Blythe, Samuel Finley, 1842-1928.

Samuel Finley Blythe was born in Pennsylvania in 1842. After serving in the 22nd Ohio Infantry during the Civil War, Blythe traveled west and lived in California and Montana before arriving in Oregon in 1870. Employed as a newspaper compositor, he married Emma Nation in 1873 and settled in the Hood River area in 1877.

From the description of Diaries and accounts, 1866-1869. (Oregon Historical Society Research Library). WorldCat record id: 35797784

Samuel Finley Blythe (1842-1928) left Eaton, Ohio in April 1866 to travel to St. Joseph, Missouri, where he joined a wagon train bound for Virginia City, Montana. At Fort Reno, Wyoming, the group was joined by Jim Bridger, who was their scout for the remainder of the trip. Blythe stayed in Montana, sometimes working as a typesetter, until the spring of 1868 when he returned to Eaton. In the fall of 1868, he made his second trip west, traveling by train and coach through southern Wyoming to Salt Lake City and on to California. Blythe kept diaries of both trips, and in 1925 at age 83 began a handwritten autobiography entitled "Recollections of a Long Life."

From the description of Saga of the prairies, 1982. (University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center). WorldCat record id: 29892600