SAMUEL COLVER
(1815--1891)
P I O N E E R   O F   S O U T H E R N   O R E G O N
   
INDIAN AGENT [No, he wasn't]--FIRST IMPORTER OF BLOODED HORSES TO OREGON--BRINGING THEM FROM FRENCH CANADIAN STOCK--FIRST IMPORTER OF MULEY CATTLE TO OREGON--ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IN OREGON--PUBLIC-SPIRITED MAN--LEADER IN WHATEVER HE UNDERTOOK--MAN OF HIGH MENTAL POWER.
   
NEWSPAPER ACCOUNTS OF THE DEATH OF SAMUEL COLVER
   
ASHLAND TIDINGS, MARCH, 1891
UNCLE SAM COLVER'S FATE
His horse found dead in a swamp.

    "Samuel Colver was a native of Ohio, born September 10, 1815, near Irwin, Union County, and attended the common schools of that state and attaining some prominence as a debater, his name is found in at least one Ohio state history, in connection with his skill in this field. In his early teens he, in company with a younger brother, Hiram, was sent to a well-known college to complete his education (Plymouth, Indiana).
    "Here he found the strict orthodox so distasteful to him that he was often in verbal conflict with his teachers, and his rhyming witticisms and caustic criticisms soon brought him into open conflict with the faculty until finally, he was publicly reprimanded and given his choice of publicly apologizing or leaving the college. He chose the latter course, which terminated his scholastic career.
    "About that time the state of Texas was attempting to throw off the yoke of Mexico, and young Colver went to that new field where there was abundant room for adventurous spirits, and no restrictions by narrow orthodox teachers.
    "Young Colver joined the Texan army under the banner of Sam Houston, and served as Texas Ranger until after the sanguinary battle of San Jacinto, which established Texan independence. After the independence of the Lone Star State was established, Colver served under the flag on the frontier as scout and trader with the Indians, sometimes in conflict with hostile tribes and in peril of his life. In one adventure he was forced to cross a wide extent of country occupied by a hostile tribe of Indians, and his only method of travel was on foot and by night. The cactus and other thorny shrubs soon tore his clothes to shreds and he had to clothe himself entirely with the untanned skins of wild animals and eat of their unsalted flesh for days at a time until he reached a settled portion of the country.
    "In 1838, Colver was granted 640 acres of and for his services in this war. This land is the present site of Lampasas Springs, Texas.
    "Samuel Colver's next adventure was in his native state, which he canvassed pretty thoroughly as public lecturer on the then newly discovered science of Mesmerism. He had as a subject a remarkable character by the name of Buchanan, whose feats of mind reading and other stunts while under the power of the mesmerist were truly wonderful, and at that time unaccountable.
    "Soon after the discovery of gold and the opening up of the Oregon country to settlement under the liberal donation land law the Colver brothers, Sam and Hiram, together with their families and many relatives undertook the long and perilous journey across the plains by way of the Old Oregon Trail to the Willamette Valley, at that time the only well-known part of Oregon Territory.

    "They first came to the Waldo Hills east of Salem, where the Davenports and others of their kin were located. Samuel filed on a claim where the present city of Eugene is located, but soon after the discovery of gold on Jackson Creek and the consequent settlement of, or desirability of the Rogue River Valley for farming purposes, both Colvers proceeded to that valley and Samuel abandoned the Eugene claim. Neither of the brothers seemed to have any desire to seek their fortunes in the gold fields, but rather to avail themselves of the liberal offerings of land claims.
    "They both took up a section of land along Bear Creek in the richest and most picturesque section of the valley, and some eight or ten miles from the site of the gold discovery (Jacksonville), where a rough camp of tents and log cabins was being erected as the nucleus of a considerable town, and for years the county seat of Jackson County.
    "The land claim of Samuel Colver was of less value agriculturally than that of the younger brother, Hiram, as it was more broken and timbered; but at the same time it was more picturesque, having a really notable butte on the southwest corner standing some two hundred feet above the surrounding lands, about equal distance from the spurs of the Siskiyou Mountains that formed the east and west borders of the valley.
    "There had been more or less discontent among the Indians of the Rogue River Valley since the advent of the first white trappers several years before, and the opening up of the Southern Oregon trail in 1846, after which an increasing number of emigrants passed through the country either going north to the Umpqua and Willamette valleys or south to the gold fields of California caused the Indians to become more jealous of the incursions of the palefaces, and when the miners began to flock into the country and white people began to settle upon their lands, there were frequent clashes between whites and Indians, resulting in killings of many innocent persons as well as the destruction of property until a state of open warfare existed in the early part of 1853, when a treaty was made with the Indians. A company of U.S. regulars stationed at Table Rock and Samuel Culver, who had been appointed Indian Agent by Superintendent Joel Palmer, was in charge of the Rogue River Indians. [Samuel H. Culver was appointed Indian Agent, not Samuel Colver.] In the treaty made by Joe Lane and others with the Rogue River Indians at Table Rock on September 10, 1853 as recorded in Volume 1, page 399 Gaston's Centennial History of Oregon, the following names appear as those of the party of the whites who visited the Indians in their encampment under the cliffs of Table Rock, at the invitation of Chief John. They were:
    "Gen. Joseph Lane; Joel Palmer, Supt. of Indian Affairs; Samuel H. Culver, Indian Agent; Capt. A. J. Smith, 1st Dragoons; Capt. L. Mosher, Adjt.; Col. John E. Ross; Capt. J. W. Nesmith; Lieut. A. V. Kautz; R. B. Metcalfe; J. D. Mason & T. T. Tierney. Eleven white men and 700 Indians.
    "This treaty was observed by the Rogue River Indians and whites until the fall of 1855, when the Indians broke it by killing and robbing freighters on the Siskiyou Mountains, which precipitated the war of 1855-56.
    "The settlers in most parts of the valley had arranged their houses for defense in case of attack, but many of them left their homes and concentrated at different points in the valley where numbers of them could most easily collect in emergencies to assist each other. One of these points was the Samuel Colver residence, where quite a village had commenced, there being a small sawmill running, a grist mill under construction, and a large blockhouse was built by Colver to serve as a defensive point for settlers to rally in case of attack.
