Oregon Historical Society Research Library
Joel Palmer papers
Palmer, Joel, 1810-1881
Coll 1083
1 cubic feet
1 legal document case; 1 slim legal document case; 1 flat box (16x20x1.5); 1 oversize folder (20x24) in shared flat box
circa 1846-1890
circa 1846-1872
Papers of Joel Palmer (1810-1881) of Dayton, Oregon, including correspondence, diaries, treaties, and financial papers. The majority of the papers relate to Palmer's roles as commissary general during the Cayuse War, as Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Oregon Territory in the 1850s, and as an Indian agent at the Siletz Agency in the 1870s. The collection also includes some family papers and papers of William H. Wright.
English
Collection is open for research.
Gift of Mike Morgan and Sheila Morgan Henry, March 2025 (RL2025-013).
Materials are organized in three broad groupings. Papers directly relating to Joel Palmer and Indian affairs are first, followed by papers of Palmer's family, then papers relating to William H. Wright. Within each grouping, the papers are arranged chronologically.
Joel Palmer was born in 1810 in Canada and grew up in upstate New York. He received only a few months of formal education, and at age 13 his parents indentured him to a family in Le Ray, New York, where he lived until the age of 17. He then moved to Pennsylvania. In 1830, he married Catherine Coffee. After Coffee's death, he remarried to Sarah Ann Derbyshire (1815-1891) in 1836; the couple had eight children. That same year, they moved near Laurel, Indiana, where Palmer worked as a contractor on a canal-building project and served two terms in the Indiana Legislature.
In 1845, Palmer traveled to Oregon, where he scouted out what would become the Barlow Road on Mount Hood. He described his experiences in a diary that was published in 1847, which served as a guidebook for emigrants to Oregon on equipment and routes. He returned to Indiana in 1846 and then emigrated to Oregon with his family. In 1849, the family took residence in the Yamhill Valley, where Palmer founded the town of Dayton.
In Oregon, Palmer became a political leader who held significant roles in relations between Euro-American emigrants and Native peoples. He was a commissary general of the volunteer militia during the Cayuse War, and then a peace commissioner to the Cayuse. Later, he was territorial superintendent of Indian Affairs, then federal superintendent for Indian Affairs for the Oregon Territory from 1853 to 1856, when he resigned. During his three years as superintendent, Palmer negotiated nine treaties, as well as two others in collaboration with Isaac Stevens. He also characterized Euro-Americans as instigators of many conflicts with Native people, which angered some emigrants to the region and led to his resignation.
Initially a Democrat, Palmer was an active Unionist during the U.S. Civil War and had changed his affiliation to the Republican Party by 1862. That same year, he was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives, where he became Speaker. In 1864, he was elected to the Oregon Senate. In 1870, he ran for governor of Oregon, but narrowly lost to Lafayette Grover.
In 1871, Palmer was appointed Indian agent at the Siletz Reservation, but he remained in that role for less than two years before resigning out of frustration with bureaucracy and his inability to assist the Siletz people. He died in 1881.
Source: "Joel Palmer (1810-1881)," by William L. Lang, Oregon Encyclopedia, https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/palmer_joel_1810_1881_/; entry in "Dictionary of Oregon History," 2nd edition, 1989, edited by Howard McKinley Corning, page 190; vital records via Ancestry.com.
Original notice and roster for the Union League council in Belpassi, Oregon, is in the Joel Palmer papers, Mss 114, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Due to fragility, some items in this collection may require assistance to view.
Joel Palmer papers, Coll 1083, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Papers of Joel Palmer acquired by the Oregon Historical Society Research Library prior to 2025 are designated Mss 114.
Other materials at the Library relating to Joel Palmer include the Courtney Walker Meade papers, Mss 249; the George Abernethy papers, Mss 929; the Philip Foster papers, Mss 996; "An Arrow in the Earth: Joel Palmer and the Indians of Oregon," by Terence O'Donnell (call number 970.5 O26a); "History of the Grand Ronde Military Block House," by John Gordon Lewis (call number Vault 979.131 D337L); "Joel Palmer and Indian Affairs in Oregon," by Stanley Sheldon Spaid (call number 979.107 P1825); and multiple editions of Palmer's journal about his 1845 journey to Oregon.
Papers of Joel Palmer are also held at the University of Oregon Special Collections and University Archives in Eugene, Oregon, under collection number Ax 057; and at the Indiana University Bloomington's Lilly Library, in Bloomington, Indiana, under collection number LMC1815.
This collection of Joel Palmer's papers primarily relates to Palmer's work as a commissary general during the Cayuse War, then as superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Oregon Territory in the 1850s, and finally as an Indian agent on the Siletz Reservation in the 1870s. These papers consist of diaries, memorandum books, handwritten copies of treaties, proceedings of the Wasco Council, correspondence (including drafts and handwritten copies of letters), a report, and financial records.
Other papers in the collection include records of Palmer's financial dealings, his involvement with the Union League during the U.S. Civil War, and a letter he wrote about his trip to gold mines in British Columbia. The collection also includes some correspondence and financial papers of Palmer's family. In addition, several items relate to William H. Wright: two financial documents concerning Wright and Palmer; a handwritten copy of a letter regarding the estate of Wright's brother Ben Wright; a letter from his sister, Mary J. Wright; a letter from his brother Charles W. Wright; and a carte-de-visite portrait.
With the exception of one item, all papers in this collection are original documents.
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.
