Gresham Historical Society · Northwest Digital Heritage

Description

Formal portrait of Catherine Elizabeth Linnemann. Hair done up on head, white lace scarf, dark top. Handwritten on front "Catherine Elizabeth Linnemann | 1828-1926" Written on back: "Courtesy of Virginia Grass | [words cut off]". People identified: Linnemann, Catherine Elizabeth

Provenance

Catherine Elizabeth Linnemann and her husband John Gerhard Linnemann, newly arrived from Germany, joined a wagon train from Illinois to Oregon in 1852. Privations along the trail led the rest of the group to turn back; the Linnemanns' two oxen died, and they pulled the cart full of their belongings on the last leg of the journey. They took out a land claim under the Donation Land Act east of Portland along Johnson Creek, in an area that is now part of Gresham. John, a tailor, lived and worked in Portland during the week and walked back to the homestead on weekends while Catherine cleared enough land to start a garden. They adopted a baby girl named Iona McLoughlin, who became Gresham's first librarian and first female postmaster. The community that grew up around the Linnemanns' homestead came to be known as Cedarville, although the train station later built there was called Linnemann. Today the area is known by both names interchangeably. Photo donated by Virginia Grass Christensen.

Catherine Elizabeth Linnemann Portrait

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