in Montgomery County, Missouri. The couple had eight children together: John Wilson, Mary, Robert, William Jasper, Irwin, Douglas, Harry Percy, and May. May died as an infant and only three survived their long-lived father. In Oregon, Minto began working for Peter H. Burnett making cedar rails, before logging for a sawmill. Then in 1845 he purchased the original Methodist Mission claim at Mission Bottom from David Carter, and began farming. He then sold that property and took up a donation land claim south of Salem where he set up orchards and began sheep farming. Minto became a prominent sheep farmer and was selected as the secretary for the state agricultural society. He purchased the island property that bears his name (at ) in 1867 and put it to use in agriculture. During the Cayuse War that started after the Whitman Massacre in 1847, Minto joined the volunteer army of pioneers that went east to battle the Native Americans. Then following the discovery of gold in California, he traveled south and spent a season in the gold mines before returning with some gold to use in financing his agricultural enterprise. Political career John Minto was a member of the Republican Party. In 1862, he was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives to serve Marion County. He won additional terms in the House in 1868, 1880, and 1890. He later served on the State Board of Horticulture after appointment by Governor Lord. Later years In 1873, John Minto was appointed by the county to determine if there was a pass through the Cascades east of Salem as had been rumored by accounts of trappers. Minto located the pass, which was named after him, and supervised the construction of a trail. Then, from information he received from John B. Waldo of the Oregon Supreme Court, Minto surveyed a lower pass further south in 1882, now known as Santiam Pass. Part of the group for this survey was Captain L. S. Scott, who had been in charge of Fort Hoskins during part of the Civil War. The Oregon Pacific Railroad began construction over the pass, but encountered financial difficulties and was never completed. The western approach to Minto Pass is now Forest Service Trail #3471, which connects with the Pacific Crest Trail a east via a difficult trail. The area is now contained in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness. John Minto died in Salem