Collection is open for research.
In 1845, William Helm and Martha Ann Scoggan Helm and their eight children headed west on the Oregon Trail. William Fletcher Helm married Elizabeth Marie Sager, whose family crossed the year before. She gained a sister, but lost both of her parents, on the Oregon Trail.
Helm family letters, Mss 867, Oregon Historical Society.
Description expanded with additional detail in September 2022.
Collection primarily consists of correspondence of and relating to the Helm family, Oregon pioneers. Also included are a handwritten family record of births and marriages; original and typescript copies, both incomplete, of an Oregon Pioneer Association questionnaire about William Helm, with biographical details and reminiscences about his family's journey to Oregon and their life after arriving; a typescript photocopy of a document titled "The Crossing of the Plains in 1845 & 46," written by Richard Watson Helm in 1913; and receipts.
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.