An Avenue of Walnuts and The Earring Twins
by Mrs. Clyde B. Huntley, 7 February 1939
American Life Histories: Federal Writers' Project, 1936 - 1940 (Manuscript Division, Library of Congress)
Accession Number W965
An Avenue of Walnuts
I think it shows how well worth while is the work you are doing, when we of
the third generation here in Oregon can remember so little of the stories we
must have heard our grandmothers tell. I've been more interested than the
average. I believe, yet only a few incidents can I relate, aside from what has
been already related in some of the histories of the State. Everybody knows,
for instance, about my great-grandfather, Samuel Kimbrough Barlow, his
building of the Barlow Trail, and all that sort of thing. But perhaps this
story of his burial place may not be so well-known. It seems to me it well
reflects the character of the man. When he died, in 1867, he was buried in the
small burial plot, in one corner of his farm. Here also his wife was buried,
and some members of the family of Bowers, adjoining neighbors. The little
burial ground was fenced off and over the graves of my great-grandfather and
great-grandmother a tombstone was erected. On the tombstone is this
inscription:
"Do not disturb the repose of the dead;
Behold the pure spirit has arisen and fled!
Nor linger, in sadness, around the dark tomb,
But go, where flowers forever will bloom."
The inscription was composed by great-grandfather, who directed that it should
be placed on his tombstone, with full directions also as to where and how he
should be buried.
In later years, Colonel Rinehart, who had married a great-aunt of mine, and
was brother-in-law of my grandfather, William Barlow, wished, or rather my
great-aunt wished, to move the remains of great-grandfather and
great-grandmother to Seattle, where they were living, and had a family burial
plot; but the inscription halted them, and the graves were not disturbed. Aunt
Mollie Barlow Wilkins was similarily influenced, when, on visiting the graves,
she found the tombstone deteriorating from time and weather, and the
surrounding fence falling into decay. She felt that it was, perhaps, the wish
of great-grandfather that his dust should be absorbed by Mother Nature and be
forgotten. But I am not so sure. I am going up some day soon, and see what I
can do about it. The D.A.R. Chapter at Oregon City is, as you perhaps know,
named for great-grandmother Susannah ______ Barlow.
Now, as to that avenue of great walnut trees that runs from the front gate to
the entrance of the big house up at Barlow Station. That was planted by my
grandfather, William Barlow, following the erection of his first house, which
was built in the style of an old southern plantation mansion. Southern
Colonial houses I think they were called. It had sixteen or eighteen rooms, a
low sloping roof, and a wide, double gallery, with large pillars, in the true
southern manner. I can remember it faintly. The grounds were beautiful in my
recollection, with a fountain in front of the entrance, and flower-beds
stretching in every direction, set off by brick parterres. Grandfather had the
pleasant habit of presenting grandmother with a handsome present every time
she presented him with a new son or daughter. Aunt Mollie, if I am correct,
was the cause for a very grand new carriage. Back in my memory are the
highlights of one Christmas in that lovely old home, of bells and horses,
candles and a huge Christmas tree that we children peeked at through
always-closing doors, and all the excitement attending a big house full of
people, big and little. And no little glamour was added to all this by the
presence of the two darkies grandmother had brought with her from the south
old Rose and Peter, who stayed with her to the end. I was always
horror-stricken at the sight of mother kissing Ol' Rose, who had nursed her
from babyhood, but whose black skin was too alien to me for such affectionate
demonstration. This southern house was burned in '82 or '83, after which the
house which still stands was built. With the exception of the big front
verandah, added a few years ago, it looks very much as it did originally.
But it was when the first house was talked about that grandmother, having in
mind the magnolia and other avenues of the southern plantations, insisted that
there should be an avenue to her house in Oregon, and grandfather said, all
right, as soon as someone went east that he could entrust with the mission, he
would send for the seeds. Grandfather's only stipulation was that the trees of
the avenue should be walnut -- black walnuts from his native State of Indiana.
