Jason Lee (June 28, 1803 – March 12, 1845) was a Canadian Methodist Episcopalian missionary and pioneer in the Pacific Northwest . He was born on a farm near Stanstead , Quebec.
45-416: Prigg is a surname. Notable people with this surname include: Frederick Prigg (1812–1849), English-American physician Wally Prigg (1908–1980), Australian rugby league footballer See also [ edit ] Prigg v. Pennsylvania , 1842 United States Supreme Court case Prig , an insult [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with
90-533: A district judge in Clackamas County during Oregon's pre-territorial period. Prigg was born in Bury St. Edmunds , Suffolk, England, in 1812. He was born into an affluent English family and was well educated. His education included sufficient medical training to qualify him as a doctor and pharmacist. As a young man, Prigg made at least one trip to North America, serving as a medical assistant for
135-585: A group of Nez Perce and Bitterroot Salish men journeyed to St. Louis requesting the Book of Heaven in 1831 (their people had heard of it years before), Lee and his nephew Daniel Lee volunteered to serve as missionaries for them. Both were appointed as missionaries by the church, given orders to open and maintain a mission among the Salish. At the time, the Pacific Northwest was "jointly occupied" by
180-400: A group of emigrants from Suffolk and Norfolk heading for Canada . After delivering the immigrants to Quebec , he returned to England in 1836. By 1837, he was working in a drugstore in his home county of Suffolk. Sometime during that year, he was stricken with yellow fever . He later wrote to friends telling them he was recovering. After his illness, Prigg lost touch with his friends in
225-557: A herd of 600 livestock, the portion for Lee and the Mission bestowed a sound means of nutritional self-sufficiency. Ewing Young became the center of attention of the Willamette Valley farmsteads once again with his death and his extensive estate, which had no heirs to claim it in 1841. Several meetings were held and Lee chaired the first one where he put forth a proposal for a singular jurisdiction for all inhabitants south of
270-522: A letter addressed to the Methodist Missionary Board he beseeched for agriculturalists. Lee felt that because "this country will settle ere long," if the board were to send "a few good, pious settlers" then "an incalculable benefit" would benefit "generations yet unborn." In the summer of 1837, missionary Anna Maria Pittman arrived at Lee's mission to assist him. It had been suggested to Lee that he might marry Pittman, but at first he
315-661: A more thorough description of the activities of the Mission. Prior to leaving he was influential in the propagation of a memorial by many residents of the Willamette Valley addressing the United States Congress. The document requested that the American government establish rule over the regions of the Oregon Country south of the Columbia River and highlighted the potentials of trade with Asia and
360-607: A schism and the formation of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South . In the meantime, Lee went to Washington, D.C. , and had conferences with both President John Tyler and Senator Thomas H. Benton to present the land claims of the Oregon Mission. When finally meeting with the Board leadership Lee was able to rectify his position, but he wasn't reappointed as superintendent. He opted to raise money for
405-568: A special session of the legislature. In October 1845, Prigg was appointed one of three Clackamas County district judges along with Francis Pettygrove and Peter G. Stewart . Court sessions were sometimes held at Prigg's home in Oregon City. In addition, Prigg briefly served as Clackamas County probate judge in early 1846. During that same period, Prigg served as city recorder for Oregon City. In that position, he solicited proposals to remove stumps from city property. On June 21, 1846,
450-629: Is different from Wikidata All set index articles Frederick Prigg Frederick Prigg (1812–1849) was an American physician and pharmacist . He served as Secretary for the Provisional Government of Oregon , a position that eventually became the Oregon Secretary of State , which is now the second-highest office in the state. He opened the first commercial drugstore in the Oregon County and served as
495-754: The Great Plains along the Oregon Trail in a covered wagon. He arrived in the Oregon Country in late 1843. He settled in Oregon City . Prigg had brought a supply of medicines and chemicals with him which he used to open a drugstore in the city. While Doctor John McLoughlin , head of the Hudson's Bay Company in the Oregon Country, and Methodist missionary Jason Lee both kept stocks of medical supplies prior to his arrival, Prigg's drugstore
