Continue to Stand in the Gap: Yamhill County

Yamhill County, Oregon

They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat of their fruit…And my elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. Isaiah 65: 21, 22

The West Central Region of Oregon is made of Yamhill, Marion, Polk, Linn, and Benton Counties and includes some of the oldest settlements as well as some of the richest agricultural land in the state. 

Pray for the elected officials of Yamhill County including Commissioners Lindsay Berschauer, Chair; Kit Johnson; Mary Starrett. The County Sheriff is Tim Svenson.

Commissioner Kit Johnson is the newest member of the commission, beginning his term in 2023. Kit is a farmer and fifth-generation Oregonian, making him an advocate for the agricultural resources of Yamhill County. His own business has included poultry, berries, and apple rootstocks, and has been working in the agricultural sector since 1994. He’s a huge supporter of ag training programs such as FFA.

Other county officials to keep in prayer include Assessor Derrick Wharff, Clerk Keri Hinton, District Attorney Brad Berry, and Treasurer Kris Bledsoe.

Yamhill County, Oregon

Yamhill County is rich in history. We’ve already explored some in earlier blogs, here, here, here, and here, but we haven’t exhausted the riches. Yamhill has some of the earliest settlements in the state, such as Lafayette, the first county seat (later moved to McMinnville), and some of the most influential early settlers, such as Joel Palmer. One of these, but not so well known, is Amos Harvey. Born in Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1799, he came from a Quaker family.

Washington County, Pennsylvania is also the area where Thomas and his son Alexander Campbell lived, who began the Stone/Campbell (Reformation) movement. While intrigued by the teachings of the Campbells, until Amos was 33 he remained a devout Quaker. Then, he met Miss Jane Ramage, aged 21, and fell in love. Their marriage resulted in him being kicked out of the Quaker church, so the young couple agreed to study the scriptures on their own and follow the Bible’s teachings. They were soon baptized into the Reformation movement by one of the Campbells themselves.

They moved to the Midwest but in 1845 left for Oregon on a wagon train along with other members of their movement. Their first child, Sarah, had been born by then. The trip took six months. Once in Oregon, Amos worked for a time for Dr. John McLoughlin, then moved to what would be Yamhill County and the Dayton area. The family lived briefly in Lafayette, then settled with a Donation Land Claim near Bethel in what would eventually be just across the line in Polk County.

Connecting with others of similar beliefs, they established a church in Amity in Yamhill County just south of McMinnville. Amos Harvey is credited with establishing this church, which is believed to be the first congregation of the Reformation Movement west of the Rocky Mountains. The church is still in existence with a long, honorable history.

Their first child, Sarah, had grown up to marry John Kelty. Sadly, Sarah died young, and John eventually married her younger sister, Jane. The Kelty’s had a daughter, Ethel, who married Dr. W.T. Brown. In 1907 in Cloverdale, Oregon, the Browns gave birth to a daughter, Maurine. Maurine Brown became a schoolteacher in Portland for several years, and in 1937 met Richard Neuberger. They married in 1945 after he completed his service in World War II. Richard and Maurine both went into politics, Maurine being elected to the state House of Representatives, and Richard to the state Senate. In 1954 Richard was elected as U.S. Senator from Oregon. When he suddenly passed away in 1960, a special election allowed Maurine to finish his term. She was then elected to another term on her own. Maurine Neuberger is still the only woman Oregon has sent to the US Senate. She died in 2000 in Portland at the age of 93.

Meanwhile, her great-grandfather had busied himself with becoming a nurseryman and horticulturalist, establishing Bethel Academy (later part of Western Oregon University) and teaching English there. At the age of 65, he became the Agent for the Grand Ronde Indian Agency, and it is said he established another church on a property next door to the reservation. He served there until he reached the mandatory retirement age of 70. His wife, Jane, died in 1866 and he died in 1877. Both are buried in the Bethel Cemetery near their homestead and the Amity Church of Christ they established.

In 1956 a service was held commemorating the 110^th anniversary of the congregation. In attendance were Ethel Kelty Brown and her daughter Maurine Neuberger, granddaughter and great-granddaughter of Amos and Jane. It is said that Maurine was baptized at the Amity Church of Christ as a young girl and left a “significant bequest” to the church in her will.