    "Samuel Colver was an athlete, and was always an outdoor man. He was very hospitable, and his house was open to strangers. His wife, Aunt Huldah, as she was familiarly called, was one of the most generous and kind-hearted women that ever lived, a fine cook and housekeeper, a very domestic and home-loving woman, while Sam Colver, or Uncle Sam, as he was usually called, cared little for home life and seemed to prefer the out of doors. His love for horses, dogs and all animals was a distinguishing peculiarity of his.
    "Colver was a good debater and always ready to express his opinion on any subject, was an early abolitionist, an advocate of woman's rights and a prohibitionist of the most pronounced type, and ready to defend his beliefs at all times and against all comers. Though active in politics, he was never an office seeker. While he was a pronounced agnostic, Aunt Huldah was decidedly religious, and her house was a favorite haven for preachers, and seemingly without protest from Uncle Sam.
    "Another peculiarity of Uncle Sam's was his habit of composing some rhymes which he would delight in singing (to his own music) or reciting before a crowd. Some of his compositions were very fine, both in sentiment and in rhyme. He used to correspond with some of the leaders of the Equal Suffrage Society, and I have heard him recite some of his caustic verses in connection with this movement.
    "There was one song I have heard him sing that he composed for the occasion of a large public gathering in California, I think, in which the demand for a transcontinental railroad was urged. The music was supplied by a young lady in the audience, and it was certainly worthy of the occasion and awakened great enthusiasm. It is a shame that this composition has not been preserved. I can recall only a portion of the refrain, which was given as answer to a question propounded in the several stanzas of the song as to what the spirits of the dead demanded of the living as recompense for the hardships and sufferings of the pioneers:
            'Tis the voice of the Immigrant, dead
            Comes floating o'er the main
            And asks for a road across--
            For a railroad across the plain.
    "There were quite a number of stanzas, depicting the horrors of cholera, both among the land emigrants and those coming by water--around the Horn and by way of the Isthmus of Panama, the Indian massacres and the dangers met and overcome, and at the end of each stanza a variation of the above query.
    "Most of Colver's verses were aimed at some common fault or frailty in human nature and exposing the same to ridicule. He had one, a favorite of his, to which he was adding verses from year to year and applying to all manner of tradesmen, politicians, merchants, stockmen and nearly everybody. It always terminated in something like this, a common excuse for doing something known to be wrong, 'For if I don't do it some other rogue will.' He delighted to get into a crowd and sing this song for the diversion it would create.
    "In 1859 or '60, he went back to Texas, sold his land that had been given him as bonus for his services in the war with Mexico, went to Canada and bought a number of very fine French horses, stallions and mares. One horse, a very fine one, cost him $2500.00. He lost this one on the plains coming back to Oregon. He also lost another stallion that had cost him $1000.00. He arrived home in the fall of 1860, with some fifty head of horses and quite a few mules that he had brought from Missouri.
    "Two of the stallions he brought with him were notable animals, having records as light and heavy draft animals from the Montreal Horse Fair, registered as having received first premiums in their respective classes for that year; the light draft animal was of the "Coeur de Leon" or Lion Heart breed, and had a record of traveling on a test a mile in three minutes with a cart and twelve hundred pounds weight. The heavier draft animal was of Norman blood and not calculated for speed. These animals, kept by Colver for several years for breeding purposes, left their impress on the horses of the valley, and no horses were ever brought to the valley that so improved the character of the stock then here, or left such a permanent impress on their character as did those two animals. Colver brought another stallion, a smaller animal of the Blackhawk breed, a fast trotter, which he sold for about $1400.00. He was also an importer of blooded cattle, being the first to bring the muley or hornless cattle to the county.
    "It was soon after his return from Canada that Uncle Sam saw a chance to make money by taking a lot of horses and mules up to the northern mines and running a saddle and pack train from the mines to the nearest source of supply. Leaving a man named John Waggoner in charge of his Phoenix property, he took quite a bunch of animals to the mines in Eastern Oregon (now Idaho and Montana), where he operated a saddle train for the greater part of a year, conveying miners to and from the mines, and sometimes carrying gold out. As there was a very dangerous gang of outlaws infesting that region at that time who, when not running the many gambling dens that were a part of every mining camp were waylaying miners who were going out of the country to invest their gold, or they would swoop down on isolated miners, rob them and their cabins or sluiceboxes, steal horses, and commit all kinds of deviltry.
    "Uncle Sam was knocked down and robbed at one time, the robbers leaving him for dead, but he was only stunned and managed to crawl to safety. He returned home shortly after.
    "Having long realized the necessity for a county road from Rogue River Valley over the mountains to the Klamath country, I (I in this story is always O. A. Stearns) drew up a petition in 1869 to the county court of Jackson County. When I presented the petition, the court debated a long time whether the country across the mountains was of sufficient importance to justify the expense of the survey and location [of a road], and finally agreed that if the petitioners, or two of them, would give $1,000 in bonds to reimburse the county in case of an adverse report of the viewers, they would order the survey. Captain Sprague and myself executed the required bond, and the order was made. At my solicitation the following men were appointed viewers: William Songer, Samuel Colver, O. T. Brown. J. S. Howard was the surveyor, who made the survey which was duly accepted, and a subscription was immediately circulated to raise money to open the road, as no public funds were available. A sum of $600.00 was raised, $400.00 of which was subscribed east of the mountains, where the entire voting population was but thirty. Uncle Sam and my father were the only subscribers to the fund below Ashland.
    "Uncle Sam Colver volunteered to take charge of the work and raised a lot of laborers and commenced early the spring of 1869 at the Songer place on the stage road, and by early fall had it opened clear through to the Klamath Valley. While it could not be expected that such a small sum of money would build near fifty miles of mountain road, it remains a fact that teams of two horses could haul over it a full ton without having to unload and pack up the steep places as formerly. In fact, Uncle Sam Colver did more actual road work with that $600.00 than has ever been done at any time since with ten times that sum. The building of that road was the beginning of the development of the great inland empire consisting of what is now Klamath and Lake counties in Oregon, and the valleys of Surprise, Hot Springs and Big Valley in California, because it was their nearest and only route over which they got their supplies for many years.
