Our Hamilton Family History "Rosetta Stone"

Glen Hamilton · October 23, 2019

Supplina Hamilton's Indian War pension file, found years ago on poor-quality microfilm at the Oregon Historical Society, was the key document that unlocked much of the family's Oregon/Washington Territory timeline. On a later visit, OHS retrieved and scanned the original file, an improvement over the old microfilm prints. In the file, Supplina gave his own account of his residence history after the war: honorably discharged at Camp Walla Walla Valley on Feb 1, 1856; lived in Linn County, Oregon until June 1861, then Umatilla until Oct. '66, Walla Walla a year, back to Linn Co. two years, Marion, Oregon to 1873, then Walla Walla, Wash. to '88, then Whitman since. He was born in Lexington, Morgan County, Illinois, and married Jane Sumpter on June 10, 1858 at Scio, Linn Co., Oregon. Despite this documentation, the family kept no copy of it themselves -- Frank Hamilton had to write to Thomas A. Wood, President of the Indian War Veterans of the North Pacific Coast, after Supplina's death to ask about his father's service; that correspondence, along with the pension files, was later donated to the historical society. Glen's takeaway: talk to your elders about their lives and record their stories while you can, for the next generation's sake.

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