Cornelius Gilliam (April 13, 1798 – March 24, 1848) was a

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a person who is among the first at something that is new to a community. A pioneer as a settler is among the first settling at a place that is new to the settler community. A historic example are American pioneers, perso ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

who was best known as the commander of the volunteer forces against the Cayuse in the

Cayuse War The Cayuse War (1847–1855) was an armed conflict between the Cayuse people of the Northwestern United States and settlers, backed by the U.S. government. The conflict was triggered by the Whitman massacre of 1847, where the Cayuse attacked a ...

. A native of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, he served in the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans led by Black Hawk (Sauk leader), Black Hawk, a Sauk people, Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of ...

and

Seminole Wars The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were a series of three military conflicts between the United States and the Seminoles that took place in Florida between about 1816 and 1858. The Seminoles are a Native American nation which co ...

before settling 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 ...

. There he served in the militia against the

Mormons Mormons are a Religious denomination, religious and ethnocultural group, cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's d ...

, was a county sheriff, and a member of the

Missouri State Senate The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 181,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two yea ...

before immigrating to the

Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long Oregon boundary dispute, dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been demarcat ...

Early life

Cornelius Gilliam was born in

on April 13, 1798.Corning, Howard M. (1989) ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 100. According to one of Gilliam's daughters, Martha Collins, he began working as a

slave catcher A slave catcher is a person employed to track down and return escaped slaves to their enslavers. The first slave catchers in the Americas were active in European colonies in the West Indies during the sixteenth century. In colonial Virginia a ...

while in his teens. Collins said that her father was highly successful at forcing slaves back into captivity and was elected sheriff on the strength of this reputation. In North Carolina he married Mary Crawford in 1820, and they had eight children, six of those daughters. He fought against the Native Americans in 1832 during the Black Hawk War in the Midwest, and in 1837 in the Seminole Wars in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. During the Seminole War he served as a captain. Following the war he settled in Missouri where he continued his military service as a captain in the state militia during the battles with the Mormons in 1838. That year he was elected to the Missouri Senate to represent District 12, and was re-elected in 1842 to represent District 10. In Missouri, Gilliam was also the sheriff of

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Fl ...

Oregon

In 1844, he headed west over the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...

to the unorganized

. Gilliam was in charge of the wagon train at the beginning of the journey, though the wagon train later split into smaller groups. After the

Whitman massacre The Whitman massacre (also known as the Whitman killings and the Tragedy at Waiilatpu) was the killing of American missionaries Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, along with eleven others, on November 29, 1847. They were killed by a small group of C ...

in 1847, 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 ...

organized a force of about 600 and made Gilliam colonel to prosecute the Cayuse. In 1848, he led his forces east to engage the Native Americans, arriving at The Dalles in February.Fagan, David D. 1885. ''History of Benton County, Oregon: including its geology, topography, soil and productions, together with the early history of the Pacific Coast, compiled from the most authentic sources : a full political history ... incidents of pioneer life and biographical sketches of early and prominent citizens : also containing the history of the cities, towns, churches, schools, secret societies, etc.'' regon D.D. Fagan. His forces pressed on to the Whitman Mission, arriving in March.

Death and legacy

Gilliam then headed back to The Dalles to resupply that settlement and then on to

Oregon City Oregon City is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, located on the Willamette River near the southern limits of the Portland metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 37,572. Established in 1829 ...

to report to Governor

George Abernethy George Abernethy (October 7, 1807 – March 2, 1877) was an American politician, pioneer, notable entrepreneur, and first governor of Oregon under the provisional government based in the Willamette Valley, an area later a part of the American sta ...

when he was accidentally shot and killed in what is now Morrow County on March 24, 1848. His body was returned to Oregon City by Henry A. G. Lee and he was buried in Polk County at the Dallas Cemetery.

Gilliam County, Oregon Gilliam County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,995, making it the third-least populous county in Oregon. The county seat is Condon. The county was established in 1885 and is ...

is named for him. The ship ''Cornelius Gilliam'' was also named for him; it was used in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in the U.S. Merchant Service.

References

External links

* Susan Badger Doyle
Cornelius Gilliam
in the ''

Oregon Encyclopedia ''The Oregon Encyclopedia of History and Culture'' is a collaborative encyclopedia focused on the history and culture of the U.S. state of Oregon. Description The encyclopedia is a project of Portland State University's History Department, the O ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilliam, Cornelius 1848 deaths Missouri sheriffs Cayuse War People from Gilliam County, Oregon Members of the Provisional Government of Oregon American people of the Black Hawk War American people of the Seminole Wars People who traveled the Oregon Trail People from Polk County, Oregon Missouri state senators 1798 births Deaths by firearm in Oregon Accidental deaths in Oregon People from Buncombe County, North Carolina Firearm accident victims in the United States 19th-century members of the Missouri General Assembly

Early life

Oregon

Death and legacy

See also

References

External links