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HATTIE'S DIARY, the story behind its discovery
Danville, Des Moines Country, Iowa to Dallas, Polk County, Oregon via Wagon Train

A note by Jack Loughary:

One of the most instructional and interesting documents used in the Loughary search was the diary writtenby Hattie Buxton Loughary in 1864 during her trip from Iowa to Oregon on the Oregon Trail. Her diary and how it played in the search for 'the three Loughary Brothers who came west on the Oregon Trail' mentioned in family oral history, especially by my father William Ernest, is discussed briefly here. The story begins with a search for the father of my great grandfather, viz., Hiram Smallwood Loughary. The reason for this is to illustrate some of the frustrations of finding the correct track an ancestor and the problem of validating sources of information.

The linear search of Loughary history starting with William Ernest Loughary (b 1902) led two generations back to Hiram, and there it stopped. Hiram reported to the 1870 Census taker in Oregon that both his father and mother were born in Illinois. Several attempts to find genealogical links done for a couple decades were not productive. The search later was aimed at locating other branches of Lougharys, which seemed a far fetched idea because none had been heard of by the present generation. Descendants of my Dad's UncleFred and Aunt Viola were around and about, but at least on limited contact had no additional information.Fred was the brother of my Dad's's father. My Dad lived with Fred and Viola and their family for plus or minus four years.

Then, two pieces of information emerged. One was a diary written by a Harriet (Hattie) Loughary during a1864 Oregon Trail wagon train crossing. Hattie was the wife of Willam J. Loughary, who it turns out was a brother of my great grandfather, Hiram Smallwood Loughary. A copy of Hattie's diary came into my possession many years earlier but I had not been able to make anything of it and shelved it. The second bit of information emerged after beginning a serious search for genealogical documents. While working in the family history center at the Oregon State Library, a volume of what can be described as "vanity history", that is volumes of biographical sketches for which the subjects paid for entries, was discovered. It seemed a poor policy for beggars to be choosers in this instance, and so when I found a Lafayette Loughary a search for others was rekindled.

Eventually, two Loughary brothers, Lafayette W. and William J., were identified. With a bit of inference (and insufficient documentation) the working hypothesis was that their father was a David Loughary who, according to census records, was born in Illinois in about 1804. It seemed possible, as will be noted below, that Hiram was a sibling of Lafayette and William. Or, it was also possible that he might have been was a nephew of David Loughary. Hattie Loughary, keeper of the wagon train diary, clearly was William Johnson Loughary's wife, and her diary might provide clues to solving the mystery. (My stupidity was displayed when only several years ago it dawned on me that William J. was probably William Johnson Loughary, Johnson being his mother Rachel's birth name.)

Probably the clearest way to show how the story developed is chronologically, beginning with David, the supposed father of the two brothers. If David Loughary (in 1804) is Hiram's father, then it is clear that theDavid/Hiram branch emigrated prior to the great potato famine in 1845-49. Now, this makes sense only ifyou know that for some time I had been trying to eliminate the great spud emigration as a factor in MY Loughary's coming abroad. If David were really on the line, then we could rest assured and look farther back. On some other hand, Loughary could be a Scottish name which would blow away the basic assumption of pure Irish ancestry held by several generations of Lougharys. B'gory and God forbid!

David, however, eventually was given up as a red herring, as it were. About all that was clear from the entries in the boasting books (originally drafted from notes prepared by or from interviews with William and Lafayette) was that William J. Loughary and Lafayette W. Loughary were brothers, probably relocated from Illinois to Iowa by said unknown father whose name was never mentioned in the books. Whether or not the trio was accompanied to Iowa by other members of the family was not known at that point.

Now, much later, it is reasonably clear that William Johnson Loughary was born in Jacksonville, Illinois,on August 28, 1824. His father moved, taking Lafayette and William with him, to Des Moines County, Iowa. (Des Moines County is not near the city of Des Moines, Iowa. It is near the Mississippi River near Burlington, Iowa.). It is not known at present what other family members might have accompanied their unnamed father. Lafayette came to Polk County, Oregon in 1852 (when he would have been 20) and was living on his farm, 6 miles from Dallas, in 1863. Lafayette married Eliza Simpson after coming to Oregon, and they had four children. This is recorded in the Loughary descendants chart for those who have the urge to look.

After pursuing several other dead ends, the record finally emerged. This is a short version of the story. It begins in Beaverton, Oregon, where Nellie Andersen Ripper was teaching in Beaverton Schools. Nellie is the widow of Jack D. Ripper, my late cousin. His mother (Oris) and my father (William Ernest) were the children of William Bell Loughary and Myrtle Ann Gent Loughar. JackRipper was former teacher, Oregon state representative and senator. Nellie described their team career in her book, "...In a Small Puddle" (Wegferd Publications, North Bend, Oregon ISBN N0. 937861-04-9). In her words,

"The Loughary family came from sturdy stock, both the Gents and the Lougharys being covered wagon pioneers. My best information has this branch , descendants of Hiram Smallwood Loughary, arriving in theWillamette Valley in 1852. They were part of the early history of Oregon. The earliest ancestors known was John Loughary, born in 1796 and died in 1846. He is said to have been an Iowa Senator when that state joined the Union. His wife, Rachel Johnson, was born in 1795 and died in 1880. Their children were: Telitha, Bethly, Willam J., Nancy, Wiley, Hiram, Lafayette and John. (See Loughary Descendants Chart.) (Recently the Loughary line has been extend beyond John and Rachel to John b. 1775 in Ireland. See the Loughary Descendants Repot fro details. Evidence of John being an Iowa senator has been discovered. ed)