    "Samuel Colver was fifth in descent from Edward Colver, the Puritan, who came to America in 1635, was a member of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and a founder of Boston, Dedham and Roxbury, Massachusetts and New London and Mystic, Connecticut.
    "Perhaps the most able and noted of the Colvers was Rev. Nathaniel Colver (1794-1870). He held the pastorate of Tremont Temple, the First Baptist Church of Boston, Massachusetts, 13 years, from 1839 until 1852. This church was at that time the most prominent church in Boston. He was referred to as "the grandest abolitionist in Boston." President John Quincy Adams said of him, "He was the best offhand speaker I have ever heard." Rev. Nathaniel Colver was a first cousin of the subject of this sketch.
    "The Colver family has been well represented in the American Colonial wars, and in the subsequent wars within the United States. More than one hundred soldiers bearing the surname of Colver, and who were direct descendants of Edward Colver, the Puritan, served in the American Revolution, 1775-1783.
    "In 1867, Uncle Sam bought out the interest of his son in what was known for many years as the Stearns ranch in Klamath County. He owned this property at the time of his death.
    "In 1884 his only son was accidentally shot by a neighbor, P. W. Olwell, at Phoenix, Oregon. Mr. Olwell owned and operated the flour mill at Phoenix. One night he heard someone prowling round his home and thought he was being robbed, as he often had considerable sums of money in his safe. He raised a cry for help, and Louie Colver and Dr. George Kahler, who were close neighbors, were the first to reach the Olwell home. Louie Colver carried a lighted lantern, and seeing Mr. Olwell standing at the window, waved his lantern and shouted. Mr. Olwell was so excited that he fired his gun, killing Louie Colver, one of his best friends. This was in March, 1884. In April, 1885, Isabel Colver Rose, weakened by grief over the loss of her only brother, succumbed to the ravages of diphtheria. This double tragedy left Uncle Sam and Aunt Huldah Colver childless. From this date Uncle Sam spent very little time in Rogue River Valley. The loss of his children preyed on his mind, and he seemed to want to be away from scenes that would remind him of them. He had taken a very active part in the Modoc Indian war, had been one of the first property owners in Klamath country, and had many warm friends among the pioneers of this region.
    "In March 1891, while attempting to pay a business visit to one William Spencer, who lived on the west shore of Upper Klamath Lake, Uncle Sam was drowned or frozen to death. His body was not recovered until several months later. His remains are now buried in the Phoenix cemetery beside those of his wife. This cemetery is a part of his donation land claim."
Colver Papers, University of Oregon Special Collections Ax 126.  This document appears in several versions in the papers; one of them is attributed "By his great-grandson Wilbur W. Jones, Oregon State College, August 1939."




   
    "The early history of our country is one of peril and privation--of patient industry and slow development. Our Fathers, the Pioneers of this region, were earnest, hardy and fearless men, who, in addition to the labors of backwoodsmen, found abundant opportunities for the display of their heroism in guarding their humble firesides from the prowling wolf and stealthy savage. The annals of such a people, and their successors, cannot be devoid of interest to anyone; and should especially be cherished with the liveliest satisfaction by those who are able to claim descent from them."
    This picture of the Colver House was taken in August, 1921, at Phoenix, Jackson County, Oregon. It is the historic old home built by Grandfather, Samuel Colver, and Grandmother Huldah Callender-Colver, on their donation land claim number 42. This building, which is on the paved Pacific Highway, was completed in 1855, and is, perhaps, one of the most interesting structures erected in Oregon during the pioneer period of the state. It was constructed, primarily, for hotel purposes and also as a refuge for the various families in the settlement during the Indian uprisings. As Grandmother Colver did not take kindly to the idea of presiding over a hostelry, the hotel project was abandoned and the building was never used for that purpose. It furnished protection from the Indians to the neighbors for miles around on several occasions.
    Considering the early day in which it was built, it is an enormous structure, being 50x50 feet in size, built of smoothly hewn logs, 14 inches in thickness. The logs are planed smooth on their outer surface and dovetailed together at the corners. The port holes in the second story are not now visible as the outside has been weatherboarded over. The house is plastered throughout and originally contained four fireplaces. The kitchen fireplace has been removed.
    This historic old home was the old community center. The large second floor, now divided into thirteen good-sized rooms, was, at one and the same time, school room, dance hall, church, lodge and playhouse. Old timers still refer to this old home as the "blockhouse." It is the oldest house standing in Jackson County, Oregon, and one of the most interesting relics from pioneer times. The building is in a state of perfect preservation, and the interior is, today, finished and furnished as well as many of the finest homes in the county.
    This was the home of my grandparents, Uncle Sam and Aunt Huldah Colver, as they were familiarly known, from 1855 until their death. Grandfather Colver died in 1891, and grandmother Colver died in 1907. It was also the home of my great-grandfather, Samuel Colver, Sr., and great-grandmother, Rachael Curry-Colver, from the time they came to Oregon by way of Cape Horn, in the early '50s, until their death in 1866.
    Originally, an upper balcony extended across the entire front of the house connected by an outside stairway with the lower porch. This upper balcony was removed about 1918 in order to give the house a more modern appearance.
    This old home was inherited in 1910 by Lloyd Colver, a grandson of the original owners. In the fall of 1923, Lloyd Colver sold the property to Miss Edith Prettyman, who has converted this old family mansion and historic structure into an inn, known as "The Blue Flower Inn."
    As a mother, who has given the best years of her life and energy to rearing her children, seeing them go forth into the world no longer needing her care, resolves to use her time and inspiration in developing some talent--music--drama--which has been dormant in her being during her busy years, so this old home, after sheltering Grandfather and Grandmother Colver, their parents, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren for seventy years, is, for the first time, being used for the purpose for which it was originally constructed, a public inn.
    This old home has resounded to the merry frolics of the little children who have grown up within its friendly walls.
    It has witnessed the wedding ceremonies of many of its descendants. The massive dining room has often been a scene of radiance when the long tables were fairly groaning under their weight of good things prepared for the wedding feast. It stood with solemn and impressive dignity when neighbors and pioneer friends from far and near gathered to say their last tribute to dear Grandmother Colver, the first mistress of the old home. Her remains lay in state across the east corner of the north room. Smilax and purple tulle were festooned over the handsome casket. Grandma wore a peaceful smile--her hands were folded across her breast--her
work was done. The neighbors and old pioneer friends, who had so often enjoyed the hospitality for which her home was justly famous, now moved in solemn procession past her remains, paying mute tribute to one they had known so long and loved so well.
