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Author and historian Jan Wright will talk about her more than 20 years of research on John Beeson, a Rogue Valley pioneer at odds with many of his fellow settlers, and her plans to write a book on him in the year ahead. Wright's presentation is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 25, at the Talent Historical Society, 105 N. Market St., Talent. “It’s surprising how much information there is on John Beeson,” said Wright. “Beeson was very well known back East. He was the face, the individual most associated with the Native American issues of the day.” Beeson left the valley in 1856 after the Rogue Indian Wars because he advocated for better treatment of Native Americans. Over the years, Wright has tracked his efforts. She has been to Illinois, Connecticut, New York and Washington, D.C. She’s also visited the University of Oregon and the Oregon Historical Society for research. Beeson went before senators and the U.S. Congress, and he met with President Lincoln on several occasions, and met with President Grant during the Modoc War. “He was an annoyance to the Indian Bureau. He wrote these letters constantly to try to get the agency to change policies so they actually benefited the Indians instead of them benefiting the Indian agents and the traders,” said Wright. “My book is going to help convey the personal side, his eccentricities. My belief is, part of the reason he was kind of grating on people was he was an avid spiritualist and he incorporated basically dead people into his story,” said Wright. Beeson would say he was told things by Native Americas who had passed on. That didn’t settle well with many people, Wright says. “He was into universal peace, a universal language,” said Wright. “He loved the ideology of phrenology — the idea that people could be understood by the bumps and dips on faces and heads.” “In his letters, he talked about people. If they had the right head bumps, they would get his message,” said Wright. John Beeson left his wife, Ann, and son, Welborn, in Talent, where they were supposed to support his mission. As time went by, the family relationship deteriorated. Beeson didn’t return to Talent until 1864. Ann died in 1865, and John Beeson returned to the East in 1866 where he stayed until 1880. Back in Talent, he remained until his death in 1889. Efforts to go back East again never materialized. Another Rogue Valley researcher thinks Beeson’s tale will make an excellent book. “He is a major figure. He is definitely fairly well known to people who know at least something about Southern Oregon history,” said Ashland archaeologist and historian Jeff LaLande. “But beyond those people, he is not very well known or known at all." Wright had debated doing a book on Welborn, who wrote numerous diaries that detailed life in the Rogue Valley. “John has a more universal appeal versus writing about Welborn,” said Wright. “He was more nationally known.” Wright has worked for the Southern Oregon Historical Society and the Talent Historical Society. She is author of a book on Talent history published by Arcadia and a small volume on the Ashland library published on its 100th anniversary. — Tony Boom is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected].