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Nancy
Ann Marks Wimberly (pictured with an unidentified child)
Read
more below the photograph.
"Nancy Ann Marks, granddaughter of
Jane Beatty and William Kays, was only 19 months old when her father died from
the measles in Knox County, Illinois.
When Nancy was 14 years old, her mother, Elizabeth Parker Kays Marks,
decided to go west, as the doctors had advised
her that the climate might be of benefit to Nancy's 19-year old brother,
John Bluford, who was in poor health.
So in the fall of 1852, the widow Elizabeth and her children joined a
50-wagon train heading for Oregon. They
spent the winter of 1852 at Council Bluffs, Iowa, fixing wagons, shoeing oxen
and horses, and making the necessary preparations for the long trek.
"Nancy's brother-in-law, Andrew
Johnson Chapman, was wagonmaster, and her brother, William Henry Marks, managed
the Marks' wagons. The family wagons
consisted of two ox drawn wagons and one light wagon drawn by two horses. The
light wagon was driven by 18-year old Mary Elizabeth Marks, and the sickly John
Bluford rode in this wagon. William,
his wife Mary Ann, and their baby Genevry had their own wagon, which William
drove. Elizabeth and Nancy, her
youngest child, rode in another wagon which was driven by a hired
teamster. Nancy found the going so
rough, she walked most of the way to Oregon.
"The wagon train arrived in Oregon
in the fall of 1853. All of the women
in the train went from The Dalles to Oregon City by boat, except for Mary
Elizabeth Marks who stayed with her team and wagon. John Bluford went with the women and children. Mary Elizabeth drove her team and wagon over
the Barlow Road to Oregon City. This
road was very dangerous and in some places there was no road at all. At times, the wagons had to be let down
steep places with ropes and chains.
"The winter of 1853-54 was spent
near Salem, Oregon. It was there that
Nancy's sister, Mary Elizabeth, married Roswell Diton Johnson on March 19,
1854. Just 2 days later, on March 21,
1854, their brother, John Bluford, died.
He lived just a short time after they had made this long, difficult trip
for the benefit of his health. Nancy
Marks and her mother remained in Oregon City in the Willamette Valley for a
time, later moving to the area near Glide in Douglas County, Oregon. It was here that Nancy Ann Marks wed Enoch
Wimberly. The marriage was performed in
the log cabin home of Jane and Andrew Chapman on the East Umpqua River by
Fletcher Royal, Minister of the Methodist Church at Wilbur, Oregon.
"Nancy Ann was often called upon in
times of need because of her knowledge of home remedies and care for the
sick. In addition to her other
household duties, she helped shear the sheep, carded the wool and made the
material for clothes, and knitted all the socks for her family. She was known for her ability to sew leather
into chaps, trousers, shirts and gloves.
She obtained many of the hides from the Indians. At times she made, traded and/or sold 3-4
dozen pairs of gloves at once. She traded
them to the Indians for more hides and traded them at the store for flour, eggs
or sugar. Many times she sold them
outright for cash, as much as $1.00 a pair."