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Rogue Valley Firsts  Carlos and Alice Wrisley Goddard, circa 1873 Jan 25th 1873 Miss Allice Wrisley came up to take up school in the district tomorrow she stoped at our house and is here now. she is the first white girl born in Jackson County and was born in the old log cabin on Roots place twenty years ago last Christmas day. [At the time of her birth, this was the Jacob Wagner cabin inside Fort Wagner.] Her parents lives on Manzanita plains. She has not been to Wagner Creek for some years before She is now a fine young lady. It seem curious to me that I should be so old as to remember when she was born Diary of Welborn Beeson, Talent The first boy born in Medford arrived at the house of G. W. Crystal recently. "Olla Podrida," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, March 20, 1885, page 2 The wife of George W. Crystal presented him with a bouncing baby boy not long since, the first born in Medford. "Local Items," Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, March 21, 1885, page 3 One of the Crystal children has the honor of being the first child born in Medford. [Raymond Crystal probably correctly claimed to be the first boy born in Medford, but Medford's first birth was a daughter born to Mr. and Mrs. George Wilson in late December, 1883.] "Medford History Dates from Railway Inception," Medford Mail Tribune. Attributed to Jane Snedicor. Series begins February 28, 1932, page 3 Ray Crystal, of Pendleton, Oregon, is in Medford for a few days' visit with relatives and old-time friends. Mrs. Crystal has been here for a few weeks' visit to her parents, Mrs. and Mrs. J. F. Kiernan, and for several days has been quite ill, which illness is the reason for her husband's visit at the present time. Mr. Crystal has a splendid position with one of the largest mercantile firms of Pendleton, gets a good salary and likes the town. "Purely Personal," Medford Mail, January 3, 1908, page 5 John B. Wrisley, born in Middlebury, Vt. in 1819, removed to New York, Michigan, and Wisconsin, where he married Eliza Jane Jacobs of Iowa Co., in 1843. He came to California in 1849, and to Rogue River Valley in 1852. His daughter Alice was the first white girl born in the valley. She married C. Goddard of Medford, Jackson Co. Wrisley voted for the state constitutions of Wisconsin, California, and Oregon; has been active in politics, but always rejected office. Hubert Howe Bancroft, History of Oregon, 1886, page 713 Alice Wrisley was born December 25, 1853. An old pioneer wants to know who was the first white child born in Jackson County--whether it was Frank Rogers, Walter Gore or James McCully. Who can tell? "Brevities," Ashland Tidings, February 26, 1886, page 3 THE FIRST.—An old pioneer in the Tidings wants to know who was the first boy born in Jackson County and mentions several between whom honors are about even. We cannot answer the question only that J. C. McCully was the first born in Jacksonville, dating his birthday from August 1853, and we’ll think he is entitled to the cake until otherwise proven. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, February 27, 1886, page 3 If Brad Dean was born in 1851 we will bet our old hat that he did not first see daylight in a cabin at Willow Springs, notwithstanding the Times has twice stated this to be the fact. He has a young competitor for the office of Sheriff, also a Jackson County boy, and we fail to see the object of trying to make Brad several years older than he is. "Local Items," Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, May 22, 1886, page 3 Mrs. Anna Dean, who died at the family residence at Willow Springs, Wednesday night, October 24th, was the first white woman married in Rogue River Valley. Medford Mail, November 2, 1900 The first white child born in Rogue River Valley, so far as the early builder ["Stonewall" Jackson] could recollect, was Jim McCullough of Jacksonville. "Indian Pioneer Mason of Jacksonville Back for Visit After 47-Year Absence," Medford Mail Tribune, October 2, 1929, page 3 The first white child born in Jacksonville was the son of Dr. and Mrs. McCully. The birth was on August 27, 1853. William Pierce Tucker, The History of Jackson County Oregon, 1931 FIRST BABY BOY OF JACKSONVILLE IS NOW AGED 81
GRANTS PASS--(Spl.)--The first lusty boy-baby yell to be drowned in the
medley of noise that filled the air of the colorful mining town in
Jacksonville in 1853 came from the lungs of Cornelius J. Armstrong, now
of Grants Pass, who will mark down his eighty-second birthday next
February.
"If it hadn't been that a girl, Minnie Taylor, was born two weeks before I was, I would also have been the first white child to call Jacksonville his birthplace," Armstrong said recently. Straight, alert, Armstrong does not use glasses, his hearing is apparently good, and his hair retains a reddish tinge. The family Bible bearing his name, the date and place of his birth, is carefully kept in a safe place in his little cottage at Ardencraig, home of K. M. C. Neill on Redwood Highway near here. His parents, R. C. Armstrong and Minerva Jane, made the trip by prairie schooner from Iowa to Oregon in exactly six months, arriving in Jacksonville in 1852. Their party included nine wagons, Armstrong remembers his father telling him. The Armstrong family resided on a ranch two and one-half miles north of Jacksonville for many years. Cornelius has two sisters, both living in Portland. They are Miss Emma Alice Armstrong and Mrs. Martha Fleck. Armstrong, a native Oregonian, has been outside the state boundaries but once, and that time only to Dunsmuir, Cal. "California's all right, but I love Oregon," he says, and smiles. Medford Mail Tribune, April 30, 1934, page 6 Medford's First Child May Visit During Jubilee
Efforts
are being made by friends and relatives to induce the first baby born
in Medford to come to this city to participate in Oregon's Diamond
Jubilee celebration next June. Mrs. Donnie Medford Dillinger, the
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Watson, was born in a dwelling the site
of which is now occupied by the Medford post office.
Medford was officially named February 17, 1884, and shortly afterward little Miss Donnie Medford Wilson came into the world. Quite a number of years ago she moved away, and has been living in Portland, Ore., for some time. She will not only help celebrate Oregon's birthday, but Medford's golden jubilee as well. Medford Mail Tribune, May 6, 1934, page 12 Donna was born December 28, 1883. What happened February 17, 1884 is a mystery; it went unrecorded in the valley's newspapers. FIRST CHILD BORN HERE TO AID JUBILEE
Claimed
to be the first child born in Jacksonville, R. C. Armstrong of Grants
Pass will take an active part in Oregon's Diamond Jubilee celebration
here next week. Mr. Armstrong was born the early part of 1853, when
gold lured thousands to southern Oregon.
The second white child born in Jacksonville, John Griffin of Medford, will take an active part in the celebration and will appear in the pioneer parade on Thursday. Medford News, June 1, 1934, page 1 David B. Stearns of Portland, who with his twin brother was born on the donation land claim at the head of West Jackson Street in this city, the first white boys born in southern Oregon, was a member of the Portland Chamber of Commerce delegation that arrived this morning. The Stearns twins were born on the day 77 years ago that the Oregon Constitution was signed. "First White Boy Born in Area is Here for Jubilee," Medford Mail Tribune, June 6, 1934, page 3 The Oregon Constitution was signed September 18, 1857. Says Gore Was First
To the Editor:
There have been several items recently in the Medford Mail Tribune about the first white boy born in Jackson County. There seems to be many people who wish to claim that distinction to themselves. However, the one person whose birth date precedes any other date given has not forced himself into the headlines, and his birth record seems to be overlooked. Walter S. Gore, now of San Bernardino, California, was born in Jacksonville on December 3, 1852. He is the son of Elijah Emerson and Mary Elizabeth Gore, who crossed the plains in 1852, arriving in Jacksonville in September of that year. My sister, Mrs. Ray Lenox, of Medford, has in her possession the Gore family record, which gives the birth dates of the members of the pioneer Gore family and which will verify the above date. This record was copied from the original records in the family Bible when that Bible became completely worn out from use. Respectfully yours, JEANETTE GORE Junction City, Ore. June 7, 1934. Medford Mail Tribune, June 10, 1934, page 6 FIRST BORN FUSS RAGING 40 YEARS
That
the current controversy over who was the first white boy born in
Jackson County is not new, is attested by a clipping handed in today by
Mrs. Clara Barkdull of Medford. The time-yellowed clipping, which she
has treasured for over 40 years, was taken from some pioneer paper
published in the county, but she does not now remember the name. It
reads as follows:
"To the editor: The statement made at the pioneer reunion as to Basil Dairy being the first white boy born in Jackson County is all a mistake. He was not born in Jackson County, but his parents came to Jacksonville when he was a baby; they came in 1852. Neither can Walter Gore claim the honor. Bruce Evans was the first white boy born in Jackson County. He was born in Jacksonville in August, 1852. All real pioneers know this to be a fact--and Mollie Ross was the first white girl baby born in Jacksonville, Jackson County, Oregon. (Signed) A Pioneer." Medford Mail Tribune, June 12, 1934, page 3 As one of the oldest native sons of Jacksonville, Mr. [John B.] Griffin was a colorful figure at each meeting of the Southern Oregon Pioneer Association. He usually read a poem, or perhaps a story, and frequently inspired debate on that much-disputed question "Who was the first white child born in Jackson County?" He was as much a part of the day's festivities as the basket dinner. "Death Calls Pioneer John Griffin," Medford News, May 5, 1939, page 1 Elizabeth Dunn Van Sant, the first white girl born in Jackson County, died Sunday in Portland, where she had resided for the last 20 years. She was 93 years old. “First White Girl Born in County Dies,” Medford News, May 19, 1950, page 1 Elizabeth Dunn was born November 20, 1855. Folklore is that Alice (Wrisley) Goddard was [said] to have been the first white child born in Rogue River Valley. Linda Morehouse Genaw, At the Crossroads: A History of Central Point, 1989, page 18 Last revised February 12, 2010 |
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