Reverend Josiah Lamberson Parrish (January 14, 1806 – May 31, 1895) was an American missionary in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

and trustee of the

Oregon Institute The Oregon Institute was an American school located in the Willamette Valley of the Oregon Country during the 19th century. Begun in 1842, it was the first school built for European Americans west of Missouri. Founded by members of the Methodist Mi ...

at its founding. A native of New York, he also participated in the

Champoeg Meetings The Champoeg Meetings were the first attempts at formal governance by European-American and French Canadian pioneers in the Oregon Country on the Pacific Northwest coast of North America. Between 1841 and 1843, a series of public councils was he ...

that led to the formation of 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 ...

in 1843. Parrish was married three times and was the first breeder of pure-bred sheep in

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 ...

Early life

Josiah Parrish was born in

Onondaga County, New York Onondaga County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 476,516. The county seat is Syracuse, New York, Syracuse. The county i ...

, to Sally Parrish (''née'' Lamberson) and Benjamin Parrish on January 14, 1806.Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''.

Binfords & Mort Publishing Binford & Mort Publishing is a book publishing company located in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1930, the company was previously known as Metropolitan Press and Binfords & Mort. At one time they were the largest book publisher in th ...

, 1956. His mother was of Dutch and Puritan heritage born in New Jersey, with his father of English lineage born in 1777 in Connecticut.Gaston, Joseph. 1911
Portland, Oregon, its history and builders: in connection with the antecedent explorations, discoveries, and movements of the pioneers that selected the site for the great city of the Pacific
Chicago: S.J. Clarke Pub. Co. Josiah was the oldest of ten children in the family. He attended the public schools of his native state. At age sixteen the family moved and Josiah became employed on the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

at Lockport. Josiah was married in 1833 in New York to Elizabeth Winn (died 1869), and they had four children, one of whom was Samuel B. Parrish. In 1839, the trained blacksmith volunteered to join Jason Lee's mission in the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, the ...

. Parrish and around 50 others sailed on the ship ''

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

'' around Cape Horn in South America to the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

and 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 ...

in what has been called the Great Reinforcement of the

Methodist Mission The Methodist Mission was the Methodist Episcopal Church's 19th-century conversion efforts in the Pacific Northwest. Local Indigenous cultures were introduced to western culture and Christianity. Superintendent Jason Lee (missionary), Jason Lee was ...

. They set sail on October 9, 1839, from New York City.

Missionary

Parrish and the others arrived in Oregon in May 1840. Beginning in February 1841 Parrish became involved in the movement towards creating a white colonist government in the Willamette Valley, which on May 3, 1843, at the last of the

he voted in favor of creating the

. The vote to create a government passed 52-50. During the two years of on and off meetings he helped to build the '' Star of Oregon'' that was sailed to California by a crew led by

Joseph Gale Joseph Goff Gale (April 29, 1807 – December 13, 1881) was an American pioneer, trapper, entrepreneur, and politician who contributed to the early settlement of the Oregon Country. There he assisted in the construction of the first sailing vesse ...

. In California the vessel was sold in order to purchase cattle to be driven overland to the Willamette Valley. On February 1, 1842, Parrish was selected as a trustee to the new

, a school established to teach the children of the missionaries that later became

Willamette University Willamette University is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with locations in Salem, Oregon, Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United ...

. Also in 1842, Parrish moved to the

Clatsop Plains The Clatsop Plains are an area of wetlands and sand dunes between the Northern Oregon Coast Range and Pacific Ocean in northwestern Oregon in the United States. They stretch from near the mouth of the Columbia River south to the vicinity of Tillam ...

and took over the Clatsop Mission from Joseph H. Frost. In 1844, when the Methodist Mission was dissolved by George Gary, Parrish purchased the Clatsop Plains mission. From 1849 until 1854 he worked as an Indian agent in the now

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 ...

. As a rancher he was the first breeder in Oregon of pure-breed sheep, and had brought the first white clover seed to Oregon when he migrated aboard the Lausanne.

Later life

Parrish became involved in a land dispute involving the authority of the laws from the Provisional Government with Daniel H. Lownsdale. Parrish took the matter to court in a case that made its way through the

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest State court (United States), state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.

and to the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

in '' Lownsdale v. Parrish'', 62 U.S. 290 (1858). In 1868, Parrish drove the first spike in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, for the

Oregon and California Railroad The Oregon and California Railroad was formed from the Oregon Central Railroad when it was the first to operate a stretch south of Portland in 1869. This qualified the railroad for land grants in California, whereupon the name of the railroad ...

. In 1869, his wife, Elizabeth Parrish, donated land to help create the

Lee Mission Cemetery Lee Mission Cemetery is a pioneer cemetery in Salem, Oregon, United States. History Lee Mission Cemetery was established in 1842 with the burial of Lucy Thompson Lee, the second wife of Rev. Jason Lee. The cemetery's gate has the date 1838, whi ...

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 ...

, with Josiah as one of the incorporators. Later that year his wife Elizabeth died, with Josiah remarrying in 1870 to Jane (Jennie) Lichtenthaler Pickett. Married in Portland, the couple had two children, Gertrude Grace and Josephine Leilani before Jane, known as Jennie, died in 1887. Jennie graduated from Willamette Medical School in 1879 and practiced in both Salem and Portland. In 1888, Josiah married a final time, to Mrs. M. A. Pierce. Josiah Parrish died on May 31, 1895, at the age of 89 and is buried at the Lee Cemetery. Parrish Middle School in Salem was built on his old Donation Land Claim and is named in his honor.Parrish Middle School
Salem Online History. Retrieved on September 17, 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parrish, Josiah Champoeg Meetings Willamette University people People from Onondaga County, New York Methodist Mission in Oregon 1806 births 1895 deaths People from Salem, Oregon Oregon pioneers Ranchers from Oregon

Early life

Missionary

Later life

See also

References