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Capt Amos Underwood

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Capt Amos Underwood

Birth	:	12 Dec 1833
Death	:	15 Dec 1917 Underwood, Skamania County, Washington, USA
Burial	:	Mount Avon Cemetery, Rochester, Oakland County, USA
Coordinate	:	42.6772003, -83.1421967
Description	:	AMOS UNDERWOOD PASSES Amos Underwood, one of the first white men to settle along the Middle Columbia River, passed away at his home at Underwood early last Saturday morning. For many years Amos Underwood has been a prominent figure in the history of County and the middle Columbia. For years after the county was organized he held positions of trust and honor as a county official. He was county commissioner from his district for a long term of years and served the county faithfully and well. In those early days the home of Amos Underwood was a house for refuge for... Read More	AMOS UNDERWOOD PASSES Amos Underwood, one of the first white men to settle along the Middle Columbia River, passed away at his home at Underwood early last Saturday morning. For many years Amos Underwood has been a prominent figure in the history of County and the middle Columbia. For years after the county was organized he held positions of trust and honor as a county official. He was county commissioner from his district for a long term of years and served the county faithfully and well. In those early days the home of Amos Underwood was a house for refuge for the oppressed of all classes. No one was to poor for him to overlook. Any man who was willing to help himself when he could would always find a friend in Uncle Ame when he needed a friend, but he had no use for a lazy lout who would not attempt to help himself. On that early spring morning in 1856, when the people at the Cascades were attacked by the Indians, Amos Underwood gathered up his neighbors, marshaled them into a company and started down the river to relieve the sorely besieged people at the Cascades. The path down the river in those days was rough and dangerous and it was with great difficulty that it could be traveled at all, but the men who accompanied him were as rough and rugged as the country, and being urged on by their intrepid leader, reached the Upper Cascades at about the same time as did the steamer bearing soldiers from The Dalles. When the Indians saw the fresh forces arrive by land and water they sneaked off into the hills, and Captain Underwood above them working in conjunction with Lieutenant Phil Sheridan, of the regular army below, captured many of them. Some of the ring leaders were afterwards hanged and Captain Underwood took an active part in the performing of that task also. For yet several years past, Uncle Ame, as he is familiarly called by his many friends, has led a quiet life at his home on the Columbia, at the mouth of the White Salmon river, spending most of the winters in California or some other mild climate. He has always been strong and rugged, even in his advanced age, but for the last year or two with his friends have noticed that his step was slower and his form a little more bent than usual. This infirmity grew upon him until the last time he visited Stevenson he needed and was given assistance to walk up from the boat landing. He just seemed to sink naturally into the grave without any apparent disease or pain, but just a gradual drawing to a close of a life well spent. Skamania County Pioneer -December 27, 1917 Amos Underwood came West from Eddyville, Iowa to The Dalles traveling the Oregon Trail in 1852. The same year, Ezra Meeker, the founder of Puyallup, Washington, and the pioneer who retraced his travels on the Oregon Trail in 1906, made the same journey from Eddyville, Iowa. One has to wonder if they knew each other in Eddyville before they traveled the Oregon Trail, or if they knew each other while pioneering in Washington State. They are both listed as attending the "Great Reunion of Oregon Pioneers" in Portland, on Sunday, June 21, 1903. The Hood River Glacier, Hood River, OR., January 17, 1918 THE ROMANCE OF A PIONEER Chief Bequeathed a Daughter Young Indian Fighter Won Esteem of Chenowith, Who Delivered Charge Before Death The mound of a newly made grave has been reared in the little cemetery of Underwood. Beneath the conventional ridge of heaped up and rounded off clay and loam rests the body of Amos Underwood, pioneer Indian fighter who had claimed the mid-Colombia for his home for 65 years. And while the aged man had more than one scalp to his credit, no man of the early days, perhaps, was ever held in higher esteem by the Indians than Amos Underwood. At the age of 83 the aged pioneer passed away at the home of his only surviving child, Mrs. Mary V. Olson, at the little town on the North Bank that bears his name Friday, December 14. His funeral was held the following Tuesday. While he left no son to perpetuate his name, the old man left the town and community to bear it down through time. In the life and deeds of Amos Underwood one may read of romance, tragedy and hardships. His wife was an Indian maiden, the daughter of Chenowith, chief of the Cascade Indians. Following the so called Cascade massacre in 1856, Chenowith and his personal retinue of warriors were tried by a court martial and sentenced to be hanged. The old warrior, with the noose around his neck, in his farewell address motioned to his side one of the stalwart young guards. The guard was Amos Underwood. "I have observed this sturdy pale face for several years," were the words, according to interpreters, of the proud old chief as he stood within the shadow of death, "and his actions have been good. My son, to you I give my daughter. In your care I have no fear for her." Chenowith, with eloquence in his final words and gesture, stepped back and uttered a war whoop. Soldiers grasped the free end of the rope and his body was hoisted from the earth. A grave, so the story goes, had already been dug nearby the execution ground. In his speech Chenowith had pointed to the hole and had appealed that his body be not laid to molder in the cold earth. He explained that he was wealthy. "Go," he said, "and sell of my ponies that pasture on the lowlands and purchase robes that myself and my warriors may have a decent burial in accordance with our ancient rites." His surviving friends were given the right to carry out his request. Mr. Underwood at the time of the execution was but 22 years of age. To humor the sentenced man he accepted his charge, although he had never seen the daughter. It was more than five years before he laid eyes on Ellen, as the Indian girl had been christened when she was baptized by missionaries, and during the time the young girl, according to the Indian custom, had been given to Lieut. W.K. Lear, a young officer at the post. As Mrs. Olson tells the story of those pioneer days, the Indians of the Cascades wished protection from the whites. "Lieut. Lear saw my mother, who was a beautiful maiden," says Mrs. Olson, and fell in love with her. My grandmother called a council of our people, and it was decided that it would be wise for them to accept the officer's proposals. The two were married according to the Indian law. To them a child was born, a little girl, Isabella. "Then Lieut. Lear was transferred, first to California, then to Arizona and later to Alaska. My father came back again to the mid-Colombia and while passing through the post he saw my mother for the first time. He remembered his promise, and soon he and my mother were married and shortly moved to their home for so many years at Underwood. My father's brother came to the mid-Colombia after a few years, and fell in loves with the girl, Isabella, and they were married. "Always our home has been the rendezvous for Indians of the surrounding country. They have come to my father and mother, and grandmother, the latter having resided with us for many years, for advice. The poor have come for help, and the troubled for words of solace. I have never known a nobler old woman than my grandmother. She never recovered from the loss of her husband, whom, she said, was executed unjustly. She had cause to hate the whites, but she ascribed the act to ignorance and what bitterness was hers she kept within her own breast. My grandmother always had plenty, and never did I see her fail to divide it with Indians coming to her for aid. "A few years ago I had occasion to visit the Yakima Indian reservation. At first I was just an ordinary Indian visitor. Then I told someone of my grandfather. After that nothing was too good for me. "She is the granddaughter of Chenowith," I heard them telling each other, and I was feasted and entertained like a princess." Mr. Underwood was one of the pioneers of Oregon who helped to make the history of the country. As a volunteer in Co. B., Oregon Volunteers, of which he was a corporal, he participated in the Cayuse war of 1855.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Capt Amos Underwood's memorial?
Capt Amos Underwood's memorial is located at: Mount Avon Cemetery, Rochester, Oakland County, USA.
When did Capt Amos Underwood death?
Capt Amos Underwood death on 15 Dec 1917 in Underwood, Skamania County, Washington, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Capt Amos Underwood's memorial?
Latitude: 42.6772003
Longitude: -83.1421967

