Ewing Young | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1799 Tennessee, US |
| Died | February 9, 1841(1841-02-09) (aged 41–42) Oregon, US |
| Occupation(s) | Trapper, businessman |
| Spouse | María Josefa Tafoya |
Ewing Young (1799 – February 9, 1841) was an American fur trapper and trader fromTennessee who traveled in what was then the northern Mexico frontier territories ofSanta Fe de Nuevo México andAlta California before settling in theOregon Country. Young traded along theSanta Fe Trail, followed parts of theOld Spanish Trail west, and established new trails. He later moved north to theWillamette Valley. As a prominent and wealthy citizen in Oregon, his death was the impetus for the assemblies that several years later established theProvisional Government of Oregon.[1]
Ewing Young was born in Tennessee to a farming family in 1799.[1] In the early 1820s, he had moved toMissouri, then the far western edge of the American frontier, not far from the border of the Spanish-controlled territories of present-dayTexas,New Mexico and theSouthwestern United States. While residing in Missouri he farmed briefly on theMissouri River at Charitan.[1]
Under the Spanish colonial system, trade between Americans and the Spanish outpost atSanta Fe was prohibited, but with the end of theMexican War of Independence Spanish authorities were removed from the area in 1821. American traders, mainly operating out ofSt. Louis, Missouri, were eager to test whether commercial activities in Santa Fe would now be allowed, and a small group of Americans returned successfully in December 1821 from a small trading foray. At age 18, Young sold the farm he had recently purchased and eagerly signed up to join a somewhat larger group bound for Santa Fe.[2] In May 1822, this party departed, becoming the first overland wagon train to traverse theSanta Fe Trail.[2] Young and the others found that they were welcomed by the new Mexican authorities in Santa Fe.[2]
The Spanish and later Mexicans had not focused on trapping fur-bearing animals of the Southwest as demand was small within the Spanish trading system.[citation needed] Expeditions of theHudson's Bay Company, theAmerican Fur Company and others established theNorth American fur trade (mainlybeaver) in response to demand for furs in American and European markets, and the new trail opened up fresh hunting grounds. For the next nine years Young pioneered trapping in the region, dividing his time between Santa Fe and Missouri.[2] He led many of the first American expeditions into the mountains and watercourses of the present-day states ofNew Mexico,Colorado,Utah, andArizona.
Young and his associates established a commercial route betweenNuevo México and Missouri that exchanged Mexican furs, horses and mules for American-produced trade goods.[3] When they returned to Nuevo Mexico, they sold the American goods for gold and silver coin.[2] During the trapping expedition of 1827–1828, Young employed a teenagedKit Carson.[4] Despite tension that developed with Mexican authorities trying to restrict American activities, Young became a successful trapper and businessman. He eventually set up a trading post inPueblo de Taos in northern Nuevo Mexico, in the late 1820s.[4] During his time in Mexico he was generally called Joachin John[3] or Joaquin Jóven by fellow inhabitants.[5]
In spring 1830, Young led the first American trapping expedition to reach the Pacific Coast from Santa Fe, traveling via theSalt River,Gila andVerde rivers, then cross-country to theColorado River[6] and on across theMojave Desert following the trail marked three years before byJedediah Smith, eventually arriving atMission San Gabriel Arcángel, where they recuperated. The group then visitedMission San Fernando Rey de España on their way north into California's greatCentral Valley via its southernSan Joaquin Valley section.[7]
Once there, the group moved north to theSacramento Valley, where they encounteredPeter Skene Ogden of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). The two groups jointly trapped the valley before the Americans set off for theTule River.[5] After a short trapping excursion there, the party encountered an official from theMission San José, who was trying to capture members of the mission, possiblyOhlone people.[5]With the aid of eleven of Young's trappers the "fugitives" were taken back to the mission, where Young visited on 11 July.[5] From here the Americans moved on toSan Francisco Bay to trade their pelts. After this they went south toPueblo de Los Angeles and then back to Taos before the end of 1830. At the time of his return to Taos with the proceeds of this expedition, Young was established as one of the wealthiest Americans in Mexican territory.[7]
