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 • Simón Bolívar proclaims the Republic of Gran Colombia. |
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 • The Daoguang Emperor succeeds the throne of the Qing Dynasty in China. |
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 • Colony of South Australia founded by Captain John Hindmarsh |
1838
Mar 22
Age: 18y
birth of childAnn Marie Plaster Lee County, Iowa, USA ⇓ |
1838 • Dissolution of the Federal Republic of Central America: Honduras and Costa Rica follow the example of Nicaragua and secede from the federation. |
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 • David Livingstone leaves Britain for Africa. |
1843
Jan 10
Age: 23y
|
birth of childMargaret J Plaster Gentry County, Missouri, USA ⇓ 1 Source ⇓ |
1843 • The first major wagon train headed for the American Northwest sets out with one thousand pioneers from Elm Grove, Missouri on the Oregon Trail. |
1846
May 16
Age: 27y
birth of childThomas Jefferson Plaster Gentry County, Missouri, USA ⇓ 1 Source ⇓ |
1846 • Beginning of the Galician peasant revolt. |
1849
Oct 1
Age: 30y
|
birth of childElizabeth Ellen Plaster Athens, Gentry, Missouri, USA ⇓ 1 Source ⇓ |
1849 • The United States Department of the Interior is established, incorporating the Census Office, General Land Office, Office of Indian Affairs and Patent and Trademark Office. |
1850
Sep 24
Age: 31y
1850 • Richard Wagner's romantic opera Lohengrin (including the Bridal Chorus) premieres under the direction of Franz Liszt in Weimar. |
1850
Sep 24
Age: 31y
1850 • The American System of Watch Manufacturing starts in Roxbury, Massachusetts, U.S.A. (the Waltham Watch Company). |
1852
Sep 10
Age: 33y
|
birth of childEmily L Plaster Gentry County, Missouri, USA ⇓ 1 Source ⇓ |
1852 • Taiping Rebellion: The Taiping army took Hanyang and begins the siege of Wuchang. |
1856
Feb 28
Age: 36y
birth of childLaura Hanna Plaster Gentry County, Missouri, USA ⇓ 1 Source ⇓ |
1856 • Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina beats Senator Charles Sumner with a cane in the hall of the United States Senate, for a speech Sumner had made attacking Southerners who sympathized with the pro-slavery violence in Kansas ("Bleeding Kansas"). Sumner is unable to return to duty for 3 years while he recovers; Brooks becomes a hero across the South. |
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 • Elisha Otis' first elevator is installed (at 488 Broadway, New York City). |
1860
Age: 40y
1860 • Austria, Britain, France, Prussia and the Ottoman Empire form a commission to investigate the causes of the massacres of Maronite Christians, committed by Druzes in Lebanon earlier in the year. |
1860
Mar 22
Age: 40y
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birth of childGeorge Washington Plaster Brownsville, Linn, Oregon, USA ⇓ 5 Sources ⇓ |
1860 • Christians and Druzes clash in Damascus, Syria. |
1870
Age: 50y
1870 • Syracuse University is established and officially opens. |
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 phonograph is patented by Thomas Edison. |