OHY_Mss1210 Guide to the Alvan F. Waller Papers 1838-1908 Waller (Alvan F.) Papers Collection processed by Todd Welch Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Oregon Historical Society, Research Library © 2006
1200 SW Park Avenue Portland, Oregon 97205 Phone: 503-306-5240 Fax: 503-219-2040 E-mail: libreference@ohs.org
Finding aid encoded by ArchProteus2006 Finding aid is in English Finding aid based on DACS ( Describing Archives: A Content Standard) Oregon Historical Society, Davies Family Research Library Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue Portland, Oregon 97205 Phone: 503-306-5240 Fax: 503-219-2040 E-mail: libreference@ohs.org
Mss 1210 Waller, Alvan F., b. 1808 Alvan F. Waller Papers 1838-1908 1839-1870 .5 cubic feet (1 document case, 1 oversize folder) Papers of a pioneer Methodist missionary in Oregon who was active in Oregon City and later at The Dalles and Salem. Includes correspondence with missionaries Jason and Daniel Lee, materials relating to a land dispute with John McLoughlin and other land claims, organization of the Oregon Provisional Government, teaching activities, and the establishment of Willamette University. Also includes Waller's diary of his journey to Oregon on the ship Lausanne, 1839-1840, and 2 additional diaries covering the years 1841-1845. Materials in the collection are in English Biography of Alvin F. Waller:

Alvan F. Waller, pioneer Methodist missionary, was born in Abington, Pennsylvania on May 8, 1808. In 1833 he married Elpha White, with whom he had three children. In 1840 he came to Oregon on the ship Lausanne and established a mission at Oregon City with the assistance of Hudson's Bay Company factor Dr. John McLoughlin and missionary Jason Lee. In 1844, Waller was appointed leader of the Wascopam Mission at The Dalles, succeeding H.K.W. Perkins and Daniel Lee. He was transferred to Salem in 1847 where he remained until 1857 and helped to found the Oregon Institute, which became Willamette University. In the course of his career he assisted in the building of several Methodist churches in Oregon and the founding of The Pacific Christian Advocate. He died at his home in Salem on December 26, 1872.

Papers include: Correspondence (1838-1873); diaries (1839-1845); documents, including public note on land dispute with Dr. John McLoughlin; and essay "General Instructions to Missionaries." Correspondents include George Abernethy, Henry Bridgman Brewer, Jason Lee, Daniel Lee, John McLoughlin, Ira Leonard Babcock, George Gary, Marcus Whitman, and Henry Harmon Spalding. Topics of the letters include criticism of Catholic missionaries, religion and the government, teaching school, organization of Provisional government, Waller's land claims, and Willamette University. One diary describes Waller's voyage to Oregon on the ship Lausanne in 1839 and 1840; and two other diaries describe life and travels in Oregon between 1841 and 1845. Included in one diary are brief notes on meetings of the trustees of the Oregon Institute (later Willamette University). Typed transcripts of some of the diaries are included. A brief manuscript details Waller's travels in the Willamette Valley, circa 1852.

The collection is arranged in the following series:

Series A: Correspondence, 1838-1873 Series B: Diaries, 1839-1845 Series C: Documents and general materials, 1839-1908

Selected items from the collection are available on Mss1200-1225 Microfilm, reel 1, at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

The collection is open to the public.

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 before any publication use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Alvan F. Waller Papers, Mss 1210, Oregon Historical Society Research Library

Portions of the collection were gifts of Verne Bright, 1947 May 26, and 1950 Aug. 23.

 Sarah Hunt Steeves, Book of remembrance of Marion County, Oregon, pioneers, 1840-1860 (Portland, Or. : The Berncliff Press, 1927), p. 1-5.

See also additional papers relating to Protestant missionaries in Oregon contained in Mss1200 through Mss1225, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Originals of land claim documents are housed at the Library of Congress.

The collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings:

Abernethy, George, 1807-1877--Correspondence Babcock, Ira Leonard, 1806-1888--Correspondence Brewer, Henry Bridgman, 1813-1886--Correspondence Gary, George, 1793-1844--Correspondence Lee, Daniel, 1806-1895--Correspondence Lee, Jason, 1803-1845--Correspondence McLoughlin, John, 1784-1857--Correspondence Spalding, Henry Harmon, 1803-1874--Correspondence Waller, Alvan F., b. 1808--Correspondence Waller, Alvan F., b. 1808--Diaries Whitman, Marcus, 1802-1847--Correspondence Methodist Episcopal Church--Missions--Northwest, Pacific Willamette University Frontier and pioneer life--Oregon Indians of North America--Missions--Northwest, Pacific Missionaries--Northwest, Pacific--Correspondence Missionaries--Northwest, Pacific--Diaries Voyages to the Pacific coast Diaries Oregon Missionaries Native Americans Pacific Northwest History Pioneers Religion Diaries Letters Series A Correspondence 1838-1873 1 Letters from Alvan F. Waller (4 items) 1856-1870 Letters to Waller 2 A-C 1840-1871 3 D-H 1844-1870 4 J-S 1838-1873 5 T-Z 1844-1860 6 Letters to Waller from Daniel Lee (4 items) 1841 1860 undated 7 Letters to Waller from unidentified correspondents (2 items) 1847 1858 Series B Diaries 1839-1845 8 Diary transcripts, including voyage of the Lausanne 1839-1840 9 Diary transcripts 1841 1844 10 Diary transcripts 1842 1845 11 Original diary 1839-1844

Includes voyage on the Lausanne and notes of trustees' meetings of the Oregon Institute, as well as fragments of other diaries.

 12 Original diaries (2 vols.) 1841 1844 Series C Documents and general materials 1839-1908 13 Petition of Alvan Waller to Roger P. Taney 1844 February 8

Petition to Chief Justice Roger P. Taney relating to Waller's controversy with Dr. John McLoughlin over the Oregon City claim, 1843 Dec. 7. Attested by John Ricord and Jason Lee at the Sandwich Islands. Photostat of original in Library of Congress, "Senator Allen Papers," and typed transcript.

 14 General materials 1839-1908

Includes: General Instructions to Missionaries" from the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 1839 and 1846Account payable, from A. E. Wilson, agent for E. & O. E., 1843 June 2 to 1844 June 7Account of Francis Pettygrove, 1843 June 2 to 1844 July 13, and receipt, 1844 July 22Other accounts and receiptsPower of attorney to Waller on behalf of Willamette University, 1860 Feb. 1Letter of recommendation entitling Waller to represent Willamette University, 1860, June 1June 1; protest against charges by E. White, undatedObituary for Waller's daughter, Julia Elinore Waller Stratton, 1908

 15 "Notes on travel in the Willamette Valley" circa 1852

Manuscript, probably by Waller. Includes typed transcript.

 Oversize Folder Oversize documents 1843 1856 undated

Certificates (2) for life membership in the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church to Alvan F. Waller and Julia E. Waller, 1856 Sept. 20 and undated. Public notice "To the people of Oregon" concerning land dispute in Oregon City with Dr. John McLoughlin, signed by John Ricord, attorney for Alvan Waller, 1843 Dec. 20.