Thomas J. Farnham

In 1804 Thomas Farnham was born in New England, in either Vermont or what later became the state of Maine. He then received an education at Phillips Academy, Andover and moved to Peoria, Illinois, where he became a lawyer. After this lecture Farnham joined the Peoria Party that was headed for Oregon and became the captain of the group of 19. The Peoria men called themselves the Oregon Dragoons and carried with them a flag, a gift from Mrs. Farnham, emblazoned with their motto "OREGON or the GRAVE". ==Travels==

Captain Farnham and the Oregon Dragoons traveled the Oregon Trail and arrived at Fort Vancouver along the Columbia River with only five people of the 19 that began the journey. Thomas Farnham then left the settlements of the Willamette Valley and sailed for the Sandwich Islands. accused the men, involved in what became known as the Graham Affair, of plotting a revolt against the Mexican government. During the Graham Affair, Farnham traveled to San Blas, arriving on May 16, 1840, then went on to Tepic to meet with the prisoners. Following the prisoners' release, Farnham continued across Mexico to New Orleans. In 1841, he moved on to New York City, then to Wisconsin for a brief time. Farnham later moved to Alton, Illinois, before moving back to California in 1846. He died in San Francisco, California on September 13, 1848. Farnham's widow Eliza moved to Santa Cruz, California and went on to become a leading abolitionist, novelist and early feminist. ==Works==

• Travels in Oregon Territory (1842) • Travels in the Great Western Prairies (1843) • Travels in the Californias and Scenes in the Pacific (1844) • A Memoir of the Northwest Boundary-Line (1845) • Mexico, its Geography, People, and Institutions (1846) ==Further reading==