George Abernethy
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George Abernethy (October 7, 1807 - March 2, 1877) was a U.S. businessman. He served as the first governor of Oregon territory under the provisional government.
Abernethy, a New York City native of Scottish descent, had come to Oregon in 1840 as a Methodist missionary. Although involved with the affairs of the mission, he set up shop in Oregon City as a merchant. Among his early accomplishments were building the first warehouse in the Oregon Territory, establishing the first newspaper in the Oregon Territory, and establishing good business relations with the British Hudson's Bay Company.
On June 3, 1845, Abernethy was elected to serve as Provisional Governor of the Oregon Territory, defeating Osborne Russell, a member of the outgoing Executive Committee. Abernethy and his supporters were American loyalists who believed that the Provisional Government was strictly interim until the question of U.S. and British claims on the Oregon Country were finalized. Russell, however, headed up the "Independents" faction which wished to create a Republic of the Pacific.
As provisional governor, Abernethy worked to build roads, levied the first property taxes, and sent representatives of the Provisional Government to Washington, DC to lobby for official U.S. territorial status. He was reelected in 1847 with the endorsement of the influential Dr. John McLoughlin over Asa Lovejoy, co-founder of Portland.
Among the more interesting prerogatives of Abernethy was his solution to the shortage of U.S. currency throughout the territory. He and eight other leading citizens established the Oregon Exchange Company, which became the de facto territorial mint for a short time. The organization minted the now-rare five dollar and ten dollar "Beaver Coins", making Oregon one of the few U.S. states to ever mint its own currency.
The Abernethy administration technically ended when efforts to gain territorial status came to fruition on August 14, 1848. President Polk signed the Oregon Territory Act, and appointed General Joseph Lane as the first official territorial governor. Abernethy continued to carry out his duties until Governor Lane arrived at Oregon City March 5, 1849.
After leaving office, Abernethy continued doing well in his business until his assets were destroyed during the flood of 1861. He moved to Portland shortly after. He died in 1877 at 70 years of age.
Today, the Abernethy Bridge in Oregon City is named in his honor. The end of the Oregon Trail, also in Oregon City, lies near an area known as Abernethy Green. Several other public works (and natural features such as streams) in Oregon are also named in his honor; though several are given the variant spelling of Abernathy.
[edit] References
- Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1963.
[edit] External links
- Oregon State Library: Governors of Oregon - Photograph and biography.
- Life of George Abernethy - Biography on personal family genealogy site, extensively sourced.
[edit] Further reading
- Klooster, Karl. Round the Roses II: More Past Portland Perspectives, pg. 95, 1992 ISBN 0-9619847-1-6
| Preceded by Second Executive Committee* |
Provisional Governor of Oregon Territory 1845-1848 |
Succeeded by Joseph Lane |
 |
Pioneer History of Oregon (1806 - 1890) |
|---|---|
| Topics |
Oregon Country · Oregon Treaty · Oregon missionaries · Executive Committee · Oregon Trail · Oregon boundary dispute · Pacific Fur Company · Hudson's Bay Company |
| Events |
Champoeg Meetings · Treaty of 1818 · Russo-American Treaty · Donation Land Claim Act · Whitman massacre |
| Places |
Fort Astoria · Oregon Mission · Fort Vancouver · Champoeg, Oregon · Willamette Stone · Barlow Road |
| People |
George Abernethy · Sam Barlow · Tabitha Brown · Abigail Scott Duniway · Peter French · Joseph Gale · William Gilpin · David Hill · Jason Lee · John McLoughlin · Joseph Meek · Ezra Meeker · Joel Palmer · Marcus Whitman · Narcissa Whitman |
| Oregon History |
Native Peoples History · History to 1806 · Pioneer History · Modern History |
