Governor Joseph Gale and His Indian First Lady

This book is written to honor Oregon’s First Governor, Joseph Gale, and his wife, Eliza, First Lady of Oregon, for their contribution to Oregon and the Manifest Destiny of our nation. Eliza Gale, a full-blood Indian of Nez Perce and Walla Walla royalty, was the daughter of old Chief Joseph, and half-sister to the famous Young Chief Joseph and War Chief Ollokot, of the Wallowa Band of the Nez Perce tribe. Joseph Gale was an educated man of humble beginnings who rose in power and prominence from the sheer desperation to survive and the genius of necessity.

From the Preface: Our family interest in writing about Joseph Gale originated from growing up in New Bridge, Oregon near the Historic Gale home and preserving the local history of our area. At the beginning, we did not know our research of Joseph Gale would lead us to cover the establishment of the old West; however, as we delved into the Gale family past, we discovered their lives were undeniably interwoven with that segment of our American history.