William Hobson, 1820-1891, is credited with bringing Quakers to Newberg, Oregon in the 1870s, a settlement that he chose because of its location along a well-traveled route and its promise of agricultural productivity. Although he was not the first Friends minister to migrate to Oregon, he devoted time and effort inviting Eastern Friends to immigrate to Yamhill County where future descendents would "form a settlement here and make it a garden of the Lord." Mr. Hobson and other early settlers, concerned about lack of education in the northwestern United States, established Pacific Friends Academy in 1885. The first Quaker meeting house was built in Newberg, in 1875, and the city is now the hub for Evangelical Quakers of the northwest.
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Handwritten original in fragile condition, 1870 William Hobson "Memorandum" located in separate box.
This collection consists of biographies of William Hobson, a microfilm of his diary, a transcript of "Memories of Samuel Hobson", William's son, a handwritten journal of William Hobson, and photographs. Also included are periodicals containing William Hobson's writings, a tribute to his life by associates at a gathering of Friends Yearly Meeting, and some unrelated materials concerned with the early Newberg community.
Collection is available for research.
Collection contains some very fragile materials.
Some of the contents are materials that appear to be related to the Newberg community: Newberg Quarterly 25th Anniversary program; "History of Friends Church" by John Rees; "Quakers in the Oregon Country" by Mercedes J. Paul; "Reminiscences" by Amanda Woodward. Information from Dick Votaw: Diary of Samuel Hobson, Quaker from Yadkin County, North Carolina, does not relate to Newberg or Northwest Yearly Meeting according to a note that was clipped to the second copy. Record shows that the donor's name was Eric Hobson, and it was donated in 1998. The note was signed by Ralph... “Dick, I think you met the gentleman ...was researching his ancestors, Wm. and Samuel Hobson. ... unfortunately end before the family moved to Oregon."
Eric Hobson