Romance on the Oregon Trail

Marriage never looked so good! In 1852, a white male citizen 21 years of age or over, qualified for a grant of 160 acres. If married, their wives were entitled to a like amount - held in their own name! In 1853 provisions were added to the law to recognize a widow’s right to a land claim. 6 The law was further amended in 1854 to grant Donation Land Grants to orphans. James Sherrill and Mary Ann Evans were among many who married before leaving on the Oregon Trail, and expected to have a honeymoon on the trail. It was a romantic view which they quickly learned did not match the reality of the dangers, illness and grubby conditions prevailing on the Oregon Trail.

Others met their future spouse on the journey, and married as soon as they arrived in Oregon. One such bride was Amelia Caroline (Evans) Parker, who was in the same wagon train with the Sherrills and Evans families. She traveled with Jacob Thompson and his wife Rhoda (Evans) Thompson, and was probably a niece or younger sister of Rhoda. Amelia was only sixteen. James Parker, a single man twice her age, was also on the wagon train. When they reached Oregon, they made arrangements to get married, on December 30, 1852. They lived on their Oregon Land Grant in Marion County the rest of their lives, and raised their family there. Below is an image from the Bureau of Land Management of their 123.12 acre land claim. One South and Eight West in Section 24 is just south of Silver Falls Highway, and west of the falls, north of the town of Sublimity.

Amelia Caroline (Evans) Parker and James Parker had this land grant
of 123.12 acres in Marion County. Image in Public Domain (a Government Document).
Click once on the image to enlarge, once more to return to blog. 

Many of the families who emigrated to Oregon were, like the Evans and Sherrills, traveling with relatives. Most often they claimed their land grants in adjacent plots. If you follow the link to the 1852 Wapello County wagon train, you will see a graphic there showing where Richard Evans, James Sherrill, Jacob Thompson, Edward Evans and others located near each other and next to the Willamette River.