Family Members:

Parent

John Underwood

(1805 - 1890)

Louisa Greggs Underwood

(1809 - 1852)

Spouse

Taswatha “Ellen” Chenowith Underwood

(1838 - 1906)

Siblings

Hiram Underwood

(1837 - 1915)

Myshale Underwood

(1840 - 1923)

Susannah Underwood Cox

(1842 - 1914)

Angeline Underwood

(1844 - 1855)

Edward “Ed” Underwood

(1846 - 1908)

James Underwood

(1849 - 1855)

Henrietta Underwood Taylor

(1854 - 1944)

Children

Jefferson “Jeff” Underwood

(1862 - 1881)

Mary Virginia Underwood Lane

(1864 - 1950)

John Underwood

(1868 - 1884)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Mount Avon Cemetery
Rochester, Oakland County, USA
Coordinate: 42.6772003, -83.1421967

2. Old Stoney Creek Cemetery
Rochester Hills, Oakland County, USA
Coordinate: 42.6917000, -83.1205978

3. Van Hoosen Jones Stoney Creek Cemetery
Rochester, Oakland County, USA
Coordinate: 42.6953468, -83.1228256

4. Christian Memorial Gardens West
Rochester Hills, Oakland County, USA
Coordinate: 42.6543999, -83.1235962

5. Brewster Cemetery
Rochester Hills, Oakland County, USA
Coordinate: 42.7019005, -83.1853027

6. Guardian Angel Cemetery
Rochester, Oakland County, USA
Coordinate: 42.7307892, -83.1354218

7. Curtis Cemetery
Shelby Township, Macomb County, USA
Coordinate: 42.6955986, -83.0693970

8. Ewell Cemetery
Shelby Township, Macomb County, USA
Coordinate: 42.6690520, -83.0631500

9. Memorial Garden
Shelby Township, Macomb County, USA
Coordinate: 42.7011589, -83.0550083

10. Union Corners Cemetery
Troy, Oakland County, USA
Coordinate: 42.6074982, -83.1256027

11. Cannon Cemetery
Washington, Macomb County, USA
Coordinate: 42.7131882, -83.0555267

12. South Washington Cemetery
Washington, Macomb County, USA
Coordinate: 42.7139015, -83.0558014

13. Aaron Webster Cemetery
Auburn Hills, Oakland County, USA
Coordinate: 42.6316605, -83.2230606

14. Paint Creek Cemetery
Lake Orion, Oakland County, USA
Coordinate: 42.7472000, -83.1802979

15. Mount Vernon Cemetery
Mount Vernon, Macomb County, USA
Coordinate: 42.7414570, -83.0862950

16. Saint Lawrence Cemetery
Utica, Macomb County, USA
Coordinate: 42.6319008, -83.0507965

17. Bigler Cemetery
Oakland Township, Oakland County, USA
Coordinate: 42.7386017, -83.2149963

18. Conner-Price Cemetery
Shelby Township, Macomb County, USA
Coordinate: 42.6603165, -83.0293427

19. Utica Cemetery
Utica, Macomb County, USA
Coordinate: 42.6373291, -83.0378952

20. Kline Cemetery
Rochester, Oakland County, USA
Coordinate: 42.7686005, -83.1378021

21. Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church Columbarium
Bloomfield Hills, Oakland County, USA
Coordinate: 42.5984290, -83.2092050

22. White Chapel Memorial Park Cemetery
Troy, Oakland County, USA
Coordinate: 42.5856018, -83.1635971

23. Beach Cemetery
Troy, Oakland County, USA
Coordinate: 42.5936012, -83.1980972

24. Perry Mount Park Cemetery
Pontiac, Oakland County, USA
Coordinate: 42.6563072, -83.2701950