A collection of diaries and recollections of immigrant travel and early settlement in the Lane County area of the Willamette Valley was prepared for reproduction by the Lane County Historical Society. In 1959 the AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JAMES ADDISON BUSHNELL was completed.
Digital Download, PDF
CONTENTS
Title page
Introduction
Photograph of James A. Bushnell
Photographs of the Bushnell family
A brief Bristow genealogy and a synopsis of the autobiography provide an introduction to the life of this Lane County pioneer.
This unusual narrative was started at age 66 and covers his childhood memories, his experiences while traveling to the gold fields of California and as he twice crossed the Isthmus in order to connect with his wife, Elizabeth Adkins Bushnell and his family who had started for Oregon. Of particularinterest are his descriptions of home building, formation of the first school and church and settlement in the Grand Prairie/Junction City areas, floods and agricultural development. Comments continue until the time of his death and give unique descriptions of Lane County.
