Statewide County WA Archives Obituaries.....Eells, Rev.Cushing February 1893 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/wa/wafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Sheron Faynor nitwittwin@hotmail.com September 1, 2007, 3:32 pm Oregonina February 18,1893 Career Of Rev. Cushin Eells Forty Five Years Ago He Was An Insrructor of the Youth Of Oregon Rev.Cushing Eells,the ages missionary who died Thursday morning,at the residence of his son Edwin in Tacoma.was well known to all the pioneers of the Willamette Valley.With his wife he taught in the Oregon Institute,now the Wiilamette University, at Salem during the year 1848.He afterward was a tutor in the Tualitin academy,at Forest Grove,thew Wshington Select school at Hillsboron and other educational institutions in the neighborhood,until 1862,when he crossed the Cascade Range and founded Whitman seminary in Walla Walla.he was a man of wonderful energy and willpower,cool and collected in times of danger,and a power among the Indians.Even in advanced age he was accustomed to ride horseback,and it was during the recent cold weather that he contracted the severe cold which cost him his life. Rec.Cushing Eells was born at Blandofrd,Mass.,February 16,1810,and was the son of Joseph and Elizabeth(Warner) Eells. He was descendeed from Samuel Eells,who was a mojor in Cromwell's army,and who came to America in 1661.Cushing Eells was brought up at Blanford,became a christian when 15 years old,prepared for college at Monson Academy,Mass., entered Williams college in 1830,and graduated four years later.the distance from his home to collee was 45 miles.Twice he rode the entire distance,when he eneterd and when he graduated,- trwice from ane half to two thirds of the way, and the rest of the trip he walked,too poor to pay his way. Three years later he graduated from Windsor Theological seminary,of Connecticut(now at Hartford) and was ordained at Blanford,Mass.,October 25,1837,as a Congragtional Minister. While teaching school at Holden,Mass.,he became acquainted with Miss Myra Fairbank,to whome he was afterward married. She was the daughter of Deacon Joshua and Mrs. Sally Fairbank,and was born at Holden,Mass.,May 26,1805.It is said that both on her mother's side and her father's side she was pre yankee.She mae her proffession of religion when 13 years old and at the celebration of her 70th irthday said that she had never been sorry that she has begun to serve the Savior when so young. When Dr. Eells first offered himself as a missionary to the American board of commisioners for foreing missions he was appointed to the Zulu mission of Africa.Afterward,whne Dr.Whitman and others came ot Oregon,the call for missionaries to the INdians on this coast was so urgent that the board decided to send him to this region.Dr.Eells and Miss Fairbanks were married at Holden,Mass.,March 5,1838.The next day they started on their bridal tour across the continent,and about a year later began housekeeping near the Spokane River,ready to receive callers. Only eo women, Mrs.M.Whitman and Mrs. H.H.Spaulding,had ever made the trip before,in 1836. Rev.E.WalkermRev.B.Smith.Rev.W.H.Gray and their wives and C.Rogers were the missionary companions of Dr. and Mrs. Eells,and most of the tri from Missouri was made on horseback.They were under the protection of the American Fur Company to the Rocky mountains and the hudson Bay Company from there to Walla Walla,where they arrived August 29,1838.That winter was spent at Dr.Whitman's station at Walla Walla,but the next spring,with Dr.EWalker and his wife,who were associates until 1848,they went ot their missoin station among the Spokane Indians,Tshimakian,at Walkers prairie,in what is nor Spokane territory..Here they remained until 1848,after the massacre of Dr. Whitman.Dr.Eels taught a small school part of the time,beisdes preaching and doing general missionary work.The results as they appeared at tthe time were not satisfactory,but 35 years later it was plain that the seed then sown had groen,unitl two churches of 127 members were the result;while during the Cayuse and Yakima wars the tribe remained friendly to the whits,wlthough strongly urged by the hostile to join them.Owing ,however,to the fact that the government of Oregon,could not protect them in hat region after the Cayuse war,they moved to the Willamette valley in the summer of 1848,under an escort of 60 Oregon volunteers commanded by Majopr J.Magone. They spent four weeks on the Abiqua,when they both engaged to teach in the Oregon Institute at Salem.the next year they accepted a request to teach iin what was the beginning to be the Tualitin Academy at Forest Grove. Here they remained until August,1851,when they removed to near Hillsboro,where Dr.Eells taught the Washingto Select school about four years and other schools in the region until 1857.preaching also a considerable part of the time,when he reurned to Forest Grove as prinipal of Tualtin Academy.Three years were thus spent,when the country east of the Cascade mountain being opened for settlement,he went to Wlla Walla,moving his family there in 1862,and laid plans for brginning the Whitman seminary,in memory of his colaborer,Dr.Whitman.which has grown inot Whitman College.It ws not ,however,until 1866 that the first building was completed and the school fairly begun.Since that time he has labored for it as he has been able.he has been president of the boar dof trustees since the charter was granted in 1859,he taught in it as principal for about 1 1/2 years ;he has given it nearly $10,000;he has spent about a year in the est in 1883-84 in its behalf- his first and only trip east since he came to this coast,when he was the means of securing about $12,000 for it;and he lived till,in 1888,it celebrated its 50th anniversary of his arrival in the territory. In 1872 his house at Walla Walla was burned,and he moved to the home of his eldest son,Indian agent at Skokomish,on the Puget Sound.He remained there for nearly two years,when he again cisited the Indians and whites of Eastern Washington,devoting his time mainly to ministerial work. Mrs.Eells dies at Skokomish August 9,1878,after 73 years,and was buried in Seattle.After her death Dr.EElls spent most of his time in Eastern Washington,living at different times at Colfax,Cheney and Medical lake,unitl 1888,when he felt too old to longer endure the hardships of the work,and has since resided with his oldest son,indian agent on the Puyallap reservation near Tacoma. Dr.EElls assisted in the organization of the Congregational church at Skokomish in 1874,of which he was pastor for nearly two years,organized the one in Clofax in 1877,of which he was pastor for four years,also that of Chewalah,in 1879 which he was pastor for about nine years,that at Medical lake in 1883,of which he was pastor for five years;that at Sprague in 1882,of which he was pastor for about two years;aided in the organizing that at Cheney in 1881 and acted as the pastor for three years,and also preached at many other stations in Eastern Washington,To the churches of Walla Walla,Sprague,Lone Pine,Colfax,Dayton,Cheney,Olympia in Washington and Forest Grovein oregon,it is known that he had been given previuos to July,1887,$687755. In addition to what he has given to the Whitman college,Mrs. Eells laid the foundation of a prfessorship in Pacific Universtiy,that accumulated interest,amounts to about $3000.he has received the degree of D.D. from Pacific University,and was chosen assistant moderator of the National Congregational council at Concord,N.H. in 1883. He has two children,Hon.Edwin Eells,who was United States Indian Agent on the Puget Sound since 1871, and Rev. Myron Eells.missionary at Skokomish,Wash.,since 1874 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/wa/statewide/obits/e/eells652gob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wafiles/ File size: 8.1 Kb