Coos  Families

From time to time, I find a variety of information relating to Coos County families. Some of this information is provided to me directly from a descendant of the family, some I have found on the Oregon Roots mailing list, and some I have gleaned from my own research. Please feel free to send me relevant information at any time (preferably ready to go online as is).
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Myrtle Point Enterprise Friday, Jan 2, 1903 A very pretty wedding took place Wednesday, December 31, 1902 at 8pm at the home of Mr. and Mrs. T W McCloskey, when their sister, Miss Fannie Self was united in marriage to Mr. Jasper O. Osborn, Rev. Thos Barklow, of the German Baptist church, being the officiating minister. The house was decorated with cedar plants and flowers and presented a beautiful appearance. The contracting parties were united within the enclosure of an immense arch of evergreens, Miss Sarah Wagner acting as bridesmaid and Bert McCloskey as best man. The bride is a well known, popular and highly respected young lady and has many friends. The groom is one of the excellent young men of our town. He is a sober industrious young man and is deservedly popular. The Enterprise joins with their many friends in wishing them health, happiness and prosperity through life.

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Myrtle Point Enterprise, June 23, 1905 Another one of the early settlers of Coos county has passed away in the person of John Hayes Sr., who died on the 16th of this month. Grandpa Hayes was born in Buncombe county, North Carolina, March 18, 1825, being 80 years 2 months and 28 days at the time of his death.

Having successfully found a mate for his life work, Mr. Hayes was married to Miss Susan Wagner Nov. 26, 1854. Fifteen children blessed this union - eight girls and seven boys, of whom four daughters and seven sons survive. Twentyeight grand-children gathered around the knees of the aged couple.

In 1865 Mr. Hayes moved to Tennessee and lived there until 1872 when he and his family journeyed to Coos county, Oregon and settled on what is known as the Uncle Chris Lehnherr place at Rowland Prairie. Two years later he took up his home in the North Carolina Settlement and lived there until the time of his death. Feeling the call of relition, Grandpa Hayes united with the German Baptist church July 22, 1900 and has lived a consistent and christian life ever since, and been a devoted attendant of that church.

Funeral services were conducted Sunday June 18, 1905 at the Brethren church, Myrtle Point by Rev. Thos. Barklow, the burial taking place at the Norway cemetery where a large body of friends were in attendance. The sympathy of the entire community is with the bereaved family.

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From Kristina Krause, Salem, OR
Here are a  couple of census extractions for the LAKSONEN family that lived in Coos County in the early part of this century.  The daughter Edna G married a Joseph DEENIN, who had moved from Baker County, OR to Coos County, OR when he was about 14 years old (or in approximately 1908).  Though I haven't been able to find this DEENIN on either the 1910 or 1920 Federal Censuses.

1910 Federal Census
Ten Mile Precinct, Coos County, OR - Supervisor's District No. 1; Enumeration District 58, Page 96B - Enumerated on 22-27 April 1910

LAKSONEN, August        40      FIN     FIN     FIN (Marriage 1; Married for 10
                                                     yrs; US in 1887;  Naturalized;    Speaks English;
                                                     Occupation: Farmer; General Farming)
                    Alice I (wife)  29      OR     SCOT   SCOT  (Marriage No. 1; Married
                                                    for 10 yrs; Gave birth to 5 children;  Children still
                                                    living: 5)
                   Edward A          9       OR      FIN     OR
                   Trinette F         7       OR      FIN     OR
                   Florence C        6       OR      FIN     OR
                   Edna G              4       OR      FIN     OR
                   Margaret C       3       OR      FIN     OR

1920 Federal Census
Illegible Precinct No. 2, Coos County, OR Supervisor's District No. 1; Enumeration District 122, Page 189B Family No: 42; Dwelling No. 42; Enumerated on 9 Jan 1920

