WPA Interviews

Clingman, William -- Edgar -- Sherman

CLINGMAN INTERVIEW, 4 Jan 1939

Interview with the Clingman Brothers who reside about three and one half miles south-east of Peoria, Linn County, Oregon. The Clingman brothers are three elderly bachelors, by name they are: William Clingman, Edgar Clingman, and Sherman Clingman. This interview deals principally with the life of Cyrus Clingman, an uncle of the above and with early affairs about the town of Peoria, Linn County.

The Clingman family is of German descent. Just when the first of the family came from Germany is not known but we believe that it was our grandfather's grandfather who was the first to come. He came and settled in Pennsylvania. It must have been well over a 100 years ago, but just the date we can not tell. That branch of the family settled in Pennsylvania, but there was another branch of the family in the south. We often hear of their descendants and we have never yet met a Clingman, or heard of one in America to whom we could not trace a probable relationship. The origin of the name Clingman is from a trade title, for the family in very old times were bell makers or Klangamon as German bell-makers are called.

The farthest back in the family of which we have any personal recollection was our great-grandmother Clingman. When we were small she lived at our house. We called her "old grandma" to distinguish from our real grandmother who also lived with us. "Old Grandma" used to tell us many adventure stories of very early days in Pennsylvania. When she was a girl the panthers used to come to the house at nights and looked into the windows.

One time when "old grandma" was a girl they lived in a house that was raised up from the ground. The half wild pigs which they kept used the space beneath the floor for a shelter in which to sleep at night. One night a black bear came and got under the house to steal a pig. There was a great commotion among the pigs and "old grandma" jumped out of bed, seized the oven peel and ran out into the night and with it put the bear to route-simply drove it off from the place. An oven peel, if you do not know it, is the heavy wooden shovel or scoop with which loaves of bread were put in, or taken out of the old-fashioned brick ovens. "Old grandmother" always kept her clay pipe beside her when she sat sewing or knitting in the house, and would smoke constantly no matter who was about. She was over 100 years when she died. Our real grandma used tobacco also, but she always went away somewhere out of sight when she smoked, so that few people knew of it. For fun brother would often give grandma a cigar to smoke. She enjoyed that, too, but no one ever caught her smoking it.

Our Grandfather's name was Abner Briggs Clingman. From his initials he was commonly called A.B.C. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1797. The family moved to Illinois at a rather early date. He came to Oregon in 1888 and lived here in Linn County with our father who came at the same time.

The first member of the Clingman family to reach Oregon, and the one who had most to do with the history of the west was Cyrus Clingman, our father's brother. He was born in Ohio in 1823. The exact location of his birthplace was at Chillicothe, Sciota County, Ohio. He was married in Illinois just before he left the east, which was in 1851 or 1852. His wife's maiden name was Lavina Haughy. They were married in Illinois.

In coming west he first went to the gold mines in California. There he engaged in mining for a time and did well. After that he ran a store. He was surveyor for the state of California for several years, taking surveying parties into some of the little known, wilder parts. In this work he withstood many difficult and dangerous trips. He would take out a party of from fifteen to twenty surveyors and be gone for months at a time.

In his surveying trips Uncle Cyrus had an assistant and guide Bill Carson, brother of the famous Kit Carson. On one of their trips, I remember his telling how they were away in the California mountains and became snowbound a long distance from any source of supplies. Their supplies ran out and they were on the point of starvation. Old Bill Carson had a lean brown dog which he had brought with them and at length that dog was all they had left. Carson killed it and they made stew from it.

Uncle Cyrus Clingman also worked along the Feather River for a time, both as surveyor and as merchant and miner. At that place he did a considerable business in buying and shipping out gold dust. He used to tell how the gold dust was handled as carelessly as though it had little value. A miner would pan out gold all day and put his dust in an old tin can or any other convenient receptacle. Then when he quit work at night he would just leave the can sitting on his sluice box for the night and no one would bother it.

That was when lynch law was in full force and had clamped down on things until the lawless element was pretty well cleaned out. If anyone complained that gold had been stolen there was a quick but thorough investigation, usually secretly held, and someone might expect to be hung to the nearest palm tree.

After Cyrus Clingman had lived for a time in California he came north to Oregon. He first came to Oregon City, then taught school for a time in the Sublimity neighborhood and then came to the Peoria neighborhood and school here. About the year 1860 he bought out a claim and settled down to farming. His claim is the same as that on which Elnora now lives. (Elnora Clingman Cruse, his daughter). It is situated a mile or so south of here in Sec. 21; Tp. 13 S; R. 4 W. The old original house still stands. That claim was first taken up by a man named Jesse Davis.

Uncle Cyrus Clingman was County Surveyor for Linn County for a good many years (Elected 1864). He was also in charge of the survey of the Yaquina Wagon road from Philomath, Benton County to Yaquina, Lincoln County. He worked at that for a long time. It was a difficult task through very rough country. He traveled on horseback through all that country before there was any road laid out. When the Corvallis and Eastern Railroad was laid out the railroad engineers took his field notes and made them the basis of their railroad survey. The notes were never returned to their owner, neither did he receive any pay for their use?

