Rees Family Correspondence
Scope and Content note
This collection is comprised of approximately 75 letters between members of the Rees family and their friends between the years of 1851 and 1876. The correspondence demonstrates the efforts of family members to stay in contact with one another across long distances. Some notable letters include: a description of Marion County, Oregon, in 1851; an account of conditions in Oregon in 1854, including a description of Astoria; an 1860 letter by S.G. Rees described; letters by and regarding David A. Rees, who died in the Civil War; letters from Corwin P. Rees to his mother while he was serving in the Union Army from 1864-1865; several letters from Corwin's wife Elizabeth S. Rees, while travelling to various locationgs (including Mexico, the Cape Verde Islands, and the Mare Island Naval Base) with her husband in the 1870s; and several letters addressed to W.H. Rees regarding the Oregon Pioneer Association.
Also included in the collection is the report card of one Rees Family member (possibly Corwin Rees) from the Naval Academy in Annapolis in 1870.
Transcripts of the letters, which appear to have been prepared for the book Pen Pictures of Oregon, compiled and published by H.K. Hines in 1893, accompany this collection.
Most of the material appears to have passed through the hands of W. H. Rees. He may have collected them due to his interest in history. The letters were donated to the Pacific University Museum by the Masonic Home in Forest Grove, according to a note found with the collection.
Dates
- 1851-1876
Creator
- Rees Family (Family)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Pacific University owns the copyright to some, but not all, of the materials housed in its archives. Copyright for materials authored or otherwise produced as official business of Pacific University is retained by Pacific University and requires its permission for publication. Copyright status for other collection materials varies. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Biographical Note
The Rees Family, originally from Delaware, was a large family with members spread across Ohio, Kansas, Oregon and other states. The patriarch of the family was Thomas Rees, a man of Quaker background who owned mills in Delaware. He married Elizabeth Stout Griffin in 1817, and made their home on an old family property in Smyrna, Kent County, Delaware. The family moved to Ohio in 1825. Thomas and Elizabeth Rees remained in Ohio thereafter, but their children emigrated to many locations across the United States. Of their children who survived into adulthood, three stayed in Ohio (Olivia Rebecca, Mary Ellen and Raymond Ringold); two emigrated to Oregon (Willard Hall and McDonough Bainbridge); one to California (Sewell Green); and five to Kansas (Jacob Griffin, Victor Dupont, Decatur Stout, Franklin Carroll and Thomas Clayton). At least two sons joined the military. Lieutenant David Austen Rees, of Sherman’s army, was killed at Kennesaw Mountain in the Civil War. Corwin Pottenger Rees, survived the Civil War as an officer and continued his career afterwards in the navy, travelling to locations around the world.
Of particular note is Willard Hall ("W.H.") Rees, who was born on September 17, 1819. He emigrated to Oregon in 1844 in the same party as John Minto and Cornelius Gilliam. He first settled in Astoria, where he erected a mill. The following year, he moved to Oregon City, and the year after that, moved to the village of St. Louis in Marion County. Although the Rees family was of Quaker heritage, W.H. Rees took contracts to build Catholic church buildings in both Oregon City and St. Louis. He settled permanently in the French Prairie area of Marion County. He married Amanda Hall, whose family came from Kentucky, leaving her alone for a time in Oregon after the discovery of gold in California. Upon returning from California $3,000 richer, he contributed to building projects in various locations in Oregon. He and Amanda eventually had twelve children together, who would settle in Oregon and Washington states. Late in his life, W.H. Rees became the secretary of the Oregon Pioneer Association, and worked to preserve the early historical record of the state.
Most of the above information is from: Hines, H.K. An Illustrated History of the State of Oregon (Chicago: 1893), p. 1196-1197.
Extent
0.25 Cubic Feet (1 box)
Language of Materials
English
Summary
The Rees Family, originally from Delaware, was a large family with members spread across Ohio, Kansas, Oregon and other states. This collection is comprised of approximately 75 letters between members of the Rees family and their friends, describing conditions for pioneers in Oregon, events of the Civil War, and other topics.
Accruals
No accruals are expected.
Creator
- Rees Family (Family)
- Title
- Guide to the Rees Family Correspondence
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Jessie Sweeney & Eva Guggemos
- Date
- 2012
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
- Sponsor
- Sponsored by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission
Repository Details
Part of the Pacific University Archives Repository