APPLEGATE, Jesse [1811-1888] -- American surveyor, legislator, and Oregon pioneer

In 1843 three Applegate brothers, Jesse, Charles and Lindsay, and their wives emigrated by wagon train to Oregon. On the Oregon Trail, the tragic drowning of two Applegate children in the Columbia River and the threatening Cayuse Indians motivated Jesse to later (1846) act as captain of a team to locate an alternative southern route, which came to be known as the Applegate Trail. Once In Oregon he became at once influential in public affairs, becoming (1845) a member of the provisional government which lasted until the territory was attached (1849) to the United States. A member (1857) of the state constitutional convention, he withdrew when his leadership was challenged. First a Whig and then a Republican, he had much to do with supporting Lincoln and the cause of the North in Oregon.

He is thought to have refused a seat in the U.S. Senate because acceptance would have required a degree of subservience to the railroads -- which he had himself helped to develop.

He is important as the author of documents and newspaper articles pertaining to the settlement of Oregon and was the author of the Western classic "A Day with the Cow-Column" (1876).