The Great Reinforcement

Jason Lee's early attempts to recruit immigrants to Oregon County was strictly of a religious nature.  In early 1835 he wrote to the Methodist Board of Mission requesting recruits to aid in soul-saving.  Two years passed and a ship appeared at the mouth of the Columbia River with 13 men, women and children on board who were dispatched by the board in response to Lee's request.  One became Lee's wife in 1837 - the first Christian wedding ceremony to take place in Oregon.

The settlers were becoming anxious for the protection of the American flag.  In 1838, Lee traveled from Oregon overland to the East to get the settler's case before the US Congress, to find money, and also new recruits.  He failed of course to make Oregon a territory yet, but 50 people were willing (and eager) to travel west and establish themselves in Lee's area.

On October 9, 1839, these would-be "Oregonians" set sail from New York, arriving at the mouth of the Columbia River seven mouth later.  "The Great Reinforcement" as it became known, firmly established American presence in Oregon Country.  Jason Lee (religion), Nathaniel Wyeth (business), and Hall Jackson Kelley (expansionism) were the seeds to the development of America in the Pacific Northwest.

As a side note- here is a description of a neighbor of Jason Lee, building a home.  They start by living in a tent...

"The rainy season is fast approaching and a house to shelter is needed.  Our house advances slowly - caught in a violent storm drenching our tent, a poor protection.  In a few weeks, all the time hard at it, and the roof was completed, a good chimney, made of sticks and clay, a fireplace at one end.  Floors laid of plank split from the fir, and hewn on the upper side, door procured in the same way and hung on wooden hinges.  Then table, stools, and finally the luxury of chairs added to our self-made comforts.  Our mansion was built of logs 20-30 feet and lighted by four small windows.  The sashes partly made by Mr. Jason Lee with his jack-knife." 

Next time - Thomas Nuttall - Science Explorer
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On this Day in Pioneer History: "On January 5, 1846,  the U.S. House of Representatives passes a resolution calling for an end to British-American sharing of the Oregon region. The United States, one congressman asserted, had “the right of our manifest destiny to spread over our whole continent.”