Mail-Order Brides: Bethenia Owens-Adair and Legrand Hill

by Martha Hutchens

image by KathySG, deposit photos

Bethenia and her family moved to Oregon when she was three years old. She was the second of nine children.

In 1854, her parents arranged her marriage to Legrand Hill, who had advertised for a bride. He purchased 320 acres nearby on credit. Bethenia was only fifteen, but as an older child in a large family she knew a lot about caring for a house, a farm, and a family.

image by thephotoguy, deposit photos

Unfortunately, Legrand did not know as much about farming, or perhaps he simply preferred hunting. He left on frequent hunting trips, and failed to weather-proof their small log cabin. Eventually, Bethenia’s father got the house ready for the winter.

Legrand was unable to pay the mortgage on the land--$150. When he lost the land, he and Bethenia moved in with Legrand’s Aunt Kelly.

Within a year, Bethenia gave birth to their son, George. Bethenia’s parents visited her and were appalled with the conditions she faced. They agreed to give Legrand an acre of land and the material to build a house if he would move back to Clatsop County, where Bethenia’s parents lived. 

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Legrand cleared $100 on the sale of their house, which he invested in a brick-making company. He used all the money he had on this venture, moving his family into a tent instead of building them a house. The company went bankrupt.

Then Bethenia contracted typhoid. Her parents moved her and her child into their house so that she could recover. Legrand refused to begin building a house until Bethenia’s parents signed over the land they had promised him. By this point, her parents had little faith in him and refused. Legrand chose to build a house in town.

Things deteriorated even farther, with Legrand becoming violent toward both his wife and his son. Finally, Bethenia left Legrand. After four years, she filed for divorce. This was a huge scandal at the time, but Bethenia remained resolved. Her parents stood by her, and she lived with them. She found several jobs to support both herself and her son, eventually earning enough for a house in Astoria, Oregon.

image by marslino, deposit photos

She established a business as a milliner and a dressmaker, earning enough money to send her son to study medicine. Not satisfied with that, she studied medicine herself, becoming the first female doctor in the state of Oregon.

Legrand frequently pleaded with her to come back to him, but she was unable to look at him with anything other than pity.

At a time when divorce was an enormous scandal for a woman, Bethenia Owens-Adair faced down her critics and charted her own course. Her parents also refused to bow to social norms, and supported their child.

I must admit I found it hard to read this story. I love mail-order bride books and will be publishing one next June. I want them all to have a happy ending. But history isn’t clean and pretty. And Bethenia certainly showed that scandal and heartbreak can be overcome.


If you would like to learn more about real-life mail-order brides, Hearts West by Chris Enss is a wonderful reference.

Martha Hutchens is a history nerd who loves nothing more than finding a new place and time to explore. She won the 2019 Golden Heart for Romance with Religious and Spiritual Elements. A former analytical chemist and retired homeschool mom, Martha occasionally finds time for knitting when writing projects allow.

Martha can frequently be found at the Sunrise Historical Hearts Facebook page, along with other Sunrise authors. If you would like to find out about new Sunrise releases (including a mail-order bride series), and meet other historical authors, click here to join the fun.