Esther Short

Last updated • 3 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Esther Short
Esther-short-595x752.jpg
Born
Esther Clark

(1806-12-24)December 24, 1806
DiedJune 28, 1862(1862-06-28) (aged 55)
Known forFounder of Vancouver, Washington
Spouse
Amos Short
(m. 1829;died 1853)

Esther Clark Short (December 24, 1806 June 28, 1862) was an early American settler of what would become the State of Washington. She was a founder of the City of Vancouver, Washington. [1] Part of her land bequeath became Esther Short Park, which is the oldest public square in the state of Washington. [2] She was able to achieve this though it was not legal for women in the territory of Washington to own property prior to 1881. [3]

Contents

History

Early life and settlement

Esther Clark was born on December 24, 1806, in Tioga County, Pennsylvania. [4] Accounts of her heritage vary: Sources state she was either half-Algonquin, half-German, or entirely Native American (one-fourth Cherokee, one-fourth Algonquin, and one-half Six Nations). [1] [4] She and her sister, Jane, were raised Roman Catholic and survived the War of 1812 and the Black Hawk War of 1832. [4] While attending school, she became educated in shooting, food preservation, and herbal medicine. [4] After marrying husband Amos Short in November 1829, [5] the family moved West to Illinois in 1837. A few years later, the family moved further West to the Oregon territory in 1845. [1] They settled near Fort Vancouver in 1847 on a plot of land originally claimed by Henry Williamson, who had left the land in the care of the Hudson's Bay Company. This led to a conflict between the Shorts and the Hudson's Bay Company officials, as tensions remained high between British fur traders and American settlers in the area. The Treaty of Oregon specifically stipulated that Hudson's Bay's property rights were to be respected, and the British officers repeatedly tried to drive the Shorts back to the American territory South of the Columbia River. [6] Over the course of her life, Esther raised a total of ten children and gave birth to twelve, with two dying in early childhood. [7]

Family controversy

Soon after Amos and Esther Short and their eight children landed in Fort Vancouver, the established Hudson's Bay Company within the vicinity did not welcome them and made every effort to evict the Short family from their newly settled home, including attempting to destroy their fences. Once, while Amos was away, the British forced Esther and her children into a boat and set them adrift onto the Columbia river. While she and her children succeeded in safely making it back home, afterwards, her husband Amos kept a firearm ready to defend his family along with a strict warning to the British to stay off their land. The British ignored Amos' warning by sending men to their home, resulting in an altercation and shooting that ended in the deaths of two men. Amos was charged with murder and brought to court, but was later acquitted of the charges. During Amos' time in court, Hudson's Bay Company sent more men under the leadership of French-Canadian Lieutenant Francis Facette to the Short home to, once again, destroy their fences. Esther, disgusted with the persistence of the British, slapped Facette across the face, toppling him to the ground. In light of her courage and fortitude, the Hudson's Bay Company finally abandoned their efforts, and Esther Short and her family remained, with Esther becoming a pioneering developer of the city of Vancouver and a notable part of its history. [1] [8]

Founding of Vancouver

Shortly after his acquittal, Amos Short drowned while returning on a trip from California aboard the ship the Vandalia, which sank in the Columbia Bar. [4] Following his death in 1853, Esther filed papers to claim 640 acres of her husband's land pursuant to the Donation Land Claims Act. [1] She opened a restaurant on the land that same year, and opened a hotel the year following. In 1855, she donated a parcel of land for use of the city. Included in this parcel was land bequeathed as a public plaza which later became Esther Short Park, as well as a strip of waterfront to be a public wharf, on which Berth One of the Port of Vancouver now stands. [9] The City of Vancouver was incorporated two years later in 1857. [10]

Death

Short died on June 28, 1862, and was interred at the old Vancouver city cemetery. [7]

Related Research Articles

Vancouver is the most populous city in British Columbia, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John McLoughlin</span> Hudsons Bay Company figure in Oregon (1784–1857)

John McLoughlin, baptized Jean-Baptiste McLoughlin, was a French-Canadian, later American, Chief Factor and Superintendent of the Columbia District of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver from 1824 to 1845. He was later known as the "Father of Oregon" for his role in assisting the American cause in the Oregon Country. In the late 1840s, his general store in Oregon City was famous as the last stop on the Oregon Trail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Vancouver</span> United States historic place

