Marie Aioe Dorion
Marie Dorion | |
---|---|
Born | Probably 1786 |
Died | September 5, 1850 | (aged 63–64)
Known for | Assisting fur-trading expeditions in the Pacific Northwest; wilderness survival skills |
Spouse(s) | Pierre Dorion Jr., Louis Joseph Venier, Jean Baptiste Toupin |
Relatives | Five children |
"Madame" Marie Aioe Dorion Venier Toupin (ca. 1786 – September 5, 1850) was the only female member of an overland expedition sent by
Missouri
It is likely that Dorion and
Pacific Northwest
Her first husband
There were several horses left by the Bannock warriors and were promptly taken by Dorion back to the small fur trading post. However, upon reaching the post, she discovered the few staff had been killed and scalped.
Dorion married twice more and had three more children.[5] Her second husband was Louis Venier.[5] With her third husband, Jean Toupin, she settled near Saint Louis, Oregon, on the French Prairie.[5] It was here that she began to be known as "Madame"[5] or "Madame Iowa".[8] One of her two eldest sons, Jean Baptiste, joined the Oregon Rifles and fought in the Cayuse War.[8]
Death and legacy
After Dorion Venier Toupin died on September 5, 1850, she was buried inside the original log Catholic church in Saint Louis.[5] When the church burned down in 1880 and the current church built, the location of Dorion's grave was forgotten and remains unknown to this day.[5] It was only when the church register was translated from French into English many years after the original church burned down that it was learned that Dorion had been buried there.[5] There is no record of why she received this honor instead of being buried in the nearby cemetery, but church burial requires special dispensation and may have indicated that Dorion was especially devout.[5]
Among the places memorializing Dorion are two parks: Madame Dorion Memorial Park at the mouth of the Walla Walla River near Wallula, Washington,[9] and Marie Dorion Park, a Milton-Freewater, Oregon city park near the foothills of the Blue Mountains.[10] The Dorion Complex residence hall at Eastern Oregon University is in La Grande.[5] There is a plaque noting the place near North Powder where she likely gave birth.[5] Her name is also one of the 158 names of people important to Oregon's history that are painted in the House and Senate chambers of the Oregon State Capitol.[11] Her name is in the Senate chamber. St. Louis, Oregon, has a street named after her, Dorion Lane.[5]
Oregon author
On May 10, 2014, the Daughters of the American Revolution held a service at Saint Louis Catholic Church dedicating a historical marker in Dorion's honor.[4]
See also
Books and journalists that mention Dorion's survival story:
- Astoria, by Washington Irving
- Gabriel Franchère
- Alexander Ross
Red Heroines of the Northwest, by Byron Defenbach, First Printing, August 1929, Caxton Printers, LTD, Caldwell, Idaho
Further reading
- Boyer, P. S., James, J. W., James, E. T. (1971). Notable American Women, 1607-1950: A Biographical Dictionary. United Kingdom: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
- Elliott, T. C. (1935). "The Grave of Madame Dorion". Oregon Historical Quarterly, 36(1), 102–104. JSTOR 20610915
- Kirkpatrick, J. (2002). A Name of Her Own. United States: WaterBrook Press.
- Peltier, Jerome (1980). Madame Dorion. Fairfield, WA: Ye Galleon Press.
- Schmerber, Ruth (1990). Only the Earth: The Story of Marie Dorion.
- Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (2003). Weatherford, Doris (ed.). Marie Dorion. Vol. 1. Scholastic/Grolier. p. 354.
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References
- ^ Shirley 1998, pp. 13–17.
- ^ Morris 2013, p. 199.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-06-221829-2.
- ^ a b Pitz, Ray (May 5, 2014). "DAR Dedicates Historical Marker to Pioneer Woman". Sherwood Gazette. Pamplin Media Group. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
- ^ Statesman-Journal. Salem, Oregon: Gannett. Archived from the originalon February 3, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2008.
- ^ OCLC 449865266.
- ^ a b c d e f Shirley (1998), pp. 10-13.
- ^ a b Shirley 1998, pp. 18–19.
- ^ Mapcarta, Madame Dorion Memorial Park. Retrieved May 14, 2020
- ^ City of Milton-Freewater, Marie Dorion Park Retrieved 2020.05.13
- ^ Cogswell, Philip Jr. (1977). Capitol Names: Individuals Woven Into Oregon's History. Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society.
- ^ "Tender Ties Historical Series". Goodreads. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
Works cited
- Chandler, J. C. (2013). Hidden History of Portland, Oregon. Charleston, S.C.: The History Press. ISBN 978-1-62619-198-3.
- Morris, Larry E. (2013). The Perilous West: Seven Amazing Explorers and the Founding of the Oregon Trail. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-1112-4.
- Shirley, Gayle C. (1998). More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Oregon Women. Helena, Montana: Falcon Publishing. ISBN 1-56044-668-4.
External links
- Barman, Jean. "Marie Dorion (1790?–1850)". The Oregon Encyclopedia.
- "Marie Dorion (1786–1850)". National Women's History Museum. Archived from the original on May 24, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
- "Marie's Descendents" from the Brooks Historical Society Newsletter April 2011
- Biography of Jean Baptiste Dorion from Oregon Pioneers