History of Early Pioneer Families of Hood River, Oregon. Compiled by Mrs. D.M. Coon

DR. FARNSWORTH AND FAMILY                      D.M.C.                   1852

     Dr. Farnsworth and his family crossed the plains from Missouri to Oregon in the summer of 1852. Mrs. Farnsworth died on the way, leaving two or three little girls to the care of her husband. There was a son sixteen years of age and the father of Dr. Farnsworth, who was well along in years, accompanied the family.
     The Laughlin's and Farnsworth's had been old time friends and neighbors in Missouri, and it is easy to believe that they were delighted to renew their friendship in The Dalles and combine business with pleasure by locating near each other in the beautiful little valley of Dog river.
     Mr. Laughlin had two hundred head of stock, Dr. Farnsworth secured, by purchase, enough to make one hundred head for his share, and two hundred were taken from other parties, making five hundred head in all, to be fed and kept through the winter on the bunch grass which grew everywhere. Mr. Laughlin had spent two winters in The Dalles and thought he knew what to expect. Both winters had been mild and but little snow had fallen, so extra feed was not considered necessary.
     Mr. Laughlin and James Farnsworth with two hired men drove the five hundred head of stock down the trail from The Dallas in two days. Reaching Dog river they found the barge loaded with their household goods waiting for them, also other members of the two families. The stock was driven across the river and turned out to feed, the families with their household goods soon followed, and selected their building sites. Dr. Farnsworth erected a good substantial building with a fire-place in it, and prepared to be comfortable. Scarcely had they become settled when, early in November, when a snowstorm came and continued, at short intervals, to snow through December. The starving stock confronted them on all sides, crowding around the buildings and terrorizing the children.
     Their constant bellowings of distress and their dying moans and heaps of dead bodies decided Dr. Farnsworth to make the attempt to leave at the first opportunity. With the aid of Mr. Laughlin he felled a large cedar tree, which he burned and hewed into the shape of a canoe, thirty feet in length. Early in January it was hauled to the river. Placing his aged father and his little girls in the canoe and making them as comfortable as possible, he and his son James entered and paddled away. There is no further record of their life in Oregon. Their names were not found in the list of immigrants for that year, which are kept in the files of the Oregon Historical Society. Yet a glimpse was given in the winter of 1864-65 of at least one member of the family.
     The writer was a pupil in the primary department of the Academy of the Sacred Heart at Salem that winter. One morning a handsome young woman appeared in the room in earnest conversation with the Sister. All study ceased as we, ill mannered children, stared and listened. The young woman was a blonde with blue eyes and lovely flaxen curls and very becomingly dressed and talked in a voice so low that we could not understand what she said. Then the Sister spoke and said: "I have no class you can enter but you can study in the Second Reader until you are able to take the regular work". A "heathenish" giggle ran around the room and the girl blushed scarlet. My sympathies were with the girl and I did not join in the giggle but felt as though a tragedy was being enacted, The Sister handed her a Second Reader and said, "Come, I will find you a seat." I was in the advanced class and occupied a back seat, and the Sister spoke to me saying: "This is Frances Farnsworth, she will sit with you and you may help her with her studies; you are not to talk about other things but may talk about her lessons at any time without ask-ing permission." As whispering was strictly forbidden I felt honored with the distinction made, and was glad to help the new pupil. That night when I reached home an old lady was calling and inquired about school. In my replies I told her about the morning incident and then she said, "I came on purpose to find out how Frances got along in school. Her mother died on the plains when she was a baby, her father and brother took the girls with them when they went to the mines and she has never been in school a day. What she does know she learned at home. Frances is a good, girl and smart and don't let any one make fun of her for she is very sensitive." This little talk served to give me a keen interest in my deskmate's advancement, and I was not disappointed in the results, One Monday morning in January two pupils were absent, Fanny Delaney and her sister. At noon it was whispered that their Grandfather had been robbed and murdered the night before.
     A few weeks later it was told at school that George Beal and a man by the name of Baker had been arrested for the crime.
     Mrs. Beal boarded students and Frances was one of her boarders and she continued in school until the trial began. Jr. Beal, up to this time, had been considered a respectable and law abiding citizen. When the trial commenced Frances was called as one of the witnesses. She knew nothing, and her testimony made no difference in the outcome, but she never returned to school. The publicity was more than her sensitive nature could endure and she gladly returned to the obscurity of her mountain home.

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