    The memories of this old home, with all their joys and sorrows, will ever be treasured by all of us who have lived within its much-loved walls. Each room, to us, has a history--each well-worn path marks "the spot where our fathers have trod."
    Huldah Callender-Colver was born near Mechanicsburg, Champaign County, Ohio, January 1, 1823, married Samuel Colver of Union County, Ohio, 1845. She was the daughter of Samuel Callender and Mary Isham-Callender, who were married in Vermont about 1811, and died in Champaign County, Ohio, 1825, both dying in one week of what was then called "milk sickness." Samuel Callender was a fifer in the Revolutionary War. He served in Capt. Samuel Lewis' company of Col. Thaddeus Crane's regiment of Westchester County (New York) militia (Roster of State Troops printed in: New York State Archives, Vol. I). (Documents Relating to the Colonial History of New York, Vol. 15, p. 337) Samuel Callender also served in the War of 1812 as fifer in Capt. Hezikiah Barnes, Jr.'s Company of Infantry, 4th Regiment (Williams) Vermont Militia (Adjt. Gen. War Dept.)
    Captain John Callender of Boston, Mass,, was a great-uncle of Huldah Callender-Colver. He was Captain in Col. Richard Gridley's (artillery) regiment at the battle of Bunker Hill. He was also in the Battle of Long Island, where he was captured by the British. Later, he was exchanged for a British prisoner, and served as Captain in Col. Crane's (artillery) regiment from Jan. 1, 1777 to Dec. 31, 1780 (Archives Div., Sec. of the Commonwealth, Boston, Mass.).
    The great-grandfather of Huldah Callender-Colver was Eliezer Callender. The records show that Eliezer Callender was a Captain in the Virginia State Navy for a period of three years during the Revolution, and received a grant of 5333⅓ acres of land for his services. Callenders served in the Revolution from nearly every one of the Thirteen Colonies.
    The Ishams are an old and distinguished family of title. The first Mary Isham of whom we have a record married William Randolph of Virginia. She was a direct descendant of Alfred the Great, King of England, and of Henry I, King of France, also of the Scotch Earls of Murray. She and her husband were the progenitors of the Randolphs of America.
    Huldah Callender-Colver had two brothers, John Callender and Elisha Callender, both of Ohio. Shows how the family names were handed down through the generations. Her sisters were Rhoda, Alice and Catherine Callender. Rhoda Callender-Campbell died at Bastrop, Texas, in her ninety-fifth year. Alice Callender-Johnson died at Clinton, Illinois, in her ninety-sixth year. Catherine Callender Humphrey died Sept., 1923, at Bellefontaine, Ohio, in her ninety-ninth year.
    Some record for longevity.
    The following story of the Life of Samuel Colver, Jr., was written by Hon. Orson A. Stearns, 78 Pine Street, Ashland, Ore. Mr. Stearns' acquaintance with Samuel Colver extended over a period of more than forty years.
 
    It is usual, as well as eminently fitting and proper, that the passing of a citizen of local prominence should receive a public notice commensurate with that person's prominence and notoriety in the community in which he or she had spent the greater part of his life. In the passing of Samuel Colver, more than thirty years ago, there was a very noticeable lack of the usual biographical notice of his life which was certainly due to so noted, though eccentric, a character. A man of such unquestioned ability and marked public service to the pioneers of Rogue River Valley deserved better of his compatriots than the brief announcement of his tragic death, which was the extent of his public eulogy.
    After this long silence, hoping for a proper memorial notice and public acknowledgment of the life and services of a citizen who contributed no small sum to the safety and welfare of the early pioneers of Rogue River Valley to be preserved, the writer will, in a crude and modest way, briefly sketch the life and public services of the deceased, and thereby pay a merited though belated tribute to one whose public and private life was devoted in large measure to the betterment of pioneer conditions and the comfort and happiness of his fellows, as also to recall many incidents so typical of this talented and many-sided character.
    SAMUEL COLVER was a native of Ohio (in 1815), and attended the common schools of that state until in his early teens he, in company with a younger brother, Hiram, was sent to a well-known college of that state to complete his education. Here he found the strict orthodox requirements so distasteful to him that he was often in verbal conflict with his teachers, and his rhyming witticisms and caustic criticisms soon brought him into open conflict with the faculty until, finally, he was publicly reprimanded and given his choice of publicly apologizing or leaving the college. He chose the latter course, which terminated his scholastic career. His brother Hiram graduated from the Plymouth, Indiana, Law School. What Samuel followed for the next few years, the writer is unable to state, but about that time the state of Texas attempted to throw off the yoke of Mexico, and young Colver went to that new field where there was abundant room for adventurous spirits, and no restrictions by narrow orthodox teachers.
    Young Colver joined the Texan army under the banner of Sam Houston, and served as Texas Ranger until after the sanguinary battle of San Jacinto, which established Texan independence. After the independence of the Lone Star State was established Colver served under the flag on the frontier, as scout and trader with the Indians, sometimes in conflict with hostile tribes and in peril of his life. A detailed account of his adventures during that period I never learned, except his account of one adventure, where he was forced to cross a wide extent of country occupied by a hostile tribe of Indians, and his only method of travel was on foot and by night. The cactus and other thorny shrubs soon tore his clothes to shreds
and he had to clothe himself entirely with the untanned skins of wild animals and eat of their unsalted flesh for days at a time, until he reached a settled portion of the country. How many years he followed this wild adventurous life, I never learned.
    His next adventure was in his native state, which he canvassed pretty thoroughly as public lecturer on the then newly discovered science of Mesmerism. He had as a subject a remarkable character by the name of Buchanan, whose feats of mind-reading and other stunts, while under the power of the Mesmerist, were truly
wonderful and, at the time, unaccountable. Shortly after completing his lecture tour, Colver met and married Huldah Callender, and for a few years it is presumed he lived at his father's farm in Ohio.
