Charles Osterhoudt Farm

Location of the Charles Osterhoudt farm
derived from a mortgage dated June 7, 1887

Newspaper and other accounts state that Charles Osterhoudt moved to Marion County Oregon from Illinois in 1866, along with at least two of his brothers, Hiram and Elias. However, the 1880 census shows the entire Charles Osterhoudt family living on a farm in Waverly, Bremer, Iowa. Elmer's father William was born there in 1870. There are no census records from 1890, as they were destroyed in a fire on January 10, 1921, but the 1900 census shows the family back in Marion County Oregon, living on a farm near Scotts Mills, Oregon. This is where Elmer was born.

According to the Scotts Mills Historical Society, a fire in the Marion County Courthouse in the early 1900s destroyed all property records. This makes it impossible to find an actual deed to the Charles Osterhoudt farm where Elmer was born, but the mortgage document shown below gives the location.

Notes concerning the text in the document:

Charles and Betsy Osterhoudt were Elmer Osterhoudt’s grandparents. Elmer was born on their farm.
Betsy Osterhoudt's maiden name was Woodruff.
Cornelius Woodruff was Betsy's father.
Sarah H. Coffin was Betsy’s sister.

“Donation Land Claim” – The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 granted 320 acres of land to every white settler or “half breed Indian.” A married couple received 640 acres. The Osterhoudt farm was located on the DLC of Thomas P. Jack.

“Chain” – A chain is a unit measuring 66 feet in length. There are 80 chains in a mile.

The “county road leading to Silverton” is route 213, or Cascade Highway. Charles and Betsy are buried in Miller Cemetery on Cascade Highway, about one mile from the farm described in the mortgage. Also buried there is Luella Dicken, one of their daughters, sister of Wilbert Osterhoudt (Elmer’s father) as well as Elmer's mother, Minnie.

“T. 6 S of Range one (1)” is a map from Metsker’s Map of Clackamas County, Oregon. It is shown below the mortgage deed.

Partial Transcript:

This indenture Witnesseth that We C H Osterhoudt and Betsy Oster-
houdt his wife for and in the consideration of the sum
of Six Hundred DOLLARS
to them in hand paid, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, have bargained, sold and conveyed,
and by these presents do bargain, sell and convey unto E S Remington
the following premises, to wit: Beginning at the front 36.20 chains East of
the South West corner of the Donation Land Claim of T. P Jack
in T. 6 S of Range one (1) East Running thence East to the S. E. Corner
of said Donation Claim Thence North 19.08 chains Thence East 11.06
chains to the center of Butte Creek Thence down stream in the
center of the channel of said Creek to the Corner of Cornelius Wood-
ruffs land and thence in a Southerly direction along the center
of the county road leading to Silverton to the place of begin-
ning Containing 90 acres save and except 10 acres out of the S
W corner of said tract of land that has been deeded to Sarah H.
Coffin and all Situated in Marion County Oregon

Together with the tenements, hereditaments and appurtenances thereunto belonging, or in any wise appertaining, To have and to hold the same, with the appurtenances, unto the said E. S. Remington his heirs and assigns forever.

This Conveyance is intended as a Mortgage to secure the payment of Six Hundred
Dollars, in accordance with the tenor of a certain
instrument of writing, of which the following is a true copy to-wit:
$600 Silverton Or. June 7 " 1887.

(Charles Osterhoudt then promises to pay the mortgage within two years at 10% interest in US gold coin. Along the side of the document is a note by E. S. Remington stating the mortgage was paid in full on June 12, 1890.)

Map thanks to Historic Map Works

The description is confusing, but the pink shaded area above seems to be the 90 acres mentioned in the mortgage document. Butte Creek is shaded blue. This map is from 1937, long after the Osterhoudt's had left the area. A plot owned by Luella Dickin(s) helps to confirm the location, as Luella was one of Charles' daughters. On this map, "the county road leading to Silverton" is named "Silverton - Pine Tree Corners Road."

In green, above the word "FRIENDS" was the farm of Charles and Nellie McConnell. Nellie McConnell was also one of Charles' daughters. Elmer's brother Cyril lived with the McConnells during his childhood.

Click on the map for a larger version. View the area as it is today with this link to Google Maps.

Here is the location zoomed in from the map above.

Below the pink shaded area is a small triangle with the number "29" inside. This was owned by Aaron Dickin, Louella's husband. To the left of this on the other side of the road would have been the ten acre property of Sarah Coffin, Betsy Woodruff's sister. The deed states that the Osterhoudt property ran down the center of the creek to the corner of Cornelius Woodruffs land, then down the center of the road. Where I have typed "Aaron Dicken" on the map might be the Woodruff property. It is interesting that the Charles Osterhoudt farm adjoined the Cornelius Woodruff farm, the Dicken property and the 10 acres belonging to Sarah Coffin, as all these people were related.

In the 1900 Census, the Dicken household was the next dwelling in order of visitation after the Charles Osterhoudt household.

As can be seen above, Luella Dicken (formerly Luella Osterhoudt) later owned a tract on the 1937 map where her father, Charles Osterhoudt, had mortgaged a farm in 1887. Somewhere in the pink shaded area was the Osterhoudt farmhouse, most likely in the area owned by Luella Dicken. Luella and Aaron's son Frank Dicken started Dicken & Co in 1915. It was the largest store of general merchandise in Molalla, which is about ten miles north of the farm shown above, along route 213.

Additionally, according to this tax record from 1895, Charles owned another 80 acres. 25 of them were cultivated, the rest supported 3 cattle (probably cows) and 50 sheep and goats. The approximate area is shaded blue above. Though Charles owned at least these two tracts, the house where Elmer was born was in all likelihood on the upper tract, which bordered Butte Creek.

About 22 miles to the Southwest was the farm of Charles' older brother, Hiram D. Osterhoudt. Hiram died on June 8, 1900, leaving his farm to his son Edwin and two daughters, Allie G. Farnham and Mary A. Sweet. The estate was valued at $5000. Allie was the only one who actually lived in Marion County, and on October 17, 1900, Edwin sold his share to Allie for $750.

Edwin was divorced but he must have gotten re-married, because The Daily Journal, July 13, 1901, and The Weekly Oregon Statesman, January 14, 1902, report that Mary sued Edwin and his wife, as well as Allie. Edwin had borrowed $2000 from his father in 1897, and was indebted to the estate. Mary wanted the tract of 267 acres to be partitioned accordingly. It was reported on January 24, 1902 that the property had been "distributed among the rightful heirs."

Let's think about this; Edwin's share probably didn't even cover what he owed, but he walks away with $750 (equal to $27,500 in 2024) and Allie now owns 178 acres of farmland. Meanwhile, Mary is wondering what the heck just happened, and why does her brother think it's OK to cheat his sisters out of $2000 ($73,410 in 2024). I think a lawsuit was justified.

On the 1929 Metsker map, Allie Farnham still owned the farm, though the acreage seems to be reduced. The location is where the number "22" is written in bold on the map.

A tax assessment from 1895 shows Hiram had 267 acres of land, 100 of which were cultivated. He also had 72 sheep and goats, 3 horses, farm implements, $50 worth of household goods, and $300 cash. Apparently, houses and barns weren't listed directly, but he had $400 of "improvements" on the land.