2068 Trade St, Salem, OR (parents res 1905)

344 S 19^th St, Salem, OR (parents res 1907)

Caroline, Alberta, Canada (homestead 1910)

1334 Ferry St, Salem, OR (parents res 1911)

Two Rivers, Walla Walla, WA (1918)

810 South 21st Street, Salem, OR (1920)

Weston, Umatilla, OR (1921)

Athena, Umatilla, OR (1922)

Jefferson, OR (farm 1925)

Grand Island, OR (house on brother’s farm 1931)

Dayton, OR (farm 1934)

126 McNary Av W Salem, OR (1935)

Dry Hollow Rd, RD2, The Dalles, Wasco, OR (farm 1942)

601 East 10^th St, The Dalles, Wasco, OR (son’s home 1948)

2^nd – Edna Antha Morgan (1889-1975)

2^nd – 11 Aug 1942 in The Dalles, Wasco, Oregon [divorced April 1947]

Ruth Grace Rockhill Beckman (b. 27 Oct 1914 – d. 10 Dec 1932)

Cora May “Babe” Rockhill (b. 12 Jul 1921 – d. 25 Jan 2007)

Joseph Henry Rockhill was born to Henry Leslie Rockhill and Anetta Alice “Nettie” (Minnich) Rockhill on 22 Aug 1881 in Burlington, Coffey County, Kansas. Joseph was the fourth of eight children born to this couple, five sons and three daughters all born in Kansas.

Joseph’s father Henry Rockhill farmed in Coffey County for 33 years until a fire sparked by lightning burned down their barn and destroyed much of his property. In Nov 1903, he sold his farm of 80 acres, four and a half miles from Burlington, Kansas and moved his family to Salem, Oregon. Joseph was about 22 years old.

Records from the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill Co. in 1905 show “Jos. Rockhill” working in the finishing room. He worked 8 days in Aug 1905 and 2 days in Sep 1905. Joseph may have also worked in the dye house for 3 days in Aug 1905 under the name “Rockhill”.

The mill wasn’t steady employment for Joseph. The 1905 Salem city directory lists Joseph as a carpenter but it doesn’t list who he worked for. It’s possible he worked for his father who was a carpenter and building contractor in Salem.

Joseph met a young lady named Effie Jane Ide. However they met, a romance bloomed, and the couple was married in Salem on 28 Jan 1909. The 1910 census shows their two families living on the same street, not far from each other.

Not long after their marriage the couple decided they should homestead and on 12 Apr 1910 Joseph filed his homestead application in Caroline, Alberta, Canada. While this was going on Effie was pregnant with the couple’s first child.

Effie and Joseph spent the summer living with his parents in Salem. In Aug of 1911 Joseph headed to Canada; Effie stayed behind until the baby was born. On 23 Nov 1911 Effie gave birth to a 10-pound baby boy they named Charles Henry. The family moved to Canada after his birth.

While homesteading in Canada, Joseph and Effie became parents for a second time. A daughter they named Ruth Grace was born on 27 Oct 1914 in Alberta, Canada.

Joseph appears to have come back and forth between Canada and Oregon. Joseph’s brother Fred and his sisters Grace and Pearl were all weavers at the TKWM Co in Salem, OR. Joseph is listed again in the TKWM Co work records in Jan 1914. He worked 3 ½ days on ditch repair under the name Joe Rockhill.

After coming back from Canada, Joseph and Effie lived in Salem, OR with his parents at 1334 Ferry St. Joseph recorded a Declaration of Intention on 14 Dec 1915 asking to become a Citizen of the United States.

Joseph’s father, Henry Leslie Rockhill passed away at the family residence on 23 Feb 1916. On 4 Jul 1916 Effie’s mother, Emma L. Ide dropped dead while preparing a dinner to celebrate her 32^nd wedding anniversary. And on 2 Dec 1919 Joseph’s mother, Anetta Alice Rockhill passed away at son Fred’s home in Eugene, OR.

Joseph moved his family again, this time to Weston in Eastern Oregon. The couple’s third child, a daughter, was born there on 12 Jul 1921. They named her Cora May. Joseph was employed at a garage in Walla Walla in 1922, so he was away a fair bit.

Joseph brought his family back to the Willamette Valley once again. This time they settled around Jefferson, OR. They lived on a farm there. Joseph was elected city marshal of Jefferson on 6 Jul 1929. He was also put in charge of the city pumping plant. In the Jefferson elections of 1930 Joseph was re-elected city marshal.

By 1931 Joseph was ready for a change so he built a small house on the farm of his brother, Clarence A. Rockhill in Grand Island, OR. Joseph worked on the island that summer, then in Feb 1932, he was injured while working with a stump puller on his brother Clarence’s farm. His left leg was badly shattered below the knee.