Over the next few years, Young and his group continued traveling to Alta California to trap and trade. In 1834, inSan Diego, Young encounteredHall J. Kelley, the great promoter of the Oregon Country fromBoston. Kelley invited Ewing Young to accompany him north to Oregon, but Young at first declined. After re-thinking, Young agreed to travel with Kelley and they set out in July 1834, with a group includingWebley John Hauxhurst andJoseph Gale, both prominent figures in theWillamette Valley, accompanying them.[8]
Young and Kelley arrived at theHudson's Bay Company postFort Vancouver on October 17, 1834, center of theColumbia District.[9] The HBC was the preeminent economic force in the region'sfur trade.[9] At the time the Oregon Country wasjointly occupied by theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and theUnited States of America. Young decided to settle permanently on the west bank of theWillamette River, near the mouth ofChehalem Creek, oppositeChampoeg.[10] His home is believed to be the first house built by European Americans on that side of the river.[10] Dr.John McLoughlin of the HBC tried to discourage American settlers in the region.[citation needed] The Mexican government ofAlta California accused Young and his group of having stolen 200 horses when they left.[10] The group denied this, saying some uninvited traveling companions had stolen the horses.[10] McLoughlin blacklisted Young from doing business with the HBC.[11]
In 1836, Young secured a vat fromNathaniel Jarvis Wyeth's failed post onWapato Island and began a distillery to produce alcohol.[12] The Methodist Mission superintendentJason Lee organized the Oregon Temperance Society and, along with McLoughlin, tried to get Young to stop his efforts.[11] McLoughlin and the HBC prohibited alcohol sales to the Indigenous peoples, as they had seen that it caused problems.[11] Late in the year, U.S. Navy LieutenantWilliam A. Slacum arrived on the shipLoriot and helped to dissuade Young from following through on the venture.[11]
Slacum was an agent of the U.S. President; he helped put together a joint venture among the men to purchase cattle.[11] In January 1837, Young was selected as the leader of theWillamette Cattle Company. He traveled to California on theLoriot (assisted by Slacum). After purchasing 630 head of cattle, he brought them back along theSiskiyou Trail. Previously, the HBC had owned all the cattle in the Willamette Valley and rented animals to settlers.[9][13] Accompanying Young on the cattle drive werePhilip Leget Edwards, Calvin Tibbets,John Turner,William J. Bailey,George Gay, Lawrence Carmichael, Pierre De Puis, Benjamin Williams, and Emert Ergnette.[14] During the drive Gay and Bailey murdered a native boy, rationalizing it as justice for the attack two years earlier by theRogue River Indians on Young’s group.[1]
He took María Josefa Tafoya, the daughter of a prominent Taos family who were Mexican citizens, as his wife in a common-law marriage.[4] By the late 1820s and early 1830s, the Mexican authorities were growing concerned about American settlers and their influences in Nuevo México. They began to impose increasingly severe restrictions on trade and trapping. Perhaps in part to avoid these restrictions, Young was baptized a Catholic in 1830 (perhaps he also became a Mexican citizen and formalized his marriage to Maria Tafoya; however, if he did so, no record of these two events survives).[15]
In February 1841, Young died without any known heir and without a will.[9] This created a need for some form of probate court to deal with his estate, which had many debtors and creditors among the settlers.[9] DoctorIra L. Babcock was selected as supreme judge with probate powers to deal with Young's estate.[16] Theactivities that followed his death eventually led to the creation of aprovisional government in the Oregon Country.[9]
The Ewing Young Historical Marker located alongOregon Route 240 notes the location of Young's farm and grave.[17][18]
Ewing Young Elementary School inNewberg, Oregon, is named in his honor.[19] In 1942 the Liberty shipEwing Young (hull #631 from Calships inTerminal Island, California) was named in his honor. TheEwing Young served in the Pacific theater duringWorld War II and was scrapped in 1959.[citation needed]
On May 6, 1846, an acorn was planted on Young’s grave near his cabin site by Miranda Bayley and Sidney Smith. The oak still survives as of 2018 and was listed amongOregon's Heritage Trees on April 7, 1999. It is located 4 miles (6.4 km) west ofNewberg, Oregon on private property but can be seen from Highway 240. In 2011, the tree had a 14 feet 8 inches (4.47 m) trunk circumference and a crown measuring 88 feet (27 m).[20]
