George H. Atkinson

George Henry Atkinson was an American missionary and educator in what would become the state of Oregon. In Oregon, he served as a pastor for several churches, helped found what would become Pacific University, and pushed for legislation to create a public school system in Oregon Territory. The Massachusetts native later served as the county schools superintendent in Clackamas and Multnomah counties.

The Reverend George Atkinson was born on May 10, 1819, in Newburyport, Massachusetts. After attending Bradford Academy and Newbury Academies, he then moved to Hanover, New Hampshire. There he attended Dartmouth College where he graduated in 1843. Atkinson then received religious training at the Andover Theological Seminary, graduating in 1846. He married Nancy Bates that same year. On February 24, 1847, George Atkinson was ordained as a Congregational minister and then sent with his wife as a missionary to Oregon Country. The couple sailed on the ship Samoset around South Americas Cape Horn to the Sandwich Islands. From there they voyaged on the vessel Cowlitz to the Columbia River where they arrived in 1848.

Source: Wikipedia