Palmer, Joel, 1810-1881--Correspondence
Wright, William H. (William Henry), active 1855-1857--Correspondence
United States. Office of Indian Affairs. Oregon Superintendency--Records and correspondence
United States. Office of Indian Affairs. Siletz Agency--Records and correspondence
Indian agents--Oregon--Correspondence
Indians of North America--Oregon--Government relations
Indians of North America--Oregon--Treaties
Indians of North America--Wars--Oregon
Pacific Coast Indians, Wars with, 1847-1865
Native Americans
Oregon
Diaries
Pioneers
correspondence
diaries
financial records
Handwritten copy of diary entries during Palmer's westward journey from April-May 1845
circa 1846
1
1
Handwritten copy of dedication, publisher's advertisement, and table of contents for Palmer's published journal
circa 1847
1
2
Account book labeled as "Army book"
1849-1851
1
3
Account of expenses
1849 June
1
4
Voucher for Harriet Thompson
1849 June 27
1
5
List of funds owed to Palmer for expenses without vouchers in 1849 Fort Hall expedition
circa 1849
1
6
List of equipment furnished to U.S. citizens by the Hudson's Bay Company in the Cayuse War
1850
1
7
Handwritten copy of letter from W. Medill to Joseph Lane regarding census of Native peoples in Oregon
1850 August 31
1
8
Muster roll for volunteer mounted ranger company commanded by Ben Wright for protection of Euro-American emigrants on the California Trail against Modoc people
1852
Oversize 1
Bill for furniture sold by former Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Oregon Territory Anson Dart
1853 May
1
9
Diary
1853 June 28
1853 August 28-1854 March 13
1
10
Handwritten copy of treaty with Rogue River Tribe
1853 September 10
1
11
Diary
1854
1
12
Memorandum book with supplies and financial information and notes
1854
1
13
Handwritten copy of letter from Palmer to Major J. G. Rains, commander of Fort Dalles
1854 March 6
1
14
Articles of agreement with Rogue River Tribe
1854 November 15
1
15
Pages from memorandum book or books with information about supplies and finances, diary entries, and writings relating to treaties with Native peoples
1855
1
16
Handwritten copy of treaty with confederated tribes and bands of middle Oregon, with penciled corrections
1855
1
17
Proceedings of Wasco Council and related correspondence
1855 June
1
18
Vouchers for McPherson & Company and for William H. Wright
1855 May-June
1
19
Receipt for materials used in construction of buildings on Table Rock Reservation
1855 August 16
1
20
Receipt of property returned in fulfillment of treaty with bands of the Umpqua people
1855
1
21
Abstract of disbursements by Ben Wright
1855
1
22
Estimate of expenses to be incurred in treaty negotiations
circa 1855
1
23
Translated handwritten copy of letter originally written in French from E. Cherouse to Father Mesplie at The Dalles, regarding Euro-American volunteers seizing provisions from Native peoples
1856 January 15
1
24
Handwritten copy of letter from Palmer to General John Ellis Wool
1856 January 27
1
25
Draft of letter from Palmer to George W. Manypenny
1856 April 11
1
26
Draft of letter from Palmer to E. P. Drew
1856 June 27
1
27
Census of Native families from the Oregon coast
1856
1
28
Financial settlement between Palmer and Stewart Hanna for the costs of constructing a floating bridge over the Yamhill River
1856 November 4
3
1
Vouchers
1856
1
29
Letter from William J. Martin to Palmer
1857
1
30
Affidavit of William J. Martin regarding Palmer
1857
3
2
Letter from John Derbyshire to Palmer
1857 April 22
1
31
Memorandum book with supplies and financial information and diary entries
1858
1
32
Receipt for $50 from Stewart Hanna
1858 November 14
1
33
Letter from Palmer to the editor of the Portland Times regarding his trip to gold mines on the Fraser and Quesnel rivers (written as Frazar and Quenelle) in British Columbia
1860 January 28
1
34
List of subscribers for wagon road to be constructed under Palmer's supervision
1860 February 29
2
1
Oregon Legislature document, "An Act to Organize the Militia"
1862
2
2
Certificate to Palmer to establish a Union League council in Belpassi, Oregon
1864 January 16
2
3
Belpassi Union League notice and roster (typescript copy)
1864
2
4
Original of this document is in Box 1, Folder 35 of the Joel Palmer papers, Mss 114, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Receipt for $500 assessments for subscriptions by Palmer, W. W. Buck, and H. S. Buck to Oregon City Manufacturing Company
1864 September 9
2
5
Specifications for Oregon City Manufacturing Company building
circa 1864
2
6
Letter from John M. Forrest to Palmer
1864 December 5
2
7
Financial bond of Palmer to Samuel Brown for $500
1866 October 22
2
8
Receipt from Samuel Brown for $1,047.71
1867 December 16
2
9
Siletz Agency report for month of July 1871
1871 August 1
2
10
Memorandum book with notes and information about supplies and finances relating to Siletz Agency
1871
2
11
Diary
1872
2
12
Letter from R. Hall to Palmer
1879 November 16
2
13
Statement of account for Palmer and William H. Wright
undated
3
3
Letter from Alex J. Derbyshire to Sarah Ann Palmer
1871 May 23
2
14
Letter from Melissa Johnson to Sarah Ann Palmer
1872 February 14
2
15
Letter from Alex D. Stockton to Sarah Ann Palmer
1890 April 15
2
16
Fragment of letter from Ruth M. Hartly to unidentified recipient
undated
2
17
Financial papers relating to Alex Derbyshire
undated
2
18
Letter from Mary J. Wright to William H. Wright
1855 December 3
2
19
Handwritten copy of letter from Abel Eudy to William H. Wright regarding Ben Wright's estate
1856 May 12
2
20
Letter from Charles W. Wright to William Henry Wright
1857 January 20
3
4
Bill of goods for William H. Wright at Fort Alexandria
circa 1858
2
21
Carte-de-visite portrait of William H. Wright
undated
2
22