Oregon Pioneer of 1847.
Catherine died from complications following the birth of her son, Edward. She never recovered from his birth and died about 6 weeks after he was born, possibly from an infection related to her son's birth. She had come to Oregon to eventually be one of the first women to teach in Oregon, arriving with her family in Oct. 1847 in what would become the town of Albany, Oregon.
Catherine Jane Burkhart was a daughter of John Burkhart (1787-1856) and Rebecca Ann Margaret (Baltzell) Burkhart (1800-1884). Catherine Jane was the 7th child of the 12 who would be borne of her parents' marriage, having arrived into the world on Dec 1st, 1832, while her family was living in Carrollton, Greene County, Illinois. She, her parents, siblings and other family members had arrived in the Willamette Valley of Oregon Territory in Oct 1847, and she had been living with her parents on their donation land claim that would one day become part of the town of Albany, Linn County, Oregon. She had married Mr. Edward Newton White in Albany almost a year after her family's arrival, on July 2nd, 1848, at the tender age of 15 years and they were blessed with their first child, Cynthia Louise, in 1851. Their second daughter, Abagail Adelia, was born in 1854. Their third daughter, Jeanette, "Nettie", was born in 1857, and there was another child who I only know as "M.T. White", gender and date of birth unknown (it may have been a stillborn child or a child who died in infancy). Their last child and son was Edward, who was born on August 12th, 1859. His dear Mama died September 26th, 1859 [possibly from an infection contracted following her son's delivery] and was buried at Riverside Cemetery in Albany, Linn County, Oregon. Poor little Edward died on October 11th, 1859, when he was just two months old. He was buried near his mother at the Riverside Cemetery in Albany, Linn County, Oregon. Edward Newton White went on to remarry and moved to the thriving town of Prineville in Central Oregon. His wife, Anna White, died in 1915 and he died the following year, in 1916. [Between his two marriages, Edward may have had 16 children in all.] Edward and Annie are both buried at the Juniper Haven Cemetery in Prineville, Crook County, Oregon, in unmarked graves. May they all Rest, at Peace.
Catherine was the sister of my great, great grandfather, Leander Columbus Burkhart (1823-1875) who is also buried at Riverside Cemetery, Albany, Linn County, Oregon, along with their parents and many of their siblings and their families.