My current work-in-progress has a murder in it. I won’t say any more than that in this post. As I have been writing this murder into my draft, however, I have gone back to research my ancestor’s murder in 1852 Oregon again. I’ve learned some facts that cast doubt on one of my earlier novels, and others that would make the entire historical episode a worthy novel in itself.
As I’ve mentioned before, Cyrenus (or Cyrenius) Hooker, my several-greats-uncle, was the first person murdered in Polk County, Oregon. I wanted to use a few of the facts from his murder in my current work-in-progress which takes place in 1867, so I looked into the facts of his murder again. This time, I found an article I hadn’t seen before that describes both the circumstances leading up to the murder and its legal aftermath in some detail. See Branigar, Thomas. “The Murder of Cyrenius C. Hooker.” Oregon Historical Quarterly 75, no. 4 (1974), pp. 344–59.
My first discovery in the Branigar article was that there was no jail in Polk County in 1852. My novel My Hope Secured took place in 1850 in and around Oregon City, which is in Clackamas County, Oregon. In that novel, the sheriffs round up some villains and puts them in jail. But after reading the Branigar article, I wondered whether Oregon City had a jail in 1850.
Back I went down the research rabbit hole. It turns out that the first public building in Oregon was a jail built in Oregon City in 1845 (or maybe 1842). Whew, I thought—there was a jail in Oregon City in 1850.
But the next line in that source indicated the jail burned “under mysterious circumstances” in 1846. And a second jail in Oregon City apparently was not built until 1854, leaving a gap during 1850 when My Hope Secured said there was a jail in town. The Oregon State Penitentiary was established in 1851, but that doesn’t help my historical accuracy either, because the penitentiary was in Portland.
Oh, well. I think I will leave My Hope Secured as it is. Most readers no doubt expect that there was a jail in Oregon City in 1850.
Now, back to my ancestor’s murder . . .
I learned some facts that were of personal interest, though not related to either my earlier novels nor to my current work-in-progress.
Apparently, members of the Hooker family (my ancestors) were charged $200 for the prosecution of Cyrenus’s murderer and his accomplices and another $500 to cover the costs of apprehending the criminals. The Hookers apparently had the money to pay, which pleased me, though it didn’t seem right that the family would have to pay for justice for their deceased loved one. But government budgets were tight in 1852, as they often are today.
The Branigan article also described in detail the trials of the murderer and his accomplices, as well as the partisan political intrigue that allowed one accomplice to be pardoned and another to have his sentence of servitude cut short. The murderer, however, was hung, after having a post-conviction conversion and confessing all. Though said confession may or may not have been true.
I’ve learned in fifteen years as a writer that research is never done. Writers of historical fiction research what they can and go with it. Some historical fiction authors are more interested in the history, and some are more interested in the fiction. I count myself somewhere in the middle. I try hard to make my books accurate, but I’m not going to worry too much about a missing jail.
Though I’m glad for my current work-in-progress that there appears to have been a jail in Oregon City in 1867. Because I might need one again.
What interesting facts have you discovered about your long-ago ancestors?
Interesting to read about your research. In the paragraph beginning “Apparently, members of the Hooker family,” did you mean to say 1852 instead of 1952?
I’ll fix this. I make this mistake all the time, though I try to catch it. Thanks, Karen.
Enjoyed reading the article about the murder. It does leave doubt about Everman’s guilt.