Zenas Ferry Moody

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Zenas Ferry Moody

Zenas Ferry Moody (born May 27, 1832 in Granby , Hampshire County , Massachusetts , †  March 14, 1917 in Salem , Oregon ) was an American politician and from 1882 to 1887 the seventh governor of the state of Oregon.

Early years and political advancement

Zenas Moody attended local schools in his homeland. In 1851 he and his family came to Oregon across the Isthmus of Panama . There Moody ran a shop in Brownsville . He was also a land surveyor on behalf of the federal government. After that he returned to the east for some time. He came to Washington via Illinois . In 1861, he joined a unit in defense of Washington during the Civil War . But he did not stay in the military, but returned to Oregon in 1862. There he ran a shop that supplied the gold diggers with the necessary supplies. In The Dalles he then worked as a manager for the Wells Fargo Company . At that time, Moody also ran a steamship company with a license to deliver and deliver mail.

Originally, Moody was a supporter of the Whigs . After its dissolution in the 1850s, he joined the Republican Party . In 1872 Moody ran unsuccessfully for the Oregon Senate . Then in 1880 he was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives. There he immediately became President of the House ( Speaker ). In 1882 he was elected the new governor of his state with 51.8 percent of the vote against the Democrat Joseph Showalter Smith .

Governor of Oregon

Zenas Moody took office on September 13, 1882. During his tenure, the Capitol (except for the dome) was completed. The hospital for the mentally handicapped, which had already started before his term in office, was also completed. Moody encouraged immigration to Oregon. However, this did not apply to Chinese immigrants. He supported corresponding bills that were supposed to restrict or ban immigration from China.

Moody's term of office did not end in September 1887, but on January 12 of this year because the dates of the elections and terms of office had been adjusted to the general elections in the federal government and most other US states. After the end of his tenure, Moody withdrew from politics. In the following years he became a successful wool merchant in eastern Oregon. Zenas Moody died in March 1917. He was married to Mary Stephenson, with whom he had five children.

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personal data
SURNAME Moody, Zenas Ferry
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH May 27, 1832
PLACE OF BIRTH Granby , Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH March 14, 1917
Place of death Salem , Oregon