John Smith Griffin Papers, 1839-1890

Overview of the Collection

Author
Griffin, John Smith, 1807-1899
Title
John Smith Griffin Papers
Dates
1839-1890 (inclusive)
Quantity
0.7 cubic feet, (2 boxes)
Collection Number
MS.103
Summary
Reverend John Smith Griffin was a missionary who emigrated to Oregon with the Whitman-Spalding group in 1839. In the 1840s, he participated in the Champoeg Meetings, founded the Congregationalist Church of Tualatin Plains, and published a newspaper. This collection of original letters and documents includes material related to the early settlement of Oregon, to the Whitman Massacre, to the Griffin Family, to the Congregationalist Church in Tualatin Plains, and to his newspaper, The Oregon American and Evangelical Unionist.
Repository
Pacific University, Archives
Pacific University Archives
2043 College Way
Forest Grove, OR
97116
Telephone: 5033521400
archives@pacificu.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Sponsored by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Reverend John Smith Griffin was born in 1807 in Vermont. He received a formal education in New England and Ohio before becoming an ordained minister for the Congregationalist Church. When he was 21 years old, Griffin was sent by his church to Oregon Country as an independent missionary. On his way out west, Griffin married his first wife, Desire C. Smith, in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Griffin arrived at the Whitman Mission near present-day Walla Walla, Washington, in 1839. He stayed for a year prior to moving to Fort Vancouver. Griffin tutored children and served as the fort’s chaplain for a year before moving to the Tualatin Plains, west of present-day Portland, Oregon. In 1842, Griffin established the first church on the plains, located at East Tuality Plains, in what would later become the town site of Hillsboro. In 1843, Griffin participated in the Champoeg Meetings that established civil government in Oregon, where he represented the Tualatin Plains. In the 52-50 vote, Griffin voted in favor of forming a provisional government even though he did not fully agree with the measure.

During his time on the Tualatin Plains, Griffin would document the arrival of settlers in the area. He also started a newspaper called the Oregon American and Evangelical Unionist, which he printed on the same portable press that missionaries had used at Lapwai a decade earlier. Among other articles, Griffin published accounts of the Whitman massacre and a series called "Sketches of Oregon," which recounted Griffin's journey to the west. Griffin’s subscribers included people from the Oregon region, the eastern United States and Americans living abroad.

After Griffin’s first wife died in 1884, he married Lina Harvey Kenyon of Three Oaks, Michigan. Henry H. Spalding, a fellow missionary and a friend of Griffin, married Griffin’s sister, Rachel Johonet Griffin. Griffin continued to live in the Tualatin Plains region until his death in 1899.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection includes original correspondence, writings, household accounts and notes related to John Smith Griffin, many of which are related to article in his newspaper, the Oregon American in 1848-1849, and to his work with the Congregational Church of Tualatin Plains in the 1840s-1850s. Notable items in the collection include:

- Several letters and essays related to the Whitman Massacre written down within two years of the event. They highlight the viewpoint of Henry H. Spalding, Griffin's friend, who believed that Catholics had instigated the killings of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman by the Cayuse at their mission near Walla Walla, Washington.

- The manuscript of William H. Gray's "Sketches of Oregon," an account of his overland journey to Oregon with the Whitman-Spalding group in 1836.

- A photograph album containing approximately 100 portraits of friends and family of the Griffins.

- Documents related to the establishment and governance of the Congregational Church of Tualatin Plains in the 1840s-1850s.

This collection consists of the original manuscripts held at the Pacific University Archives. The collection was microfilmed for the Oregon Historical Society, and exists in facsimile form in several other archival repositories. Additional loose photographs related to the Griffin Family are located in the Pacific University Archives and are available online at http://washingtoncountyheritage.org

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

John Smith Griffin Papers, Pacific University Archives, Forest Grove, Oregon.

Restrictions on Use

Pacific University owns the copyright to some, but not all, of the materials housed in its archives. Copyright for materials authored or otherwise produced as official business of Pacific University is retained by Pacific University and requires its permission for publication. Copyright status for other collection materials varies. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Future Additions

