Archives West Finding Aid

Elizabeth Marie Sager, born 1837, was the second eldest daughter of Henry and Naomi Sager's seven children. While travelling on the Oregon Trail to what is now Washington State, both parents died due to illness. The children were taken to the Walla Walla Valley and adopted by the missionaires, Marcus and Narcissa Whitman. In 1847 the Whitmans and the 2 eldest Sager boys were killed in an attack on the mission by a group of men, including local Cayuse. After this, Elizabeth and her remaining three sisters were sent to Oregon City, Oregon, and were placed with the Rev. William and Mrs. Roberts. In October 1851, the eldest sister, Catherine, married, and Elizabeth and the youngest sister moved in with the couple. In 1855, Elizabeth married farmer William Fletcher Helm and lived in Prineville, Oregon. They had nine children. Elizabeth died in Portland, Oregon in 1925 at the age of 88.