Waller, Alvan F., 1808-

Alvan F. Waller, pioneer Methodist missionary, was born in Abington, Pennsylvania on May 8, 1808. In 1833 he married Elpha White, with whom he had three children. In 1840 he came to Oregon on the ship Lausanne and established a mission at Oregon City with the assistance of Hudson's Bay Company factor Dr. John McLoughlin and missionary Jason Lee. In 1844, Waller was appointed leader of the Wascopam Mission at The Dalles, succeeding H.K.W. Perkins and Daniel Lee. He was transferred to Salem in 1847 where he remained until 1857 and helped to found the Oregon Institute, which became Willamette University. In the course of his career he assisted in the building of several Methodist churches in Oregon and the founding of The Pacific Christian Advocate . He died at his home in Salem on December 26, 1872.

From the guide to the Alvan F. Waller Papers, 1838-1908, 1839-1870, (Oregon Historical Society)

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