    Soon after the discovery of gold and the opening up of the Oregon country to settlement under the liberal donation land law, the Colver brothers, Sam and Hiram, together with their families, and many relatives, undertook the long and perilous journey across the Plains by way of the Old Oregon Trail, to the Willamette Valley, at that time the only well-known part of the Oregon Territory. This was in 1850.
    Their first location was in the Waldo Hills east of Salem, where the Davenports, Geers and others of their kindred lived for years. In the fall of 1851 SAMUEL COLVER took up a donation land claim where the town of Phoenix, Jackson County, Oregon, now stands. In the following summer (1852), his brother Hiram came from the Waldo Hills, bringing the families of both, Hiram took up a claim adjoining Samuel's, and like the other of 640 acres of land.
    The land claim of Samuel Colver was of less value agriculturally than that of Hiram, as it was more broken and timbered; but at the same time it was more picturesque, having a really notable butte on the southwest corner standing some 200 feet above the surrounding lands and about equal distance from the spurs of the Siskiyou Mountains that formed the east and west borders of the valley.
    There had been more or less discontent among the Indians of the Rogue River Valley since the advent of the first white trappers several years before, and the opening up of the Southern Oregon trail in 1846, after which an increasing number of immigrants passed through the country either going north to the Umpqua and
Willamette valleys, or south to the gold fields of California, caused the Indians to become more jealous of the incursions of the palefaces, and when the miners began to flock into the country, and white people began to settle upon their lands, there were frequent clashes between whites and Indians, resulting in the killing of many innocent persons as well as the destruction of property, until a state of open warfare existed in the early part of 1853, when a treaty was made with the Indians. A company of U.S. Regulars stationed at Table Rock and Samuel Colver, who had been appointed Indian Agent by Superintendent Joel Palmer, were in charge of the
Rogue River Indians. [No. There is a long-standing confusion between Samuel Colver and the actual Indian agent, Samuel H. Culver. Sam Colver was not an Indian agent.] At what date Colver's appointment was made, or when it terminated, I do not know, but in the treaty made by Joe Lane and others, with the Rogue River Indians at Table Rock, on Sept. 10, 1853, as recorded in Vol. I, page 399 "Gaston's Centennial History of Oregon," the following names appear as those of the party of the whites who visited the Indians in their encampment under the cliffs of Table Rock, at the invitation of Chief John. They were:
    Gen. Joseph Lane; Joel Palmer, Supt. of Indian Affairs; Samuel Culver, Indian Agent; Capt. A. J. Smith, First Dragoons; Capt. L. Mosher, Adjt.; Col. John E. Ross; Capt. J. W. Nesmith; Lieut. A. V. Kautz; R. B. Metcalfe, J. D. Mason, and T. T. Kierney. Eleven white men and 700 Indians.
    This treaty was observed by the Rogue River Indians and the whites until the fall of 1855, when the Indians broke it by killing and robbing freighters on the Siskiyou Mountains, which precipitated the war of 1855-56. I think Colver's authority over the Indians terminated soon after the breaking out of hostilities in 1855. The settlers in most parts of the valley had arranged their houses for defense in case of attack, but many of them left their homes and concentrated in different points in the valley where numbers of them could easily collect in emergencies to assist each other. One of these points was the Samuel Colver residence where quite a village had commenced; there being a sawmill running, a grist mill under construction, and a large blockhouse was built by Colver to serve as a defensive point for settlers to rally in case of attack.
    Samuel Colver was an athlete, and was always an outdoor man. He was very hospitable and his house was open to strangers. His wife, Aunt Huldah, as she was familiarly called, was one of the most generous and kind-hearted women that ever lived, a fine cook and housekeeper, a very domestic and home-loving woman; while Uncle Sam Colver cared little for home life and seemed to prefer the out of doors. His love for horses, dogs and all animals was a distinguishing peculiarity of his.
    Colver was a good debater and always ready to express his opinions on any subject; was an early ABOLITIONIST and advocate of WOMAN'S RIGHTS, and a PROHIBITIONIST of the most pronounced type, and ready to defend his beliefs at all times and against all comers. Though active in politics, he was never an office seeker. While he was a pronounced AGNOSTIC, Aunt Huldah was decidedly religious, and her house was a favorite haven for preachers, and seemingly without protest from Uncle Sam.
    Another peculiarity of Uncle Sam's was his habit of composing rhymes which he would delight in singing, to his own music, or reciting before a crowd. Some of his compositions were very fine, both in sentiment and in rhyme, but none of them, so far as I know, have ever been preserved. He used to correspond with some of the leaders of the Equal Suffrage Society, and I have heard him recite some of his caustic verses in connection with this movement. There was one song I have heard him sing that he composed for the occasion of a large public gathering in California, I think, in which the demand for a transcontinental R.R. was urged. The music was supplied by a young lady in the audience, and it was certainly worthy of the occasion and awakened great enthusiasm. It is a shame that this composition has not been preserved. I can recall only a portion of the refrain, which was given as answer to a question propounded in the several stanzas of the song as to what the spirits of the dead demanded of the living as recompense for the hardships and sufferings of the pioneers. I wish I could recall more of it.
            "'Tis the voice of the Immigrant, dead,
            Comes floating o'er the main,
            And asks for a road across--
            For a railroad o'er the Plain."
    There were quite a number of stanzas, depicting the horrors of cholera, both among the land immigrants and those coming by water--around the Horn and by way of the Isthmus of Panama, the Indian massacres and the dangers met and overcome, and at the end of each stanza a variation of the above answer.
    Most of Colver's verses were aimed at some common fault or frailty in human nature and exposing the same to ridicule. He had one, a favorite of his, to which he was adding verses from year to year and applying to all manner of tradesmen, politicians, merchants, stockmen and nearly everybody. It always terminated in something like this, a common excuse for doing something known to be wrong; (the cattle thief) "For if I don't do it some other rogue will." He delighted to get into a crowd and sing this song for the diversion it would create.
    Note:
    One of Grandfather Colver's poems, "Death Knocking at the Door," is in the possession of his granddaughter, Mrs. E. L. Taylor, 521 Penn. Ave., Medford, Oregon. Also the tract entitled "Vote as You Pray," which he used while campaigning for St. John, the prohibition candidate for President in the '80s. O1d letters show that a volume of his poems was published in the '70s, but none of his
descendants, so far as I know, have any of these.