"My research of the Loughary family began in earnest in a most serendipitous way. I was teaching in Beaverton schools in 1960-1964, and spotted in a show-case at the school a diary written by a Mrs. H.A. Loughary, as they came west. They traveled the Oregon Trail from Danville, Des Moines country Iowa in 1864.The diary mentions H and L Loughary, who met the new emigrants at The Dalles on the Columbia River and traveled with them by boat and railroad to Portland; then in their own wagons south 65 miles to the home of "L" Loughary in the Luckamute Valley of the Willamette Valley, at Dallas Oregon. My assumption is that L might be Lafayette and H might be Hiram." ( She was correct, ed.)

Hiram Married Martha Fuqua in the Luckamute Valley area and then returned to the Grande Ronde of Umatilla County (back trailers, they were called.). His wife Martha and their infant son James Fredrick Loughary remained in the area with her father and mother. One of Martha's brothers accompanied Hiram to the Grand Ronde where they raise live stock. Martha and their son later joined Hiram in or near the town of Elgin. They traveled about the area towns such as Cove and into Idaho, eventually raising six children. Hiram and Martha are buried in the Elgin cemetery. Their headstone reads "Lougharry". There lies another story! (See "The Elgin Parade" when I get around to writing and posting it.)

Further research indicated that a total of four of the children of John and Rachel Loughary came to Oregon; William, Hiram, Lafayette and John. William and Harriet his wife were the last to come. John returned to Iowa. As of this writing (05/01) I have not determined whether Hiram and Lafayette traveled overland or by sea to Oregon.

William J. Loughary taught school in Burlington, Iowa, where he married Harriet A. Buxton on June 1, 1848. Harriet was born in Virginia on November 27, 1827. William and Harriet had 8 children while living in Iowa, two of whom died at birth. On March 30, 1864, the family of 8 left Danville, Des Moines Country, Iowa, and Hattie recorded her thoughts and observations as, "Notes of travel, from Danville, Des MoinesCo Iowa, to Dallas, Polk Co Oregon, by Mrs. H.A. Loughary." Later, she edited her journal and it was published in, "Covered Wagon Women, Diaries and Letters, from the Western Trails, 1840-1890, Vol VIII 1862-1865", edited and compiled by Kenneth L. Holmes, Arthur H. Clarke Co., Spokane, WA 1989 under the following heading:

"A brief Journal of the travels of an emigrant ox train across the plains and mountains, from Burlington Iowa, on the Mississippi river to the Willamette Valley, on the Columbia and the Pacific Ocean.

In the year of 1864--
By Mrs. W. J. Loughary" (Note change to William's initials.)

After settling in Polk Country, William and Harriet moved around a bit in Yamhill and Marion Country, and settled in 1878 on a farm south of Amity in Yamhill County, where they lived the rest of their lives. Amity is close to the much larger community of McMinnvile. Harriet worked with Abigail Scott Duniway, both vigorous advocates for women's rights. Harriet wrote a column for Duniway's paper, The New Northwest.A collection of Harriet's papers, including a journal kept by her husband William that provides enlightening if dull descriptions of life on the farm, are on deposit at the Oregon State Library.

The next time I encountered the name of Hattie A. (Mrs W.J.) Loughary was on a bottle of wine, a very nice 1992 Chardonnay, to be specific. Theresa Ripley, my wife, found an item in the Oregonian noting that Susan Sokol Blosser, co-owner of a winery by the same name, had honored three Oregon women pioneers by naming wines after them. She called it the Sokol Blosser Oregon Trail Pioneer series. The inscription onthe label for Hattie A. Loughary Oregon Pioneer reads as follows.

"This label honors Harriet (Hattie) A.. Loughary (Loff'-er-y), (1827-1907) who crossed the Oregon Train in 1864 with her husband and six children, ages one through thirteen. Her colorful diary of their five months trip appears in Kenneth Holme's "Covered Wagon Women: Diaries & Letters from the Western Trails" (Vol.,8)

"Hattie and her husband farmed near McMinville, where she was very active in women's rights issues. Foryears she was president of the Oregon State Women's Suffrage Association, and during the 1880's she canvased the state giving speeches, writing newspaper articles, and lobbying the Oregon State Legislature. Hattie had a talent for oratory and was labeled the "Patrick Henry of the new dispensation." She worked closelywith Abigail Scott Duniway, who called Hattie peerless among speakers and described her as: "Argumentative, eloquent, persuasive and earnest." "She captivates her audiences," wrote Duniway," and carries everything by the power of her logic."

"Sadly, Hattie died five years before women earned the right to vote in Oregon. Towards the end of her life, she was deeply discouraged by the failure of the cause she had fought so tirelessly to promote. Although she failed to see her dream come to pass, Hattie's work formed the basis for eventual success. Her energy, talent, and optimism truly embodied the pioneer spirit."

Hattie would probably sit up in her coffin if she knew her image adorned a bottle of assertive Oregon Chard, in spite of it being a very good year. But who really knows? Times do change.

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