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David & Louisa Lenox
Emigrants of 1843
Pioneer Family of the Month
March 1998
David Lenox was born in Catskill, New York, in 1803 to English parents descended from the noble House of Lenox. Orphaned at an early age, he left New York and settled in Lexington, Kentucky on reaching the age of 18. In 1826, he married Louisa Swan, the daughter of George Swan, the plantation owner for whom he worked.
In 1829, the Lenoxes moved to Rushville, Illinois, and settled on a farm. They worked the land for 11 years, and David was also a schoolteacher for the local children. In 1840, they sold their land at a good profit and moved to Todd's Creek, Missouri. There, they invested in timbered land at $5 an acre. It was in Missouri that they first heard of the Oregon Country.
Within a few years, it was apparent that the income from their partially-cleared land wasn't enough to support their growing family, and they resolved to emigrate to Oregon. David Lenox was the first to sign up under wagonmaster Peter Burnett, and they set out on April 9, 1843, with Marcus Whitman as their guide.
Burnett resigned only one day out when quarrels erupted during the crossing of a deep creek. The party dropped some trees to make a crude log bridge over the creek, but chaos ensued when the wagons were forced to cross in single file and people began to jockey for position in line. The emigrants took their anger out by yelling and cursing at Burnett. Lenox was immediately elected captain of the company by general acclaim.
Further disagreements among the emigrants over the question of whether the herds of cattle traveling with the wagons would unduly slow their progress resulted in the division of the group into the "cow column" and the "light column." Lenox captained the light column, while Jesse Applegate took command of the cow column. Despite the fears of many overlanders in the light column, Applegate's cow column was able to maintain a steady pace, following about half a day behind Lenox's company.
Lenox was a deeply religious man, and he did not permit the wagon train to travel on Sundays. Though some in his company resented him for trying to "cram [religion] down our throats" and wanted to push on, he was supported in this decision by Marcus Whitman, who reportedly said, "Gentlemen, you will do well to pay attention to your captain, and take his word. Otherwise, you may lose your scalps, and those of your families."
Whitman guided the wagon train as far as Fort Hall before hurrying ahead to his mission near Fort Walla Walla, having received word that Indians had burned the mill there. A trusted Indian who had converted to Christianity, Chief Stickus, piloted the wagons the rest of the way to the Whitman Mission on the Umatilla River. They enjoyed the Whitmans' hospitality for a few days before setting out for The Dalles, where they put into the Columbia River and rafted to Fort Vancouver. They finally reached Oregon City on November 26, 1843.
After spending three weeks scouting the surrounding countryside, Captain Lenox decided to settle on the Tualatin Plains, about 22 miles from Oregon City. Like many emigrants, the Lenox family struggled through a difficult first winter in Oregon, crowding into a hastily-built cabin and suffering from cold, illness, and hunger. They stuck it out and improved their land, and David Lenox served as a judge for the Provisional and Territorial governments. However, he believed that his most important work in the Northwest was his leadership in the West Union Baptist Church, which he helped found on May 25, 1844. The congregation met in the members' homes until a proper church was built. Services were first held in the new church to mark Christmas, 1844, and it remains in use to the present day.
In 1904, Edward Henry Lenox, the eldest son of David and Louisa, wrote a memoir of the journey entitled Overland to Oregon. His reminiscence is currently in print and can be obtained through Ye Galleon Press in Fairfield, Washington.
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