WPA Interviews

Dannals, Frank C.

INTERVIEW, October 3, 1938

(With Frank C. Dannals, principally concerning the "Clover" family of early days in Linn County, Oregon.)

My grandfather's name was Paul Clover. He was born in Pennsylvania of Dutch or German extraction but his speech was pure and unbroken. No hint of his original tongue in his inflections. My grandmother's name was Alexa (spelling uncertain) Wilson Clover. My grandfather moved from Pennsylvania to Indiana and while in that state he was married. Where my grandmother was born, whether in Indiana or not, I cannot tell.

They arrived in Oregon in 1852 and bought out the squatter rights of another man and settled on his land. This land was situated in south eastern Linn County, south and east of Harrisburg in the lower foothills of the Cascades. My grandfather paid only twenty dollars for the squatters rights for this place. On that place he built a large, but very long and low house of most peculiar construction. The use to which this house was put will be told later. On his farm he raised grain, stock, and conducted a great deal of business. He was an active participant in all public enterprises and widely known throughout the county. His claim is difficult to locate, as all buildings are now gone, but it was distance about eight miles east of Harrisburg.

Of the people who came to Oregon in my father's train I know but little.

One of them, however, was "Old" Sel. (Seldon) Warner. His father was also a member of the train but never reached Oregon. He was a man who drank heavily and one day upon the road, while under the influence of liquor, he fell from his wagon and was run over and his neck broken.

My grandfather, Paul Clover, was a County Commissioner in the very early days. One of the second set of County Commissioners to be elected. Serving with him at the time were Jason Wheeler who was also the first sheriff of Linn County under the provisional government about 1848. There are a great many records of my grandfathers official services in the first Probate Court Journal at the Linn County Court House. Besides serving as County Commissioner he was Post Master at the little Pine Post Office east of Harrisburg. This post office no longer exists.

I have mentioned my grandfather's peculiar house. Now I will tell you what it was used for. In the first place it was a very long, low house and it was divided by partitions about every ten feet of its length. In this house he kept crazy people who were assigned to him by the County Government for care. There were no insane asylums in those days and it was the usual custom to let their care out to the lowest bidder. Grandfather kept a great many of them for a long time. Some of them were easy to care for and could be given almost entire freedom, but some were violent and at times dangerous. That long old house of my grandfathers was a curious and fascinating place. Another of my grandfather's offices in the early days was that of Justice of the Peace for his region.

My grandfather and grandmother were the parents of eight children; four boys and four girls.

Of the boys Wilson Clover, named after his mother's family, was the oldest.

Wilson Clover lived near Springfield, Lane County and some of his sons still reside there.

Peter Clover was the second son. He had two sons and two daughters.

James Clover was the third son. He had one son.

Isaac Clover was the youngest of Paul Clover's sons.

Of Paul Clovers daughters my mother, Louisa Clover was the oldest. She married my father, James Dannals.

Jane Clover, the second daughter married John Howard. Their home was some place in Eastern Oregon. Had 2 boys and 1 girl.

The third daughter was my Aunt Burk (No other name secured). She married a man named O'Kelley. They had two sons.

The fourth daughter was Harriett Clover who married Wes. Caviness. They had children but I do not know how many.

My grandfather died in 1873 or 1874 and my grandmother died about 1872.

My mother, the oldest of Paul Clovers daughters was married to James Dannals. She was born in the east before the Clover family moved to Oregon. The date of her birth was January 22, 1834. James Dannals, her husband was born August 20, 1825. They were married in Oregon on February 10, 1853. My parents, like my grandparents, had eight children-four boys and four girls.

They were:

Lucy Dannals. Born December 15, 1855. Married a man named Huston October 12, 1875. Died----? (date unknown)

Rosa Dannals. Born March 25, 1864. Never married. Died July 13, 1884.

Frank Dannals. (The narrator) Born April 17, 1866. (Runs a paint shop on East Second Street, Albany, Oregon.)

James C. Dannals Jr. Born April 17, 1868. Died May 15, 1886. His widow, Mrs. James Dannals Pollok lives at Huntington Park, California.

Daisy E. Dannals. Born January 11, 1871. Married a man named Miller.

Lives at Portland.

Charles Dannals. Born 1872.

Oscar P. Dannals. Born Feb. 5th, 1876. Married?

Laura Jane Dannals. Born? Died? Married?

The narrator moved to Albany with his parents in 1876 and has since resided at this place.

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.