Salem Pioneer Cemetery ~ James Orville Davidson ~ part of the Marion County Pioneer Cemeteries of Oregon
James Orville Davidson
LAST NAME: Davidson FIRST NAME: James MIDDLE NAME: Orville NICKNAME: 
MAIDEN NAME:  AKA 1:  AKA 2:  AKA 3: 
TITLE: Mr. GENDER: M MILITARY: War of 1812
BORN: 30 Aug 1792 DIED: 16 Sep 1876 BURIED: Sep 1876
ETHNICITY:   OCCUPATION:  
BIRTH PLACE:  Kentucky
DEATH PLACE: Salem, Marion Co., Oregon
NOTES: 
BIOGRAPHICAL:
Mrs. Frances M. Caskey, 1500 SW Spring St., Portland, OR 97201-2340:  "My great grandmother's two older brothers, Albert Franklin Davidson and James Orville Davidson, left their parent's home in Burlington, Iowa in the Spring of 1845, and traveled the Oregon Trail by horseback to the Willamette Valley. They arrived there in the Autumn. That winter Albert toured the Willamette Valley and areas up in Washington State (part of the Oregon Country at that time). His brother disappeared that winter. It was believed that he was murdered as he was carrying considerable money on his person. His horse was found near the present Wheatland Ferry, but there was never any trace of him. In the Spring of 1846 Albert returned to Burlington, Iowa. That winter he gave lectures in Iowa and Illinois on the Oregon Trail and the Oregon Country. This resulted in the Iowa Emigration which came in 1847. Albert's parents, James and Mary Amelia (Ament) Davidson, along with all their children (including my great grandparents, William Swett and Aurelia Ann (Davidson) Barker departed from Burlington, Iowa for the Willamette Valley in April of 1847. They came on the Applegate trail and arrived in Salem, where they settled, on September 30, 1847. James Davidson said, "This is Paradise; I want to live and die right here." And he did. On Albert's 1846 return trip to Iowa, he drew detailed maps of the Oregon Trail in several notebooks. One of these is at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland. Another is in the Collection of Western Americana at Yale University Library." 

Bancroft, Hubert Howe, The WORKS of Hubert Howe Bancroft, San Francisco: A.L. Bancroft & Co, 1882. Volume XXIX, pg. ? Oregon Biographical Sketches, 1834 - 1848: 
James Davidson, father of T. L., James, jun., and Albert Davidson, died at Salem, September 1876, in the 85th year of his age. Olympia [W.T.] Transcript, Sept. 3, 1876.

Steeves, Sarah Hunt, BOOK of REMEMBRANCE of MARION COUNTY, OREGON, PIONEERS, 1840 - 1860, Portland, Oregon, The Berncliff Press, 1927,  pg 148:  "James Davidson, subject of this sketch, was born in Baron county, Kentucky, August 30, 1792. He was what we would call a self-educated man. Early in life he took an interest in public affairs and was a man of more than ordinary mental endowment. During the war of 1812 he served his country faithfully. He was in the battle of Thames when Tecumseh, the Indian chief, was killed. He married in 1817 and lived at Nashville, Tennessee, and in 1829 moved to St. Louis, Missouri. From here he moved to what was known as the Black Hawk purchase in Iowa and lived at Burlington until 1847, when his son Albert, who had gone west to the Oregon country, returned in 1846 so full of praise for the new territory that he was persuaded to accompany this son to the land of the setting sun. Mr. Davidson served his country in the legislature and in all things enjoyed the confidence of his acquaintances and was a man whose word was much respected. James Davidson took up a donation land claim, south of Salem a few miles, known as Indian hill farm. Nine children came to bless his home. The two eldest sons, Albert and Thomas L., were very progressive men in the new country of their adoption"  Source: Amney Gesner Davidson, Salem, Oregon, 1926.
OBITUARY: 
Died last night, the 16th of September, 1876, at his residence in this city, James Davidson, in the 85th year of his age. Deceased was one of the earliest pioneers of Oregon, a veteran of the war of 1812, and for many years one of our best citizens. He has lived to a ripe old age and has passed to the world beyond, full of years, honored and respected by all who knew him. 
Weekly Oregon Statesman 22 Sep 1876 5:2.
INSCRIPTION: 
James Davidson 
Born 
Aug. 30, 1792 
Died 
Sept. 16, 1876 
A Pioneer of 1847 
He believed in the immortality of the soul and a glorious resurrection beyond the grave
Farewell but not forever, 
Time is passing life is gone, 
We shall kneel beyond the river, 
When the glorious crown is won
SOURCES: 
LR 
LD 
DAR pg 56 
Saucy marker photo
Steeves, Book of Remembrance, pg 148 
WOS 22 Sep 1876 5:2
CONTACTS: 
LOT: 602 SPACE:  LONGITUDE: N 44° 55.163' LATITUDE: W 123° 02.960'
IMAGES: