William Duran
A Biography by Richard Duran
William Duran was born November 18, 1827 in Elizabethtown, Hamilton
County, OH and died October 6, 1902 in Athena, Oregon
and is buried in
the Athena Cemetery. William married Jane Catherine Boothby on January
18 1854 in Polk County, Oregon. Jane
was born August 6, 1838 Pittsfield,
IL, daughter of Reason Rounds Boothby and Mary Jane Waller. William
and Jane were
divorced in 1880 and in 1884 Jane married John McFarland.
Jane and her new husband moved to Eugene, Oregon where she died
April 9,
1915. Jane and John McFarland are buried in the Pioneer Cemetery,
Eugene, OR.
No evidence has been located as yet to indicate when William moved to
Oregon, most likely it was in 1849. In 1850, William was
listed both in
the Polk County, Oregon Census, as well as the 1850 census of Pike County,
Illinois.. He had 314 acres on the
Willamette River close to the mouth
of La Creole Creek. The old town of Eola was laid out on a portion of his
land.
By 1865 the town of Eola had started to decline. William Duran
and his father-in-law, Reason Boothby, moved their families to
Whiskey Creek near present day Waitsburg, Washington. In 1871 William returned
to Oregon and took up a homestead on
Dry Creek, just north of Weston. He
also took a position with Wells Fargo as division manager of the Blue Mountain
Stage
Station near Weston, Oregon.
Jane Duran reportedly told her granddaughter, Cassie Beck, that
her father, Reason Rounds Boothby, ordered her to marry William
althoughhe was twenty years older. According to the divorce proceedings, Jane had
left William in 1876, she probably moved to
Weston where she had property. William filed for divorce in 1881 and, after the divorce was final, moved
to Morrow County.
Children
i. Rhoda Mary, b. 26 Feb 1855, Eola, Oregon Territory
ii. Emma Jane, b. 23 Sep 1857 Eola, Oregon Territory;
iii. Reason Rounds, b. 21 Mar 1860 Eola, Oregon
iv. Alfred John, b. 27 Sep 1865 Eola, Oregon
v. George William Bolter, b. 1 Jul 1869 near Waitsburg, WA
vi. Henry Haley, b. 16 Mar 1872, Weston OR;
Sources:
1. "The Restless Durans, Richard R. Duran, Sr.", pub. 1974
2. "Willamette Landings", by Howard McKinley Corning, pub 1973
3. Family Bible records, copies held by Richard R. Duran, Jr., Hayward,
CA, 1999
4. Umatilla County, OR, court records-box 267-49
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County Coordinator:
Gayle Triller
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