Elijah White

Dr. Elijah White (1806–1879) was a missionary and agent for the United States government in Oregon Country during the mid-19th century. A medical doctor from New York State, he first traveled to Oregon as part of the Methodist Mission in the Willamette Valley. He returned to the region after a falling-out with mission leader Jason Lee as the leader of one of the first large wagon trains across the Oregon Trail and as a sub-Indian agent of the federal government. In Oregon he used his authority to regulate affairs between the Natives and settlers, and even between settlers. White left the region in 1845 as a messenger for the Provisional Government of Oregon to the United States Congress, returning in 1850 before leaving again for California in the early 1860s.

Early life White was born in New York, in 1806. There he received his education, including medical training at a school of medicine in Syracuse, New York. On the islands both White and his wife taught to the Native Islanders until May 1837 when they continued on to Oregon. The party set out on May 16, 1842, from Elm Grove, Missouri, with 112 people, 18 wagons, and a variety of livestock. Along the journey, some in the migration grew wary of White’s leadership and L. B. Hastings was selected as leader for a time until the party split into two groups. He appointed judges to deal with disputes between Native Americans and United States citizens, and even between citizens.

In 1843, White was selected as one of twelve members of the second Wolf Meeting to determine if the settlers wanted to form a government while waiting for the Oregon Question to be resolved.

White then discovered a pass through the Oregon Coast Range to what is now Newport, Oregon in 1845 before leaving the region with a petition from the Provisional Government to the United States Congress that same year.

Later life Elijah White returned to what had become the Oregon Territory in 1850 to promote the community of Pacific City, Washington along the Columbia River. Located near what is now Ilwaco, he partnered with James Duval Holman to sell property to settlers. White received a second commission as an Indian agent in 1861 for the region west of the Rocky Mountains and moved to California. Doctor Elijah White died on April 3, 1879, at the age of 73.