Oregon Republican League: History 101

Every Wednesday, the Oregon Republican League will post the biographies of important figures, in the League's/State of Oregon's history. Click on the head link above, to visit more of our listings at genealogy.com. Feel free to comment or share stories of your family's Republican affiliation.

Oregon Republican League:

Republican League Register of Oregon, The Register Publishing Company, 1896, pages 235-240.

LEWIS, ANDREW T., of Portland, was born in Johnson County, Indiana, November 10, 1848. Eight years later he removed with his father’s family to Champaign County, Illinois. He was educated in the public schools and attended the normal of that state, graduating in 1871, and became a teacher. He taught school in Texas for a time, and then returned to Illinois and commenced the study of law, and was admitted to the bar in January, 1873. He still pursued the study of law, taking a course at the University of Michigan and graduating in 1875. He was then elected City Attorney of Urbana, Illinois, and continued the practice there till 1879, when he went to Dakota, where he again took to the work of teaching. Later he returned to his home and continues the practice of law, until appointed Clerk of the District Court of the District of Alaska, and ex-officio secretary and treasurer of said district, by President Arthur, in 1884, where he remained until 1887, when he went to Los Angeles County, California. He came to Portland in 1888, when he immediately commenced the practice of law, and is today one of the city’s well-known attorneys. Mr. Lewis has always been an earnest, active Republican, and the party always knows just where he stands.

LOCKWOOD, C. M., Chief Clerk of the Secretary of State, was born at The Dalles, Oregon, June 26, 1870, and has lived at or near Salem since 1876. For thirteen years he was manager of the Postal Telegraph office at Salem, and is now owner of the Lockwood messenger system and interested in the bicycle trade.

LOGAN, HON. DAVID, deceased, was one of the founders and leaders of the Republican party in Oregon. He was a son of Judge Logan, partner and intimate friend of Abraham Lincoln. Coming to Oregon in early territorial days, he soon took high rank at the bar and as an orator. In 1859 he ran for congress on the Republican ticket, and was defeated, but in 1860 he again ran, and was, the first Republican to represent the state of Oregon in congress. He was again the Republican candidate in 1868.

LOONEY, D. H., of Jefferson, was born in Marion County, Oregon, December 9, 1850, and has always lived there. He is by occupation a farmer and stockman, and has been president of the Sate Board of Agriculture. Mr. Looney has taken a prominent part in politics, having been a delegate to county conventions since 1872, to state conventions, and a member of the state central committee.

LORD, CHARLES F., of Portland, nominated for District Attorney of the Fourth District, was born at Alfred, York County, Maine, September 3, 1866, completing his education at Bowdoin College, class of 188. For the past six years he has had a prominent place at the bar in Portland, and was a member of the city and county conventions in 1894 and 1896. He has done much work on the stump, and is a fluent speaker.

LORD, HON. WILLIAM P., Governor of Oregon, was born in Dover, Delaware, in 1838. He graduated from Fairfield College, New York, and read law. He was among the first to volunteer when the war broke out, enlisting in a battalion of Delaware cavalry, and served through the war with the rank of major. He then graduated from the Albany Law College, and accepted a commission as lieutenant in the regular army. He was stationed in the Welt and finally Alaska. Later he resigned and began the practice of his profession in Sale, Oregon. In 1878 the Republicans of Marion County elected him to the State Senate, and in 1880 he was elected a Judge of the Supreme Couth, and became Chief Justice. He was re-elected in 1882 and in 1888, and in 1895 was inaugurated Governor of the state, to which office he was elected before his term as judge fully expired. Under him Oregon began to enjoy the first Republican administration of his office justifies the confidence that was placed in him by the people.

LOTAN, JAMES, of Portland, was born in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1843. He early received a practical education as a machinist, but dropped his trade to enlist in the army, serving through an enlistment of two years. He then worked in the Washington navy yard. In 1864 he came to the Pacific Coast, and settled in Portland in 1865. In 1872 he became Superintendent of the Willamette Iron Works, of which he subsequently became half owner. Mr. Lotan has been a leader of in the Republican party, both local and state, for years. He has frequently been chairman of the city, county and state central committees and a member of nearly every convention for many years. In 1870 he was appointed United States Inspector of Vessels at this port. In 1889 he was appointed Collector of Customs by President Harrison. In 1883 he was appointed Fire Commissioner of Portland, and held that position for nine years.

LOVELL, FRANK K., auditing clerk in the office of the Secretary of State, is a native Oregonian and an earnest Republican. He occupied the same position under Secretary McBride, and by his promptness, accuracy, faithfulness and courtesy, has won the good will of the hundreds all over the states who have come in official contact with him. Such officials for much to make even political opponents feel resigned to the fact that Republicans are in power.

LOVE, GEORGE M., a merchant of Jacksonville, was born at that place December 29, 1860, and has always lived there. He is a working Republican and was a delegate to all the county conventions from 1884 to 1892, and the state conventions of 1890, 1892 and 1894. In 1888 he was nominated assessor. He was appointed Postmaster by President Harrison, and served till July 1, 1894.

LOWELL, HON. STEPHEN A., of Pendleton, was born at Minot, Maine, in 1859. He studied law and was admitted to the bar, and in 1891 located in Pendleton. He was a delegate to the league convention in 1892 and the state convention in 1894. He was Supreme Court Clerk for the Eastern District in 1893 and 1894 and City Attorney in 1894. In 1895 he was appointed Judge of the Sixth Judicial District by Governor Lord. And is now the party nominee.

LOWNSDALE, J. P. O., of Portland, son of Daniel Lownsdale, one of the first settlers of Portland, in 1845, was born in Princeton, Indiana, January 1, 1830. He came to Oregon in 1851. In 1853 he returned to Princeton, but came to Oregon again in 1861. He is a prominent dealer in real estate in Portland. He has been a member of the City Council, County Commissioner, and a member of the state Board of Equalization, as well as a delegate to many conventions.

LOWREY, John H., of Pendleton, was born in the City of Mexico, of American parents, December 25, 1869, and has resided in Umatilla County since four years of age. He is a strong Republican and a member of the Republican Club. In 1894 he stumped the county. He was appointed Deputy District Attorney by John L. Rand in 1894, and in March, 1895, was appointed District Attorney by Governor Lord, having the endorsement of the leading citizens of the district.

LUCAS, COLONEL, JAP P., of Monmouth, was born there June 3, 1856. He graduated from Monmouth College, and in 1882 moved to Wasco County, where he engaged in merchandising till appointed Clerk of Gilliam County, in 1885, to which office he was five times re-elected. He resigned in 1895, to return to Monmouth to live. In Gilliam County he was chairman of the state central committee, and delegate to county and state conventions and league meetings. For five years he was a member of the Third Regiment, O. N. G., holding the commissions of Captain, Major, and Colonel.

LUHRS, JOHN, of Pilot Rock, was born in Germany, April 4, 1836. HE came to Oregon in 1858 and settled in Umatilla County in 1863. Mr. Luhrs is an active Republican, and was a delegate to the county conventions to 1884, 1888, and 1890. In 1886 he was elected County Commissioner and served six years, and in 1892, was the nominee for Sheriff.

MADDOCK, ELI C., Sheriff of Clackamas County, lives at Oregon City. He was born in Butler County, Ohio, March 11, 1852, and came to Oregon from Illinois in December, 1875. He was engaged in building wing dams in the Willamette river for a time, and then followed steamboating and farming. He has been an earnest and active Republican at home, and has represented the county at state conventions. He was a delegate to the county conventions of 1886, and 1890, state convention of 1890, and State League of 1895. He was Justice of the Peace for New Era in 1890-91, was nominated for Sheriff in 1892, and elected Sheriff in 1894. He has made a capable and energetic official.

MACK, J. O., of The Dalles, was born in Northfield, Vermont in 1851. He is an earnest Republican, and was a member of the Wasco County conventions of 1886, and 1888.

MACKAY, HON. DONALD, of Portland, was born in Ontario Province, Canada, December 3, 1841. In 1865 he came to Portland and engaged in contracting and building, and is now extensively engaged in the lumbering business. In 1880 he was elected to the City Council, and served two terms. In 1888 he was elected to the state senate and sat during two sessions. He is again nominated for the state senate on one of the Republican tickets.

MACRUM, I. W., of Forest Grove, was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1842. He was educated at the Leechburg Institute and the State Normal School, and began teaching as principal of a school in Pittsburg. Three years later he secured an interest in the Newell Institutes and taught there eleven years. In 1870 he came to Oregon and was principal of the Oregon City schools three years. In 1874 he was admitted to the bar, and began practice in Portland as one of the firm Johnson, McCrow and Macrum. In 1883 he became cashier of the Willamette Savings Bank, and continued when it was converted into the Merchants’ National in 1886. He resigned his position three years ago. From 1876 to 1880, Mr. Macrum served as Superintendent of Schools in Multnomah County. He has been frequently a member of conventions and league meetings, and in 1884 was elected a delegate to the National League.

MAGERS, HON. J. E., of McMinnville, County Judge of Yamhill County, was born in Morgan County, Ohio, September 25, 1847, and came to Oregon in 1852, living in Oregon City three years, Corvallis three years, and Marion County till he became of Age. He studies law and graduated from the University of Michigan in 1869, and for nine months was president of this class of 406 students. Since May, 1880, he has practiced law in McMinnville. Since 1882 he has been a delegate to every county convention and state convention but two. He has attended all state club meetings since 1892. He has been a member of the state central committee and chairman of the county central committee for twelve years. In 1882 he was nominated for the legislature, and in 1894 was elected County Judge.

