Box 1

Scope and Contents 3 handwritten documents: 1. Pages 3-20 of an essay protesting articles which were published in Griffin's newspaper, the Oregon American, that alleged Catholic involvement in the Whitman massacre. The articles had been published at the behest of Griffin's friend, Henry H. Spalding. -- 2. A letter from Burnett regarding the aftermath of the publication of his essay. -- 3. Pages 5-9 of an article by Burnett, in which he transcribes a letter from Spalding...

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3 documents related to governance of the Congregational Church of Tualatin Plains, which later split into churches at Forest Grove and Hillsboro. The documents are signed by John Smith Griffin, P. B. Littlejohn, A.T. Smith, William Geiger, Obed Dickinson and Cushing Eells. See also, John Smith Griffin's "The principals of the First Church of Tualatin Plains...", and clippings on the history of the church, below.

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Letter, probably printed as an article in The Oregon American, regarding the sinking of the Whale Ship Maine on August 22, 1848, near Astoria.

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Letter the editor of the Oregon American, apparently published as "A Evans on Creeds."

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Four letters from William H. Gray to John Smith Griffin concerning the Oregon American, including a letter about Gray's submission of his account, "Sketches of Oregon," and a letter to the editor regarding the Clatsop Total Abstinence Society.

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Handwritten account of William H. Gray's overland journey to Oregon in 1836, as part of the Whitman-Spalding Party. Griffin published this account as a series of articles in his newspaper, the Oregon American and Evangelical Unionist, in 1848.

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5 books listing Griffin's household expenditures and income, including entries relating to Henry H. Spalding and J.S. Griffin's school house (in Hillsboro?). Accounts from 1843-1844 are fragmentary. Notes related to Lapwai and sermons are interspersed.

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Outgoing letters (drafts?) from John Smith Griffin to: Jesse Applegate (1848); the American Tract Society (1853);

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Includes notes that were apparently published in various newspapers; subscriptions to Griffin's newspaper; and a proposition to establish an "educational village," possibly related to Pacific University.

Scope and Contents note From the Collection: The collection includes original correspondence, writings, household accounts and notes related to John Smith Griffin, many of which are related to article in his newspaper, the Oregon American in 1848-1849, and to his work with the Congregational Church of Tualatin Plains in the 1840s-1850s. Notable items in the collection include:- Several letters and essays related to the Whitman Massacre written down within two years of the event. They...