James John
| James John | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | 1809 Donnelsville, Ohio |
| Died |
May 28, 1886 (aged 76) Multnomah County, Oregon |
| Other names | Jimmy John, St. John |
| Occupation | educator, fisherman, ferry operator, merchant |
| Known for | founding the settlement of St. Johns, Oregon (1846) Bartleson–Bidwell Party (1841–43) |
James John (1809–1886) was founder of the settlement of St. Johns in Oregon. The area later became a city when it passed a charter in 1902. It was annexed into Portland in 1915. John worked as a general store and ferry operator across the Willamette River to Linnton. He once served as Justice of the Peace and was twice an election judge. John was born in Ohio and first settled in Indiana with his wife and child where John worked as an educator. He joined the Bartleson–Bidwell Party in 1841, who were one of the first groups that trekked the California Trail. By this time, John's wife and child had died. He came to Oregon Country in the employment of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1843 after making it to Sacramento Valley.
Following John's death in 1886, his estate was executed by Philip T. Smith who met court injunctions from John's sister and niece. Smith was replaced as executor by Robert Catilin who battled John's relatives until 1907 when the estate was finally settled. In John's will and testament he gave a large portion of his property towards the erection of a new public school for St. Johns and designated his personal effects liquidated and the funds be used for building materials. His only condition for the school was that it not be related to any religious "sect". In 1907, Catilin ordered the City of St. Johns to forfeit the land given to them by John, but gave them a small portion of the land to erect a school on. James John High School opened in 1911 and closed in 1921.
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