William H. Boring | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | William Harrison Boring |
| Born | (1841-02-26)February 26, 1841 Greenfield, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | December 1, 1932(1932-12-01) (aged 91) Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Place of burial | Damascus Pioneer Cemetery,Damascus, Oregon, U.S.45°25′03″N122°27′32″W / 45.417621°N 122.458978°W /45.417621; -122.458978 |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States ArmyUnion Army |
| Years of service | 1861–1863 |
| Rank | Private |
| Unit |  33rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry |
| Battles / wars | Siege of Vicksburg |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
William Harrison Boring (February 26, 1841 – December 1, 1932)[1] was an AmericanUnion soldier who fought in theAmerican Civil War, and who was a member of the distinguishedbattalion in the33rd Illinois Infantry Regiment that helped lead thecapture of Vicksburg in 1863. Boring later came to be known as apioneer after settlingBoring, Oregon in 1874, which took its name from him.[2]
Boring was born inGreenfield, Illinois on February 26, 1841. His mother was originally fromTennessee, and his father was fromMaryland.[3] He had one elder brother, George Boring (1838–1916), who was also a pioneer and settler of the town ofClarence, Missouri.[4] Boring enlisted as aUnion soldier during theAmerican Civil War with the33rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, beginning in 1861 underBvt.Major GeneralCharles Edward Hovey andColonelCharles E. Lippincott.[5]
He was a member of the battalion that distinguished itself in thecapture of Vicksburg in 1863, during which 11 of its 32 members died in battle.[6][7] Boring sustained near-life-threatening injuries to his face and throat in theSiege of Vicksburg,[8] which led to his discharge.[7] The severity of the scars he received from his battle injuries led him to wear abeard for the remainder of his life.[8]
After his discharge, Boring returned to Greenfield, where he worked on his mother's farm. On December 11, 1867, Boring married Sarah Elizabeth Wilder inGreene County, Illinois.[7][9]
In the early 1870s, presidentUlysses S. Grant began offering incentives to homesteaders in the Western United States, which attracted William Boring; he and his wife Sarah left Illinois forSan Francisco, California, and then traveled north toPortland, Oregon. William's elder half-brother, Joseph (b. 1829), who had traveled across theOregon Trail in 1853, had already settled there and been living in the area for nearly two decades.[10] William and Sarah joined Joseph at his home in 1874, twelve miles east of Portland. There, William and Sarah settled on 160 acres (65 ha) of land.[11] They had two children: Elsie in October 1875, who only lived for nine days; and Orville, born in 1879.[7]
The settlement occupied by the Boring family came to be known asBoring, Oregon[12] after William donated land for aschoolhouse to be built in 1883,[13][7][14] By the turn of the twentieth century, the town had become a thrivinglogging community, and the construction of an interurban railroad to the town by thePortland Railway, Light and Power Company brought further residents and business.[15]
According to the1910 U.S. census, William (then aged 69) and Sarah (then aged 65) shared their home with son Orville, his wife, Lucy, and the couple's three-year-old son, Lester. Also living in the home was Thomas Field, a hired handyman fromMinnesota, and Robert Bishop, a boarder fromMaine.[16] Boring was widowed after Sarah's death on February 12, 1922.[17] He relocated to Portland sometime between 1923 and 1930, moving into the home of close friends Lester and Emma Armstrong.[3] Boring died in Portland in 1931 at age 91, after an undisclosed eight-month illness.[18]
