Son of George Washington and Emily Elizabeth DYER Johnson. The family arrived in Oregon in 1853 with five children, Harrison, Elizabeth, Sarah Jane, Frances Mary, and Cornelia who were born in Kentucky or Missouri. James and his sisters Martha and Emily Roseanne were later born in Santiam City, Marion County, Oregon. The family originally settled near Santiam City in Marion County, but Harrison and his younger brother, James, after the death of their father, left Marion County for Wasco County where they spent the rest of their lives. Of course there was constant visits between family members located in the two counties. My great grandmother, Emily Roseanne Johnson, married my great grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Harrison, in nearby (to Wamic) Dufur with Harrison and his wife, Eliza, being witnesses.
My mother used to tell me a story about how Uncle Jimmie (supposedly a teenager) was captured by the Indians when they crossed the plains and it wasn't until later that I realized that it must have been Uncle William Harrison, a half brother to the other children who was captured by the Indians, because he was the oldest of the Johnson children in the party and would have been a teenager. He later escaped from the Indian tribe and rejoined the family in Marion County, Oregon. My belief is that the son who was captured was William who would have been about 15 at the time. I base my belief on the fact that Harrison remembered the good grazing lands of Wasco County and later returned to homestead there; he would not have remembered the good grazing lands if he was in the clutches of an Indian tribe. William does not show up in any later family records, but Harrison does; William later made contact with the rest of the family and being 18 or so, probably went to work somewhere and never lived with the family.
My grandmother also told me about the tragic death of the many Savage children in Wamic of Wasco County, and that Uncle Jimmy had constructed their small coffins for burial.
John Reeder
My mother used to tell me a story about how Uncle Jimmie (supposedly a teenager) was captured by the Indians when they crossed the plains and it wasn't until later that I realized that it must have been Uncle William Harrison, a half brother to the other children who was captured by the Indians, because he was the oldest of the Johnson children in the party and would have been a teenager. He later escaped from the Indian tribe and rejoined the family in Marion County, Oregon. My belief is that the son who was captured was William who would have been about 15 at the time. I base my belief on the fact that Harrison remembered the good grazing lands of Wasco County and later returned to homestead there; he would not have remembered the good grazing lands if he was in the clutches of an Indian tribe. William does not show up in any later family records, but Harrison does; William later made contact with the rest of the family and being 18 or so, probably went to work somewhere and never lived with the family.
My grandmother also told me about the tragic death of the many Savage children in Wamic of Wasco County, and that Uncle Jimmy had constructed their small coffins for burial.
John Reeder
Son of George Washington and Emily Elizabeth DYER Johnson. The family arrived in Oregon in 1853 with five children, Harrison, Elizabeth, Sarah Jane, Frances Mary, and Cornelia who were born in Kentucky or Missouri. James and his sisters Martha and Emily Roseanne were later born in Santiam City, Marion County, Oregon. The family originally settled near Santiam City in Marion County, but Harrison and his younger brother, James, after the death of their father, left Marion County for Wasco County where they spent the rest of their lives. Of course there was constant visits between family members located in the two counties. My great grandmother, Emily Roseanne Johnson, married my great grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Harrison, in nearby (to Wamic) Dufur with Harrison and his wife, Eliza, being witnesses.
My mother used to tell me a story about how Uncle Jimmie (supposedly a teenager) was captured by the Indians when they crossed the plains and it wasn't until later that I realized that it must have been Uncle William Harrison, a half brother to the other children who was captured by the Indians, because he was the oldest of the Johnson children in the party and would have been a teenager. He later escaped from the Indian tribe and rejoined the family in Marion County, Oregon. My belief is that the son who was captured was William who would have been about 15 at the time. I base my belief on the fact that Harrison remembered the good grazing lands of Wasco County and later returned to homestead there; he would not have remembered the good grazing lands if he was in the clutches of an Indian tribe. William does not show up in any later family records, but Harrison does; William later made contact with the rest of the family and being 18 or so, probably went to work somewhere and never lived with the family.
My grandmother also told me about the tragic death of the many Savage children in Wamic of Wasco County, and that Uncle Jimmy had constructed their small coffins for burial.
John Reeder
My mother used to tell me a story about how Uncle Jimmie (supposedly a teenager) was captured by the Indians when they crossed the plains and it wasn't until later that I realized that it must have been Uncle William Harrison, a half brother to the other children who was captured by the Indians, because he was the oldest of the Johnson children in the party and would have been a teenager. He later escaped from the Indian tribe and rejoined the family in Marion County, Oregon. My belief is that the son who was captured was William who would have been about 15 at the time. I base my belief on the fact that Harrison remembered the good grazing lands of Wasco County and later returned to homestead there; he would not have remembered the good grazing lands if he was in the clutches of an Indian tribe. William does not show up in any later family records, but Harrison does; William later made contact with the rest of the family and being 18 or so, probably went to work somewhere and never lived with the family.
My grandmother also told me about the tragic death of the many Savage children in Wamic of Wasco County, and that Uncle Jimmy had constructed their small coffins for burial.
John Reeder
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