William Withers Chrisman

Places he Resided: 1. Boone Co., Indiana 2. Marion Co., Oregon : Settled DLC #2403, 1854 Came to Oregon in 1853. Settled near Brooks, OR. First born child died as an infant (no known name). !Marriage: Indiana state marriage index: Avas Chencutt & William Chrisman, Union Co., IN 7-14-1831. (www.statelib.lib.in.us) !Census 1850: Boone Co., IN, District No. 7, roll 137, p. 126. William Chrisman, 41, M, Farmer, $1000, Va, married within year [sic] Ava, 41, F, NC, married within year [sic], can't read & write Elizabethana, 16, F, Ind Abner C., 14, M, Ind Daniel T, 12, M, Ind Samuel C, 10, M, Ind William J, 9, M, Ind Mary J, 6, F, Ind James M, 7/12, M, Ind Dimmean Coobs, 8, M, Ind !Census 1860: Fairfield, Marion Co., Oregon, enum 25 Jun 1860, p. 394, household 2940, family 2579: Wm Chrisman, 50 b. KY, $1800/$820, farmer A. "", female, 50, N. Carolina L.L. [sic, S.L.], male, 20, $45, b. Iowa [sic -- looks like Iowa, I assume it is Indiana], farmer Wm, male, 18, $50, b. ", farmer, att sch M.J., female, 15, b. ", att sch J. M., male, 10, b. ", att sch. Ross said he went to Jacksonville after Ava's death. Family members never heard of him after he left, and there is no sign that he ever arrived. No one knows what became of him -- did he meet his demise on his way to Southern Oregon? Indians or bandits perhaps? William Chrisman came by wagon train to Oregon, arriving Oct 1853. Records from: Oregon Land Donation Claim, No. 2403, William Chrisman, Marion Co.; b. 1810 Mason Co., Virginia; Arr OR Oct 1853; sc 31 Mar 1854; m. Ava 14 Jul 1830, Union Co., Ind; Ava d. 1859. Aff: F.E.Eldridge, Geo Rondo, S.W.K. Jones (MA), Thomas O. Davis, L.H.Ponjade, J.H.Lasater. Note: His claim was adjacent to claim #1928 of Christian Stehman, Marion Co. 1860 Census Marion Co.: Lived in Fairfield Pct. T7 Roll 233, page 294: Farmer with $1800 in land and $825 personal property. Family Lore: There is a family legend that William had a major disagreement with his father over the issue of slavery when he was a young man, William being opposed to it, his father being for it. The disagreement caused a rift between him and his father, resulting in William moving away from home. There were also claims in family lore that his father may have owned several slaves, and that that may have been at the heart of the disagreement. The story has been repeated in a number of places. It was told to me by my grandfather, Lyle D. Chrisman. It appears in the autobiography of Velma Limbeck. And I saw it repeated in a copy of an old letter (circa 1960s) where it stated that Ross had also given this account. From following through, I've traced the story back to Abner Chrisman (William's son), who apparently told it to a number of his grandchildren. Extant records would seem to indicate that such a strong disagreement between William and his father John over this issue would be unlikely. In records that exist (Fauquier Co. tax records 1803-6, censuses 1810-1830), John is shown without any slaves. Furthermore, John (William's father) lived in areas where slavery was not popular, including Mason County, W.V., and then moving to Union County, Indiana. Furthermore, there are some hints, but no solid records, that William's father John might have even spent some time in Boone Co., Indiana in his later years. The rumors that John Chrisman ever owned slaves seems highly unlikely, and the claims that the issue divided William and his father may be dubious. What would be much more consistent with known facts is the possibility that William's father John had this falling out with his father, John Chrisman Sr., but that the characters became off by a generation as the story was passed down the line. William's father, John, did move far away from his father, from the South (Tennessee) up to anti-slave territory (Mason Co.). When he (John) hit financial bad-luck with the sinking of a cargo, of cotton, he (John) was "too proud" to go to his father for assistance, despite the fact that his father would have had no problem rescuing him. It is my current opinion that the family legend likely does have substance to it, but that it was William's father, and not William, who had the falling out with his father over the issue of slavery. Nevertheless, the story as told to me was that it was William and his father. As an adult, William Withers Chrisman lived with his family in Boone County, Indiana, until 1853. William was involved in some sort of long standing feud with a neighbor by the name of Jackson (the origin and nature of the feud is not known). In 1853, William's eldest daughter, Elizabeth, fell in love with the Jackson's boy, and the two approached William for his permission to get married. William refused. In response, Elizabeth became pregnant, expecting her father to insist they do the honorable thing and get married. However, William's response was much different. He decided instead to move away, all the way to Oregon, and he threatened the boy, telling him that if he ever showed up in Oregon, he would meet his maker. Apparently William convinced several of his siblings to move to Oregon as well, for in 1853, William, his family, and several of his siblings and their families joined a train and headed for the Willamette Valley. I have in the past heard my grandpa and some of his sisters talk about William's land claims when he arrived to Oregon, but I don't remember all the details and don't currently have all the records. What I do remember, roughly, is that he arrived, obtained a grant for some mediocre land up on some ridge, which he sold or traded almost immediately, and instead ended up with the old Chrisman homestead, located about midway between Stayton and Scio, where Abner Chenault Chrisman and later George Nelson Chrisman lived as well. At one time there was a large house there, built by William or Abner, with a large spiral staircase. Today no house stands, there is simply a large field there under cultivation. Syvesta Limbeck, who grew up there, lives adjacent to where the old property was. Sometime in the mid 1860s, William Withers headed for southern Oregon with the intentions of settling there, but was never heard from again. Little is known about his disappearance, whether he ever made it there (although no records have been found to indicate he ever did), or what became of him. His immediate family (children, siblings, etc) who were residing up in the Scio area, probably did not realize he was missing for many years, and as far as I know, no one ever followed through at the time with any sort of investigation to attempt to find him. Descendants believe it is most likely that he never made it to southern Oregon. In those days, travel was plagued with many dangers, including bandits, indians, animals, bad weather, or he may have simply had an accident with no one around to find him. Needless to say, his date of death is unknown and unlikely to be discovered.