James W. Nesmith

James Willis Nesmith (born July 23, 1820 in New Brunswick , Canada , † June 17, 1885 in Rickreall , Oregon ) was an American politician of the Democratic Party . Nesmith was both a senator and a member of the House of Representatives for the state of Oregon.

Early years

James Nesmith was born in Canada in 1820 while his parents were on a trip from Maine . Of Scottish and Irish descent, his parents were William Morrison Nesmith and Harriet Miller. In 1828 he moved with his father to Claremont , New Hampshire , where he received a basic education. James Nesmith first moved to Ohio in 1838 and then to Iowa in 1842 , from where he wanted to emigrate to the Oregon Country . He originally planned on the Oregon Trail along with Elijah White to commit, but for which he was too late - he eventually moved in with Marcus Whitman the following spring off, having previously as a janitor at Fort Scott ( Kansas had worked).

Oregon

The James Nesmith house near Rickreall

Nesmith arrived in Oregon in 1843, where he studied law. He then worked first as a lawyer before being appointed Chief Justice of the Provisional Government in 1844. His tenure ended in 1845, after which he moved to Polk County . There he took over a piece of land, started farming and married Pauline Goff on June 21, with whom he was to have seven children. In 1847 he was elected to the Provisional Parliament of Oregon for Polk County, in 1848 he resigned.

He served as a captain in the Cayuse War from 1847 to 1848. After reports of the California gold rush reached the Willamette Valley , Nesmith traveled south to the gold fields, where he remained until 1849. On his return to Polk County, he bought a flour mill in Rickreall Creek , near the Dallas administrative center . There he was active in agricultural issues in what is now the ghost town of Ellendale , which was named after him at times.

In both the Rogue River War of 1853 and the Yakima War of 1855, he again served as a captain in the state militias. Between the wars he served as the US Marshal of the Oregon Territory , succeeding Joseph Meek .

From 1857 to 1859 he was Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Oregon and Washington Territories . He had an aggressive policy against the Indians on Oregon's south coast, telling the director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs , George Manypenny , that the extermination of the Chetco Indian tribe would "cause no regrets" in his office.

congress

On February 14, 1859, Oregon became the 33rd state to join the Union. In 1860, Nesmith was elected Senator by the State Parliament. His term of office began on March 4, 1861 and ended exactly six years later, on March 4, 1867, after which he ran for re-election without success. Alongside Reverdy Johnson, he was one of only two Democratic senators who voted for the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and thus for the abolition of slavery . After leaving the Senate, he was proposed as ambassador to Austria-Hungary , but was ultimately not appointed.

After returning to Rickreall in 1868 he worked as a road supervisor in Polk County. Nesmith succeeded the late Joseph G. Wilson in a by-election to the 43rd Congress and remained a member of Congress from December 1, 1873 to March 4, 1875. He then returned to Polk County to work as a farmer.

Late years and family

James Willis Nesmith died in Rickreall in 1885 at the age of 64 and was buried there.

Nesmith's grandson, Clifton N. McArthur, was also a member of the House of Representatives for Oregon. His son-in-law Levi Ankeny was a senator for Washington .

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j James Willis Nesmith in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress ; Retrieved October 31, 2014.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Howard M. Corning: Dictionary of Oregon History , Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1989, p. 174.
^ ^A ^b Montagu Colmer & Charles Erskine Scott Wood: History of the Bench and Bar of Oregon . Portland, 1910; In: Historical Pub. Co. pp. 271-271.
^ Oregon Legislative Assembly (4th Provisional) 1848-1849 Regular Session in the Oregon State Archives; Retrieved October 31, 2014.
^ Gray Whaley: Oregon and the collapse of Illahee: US empire and the transformation of an indigenous world, 1792-1859 , University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill 2010, ISBN 9780807833674 .

personal data
SURNAME	Nesmith, James W.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Nesmith, James Willis (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American politician
DATE OF BIRTH	July 23, 1820
PLACE OF BIRTH	New Brunswick , Canada
DATE OF DEATH	June 17, 1885
Place of death	Rickreall , Oregon

[congbio-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j James Willis Nesmith in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress ; Retrieved October 31, 2014.

[Oregon-2] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Howard M. Corning: Dictionary of Oregon History , Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1989, p. 174.

[bench-3] A ^b Montagu Colmer & Charles Erskine Scott Wood: History of the Bench and Bar of Oregon . Portland, 1910; In: Historical Pub. Co. pp. 271-271.

[prov1848-4] Oregon Legislative Assembly (4th Provisional) 1848-1849 Regular Session in the Oregon State Archives; Retrieved October 31, 2014.

[5] Gray Whaley: Oregon and the collapse of Illahee: US empire and the transformation of an indigenous world, 1792-1859 , University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill 2010, ISBN 9780807833674 .