Osborne Russell

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Osborne Russell

In office
1844 – 1845
Preceded by First Executive Committee
Succeeded by George Abernethy
Constituency Oregon Country

Born 1814
Maine
Died 1892

Osborne Russell (1814 - 1892) was a mountain man and politician who helped form the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. He was born in Maine.[1]

Russell first came to the Oregon Country in 1834 as a member of Nathaniel J. Wyeth's second expedition.[1] He returned to the country in 1842 with the Elijah White party.[1] He participated in the May 2, 1843 Champoeg Meeting, voting in favor of forming a government.[1] In October of that year he was selected by the First Executive Committee to serve as the supreme judge for the Provisional Government of Oregon and served until May 14, 1844.[2] In 1844, he was elected to the second Executive Committee of the Provisional Government of Oregon.[1] He was allied with the group that planned to create an independent Republic of the Pacific[citation needed] and thus was unsuccessful in his run for governor of the Provisional Government in 1845,[1] losing to George Abernethy.

Russell eventually went to California.[1] In 1914 his book Journal of a Trapper was published posthumously.[1]

[edit] Works

  • Russell, Osborne and Aubrey L. Haines. Journal of a Trapper: In the Rocky Mountains Between 1834 and 1843; Comprising a General Description of the Country, Climate, Rivers, Lakes ISBN 1589760522

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Cogswell, Philip Jr. (1977). Capitol Names: Individuals Woven Into Oregon's History. Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society, 61. 
  2. ^ Oregon Supreme Court Justices. Oregon Blue Book. Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on 2007-03-14.
Preceded by
First Executive Committee

with Alanson Beers
David Hill
Joseph Gale
Second Executive Committee
Provisional Government of Oregon

1844-1845
with William J. Bailey
Peter G. Stewart
Succeeded by
Governor of Provisional Government
George Abernethy