Thomas R. Cornelius
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| Thomas R. Cornelius | |
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Member of the Oregon Territory Council
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| In office 1856 – 1858 |
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| Preceded by | A. P. Dennison |
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| Succeeded by | position dissolved |
| Constituency | Washington, Multnomah, & Columbia counties |
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Member of the Oregon State Senate
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| In office 1859 – 1876 (except 1862) |
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| Preceded by | position created |
| Succeeded by | A. B. Wait |
| Constituency | Washington, Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook |
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President of the Oregon State Senate
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| In office 1866 – 1867 |
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| Preceded by | John H. Mitchell |
| Succeeded by | B. F. Burch |
| Constituency | Oregon |
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| Born | November 16, 1827 Missouri |
| Died | June 24, 1899 Oregon |
| Political party | Whig, Republican |
| Spouse | Florentine Wilkes (m. 1849) Missouri Smith (m. 1866) |
Thomas R. Cornelius (1827-1899) was an American politician and soldier in Oregon. The Missouri born Thomas fought in the Cayuse War and Yakima Indian War against the Native Americans, and is the namesake for the city of Cornelius, Oregon. As a politician he served in the Oregon Territorial Legislature and after Oregon became a state he served in the Oregon State Senate
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[edit] Early life
Cornelius was born in Missouri, on November 16, 1827, to Elizabeth and Benjamin Cornelius.[1] In 1845, Thomas and his family traveled the Oregon Trail to Oregon Country and set up a farm on the Tualatin Plains north of what would become the community of Cornelius.[1] After the Whitman Massacre in late 1847, Thomas volunteered for the militia of the Oregon Provisional Government in 1848.[2] This militia prosecuted the Cayuse War in an attempt to punish those responsible for the killings at the Whitman Mission.[1]
After gold was discovered in California, Cornelius journeyed there for a brief time, returning to what was then the Oregon Territory in 1849.[1] The next year he married Florentine Wilkes, and they would have six children together before she died in 1864.[2] They would settle on 640 acres of their Donation Land Claim near Cornelius.[1] In 1855, a second war against the Native Americans started east of the Cascades against the Yakima tribe, with Thomas volunteering again and serving first as a captain.[1] For three months he led his company before being elected as colonel after James W. Nesmith resigned his commission.[2] Cornelius continued as colonel until the end of the war.[2]
[edit] Political career
In 1856, Cornelius was elected to the Oregon Territorial Legislature to serve in the upper chamber Council.[3] Serving as a Whig, he represented Washington, Columbia, and Multnomah counties. He won re-election in 1857[4] and in 1858 to the final session of the territorial legislature.[5] In 1859, he continued in the legislature of the now Oregon State Senate after Oregon entered the Union on February 14, 1859.[6]
In the Oregon Senate, Cornelius served as a Republican representing Washington County and several other counties through the 1874 legislature.[7] The 1862 Session was the only time during those years he was not elected.[8] His absence was due to being selected to help a raise a regiment of cavalry troops ordered by President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War.[2] He was chosen as colonel of the troops and they relocated to Walla Walla, Washington, where he was placed in command of the military post until resigning during the summer of 1862 and returning home.[2] During the 1866 legislature Cornelius was selected as President of the Oregon Senate.[9]
[edit] Later life and family
After his first wife died in 1864, Thomas remarried in 1866 to Missouri A. Smith.[2] In 1872, he moved to what would be named Cornelius after him, and opened a mercantile that would later be operated by his son Thomas S. Cornelius.[2][1] In addition to the store, Cornelius would own a total of 1500 acres covering three farms, a warehouse, and a sawmill.[1] He built Cornelius Pass Road that linked the Tualatin Valley to the Columbia River.[10] Thomas R. Cornelius died on June 24, 1899, at the age of 71.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Corning, Howard M. Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Lang, H. O. 1885. History of the Willamette Valley, being a description of the valley and its resources, with an account of its discovery and settlement by white men, and its subsequent history together with personal reminiscences of its early pioneers. Portland, Or: G.H. Himes.
- ^ Oregon Legislative Assembly (8th Territorial) 1856 Regular Session. Oregon State Archives, accessed November 4, 2007.
- ^ Oregon Legislative Assembly (9th Territorial) 1857 Regular Session. Oregon State Archives, accessed November 4, 2007.
- ^ Oregon Legislative Assembly (10th Territorial) 1858 Regular Session. Oregon State Archives, accessed November 4, 2007.
- ^ Oregon Legislative Assembly 1859 Special Session. Oregon State Archives, accessed November 4, 2007.
- ^ Oregon Legislative Assembly (8th) 1874 Regular Session. Oregon State Archives, accessed November 4, 2007.
- ^ Oregon Legislative Assembly (2nd) 1862 Regular Session. Oregon State Archives, accessed November 4, 2007.
- ^ Oregon Legislative Assembly (4th) 1866 Regular Session. Oregon State Archives, accessed November 4, 2007.
- ^ Baron, Connie and Michelle Trappen. Paths linking past and present. The Oregonian, March 6, 2008.
