oregon lost one of her honored pioneers, who for nearly seventy years had been prominently identified with the history of Polk county and of the state. He was a veteran of the Indian wars and there was no phase of frontier life with which he was not familiar. He was an interested witness of the marvelous development of the northwest and through his industry and enterprise contributed in substantial measure to the work of reclamation and improvement, his influence being ever on the side of advancement and improvement. Mr. Hayter was born February 8, 1830, in the old town of Franklin, Howard county, Missouri, a representative of an old and honored southern family of English and Irish ancestry. His father, James H. Hayter, was a native of Virginia who emigrated to Missouri about 1816, settling in the village of New Franklin, then a small hamlet in the very outskirts of civilization. Here he established a sawmill and a flouring mill and also engaged in other manufacturing and agricultural pursuits, becoming one of the leading business men of his community. He married Sarah Fulkerson, a native of Lee county, Virginia, and a descendant of one of the old families of the south, and they continued to reside in New Franklin until 1856, when they became victims of the cholera epidemic which swept over Missouri and the states along the Mississippi. Of their family of ten children, Thomas Jefferson Hayter was the last survivor. As a youth he attended the village school of New Franklin and later assisted his father in his milling and farming operations. At the age of nineteen years, when news of the gold strike in California was sweeping the country, he joined an expedition bound for the Golden state. The party left New Franklin on the 15th of April, 1849, traveling with ox teams across the plains by way of Fort Hall, Humboldt and Truckee and following closely the route chosen by the surveyors of the Central Pacific Railroad twenty years later. On arriving at Sacramento Mr. Hayter secured employment as teamster for a large concern, transporting merchandise from Sacramento to the various mining camps. In August, 1849, he began mining on his own account and was thus engaged until the tall of 1850, when he sailed as a passenger on the steamer Creole, bound for Oregon, and after a voyage of twenty-three days landed in Portland, then a small settlement with but a few scattered houses. Here he cut wood for a few months during that winter. He then made his way to Polk county, where he took up a donation claim, but in 1852 disposed of this and returned to Missouri by way of Panama with the intention of bringing his aged parents to Oregon. They were too frail to attempt the long journey by wagon, however, and he remained with them until 1854, when he started across the plains for the state of his adoption. On the second journey he followed the old route as tar as the Raft river and then took up the Oregon trail. He arrived at the first settlement in Oregon in September, 1854, and soon afterward engaged In ranching on a farm three miles west of Dallas, specializing in the raising of fine stock. In the fall of 1855 he volunteered for service in the campaign against the Indians and as a member of Company G, First Oregon Regiment of Cavalry, under command of Colonel James W. Nesmith, he saw several weeks of active service in the Yakima Indian war. During this period he contracted bronchitis and was removed to a hospital at The Dalles, Oregon, later receiving his honorable discharge. He then returned to his stock ranch in Polk county, which he sold in the following year, locating on a two hundred and sixty acre tract of land three miles east of Dallas. This he carefully tilled and developed, adding many Improvements to his land and bringing it under a high state of cultivation, so that he at length became the owner of one of the best farms in the county. He resided thereon almost continuously for more than a quarter of a century and then moved with his family to Dallas, where he lived retired throughout the remainder of his life, having through his industry and enterprise in former years accumulated a comfortable competence which enabled him to rest from further labor. In May, 1856, Mr. Hayter was united in marriage to Miss Mary I. Embree, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Carey D. Embree, who emigrated to Oregon from their home in Howard county, Missouri, in 1844, at which time their daughter, Mary, was hut six years old. Taking up a donation claim in Polk county two miles east of Dallas, the father there engaged in farming for many years, at length removing to Dallas, where he lived retired throughout the balance of his life. He became one of the prominent citizens of his community, serving as sheriff of Polk county during territorial days and resigning that office in 1848. There was not a death in his family until one child reached the age of sixty years and Mr. Embree's demise occurred when he had attained the venerable age of ninety-five years. Mrs. Embree met an accidental death in 1881, being thrown from a wagon. To Mr. and Mrs. Hayter were born six children, namely: Eugene, who is serving as vice president of the Dallas National Bank; Mark, a prominent dentist of Dallas; J. C.. a successful merchant of this city; Oscar, a leading attorney of Dallas, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work; Alice E., who died when five years of age; and Frank, who died at the age of six months. Mr. Hayter became prominent in public affairs and in 1876 was elected on the democratic ticket to represent his district in the Oregon legislature, receiving a flattering majority of votes. As a member of the house of representatives he was recognized by his colleagues as an earnest and effective worker and his record was one of which the county was proud. While his own educational opportunities had been limited, he had become well informed through wide reading and observation and few men had a more comprehensive knowledge of human events and affairs. His chief interest outside of his home was centered in the establishment of an efficient school system in Oregon. He gave liberally of his means to the upbuilding of La Creole Academy, a pioneer institution of learning, and for many years served as a director of his local school district. He was interested in all those things which are of cultural value and which tend to uplift the Individual, thus bringing a higher moral plane to the community. In every relation he was true to high and honorable principles, never altering in the choice between right and wrong but always endeavoring to follow the course sanctioned by conscience and good judgment. His integrity in business affairs, his loyalty and patriotism in matters of citizenship, his fidelity in friendship and his devotion to home and family were characteristics which won for him the high and enduring regard of all with whom he was associated. His eldest son, Eugene Hayter, is an enterprising business man and influential citizen of his community and is now serving as vice president of the Dallas National Bank. On the 21st of November, 1888, Eugene Hayter was united in marriage to Miss Evelyn Schultz, a daughter of Asbury and Eliza (Seders) Schultz, natives of Ohio and Indiana, respectively. In 1861 her parents emigrated from Illinois to Oregon, becoming residents of Dallas, where her father engaged in contracting and building. He constructed a number of buildings in the city, where he continued to reside throughout the remainder of his life. Mr. and Mrs. Hayter have become the parents of two children: A daughter, Frank L., who was born April 18, 1890, and is now the wife of H. R. Patterson, Jr., a professor in the Oregon Agricultural College at Corvallis; and Charles Carey, who was born October 8, 1900, and is now a student in the department of mechanical engineering at the State Agricultural College. ******************* Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in May 2007 by Diana Smith. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.