You see he had his memories too. Finally the seed nuts were sent for -- to
Bridgeport, Indiana, where the nut trees grew wild. A Mr. Dement was going to
Washington, D. C., and the plan was to send the nuts to him there, but for
some reason he did not return to Oregon, and it resulted in the nuts being
entrusted to Senator Thurston. Senator Thurston, you will remember, died at
Acapulco, Panama, on his way back home in 1851. He actually died at sea, where
the superstitious sailors wanted to bury him, but the ship put in to port, and
he was buried ashore. Two years later Oregon Territory appropriated money for
bringing the Senator's remains to Oregon, and they were buried in Salem. Upon
his death, however, all his effects, including grandfather's walnuts, were
taken in charge by the ship's captain. There were 665 walnuts and 100
butternuts, and they were held in custody at San Francisco for eight months,
when grandfather went down and eventually secured possession of them after
paying $65.00 freight and storage. He brought them home, and after saving out
one for each of his large, family, he planted the rest in boxes filled with
sand and fertilizer. These boxes he buried in the ground, where the nuts would
germinate. When spring came they began to open. Seven hundred and sixty little
trees came up, the roots sometimes longer than the tops. There were some that
had roots three feet long. It was then grandmother's avenue came into being.
It was 400 feet long, with fifty trees on either side. Of the trees that
remained, grandfather sold many for $1.50 each, cleaning up, in all, $500.00
on his sprouts. The black walnut trees of Salem, Independence and Portland,
all came from that shipment for grandmother's avenue.
When the railroad went through, in later years, some of the avenue trees had
to be taken out, but Ben Holladay refused to have them sacrificed, moving
them, on two flat cars, to Portland. One of these trees still stands at the
old Cunningham home, in Holladay Addition, the branches of which are said to
have a spread of some 240 feet.
What has came down in our family as the "Earring Story", should probably be
called a Twin Story. My grandmother, whose maiden name in full was Martha Ann
Partlow, had a twin sister, Mary. They were born in Virginia, and they were so
exactly alike that, for identification purposes great-grandmother put earrings
of a different design on them at a very early age. Here, tied in the
scrapbook, is one of the earrings that grandmother wore from the time she
became a young lady.
It is one of the earrings too, that took part in the incident I am relating.
You see, she had this pair on in this daguerreotype. Eventually great-aunt
Mary married a Colonel White, and moved with her husband to Fort Worth, Texas,
after which, it is said, grandmother pined and grew so puny that great-aunt
Mary sent for her to join her in her new home. Now, this isn't a part of the
story, but, in case you are ever bitten by a Black Widow spider, you may find
it interesting. Grandmother had barely reached Fort Worth when she was bitten
by a spider, and she swelled and suffered so they despaired of her life. Then
the niggers took her in hand; they buried her in mud up to her neck, and it
cured her, or at least she recovered. While grandmother was at Fort Worth she
met and married a young lieutenant, named Tull. They were transferred to
Missouri, where they heard much about, and became interested in Oregon, but
within seven months grandmother's husband died, and her first child was born
fatherless. Sometime later she met a Doctor William Allen, from Kentucky. He
was a widower, with three young children. He, too, it seems, wanted to come to
Oregon, and eventually they arrived here, but it appears nobody was sick in
the Oregon country, and, to make a living, he turned to teaching dancing.
Then, very suddenly, he died from a heart attack. Grandmother had two children
by him, so his death left her practically penniless with six children to
support. There was one thing grandmother knew about, and that was good food. I
forgot to mention that two of the old family darkies, Peter and Ol' Rose, had
joined her. So they were on her hands too.
Canemah, at that time, was a point where all the Willamette River boats
discharged both supplies and passengers. It was a fairly lively little place,
and here my grandmother, with the help of her two darkies, put on big suppers
for dances and other gala affairs. Meantime grandmother's twin, great-aunt
Mary and her husband had come to Oregon. Great-aunt Mary was much concerned
about her twin.