No accruals are expected.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box
1 Burnett, Peter H. Essays related to the Whitman Massacre accompanied by a letter to John Smith Griffin.
3 handwritten documents: 1. Pages 3-20 of an essay protesting articles which were published in Griffin's newspaper, the Oregon American, that alleged Catholic involvement in the Whitman massacre. The articles had been published at the behest of Griffin's friend, Henry H. Spalding. -- 2. A letter from Burnett regarding the aftermath of the publication of his essay. -- 3. Pages 5-9 of an article by Burnett, in which he transcribes a letter from Spalding written in response to his essay, followed by Burnett's counter-response.
1848
1 Congregational Church of Tualatin Plains. Documents signed by John Smith Griffin and others.
3 documents related to governance of the Congregational Church of Tualatin Plains, which later split into churches at Forest Grove and Hillsboro. The documents are signed by John Smith Griffin, P. B. Littlejohn, A.T. Smith, William Geiger, Obed Dickinson and Cushing Eells. See also, John Smith Griffin's "The principals of the First Church of Tualatin Plains...", and clippings on the history of the church, below.
1845?-1853
1 Crosby, Nathaniel. Letter to John Smith Griffin
Letter, probably printed as an article in Oregon American, regarding the sinking of the Whale Ship Maine on August 22, 1848, near Astoria.
1848
1 Evans, A. Letter to John Smith Griffin
Letter the editor of the Oregon American, apparently published as "A Evans on Creeds."
1848
1 Gray, William H. Letters to John Smith Griffin
Four letters from William H. Gray to John Smith Griffin concerning the Oregon American, including a letter about Gray's submission of his account, "Sketches of Oregon," and a letter to the editor regarding the Clatsop Total Abstinence Society.
1848
1 Gray, William H. "Sketches of Oregon." Holograph manuscript
Handwritten account of William H. Gray's overland journey to Oregon in 1836, as part of the Whitman-Spalding Party. Griffin published this account as a series of articles in his newspaper, the Oregon American and Evangelical Unionist, in 1848.
1848
2 Griffin Family. Photograph album
Contains 66 photographs. Photographs are albumen print carte-de-visite format and tintypes. Some of the photographs were taken in Portland but many are from New England, particularly Connecticut. Most photographs are of family and friends of the Griffin Family, including Sarah Griffin, Maya Eells, and various members of the Bradford family.
1860-1890
1 Griffin, John Smith. Household account books
5 books listing Griffin's household expenditures and income, including entries relating to Henry H. Spalding and J.S. Griffin's school house (in Hillsboro?). Accounts from 1843-1844 are fragmentary. Notes related to Lapwai and sermons are interspersed.
1839-1883
Griffin, John Smith. "The principals of the First Church of Tualatin Plains..."
Open letter to the members of the Congregational Church of Tualatin Plains regarding church governance.
1845-1853?
Box
1 Griffin, John Smith. Letters, outgoing.
Outgoing letters (drafts?) from John Smith Griffin to: Jesse Applegate (1848); the American Tract Society (1853);
1848-1853
1 Griffin, John Smith. Notes and fragments
Includes notes that were apparently published in various newspapers; subscriptions to Griffin's newspaper; and a proposition to establish an "educational village," possibly related to Pacific University.
1846-1853
1 Griffin, John Smith. Theological notebook 1840s-1880s?
1 Kimsey, John. Affidavit regarding the Whitman Massacre
An affidavit recounting events leading up to the massacre, which was published in Griffin's newspaper, probably at the behest of Henry Spalding.
1848
1 Lenox, David. Notice of Baptist Church meeting
Invitation from David Lenox on behalf of the Baptist Church of Tualatin Plains inviting the area's churches to meet. This invitation was published in Griffin's newspaper in May 1848.
1848
1 Spalding, Henry H. Letter and article addressed to John Smith Griffin
3 letters from Spalding to John Smith Griffin, including one related to the publication of articles on the Whitman Massacre in Griffin's newspaper, the Oregon American; and a handwritten article, "Standing in Prayer," intended for publication in the newspaper.
1848
1 Wilcox, F. S. Affidavit regarding the Whitman Massacre
An affidavit recounting events leading up to the massacre, which was published in Griffin's newspaper, probably at the behest of Henry Spalding.
1848
1 Research notes: Congregational Church of Tualatin Plains: Clippings on church history.
Series of newspaper articles from the Hillsboro Argus published in 1927 on the church's early history, quoting from John Smith Griffin's papers.
1927
1 Research notes: Inventory of John Smith Griffin's parish library, prepared posthumously. 1940-1960?
1 Research notes: Notes and inventory of the collection 1964
1 Photocopies of material in the collection
Photocopies mostly of material in this collection; some items may be from the Oregon Historical Society's John Smith Griffin Papers.
1848-1853

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Congregational churches
  • Missionaries--Oregon
  • Newspaper editors--Oregon
  • Oregon American and evangelical unionist
  • Pioneers--Oregon
  • Whitman Massacre, 1847

Form or Genre Terms

  • Correspondence
  • Photographs

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Burnett, Peter H. (Peter Hardeman), 1807-1895 (author)
    • Crosby, Nathaniel (author)
    • Gray, W. H. (William Henry), 1810-1899 (author)
    • Spalding, Henry Harmon, 1803-1874 (author)