George Law Curry

George Law Curry (1853)

George Law Curry (born July 2, 1820 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , † July 28, 1878 in Portland , Oregon ) was an American politician and territorial governor of the Oregon Territory from 1854 to 1859 .

Early years

Curry spent most of his childhood in Caracas , Venezuela . After returning to the USA, he first settled in St. Louis ( Missouri ). There he worked as a journalist and as a publisher of a local daily newspaper. In 1846 he moved overland to what was then the Oregon Territory.

Rise in Oregon

Due to his experience as a newspaper publisher, he soon found a new job in this field in his new home. He became the publisher of the Oregon Spectator newspaper, owned by George Abernethy, who led the Provisional Government of Oregon between 1845 and 1849, before the Territory was founded. After a year and a half, Curry gave up this position because he had fallen out with Abernethy. The latter wanted to ban politics from his newspaper, while Curry saw that as press censorship. Then Curry founded the Oregon Free Press in Oregon City to compete with his previous employer. This sheet lasted until the outbreak of the gold rush in California , which lured almost all employees to the California gold fields, whereupon the newspaper had to close.

Political career

George Curry was a member of the Democratic Party . In 1853, he was named Secretary of State in the Oregon Territory by President Franklin Pierce . He held this position until 1855. He had to step in twice as acting (acting) Territorial Governor. The first time was in May 1853, when Joseph Lane resigned after only three days in office to take his seat in the US Congress again. Until the arrival of the newly appointed Territory Governor John Wesley Davis in early December 1853 he was acting governor.

In 1854, following Davis's resignation, he was re-appointed head of government before being appointed official territorial governor by President Pierce. He held this office between 1854 and 1859. He was the last territorial governor in Oregon. When there was an Indian War ( Yakima War ) in 1855 , the governor made 2,500 men available to the federal troops to help them. During his tenure, the transition of Oregon from a territory to a regular US state was prepared. A constitution was drawn up and the first regular governor of the new state, John Whiteaker, was elected. After the ratification of the declaration of accession by the US Congress and the signature by President James Buchanan , the territory acceded to the United States on February 14, 1859. This also ended the term of office of George Curry as territorial governor.

Another résumé

In 1860, his candidacy for the US Senate failed due to a single vote. George Curry was married to Chloe Boone, who was a direct descendant of Daniel Boone , one of the earliest pioneers in Kentucky. Curry died in Portland in 1878.

Web links

• Online biography (English)
• The Political Graveyard (English)