52 ANCESTORS, 52 THEMES: No. 7, "Love" - Sophia ROLAND/RULAND

This year's challenge by Amy Crow is another weekly blog, but based on Themes. Last week, it was So Far Away.  This week's theme is - in keeping with Valentine's Day - LOVE.  Amy suggests an ancestor I feel close to, or love to research, or who seems to have lots of lovin'. Hmmm.  This is a challenge. I'm chosing FW PETTYGROVE's wife, Sophia ROLAND/RULAND.  

We know very little about my 2nd great-grandmother, Sophia.  Her surname has been spelled as either ROLAND or RULAND.  We do not know where in "New York" she was born, nor do we know anything about her family, parents, siblings.  Another messy brick wall which I will have to do more research on "soon".  Written in my To-Do list, with where, what, why details.  Other details in my Research Log.  (Thank you Thomas MacEntee at Geneabloggers for the great research tools!).

The Oregon Historical Society (Portland, OR) has a card on her as follows.  Unfortunately I have yet to find out the basis of their information noted here: 

She married in early 1842 in at the age of 18 years to a 28 year old entrepreneur, Francis William PETTYGROVE. After marrying, likely in Calais Maine, the couple stopped in New York to bring aboard various supplies which FW intended to sell to the new settlers making their way across North America to the Pacific Northwest.  He was an agent with A.G. & A.W. Benson of New York, purchasing over $15,000 of merchandise to bring with him. 

The newly-weds immediately embarked on 10 Mar 1842 sailing around Cape Horn to the Sandwich Islands (Hawai'i), where Sophia delivered her first child, Alfred, on 3 Jan 1843.  FW brought not only his new wife and items to sell, he also brought his one-year-older sister, Mary Charlotte Pettygrove, married to Phillip Foster, with their four children. Happily this meant that Sophia had an experienced sister-in-law to help her in her first child's birth. From Hawai'i, the two couples and their families moved to a different barque and in 19 May 1843 arrived in Oregon City, then moving to Portland, Oregon Territories.   After 3 more children were born, they moved up the coast, where FW founded Port Townsend; and 3 more children were born in Port Townsend.

In other words, Sophia spent the first year of their married life - this 18 year old girl and her 10 years older husband - on a sailing boat, pregnant, then with a small baby, born in a strange island out in the Pacific Ocean, ending up in a wilderness forest by the sea.  Whew! Courage indeed. And I'll suppose definitely, LOVE as well.  

While in Portland region, FW tossed a coin with his partner A.L. Lovejoy for the rights of naming the new city known as "Portland".  FW Pettygrove won the toss.

Sophia & FW had the following 7 children, all but the first born in Portland:

  1.  Alfred Benson, b 3 Jan 1843 Sandwich Islands, d. 19 Apr 1878; m. 1867 to Sarah F. Shean, 4 children (all deceased as children)
  2.  Amelia "Millie" Ann [ancestor], b 1844, d 18 Jan 1888 Brooklyn NY; m. 17 Jan1864 Dr. Louis DeBarth KUHN, Port Townsend, WA Territories; 10 children
  3.  Benjamin Stark, b 30 Sep 1846, d. 7 Mar 1913; m 10 Oct 1874 to Zalia McKinley, Victoria BC, 1 son, 3 stepchildren
  4.  Sophia, b 14 Nov 1848, d. after 1930; m. 17 Nov 1865 to James McIntyre Port Townsend, WA; 6 children
  5.  Lucinda R., b 28 Sep 1866, d 5 Apr 1872 (16 yrs old)
  6.  Lucy Charlotte, b 8 Feb 1858, d 21 Nov 1928 San Francisco CA; m abt 1890 to Edward Stephenson, 1 daughter known
  7.  Francis "Frank" W. Jr., b 28 Jul 1861, d 1 Dec 1922 San Francisco CA; m abt 1885 to Isabella Burkett, 2 children known

Unfortunately, when Sophia died on 21 Feb 1889, her obituary notice in the Morning Oregonian (Portland) stated only the following minimal detail:
"Port Townsend, Feb. 21.  - Mrs. Sophia Pettygrove, wife of the late T.W. Pettygrove, the oldest pioneer in Port Townsend, died today after a lingering illness of several months."  [note error in husband's name]

The photo of the Pettygrove family (Oregon Historical Society) has been copied into a number of books and articles about the Pettygroves, and shows FW PETTYGROVE seated with wife Sophia on the right, FW's sister, Mary Charlotte Foster seated on the left, Benjamin S. standing, daughter Sophia behind, Frank Jr on the ground.  

