Mbhs #: 0547

Year Range: 1850-60s

First Row: Walter Jefferson Matney (1816-94)

Notes: Walter Jefferson Matney came to Oregon Territory in 1843, in the same wagon train as Lindsay and Jesse Applegate. He married Martha J. Lovelady, a 1846 emigrant, on April 5, 1847. They originally settled in Polk County. It's easy to find the place - it's still called Matney Road. Martha died in 1852, leaving behind two youngsters. Walter remarried 9 months later. He and Julia Ann Cooper had 3 children before they gave up the Polk County farm and moved to the Applegate around 1858. They didn't stay long - Jefferson Davis Matney was born in Surprise Valley, CA in 1864. W.J. Matney was elected President at the Foots Creek miners' meeting on January 21, 1861, and is listed in early jurors rolls for Jackson County.