Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 2.djvu/345

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Political History of Oregon.
329

lows and honored by his state. He was born at Salem, Livingstone County, Kentucky, July 23, 1810, and came to Oregon in 1853.

The governor of the state at this time, Addison C. Gibbs, was an important figure in the affairs of the state, and had been such for many years. He had defeated for the office of governor Aaron E. Wait, his democratic opponent, and had taken the oath of office September 10, 1862. He was the second governor of the state, and the first republican who had been elected to the executive office in either state or territorial government. At the time of his election he was only thirty-seven years old, but had some experience in public affairs, and was the first representative to the territorial legislature from the County of Umpqua, now Douglas, in 1852; he was a member of the house, representing Multnomah, in 1860. His term as governor expired September 1, 1866, and at the legislative session of 1866 he was the caucus nominee of his party for United States senator, but was defeated. The legislature elected Henry W. Corbett, after a prolonged contest between Governor Gibbs and John H. Mitchell. He was appointed United States attorney for the district of Oregon by President Grant in 1872, and served until removed in 1873. He died in London in January, 1887, at the age of sixty-two. As the war governor of Oregon he did not fail in his intelligent support of Lincoln and his administration. Samuel E. May was Secretary of State during his term; E. N. Cooke, State Treasurer; and for the first two years of the term Harvey Gordon was state printer, and for the last two years ending September 10, 1866, Henry L. Pittock filled that office. The justices of the supreme court from 1865 to 1876 were as follows: Paine Page Prim, Chief Justice; Erasmus D. Shattuck, Reuben P. Boise, Riley Evans Stratton, and Joseph G. Wilson, Asso-