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William Henry Dillon

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William Henry Dillon

Birth	:	4 Jul 1818 Kent County, Delaware, USA
Death	:	9 Dec 1895 Vancouver, Clark County, Washington, USA
Burial	:	Old Vancouver City Cemetery, Vancouver, Clark County, USA
Coordinate	:	45.6295013, -122.6411972
Description	:	William H Dillon--Mr. Dillon, a pioneer of four states of our union, and a perfect example of the frontiersman, whose life story has been recounted in other pages also, was born in Kent county, Delaware, July 4, 1818. His parents were of English and Irish descent, and in 1823 moved west across the Alleghany Mountains, to Ohio, then upon the very outposts of civilization. Eight years later they came on to Indiana, locating in Tippecanoe county on the Wabash. The desire, however, of owning and farming his own lands took possession of the elder Dillon and he... Read More	William H Dillon--Mr. Dillon, a pioneer of four states of our union, and a perfect example of the frontiersman, whose life story has been recounted in other pages also, was born in Kent county, Delaware, July 4, 1818. His parents were of English and Irish descent, and in 1823 moved west across the Alleghany Mountains, to Ohio, then upon the very outposts of civilization. Eight years later they came on to Indiana, locating in Tippecanoe county on the Wabash. The desire, however, of owning and farming his own lands took possession of the elder Dillon and he pulled up stakes and traveled the Mississippi and made claim within the wholly uncultivated borders of Iowa. This was in 1837. William Dillon, the subject of our sketch, thus early learned the ins and outs of frontier life, and was deeply impressed with the purpose of being an independent land-owner. The death of his father in 1840, and his own marriage to Miss Harriet Hatten, the daughter of an old Kentuckian, imposed the necessity of hard labor and much economy; and, his health somewhat failing, he determined to come to the Pacific coast, where he understood that the climate was more favorable, and work less exacting. The journey was performed in 1847; and the usual vicissitudes of storms, stampedes occasional lack of water and feed for animals, and the wear and tear of the trip that fell to others, was also their experience. They suffered more or less from the pilfering of the Cayuse Indians. It was the Oscalusa train with which they performed the journey; and some of their companions were the unfortunates who remained at Waiilatpu and fell victims to the Indian atrocity the same time as Whitman. The passage down the Columbia from The Dalles was accomplished by means of rafts. The exposure and constant hardships of the plains and the river at last induced the mountain fiver, from which both Mr. Dillon and his wife suffered very severely. In company with him was his brother (Junifer) and family; and he himself had a little girl (Nancy) and a pair of twin babies (Arthur & ?). He found an old acquaintance living at the mouth of the Willamette river. There he remained the first season, raising a crop of vegetables for the next winter's use, and making ready to look up a claim as spring opened. Upon the news of gold in California received at Portland in August, 1848, his brother went down to ascertain the truth of the report, and returned the next winter with a quantity of dust. In May, 1849, both Mr. Dillon and his brother took passage on the bark "John W. Carter," a vessel very heavily loaded with lumber and produce. He was fairly successful in the mines, and returning to Oregon located a claim nearly opposite the mouth of the Willamette in Washington. He followed farming and stock-raising, and for fourteen years kept a ferry across the river. In 1871 he suffered the loss of his wife, and went soon after upon a prolonged visit to his friends in Iowa. While there, he married Mrs. Eliza Swetland of the town of Tipton, Iowa. He returned to Washington in the autumn and settled once more on a snug little farm northwest of Vancouver, where he is at present living in comfort. His children are married; and he contemplates with much pleasure the progress of the communities and states which he has done his part to establish. Nevertheless, the pioneer spirit still remains; and he sometimes wishes that there was a new land to settle out West so that he might hitch up and drive. Bio provided by Linda Morice #47966727