    In 1859 or '60, Uncle Sam went back to Texas, sold his land that had been given him as bonus for his services in the war with Mexico, went to Canada and bought a number of very fine French horses, stallions and mares. One horse, a very fine one, cost him $2500.00. He lost this one on the plains coming back to Oregon. He also lost another stallion that had cost him $1000.00. He arrived home in the fall of 1860, with some fifty head of horses and quite a few mules that he had brought from Missouri.
    Two of the stallions he brought with him were notable animals, having records as light and heavy draft animals from the Montreal Horse Fair, registered as having received first premiums in their respective classes for that year. The light draft animal was of the "Coeur de Leon" or Lion Heart breed, and had a record of traveling on a test a mile in three minutes with a cart and 1200 lbs. weight. The heavier draft animal was of Norman blood. These animals were kept by Colver for several years for breeding purposes and their impress on the horses of the valley was very pronounced, and no horses were ever brought to the valley that so improved the character of the stock then here, or left such a permanent impress on their character as did those two animals. Colver brought another stallion, a smaller animal of the Black Hawk breed, a fast trotter, which he sold for about $1400.00. He was also an importer of blooded cattle, being the first to bring the muley or hornless cattle to the county.
    It was soon after his return from Canada that Uncle Sam saw a chance to make money by taking a lot of horses and mules up to the northern mines and running a saddle and pack train from the mines to the nearest source of supply. Leaving a man named John Waggoner in charge of his Phoenix farm, he took quite a bunch of animals to the mines in Eastern Oregon (now Idaho and Montana), where he operated a pack train for the greater part of a year, conveying miners to and from the mines, and sometimes carrying gold out. As there was a very dangerous gang of outlaws infesting that region at that time who, when not running the many gambling dens that infested every mining camp, were waylaying miners who were going out of the country to invest their gold, or they would swoop down on isolated miners, rob them and their cabins or sluiceboxes, steal horses, and commit all kinds of deviltry. Uncle Sam was knocked down and robbed at one time, the robbers leaving him for dead, but he was only stunned and managed to crawl to safety. He returned home shortly after.
    Having long realized the necessity of there being a county road from Rogue River Valley over the mountains to the Klamath country, I [Orson Avery Stearns] drew up a petition in 1869 to be presented to the county court of Jackson County. When I presented the petition, the court debated a long time whether the country across the mountains was of sufficient importance to justify the expense of the survey and location [of a road], and finally agreed that if the petitioners, or two of them would give $1,000 in bonds to reimburse the county in case of an adverse report of the viewers, they would order the survey. Capt. Sprague and myself executed the required bond, and the order was made. At my solicitation the following men were appointed as viewers: William Songer, Samuel Colver, O. T. Brown. J. S. Howard made the survey, which was duly accepted, and a subscription was immediately circulated to raise money to open the road, as no public funds were available. A sum of $600.00 was raised, $400.00 of which was subscribed east of the mountains, where the entire voting population was but thirty. Uncle Sam and my father were the only subscribers to the fund below Ashland, as many people waned the road to go through the Dead Indian country. Uncle Sam Colver volunteered to take charge of the work and raised a lot of laborers and commenced early in the spring of 1869 at the Songer place on the stage road, and by early fall had it opened clear through to the Klamath Valley. While it could not be expected that such a small sum of money would build near fifty miles of mountain road, it remains a fact that teams of two horses could haul over it a full ton without having to unload and pack up the steep places as formerly. In fact, Uncle Sam Colver did more actual road work with that $600.00 than has ever been done at any time since with ten times that sum. The building of that road was the beginning of the development of the great inland empire consisting of what is now Klamath and Lake counties in Oregon, and the valleys of Surprise, Hot Springs and Big Valley in California, because it was their nearest and only route over which they got their supplies for many years.
    In 1867, Uncle Sam bought out the interest of his son in what was known for many years as the Stearns ranch in Klamath County, and kept this property as long as he lived. In 1884 his only son was accidentally shot by a neighbor, P. W. Olwell, at Phoenix, Oregon. Mr. Olwell owned and operated the flour mill at Phoenix (now the Fred Furry property). One night he heard someone prowling around his home and thought he was being robbed, as he often had considerable sums of money in his safe. He raised a cry for help, and Louie Colver and Dr. George Kahler, who were close neighbors, were the first to reach the Olwell home. Louie Colver carried a lantern, and seeing Mr. Olwell standing at the window, waved his lantern and shouted to Olwell not to shoot as this was Colver. Mr. Olwell was so excited that he did not hear or at least did not heed the call and fired, killing Louie Colver, one of his best friends. This was in March, 1884. In April, 1885, Isabel Colver-Rose, Uncle Sam's only daughter, weakened by grief over the loss of her only brother, succumbed to the ravages of diphtheria. This double tragedy left Uncle Sam and Aunt Huldah Colver childless.
    From this date Uncle Sam spent very little time in Rogue River Valley. The loss of his children preyed on his mind, and he seemed to want to be away from scenes that would remind him of them. He had taken a very active part in the Modoc Indian war, had been one of the first property owners in Klamath country, and had many warm friends among the pioneers of this region. In February, 1891, while attempting to pay a business visit to one William Spencer, who lived on the west shore of Upper Klamath Lake, Uncle Sam was drowned or frozen to death. His body was not recovered until several months later. His remains are now interred in the Phoenix cemetery beside those of his wife. This cemetery is a part of his donation land claim.
    Samuel Colver was the son of SAMUEL COLVER, SR., who was born in 1778 at Spencertown, New York, and Rachael Curry-Colver, born 1791 in Virginia or Kentucky. They were married in the Ohio country in 1806, and lived for more than fifty years in Union County, Ohio. This Samuel Colver is said to have carried the
first surveyor's chain taken into the Ohio country. His home was one of the underground stations for slaves who were escaping into Canada during pre-Civil War days. Samuel and Rachael Colver ware the parents of five children, Rachael Colver-Wilson, Sarah Colver-Cronkrite, Abi Colver-Baldwin, Samuel and Hiram. Only the sons came west.
    Samuel Colver Sr., was the son of NATHANIEL COLVER, born 1728, at Litchfield, Connecticut, and RUTH KILBOURN-COLVER, born 1734, at Litchfield.
