Finice and his mother were pioneers of 1847. They settled on adjoining land grants where SW Lincoln (few blocks north of the Marquam Bridge approach) and SW Gibbs Streets (below Shriner's Hospital, east end of Ross Island) are today. Before The land act required homesteaders to live on and improve their property. Elizabeth and Finice built a house straddling their property line. Each claimed official residence on the appropriate side of the house. Finice was industrious – he bought more land, made improvements, invested in various business ventures. He and his neighbor Henry Corbett were partners in the Pioneer Water Works, which diverted water from Marquam Creek into town through a system of wooden pipes. This system lasted until Bull Run Reservoir came on line in 1895. The art on the Caruthers monument is striking. The torches around the top of the obelisk are turned downward, indicating the end of a family line. The wreath is one half Douglas fir boughs and the other half Oregon native oak. The musket and hatchet are common pioneer "trailblazer" motifs. The artist signature on the side is unusual.
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Oregon Donation Land Claim, No. 608
Filed in Oregon City, Federal Land Office.
Name: Finice Caruthers
Born: 1818, in Christian Co., Kentucky
Arrived in Oregon: 01 Dec 1847
Secured his Claim: 01 Oct 1851
Affidavits as to his fulfilling all promises to complete his part of the Donation Land agreement, was signed by three upstanding men of Portland, James Terwilliger, John B. Talbot and Thomas Stephens.
[Finice, was the son of Elizabeth Thomas later known as, Elizabeth Caruthers, when her supposed husband never materialized, and no proof could be found of their marriage. She filed on the adjoining property, Claim No. 611, as a married women, with each spouse receiving 320 acres. At first, the claim was in Washington County [not far from from today's, Portland]. Washington County, was split-up into at least three Oregon Counties, in 1853, Washington, Yamhill and Multnomah. Elizabeth's claims ended up in Multnomah County and within the City of Portland. Their claim's would have been tremendously valuable in today's market. His mother's claim ended up in high court for lack of proof of a husband. Many thought there had to be a husband present when the claim was filed. It was decided that she did not need a husband present. If memory serves me, she won the court battle; mother and son became land wealthy. Finice Caruthers, showed himself to be a willing land developer, and was well known by many in the surrounding area.
==============================================
Oregon Donation Land Claim, No. 608
Filed in Oregon City, Federal Land Office.
Name: Finice Caruthers
Born: 1818, in Christian Co., Kentucky
Arrived in Oregon: 01 Dec 1847
Secured his Claim: 01 Oct 1851
Affidavits as to his fulfilling all promises to complete his part of the Donation Land agreement, was signed by three upstanding men of Portland, James Terwilliger, John B. Talbot and Thomas Stephens.
[Finice, was the son of Elizabeth Thomas later known as, Elizabeth Caruthers, when her supposed husband never materialized, and no proof could be found of their marriage. She filed on the adjoining property, Claim No. 611, as a married women, with each spouse receiving 320 acres. At first, the claim was in Washington County [not far from from today's, Portland]. Washington County, was split-up into at least three Oregon Counties, in 1853, Washington, Yamhill and Multnomah. Elizabeth's claims ended up in Multnomah County and within the City of Portland. Their claim's would have been tremendously valuable in today's market. His mother's claim ended up in high court for lack of proof of a husband. Many thought there had to be a husband present when the claim was filed. It was decided that she did not need a husband present. If memory serves me, she won the court battle; mother and son became land wealthy. Finice Caruthers, showed himself to be a willing land developer, and was well known by many in the surrounding area.
Finice and his mother were pioneers of 1847. They settled on adjoining land grants where SW Lincoln (few blocks north of the Marquam Bridge approach) and SW Gibbs Streets (below Shriner's Hospital, east end of Ross Island) are today. Before The land act required homesteaders to live on and improve their property. Elizabeth and Finice built a house straddling their property line. Each claimed official residence on the appropriate side of the house. Finice was industrious – he bought more land, made improvements, invested in various business ventures. He and his neighbor Henry Corbett were partners in the Pioneer Water Works, which diverted water from Marquam Creek into town through a system of wooden pipes. This system lasted until Bull Run Reservoir came on line in 1895. The art on the Caruthers monument is striking. The torches around the top of the obelisk are turned downward, indicating the end of a family line. The wreath is one half Douglas fir boughs and the other half Oregon native oak. The musket and hatchet are common pioneer "trailblazer" motifs. The artist signature on the side is unusual.
==============================================
Oregon Donation Land Claim, No. 608
Filed in Oregon City, Federal Land Office.
Name: Finice Caruthers
Born: 1818, in Christian Co., Kentucky
Arrived in Oregon: 01 Dec 1847
Secured his Claim: 01 Oct 1851
Affidavits as to his fulfilling all promises to complete his part of the Donation Land agreement, was signed by three upstanding men of Portland, James Terwilliger, John B. Talbot and Thomas Stephens.
[Finice, was the son of Elizabeth Thomas later known as, Elizabeth Caruthers, when her supposed husband never materialized, and no proof could be found of their marriage. She filed on the adjoining property, Claim No. 611, as a married women, with each spouse receiving 320 acres. At first, the claim was in Washington County [not far from from today's, Portland]. Washington County, was split-up into at least three Oregon Counties, in 1853, Washington, Yamhill and Multnomah. Elizabeth's claims ended up in Multnomah County and within the City of Portland. Their claim's would have been tremendously valuable in today's market. His mother's claim ended up in high court for lack of proof of a husband. Many thought there had to be a husband present when the claim was filed. It was decided that she did not need a husband present. If memory serves me, she won the court battle; mother and son became land wealthy. Finice Caruthers, showed himself to be a willing land developer, and was well known by many in the surrounding area.
==============================================
Oregon Donation Land Claim, No. 608
Filed in Oregon City, Federal Land Office.
Name: Finice Caruthers
Born: 1818, in Christian Co., Kentucky
Arrived in Oregon: 01 Dec 1847
Secured his Claim: 01 Oct 1851
Affidavits as to his fulfilling all promises to complete his part of the Donation Land agreement, was signed by three upstanding men of Portland, James Terwilliger, John B. Talbot and Thomas Stephens.
[Finice, was the son of Elizabeth Thomas later known as, Elizabeth Caruthers, when her supposed husband never materialized, and no proof could be found of their marriage. She filed on the adjoining property, Claim No. 611, as a married women, with each spouse receiving 320 acres. At first, the claim was in Washington County [not far from from today's, Portland]. Washington County, was split-up into at least three Oregon Counties, in 1853, Washington, Yamhill and Multnomah. Elizabeth's claims ended up in Multnomah County and within the City of Portland. Their claim's would have been tremendously valuable in today's market. His mother's claim ended up in high court for lack of proof of a husband. Many thought there had to be a husband present when the claim was filed. It was decided that she did not need a husband present. If memory serves me, she won the court battle; mother and son became land wealthy. Finice Caruthers, showed himself to be a willing land developer, and was well known by many in the surrounding area.
