Location of the Charles Osterhoudt
farm derived from a mortgage dated June 7, 1887
Newspaper and other accounts state that
Charles Osterhoudt moved to Marion County Oregon from
Illinois in 1866, along with at least two of his brothers,
Hiram and Elias. However, the 1880 census shows the entire
Charles Osterhoudt family living on a farm in Waverly,
Bremer, Iowa. Elmer's father William was born there in 1870. There are no
census records from 1890, as they were destroyed in a fire
on January 10, 1921, but the 1900 census shows the family
back in Marion County Oregon, living
on a farm near Scotts Mills, Oregon. This is where Elmer was
born.
According to the Scotts Mills Historical
Society, a fire in the Marion County Courthouse in the early
1900s destroyed all property records. This makes it
impossible to find an actual deed to the Charles Osterhoudt farm
where Elmer was born,
but the mortgage document shown below gives the location.
Notes concerning the text in the document:
Charles and Betsy Osterhoudt were Elmer Osterhoudt’s grandparents. Elmer was
born on their farm. Betsy Osterhoudt's maiden name was Woodruff. Cornelius Woodruff was Betsy's father. Sarah H. Coffin was Betsy’s sister.
“Donation Land Claim” – The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 granted
320 acres of land to every white settler or “half breed Indian.” A
married couple received 640
acres. The Osterhoudt farm was located on the DLC of Thomas P. Jack.
“Chain” – A chain is a unit measuring 66 feet in length. There are
80 chains in a mile.
The “county road leading to Silverton” is route 213, or Cascade
Highway. Charles and Betsy are buried in Miller Cemetery on Cascade
Highway, about one mile from the farm described in the mortgage.
Also buried there is Luella Dicken, one of their daughters, sister
of Wilbert Osterhoudt (Elmer’s father) as well as Elmer's mother,
Minnie.
“T. 6 S of Range one (1)” is a map from Metsker’s Map of Clackamas
County, Oregon. It is shown below the mortgage deed.
Partial Transcript:
This indenture Witnesseth that We C H Osterhoudt and Betsy Oster-
houdt his wife for and in the consideration of the sum
of Six Hundred DOLLARS
to them in hand paid, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged,
have bargained, sold and conveyed,
and by these presents do bargain,
sell and convey unto E S Remington
the following premises, to wit: Beginning at the front 36.20 chains
East of
the South West corner of the Donation Land Claim of T. P Jack
in T. 6 S of Range one (1) East Running thence East to the S. E.
Corner
of said Donation Claim Thence North 19.08 chains Thence East 11.06
chains to the center of Butte Creek Thence down stream in the
center of the channel of said Creek to the Corner of Cornelius Wood-
ruffs land and thence in a Southerly direction along the center
of the county road leading to Silverton to the place of begin-
ning Containing 90 acres save and except 10 acres out of the S
W corner of said tract of land that has been deeded to Sarah H.
Coffin and all Situated in Marion County Oregon
Together with the tenements, hereditaments and appurtenances
thereunto belonging, or in any wise appertaining, To have and to
hold the same, with the appurtenances, unto the said E. S. Remington
his heirs and assigns forever.
This Conveyance is intended as a Mortgage to secure the payment of
Six Hundred
Dollars, in accordance with the tenor of a certain
instrument of writing, of which the following is a true copy to-wit:
$600 Silverton Or. June 7 " 1887.
(Charles Osterhoudt then promises to pay the mortgage within two
years at 10% interest in US gold coin. Along the side of the
document is a note by E. S. Remington stating the mortgage was paid
in full on June 12, 1890.)
The description is confusing, but the
pink shaded area above
seems to be the 90 acres mentioned in the mortgage document.
Butte Creek is shaded blue. This map is from 1937, long after the
Osterhoudt's had left
the area. A plot owned by Luella Dickin(s) helps to confirm
the location, as Luella was one of Charles'
daughters.
On this map, "the county road leading to Silverton"
is named "Silverton - Pine Tree Corners Road."