While grandmother was doing very well for herself, her six children and her
two darkies, great-aunt Mary looked on the enterprise with little favor.
Grandmother was still a young and comely woman and great-aunt Mary thought she
should be picking out a husband from the many prosperous and otherwise
eligible men about. Among these was a young man by the name of William Barlow.
Great-aunt Mary selected him as her future brother-in-law. He was not only
personable, but he was a money-maker. He owned a lot of land, for all of which
he paid cash; never, strange as it may seem, filing on government land. But
grandmother was shy, despite the fact that she was twice a widow, and no widow
is supposed to be bashful. Nevertheless, grandmother was unequal to the plan
suggested by her twin; she declared she couldn't "make up" to any man, and
that was that. Great-aunt Mary went into action. There was to be a big dance
at Canemah one night, and grandmother was going to give the usual supper. She
had been in Oregon City where great-aunt Mary lived. William Barlow, it was
learned, was going to Canemah also. This was a Providence-sent opportunity, in
great-aunt Mary's opinion. If grandmother wouldn't make the best of it, she
would. She prevailed on grandmother to exchange earrings with her, and off she
went on the same boat with the handsome young farmer. She contrived an
introduction, and flirted with him to such effect that she won his interest
and affection on the spot -- a combination that she shortly turned over, with
a second exchange of earrings, to the widowed sister and her six orphans. And
all of them, with the children that came along later, lived happily ever
after.
Extra Comment:
As a decendant of the Barlow family, Mrs. Huntley's story of the avenue of
walnuts on the old Barlow farm at the railroad station of that name (Clackamas
County), may be considered absolutely authentic. To all travelers, whether by
highway or rail, the avenue is a well-known landmark.
Mrs. Huntley's husband, Clyde B., was for many years collector of customs, at
Portland, Oregon.
Canemah, where the story of the earrings is located, was, at one time, an
important boat-landing, not far south of Oregon City. Here the steamer
"Gazelle" was destroyed by explosion, in the early '50s.
Interview Information:
Title: An avenue of walnuts and the Earring Twins
Name and address of informant: Mrs. Clyde B. Huntley 2825 N. W. Raleigh St.,
Portland Oregon.
Date and time of interview: February 7, 1939; 1:30 - 3:15 P. M.
Place of interview: home of informant.
Name and address of person, if any, who put you in touch with informant:
Mrs. George Streeter, Decorator, between Yamhill and Morrison Streets, on West
Park, Portland, Oregon
Description of room, house, surroundings, etc.:
Luxuriously furnished living rooms some 20 by 25 feet in dimension. A
fireplace, with cheery fire at one end. Handsome oriental rugs covered the
floor. Among the various pieces of furniture were some fine examples of early
American mahogany and walnut workmanship. The house, of some ten rooms, is of
the well-to-do type of ten or twelve years ago, with a small formal garden in
front, and a flower garden at the rear of informal landscaping. All in a
well-to-do to-do neighborhood.
1. Ancestry: Scotch
2. Place and date of birth: Oregon City, Oregon; January 16, 1875
3. Family: Father, Thos. McDonough; Mother, Marian Wallace Allen. Has one
married daughter.
4. Places lived in, with dates: Oregon City, 1875 to 1920; Portland, Oregon,
1920 to date.
5. Education, with dates: Public Schools, Oregon City
6. Occupations and accomplishments with dates: Housewife only.
7. Special skills and interests: Flowers and early Americana in the way of
furniture, glassware, etc.
8. Community and religious activities: Portland Garden Club, McLaughlin
Association, various civic clubs; Member of Episcopal Church.
9. Description of informant: Slender, blue-eyed and white-haired woman of
delicate type. Very attractive personality.
10. Other points gained in interview: A descendant of early Oregon pioneers,
Mrs. Huntley, intelligent and "genteel", is one of those persons, socially
active, whose roots are well planted.