In March of 1931 Joseph and Effie’s son Charles enlisted in the Seventh US Infantry for two years and left for Honolulu. This career would take him all the way into WWII until he became a farmer in The Dallas area.

On the 5 Nov 1932 Josepha and Effie’s daughter Ruth Grace married Oscar Beckman. They were married in a small ceremony in Dallas, OR. Tragically Ruth passed away 1 month and 5 days after her wedding. She was 18 years old and died from a cerebral abscess.

Their daughter Cora May never married and spent a good deal of her life as an inmate at the Fairview institution in Salem, OR. She was with the family until mid-teens but stayed at Fairview from then until much later in her life.

By 1935, Joseph and Effie would make their home West Salem where Joseph worked as a mechanic for Anderson & Tobias.

Effie Jane (Ide) Rockhill passed away 14 Jan 1940. She was buried at the Lee Mission Cemetery. Effie’s father, Truman Henry Ide passed away 13 Mar 1940 and was buried in Salem Pioneer Cemetery alongside Effie’s mother Emma.

Joseph moved once again, to a farm in The Dalles. He met a woman named Edna (Morgan) Renken and married her on 11 Aug 1942. Joe had another bad accident in Apr 1945 when he fell from a scaffold and broke his back. After his recovery he continued to farm on Dry Hollow Rd in The Dalles. The marriage did not last long, on 3 Apr 1947 the couple divorced.

Joseph Henry Rockhill died in The Dalles on 26 Mar 1948 from coronary thrombosis. His funeral was held there, and he was buried at the Odd Fellows Cemetery. Joseph and Effie’s son Charles Henry passed away on 14 Nov 2001 in Wasco County, OR. He is buried at Park Lawn Cemetery in The Dalles. Joseph and Effie’s youngest daughter Cora May passed away on 25 Jan 2007 in Vale, Malheur, OR. She is buried at Valley View Cemetery in Vale, OR.

1907 – Rockhill Joseph H, bds 344 S 19^th (Salem, OR)

1910 – Rockhill Joseph H, bds 344 S 19^th

1911 – Rockhill Joseph H, carp, bds 2068 Trade (Salem, OR)

1930 – Rockhill J H, town marshal (Jefferson, OR)

1935 – Rockhill Joseph H, (Effie J) mech Anderson & Tobias, h 126 McNary Av W Salem (Salem, OR)

1946 – Rockhill Jos H (Edna A) farmer, h Dry Hollow Rd, RD2 (The Dalles)

1895 – J H Rockhill – Census Date: 1 Mar 1895, Residence County: Coffey, Residence State: Kansas, Locality: Pleasant, Birth Place: Kansas, Family Number: 8, Gender: Male, Age: 13, Birth Year: abt 1882, Race: White, Household members: H L Rockhill (43), N A Rockhill (39), C A Rockhill (19), W L Rockhill (17), H M Rockhill (15), J H Rockhill (13), G M Rockhill (6), P F Rockhill (4), F E Rockhill (1)

1900 – Joseph Rockhill – Age: 18, Birth Date: Aug 1881, Birthplace: Kansas, Home in 1900: Pleasant, Coffey, Kansas, Race: White, Gender: Male, Relation to Head of House: Son, Marital Status: Single, Father’s Name: H Leslie Rockhill, Father’s Birthplace: Ohio, Mother’s Name: Nettie Rockhill, Mother’s Birthplace: Ohio, Occupation: Farm Laborer, Months Not Employed: 0, Can Read: Y, Can Write: Y, Can Speak English: Y, Household members: Leslie Rockhill (48), Nettie Rockhill (44 0, Clarence A Rockhill (24), Joseph Rockhill (18), Grace Rockhill (11), Pearl Rockhill (9), Freddie E Rockhill (6), Myrtle A Rockhill (6/12)

1911 – Canada Census –  Joseph Rockhill – Gender: Male, Marital Status: Married, Race or Tribe: German, Nationality: American, Age: 30, Birth Date: Aug 1880, Birth Place: USA, Relation to Head of House: Head, Immigration Year: 1910, Dwelling No.17, Province: Alberta, District: Red Deer, District Number: 5, Sub-District: 88 – Number: 89 not used, Sub-District Number: 88, Religion: Methodist, Occupation: Farmer, Employer: No, Employee: Yes, Own Account: No, Can Read: Yes, Can Write: Yes, Language: E, Family Number: 39, Household members: Joseph Rockhill (30), Effie Rockhill (24)

