JOSEPH LANE, THE FIRST TERRITORIAL GOVERNOR
(March 3, 1849)
GOVERNOR JOSEPH LANE
Upon assuming the duties of his office, Governor Joseph Lane immediately began taking a census of the new territory, which showed a population of 8,785 Americans and 298 foreigners. On June 18, 1850, he resigned the governorship under the wrong impression that the new President of the United States had appointed a successor. Mr. Lane became a candidate for delegate to Congress in 1851 and was elected. He was again appointed Governor on May 16, 1853, but three days after qualifying for the position again resigned and became a candidate for Congress. He was elected, and successively re-elected to that position, until the territory was admitted as a state in February, 1859. From the General Government, he accepted a commission as Brigadier-General in command of the volunteers, and was actively engaged in suppressing Indian hostilities in Southern Oregon in 1853. General Lane was elected one of the first United States Senators upon Oregon's admission into the Union and served for a period of two years. He was a candidate for Vice-President of the United States in 1860. He died at his residence in Roseburg, Oregon, in April, 1881, aged 80 years.
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