Ira Babcock
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Doctor Ira Leonard Babcock (c.1808-March 21, 1888) was an American pioneer selected as supreme judge with probate powers in 1841 in Oregon Country.[1] Although the meeting where he was selected did not produce an acting government, this was the first of several meetings that lead to a Provisional Government in the Willamette Valley in 1843.[1]
[edit] Background
Doctor Babcock came to Oregon from New York while working for the Methodist Mission run by Jason Lee.[2] Babcock arrived in Oregon in 1840.[3] He came via the ship Lausanne with his wife and one son.[3] They traveled with Jason Lee’s reinforcements for the mission that was re-located to present day Salem, Oregon.[3] The Lausanne sailed around Cape Horn and included future governor George Abernethy and the Reverend Gustavus Hines.
[edit] Judge
Babcock was selected on February 18, 1841, to be the supreme judge for the settlers of the region.[1] There was a need for a probate court in order to deal with the estate of Ewing Young.[1] Young had become a wealthy rancher due to his economic activities that included participation in the Willamette Cattle Company in 1837. In 1842 he helped to organize the Oregon Institute as a school for the children of the American settlers.[2] After holding the supreme judge title for two years, Babcock took his family to the Sandwich Islands for one year.[3] After returning he was elected as judge again, but left Oregon permanently in November of 1844.[3] After leaving Oregon he joined the U.S. Army and served as a surgeon.[2] In 1870 he returned to Oregon on a visit.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Horner, John B. (1929). Oregon: Her History, Her Great Men, Her Literature. The J.K. Gill Company:Portland, Oregon.
- ^ a b c Corning, Howard M. Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.
- ^ a b c d e Flora, Stephenie. Emigrants to Oregon in 1840. Oregon Pioneers. Retrieved on 2007-02-22.
