I came across the headstone for Private Claborn W. Wild, located on the west edge of Monroe Cemetery, an Oregon Historic cemetery and the oldest cemetery I've visited in Oregon. His headstone reads that he drowned. He also has a military headstone with the initials 'C.W.W.' next to his main headstone. Findagrave.com gave addition information for Claborn:
Claborn W. WILD
drowned, Feb. 14, 1857
aged 33 years.
No birth date, no relatives. It is understood that this man was a stranger whose people were unknown.
- Private, Company G, Separate Battalion, Missouri Mounted Riflemen (Mexican War) under Captains J. R. Hendley and William M. Jacob. Enrolled on 28 Jun 1846 in Richmond, Ray County, Missouri. Mustered into service on 1 Aug 1846 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Detail: grazing duty by order of Lt. Col. Willocks. Honorably discharged on 16 Sep 1847 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
- Private, Company A, 2nd Regiment, Oregon Mounted Volunteers (Indian War of 1855) under Captain Joseph Bailey. Mustered into service on 23 Oct 1855; discharged on 6 Feb 1856.
Personal History:
Claiborne moved from Kentucky with his parents to Ray County, Missouri about 1831. After his initial service in the Mexican War, he migrated to the Oregon Territory by Sep 1850. He was then able to acquire free land (up to 320 acres as a single male) under the Donation Land Claim Act (refer to land office of Roseburg, claim number 1348, volume 3). On 1 Sep 1851, the Benton county office granted a license for him to "keep a grocery" at Marysville (present-day Corvallis).
He is listed in the Lane County, Oregon tax rolls of 1854 (property value assessed at $1,475.00) and 1855.
Claiborne was purported to have lost his life by drowning in the Long Tom River.
Some surprising info on Claborn considering he passed so long ago. Long Tom River flows next to Monroe.