LAKSONEN, August              50      FIN     FIN     FIN   (Owned property
                                                          w/mortgage; Male; White; Married;
                                                          Year of Immigration: 1887; Naturalized: 1897;
                                                          Read/Write: Y/Y; Mother Tongue: Finnish;
                                                          Occupation: Farmer)
                       Alice I (wife)      38      OR      SCOT    SCOT
                       Edward A (son)  19      OR      FIN       OR
                       Florence R (dau)16      OR      FIN     OR
                       Edna G (dau)      14      OR      FIN     OR
                       Margreat (dau)   13      OR      FIN     OR
                       Roderick (son)   3-6/12 OR      FIN     OR

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SELF, A. M.; passed away Dec. 3, 1901 after a lingering illness of several months. He was  born in Alabama in 1834 and was 67 years of age at the time of his death. Mr. Self came to the Pacific Coast in 1850 and in 1890 came to Coos county where he has since resided. Funeral conducted by Rev. Harnish of U. B. chruch. Buried in Norway cemetery. Three adult daughters are left to mourn their loss. -- Myrtle Point Enterprise, Dec. 6, 1901

SELF, Green B. ; one of the pioneers of this county, died at his home near Coquille last Sunday, Mar. 1, 1903, age 67 years. Mr. Self is a native of Tennessee and came to California in the early '60s, a few years later came to Coos county where he has since resided. He leaves 2 sons, Arthur and Charles and one daughter, Miss Emma. The remains were laid to rest in the Masonic cemetery in Coquille. -- Myrtle Point Enterprise, Mar. 6, 1903

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Source: Centennial History of Oregon, Vol. IV pg 1007

John and Susan (Wagner) HAYES
In the death of John Hayes in 1905, agricultural interests in Coos countyOregon lost a worthy representative and a man who had won success for
himself and added 160 acres of well improved and developed land to the
wealth and resources of his state.  He was born on March 18, 1825, and was a son of William and Dolly (Castle) Hayes, natives of North Carolina.  After their marriage Mr. Hayes parents removed to Tennessee and remained in that state during the period of the Civil war.  When hostilities closed they returned to North Carolina where they both died.

John Hayes received his education in the public schools of North Carolinaand Tennessee.  His residence in Oregon dates from 1872, in which year hesettled on the south fork of the Coquille river, where he took up 160 acres of land as a squatter's right.  He began its cultivation and during the years of his residence in Oregon constantly improved and developed it until upon his death it was one of the mose prosperous enterprises of its kind on the Coquille river.  He farmed along progressive and scientific lines and gave his attention to every phase of his work.  He improved his property by modern and sanitary buildings and planted his acres in the most suitable grains.  His labors were productive of good results because they were followed along practical lines, and his continued success ranked him at the time of his death among the representative men of his district .  He remained upon his original tract until his death in 1905.

On Nov. 26, 1856, Mr. Hayes was married to Miss Susan Wagner, a native ofJackson county Tennessee, and a daughter of David and Catherine (Arnold)Wagner.

To Mr. & Mrs. Hayes were born the following children:  James, Henry, Joseph, John, Jacob and Thomas, all of whom are residents of Coos county; Peter, who owns 160 acrs of land on the Coquille river and who makes his home with his mother; Dolly, deceased, who married C. Gant; Julia, the wife of Benjamin Gant, of Coos county; Lurae, who married C. Gant after his first wife, her sister, Dolly died, a resident of Coos county; Mary the wife of Leonard Hartly, of the same district; Eva, deceased; one, who died in infancy; and Margaret, who passed away in Tennessee.

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David and Catherine (Arnold) WAGNER
David and Catherine (Arnold) Wagner were born in the eastern part of
Tennessee.  They lived in Tennessee until 1872, in which year they came to Oregon and settled on the south fork of the Coquille river, where the father bought a tract of land and entered a claim for 27 additional acres.  He was constantly adding to his holdings and at the time of his retirement was the owner of 194 acres of highly improved and developed land.  He abandoned agricultural labors about 1897 and went to North Carolina to spend the remaining years of his life.  He died in that state at the advanced age of 92 years.  His wife had passed away 10 years before.  To their union were born 13 children, 7 of whom are still living:  Sarah, who lives in Coos county; Susan, the wife of John Hayes; Rebecca; Elizabeth; Nancy and John L., of Coos county.

