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    Love Martin Baker Gay Family? Tell a friend!

  • Martin Baker Gay and his wife Ann Stewart Evans were brave pioneers who crossed the plains from Missouri to Oregon in 1851 (Oregon trail). Our family has a rich history in the United States of America. 

    A few fun facts for you...

    • Sarah Julia Gay was born on the trails
    • It was rumored that their son David Green Gay may have got his middle name from Springfield (Greene County) Missouri.
    • James Woods Gay married his wife Frances Jane Gott before leaving on the trail and almost had to leave his new wife behind because her family didn't want to let her go.
    • Mary Frances Gay met her future husband on the trail. John Cogswell searched her out when they lost track. They were one of the first marriages of Lane County, OR
    • Martha Ann Gay was the youngest female at the age of 13 years old to write a diary of the entire trip to Oregon. Her husband James Alfred Masterson lost almost his entire family to the Ward Massacre in Idaho.

    There is so much more rich history of our family. Please sign up  (its free) on our website so you can have full access to pictures, newspaper article clippings, document downloads and more. Also please be sure to also contribute pictures, documents and information if you would. It is a blessing to all of us and the future generations.

     

    To help us continue to offer this website free to you, please consider donating to the cause. Help us financially.Thank you so very much. To see other contributers please visit the forum boards.

  • These two places our family is super proud of. Our family was a part of these places, begginings! Please check them out today!!

    Go visit them and tell them we sent you!!!

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    The  Shelton McMurphey Johnson House had 3 different families who owned it, the last owner was  Eva Frazer Johnson. Her husband  Dr. Curtis Johnson and Eva herself ran their private practice (clinic) out of it. Eva Frazer was the daughter of Nicholas Frazer and Idaho Cogswell Frazer (Idaho Cogswell Frazers 2nd husband was Ira Campbell). Eva Frazer Johnson later donated the home to be used for the community. It is now a MUST SEE Museum you can visit. They are very active in the community. https://smjhouse.org/ 

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    ☝️ The Campbell House: Was owned and built by Ira Campbell and wife Idaho Cogswell Frazer Campbell. The home is now an Inn, and now you can stay in this beautfiul historic home in Eugene, OR https://www.campbellhouse.com/  Idaho is the daughter of John and Mary Frances (Gay) Cogswell. Mary Frances Gay is a daughter of Martin Baker Gay and Wife JoAnn Stewart Evans. 

  • Blogs & Videos

    1. Who are they?

      A blog by Mary Glynn in General

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      Mary Glynn
      Latest Entry

      How I knew who was who

      martinbgayfamilynamesincolor.jpg

      How did I know who was who in the first all family group photo above, of Martin Baker Gay and family? Image was in the book Lois Barton published "One Womans West" the image had basic information below it.

      I made it my mission to put a face with a name. I am a photographer in my personal life so know  a bit on family placements, but modern placements vary today.

      It started out matching poorly fax type copies done by zerox type machines, my mom and I received from Ethel Briggs. Some images from the book itself, some from going to a museum in Lane County,Oregon, libraries, online research and more.

      Also from copies people from various families who owned originals or had copies of images, letting me grab my camera to  take pictures of their pictures. Digitalizing them, I was able to see up close and match features with other images.

      Then I decided to dig deeper on historic images and common factors they did during sessions with large families in those days.

      (the family image above is in the book, I went off for these steps below.)

      1. You place Father and Mother (by his heart) in the middle. The first born son was placed by the father (with wife on his left side by his heart). The first born daughter by the mother, husband of first born daughter in image before his wife. 

      [Wife to the husbands left side; meaning to this biblically, because father teaches son how to be man, husband and father and mother teaches her daughter how to be a wife, mother, and woman.  Since daughter is married she naturally would be seperated from parents and husband would be placed before her. Also the wife is closest to his heart and the reason he fights, lives and she is the mother of his seed (family) she is cherished.]

      Second row, the children by age, starting out from left to right.. So I figured out about the time frame of when this image was taken, by going off of what Martha said in her diary entry (you can find it in the book One womans west) where she mentions a family session done not long before her father died. I then looked into the dates of who had spouses around that time. Then figuring out whose spouse was who became easier. The wife was placed on the side of the mans heart as mention above, like in burial which was common in family pictures in that time.

      2. To confirm this, pictures of Charles Franklin Gay and his wife I found on ancestry from his direct line, I was able to know, who was who of spouses, and how the photographer placed them. These were traditions professional photographers commonly used in those times.

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      So later I came across the next large family picture 👆 where it was just Martin, wife and their adult kids (no spouses in image) The placement was much the same except it was Martin and Ann in the middle, oldest son by father, then the next oldest after, the 3, 4 oldest by mother. All others in back by age starting oldest to youngest (left to right) 

      Both large family images together confirmed all.

      I hope rhis helps explain my process.

       

       

    2. Our Video Documentaries

      A blog by Mary Glynn in Video Documentaries

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      Mary Glynn

      This is a basic video. Does not share his entire life story. Perhaps I will create a more thorough one in the near future. I hope you enjoy the slideshow.

      https://youtu.be/h-o_f4LCGIE  

       

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