Michael and Ruth Plaster, in 1857, made the 2,000 mile journey over the plains of the Oregon Trail to Brownsville, Linn County, Oregon. They had seven children at the time. Traveling on the Oregon Trail was difficult, and women planning to leave would gather for important social events with friends in the months before to sew quilts together. An article on the Oregon Trail says that "When it came time for a family or a group of families to leave, the farewells were often grandiose and sad...During the journey, women did most of the things they did back home; cooking every meal, taking care of the children, gathering food and fuel for the fire. Women had to do these things in dust, rain, hail, in tents or in the open air." Ruth's parents are listed as William Burress and Eleanor Frakes in the Oregon Biographical Index.
1819
Mar 30
| 1819 • The U.S. naval vessel USS Columbus is launched in Washington, DC. |
1820
Aug 7
Age: 1y
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residenceLittle York, Hardin, Kentucky, USA ⇓ Also living in Little York is a Job Burris. On the same page, a Charles and David Dougherty are also living. 1 Source ⇓ |
| 1820 • November 20 – The Congress of Troppau (Opava) is convened between the rulers of Russia, Austria and Prussia. |
1836
Jun 23
Age: 17y
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marriageMichael Plaster Schuyler County, Illinois, USA ⇓ "Schuyler County Illinois I Do hereby Certify that I Did Join to gether in Marriage Michel Plaster & Ruth Burrass on the 23 day of June 1836". Signature of the justice of the peace is difficult to make out. 4 Sources ⇓ |
| 1836 • Arkansas is the 25th state admitted into the United States of America. |
1838
Mar 22
Age: 18y
birth of childAnn Marie Plaster Lee County, Iowa, USA ⇓ |
| 1838 • The Boers win a decisive victory over the Zulus in the Battle of Blood River. |
1840
Age: 20y
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residenceTownship 66, Lee, Iowa Territory, USA ⇓ Michael and Ruth (Burress) Plaster are living with their oldest daughter Ann Marie Plaster, who is about one or two years old. On the next page is a 20-30 year old Joseph Burris. 1 Source ⇓ |
| 1840 • New Zealand is declared a British colony. |
1843
Jan 10
Age: 23y
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birth of childMargaret J Plaster Gentry County, Missouri, USA ⇓ 1 Source ⇓ |
| 1843 • The Disruption in Edinburgh of the Free Church of Scotland from the Church of Scotland. |
1846
May 16
Age: 27y
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birth of childThomas Jefferson Plaster Gentry County, Missouri, USA ⇓ 1 Source ⇓ |
| 1846 • Beginning of the Galician peasant revolt. |
1849
Oct 1
Age: 30y
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birth of childElizabeth Ellen Plaster Athens, Gentry, Missouri, USA ⇓ 1 Source ⇓ |
| 1849 • Denmark becomes a constitutional monarchy. |
1850
Sep 24
Age: 31y
| 1850 • The ships of the McClure Arctic Expedition set sail from Plymouth. |
1850
Sep 24
Age: 31y
| 1850 • The Catholic hierarchy is re-established in England and Wales by Pope Pius IX and future Pope Pius X . |
1852
Sep 10
Age: 33y
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birth of childEmily L Plaster Gentry County, Missouri, USA ⇓ 1 Source ⇓ |
| 1852 • Antioch College was founded. Its first president was Horace Mann. |
1856
Feb 28
Age: 36y
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birth of childLaura Hanna Plaster Gentry County, Missouri, USA ⇓ 1 Source ⇓ |
| 1856 • The nawab of Oudh (Wajid Ali Shah) is exiled to Metiabruz and the state is annexed by the British East India Company. |
1857
Age: 37y
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movedOregon ⇓ The Plasters were pioneers on the Oregon Trail from Missouri to Oregon, a journey of 2,000 miles. In the "Oregon Biographical Index", it mentions that Ruth Burress and her husband Michael Plaster traveled to Oregon in 1857 from Gentry, Missouri over the plains. This photo is not of them, but of some travelers from that time period. See gallery for more info on the Oregon Trail: https://johnsonfamily.talldude.net/ruth-burress-124/gallery/oregon-trail/all 2 Sources ⇓ |
| 1857 • Dred Scott v. Sandford: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that Blacks are not citizens and slaves can not sue for freedom, driving the country further towards the American Civil War (the ruling is not overturned until the 14th Amendment in 1868). |
1860
Age: 40y
| 1860 • Mutsuhito (the future Emperor Meiji) becomes Crown Prince of Japan. |
1860
Mar 22
Age: 40y
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birth of childGeorge Washington Plaster Brownsville, Linn, Oregon, USA ⇓ 5 Sources ⇓ |
| 1860 • 21 – Beijing's Old Summer Palace is burned to the ground by orders of British general Lord Elgin in retaliation for mistreatment of several prisoners of war during the Second Opium War. |
1870
Age: 50y
| 1870 • The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution, giving blacks the right to vote, is ratified. |
1878
Apr 3
Age: 59y
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deathBrownsville, Linn, Oregon, USA ⇓ A newspaper article published in the Oregon State Journal says that she died "Near Brownsville Apr. 3, 1878, Butter Plaster, wife of Michael Plaster, aged 59 years and 3 days." 2 Sources ⇓ |
| 1878 • The Treaty of San Stefano concludes the Russo-Turkish War |