George Washington Burkhart was one of twelve children of John and Rebecca (Baltzell) Burkhart who had left Tennessee in about 1828, lvg. in Kentucky, then moving to Illinois in 1830, and finally to Iowa in 1835 where they resided and where George Washington was born on Oct 18th, 1845. John Burkhart had fought in the War of 1812 and wanted to head West to the Oregon Territory; single adult males and females could settle on 320 acres apiece, so that, as a couple, a family could settle on 640 acres, but the program was only valid until 1855. John enlisted two of his oldest sons, Raymond and Hezekiah, to make a trip to Oregon to see if the family should settle there. The boys went in 1846 and returned with more than enthusiastic reports. They were so excited that John, who was now 60 yrs. of age, moved his entire family, all of his children and their families (aside from Calvin Peter and his family, who would come to Oregon in 1851), including little George W. (who was only about a year old) across the Oregon Trail, arriving in the Albany Township in October, 1847, one of three founding families. Each adult was entitled to 320 acres in the wondrous Willamette Valley. Raymond lived 7m. East of his father in what would later be known as Lebanon. Charlotte was the 1st woman teacher in the area but she, sadly, died in 1854. Rebecca Ann married and she and her husband, Charles Gay, moved to Springfield, Lane County, Oregon, then to Spokane, WA. John Baltzell, known as "JB", married and moved to Los Angeles, CA. Leander Columbus, Louesa Matilda, Calvin Peter and Crill stayed and raised their families in the Oregon Territory. It became a state on February 14th 1859. George Washington, known as "GW", was a blacksmith and a teamster, supplying horses for the stage coaches that came from Oregon City to Ashland. New horses were needed every 15 miles when Oregon was 1st settled. He and his brother Leander Columbus founded Albany Brickyards so a ready supply of bricks would be available for all of the new citizens of the town building their new homes or town's buildings. {I have one of the original bricks, signed by both men.} When he was 24 years old, George met Nancy Margaret Cooper, who was only 14 years old, b. Jan 1856, and 10 years his junior. Love would not be denied, however, and George was a patient man, so on March 31st, 1870, the couple married in Albany, Linn County, Oregon. By 1880, George and Nancy had two daughters, Hettie Olivia, b.1873, and Lillie, b.1876. GW's mother, Rebecca (Baltzell) Burkhart, who was now 80 yrs. old (and had been a widow since John had died in 1856) lived with them in 1880 and passed in 1884, before her 84th birthday. The 1900 Census tells more than any other as Nancy stated she was the mother of 3 children but only had one child living. Lillie had died, although I can't find her anywhere. Hettie was now 27 yrs. old, a dressmaker who had a millinery shop in town, not far from their home at 934 E.8th St., which her father and uncles had built for her family. In 1900, her maternal grandmother, Mary Jane (Jobe) Cooper, a widow, was living with the family. She had been b.in Oct 1826 in Ohio. Both Nancy and Hettie worked as dressmakers for the shop and they also had a boarder. In January, 1905, tragedy struck. George W. became sick with pneumonia on Jan 16th. no matter what Nancy did from doctor's advice to old family cures, nothing helped. The doctor agreed that GW had pneumonia, but due to a number of factors, things looked grim. On Feb 5th, about 3 weeks after becoming ill, GW passed away at the age of 59 yrs. He was buried at Riverside Cemetery where his father, mother, and many of his siblings lay at rest. Nancy was just 50 years of age and a widow. During this time, Nancy's brother, Harry Lorane Cooper, described only as 'divorced', is listed as living in Albany. I am not certain if he is the same person or not as there was another Harry L Cooper, also b. in Oregon (but in 1868) and living at the Coast. Considering the mistakes made by the census takers, and the information given and recorded by them, it is difficult to tell when Nancy's brother, Harry, came to live with her and her daughter, but he lived with them until they both passed away, keeping the two women company after Nancy and Harry's mother passed away in 1913. Nancy Margaret (Cooper) Burkhart joined her husband in death on Feb. 8, 1949, and was interred next to him at Riverside Cemetery. Hettie Olivia Burkhart was diabetic and passed from this life at the age of 79 in 1953. She joined her parents at Riverside Cemetery. Harry Lorane Cooper died in 1956 and was able to join them at plot 13n where there was room for all.

**I wish I knew what had happened to her 1st child and to Lillie.**