Page:Pen Pictures of Representative Men of Oregon.djvu/219

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ship by his wise and moderate course in all of his public and private acts . In 1862 he received the support of his party in the Legislature for United States Senator, which honor has since been frequently accorded him. He was elected to the Legislature in 1866, and was returned in ]8«'>8, at which term he was elected and served as Speaker. In 1870 i»e was ouce more honored by Ms constituents with a seat iu the lower House, and was nominated again in 1872, but was defeated by a small majority. In 1876, his party having recovered the ascendancy in Lane county, he was elected to the State Senate, of which body he was elected President. So acceptably had he filled the important positions to which he had been called, that, iu 1878, he was nominated by his party for a seat in the Forty-sixth Congress, to which exalted position he was elected by a large majority over his Re- publican competitor, Hon. H. K. Hiues. At the called session of J87i) Cob- gressman Whiteaker made the quickest trip ever accomplished from the Pacific to the Atlantic seaboard. By special train he was taken from San Francisco to Washington in four days, nineteen hours and fifty-three min- utes. The great haste was necessary to secure the organization of the lower House of Congress to the Democrats at that session. During his term in Congress Mr. Whiteaker served as Chairman of the Committee on Pensions, an honor seldom conferred on a new member. He was nho a member of the Committee on Indian Affairs. In 1S80 he was renominated for Congress on his party ticket, but was defeated by the present incum- bent of that oflBce, Hon. M. C. George. He served on the committ»:^« ap- pointed by Governor Grover to inspect the locks at Willamette Falls, and was also appointed on the State Board of Equalization and made ( 'hairman of that body. In every position to which Governor Whiteaker has l.een called he has proved equal to all requirements imposed upon liim. As a parliamentarian he has few equals and as a legislative and administrative officer bis record stands above ad%"erse criticism. Loved by his neighbors lor his many noble and humane traits of character, possessing tlu; confi- dence of his party because of his consistency, and trusted and respe* ted by all who know him. Governor Whiteaker now resides on his farm iu Lane county. He delights iu his rural and domestic life, is in vigoroun hf-jdth, both mental and physical, and is still capable of performing any livify to which he m;iy be called in the future by those who have so often d^ 'igl.ted to honor him with their confidence.


HON. O. N. DENNY. Office-holding is not always a recommendation to a man. There ;.-»' t i.ose who seek office and those whom the office seeks. The subject of thin liiogra- phy is one of the latter class, and has, almost continuously, since j.ttainiug his majority, held official position. He was born in Washington county, Ohio, September 4, 1838. His father was of Scr)tch-Trish and his mother of English descent. He came to Oregon with his parents in 18r)2, cross- ing the plains with an ox team and settling in Linn county, near Lebanon, on a donation claim. Two weeks after their arrival the father died, leaving a widowed mother with six children, three girls and three boys, 0. N. Denny