America Waldo Bogle
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America Waldo Bogle | |
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| Born | June 2, 1844 Missouri, US |
| Died | December 28, 1903 (aged 59) Walla Walla, Washington, US |
| Known for | Early pioneer of the Oregon Territory |
America Waldo Bogle (June 2, 1844 – December 28, 1903) was a pioneer in the Oregon Territory. She and her husband, Richard Arthur Bogle, were among the first Black settlers in Walla Walla, Washington.
America Waldo was born in Missouri on June 2, 1844.[1][2][3][4][5][6] Her mother is believed to have been a slave of Missouri farmer John Waldo (1796–1849), and her father was a white man, probably either John Waldo or his brother Joseph (1805–1871).[1][3] In 1854 America traveled by wagon train to Oregon with John Waldo's widow, Avarilla, and several other African Americans.[1][3] They spent the winter with Avarilla's brother-in-law, Daniel Waldo, at his farm east of Salem. In the spring of 1855 they moved south to Douglas County where Avarilla established a Donation Land claim near Roseburg, Oregon.[1] America remained in the Roseburg area for the next five years, during which time she met her future husband, Richard Arthur Bogle, a barber in Roseburg.[1][7] In 1861 she returned with Avarilla to Salem where she lived with the Daniel Waldo family until her marriage.[1] Daniel Waldo, a former legislator in the Provisional Government of Oregon, who had arrived in Oregon with the Great Migration of 1843, "may have taken responsibility for raising her and thus acted as a father figure."[1] In 1862 Richard Bogle left Roseburg and settled in Walla Walla, Washington, but returned to Oregon briefly at the end of that year to prepare for his marriage to America. [7][1]
Marriage in Oregon
In Salem, Oregon, on January 1, 1863, at the age of 18, America Waldo married Richard Arthur Bogle, then 27[8], a free Black man born in Jamaica.[1][4] Their wedding was on the same day that President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation went into effect. The wedding was controversial because there were both white and black guests at the ceremony, going against racial segregation practices.[9][10] The wedding was performed by Rev. Obed Dickinson at the home of William and Elizabeth Johnson, with Judge Joseph Wilson and William Johnson signing as witnesses.[8] Daniel Waldo, although he didn't attend the wedding,[11] publicly supported the couple and gave them "several gifts of great value with which to start their home."[1] Elizabeth Theresa Boise (1826-1904), sister of Judge Reuben P. Boise, also known as "Lizzie," sewed Waldo's dress. Lizzie also informed Waldo that other White women in their social group were supportive of Waldo[8]. Though not all approved of this union, newspaper editor Asahel Bush called the wedding "shameful" in the local newspaper and in a letter to Matthew Deady he wrote, "It was a negro equality sentiment mixed up with a little snob-aristocracy."[10][9] The Oregonian retorted to Bush's negative press coverage by saying, "the heart of a man who could be guilty of making light even of a poor mulatto girl's feelings is blacker than the skin of any African."[10] News of the wedding traveled all the way to the San Francisco Bulletin, where it was written that the wedding included, "distinguished white ladies and gentlemen, who saw proper to witness the ceremony and participate in the festive proceedings."[10]
Walla Walla, Washington
The Bogles settled in Walla Walla, Washington, where, in addition to Richard's job as a barber, they started a 200-acre ranch.[12] America Waldo Bogle was known as "a lady of estimable character, noted for her deeds of charity to the poor and suffering."[12] She died in Walla Walla on December 28, 1903, and her husband died a year later on November 22, 1904.[1] On the day of her funeral all the barbershops in Walla Walla closed early out of a "profound respect the employing barbers entertain for the late Mrs. Richard A. Bogle."[1] America and Richard had eight children together.[7][1] Her three older children died between 1876 and 1878.[1] Her five surviving children were Arthur, Warren, Belle, Katherine and Waldo, and the sons followed in their father's footsteps and became barbers.[1][7][13]