    (F. L. Colver, of Tenafly, New Jersey, in his book on the Colver-Culver genealogy furnishes the following facts.)
    Nathaniel Colver held the following positions of public trust in his native town: In 1756 he was grand juror; lister in 1755; member of the 5th company in Col. Phineas Lyman's Conn. Regiment in 1755; selectman in 1758; In 1757, he was among the number of grantees of the territory of Spencer township in Albany County, New York. About this time he removed to that locality. In 1767, he was sent with John Savadge, from Albany County (now Columbia County), New York, to England, to lay disputed titles before the English Crown. In 1770, he was First Lieutenant, Colonel John Van Renssalaer‘s Regiment of New York Militia, and was recommended for Captain the same year. In 1772 and 1780 he was appointed Justice of the Peace for Albany County, by the Crown. In 1775, he was one of the Deputies to the Provincial Congress from Albany County. In 1776, he enlisted in the Revolutionary War and served as Ensign in the Albany County Militia. After his service in the Revolution, there is mention of his effective work for the Baptist denomination as a Circuit Elder or Minister. In 1787, he was located at Hubbardton, Vermont. Here Nathaniel passed the remainder of his life, preaching the gospel and farming his land, and there he died after a long and useful career, in 1809. At the age of 24, in 1752, he was married to Ruth Kilbourne, the daughter of Capt. Joseph Kilbourne. She was a descendant of an old and distinguished family of title, the family having been authentically traced back to Sir William De Kilbourne, Lord of the Manor of Kilbourne, Yorkshire, England, 1233, by Payne Kenyon Kilbourne, A.M. of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, in his book upon the Kilbourne family. Nathaniel and Ruth Colver were the parents of twelve children, all of whom were alive in 1809, when Nathaniel made his last will. They were: Susanna, Nathaniel, Elizabeth, Philomela, David, Charles, Ruth,
Joseph, Angelina, Orondatus, Abigail and Samuel.
    Nathaniel Colver was the son of SAMUEL COLVER, born 1691, at Norwich, Connecticut, and his wife Hannah Hibbard, born 1714, at Lebanon, Conn. Nine children were born of this marriage, as follows: Benjamin, Zebulon, Zeruiah, Samuel, Joshua, Ebenezer, Hannah, Jonathan and Nathaniel.
    Samuel Colver removed to Litchfield, Conn,, about 1722. He was one of the original proprietors of this place. In 1723 Samuel assisted in the building of town forts; in 1726, he was a town surveyor; a school trustee in 1731; then a selectman, and in 1744, a sergeant. He was a large land holder; he also held responsible appointments from the Colonial Assembly of Conn. In 1741, he was a member of the General Court at Litchfield. He was a liberal contributor to the church. He died at Litchfield about 1770. From his prominence in the town, he is usually spoken of by the local chroniclers as Samuel Colver of Litchfield. There was still standing, in 1904, the substantial chimney of his Litchfield home, locally known as Samuel Colver's chimney.
    Samuel Colver was the son of EDWARD COLVER, JR., born about 1653, at Pequot, Conn., and his wife, Sarah Backus, born 1663, at Windham, Conn., and the daughter of Lieutenant William and Elisabeth Pratt-Backus. The Edward Colvers had twelve children as follows: Edward, Ephraim, John, Sarah, Edward, Samuel, Hezekiah, Sarah, Daniel, Lydia, Ann and Abigail.
    Edward Colver took up his residence in Norwich, Conn., when quite a young man. He was one of the fifty-one original proprietors of Lebanon, Conn., also of Litchfield. Lieut. Edward Colver at the age of 21 years was appointed to command the Colonial troops at Norwich, and held this post for more than twenty years.
    Edward Colver was the son of EDWARD COLVER, the PURITAN, founder of the family in America. He emigrated to this country with John Winthrop, the younger son of John Winthrop, governor of Mass., and himself governor of Conn. Two of Governor Winthrop's daughters later married two of Edward Colver's son. Edward Colver was a native of the southeast of England and arrived with the party of emigrants brought out by John Winthrop in the autumn of 1635.
    Prior to this the Colvers were French Huguenots, being driven out of France by the religious persecutions under Catherine de Medici, 1585, some going to Holland and some to England.
    Edward Colver was quite a young man in 1635, and belonged to the guild of millwrights and wheelwrights, which latter occupation he followed in America, being sometimes designated in old records as "Edward Colver, wheelwright," He was a member of the Mass. Bay Colony at Boston in 1635. In the first Pequot War, in 1637, he was sent to enlist the help of the Mohicans, with the result that Uncas brought 150 of his warriors to take part in the battle. At daybreak, June 4, 1637, they surprised the Pequots in their stronghold and utterly exterminated them. For this service, Edward Colver received two grants of land, one of 200 acres and another of 400 acres. These grants were situated about four miles north of the scene of the battle, the 200[-acre] lot being near the head of the Mystic River, and the other about two miles further to the northwest. This was called by the Indians "Chepadas," and remained in the family for generations.
    In 1675, when King Phillip made war against the New England Colonies, Edward Colver, then an old man of seventy-five, went with his four sons to fight against the noted Indian chief. They took part in the "Swamp Fight" which occurred near Tiverton, Rhode Island, 1675. Edward Colver was the only soldier engaged in the "Swamp Fight" who had participated in the previous Pequot War. About 1654, he built a water-power grist mill at the head of the cove at New London, as Pequot was afterwards called; the grist mill being in daily use in 1897, and perhaps later. In 1635, about the time of his coming to America, Edward Colver assisted the Winthrops in building a fort at Saybrook, Connecticut, the mouth of the Conn. River.
    Like most of those early pioneers, Edward Colver was a man of many trades, and could turn his hand to whatever the exigencies of the moment called for. The erstwhile millwright and Indian scout was also a farmer. The records of this time speak of Edward as the "wheelwright of Mystic," this trade being followed by his sons and some of their descendants. The last years of Edward Colver were passed in his home on the Groton side of the Mystic River. He died in 1685, full of years and of honor (probably 85 years of age), leaving to his numerous family not only a comfortable patrimony, but the record of a good and useful life, a life which left its characteristics deeply impressed upon the generations which followed. He had married, at Dedham, Mass., 1638, Ann Ellis, daughter of John Ellis. Their marriage is the second entered in the records of the first church of Dedham, Mass. They were the parents of nine children, as follows: John, Joshua, Samuel, Joseph, Gershom, Hannah, Edward and Ephraim.
