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An Oklahoma Story

By Ruby Beard Tuggle
An Oklahoma StoryMy grandmother’s colorful story of the accomplishments and struggles of new westerners settling Oklahoma. Claiming land in this Indian Territory held a dangerous and unknown future for those courageous enough to try.
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Thomas and Phoebe Creswell Bennett and their two daughters, Agnes and Elizabeth, started out from Grandview, Louisa County, Iowa, for the Oregon Territory in June of 1852. Thomas died in “Indian territory” on the Oregon trail. Like most women making the trip, Phoebe was pregnant, but she continued the journey, often on foot and arrived in Salem, Oregon, in late September 1852. Just days after arriving, she gave birth to my Great Great Grandfather, John Bennett, who later changed his surname to Bennette as the story goes, to keep his mail separate from his neighbor of the same name.

Earlier, the Garrisons and Lees traveled the same route over the Oregon Trail, arriving in the Willamette Valley of the Oregon Territory in the early to mid 1840s. The Bennetts, Gowdys, Odells, Clarks, Hulls, and Kemps participated in the “Great Migration” of 1852-3. The Tuggles traveled the Oregon Trail by automobile nearly a century later in 1945, settling in the Willamette Valley, the result of a coin-flip.

A couple of my ancestors crossed the Atlantic in the Mayflower, some helped to establish Jamestown, VA, at the beginning of the 17th century, still others settled early 18th century Kentucky and Tennessee. Tuggles, Helms, Beards, and others marched with the Union in the Civil War while others fought against them for the South. One rode with Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War.

The Beards farmed the wide open spaces of Kansas, then ran the race known as the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889. They established several cities in Oklahoma and have a legacy of meaningful contributions to country and community.

Lyman Beard Family in Roff, OK 1906

Lyman Beard Family in Roff, OK 1906

I’m grateful for my pioneer heritage. Born and raised in the Willamette Valley, I can appreciate the hardships my ancestors faced when they got here in 1843, 1846, and 1852. Western Oregon is warm and pleasant in the summer, but almost cruelly wet in the winter months. Fortunately, Oregon is also breathtakingly beautiful and the Willamette Valley is a breadbasket where crops grow almost by themselves – a fact I know all to well when weeding the garden. Unlike the Great Plains, from where many of my ancestors immigrated, Oregon’s Willamette Valley offered ideal conditions for farmers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Though hard, life here in Oregon was the opportunity they sought and many made their mark on the history of their communities.

My intention for this web site is to remember and honor these amazing people who provided my family such a wonderful life. I offer family members both near and far access to my genealogical research and resources with the intent to connect, share, and support one another.

I’ve amassed a collection of family photos you’ll find in the Photo Gallery. I’ve collected some stories – and would love to receive more (feel free to share with me!) – just click the Stories link. Some stories have been compiled into books, many of which are available as free downloads from my Books page. My entire working database is available on Ancestry.com and Rootsweb.com. Narratives are here on this web site under Database. Please feel free to browse around at your leisure.

My current research foci:

  1. Thomas Bennett (born c. 1811, England?) – He purchased land in Iowa in 1846, married Phoebe Creswell there in 1848, and died on the Oregon Trail in 1852. I can’t find his parentage.
  2. George Beard (born c. 1785?, TN or VA) married to Matilda Neal – Documentary evidence of his parents and children. I’m really stumped on this one, too.

You’ll find my 46-marker DNA test results listed with Ancestry.com (haplogroup R1a) and ySearch.org (ID 9383V).

I’m also a contributor to findagrave.com. Most of my contributions are from the South Yamhill Cemetery in Masonville, south of McMinnville, OR.

I greatly appreciate any assistance with any line in my family history. Please feel free to contact me. Please sign my Guestbook or leave a comment on any page or story.

Greg Bennette
Salem, OR