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is William Henry Dillon's memorial?
William Henry Dillon's memorial is located at: Old Vancouver City Cemetery, Vancouver, Clark County, USA.
When did William Henry Dillon death?
William Henry Dillon death on 9 Dec 1895 in Vancouver, Clark County, Washington, USA
Where are the coordinates of the William Henry Dillon's memorial?
Latitude: 45.6295013
Longitude: -122.6411972

Family Members:

Parent

Arthur Dillon

(1792 - 1840)

Ann O “Nancy” Townsend Dillon

(1792 - 1845)

Spouse

Harriet Hatten Dillon

(1818 - 1871)

Eliza Morgan Dillon

(1823 - 1890)

Siblings

Sarah A Dillon Miller

(1811 - 1883)

Junifer T Dillon

(1821 - 1891)

Catherine A. Dillon Slater

(1823 - 1899)

Elizabeth May Dillon Wilson

(1830 - 1904)

Children

Nancy Jane Dillon Durgan

(1844 - 1917)

Arthur Jonah Dillon

(1847 - 1922)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Old Vancouver City Cemetery
Vancouver, Clark County, USA
Coordinate: 45.6295013, -122.6411972

2. Mother Joseph Catholic Cemetery
Vancouver, Clark County, USA
Coordinate: 45.6417007, -122.6563034

3. Fort Vancouver Military Cemetery
Vancouver, Clark County, USA
Coordinate: 45.6399950, -122.6598690

4. Saint Lukes Episcopal Church Columbarium
Vancouver, Clark County, USA
Coordinate: 45.6404000, -122.6674000

5. Park Hill Cemetery
Vancouver, Clark County, USA
Coordinate: 45.6264000, -122.6061020

6. Saint Paul Lutheran Church Memorial Wall
Vancouver, Clark County, USA
Coordinate: 45.6314690, -122.6767370

7. Clark County Poor Farm Cemetery
Vancouver, Clark County, USA
Coordinate: 45.6715240, -122.6527405

8. Oregon Humane Society Animal Cemetery
Portland, Multnomah County, USA
Coordinate: 45.5796900, -122.6527200

9. Historic Columbian Cemetery
Portland, Multnomah County, USA
Coordinate: 45.5843940, -122.6779400

10. Good Shepherd Episcopal Church Columbarium
Vancouver, Clark County, USA
Coordinate: 45.6153300, -122.5605800

11. Evergreen Memorial Gardens
Vancouver, Clark County, USA
Coordinate: 45.6287500, -122.5568200

12. Saint John's Catholic Cemetery
Vancouver, Clark County, USA
Coordinate: 45.7000000, -122.6090000

13. Salmon Creek Cemetery
Salmon Creek, Clark County, USA
Coordinate: 45.7043991, -122.6603012

14. Salmon Creek Pioneer Cemetery
Vancouver, Clark County, USA
Coordinate: 45.7042920, -122.6621647

15. Saint Johns Lutheran Cemetery
Salmon Creek, Clark County, USA
Coordinate: 45.7043991, -122.6616974

16. Japanese Ancestral Cemetery
Portland, Multnomah County, USA
Coordinate: 45.5500000, -122.6115000

17. Fourth Plain Cemetery
Vancouver, Clark County, USA
Coordinate: 45.6747017, -122.5425034

18. Rose City Cemetery
Portland, Multnomah County, USA
Coordinate: 45.5499992, -122.6078033

19. Gatton Cemetery
Portland, Multnomah County, USA
Coordinate: 45.6132570, -122.7626140

20. Columbia Masonic Cemetery
Portland, Multnomah County, USA
Coordinate: 45.5587230, -122.5615880

21. National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother Cemeter
Portland, Multnomah County, USA
Coordinate: 45.5518690, -122.5721300

22. Brush Prairie Cemetery
Brush Prairie, Clark County, USA
Coordinate: 45.7047005, -122.5496979

23. Saint Matthews Episcopal Churchyard
Portland, Multnomah County, USA
Coordinate: 45.5555800, -122.5463800

24. Memory Memorial Park
Vancouver, Clark County, USA
Coordinate: 45.7265690, -122.6022540