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#1732773046481540-766: The Oregon Institute , (now Willamette University ), a school he helped organize. However, while visiting his sister in Stanstead, his health failed, and he died on 12 March 1845. His remains were reinterred at the Lee Mission Cemetery in Salem, Oregon in 1906 alongside the remains of his two wives and infant daughter. The house Lee occupied in 1841 is preserved as part of the Willamette Heritage Center , formerly known as
585-536: The Oregon Spectator in 1846, the year it was founded as the only newspaper in the Oregon Country. He was a founding member of Oregon's first medical society and served as secretary for the society's first meeting in 1848. During the fourth pre-provisional legislative meeting in June and July 1845, Prigg served as the session's revising clerk. In August of that year, Prigg served as engrossing clerk during
630-629: The United Kingdom and the United States as agreed to in the Treaty of 1818 . The missionaries went overland in 1834 with Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth , an American merchant who previously visited the Columbia River basin to enter the regional fur trade market. The party of priests and fur trappers arrived at Fort Vancouver later that year and were greeted by Chief Factor John McLoughlin . While there, McLoughlin influenced Jason Lee to open
675-407: The surname Prigg . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prigg&oldid=1255677611 " Category : Surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description
720-685: The "Book of Heaven", prophesied in a vision, to the Salish people. An account was editorialized by the Christian Advocate and Journal the subsequent year, calling upon its readers to send preachers to the Rocky Mountains and beyond. The article quickly was given the attention of Willbur Fisk , President of the Wesleyan University, who tabled a proposal for the Methodist Church to establish a presence among
765-617: The Columbia River basin while en route west. He found the Walla Walla in particular "far more filthy and indolent than the Kioos Cayuse ." The close to two thousand mile trek ended at the Hudson's Bay Company 's (HBC) fur trading station of Fort Vancouver, where the missionaries wintered. During their stay there Chief Factor John McLoughlin advised against creating a mission in interior Flathead land and instead recommended
810-665: The Columbia river. This was the culmination of feuds with Vicar General Blanchet who had till then dispensed justice on the Catholic population of the Willamette Valley. Blanchet was accused by Lee of splitting the settler community by refusing to submit to the attempted civic authority. This attempt was aimed at cutting the financially supportive relationship and patronage the HBC gave the Catholic Missionaries. By removing
855-675: The Mission Mill Museum. In 1953, the State of Oregon donated a bronze statue of Lee to the U.S. Capitol 's National Statuary Hall Collection . Another copy was installed on the grounds of the Oregon State Capitol in 1953, having been finished by Gifford MacGregor Proctor after the death of his father, sculptor Alexander Phimister Proctor . Elementary schools in Richland, Washington , and Portland, Oregon and
900-455: The Mission and former HBC employees. Blocked out of the local fur trade by the HBC, pioneer Ewing Young began plans to create an alcohol distillery for sale to natives. Once this became known to the Society its members were mobilized into action. In a letter signed by residents of the valley, Young was requested to refrain from opening the distillery and offered to cover the costs of forfeiting
945-557: The Mission, including the grist mill and missions not actively used. After hearing the news that he was ejected as the superintendent from Marcus Whitman, who had recently returned from the United States, Lee went to meet the Board in person to defend himself. Crossing Mexico and sailing up the Mississippi River, Lee reached New York City on 27 May 1844. He found the leadership debating over slavery, which soon led to
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#1732773046481990-543: The Pacific. Besides gathering funds for missionary work, Lee apparently left for the east as he had a "desire to promote" Oregon as a worthwhile place for colonization. Lee spent three weeks at the interior ABCFM missions run by Marcus Whitman and Henry H. Spalding while waiting for an escort from the HBC. Viewing the growing farms maintained by the Cayuse and Nez Perce , Jason considered them both "superior to those upon
1035-476: The Salish. Jason Lee, a former student of Fisk, and his nephew Daniel volunteered for service in the planned mission among the Flathead Indians . Arrangements were made with Nathaniel Wyeth for the small missionary group to travel with his party. In early 1834 the combined group departed from Independence, Missouri . Lee didn't refrain from judging and comparing the various native cultures along
