John Whiteaker
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| John Whiteaker | |
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| In office July 8, 1858 – September 10, 1862 |
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| Preceded by | George Law Curry (Territorial Governor) |
| Succeeded by | A. C. Gibbs |
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| In office March 4, 1879-March 3, 1881 |
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| Preceded by | Richard Williams |
| Succeeded by | Melvin Clark George |
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| In office 1868-1869 |
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| Preceded by | F. A. Chenoweth |
| Succeeded by | Benjamin Hayden |
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| Born | May 4, 1820 Dearborn County, Indiana |
| Died | October 2, 1902 Eugene, Oregon |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Nancy Jane Whiteaker |
| Profession | Farmer |
| Inaugurated in 1858, but did not assume office until statehood bill passed in February 1859. | |
John Whiteaker (May 4, 1820-October 2, 1902) was an American politician, a Democrat, and served as the first state Governor of Oregon from 1859 until 1862.
Born in Dearborn County, Indiana to farmers, Whiteaker only spent six months of formal schooling, and as a result, was almost entirely self-educated. Before moving west, he had performed odd jobs, carpentry, and volunteered for military service during the Mexican War, although his unit was never called into battle. In 1849, he joined the California Gold Rush, earning enough to move his family to a farm in Lane County, Oregon. Once in Oregon he became active in Democratic Party activities, Elected to office first as Judge of the Probate Court for Lane County (1856), then as a legislator in the Territorial Legislature in 1857.
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[edit] Governorship
Oregon was preparing for statehood in 1857, as voters had just approved a state constitution. Whiteaker was selected as a Democratic faction's nominee in the first state gubernatorial election, held in June 1858. Whiteaker won by a margin of 1,138, and was inaugurated July 8, 1858. He did not assume office until word that Congress had passed Oregon's statehood bill on February 14, 1859. Technically, Oregon had two governors in the interim, as Territorial Governor George Law Curry, was legally in charge until the state government-in-waiting was legally empowered to take control.
Once in office, the new governor set out to untangle the large amounts of land claims and counter claims on public lands. He also promoted economic policies favoring home industries, products that Oregonians could make self-sufficiently. Although nicknamed "Honest John", this did not deflect his controversial stands on issues of national importance. Whiteaker held pro-slavery views which did not sit well with a population mostly in the abolitionist camp. Opponents often used this to attack him as a traitor as the United States descended into the Civil War.
Whiteaker was not nominated again by the Democrats in the 1862 election, and thus left office. He did stay in local politics, winning three terms as a state representative (1866-1870), and election to the State Senate in 1870. During the 1868 session he served as Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives.[1]
[edit] Election to Congress and "Whiteaker's Ride"
Whiteaker was elected to Congress in 1878, as Oregon's Representative-at large. The Democrats had been weakened in the House, and needed one vote to prevail in their nominee for Speaker of the House. The vote was needed by March 18, 1879. Whiteaker, already on his way to Washington, received word of this urgency while on a steamer between Portland and San Francisco, California. Upon docking in San Francisco on March 12th, he was met by a railroad agent, and rushed to a special Central Pacific Railroad express train at Oakland. The regular transcontinental train was 25 hours out of Oakland, but Whiteaker's train managed to catch up with it. He arrived in Washington on the morning of March 18th, in enough time to be promptly seated by Congress and cast his vote.
The trip cost $1500 at the time, an expense widely criticized by the Democrat's political opposition and the media. Many referred to it as "Whiteaker's ride".[citation needed]
In 1880, Whiteaker ran for re-election to Congress, but was defeated by Republican Melvin Clark George by 1,379 votes.[2] Following his defeat, he retired to his farm near Eugene.
[edit] Later life
John Whiteaker would be called back into politics one more time, in 1885 when President Grover Cleveland appointed him as Oregon's Collector of Revenues at the U.S. Customs House in Portland. After 1890, moved back to Eugene, purchasing 10 city blocks in the central city. The plat, Whiteaker's Addition, is commonly known as the Whiteaker neighborhood.[1] He stayed in Eugene until his death in 1902.
[edit] Sources
- Oregon State Library
- Klooster, Karl. Round the Roses II: More Past Portland Perspectives, pg. 98, 1992 ISBN 0-9619847-1-6
- ^ Speakers of the House of Representatives of Oregon. Oregon Blue Book. Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on May 30, 2008.
- ^ Kincaid, H. R. (1899). Biennial Report of the Secretary of State of the State of Oregon. Salem, Oregon: W. H. Leeds, p. 235.
[edit] External links
- Whiteaker's Governor's Message 1862 at Oregon State Archives
- John Whiteaker at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
| Preceded by Richard Williams |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon's At-large congressional district 1879-03-04 - 1881-03-03 |
Succeeded by Melvin Clark George |
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