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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022
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APPEAL TRIBUNE
Resilience, opportunity, struggle
was and uses the land as a
cattle ranch.
Stocks said that Lauren
Gwin, associate director
for OSU’s Center for
Small Farms, gathered
the Linn-Benton NAACP
and Black Oregon Land
Trust to join Black Oregon
Pioneers to think about
ways to recognize Carson,
her story and her land
which was never devel-
oped or had additional
structures built on it.
Dianne Lugo
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Oregon State Univer-
sity, Oregon Black Land
Trust, Oregon Black Pio-
neers and the Linn-Ben-
ton NAACP chapter have
begun preserving and
sharing the history of
Letitia Carson, the only
Black woman in the state
to claim a homestead
under 1862’s Homestead
Act and who won two
lawsuits against a white
neighbor who sold her
property.
During the June-
teenth weekend celebra-
tion, volunteers worked
on the former Carson
project in an archaeolog-
ical exploration along-
side OSU archaeology
graduate students or
alumni to excavate the
land.
The dig and open
house was the first op-
portunity for the public
to gather on the land and
reflect on her life while
standing in the space
Carson
once
called
home, said Zachary
Stocks, Executive Direc-
tor of Oregon Black
Pioneers.
The hope is to eventu-
ally do more program-
ming on the land, Stocks
said.
That could include
clean-up days to remove
invasive plants and re-
place them with native
species. Stocks said it also
could be courses or educa-
tional opportunities relat-
ed to sustainable farming,
similar to the work done
by partner Black Oregon
Land Trust. The organiza-
tion provides training for
Black farmers in Oregon to
continue traditional prac-
tices tied to the production
of food.
Oregon Black Pioneers
have been involved in the
Letitia Carson Legacy Pro-
ject since the beginning.
They were approached by
the Oregon State Univer-
sity College of Agriculture,
which currently owns the
property where her home
Carson’s story
Carson, a slave or for-
mer slave, arrived in Ore-
gon in 1845 with a white
man named David Car-
son, according to a digital
exhibit on Oregon’s Sec-
retary of State’s website.
The nature of their rela-
tionship is unclear but
they had traveled more
than 2,000 miles from
Missouri.
Carson gave birth to a
daughter, Martha, dur-
ing the journey from
May to October, the ex-
hibit states. The Carsons
settled on a 640-acre
land claim, the amount
entitled to married cou-
ples. The land was
halved in 1850 because
Black Americans were
not eligible to file land
claims in Oregon and the
Carsons were unmar-
ried. Their son, Adam,
was born in 1849.
David Carson died in
1852 without a will. A
neighbor,
Greenberry
Smith, was made executor
of David’s estate. Smith did
not recognize Letitia or her
children as David’s rightful
heirs. In 1853, Smith sold
the land and all of Car-
son’s possessions.
Carson settled in Ore-
gon between the state’s
1849 exclusion law that
prohibited “negro or mu-
latto” people from enter-
ing into or residing in the
territory and the ratifica-
tion of the state constitu-
tion in 1857 that banned
blacks in the state from
owning real estate, vot-
ing, or using the legal sys-
tem.
Obituaries
Virginia Amelia Wolf Sessums
SILVERTON - Virginia
Amelia Wolf Sessums,
82, of Silverton, Oregon,
passed away peacefully
at home with family at
her side.
Virginia was born in
Bismarck, North Dako-
ta to Jacob and Philo-
mena Wolf. She was one
11 children, (Clara, John
,Mary, Cecelia ,Gabe Ag-
nes, Ruth, Bernie, Leon and Irene.)
After a tornado destroyed their farm, they moved
to Oregon, purchasing a small farm in Silverton.
Virginia graduated from St. Paul Catholic School
and Silverton High School.
She was a devoted, loving, wonderful moth-
er and grandma. She loved watching her family
grow, enjoying all of her family reunions and get
togethers with her brothers and sisters. Virginia
enjoyed cooking big meals for all her guests. She
also loved her trips to Central Oregon, the Coast
or just a drive in the country to see the beauty
held within.
She is survived by her husband of 53 years, Wal-
lace Sessums, 4 daughters and 1 son; Vicki (Dan)
Ort; Sherri O’Dell, Troy (Angela) Douglas, Jen-
nifer Sessums Mink, Nicole Sessums Skinner. 16
grandkids, Danny, Shaun, Dustin & Shayna Ort;
Rachel, Jason, Sara & Jordon O’Dell; Clayton,
Shelby & Zachery Douglas; Tristin & Madison
Mink; Logan, Sawyer & Preston Skinner. And 16
great grandkids.
Virginia is preceded in death by her parents
Jacob & Philomena Wolf, brothers John & Gabe,
sisters Clara, Agnes, Ruth, Bernie.
