Yamhill County OR Archives Biographies.....Braley, John Columbus 1833 - 
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Ila L. Wakley iwakley@msn.com July 4, 2010, 10:11 pm

Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 500 - 501
Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company

     JOHN COLUMBUS BRALEY, formerly numbered among the leading citizens of 
Yamhill county, where he long figured prominently in public life, in financial 
affairs and in agricultural circles, became the owner of one thousand acres of 
land adjoining McMinnville in 1870. He was born in 1833, a son of Rev. James 
E. and Susan (Hyde) Braley. His father, born in North Carolina in 1805, was of 
Scotch-Irish lineage and a preacher of the Presbyterian denomination. It was 
in the spring of 1847 that the family started across the plains from Missouri 
for the Pacific northwest. One of the party, John Hyde Braley, has written a 
complete story of this great adventure, which entailed considerable hardship 
and suffering. In October, 1847, the weary travelers at length reached the old 
Whitman Mission in Washington, where they remained for several weeks, Mrs. 
Susan (Hyde) Braley having an attack of mountain fever. One day she told her 
husband that she had a vision in which it was revealed to her that the Indians 
were planning to kill all the white people and that they must leave the 
mission at once. Ten days after their departure the country was shocked by the 
horror of the great Whitman massacre. The Braley party made their way to The 
Dalles and thence down the Columbia river to Portland, where they camped in 
the forest while John B. Braley went to what is now Forest Grove, then known 
as "The Settlements." The latter returned to Portland and brought the entire 
party with him to "The Settlements" for the winter. In the meantime the men of 
the party went back to The Dalles to bring the stock which had been left 
there, and in the spring of 1849 they started for California. While en route 
they stopped at Fremont and engaged in freighting to the mines in California 
and Nevada. In January, 1850, they settled ten miles west of San Jose, where 
they began farming. Their first house had been shipped "knocked down" via Cape 
Horn and subsequently many other dwellings were transported in the same 
manner. Rev. James E. Braley and his five brothers were all ministers of the 
Cumberland Presbyterian church, and he engaged in farming and preaching until 
his death at the age of seventy-five years. His wife reached the very advanced 
age of ninety-three.

     John C. Braley, whose name introduces this review, was a lad of fourteen 
years when he crossed the plains in company with his parents, the family 
eventually settling in California. He turned his attention to agricultural 
pursuits, in which he met with a very gratifying measure of success. In 1870 
he came to Oregon and purchased a thousand acres of land adjoining 
McMinnville, on the Yamhill river, which he developed into one of the best 
farms in the state. The prosperity which attended his undertakings enabled him 
to enjoy all of the comforts and many of the luxuries of life. He erected a 
very attractive and commodious residence and equipped it with furniture 
shipped by boat. He owned one of the first two Chickering pianos in Oregon and 
one of the first fine carriages in the state. He opened a private bank at 
McMinnville but in 1887 closed its doors and removed to San Diego, California, 
where he organized the San Diego Bank in association with his brother. Later 
he returned to California, where he spent the remainder of his life, passing 
away in Los Angeles.

     It was in California that John Columbus Braley was united in marriage to 
Miss Elizabeth Whispman, who had crossed the plains in 1846. They became the 
parents of nine children, eight of whom grew to maturity. Susan Isabelle is 
the widow of William D. McDonald, who is mentioned at length on another page 
of this work; Mary Elizabeth became the wife of C. C. Hakes, of Los Angeles; 
Carrie Lee is the wife of William H. Willebrands; J. C., is with the Braley 
Auto Company of Portland. Mrs. Susan Isabelle McDonald cherishes as an 
heirloom a beautiful Spanish mantilla which was purchased by her grandfather 
Whistman in 1849.

     John C. Braley took a prominent part in politics and was sent as delegate 
to the republican national convention in St. Louis. He represented Yamhill 
county as state senator for the term 1874-76, giving thoughtful and earnest 
consideration to the vital questions which came up for settlement. His record 
indeed deserves a place in the annals of the Columbia River valley.

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