As we said, our grandfather was a surveyor. When Uncle Cyrus started for California grandfather presented him with a good compass. Grandfather took a block of wood and split it in two. He then carved out the center of the block so that it exactly fit the compass. Then he shaped the outside neatly and thus made an extremely durable and strong compass case. In that case Uncle Cyrus carried it all through his travels. I think that the old compass and case is now in the possession of Mrs. Horace Clansman, a daughter-in-law. We also have a compass which formerly belonged to Uncle Cyrus, but our instrument was bought at a later date in California.

Cyrus Clingman had four children, two boys and two girls. They were as follows:

Oldest-Horace Clingman

Second-Elnora Clingman, now Mrs. Cruse. She lives on the old place just a mile or so south of here.

Third-Francis (Frank) Clingman

Fourth-Lydia Clingman

Of these children Mrs. Cruse is the only one now living. She lives on the old place. A daughter-in-law of Cyrus Clingman, Mrs. Horace Clingman lives on the same place.

Our father, a younger brother of Horace Clingman, was born 15 May 1834, at Chillicothe, Sciota Co., Ohio. He did not come to Oregon until 1888. He first moved to Illinois with his parents at the age of ten, in 19=839 (Note: must be some mistake here as the dates do not correspond.) He died in Linn County, Oregon in 1908. His name was George Washington Clingman. His wife' s name was Nancy Walkey. She was born not far from Gettysburg, Pa. 5 May 1834. Her mother's name was Getty and she was of the family in whose honor the city of Gettysburg was named. Her people were also early settlers in Illinois, perhaps about 1845 or a little later.

To our parents were born seven children, as follows:

Harvey Walkey Clingman. Born 18 Aug 1853. Died Linn County, Oregon, 1936.

A sister-name not secured. Born 9 Apr 1860. Born in Illinois. Now lives in Corvallis.

William Clingman. (one of the informants) Born in Sherman Co., Ill. 10 Sept 1862.

Edgar Joseph Clingman. (One of the informants) Born in Illinois 27 Oct 1867

Sherman C. Clingman. (One of the informants) Born in Ill. 16 Aug 1870

We came to Oregon in 1888, so are not really pioneers of this region. We have been acquainted with so many pioneers that we have picked up a great deal of history of this region. We have been farmers in this region ever since we arrived in Oregon.

When we first came to Oregon (1888) there was almost no business done in Peoria. Before that it was a prosperous town and now is beginning to pick up a little. When we first came here there was still one old building standing at the site of the old town of Burlington. Burlington was founded by the Smith families and by Owen Bear. Both came here in 1846. There were a whole bunch of Smith's and Bear's. They came to Oregon from Peoria, Illinois. For that reason the permanent town here was called Peoria.

Among the very early families whom you should look up for interviews are the Brattains, the Githens, Mrs. James Frady whose people were named Cummings and any other member of the Bayne or Garrett families whom you may be able to find. Most of these old families have either died out or moved away.

Old James Garrett was one of the most prominent pioneers in this region.

His original house still stands-the second house just south of us. It is now owned by George Schmidt. The old original log cabin built by Garrett about 1852 was still standing there until about ten years ago. The barn still in use was built in 1855. Old man Garrett was quite a character-very little intelligence. He was a Mexican War veteran. His old clock is still in the house over the fireplace. The date of the house and the painters, plasterers and decorator's names are still to be seen over the fireplace. The whole house is decorated with scenes from Garretts life adventures. The old clock there is said to strike every time that a Garrett dies although it has not been running for many years.

We never heard of any pottery in this region. (This is answer to a question on the subject) The man whom you name as running the pottery, Barnett Ramsey, lived on the farm next east from here. No, we do not think that the station "Potter" on the Oregon Electric line has any connection to an old time pottery. It was named for Mr. Pardon Potter who first took up the land there.

Speaking of James Garrett, he used to raise many hogs and butcher and cure the meat. Then he would take big loads of it south to the Bohemian Mines and trade it for gold dust. He made a great deal of money in that way.

The first storekeeper in Peoria of which we know anything was run by a man named Chesman. Later he took in as a partner a man named Park Beatty. Beatty died in Brownsville just a few years ago. Herman Aubecker ran another store here. He was a cousin of August Fischer, the miller at Corvallis. The Fischers were active in business here at an early date, shipping wheat by boat. Davis brothers ran a store here, too, but when the railroad came thru and Halsey was founded he moved to that town. He had a partner named Nels Crume. James Thompson was one of the very early pioneer merchants.

Now to finish up a few facts about the Clingman tribe. In Illinois they lived in Stevensen County, close to the village of Cedarville. The county seat was Freeport.

Copyright © 2000 Patricia Dunn. All rights reserved. This transcription may not be reproduced in any media without the express written permission by the author. Permission has been given by the Transcriber to publish on the LGS web site.