1080-563: The Suffolk area. By 1839, his friends were concerned enough that they advertised in a local newspaper seeking information about his whereabouts and health. Prigg immigrated to United States in 1843. In January of that year he arrived alone in New Orleans , Louisiana, on the steamship New York . The ship's passenger list records him as a merchant. After arriving in the United States, Prigg immediately headed west, traveling across
1125-559: The Willamette Valley was about livestock. All the cattle residing in Oregon at the time was then owned by the HBC. Despite this, McLoughlin authorized the loaning out of livestock as needed to missionaries and settlers. To resolve this pressing issue, Slacum suggested that cattle from Alta California be purchased. The Willamette Cattle Company was formed and the Loriot gave passage to Young and other men to California. Returning overland with
1170-528: The Willamette [River] ..." despite the occasional whipping by the two missionaries. After giving birth to their child, Lee's wife, Anna Maria Pittman Lee, died in June. The child, a boy, died a few days after birth. News of his wife and son's deaths reached Lee more than two months later as he entered Missouri. Lee soon remarried to Lucy Thompson Grubbs. While traveling through Illinois, Lee convinced John P. Richmond to join him in Oregon. Richmond
1215-603: The indigenous populations were on the decline from disease in 1836: "unless the God of heaven undertake their cause, they must perish from off the face of the Earth, and their name blotted out from under heaven." This became a typical view of Lee despite his continued conversion efforts. According to his biographer Cornelius J. Brosnan, Lee saw "Oregon as the home of a future white civilization" as early as 1837 while back in New York. In
1260-422: The leadership of Lee for several years. Conflict with White, who previously managed the mission financial records, had been a source of discontent for years. White was accused by Lee of having spent money at Fort Vancouver on the account of the mission. Rather than show his records, White left for the United States in 1841. While David Leslie gave the superintendent a positive appraisal, it wasn't enough to counter
1305-612: The memorial arrived in Washington, D.C. it was presented to Congress by Senator Lewis F. Linn in January ;1839. In correspondence with Representative Caleb Cushing Lee noted that if America were to control the area many of the laymen of the Mission would in time become permanent settlers, which did eventually occur as predicted. During his time in the United States Lee went on several speaking tours throughout
1350-514: The nation along with a visit to his hometown in Canada to raise funds for the mission. Despite his position that only two additional preachers were needed, the Board recruited five. Lee and the "great reinforcement" sailed aboard the Lausanne and arrived in Oregon on 1 June 1840. Letters were sent to the Board of Managers from Elijah White , John P. Richmond , and Gustavus Hines attacking
1395-403: The nearby Willamette Valley . Lee eventually settled on a location northwest of the present site of Salem, Oregon . There he found about a dozen French-Canadian settlers who previously had been employed by the HBC, in addition to their native wives and children. Over time the superintendent began to request additional missionaries and laymen be sent to relieve him of temporal duties. This view
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1440-534: The political control over Catholics, the Company would lose influence among the settlers. An additional motive was that the Oregon Mission was in debt to the Company. These were the roots of Lee's support for a government in 1841, rather than finding a local regime necessary in and of itself. At the time of the Champoeg Meetings Lee was no longer an active participant of the political activities in
1485-514: The second-highest office in the state. Prigg was recognized as a man of good education and ability, but intemperate in his personal habits. While alcohol was illegal in Oregon at that time, Prigg was known to be a drinker. He often drank a local moonshine called "Blue Ruin". In October 1849, Prigg drowned in the Willamette River after falling from the rocky bluff above the river near Oregon City. Some people suspected that his death
1530-486: The secretary of Oregon's provision government, Doctor John E. Long , drowned while trying to ford a river near Oregon City. On June 26, 1846, Governor George Abernethy appointed Prigg to the vacant secretary position; the legislature formally elected him in December. Prigg served in that position until he resigned on September 16, 1848. Prigg's secretary post eventually became the Oregon Secretary of State position,
