America Waldo Bogle
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America Waldo Bogle (June 2, 1844 – December 28, 1903) was a pioneer in the
Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Oreg ...
. She and her husband, Richard Arthur Bogle, were among the first Black settlers in
Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,339 as of 2023. The combined populat ...
.


Early life

America Waldo was born in
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
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 Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
with John Waldo's widow, Avarilla, and several other African Americans. They spent the winter with Avarilla's brother-in-law,
Daniel Waldo Daniel Waldo (September 10, 1762 – July 30, 1864) was an American clergyman, born in Windham, Connecticut. He served in the American Revolutionary War and later became a missionary and clergyman. In 1856 at age 94, Waldo was named Chaplai ...
, at his farm east of
Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada * Salem, Ontario, various places Germany * Salem, Baden-Württemberg, a municipality in the Bodensee district ** Salem Abbey (Reichskloster Salem), a monastery * Salem, Schleswig-Holstein Israel * Salem (B ...
. In the spring of 1855 they moved south to Douglas County where Avarilla established a
Donation Land claim The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850, sometimes known as the Donation Land Act, was a statute enacted by the United States Congress in late 1850, intended to promote homestead settlements in the Oregon Territory. It followed the Distribution-Pree ...
near Roseburg, Oregon. America remained in the Roseburg area for the next five years, during which time she met her future husband, Richard Arthur Bogle, a barber in Roseburg. In 1861 she returned with Avarilla to Salem where she lived with the Daniel Waldo family until her marriage.
Daniel Waldo Daniel Waldo (September 10, 1762 – July 30, 1864) was an American clergyman, born in Windham, Connecticut. He served in the American Revolutionary War and later became a missionary and clergyman. In 1856 at age 94, Waldo was named Chaplai ...
, a former legislator in the
Provisional Government of Oregon The Provisional Government of Oregon was a popularly elected settler government created in the Oregon Country (1818-1846), in the Pacific Northwest region of the western portion of the continent of North America. Its formation had been advanced ...
, who had arrived in Oregon with the Great Migration of 1843, "may have taken responsibility for raising her and thus acted as a father figure." In 1862 Richard Bogle left Roseburg and settled in Walla Walla,
Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...
, but returned to Oregon briefly at the end of that year to prepare for his marriage to America.


Marriage in Oregon

In
Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...
, on January 1, 1863, at the age of 18, America Waldo married Richard Arthur Bogle, a free Black man born in
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
. Their wedding was on the same day that President Lincoln's
Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. The Proclamation had the eff ...
went into effect. The wedding was controversial because there were both white and black guests at the ceremony, going against
racial segregation Racial segregation is the separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, ...
practices. Guests included prominent figures such as Judge Joseph G. Wilson, the wife of Judge Reuben Boise, and the wife of city councilman Lucien E. Pratt. Reverend Obed Dickinson, an abolitionist, presided over the marriage.
Daniel Waldo Daniel Waldo (September 10, 1762 – July 30, 1864) was an American clergyman, born in Windham, Connecticut. He served in the American Revolutionary War and later became a missionary and clergyman. In 1856 at age 94, Waldo was named Chaplai ...
, although he didn't attend the wedding, publicly supported the couple and gave them "several gifts of great value with which to start their home." Newspaper editor
Asahel Bush Asahel Bush (June 4, 1824 – December 23, 1913) was an American newspaper publisher and businessman in Salem, Oregon. As publisher of the ''Oregon Statesman'' newspaper, he moved the paper to Salem when the territorial capital moved to that city. ...
called the wedding "shameful" in the local newspaper and in a letter to
Matthew Deady Matthew Paul Deady (May 12, 1824 – March 24, 1893) was a politician and jurist in the Oregon Territory and the state of Oregon of the United States. He served on the Oregon Supreme Court from 1853 to 1859, at which time he was appointed to the n ...
he wrote, "It was a negro equality sentiment mixed up with a little snob-aristocracy."
The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...
retorted to Bush's negative press coverage by saying, "the heart of a man who could be guilty of making light even of a poor
mulatto ( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...
girl's feelings is blacker than the skin of any African." News of the wedding traveled all the way to the
San Francisco Bulletin The ''San Francisco Evening Bulletin'' was a newspaper in San Francisco, founded as the ''Daily Evening Bulletin'' in 1855 by James King of William. King used the newspaper to crusade against political corruption, and built it into having the hig ...
, where it was written that the wedding included, "distinguished white ladies and gentlemen, who saw proper to witness the ceremony and participate in the festive proceedings."


Walla Walla, Washington

The Bogles settled in
Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,339 as of 2023. The combined populat ...
, where, in addition to Richard's job as a barber, they started a 200-acre ranch. America Waldo Bogle was known as "a lady of estimable character, noted for her deeds of charity to the poor and suffering." She died in Walla Walla on December 28, 1903, and her husband died a year later on November 22, 1904. On the day of her funeral all the barbershops in Walla Walla closed early out of a "profound respect the employing barbers entertain for the late Mrs. Richard A. Bogle." America and Richard had eight children together. Her three older children died between 1876 and 1878. Her five surviving children were Arthur, Warren, Belle, Katherine and Waldo, and the sons followed in their father's footsteps and became barbers.


Legacy

America and Richard's commitment to hard work and community involvement was continued in subsequent generations of the Bogle family. Examples include: her daughter-in-law Bonnie Bogle (1885–1953) who wrote a regular column in the Seattle Enterprise newspaper and was very active in Portland's civil rights and women's suffrage movements; her granddaughter-in-law Kathryn Bogle (1906–2003), a social worker, activist and freelance journalist in Portland; and her great-grandson, Richard "Dick" Bogle, who became a television newsman and the second African-American city commissioner in Portland, Oregon. In 2023 Salem Oregon's Bush House Museum (named for its original owner, newspaperman
Asahel Bush Asahel Bush (June 4, 1824 – December 23, 1913) was an American newspaper publisher and businessman in Salem, Oregon. As publisher of the ''Oregon Statesman'' newspaper, he moved the paper to Salem when the territorial capital moved to that city. ...
, and part of
Bush's Pasture Park Bush's Pasture Park (90.5 acres) is a public park and botanical garden in Salem, Oregon, United States. It is the site of the Asahel Bush House, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, and is now operated as the Bus ...
) dedicated one room of the museum as the America Waldo Bogle Gallery. The gallery includes a permanent collection of commissioned paintings by
Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...
artist Jeremy Okai Davis representing portraits of early Oregon Black pioneers, including one of America and her family.  The gallery was named in America's honor "because the stories of nineteenth-century Black women are rarely told, particularly against the legacies of powerful men like Asahel Bush." "Asahel Bush wouldn't have invited America Waldo Bogle… or presumably any future portrait subjects into his home. He didn't regard their lives as worthy of consideration… Thankfully, this is no longer Bush's choice to make."


References

{{reflist 1844 births 1903 deaths Farmers from Missouri People from Walla Walla, Washington Ranchers from Washington (state) Oregon pioneers Washington (state) pioneers African-American history of Oregon African-American history of Washington (state) African Americans in the American Old West People from Salem, Oregon