Melvin Clark George

Melvin Clark George

Melvin Clark George (born May 13, 1849 in Caldwell , Ohio , † February 22, 1933 in Portland , Oregon ) was an American politician . Between 1881 and 1885 he represented the state of Oregon in the US House of Representatives .

Career

As a child, Melvin George and his parents moved to the Oregon Territory via the Oregon Trail in 1851 . The family settled near Lebanon in Linn County . Melvin attended the public schools in his new home and then Willamette University . After a subsequent law degree and his admission as a lawyer, he began to work in Portland in his new profession from 1875.

George became a member of the Republican Party . Between 1876 and 1880 he was a member of the Oregon Senate . In 1880 he was elected to the US House of Representatives against incumbent John Whiteaker . After a re-election in 1882, he was able to complete a total of two legislative terms in Congress between March 4, 1881 and March 3, 1885 . He was the first Oregon Congressman to be elected to a second term. He turned down another candidacy in 1884. In Congress, he campaigned for the construction of shipping docks in the mouth of the Columbia River .

After quitting his political activities in Washington, DC , Melvin George worked again as a lawyer in Portland. From 1885 to 1889 he was a lecturer in forensic medicine at Willamette University; between 1897 and 1907 he worked as a judge. He was also named chairman of the Portland City Bridge Commission. In this capacity he was the overseer for the construction of the Burnside Bridge over the Willamette River . He worked as a lawyer until his death in 1933. George had been married to Mary Eckler since 1873, with whom he had three children.

Web links

• Melvin Clark George in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Melvin Clark George in the database of Find a Grave (English)