Forwarding from another list I get. Hope it helps someone. I am not a
descendant.
ST. PAUL - The only Revolutionary War veteran buried in Oregon
finally got
his government issue tombstone.
Saturday at St. Paul's Old Cemetery, [Oregon] a color guard and a priest
gave Willaim Cannon a proper sendoff - a black powder gun salute, a
benediction and blessing, followed a taped recording of taps.
Cannon. who died in 1854 at age 99, had to wait 150 years because he didn't
have the proper papers required by the Veterans Administration.
Cannon's burial site and war service were authenticated in 1991 after years
of research, then a former St. Paul mayor and the Sons of the American
Revolution worked for 12 years to get the tombstone.
Genealogist Keith Miller of Beaverton (Oregon), a member of the Sons of the
American Revolution, said Cannon was born in 1755 in Virginia. He was a
private in the 4th Regiment of Artillery, Pennsylvania regiment,
Continental
Line, fighting in the battles of Cowpens and King's Mountain.
Cannon headed west to Oregon in 1811 with the expedition of the John Jacob
Astor Fur Company. Later, he was one of the 52 men who voted for a
provisional government at a meeting at Champoeg (Oregon) on May 2, 1843.
Miller says Cannon's descendants are lost. Records show him listed as the
widower of a Chinook woman, Polly Clackamas (the Clackamas tribe was part
of
the Chinook nation, and women often took the last name of the tribe they
came from). Records show they had a son, John, who was baptized and may
have
been raised in the Clackamas tribe.
The ceremony Saturday drew about 50 people to the north Marion County town,
some from as far away as Texas. Many said it honored not just Cannon, but
all veterans. The event also served as a tribute to the former mayor, Joe
McKay. Besides trying to get the tombstone, the mayor, who died three years
ago, used to put out temporary markers for Cannon.
The Dalles Chronicle April 14, 2003.
Written permission to reprint given by The Dalles Chronicle, The Dalles,
Oregon
Copied and submitted by Earline Wasser
Member of Columbia Gorge Genealogical Society
c/o The Dalles/Wasco County Public Library
722 Court Street
The Dalles, Oregon 97058
http://community.oregonlive.com/cc/genealogy
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