Methodist Mission - Operations

Operations

In the early years of the Mission, Lee also preached to the Catholic French Canadian settlers of the French Prairie. He performed marriages and baptisms for that group as no Catholics priests were yet in the Willamette Valley. This continued until François Norbert Blanchet arrived and held the first Mass on the French Prairie on January 6, 1840.

Soon after building the Mission, Lee and his men built the Indian Mission School to be used to teach the Native American children the ways of Western society. Philip Edwards was the first teacher of the group which totaled around 30 students. These students came from both Native tribes and from the families of the French Canadian settlers, many of whom had married Native Americans. In 1835, the first class had 14 Native students. Seven died and five ran away from the school. The following year the school admitted 25 students. Sixteen became sick, and only one student converted to Christianity.

In 1837, Dr. Elijah White and seven other missionaries arrived aboard the ship Hamilton to reinforce the Mission. Others joining from this group include Alanson Beers and William H. Willson, and several women. The women included White's and Beers' wives, Elvira Johnson, Susan Downing, and Anna Maria Pittman. Five children also arrived with the party, with the entire group arriving in May. Men of the settlement and single mission women promptly chose mates. On June 16, 1837, Cyrus Shepard married Susan Downing and Jason Lee married Anna Pittman. Two more ministers, David Leslie and H. K. W. Perkins, arrived at the Mission on September 7, 1837.

In March 1838, Jason Lee and Phillip Edwards traveled to the East to recruit more settlers for the Oregon Country. On this journey they carried a petition signed by 29 pioneers including Ewing Young, asking the United States Congress to create a territory out of Oregon and extend its jurisdiction over the region. While Lee was away, his wife died in childbirth. Lee also lectured along the way and on the East Coast, leading to the raising of $42,000 for the cause. In addition, he attracted nearly 40 adults (with 18 children), who sailed to Oregon and the Mission.

This second group arrived at the Mission in October 1839 aboard the ship Lausanne, increasing the number of people at the Mission to sixty. They were known as the “Great Reinforcement” and included had 32 men and women, along with 18 of their children. The Methodist Mission opened branches at Nisqually north of the Columbia River, on the Clatsop Plains near the mouth of the Columbia, and at the falls on the Willamette River near what is now Oregon City. Notable arrivals with this group included Doctor Ira L. Babcock, George Abernethy, Alvin F. Waller, Josiah Lamberson Parrish, Gustavus Hines, Lewis H. Judson, W. W. Kone, Joseph H. Frost, and J. P. Richmond.