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 • McCulloch v. Maryland: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Bank of the United States is constitutional. |
1820
Aug 7
Age: 1y
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 • Saint Cronan's Boys' National School opens in Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland under the title Bray Male School. It is the oldest school in Bray and its notable pupils will include President of Ireland Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh. |
1836
Jun 23
Age: 17y
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 • The United States Patent Office burns in Washington, D.C. |
1838
Mar 22
Age: 18y
birth of childAnn Marie Plaster Lee County, Iowa, USA ⇓ |
1838 • Friedrich Bessel makes the first accurate measurement of distance to a star. |
1840
Age: 20y
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 • The frigate Belle-Poule arrives in Cherbourg, bringing back the remains of Napoléon from Saint Helena to France. He is buried in the Invalides. |
1843
Jan 10
Age: 23y
birth of childMargaret J Plaster Gentry County, Missouri, USA ⇓ 1 Source ⇓ |
1843 • Victoria, British Columbia, is founded by the Hudson's Bay Company as a trading post and fort. |
1846
May 16
Age: 27y
birth of childThomas Jefferson Plaster Gentry County, Missouri, USA ⇓ 1 Source ⇓ |
1846 • Many Mormons begin their migration west from Nauvoo, Illinois, to the Great Salt Lake, led by Brigham Young. |
1849
Oct 1
Age: 30y
birth of childElizabeth Ellen Plaster Athens, Gentry, Missouri, USA ⇓ 1 Source ⇓ |
1849 • Giuseppe Garibaldi enters Rome to defend it from the French troops of General Oudinot. |
1850
Sep 24
Age: 31y
1850 • Los Angeles, California is incorporated as a city. |
1850
Sep 24
Age: 31y
1850 • The University of Sydney (the oldest in Australia) is founded. |
1852
Sep 10
Age: 33y
birth of childEmily L Plaster Gentry County, Missouri, USA ⇓ 1 Source ⇓ |
1852 • Count Cavour becomes the Piedmontese prime minister. |
1856
Feb 28
Age: 36y
birth of childLaura Hanna Plaster Gentry County, Missouri, USA ⇓ 1 Source ⇓ |
1856 • The Second Opium War between several western powers and China begins with the Arrow Incident on the Pearl River. |
1857
Age: 37y
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 • The biggest Estonian newspaper Postimees is established by Johann Voldemar Jannsen. |
1860
Age: 40y
1860 • The historic debate about evolution is held at the Oxford University Museum. |
1860
Mar 22
Age: 40y
birth of childGeorge Washington Plaster Brownsville, Linn, Oregon, USA ⇓ 5 Sources ⇓ |
1860 • Mutsuhito (the future Emperor Meiji) becomes Crown Prince of Japan. |
1870
Age: 50y
1870 • The Deutsche Bank is founded in Berlin. |
1878
Apr 3
Age: 59y
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 Tokyo Stock Exchange is established |