A celebration of life will be held later. Arrange-
ments with Unger Funeral Chapel - Silverton
Due to the holiday,
our office hours and
obituary placement
times may vary.
Please contact us at
503-399-6789 or
obituary@statesmanjournal.com
for further details.
OR-GCI0897350-01
Shawn Joy, volunteer and professional archeologist with Search Inc., sifts through backfill during an
archaeological dig at the homestead site of Letitia Carson, one of the first Black women to live in Oregon, in
Adair Village on Saturday.
PHOTOS BY BRIAN HAYES/SALEM STATESMAN JOURNAL
Carson sued Smith
and David’s estate twice.
In 1855, an all-white male
jury sided with Letitia
who argued that she was
entitled to $7,450 for the
seven years she had
worked on the land and
for the sale of their cattle
and possessions. The ju-
ry awarded her $300 for
her work and another
$229.50 for her court and
legal costs. The next year,
a federal judge and anoth-
er local jury awarded her
an additional $1,400 in
damages for the sale of
their cattle.
In 1863, after moving to
Douglas County, Carson
filed a claim for 160 acres
under the Homestead Act
of 1862. Her claim was cer-
tified in 1869, making her
the only Black woman in
Oregon to successfully se-
cure a homestead claim,
according to the exhibit.
Carson died in 1888.
Legacy project
The importance of the
Carson lands is described
on the Oregon Black Pio-
neers’ website: The land
is a rare and unique re-
source to “explore the
concepts of home, free-
dom, and justice” and
without any develop-
ment, it remains a rela-
tively intact space to con-
nect with Black Oregon
history.
Photo of Letitia Carson's Homestead certificate OREGON SECRETARY OF STATE
“There are so few
spaces where you can
stand and see the land the
same way it would have
been seen by 19th century
Black Oregonians...any-
time we get to come and be
here it’s sort of like we’re
standing shoulder to
shoulder with her and her
children,” Stocks said.
Principal investigator
of archaeology Cayla Hill
described the archaeology
dig as an “exciting project.”
Volunteers were digging at
test sites around the for-
mer Carson land to explore
and
further
pinpoint
where structures like the
cabin might have once
stood. The hope is to find
items to interpret Carson’s
life further.
“It’s exploratory to see
what we can find out about
the homestead,” Hill said.
Heavy rain this spring
means people were unable
to drive onto the land it-
self. While the challenge to
access the land means
some people wanting to
visit and volunteer were
unable to, Stocks said the
walk to the site is one Leti-
tia Carson would have had
to make herself.
“Perhaps during that
walk, folks can use it as an
opportunity to think about
the everyday realities of our
Black ancestors in Oregon
170 plus years ago,” he said.
The Saturday event was
intentionally hosted during
the Juneteenth weekend. It
is a time to share stories of
resiliency and opportunity
and of struggles, Stocks said.
“All of those things are
embodied in the Letitia Car-
son story and so we couldn’t
think of a better time than
Juneteenth to bring people
together at the land and
think about those things.”
Dianne Lugo covers
equity and social justice.
You can reach her at dlu-
go@statesman
journal.com or on
Twitter at @DianneLugo.
Turner’s Angel’s Share Barrel
House announces closure
Em Chan
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
On Thursday, owners of Angel’s
Share Barrel House said they
would be closing the business after
three years.
The taphouse opened about a
year before the pandemic, which
owners Chad and Melissa Casady
described
as
“ten
glorious
months.” Sunday, June 19, will be
the last operating day.
“Angel’s Share Barrel House was
born from a love of good beer and
good food,” the Casadys wrote in a
Facebook post. “The year that fol-
lowed (after the pandemic began)
was tough, to say the least. On top
of that, as some of you may know,
one year ago our family was
shocked with a life changing
health diagnosis.
“We have to focus on the time
we have with our family. We held
on as long as we could. We pushed
hard but in the end, it wasn’t
enough to overcome all obstacles...
We would love to see Angel’s Share
Barrel House live on.”
The couple wrote if anyone was
interested in buying the business
that they should “reach out.”
Angel’s Share Barrel House in Turner. ANNA REED/STATESMAN JOURNAL
“We have valued and appreciat-
ed our customers, our fantastic
employees and the Turner com-
munity and we will miss being a
part of the daily growth of our
amazing little town.” the Casadys
wrote on their Facebook post. “We
thank you for your patronage and
support over the years, and we’ll
carry the lessons and friendships
forward as we navigate this next
chapter as a family.”
Address: 5420 Denver St. SE, Tur-
ner
Em Chan covers food and dining at
the Statesman Journal. You can reach
her at echan@statesmanjournal.com,
follow her on Twitter @catchuptoemily
or see what she’s eating on Instagram
@sikfanmei.ah.