    Courage and the love of adventure as well as the military spirit have ever been manifest in the Colver character, and these traits have been stimulated by the exceptionally sturdy physical natures with which the members of the family were endowed. The rough experiences and privations which were the lot of the earliest members of the family in the Massachusetts and Connecticut Colonies, long before and during the American Revolution, laid the foundation for the strong constitutions which have descended to the present generations--a most valued heritage.
    Most of the early Colvers were tall, large men, and men capable of much physical endurance. To this characteristic should be added a deeply religious nature which is apparent in the Colver genealogy from the beginning. It was in Edward Colver, the Puritan, when he came to the shores of Mass., in 1635, and has been strongly in evidence in every generation which has followed. This tendency has been especially marked in the many members of the family who have been earnest and successful clergymen, as well as conspicuous leaders in movements for great moral reforms.
    The ten generations of Colvers since the Puritan grandsire, EDWARD COLVER, set foot on New England soil have ever met the test of true courage--courage to seek and pursue adventure to meet the Indian foe, to do battle for the liberties so dear to every American, to help to preserve the union of the States; courage to fight great intellectual conflicts for humanity's sake, to express and to sustain liberal religious views, to stand, if need be, with the minority, at times, in support of just political principles, and to advance educational and needful public measures.
    A creditable degree of intellectual attainments has followed the family history. Numerous members have been noted as public speakers, while most of the Colver men and women have had a part in molding public opinion on the great questions of their day. Perhaps the most noticeable family qualities running through generation after generation have been the enduring energy, the extreme pertinacity of purpose, the ability to meet emergencies, and the power to do things worth while. From the physical side, great vitality seems to be an inherent and surviving quality.
    The Colver family has been well represented in the American Colonial Wars, and in the subsequent wars within the U.S. More than one hundred soldiers bearing the surname of Colver and who were direct descendants of Edward Colver, the Puritan, served in the AMERICAN REVOLUTION (1775-1783).
    (This book on Colver-Culver History was published in 1910.
    Perhaps the most able and noted of the Colvers was Reverend Nathaniel Colver (b. 1794 d. 1870). He held the pastorate of TREMONT TEMPLE, the First Free Baptist Church of Boston, Mass., for thirteen years, from 1839 until 1852. This church was, at that time, the most prominent church in Boston. He was referred to 
as "the grandest abolitionist in Boston." President John Quincy Adams said of him, "He was the best off-hand speaker I have ever heard." The story of his life and many activities is most interesting reading. Reverend Nathaniel Colver was a first cousin of Grandfather Colver and Hiram Colver of Phoenix, Oregon.
    The father of Homer Davenport of Silverton, Oregon, the world's greatest cartoonist during the McKinley administration, was also a first cousin of Samuel and Hiram Colver of Phoenix. The Davenports lived in Phoenix for many years. Lucinda Davenport married Judge Orange Jacobs, who was for many years Chief Justice of the Territory of Washington. He taught school at Phoenix many years ago and there met and married his wife.
    Descendants of Samuel and Hiram Colver living today are as follows:
    The Samuel Colvers had two children who reached adult years. One daughter died in Ohio while young. Louie Colver was born in Ohio, in 1847, died at Phoenix, 1884. Isabelle Colver was born at St. Jo, Missouri, 1850, after her parents had left their Ohio home for the great journey across the plains to Oregon. She died in Phoenix, 1885.
    Isabelle Colver married Lewis Albert Rose at Phoenix, Oregon, 1871. They were the parents of four children as follows:
    (Given in the order of their birth)
Mrs. E. L. Taylor (Effie Rose), 521 Penn. Ave., Medford, Oregon.
Mrs. Wilbur A. Jones (Nellie Rose-Newbury), 215 High Street, Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Lewis Arthur Rose, Phoenix, Oregon.
Mrs. J. M. Rader (Bertha Rose), Phoenix, Oregon.
    Louie Colver was married in 1874 to Miss Jemima Dollarhide. They ware the parents of four children, as follows:
Mrs. A. S. Furry (Lita Colver), Phoenix, Oregon.
Frank Lloyd Colver
Louie Othello Colver
    The great-grandchildren of the Samuel Colvers are:
Armand Taylor, graduate from O.A.C., now at Salem, Oregon.
Colver Furry, Phoenix, Oregon.
Mrs. L. W. Mehaffey (Maude R. Newbury), graduate from St. Mary's Academy, Medford, Oregon, student at the U. of O. two years, a musician of ability, now living at Antioch, California.
Donald R. Newbury, graduate from U. of O., now a practicing attorney of Medford, Oregon.
Aubrey Furry, student at U. of O. making a reputation as a sweet-voiced baritone singer.
Carl Newbury, graduate from U. of O., now in the Passenger Dept. of the Robert Dollar S.S. Company, Shanghai, China.
Mrs. Neil Franklin (Juanita Furry), Medford, Oregon.
Master Wilbur Jones, Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Miss Agnes and Master Harold Colver, Phoenix, Oregon.
Misses Rebecca Jean, Doris Isabelle, Huldah R. Rose and Master Lewis Albert Rose, Phoenix, Oregon.
Also the son of Louie Colver, Jr., at Phoenix, Oregon, Eldred Colver.
    There are five great-grandchildren.
Mrs. E. J. Farlow (Mary Colver), Ashland, Oregon, is daughter of Hiram Colver.
Mrs. W. R. Coleman, Medford, Oregon, and Mrs. George Dunlap, Provolt, Oregon, are granddaughters of Hiram Colver.
Mrs. Elda Farlow-Anderson of Ashland, Oregon is also a granddaughter of Hiram.     Great-grandchildren of Hiram Colver are:
Frank Coleman, Grants Pass, Oregon.
Elbert Coleman, Medford, Oregon.
Buster Coleman, Honolulu, H.I.
Mrs. H. C. Messenger (Mattie Dunlap), Provolt, Oregon.
Ned Dunlap.
Colver Papers, University of Oregon Special Collections Ax 126. Last revised April 18, 2023