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Orvil Dodge, for many years a resident of Myrtle Point, died at the home of his daughter, Mrs.. C. C. Carter, on South 4th St., August 30, 1914.  Orvil Ovando Dodge, son of Norman and Deborah Dodge, was born Jan. 5, 1839, at Gerard, Crawford county, Penn.  When he was 2 years old, his parents moved to Loraine county, Ohio, where his mother died 2 years later.  His father, some time after remarried.  When Orvil was 5 years old his Uncle David Dodge took him to his home in Penn. where he lived about a year when he returned to his father's home in Montaway township, Portage Co., Ohio, where he was placed in a school.

When the boy was 11 years old, his grand-father, William Press, made a journey to Kirkland, Ohio where the boy was then living, and took him to Point Peter, New York State.  Samuel Kent, who had married a sister of the boy's mother, lived about 14 miles from the grandfathers' home in Chautauqua county, and he took Orvil home with him and placed him in school.  After a few years the father went further west and eventually settled in Williams county, Ohio.

At the age of 16 Orvil went to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and engaged in the occupation of driving stage, but was stricken with fever and it was with much difficulty that he finally arrived home again.

When he arrived at the age of 18, he went and settled in Sycamore, DeKalb county, Illinois.  In the course of a year he was married to Alice Walrod, and in the spring of 1860, crossed the plains to California, with horse and mule-teams.  Although several trains of immigrants were massacred, the party that Mr.. Dodge was with,
had no difficulty with the Indians.  There were 40 well-armed men in the train.  Mr.. Dodge settled on what was then known as the upper Sacramento river in California.

Subsequently he engaged in the saw milll business, but after 3 months of successful operation, the Indians burned the mill and all the lumber he had.  In August, 1861, he moved to Jackson county, Oregon, and engaged in mining, but soon thereafter a cavalry troop was being organized and on the last day of December of that year, he enlisted in the First Oregon Cavalry, and served 13 months in fights against the Indians of the Snake River county.  He was discharged at Fort Dallas, on account of injuries received while in service.

In 1863 he was divorced from Alice, his first wife, and given the care and custody of the 2 children: Lydia Jane, born in DeKalb county, Ill. (she being an infant when they crossed the plains) who is now Mrs. L.H. Hawley and resides in Benton County, Oregon; and Norman Ovando, born in Jackson county in March 1862, who also resides in Benton county.

In 1887 the subject of this sketch was married to Louisa A. Schroeder of Coos county.  To this union were born: Henry Orvil Augustus, who lived but 6 years; Dora Belle, now Mrs. O R. Willard of Bandon; Edgar Allen of this city; Alta E. now Mrs. C. C. Carter of this city; Daisy Dell, now Mrs. Ross B. Deyoe of Riverside, Calif.  Besides there, there are 27 grandchildren and a number of great grandchildren.

Soon after his discharge from the army Orvil Dodge came to Coos county and after following the photography business for a number of years, established a drug store at Empire City in 1867, later adding general merchandise.  In 1869 he sold that business and moved to this vicinity where he engaged in the practice of law till 1889, when he established a newspaper at Myrtle Point, called the West Oregonian, he edited the same for 5 years when he sold the plant to parties at Coquille City.

In 1892 he was appointed United States Court Commissioner and in 1899, received the appointment of Receiver of Public Moneys at the General Land Office at Washington, D.C., serving 3 years and 7 months.

He returned to Oregon 1903, and traded some real estate for a gold mine in the Salmon Mountain district.  Was elected secretary and manager of the Salmon Mountain Coarse Gold Mining Company which was organized to develop this property.

For 4 successive years Mr. Dodge was a member of the Rivers and Harbors Congress and during his term much improvement work was done in this district.

In 1896 the Pioneer's Society of Coos & Curry Counties appointed Mr. Dodge to write and publish a history of the 2 counties, which he did and the book is now in the homes of many of the old settlers.  He was a contributor to the Centennial History of Oregon which was published about 3 years ago, an in earlier days wrote many articles to outside publication regarding the early history of this section of the state and the development of its resources.

