Find A Record
  Cemetery Map
  Directions
  Contact Information
  History
  Photographs
  Sources / Credits
  Resource Links
  Home
   
Salem Pioneer Cemetery ~ Hiram Gorman ~ part of the Marion County Pioneer Cemeteries of Oregon
Search Options
Surname: First Name: Maiden Name: Ethnicity:
Birth Date: month (Jan) year (1925) Lot #:
Death Date: month (Jan) year (1925) Military:
Occupation:
Various Text Fields (notes, obituary):
For an alphabetical list, type the first letter of the last name in the [Surname] box.
A list for Maiden names and AKA's will appear after the Surname list.
Note: larger results take longer time, please be patient.
  

Print Friendly Version
Hiram "Hi" Gorman
LAST NAME: Gorman FIRST NAME: Hiram MIDDLE NAME:  NICKNAME: Hi
MAIDEN NAME:  AKA 1:  AKA 2:  AKA 3: 
TITLE:  GENDER: M MILITARY: Civil War - Teamster for Union forces
BORN: Abt 1835 DIED: 23 Jul 1888 BURIED: 24 Jul 1888
ETHNICITY:  African American OCCUPATION:  Newspaper Pressman
BIRTH PLACE:  Missouri
DEATH PLACE: Salem, Marion Co., Oregon
NOTES: 
IOOF - Hiram Gorman, age 55, died in Salem.
1880 OR CENSUS - H. Gorman, age 45, black, laborer, b. Missouri, is enumerated with wife G. A. Gorman, age 36, black, b. Kentucky, along with son F. Gorman, age 19, hostler, b. Missouri, Emma, age 16, b. Montana, and son W., age 12, b. Montana.
Marion Co. PROBATE File #1090: Hannah Gorman, intestate. Died July 2, 1888. Administrator: S. L. Shedd of Corvallis was apptd. July 7, 1888. Only Heir: Hiram Gorman, age 52. Georgia Ann Gorman, widow of Hiram who was deceased by Oct. 10, 1891; Emma Sheppard, daughter of Hiram; Frank Gorman, son of Hiram; William Gorman, son of Hiram.

BIOGRAPHICAL: 
BEAT IT. Hiram Gorham, a colored individual, who lives at the corner of Liberty and Chemeketa streets, brought to this office yesterday a pea stalk grown on his plantation, which measures seven feet and three inches in length. 
Oregon Statesman 14 June 1871 3:3. 

Mr. Hi Gorman has one of the finest gardens we have noticed in the city. Yesterday evening he brought us in a nice bunch of beans, which for size, at this season of the year, are hard to surpass. 
Oregon Statesman July 23, 1879 3:1. 

The first steam power newspaper machinery brought to Oregon was an Adams press, installed by the Oregon Statesman, Salem, in 1859. This was sold in 1872 to Eugene Semple, state printer, later editor of the Portland Herald and still later governor of Washington. Steam and hand-power alternated as presses were bought and sold, and for 12 years a giant negro, Hiram Gorman, was the Statesman's "engine." In December 1883, Byars and Odell installed steam power again, and the days of running the Statesman off by hand were over. 
Trumbull, HISTORY OF OREGON NEWSPAPERS, p. 107


NOTE - Salem Pioneer Cemetery Black Pioneer Omnibus dedicated by the Oregon Northwest Pioneers on 1 Feb 2007.
DEATH CERTIFICATE: 
OBITUARY: 
In Salem, July 23, 1888, at 4 a.m., Hiram Gorman, aged about 55 years. The deceased was born in Missouri, of slave parentage, and was set free by the Emancipation proclamation. For some time during the war he was attached to the Union forces as a teamster, and was present at the battle of Wilson Creek, where he saw Gen. Lyon killed while leading a charge. Mr. Gorman went from Missouri to Montana about 1865, and from there came to Oregon in 1871. He shortly afterward obtained employment at the STATESMAN office in turning the wheel of the power-press, in which position he was retained until his services were superseded by the application of steam as a motor, in 1883, a period of about twelve years. "Hi" was a well-known character in Salem, and was universally liked for his unfailing good nature and for his large-hearted generosity. His acts of kindness were innumerable. For some months preceding his death, he was an invalid, and unable to do any work, but he was sustained at home by relatives and friends. He leaves a wife and three children to mourn his death. The funeral will take place today at 2 o’clock p.m. 
Oregon Statesman 24 Jul 1888 3:3
INSCRIPTION: 
Actual burial place within the cemetery is not known - an individual marker was set in the aisle adjacent to Lot #185 in 2002.
In additon, his name is placed on the Oregon Northwest Black Pioneer memorial marker placed Feb 2007
SOURCES: 
IOOF Register of Burials 
1880 OR CENSUS (Marion Co., Salem Pct., pg 11B) 
HON, p. 107 
Marion Co. Probate File #1090 
OS 14 Jun 1871 3:3 
OS 23 Jul 1879 3:1 
OS 24 Jul 1888 3:3
CONTACTS: 
LOT: ? SPACE:  LONGITUDE:  LATITUDE: 
IMAGES:
     
 
 

Home |  Find a Record |  Cemetery Maps |  Contact Information |  Cemetery History |  Photographs |  Sources |  Resource Links |  Friends of Pioneer Cemetery (FOPC) |  Login