Sarah and Timothy Lamberson left Iowa for Oregon, arriving there November 1, 1845. During the trip west he was lost for several days and suffered for lack of food and clothing. He staked a land donation claim May 1, 1850 (no. 2850). Certificate for claim was awarded to Timothy and heirs-at-law of late wife, Sarah Lamberson. Document signed May 1857 showed that Thomas H Smith was clerk of District Court, and John W Watts was Justice of the Peace of Milton, Columbia Co, Oregon Territory. October 18, 1864 William G Poppleton signed an Oath of Allegiance as purchaser of the claim. The affidavit was signed by George Long, Benjamin F Morgan, Nelson Hoyt, and Jesse Miles.
Timothy Lamberson typifies the roving pioneer, ever eager to push on to new frontiers. He and Sarah left Ohio about 1837 for Iowa Territory, and before the death of her fathre. The exact location is unknown but presumably it was in the area of Des Moines County since the family is said to have begun their westward trek from Henderson County, Illinois, which is just accross the Mississippi from Des Moines County. In the 1880 census, the birth place of son Henry indicates the family may also have lived in Missouri. It may be in error.
According to the "Bozorth Remininseences" published in the Genealogical Forum of Portland (Vol. 14, December 1964) Timothy went hunting in the Bear River Mountains when the party stopped over at Steam Boat Springs (another account names it Soda Springs) for wagon repairs. He was lost, and after looking for several days, his companions gave up the search, concluding Timothy had been killed by Indians. When they arrived at Fort Hall, almost starved, his family was over joyed to find him, who had been given up days before. He had indeed, encountered an old Indian who chose to befriend Timothy rather than kill him and guided him to the fort. (Ref in Linn Co, Ore. c. 1910, Portrait and Biographical Record, p. 1066-7).
In a biography of his grandson, Dr John Albert Lamberson, Timothy crossed the plains with an ox team and made a land claim for 640 acres on the Scappapoose plains in Columbia Co, Oregon where the family lived for several years. Timothy, ever restless, went to California in 1846, but after 18 months, returned to Oregon. The gold excitement took him back to California in 1849 where his mining venture met with some success. Returning to Oregon in 1850, he built the first saw mill in the area. Nine years later he tried stock raising and farming in Sonora, Mexico, but in 1860 he located permanently in Arizona, establishing the town of Walnut Grove where he had milling, mining, and farming interests. Although Samuel, John, and Henry are known to have remained in Oregon, doubtless some Lamberson children went with Timothy to the southwest where his son Davis is said to have been tortured to death by Apache Indians near Tuscon in 1865.