Fort Vancouver was a 19th-century fur trading post built in the winter of 1824–1825. It was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was located on the northern bank of the Columbia River in present-day Vancouver, Washington. The fort was a major center of the regional fur trading. Every year trade goods and supplies from London arrived either via ships sailing to the Pacific Ocean or overland from Hudson Bay via the York Factory Express. Supplies and trade goods were exchanged with a plethora of Indigenous cultures for fur pelts. Furs from Fort Vancouver were often shipped to the Chinese port of Guangzhou where they were traded for Chinese manufactured goods for sale in the United Kingdom. At its pinnacle, Fort Vancouver watched over 34 outposts, 24 ports, six ships, and 600 employees. Today, a full-scale replica of the fort, with internal buildings, has been constructed and is open to the public as Fort Vancouver National Historic Site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregon Country</span> Early-19th-century U.S. fur trade district in North America

Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been demarcated by the Treaty of 1818, consisted of the land north of 42° N latitude, south of 54°40′ N latitude, and west of the Rocky Mountains down to the Pacific Ocean and east to the Continental Divide. Article III of the 1818 treaty gave joint control to both nations for ten years, allowed land to be claimed, and guaranteed free navigation to all mercantile trade. However, both countries disputed the terms of the international treaty. Oregon Country was the American name, while the British used Columbia District for the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Skene Ogden</span> British-Canadian fur trapper and explorer

Peter Skene Ogden was a British-Canadian fur trader and an early explorer of what is now British Columbia and the Western United States. During his many expeditions, he explored parts of Oregon, Washington, Nevada, California, Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming. Despite early confrontations with the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) while working for the North West Company, he later became a senior official in the operations of the HBC's Columbia Department, serving as manager of Fort Simpson and similar posts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Vancouver National Historic Site</span> National Historic Site of the United States

Fort Vancouver National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located in the states of Washington and Oregon. The National Historic Site consists of two units, one located on the site of Fort Vancouver in modern-day Vancouver, Washington; the other being the former residence of John McLoughlin in Oregon City, Oregon. The two sites were separately given national historic designation in the 1940s. The Fort Vancouver unit was designated a National Historic Site in 1961, and was combined with the McLoughlin House into a unit in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Work (fur trader)</span> Canadian politician

John Work was a Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company and head of one of the original founding families in Victoria, British Columbia. Work joined the Hudson's Bay Company in 1814 and served in many capacities until his death in 1861, ultimately becoming a member of the company's Board of Management for its Western Department. He also served on Vancouver Island's Legislative Council. At the time of his death, Work was the largest private land owner of Vancouver Island. Work left an important legacy in the form of sixteen journals which chronicle his trading expeditions from 1823 to 1851. His journals provide a detailed record of Pacific Northwest land features, native peoples, and the Hudson's Bay Company's fur trading business in the early 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Douglas (governor)</span> Governor of the Colony of British Columbia (1803–1877)

Sir James Douglas, was a Canadian fur trader and politician who became the first Governor of the Colony of British Columbia. He is often credited as "The Father of British Columbia". He was instrumental to the resettlement of 35 African Americans fleeing a life of racial persecution in San Francisco who arrived in the province aboard the steamship Commodore in what later became known as the Pioneer Committee. In 1863, Douglas was knighted by Queen Victoria for his services to the Crown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Caulfield Anderson</span> Canadian explorer (1814–1884)

Alexander Caulfield Anderson was a British Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) fur-trader, explorer of British Columbia and civil servant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Colvile</span> Fur Trade Outpost in Washington, United States

The trade center Fort Colvile was built by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) at Kettle Falls on the Columbia River in 1825 and operated in the Columbia fur district of the company. Named for Andrew Colvile, a London governor of the HBC, the fort was a few miles west of the present site of Colville, Washington. It was an important stop on the York Factory Express trade route to London via the Hudson Bay. The HBC for some time considered Fort Colvile second in importance only to Fort Vancouver, near the mouth of the Columbia, until the foundation of Fort Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Nisqually</span> United States historic place

Fort Nisqually was an important fur trading and farming post of the Hudson's Bay Company in the Puget Sound area, part of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department. It was located in what is now DuPont, Washington. Today it is a living history museum located in Tacoma, Washington, USA, within the boundaries of Point Defiance Park. The Fort Nisqually Granary, moved along with the Factor's House from the original site of the second fort to this park, is a U.S. National Historic Landmark. Built in 1843, the granary is the oldest building in Washington state and one of the only surviving examples of a Hudson's Bay Company "post-and-plank" structure. The Factor's House and the granary are the only surviving Hudson's Bay Company buildings in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbia District</span> Fur trading district in British North America

