Pioneer of 1853

Abner Enyart Armstrong

1833-1914

 

 

Abner Enyart Armstrong was bom on October 12, 1833 in Fayette, Arkansas.

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His occupation is listed as a Brickmaker in Pioneer files at OHS

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He passed away in October of 1914.

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He married Martha Elizabeth Jones on August 16, 1853 in Oregon Territory. She was bom on August 4,1836 in Illinois and passed away on April 2,1887.

 

At the time of their marriage she was a student at what is now Pacific University in Forest Grove, Washington County, Oregon (Family records of Jean Erickson, Portland, Oregon).

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They were the parents of 8 children.

Mary Ellen (Mrs. James Reeder)

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John Myron (a bricklayer in Yakima)

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Amanda Rosetta (married a Sturgess, two sons; Frank & Fred)

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Walter (lost in San Francisco Earthquake)

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Arthur J.

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Abner Eugene

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Francis

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Rosa

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Abner had a Provisionsal land claim, # 7750. It was located in TIN, R4W, Section 10, consisting of 160 acres.

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In 1858 Abner is listed as a resident of Salmon Creek, on the Lewis River in Clark County, Washington.

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On his affidavit he states he was born in 1833 in Illinois, arrived in Oregon in 1853 and settled his claim in 1855. He abandoned that claim within a year and shows up on the Clark County, Washington census for 1860 and 1880.

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Lewis River

During the Indian uprisings in 1855-56 the settlers on the Lewis River feared for their lives. The men paced off an acre of ground, dug a trench all around it and then stood tall poles in the trench. This gave them an enclosure of one acre. They built their cabins within the walls to protect themselves from the Indians. Fort Vancouver in Washington is a good example of this kind of fort.