Note that the standing daughter could be either Sophia or Lucy.

If you have information about the Pettygrove family, or about Sophia Ruland/Roland, I would be thrilled to receive any details via calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments below.  Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting.

PETTYGROVE & ROLAND - SOPHIA, the mystery

Ohhh, Francis William PETTYGROVE - you're such a large person in your life in Washington Territories, that you completely swamped your wife, Sophia.  I've yet to find anything written about Sophia at all.  She's a mystery.

Francis William PETTYGROVE, usually referred to as FW, was the 7th son of Thomas (Jr.) PETTYGROVE  [of Kittery Maine], & Mary McCURDY [of Halifax Nova Scotia]. Thomas & Mary had 10 children, 4 boys and 6 girls.

FW was born 12 Oct 1812, Calais, Washington, Maine, and was apparently quite an adventurer and entrepreneur.  In 1842, he married Sophia ROLAND who was born about 1824 in New York state, and the couple left very shortly thereafter with FW's sister and family; Charlotte "Mary" Pettygrove who was one year older.  She had already married to Philip Foster in 1834, and had 4 children by 1842.  FW brought along about $15,000 worth of merchandise from New York, apparently goods well suited to the wilderness where they were heading.  Philip and Mary became well-known settlers in Oregon, receiving settlers from wagon trains across the nation.

The newly married Pettygroves, along with several other businessmen and adventurers, sailed around to the other side of the continent, stopping in the Sandwich Islands (did you know their old name?), where Sophia delivered their first child, a boy Alfred Benson Pettygrove - named after two partners of FW.   Alfred was born the 3rd of January 1843.  They all remained there for 5 months, arriving near Oregon City, Washington Territories 19 May 1843.  There is much already known about FW's merchandising successes and challenges, both independently as well as with partners: such as about his naming Portland on the toss of a coin with his partner A.J. Lovejoy, and about his various political roles in Port Townsend where the family settled eventually.  Books, booklets, websites, and more provide much details about FW PETTYGROVE -- including about his ivory flute which he brought with him, and carried all the time.

Published by the Oregon Historical Society, the photograph here shows FW the white-haired bearded gentleman in the middle, Sophia sitting on the right side, FW's sister Charlotte Mary Foster on the left. Three of their 7 children are shown here, one would have already died in 1872, and the eldest Alfred died in 1878.  All are buried in Laurel Grove Cemetery in Port Townsend.  Likely the bearded gent standing behind the bench is Benjamin Stark Pettygrove, Sophia McIntyre the woman standing on the left, and Frank W Pettygrove (jr.) sprawled gracefully in front, leaning against his mother's legs.  Can you not see he's clearly the youngest in this family!  I had to smile at this photo.

But about Sophia - I can find nothing written.  I think about her, leaving her family at the age of 20 years, and heading off on a little ship all the way around South America, and up to Hawai'i where she has her first child.  Who helped her? Her sister-in-law, Charlotte Mary, who'd had 4 children by that time?  Was there a doctor in the community where they stopped for more supplies, and changed ships?  What challenging times for women in those days!  Arriving in a place where nothing could be taken for granted in terms of washing, food supply, diapers, illness, clothing, tools, and more.

Every census of the Washington Territories shows that Sophia was born about 1823 in New York state.  But I have no information that there were relatives left there.  Or in Maine.  There are a few newspaper records stating FW was travelling here and there up and down the west coast of the nation, but never a mention of Sophia travelling across the nation or having relatives to visit them in Portland, or Port Townsend.

And the final challenge: when she died, her obituary was all about her husband, "... the wife of FW Pettygrove, the famous ...".  Nothing about her as a woman, as a daughter, as a mother, as a sister.  Nothing at all.  Not a word about her parents and who they might have been, her father's occupation, for example.

I'm still looking, and I certainly need to find a way to get down to the Jefferson Historical Society in Port Townsend and see what they have in their files and on their shelves.  It's rather challenging travelling these days, but perhaps there will be a way to get there this coming year.

And if anyone actually knows anything of Sophia - I'd be delighted to have information shared with me.