Willard Hall Rees, born September 17, 1819, in Dover, Delaware. He came overland to Oregon Territory in 1844. He took out a donation land claim in the French Prairie area, and married Amanda Hall, from Butteville, in 1847. Mr. Rees became the first secretary of the Oregon Pioneer Association and was an avid collector of historic manuscripts and stories. Unfortunately, his collection of manuscripts did not survive, due to the presence of mice in his home. He died in 1903 in Portland.