America Waldo Bogle


America Waldo Bogle was a pioneer in the Pacific Northwest. She and her husband, Richard Arthur Bogle, were among the first black settlers in Walla, Walla, Washington.
America Waldo was born in Missouri on June 2, 1844 and died on December 28, 1903.

Parentage

There are no first-hand, validated accounts which document Waldo's birth or her biological parents. While statements that Oregon pioneer Daniel Waldo was her biological father, U.S. Census records indicate that America Waldo was born on June 2, 1844 in Missouri and since Daniel Waldo and his family left Missouri for Oregon the previous year, neither America nor her mother could have been with Daniel Waldo during that time. She is believed to have been the biological daughter of Joseph Waldo, Daniel Waldo's brother, and her mother is thought to have been one of the Waldo family's slaves. She moved to Oregon as a child, possibly in 1846. Daniel Waldo "took responsibility for raising her and thus acted as a father figure."

Marriage

Waldo grew up on Daniel Waldo's farm, east of Salem, Oregon. On January 1, 1863, she married Richard Arthur Bogle who she had met while still a teenager, who was running a barbershop in Salem at the time. The wedding was very controversial at the time since it occurred in a predominately white church but featured both black and white wedding guests. Daniel Waldo publicly supported attended the wedding and gave them "several gifts of great value with which to start their home." The presence of white guests created controversy, with newspaper editor Asahel Bush calling it "shameful". The Oregonian retorted that "the heart of a man who could be guilty of making light even of a poor mulatto girl's feelings is blacker than the skin of any African."

Family and Life in Walla Walla

The Bogles moved to Walla Walla, Washington, where they started a 200-acre ranch. America Waldo Bogle was known as "a lady of estimable character, noted for her deeds of charity to the poor and suffering." Her three older children appear to have died between 1876 and 1878. She died in Walla Wall on December 28, 1903, and her husband died a year later on November 22, 1904. Her five surviving children out of an original eight were Arthur, Belle, Waldo, Katherine, and Warren Bogle, and the sons followed in their father's footsteps and became barbers. Her great-grandson, Richard "Dick" Bogle, was later the second African-American city commissioner in Portland, Oregon.