Victor, Frances Fuller, 1826-1902

Elwood Evans (1828-1898), born in Philadelphia, went to Oregon Territory in 1851 as deputy collector of customs at Nisqually. From 1859 to 1861, he served as mayor of the newly incorporated town of Olympia, Washington. In addition to his historical work, A History of the Pacific Northwest, he contributed many historical articles to local papers.

Oregon historian and author Frances Fuller Victor was born in 1826 in Oneida County, New York. Her family moved to Ohio when she was in her teens, but she and her sister Metta returned to the east to pursue literary careers. In New York City they published poetry and became associated with the writer Rufus Wilmot Griswold. After a return to Ohio and her first marriage to Jackson Barritt, Frances married naval engineer Henry Clay Victor in 1862. The couple moved to San Francisco the following year, and Frances returned to her literary endeavors. After moving to Oregon in 1865, she focused her energies on northwest history and published several books, including "River of the west" (1870). When her husband was killed in a ship wreck in 1875, she was forced to earn a living from writing, and she soon became one of the principal authors of Hubert Howe Bancroft's multi-volume history of California and the west. She is best known for the History of Oregon (1886-1888), published under Bancroft's name. Her later years were marred by economic hardship, but she continued to write history, fiction, and poetry. She died in Portland in 1902.

Oregon historian and author Frances Fuller Victor was born in 1826 in Oneida County, New York. Her family moved to Ohio when she was in her teens, but she and her sister Metta returned to the east to pursue literary careers. In New York City they published poetry and became associated with the writer Rufus Wilmot Griswold. After a return to Ohio and her first marriage to Jackson Barritt, she married naval engineer Henry Clay Victor in 1862. The couple moved to San Francisco the following year, and Frances returned to her literary endeavors. After moving to Oregon in 1865, she focused her energies on northwest history and published several books, including River of the west (1870). When her husband was killed in a ship wreck in 1875, she was forced to earn a living from writing, and she soon became one of the principal authors of Hubert Howe Bancroft's multi-volume history of California and the west. She is best known for the History of Oregon (1886-1888), published under Bancroft's name. Her later years were marred by economic hardship, but she continued to write history, fiction, and poetry. She died in Portland in 1902.