User:Bridges2Information/Articles/Bakshish Singh Dhillon

Bakhshish Singh Dhillon was the first recorded Sikh migrant to enter the US in 1897. He married Rattan Kaur on a return trip to India and brought her to California in 1910, she may have been the earliest Sikh woman to settle in the US. Dhillon had eight children, including activist Katar Dhillon. The entire family was heavily involved with the Ghadar Movement, which originated in Astoria, Oregon shortly before the family settled there in 1916. Among the many Indians that lived in Astoria at the turn of the century, they were the only family.

Astoria, Oregon
Hammond Lumber Mill (previously the Hume Lumber Mill).

He was approximately 6’4”. He first went to China as a member of the British Army. He married Rattan Kaur on a return trip to India and brought her to California. Then they moved to Astoria, Oregon where he worked for the Hammond Lumber Mill (previously the Hume Lumber Mill). Dhillon, his wife, and their children were the only Sikh family in Astoria. Four of the children, including Kartar Dhillon, attended Alderbrook Public Schol.

Pacific Coast race riots of 1907.

As a teenager Dhillon left his home in Sursingh to earn money to keep the family's land from being taken over by the British government through taxation.