In green, above the word "FRIENDS" was the
farm of Charles and Nellie McConnell. Nellie
McConnell was also one of Charles' daughters. Elmer's brother Cyril lived
with the McConnells during his childhood.
Click on the map for a larger version.
View the area as it is today with this link to
Google Maps.
Here is the
location zoomed in from the map above.
Below the pink shaded area is a small triangle with the
number "29" inside. This was owned by Aaron Dickin,
Louella's husband. To the left of this on the other
side of the road would have been the ten acre
property of Sarah Coffin, Betsy Woodruff's sister. The deed states that the
Osterhoudt property ran down the center of the creek
to the corner of Cornelius Woodruffs land, then down
the center of the road. Where I have typed "Aaron
Dicken" on the map might be the
Woodruff property. It is interesting that the
Charles Osterhoudt farm adjoined the Cornelius
Woodruff farm, the Dicken property and the 10 acres
belonging to Sarah Coffin, as all these people were
related.
In the 1900 Census, the Dicken household was the
next dwelling in order of visitation after the
Charles Osterhoudt household.
As can be seen above, Luella Dicken (formerly Luella Osterhoudt)
later owned a tract on the 1937 map where
her father, Charles Osterhoudt, had mortgaged a farm in 1887.
Somewhere in the pink shaded area was the Osterhoudt farmhouse,
most likely in the area owned by Luella Dicken.
Luella and Aaron's son Frank Dicken started Dicken &
Co in 1915. It was the largest store of general
merchandise in Molalla, which is about ten miles
north of the farm shown above, along route 213.
Above Luella's property is the property of J.
Long, who owned it till February of 1984.
Buildings on the place where
Luella Dicken's property is shown on the Metsker's map.
The address above is
8967 Cascade Highway, Silverton, Oregon. It is perhaps the exact site
where Elmer and Cyril Osterhoudt were born. To the right is
the property of Luella's neighbor, J. Long, at 9712
Wagon Road, Mount Angel, Oregon. Though they're next
to each other, they're in two different zip codes.
Mount Angel is one mile closer than Silverton.
Additionally, according to
this tax
record from 1895, Charles owned another 80
acres. 25 of them were cultivated, the rest
supported 3 cattle and 50 sheep and goats. The
approximate area is shaded blue above. Though
Charles owned at least these two tracts, the house where Elmer was born
was in all likelihood on the upper tract, which
bordered Butte Creek.
About 22 miles to the Southwest was the farm of
Charles' older brother, Hiram D.
Osterhoudt. Hiram died on June 8,
1900, leaving his farm to his son Edwin and two
daughters, Allie G. Farnham and Mary A. Sweet. The
estate was valued at $5000. Allie was
the only one who actually lived in Marion County,
and on October 17, 1900,
Edwin sold his share to Allie for $750 (equal to
$29,000 in 2025).
Edwin was divorced at the time but he must have
gotten re-married. The Daily Journal,
July 13, 1901, and The Weekly Oregon Statesman,
January 14, 1902, report that Mary sued Edwin and
his wife, as well as Allie. Edwin had borrowed $2000
from his father in 1897, and was indebted to the
estate. Mary wanted the tract of 267 acres to be
partitioned accordingly. It was reported on January
24, 1902 that the property had been "distributed
among the rightful heirs."
Let's think
about this; Edwin's share probably didn't even cover
what he owed, but he walks away with $750 and Allie now owns 178 acres of
farmland. Meanwhile, Mary is wondering what the heck
just happened, how does Allie now have twice as much
land, and why does her brother think it's
OK to cheat his sisters out of $2000 ($77,140 in
2025). It's too bad Mary had to resort to a lawsuit
to straighten things out.
On the
1929 Metsker map, Allie Farnham still owned the
farm, though the acreage seems to be reduced. The
location is where the number "22" is written in bold
on the map.
A tax assessment from 1895 shows Hiram had 267
acres of land, 100 of which were cultivated. He also
had 72 sheep and goats, 3 horses, farm implements,
$50 worth of household goods, and $300 cash.
Apparently, houses and barns weren't listed
directly, but he had $400 of "improvements" on the land.
