Atwood, Albert W.

Jason Lee was born on a farm near Stanstead, Quebec on 28 June 1803. Through the years there have been claims that Rev. Lee was Canadian. However, according to the information provided in Mr. Atwood's book he was of English and American heritage. When the dispute of the boundary was decided in 1842, Mr. Lee had been born on the Canadian side rather than on America soil although the family had fought for and paid taxes to the U.S. He went to MA to attend college. He graduated as a minister and taught school in the Stanstead area until 1832. In 1833, Rev. Jason Lee was chosen to head a mission to the Oregon Territory to the Flathead Indians. He and his party traveled to Fort Vancouver, WA in 1834. They moved the mission to the Willamette River area, northwest of the present site of Salem, OR. Rev. Lee participated in the Willamette Cattle Company to help procure meat for the mission. He helped draft a petition for the establishment of a territorial government and in 1838, he journeyed east to present the petition in Washington, D.C. Lee continued to establish missions and became increasingly active in the organization of the Territory. In 1842 he was instrumental in the formation of a provisional government. He formed the plan that resulted in the founding of Oregon Institute (now Willamette University). He returned to New York in 1844. In 1845 he became ill while visiting his sister in Stanstead. He passed away in Stanstead on March 12, 1845. In 1906, his remains were reinterred at the Lee Mission Cemetery in Salem, OR.