1840-1850s Blacks Arriving in Portland, Oregon

 Nadene Goldfoot                 

A small number of Jewish pioneers began arriving in the Oregon region during the late 1840s, with general Jewish settlement in Portland specifically taking root starting around 1849. 1840: Herman Ehrenberg, noted as one of the earliest known Jewish immigrants to the broader Oregon territory, arrived around this time, though not yet settled directly in Portland.1848–1849: The first wave of Jewish settlers—predominantly young single merchants of Central European/German descent—began arriving directly in Portland and the Willamette Valley.

Notable Pioneers: Early recorded regional trailblazers included the Fleischner brothers (Jacob and Louis), Dr. Israel Moses, a Civil War surgeon, and Herman Ehrenberg.


Moses was tried by court martial in 1864 for "Conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline" and "Disrespect to his superior officer" after having an ongoing disagreement with his commanding officer over whether a wounded patient should be discharged for disability or transferred to the Invalid Corps. He was ultimately found guilty and sentenced to be dismissed from the service; General George Henry Thomas approved the court's findings, but recommended, "in consideration of the long services" provided by Moses that his sentence be remitted and he instead "be reprimanded in General Order." 
 Following his resignation, per the Mount Sinai archives catalogue, Moses “was appointed Attending Surgeon"  in the "newly-opened Jews' Hospital in New York,” which later became Mount Sinai.
The Judge Advocate General concurred with General Thomas, stating "It appears that the contumacy and insubordination of Surgeon Moses grew out of a mistaken notion of his duty, rather than from any purpose to disobey orders or treat his superior officer with disrespect." Moses was therefore allowed to continue in his service and was eventually honorably discharged. (The existence of a court martial file for Moses was discovered in the Papers of Abraham Lincoln.)  I guess he was famous for the period, not for being in Portland.  I don't think he ever made it out here.  

The very existence of these photographs is evidence of Black love and community care. Each of these photographic types were carefully placed in protective cases lined with velvet or silk. These cases functioned like tender keepsakes that would have been gifted, caressed, and lovingly gazed upon. While the names and identities of many of the people pictured in these portraits are lost, we know that they were beloved. 

It was in the 1840s- to 1850s that Blacks started arriving in Portland, Oregon. A small number of free and enslaved Black pioneers arrived via overland wagon trains, despite strict territorial exclusion laws passed by Oregon's provisional and state governments attempting to bar Black settlement. By 1851 (Portland's incorporation year), about 55 African Americans managed to live and settle in the area.

Oregon passed laws to ban Black people from living, owning land, or making contracts in the territory. Because of these harsh rules, Black pioneers like George Washington Bush moved north across the Columbia River into the area that became Washington.  

The 1844 Lash Law: The provisional government made it illegal for Black people to live in the territory, punishing violators with public whippings of 20 to 39 stripes every six months until they left.
The 1849 and 1857 Laws: Later territorial laws and the 1857 state constitution banned African Americans from entering the state, suing in court, making contracts, or owning real estate. 



On August 26, 1851 Thomas Nelson ruled that:The above-named Jacob Vanderpool, having been brought before me on a warrant based upon the complaint of the above named Theophilus Magruder, and I being satisfied, that the said Jacob Vanderpool is a mulatto, and that he is remaining in the territory of Oregon contrary to the statutes and laws of the territory. I therefore order that the said Jacob Vanderpool remove from the said territory within thirty days from and after the service of this order.  Just like that, Jacob Vanderpool was expelled from the state of Oregon, never to return. An article would run in the Oregon Statesman the following week that praised Thomas Nelson’s ruling as a “reaffirmation of a well-settled doctrine.”

Enforcement: Oregon entered the Union in 1859 as a "free state" but explicitly as a white-only state, banishing residents like Jacob Vanderpool in 1851. Blacks coming to the territory had to move to Washington.  
 Bush and his allies established a successful agricultural settlement and farm at Bush Prairie near modern-day Tumwater and Olympia. Their support network and local friends successfully petitioned Congress to protect his land. Bush and his allies established a successful agricultural settlement and farm at Bush Prairie near modern-day Tumwater and Olympia. Their support network and local friends successfully petitioned Congress to protect his land. George Washington namesake settles in Oregon after Civil War.It’s is lovely to have an ancestor with the first 2 names of George Washington. Terrible photo . 
When he arrived in Oregon after the Civil War, only 10000 Europeans were in the Willamette Valley.

The most prominent Black pioneer family to arrive in the Pacific Northwest via covered wagon on the Oregon Trail was led by George Washington Bush. 1844 Migration: George Washington Bush, a free Black man of mixed-race heritage, left Missouri in a covered wagon with his white wife, Isabella, and their children. They traveled alongside several white families in a group known as the Simmons Party.  Bush financed much of the wagon train and helped other families along the Oregon Trail to escape harsh anti-Black exclusion laws in the Midwest.     When the group reached The Dalles and learned of repressive racial laws in the Oregon Territory, they moved north of the Columbia River into present-day Washington State.  Bush Prairie: Bush and his allies established a successful agricultural settlement and farm at Bush Prairie near modern-day Tumwater and Olympia. Their support network and local friends successfully petitioned Congress to protect his land rights.

America Waldo Bogle (June 2, 1844 – December 28, 1903) was a pioneer in the Oregon Territory. She and her husband, Richard Arthur Bogle, were among the first Black settlers in Walla Walla, Washington..Yes, this is an ancestor of Portland's well-known Dick Bogle of Portland's police, government and TV fame.  I did his genealogy with him!  Waldo was a well-known name we were following. America Waldo was born in Missouri on June 2, 1844. Her mother is believed to have been a slave of Missouri farmer John Waldo (1796–1849), and her father was a white man, probably either John Waldo or his brother Joseph (1805–1871). In 1854 America traveled by wagon train to Oregon with John Waldo's widow, Avarilla, and several other African Americans.   This black family originated in the Caribbean.