1575-744: The station among the Kalapuya in the Willamette Valley rather than the Salish. Jason Lee was the first of the Oregon missionaries and instrumental in the American settlement in the Oregon Country . Jason Lee was the youngest of fourteen siblings. At the age of 13 Lee was self-supporting, converted to Methodism at 23 and later attended the Wilbraham Wesleyan Academy . While studying there, he became friends with Osman Baker and graduated in 1830. Between 1830 and 1832 he
1620-490: The valley. By this point, according to Brosnan, "Jason Lee's political acumen made him realize that a local provisional government was not the direction where lay Oregon's true interest." Abernethy joined Lee in criticizing the Champoeg Meetings and their developments as unnecessary. The delays in communication with the Board of Managers back in the United States eventually necessitated Lee to return there to give
1665-685: The venture. Young blamed the HBC for "tyranizing oppression" and the situation he was in but nonetheless agreed to forfeit production of alcohol without compensation. The first representative from the United States to visit the Methodist station was Navy Lieutenant William A. Slacum on board the Loriot . John McLoughlin welcomed the naval official and informed Jason Lee of his arrival, who met Slacum at Champoeg in January. A common topic Slacum had with French-Canadian and American settlers residing in
1710-473: The years of criticisms. Reports held Lee accountable for a general neglect and disinterest in converting Indigenous peoples. Additionally, Lee's inability to provide a complete financial history of the Willamette Mission and its subsidiary stations proved to be too much for the Board. They appointed Rev. George Gray as the new superintendent and instructed him to dispose of the temporal properties of
1755-574: Was also active in civic affairs. He helped found and promote the Pioneer Lyceum and Literary Club . Established in 1844 before the Oregon Country had any newspapers, the Lyceum was a community library and popular forum for discussing timely political topics and Oregon governance issues. Prigg also belonged to an informal social club that included James Nesmith , Jesse Applegate , and Samuel M. Holderness . Prigg briefly served as editor of
1800-745: Was later appointed as the head of the Nisqually Mission in modern Washington . While in Peoria he held a speech on Oregon that enthralled some locals who formed the Peoria Party to attempt to colonize Oregon. At a meeting with the Missionary Board in November the Board approved his plan for the creation of recruiting laymen such as blacksmiths and mechanics, the creation of grist mill, and expansion of agricultural production. After
1845-637: Was minister in the Stanstead area and taught school. Lee had applied to the London-based Wesleyan Missionary Society to proselytize to the First Nations of Canada but his application wasn't processed as Richard Watson , the secretary, had died. In 1832, four men of the Nez Perce and Bitterroot Salish or Flathead tribe journeyed to St. Louis and requested from resident William Clark for someone to bring
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1890-509: Was not interested, finding her unattractive. After getting to know Pittman better, Lee changed his mind, writing, "I at length became convinced that she was eminently qualified to do all the duties and kind offices of an affectionate companion, and was worthy of my highest regards, esteem, and love". Lee and Pittman were married on July 16, 1837. Lee formed the Oregon Temperance Society in 1836, composed of lay members of
1935-428: Was shared by Daniel Lee and later missionaries, all of whom complained of having to spend too much time away from conversion efforts. Additionally Lee downplayed the accounts from fellow priests by proclaiming that hundreds of natives had become Methodists. It wasn't until the arrival of George Abernethy in 1840 that Lee was finally allowed to focus solely on proselyting to indigenous peoples. Lee also highlighted that
1980-569: Was the first commercial pharmacy in the Oregon Country. He dispensed drugs such as laudanum , quinine , and various laxatives for treatment of malaria , fever, wounds, and general ailments. His store also stocked household goods, clothes, fabrics, and imported pocket watches. Prigg advertised his business in the Oregon Spectator newspaper. His advertisements said he had a stock of drugs and chemicals along with expensive fabrics, nice clothes, and English watches for sale. Prigg
2025-418: Was the result of intoxication. He was 37 years old. There is no evidence that his body was ever recovered from the river, so Prigg's final resting place is unknown. Both Prigg and his immediate predecessor in the provisional government secretary position, John E. Long, were doctors who drowned in a river near Oregon City; their deaths were just three years apart. Jason Lee (missionary) After
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