The Columbia District was a fur trading district in the Pacific Northwest region of British North America in the 19th century. Much of its territory overlapped with the disputed Oregon Country. It was explored by the North West Company between 1793 and 1811, and established as an operating fur district around 1810. The North West Company was absorbed into the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821 under which the Columbia District became known as the Columbia Department. The Oregon Treaty of 1846 marked the effective end of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregon pioneer history</span> Account of the founders Oregon

Oregon pioneer history (1806–1890) is the period in the history of Oregon Country and Oregon Territory, in the present day state of Oregon and Northwestern United States.

The Puget Sound Agricultural Company (PSAC), with common variations of the name including Puget Sound or Puget's Sound, was a subsidiary joint stock company formed in 1840 by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). Its stations operated within the Pacific Northwest, in the HBC administrative division of the Columbia Department. The RAC-HBC Agreement was signed in 1839 between the Russian-American Company and the HBC, with the British to now supply the various trade posts of Russian America. It was hoped by the HBC governing committee that independent American merchants, previously a major source of foodstuffs for the RAC, would be shut out of the Russian markets and leave the Maritime fur trade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comcomly</span> Native American leader of the Lower Chinook

Comcomly (1765–1830) was a Native American leader of the Lower Chinook, a group of Chinookan peoples indigenous to the Pacific Northwest, who inhabited the area near Ilwaco, Washington. Concomly spoke Lower Chinook and was known for his skill with diplomacy and trade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esther Short Park</span>

Esther Short Park is a public park and town square located in downtown Vancouver, Washington. Established in 1853, it is the oldest public park in the state of Washington. and one of the oldest public parks in the West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vancouver, Washington</span> City in the U.S. state of Washington

Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Washington state. Vancouver is the seat of government of Clark County and forms part of the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area, the 25th-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Originally established in 1825 around Fort Vancouver, a fur-trading outpost, the city is located on the Washington–Oregon border along the Columbia River, directly north of Portland.

William Alexander Mouat was a British seafarer. Born in London, he spent much of his career with the Hudson's Bay Company in British Columbia on the west coast of Canada. He became master of several merchant ships including the Otter and the Labouchere. His last posting was at Fort Rupert where he died in a canoe accident. He was married to Mary Ann Ainsley and they had eight children.

<i>The Pioneer Mother Memorial</i> Bronze sculpture by Avard Fairbanks in Vancouver, Washington, U.S.

The Pioneer Mother Memorial, also known as Pioneer Mother and Pioneer Mothers, is a 1928 bronze sculpture by American artist Avard Fairbanks, installed at Esther Short Park in Vancouver, Washington, in the United States. The memorial depicts a mother and three children, and commemorates pioneer mothers who settled in the Pacific Northwest. The main female figure may depict Esther Short, one of the first U.S. citizens to arrive in Fort Vancouver. Commissioned by Vancouver banker Edward Crawford and his wife Ida for $10,000, it is one of the city's oldest works of public art, acquired in 1928 and unveiled in 1929. The sculpture was renovated around the start of the 21st century and is maintained by the City of Vancouver's Parks & Recreation department.

The following is a timeline of the history of Oregon in the United States of America.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 O'Connor, Colleen (March 19, 2008). "Esther Clark Short and her family settle near Fort Vancouver on December 25, 1845". HistoryLink . Archived from the original on January 15, 2023.
  2. "Esther Short Park". City of Vancouver. Archived from the original on October 9, 2017.
  3. "Seattle Women's History Timeline". Seattle.gov. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Mary Ellen, Snodgrass (2018). Frontier Women and Their Art: A Chronological Encyclopedia. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 74–75. ISBN   978-1-538-10976-2.
  5. Jollota, Pat (2011). Legendary Locals of Vancouver, Washington. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 19. ISBN   978-1-467-10001-4.
  6. "Amos & Esther Short: One of the city's founders".
  7. 1 2 "Amos & Esther Short: One of the city's founders". The Columbian . Clark County History. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023.
  8. "Why Esther Short Slapped the French Canadian (1845)". Clark County Washington. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  9. Jollota, Pat (2011). Legendary Locals of Vancouver. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 19. ISBN   978-1-4671-0001-4.
  10. "Vancouver Uncovered" (PDF). Clark County Historical Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-10-06.