1920 –  Joseph H Rockhill – Age: 38, Birth Year: abt 1882, Birthplace: Kansas, Home in 1920: Salem Ward 4, Marion, Oregon, Street: South 21st Street, House Number: 810, Race: White, Gender: Male, Relation to Head of House: Head, Marital Status: Married, Spouse’s Name: Effie J Rockhill, Father’s Birthplace: Ohio, Mother’s Birthplace: Ohio, Able to Speak English: Yes, Occupation: Laborer, Industry: Day Work, Employment Field: Wage or Salary, Home Owned or Rented: Rented, Naturalization: Status Papers Submitted, Able to read: Yes, Able to Write: Yes, Household members: Joseph H Rockhill (38), Effie J Rockhill (32), Charles H Rockhill (8), Ruth G Rockhill (5)

1930 – Joseph Rockhill – Birth Year: abt 1882, Gender: Male, Race: White, Age in 1930: 48, Birthplace: Kansas, Marital Status: Married, Relation to Head of House: Head, Home in 1930: Jefferson, Marion, Oregon, Dwelling Number: 104, Family Number: 107, Home Owned or Rented: Rented, Radio Set: No, Lives on Farm: No, Age at First Marriage: 27, Attended School: No, Able to Read and Write: Yes, Father’s Birthplace: Ohio, Mother’s Birthplace: Kansas, Able to Speak English: Yes, Occupation: Marshall, Industry: City, Class of Worker: Wage or salary worker, Employment: Yes, Household members: Joseph Rockhill (48), Effie Rockhill (42), Charles Rockhill (18), Ruth Rockhill (15)

Joseph H. Rockhill – Gender: Male, Race: White, Age: Full Age, Birth Place: Kansas, Marriage Date: 11 Aug 1942, Marriage Place: The Dalles, Wasco, Oregon, Spouse: Edna A. Renken, File Number: 1697642

Oregon Statesman 20 Aug 1911, pg. 5 – Returns to Canada

The Capital Journal 29 Nov 1911, pg. 8 – Born: Rockhill

Oregon Statesman 24 Feb 1916, pg. 5 – Died (Joseph’s father Henry)

Oregon Statesman 5 Jul 1916, pg. 1 – Salem Woman Drops Dead While Preparing Dinner for Wedding Anniversary (Effie’s mother Emma)

The Weston Leader (Weston, OR) 9 Nov 1917, pg. 4 – J. H. Rockhill Advertised a Sale and Will Move to Town

The Eugene Guard (Eugene, OR) 3 Dec 1919, pg. 3 – Died: Rockhill (Joseph’s mother Anetta)

The Athena Press (Athena, OR) 7 Apr 1922, pg. 4 – Mrs. J. H. Rockhill goes to Salem to Attend her Father

The Athena Press (Athena, OR) 1 Sep 1922, pg. 4 – J. H. Rockhill Prepares to Move Family to Walla Walla

Albany Democrat-Herald (Albany, OR) 30 Jul 1925, pg. 2 – West Scio News: J. H. Rockhill Family Visits Mrs. Rockhill’s Father in Salem, OR

The Capital Journal 27 Apr 1929, pg. 2 – Little Lost Girl Causes Excitement (Joseph & Effie’s daughter Cora)

The Capital Journal 8 Jul 1929, pg. 2 – Rockhill named Jefferson Marshal

Oregon Statesman 26 Jan 1930, pg. 16 – Jefferson Council Elects Officers

Oregon Statesman 13 Jun 1931, pg. 7 – Build New Home (Grand Island)

The Capital Journal 13 Feb 1932, pg. 2 – Stump Puller Is Cause of Injury

The Capital Journal 22 Mar 1932, pg. 2 – Rockhill Joins Army (Joseph & Effie’s son Charles)

The Capital Journal 7 Nov 1932, pg. 5 – Miss Ruth Rockhill Weds Oscar Beckman (Joseph & Effie’s daughter)

The Capital Journal 12 Dec 1932, pg. 9 – Obituary Mrs. Ruth Beckman (Joseph & Effie’s daughter)

Oregon Statesman 23 Jul 1935, pg. 3 – News of West Salem

Oregon Statesman 16 Jan 1940, pg. 5 – Rockhill (Effie Jane’s Obituary)

Oregon Statesman 22 Jan 1941, pg. 5 – T. H. Ide Estate; J. H. Rockhill named guardian ad litem for Cora May Rockhill (daughter)

The Capital Journal 28 Aug 1942, pg. 2 – Rockhill Returns After Long Absence

The Capital Journal 18 Apr 1945, pg. 9 – Visit with Joe Rockhill in The Dalles (Joseph breaks his back in a fall)

Oregon Statesman 31 Mar 1948, pg. 3 – Joe H. Rockhill – Funeral

The Capital Journal 6 Apr 1948, pg. 15 – Joe Rockhill Obituary

-0084.043.0005.015  Songbook, Townsend Club