Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Locey family papers, 1858-1924
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Locey family
- Title
- Locey family papers
- Dates
- 1858-1924 (inclusive)18581924
- Quantity
- 4 cubic feet, (9 document cases)
- Collection Number
- Mss 2968
- Summary
- Journals, dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, of Cyrus T. and Maria M. Locey, pioneer farmers and ranchers in Malheur County in eastern Oregon.
- Repository
-
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org - Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open to the public.
- Languages
- English
Historical NoteReturn to Top
Cyrus T. Locey, often called "the Father of Malheur County," was a rancher and farmer in eastern Oregon. He was born in Mineral Point, Wisconsin on 18 September 1835. In 1846 his widowed father took young Cyrus and his three siblings west over the Oregon Trail. Three years later the family moved to the California gold mines where Cyrus's father, a physician, established a clinic for miners. In 1850 the family returned east but did not remain for long. In 1852, Cyrus, age seventeen, his father and two siblings, made their second trip across the Oregon Trail and settled permanently in Oregon City.
Cyrus attended Pacific University in Forest Grove but left after two years in order to finance his sister Addie's education at Willamette University. During the 1850s and 1860s he worked for the Oregon Transportation Company, becoming its superintendent. Accepting an offer from Maria's father to help him farm and raise cattle, he moved near Willow Creek, south of Baker City. Here Cyrus held various jobs including growing produce for the Chinese grocers, cutting and hauling timber, freighting, and producing cheese and dairy products. In 1877, he bought his own ranch. His numerous civic activities included starting the first Sunday School in Malheur County, taking the 1880 and 1890 Baker/Malheur county census, Justice of the Peace, Notary Public, school teacher, secretary of the Grange, election clerk, Malheur County commissioner, and weather recorder for the U.S. Weather Bureau.
Maria (pronounced ma-RYE-uh) Morfitt Locey, born 14 September 1840 in Yorkshire, England, emigrated to the United States in 1843 to Galena, Illinois where she and her mother joined her father, an iron molder, who had emigrated the previous year. In 1847, the Morfitt family, bound for California, changed direction and arrived in Oregon City. Between 1848 and 1854, James Morfitt and his family made two trips to the California gold fields, but each time, they returned to Oregon City.
Besides the traditional duties of a rancher's wife, Maria taught school and Sunday School, was the local midwife and unofficial nurse practitioner, provided free food and lodging to travelers, wrote short stories and poems of which some were published in The Oregonian, made pencil drawings and oil paintings, and learned taxidermy. Cyrus and Maria were married 1 January 1860 in Oregon City. In addition to having nine children, three of whom died as infants, they raised an orphaned girl. They were devout Christians and well respected members of their community.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Both Cyrus's and Maria's journals are included. Cyrus's date from 13 June 1858 to 1 January 1922. Contained within these journals are financial reports, Eldorado Grange minutes, tax assessments, and local weather conditions. Maria's date from 5 September 1859 to 2 August 1924. Her journals include original poems, Bible notes and lessons, remedies, records of family statistics, household accounts, and memoranda. Correspondence predominately is between Maria and family members but also includes letters to Cyrus from Joseph Stewart, G.H. Atkinson, and Ed Beals; and from Cyrus to George Himes. Additional papers include canceled checks, weather observation records, and tax data. Transcriptions of the journals were made and edited by James Albert Lackey, Sr. Mr. Lackey added editorial comments and explanatory information to the transcripts.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library prior to any use of reproductions. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use of reproductions may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright holders.
Preferred Citation
Locey family papers, Mss 2968, Oregon Historical Society Research Library
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in the following series:
- Series A: Journals and papers of Maria Morfitt Locey
- Series B: Journals and papers of Cyrus T. Locey
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
Series A: Journals and papers of Maria M. Locey, 1859-1924Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/1 | Journal |
1859 September 5-1871 February 26 |
1/2 | Journal, with Sunday school lesson notes and cash
book |
1874 March 12; 1876 January 1-1978 June 6; 1890 July 27-1890 September 14 |
1/3 | Journal and poem |
1891 June 18-1892 September 26; 1893 January 1-1899 April 10 |
1/4 | Journal |
1898 February 27-November 10; 1899 February 10-1899 May 25; 1900 January 1-1904 March 3 |
1/5 | Journal, record of births, deaths, marriages,
poem |
1904 April 3-1908 January 12; 1908 May 1-1912 October 6 |
1/6 | Journal, "Pearls from the Bible," and Maria's
answers to questions |
1913 April 1-1917 Feburary 28; 1918 August 10-1924 August 21 |
1/7 | Transcription of Maria Locey's journals by James A.
