12 Facts About Joseph Gale

Joseph Goff Gale was an American pioneer, trapper, entrepreneur, and politician who contributed to the early settlement of the Oregon Country.

Joseph Gale was born in Washington, DC, on April 29,1807, the son of Mary Gale and Joseph Gale, a sea captain from Pennsylvania.

Joseph Gale arrived on the Pacific Coast as early as 1828 with the Bean-Sinclair party that had been shipwrecked off the coast of California.

Whether Joseph Gale went all the way to California, or remained at the Colorado River to wait for the returning party is unclear.

However, Joseph Gale likely accompanied David Jackson and the California livestock back to New Mexico, arriving in July 1832.

Joseph Gale instead joined his friend Ewing Young on his historic cattle drive from California to Oregon, along with of Oregon promoter Hall Jackson Kelley.

Joseph Gale was leading a "spring hunt" in the Rockies north of the Great Salt Lake.

Joseph Gale continued to work at Fort Hall for the next few years.

Joseph Gale and Eliza's first two children were born at Fort Hall in 1837 and 1838, three more children were born in the Oregon Territory, and three more girls were born in present-day Kern County, California, during the 1850s.

Joseph Gale soon had a job working at the Methodist Mission sawmill in Mission Bottom.

Partly in recognition for his accomplishment, Joseph Gale was named to the first executive committee of the Provisional Government of Oregon.

Joseph Gale died on his farm on December 13,1881, and is buried in the Eagle Valley cemetery, Richland, Baker County, Oregon.