WPA Interviews

Ewing, Elizabeth Jane (McDonald)

INTERVIEW, Leslie Haskin, 10 July 1940

Interview with Mrs. Elizabeth Jane Ewing.

I am the daughter of Nathaniel Green McDonald who came to Oregon in 1846.

My father was born in Orange County, North Carolina, on 10 Aug 1818. When he first arrived in Oregon he settled in Marion County on Butte Creek near Champoeg. At that time he had considerable trouble with the Indians and was severely wounded. He therefore left his claim there and came on to Linn County where he bought out the squatter rights of a settler and established himself on a large farm. This second home in Oregon was situated on the Santiam between the present village of Shelburn and the river.

My father and mother were married in Platte County, Missouri. (Note: Md. 29 Feb 1841. E.B.Y.) At the time they came to Oregon they had two children, one son and one daughter. The names of those who came from the east were:

Alexander Russell McDonald. He was born in Andrew County, Missouri. He was a farmer near Scio.

Mary Pracilla McDonald. She was born in Andrew County, Missouri. She died in 1883. She married David Myers who came to Oregon in 1858. Their oldest son was Hon. Jefferson Myers. There is a considerable story about the Myers family which should, I believe, be recorded, so I will give it to you to add to the end of this interview.

After my parents came to Oregon the following children were born:

Benjamin Franklin McDonald who was born in Oregon 3 July 1847, in Marion County, about one year after the family reached Oregon. He was named after my Mother's father, Benjamin Franklin Munkers.

Eliza Margaret McDonald, born in Oregon. I cannot tell you the exact date. She died when I was a small baby.

Virginia Ann McDonald. Born 2 Dec 1853.

William Green McDonald. Born 19 April 1857.

Minnie V. McDonald. Born 2 May 1860.

Jefferson Lee McDonald. Infant

Elizabeth Jane McDonald. Born 6 Oct 1864. The informant in this interview and the youngest member of the family. Her married name is Ewing. Her husband is in the bank at Scio, Oregon.

I should have said that my father stayed in Marion County for about 3 years, after coming to Oregon, probably in the fall of 1848 or 1849. He was a Cayuse Indian War Veteran under Colonel Gilliam and saw action in every engagement. He was wounded in the right lung in the battle of Well Springs and was carried on a litter for 140 miles to be treated at the Whitman Station. That was the same action where Jason Wheeler, first sheriff of Linn Co. under the provisional government, was also wounded. Wheeler's wound was in the knee.

My mother's name was Rebecca Jane Munkers. She was born in Clay County, Missouri, 22 Feb 1843. The exact location of her birth I cannot tell, but it was somewhere near the town of St. Joe. Her father was Benjamin Franklin Munkers, born 7 Sept 1799. Her mother was Mary Crowley, born 1 Oct 1802. Both were born in Cumberland County, Tennessee. They were married in the same county on 12 Sept 1818, and came to Oregon in 1846. (This date is not positively certain).

My grandparent's children, my mother's brothers and sisters, were:

Preston Munkers. Born 28 Nov 1820. He came to Oregon with his parents and settled just northwest of the present town of Scio. The steep hill there is still known as "Munkers Hill" which might be called the beginning of the town though scarcely in it.

Rebecca Jane Munkers. Mother of the Informant. Born 2 Sept 1825. Married N.G. McDonald

John C. Munkers. Born 30 April 1827.

Francis Munkers. (Francis Marion) Born 4 July 1829.

Benjamin Munkers. 22 May 1831.

Thomas Munkers. Born 22 June 1833. Jackson Co., Mo.

Mary Eliza Munkers. Born 8 April 1836. Her first husband was Davidson. Her second husband's name was Estes.

William Riley Munkers. Born 2 Jan 1823.

Isabell Munkers. Born 3 Feb 1839. Her married name was Boone and her husband was a druggist in Salem.

James M. Munkers. Born 3 Dec 1841.

My grandfather, Benjamin Franklin Munches, first settled at Salem, Marion County, Oregon. In his old age he removed to live with one of his sons in Inn County where he died.

There is an interesting family incident you might be interested in. When grandfather Munches started for Oregon my grandmother was in very frail health. No one expected she would live to see the end of the trip, and my grandfather even had a coffin prepared to take with him in expectancy of her death on the way. Grandfather had a large sum of money to bring with him, and for safety he hid the money in the coffin. That was the only use made of the coffin during the trip, grandmother not only survived and after reaching Oregon lived to be 90 years old. My grandfather paid $1,000 for the claim on which he settled near Salem.

The first voting precinct organized in the Sic region was named McDonald precinct after my father. About the year 1850 McDonald precinct was divided into Franklin Butte, Sic, and Rays Precincts. (Note: No facts as to the origin of "Franklin Butte" could be obtained. There is a possibility that "Franklin Butte" came from the name of this informant's father, Benjamin Franklin Munches, but this could not be definitely ascertained.

I do not know just what hill is signified by the name of this, "Franklin Butte" but suspect it is the Butte directly south of Scio. It certainly is not the low hill where the Franklin Butte Cemetery is situated.

I cannot tell you just when that Franklin Butte Cemetery was established, although I do remember the first burials there. Probably it was sometime in the 1870's. A man by the name of Taylor was on e of the first buried there.

Look at the Wheeler family lot for more definite dates. (Note: William S.

Taylor was buried in this cemetery 26 Nov 1872, and E. E. Wheeler 30 May 1872. These are most probably the persons referred to above. L.H.) "In speaking of place names, I should have mentioned that Rays precinct was probably named after a Ray family of whom John Ray, 1834-1910 is a member and who is buried in the Franklin Butte Cemetery.

Thomas Creek, the stream which flows through Scio, was not named after any particular individual, but after several families named Thomas who settled along its course. There were five Thomas Donation land claims taken up along the stream. Their owners were: Jesse B.; George B.; Stephen B.; John S.; and Fredrick Thomas.

Here is an item which I failed to give you in its proper place. Alexander Russell McDonald, my oldest brother, was born in 1844. He was 2 years old when our people came to Oregon."

Cemetery Inscriptions

N. G. McDonald R. J. McDonald, his wife
Born 10 Aug 1818 Born 22 Feb 1825
Died 30 June 1893 Died 13 April 1900

Now that I have finished with the history of my own family I will do as I promised and tell something of the Myers family, that is, the family into which my oldest sister, Mary Pracilla McDonald married. This is something which is seemingly not generally known, and which the Myers family do not mention in their biographies although there is no reason for hiding it. It is simply this, that my sister's husband, David Myers who was the father of Jefferson Myers of Portland, was a full brother of John M. Meyer who was a prominent early settler at Brownsville, Linn County, and who married Elizabeth Brown, daughter of Hugh L. Brown, for whom Brownsville was named.

The Myers, or Moyer family were presumably of German descent and it was merely a matter of changed spelling, one branch taking it as Moyer, the others as Myers."

Note: The writer has verified this statement and finds it to be true. In Portrait and Biographical Record of the Willamette Valley, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1903 there are brief biographies of David Myers and John M. Moyer. Each traces his ancestry back through the same line, with the same names and dates except for the variation of the spelling of the family name. L.L.H.

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.