Lackey, Sr., with the inclusion of famly letters |
1859-1901 |
2/1-2 | Transcriptions of Maria Locey's journals |
1902-1924 |
2/3 | Appendix and composite index to Maria Locey's
journals, including family tree and copies of newspaper articles about the
family |
undated |
2/4 | Poetry by Maria Locey |
circa 1874 |
2/5 | Cash book |
1906-1914; 1916 |
2/6 | Annual report for School District #22, Malheur
County |
1880-1896 |
2/7 | Short story titled "Left behind" by Maria
Locey |
undated |
Series B: Journals and papers of Cyrus T. Locey, 1858-1922Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
2/1 | Journal |
1858 June 13-1859 Febuary 22 |
2/2 | Journal, including poetry by Maria Locey |
1859 July 26-1869 August 29; 1872 |
Journals/Cash books |
||
Box/Folder | ||
3/1 | 1873 January 1-1874 September 29 | |
3/2 | 1875 January 24-1977 October 25 | |
3/3 | Journal/Cash book and Eldorado Grange
minutes |
1877 October 26-1880 December 22; 1874-1876 |
3/4 | 1882 November 28-1886 January 31 | |
3/5 | 1886 Febuary 1-1888 May 29 | |
3/6 | 1888 May 30-1892 November 2 | |
3/7 | 1892 December 17-1894 September 30 | |
3/8 | 1894 October 1-1896 August 19 | |
4/1 | 1896 August 20-1897 November 11 | |
4/2 | 1897 November 12-1898 November 25 | |
4/3 | 1899 November 10-1900 September 26 | |
4/4 | 1900 September 27-1901 September 13 | |
4/5 | 1901 September 14-1902 June 28 | |
4/6 | 1901 June 29-1903 March 5 | |
4/7 | 1903 March 7-November 3 | |
4/8 | 1903 November 3-1905 August 17 | |
5/1 | 1905 September 1-1906 September 30 | |
Journals |
||
Box/Folder | ||
5/2 | 1906 October 1-1907 June 15 | |
5/3 | 1907 June 16-1908 May 14 | |
5/4 | 1908 May 15-1909 February 12 | |
5/5 | 1909 February 12-1910 July 25 | |
5/6 | 1910 July 26-1922 March 31 | |
6/1 | 1911 April 1-1912 August 2 | |
6/2 | 1912 August 2-1915 October 16 | |
6/3 | 1915 October 16-1917 September 10 | |
7/1 | 1917 September 14-1920 January 29 | |
Box/Folder | ||
7/2 | Papers and letters |
1857-1915 |
Transcriptions of Cyrus T. Locey's
journals |
||
Box/Folder | ||
7/3 | Index to journals, as transcribed by Aloa
Dereta |
undated |
7/4 | 1858 June 13-1860 August 29; 1872 January 6-1874 October 15 | |
7/5 | 1875 January 4-1877 December 31 | |
7/6 | 1878 January 1-1880-December 31 | |
7/7 | 1882 November 28-1885 December 31 | |
7/8 | 1886 January 1-1889 December 31 | |
7/9 | 1890 January 1-1892 December 31 | |
8/1 | 1893 January 1-1895 December 31 | |
8/2 | 1896 January 1-1898 December 31 | |
8/3 | 1899 January 1-1900 December 31 | |
8/4 | 1901 January 1-1902 December 31 | |
8/5 | 1903 January 1-1904 December 31 | |
8/6 | 1905 January 1-1906 December 31 | |
8/7 | 1907 January 1-1908 December 31 | |
9/1 | 1909 January 1-1910 December 31 | |
9/2 | 1911 January 1-1912 December 31 | |
9/3 | 1913 January 1-1914 December 31 | |
9/4 | 1915 January 1-1916 December 31 | |
9/5 | 1917 January 1-1922 January 29 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Ranchers--Oregon--Malheur County--Correspondence.
- Ranchers--Oregon--Malheur County--Diaries.
- Schools--Oregon--Malheur County--Records and correspondence.
- Women pioneers--Oregon--Malheur County--Correspondence.
- Women pioneers--Oregon--Malheur County--Diaries.
Personal Names
- Atkinson, G. H. (George Henry), 1819-1889--Correspondence.
- Beals, Ed--Correspondence.
- Cook, Belle--Correspondence.
- Himes, George H., 1844-1940--Correspondence.
- Locey, Cyrus, 1835-1922--Correspondence.
- Locey, Cyrus, 1835-1922--Diaries.
- Locey, Maria , 1840-1924--Diaries.
- Stewart, Joseph--Correspondence.
Family Names
- Locey family--Archives.
Geographical Names
- Malheur County (Or.)--Climate.
- Malheur County (Or.)--Description and travel.
- Malheur County (Or.)--History.
Form or Genre Terms
- Estate records
- Journals
- Letters
- Poems
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Locey, Maria , 1840-1924--Correspondence. (creator)