In 1906 Mr. Dodge founded the Coquille Valley Sentinel and edited that newspaper for about 3 years. . .
Burial in Myrtle Point cemetery.

Myrtle Point Enterprise, Sept. 3, 1914
 This can also be found in: Pioneers and Incidents of the Upper Coquille Valley by Alice H. Wooldridge.
for additional information on this family, contact Darla

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Willard, Thomas R., was born in Madison County, New York, July 29, 1825, and came to Oregon in August  1868, and settled at Coquille City, but afterwards took lands on Beaver slough and completed his title, but his  mechanical genius would not be continued on a farm, hence he has been the principal contractor, builder and  cabinet maker of Coquille City, since his arrival in 1868.  He was the author of a very creditable work on "The  Use of the Square," that imparted ideas to those who were unskilled.  A residence of thirty years in a growing  town has endeared Uncle Tom to every citizen of the place.  He has been a prominent Mason since that order  was established in town, holding various important trusts in the order.  He is a brother of the late T. B.  Willard, the founder of the town.  His wife's maiden name was Rachel Shaw, and their children's names are  Mary, Rufus, Titus, Bell, Eliza and Bates.  The most of who are well-known throughout the Coquille valley.  T.R. Willard died while this work was in press.

This is from Orville Dodge's book History of Coos and Curry County published in 1898.

This next section came from A Century of Coos and Curry by Emil R. Peterson and Alfred Powers published  in 1952.

Coquille, County Seat

1870--On July 1, post office established; Titus B. Willard.  Postmaster.
1885--Incorporated
1896--Became the countyseat.
1950--Population 3,523

The site had been owned by Evan Cunningham, who had a wharf on the river known as Cunningham's Landing.  In 1870, Titus B. Willard acquired the property and had a post office established with himself as  postmaster.

Though the name was Coquille from the first, it was pronounced Ko-kwell.  Sometime later, perhaps around  the turn of the century, someone began calling it Ko-Keel.  This pronunciation is now the commonly  accepted, though many pioneers stick to the original Ko-kwell.

By 1876 a move was started by some Marshfielders to have the county-seat changed from Empire City.  People in the Coquille Valley felt that is a change was to be made, a geographical center should be selected.  For 20 years the fight went on.  By a majority vote, in 1896, Coquille became the county-seat.  It was  incorporated as a city in 1885.

Till M. Vowel had opened a store in 1871, said to have been the first on the Coquille River.  Vowel sold to  Alkeny Nosler, who later sold to John T. Moulton, a name long to be connected with the mercantile business  of Coquille.  A newspaper, sawmill, and other enterprises came.

. . .John T. Moulton, settled when he took up a homestead in 1866.  The father put in the machinery for the  Lane blacksand mines.  In 1871, the family moved to what is now Coquille and occupied the house which was
built by T. B. Willard.  Mr. Willard was the only other person in the city at that time.

This one is a brief biography of Orson R. Willard the son of Titas B. Willard.  It was published in Orville  Dodge's History of Coos and Curry Counties.

Willard, Orson R., Sr., (deceased) was born in Berrien County, Michigan August 22, 1841, and came to Coos  county June 28, 1871. and settled a mile and a half above Coquille City.

. . .Orson R. Willard the subject of this sketch, served with great credit in both the army and navy, one year  on board the U.S. steamer "Anacestra," attached to the Potomac and Rappahannock flotilla, under the  command of the U.S.N., and promoted to quartermaster.  He re-enlisted December 1, 1862, for one year, on the  steamer "Colorado," U.S.N., and was discharged March 24, 1863, on account of sickness.  He re-enlisted in Company D. First Regiment of Illinois light artillery.  January 4, 1864, to serve three years, but during the war was discharged, July 28, 1865.  At the close of the war he was appointed corporal in Company D., September 20, 1864, and also appointed sergeant in Company D on the 11th of November, 1864, by the commanding officer, George Cunningham.

This information was collected from several sources.
for additional information, contact Darla

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