John Heard Couch (1811-1870) was an Oregon pioneer, sea captain, merchant, a founder of the city of Portland and founder of an important and influential Oregon family. During the 1840s he sailed ships financed by John Cushing from his home town of Newburyport, Massachusetts, with supplies for establishing a dry goods business in Oregon. In 1845 he claimed a square mile of land on the Willamette River, known as Couch's Addition, in the heart of what became Portland.
Well regarded among his fellow citizens as a fair and knowledgeable man, Couch was rewarded by several public positions, including Oregon Territorial Treasurer, Multnomah County Commissioner, Oregon Port Commissioner, Oregon Port Warden, and U. S. Inspector of Hulls for Oregon. He married Caroline Flanders (1807-1885), sister of his first mate George Flanders, in 1832. Flanders was also an Oregon pioneer, merchant and Portland founder, becoming a partner in Couch's Portland land claim in 1850.
John and Caroline Couch had four daughters, three of whom married influential Portland men. Caroline Elizabeth Couch (1833-1917) married Dr. Robert Bruce Wilson, while Clementine Couch (1838-1914) started a family with prominent Portland merchant Cicero Hunt Lewis (1826-1897). Elizabeth Raines Couch's (1842-1926) husband, Dr. Rodney L. Glisan (1827-1890), the first physician in Oregon Territory, was also an early Portland land owner and was active in Couch's Addition's real estate activities after John Couch's death.
Among Couch's descendants and relatives was Nan Robertson (1885-1928). She was a sister of Thomas Robertson (1881-1924), who married Kathleen Burns (1883-1970), a great-granddaughter of John Heard Couch.
From the guide to the Couch Family Papers, 1839-1948, 1870-1890, (Oregon Historical Society Research Library)