MALLORY, HON. RUFUS, a leading attorney of Portland, was born in Coventry, New York, June 10, 1831. From 1851 to 1858 he clerked, taught school and read law at Andover, New York, and in Henry County, Iowa, when he came to Oregon. He taught school and studied law at Roseburg, was admitted to the bar in 1860, and the same year was elected District Attorney for the First District. In 1862 he was elected to the legislature. HE then settled in Salem, and was appointed Attorney of the Third District, being elected to that office in 1864. In 1886 he was elected to Congress, serving one term. In 1872 he was again elected to the legislature from Marion County, and became Speaker of the House. In 1874 he was appointed United States District Attorney, and was reappointed in 1878. In 1882 he went to India as a Special Agent of the United States Treasury Department. He has since practiced his profession in Portland, and is a member of the firm of Dolph, Mallory &Y Simon. He has been a prominent figure in Republican conventions and club meetings for more than thirty years.

MARKS, J. E., of Barlow, is a native of Clackamas County, where he was born February 8, 1873. He followed courses at the McMinncille College, Willamette University and Portland Law School, and was admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-one. He was in the office of Strode & Wait as a student, and then located at Barlow. He was a delegate to the club conventions in 1895 and 1896.

MARQUAM, HON. PHILIP A., of Portland, was born near Baltimore, Maryland, February 28, 1823. He was admitted to the bar in Indiana, and practiced in Jasper County till 1849, when he went to California. He was elected the first Judge of Yolo County. In the fall of 1851 he located in Portland in the practice of lay. In 1862 he was elected Judge of Multnomah county, and re-elected four yeas later. In 1882 he was elected to the legislature. Originally a Whig, he became one of the earliest Republicans, and has so continued.

MARSTERS, HON. A. C., a merchant of Roseburg, was born in Le Seur, Minnesota, October 19, 1859, and came to Oregon in 1881, locating at Roseburg in the drug business. Mr. Marsters is a member of the Republican Club, has been a delegate to conventions, and in 1895, was elected Mayor of the city.

MARTIN, HON. WILLIAM, of Pendleton, was born in Hampshire County, West Virginia, May 5, 1822, and came to Oregon in 1843, settling in Marion County and engaging in farming. He moved to Umatilla County many years ago. He was a delegate to the state convention in 1886. In 1880, 1882 and 1884 Mr. Martin was elected Sheriff of
Umatilla County, and in 1888 was elected County Judge, being re-elected in 1892, and being now for a third time the Republican nominee.

MASON, W. S., of Portland, was born in Virginia in 1832. In 1882 he came to Portland and became a partner in the firm of McCraken, Mason & Co., wholesale grocers, and a few years later entered the firm of Mason, Ehrman & Co. in the same line of trade. He is an ardent Republican and an active member of the James G. Blaine Club. He has been a delegate to conventions and league meetings frequently. In 1892 Mr. Mason was elected the first Mayor of the consolidated City of Portland, at a time when there was a great popular demand for a business administration free from the dictation and methods of political bosses. Such an administration he gave the city, fulfilling in every particular the expectations of his friends. He was again nominated for Mayor by one branch of the Republican party this year, but declined to accept.

MATTHEWS, JOHN E., of Newport, is a native of Belfast, Ireland, and was formerly a captain in the Fourteenth Regiment of the British army. He came to America in 1873 and pre-empted a cattle ranch near Kingman, Kansas, and remained there ten years. He then went to Tacoma, and to Newport, in 1889, where he established the Yaquina Bay News, of which his son, William Mathews, is editor. IT is a Republican paper.

MAXWELL, HON. H. W., was born in Illinois in 1831. He served in the army through the war, and came to Oregon in 1882, settling finally in Tillamook County. He has sat in the legislature three sessions, once in the house and twice in the senate, and has been a member of county, district and state committees, and a delegate to county, district and state conventions and league meetings.

MAYGER, GEORGE G., of Mayger, was born at Freeport, Washington, October 21, 1868. HE is a graduate of the Portland public schools and the Portland Business College, and for ten years has been interested in the extensive lumber business of the Mayger Company at Mayger. He is an active Republican, and was nominated for Assessor of Columbia County when but twenty-one years of age. He has been a delegate to three county conventions, one state convention and the league, and a member of the county committee.

MAYS, FRANKLIN P., an attorney of Portland, was born in Lane County, Oregon, May 12, 1855. He was reared on a farm, but attended the Willamette University, Graduating in 1876. He then spent his summers on a stock ranch in Wasco County and his winters reading law at The Dalles, and was admitted to the bar in 1880, forming a partnership with Hon. W. Lair Hill. He then became a member of the firm Mays, Huntington & Wilson. Since 1893 he has been practicing in Portland, and is now associated with Hon. C. H. Carey. Me, Mays has always been a staunch Republican, and has done much effective work in conventions on the stump. He has been a member of state conventions, central state committee, and of the executive committee of the state league, from 1894 to 1896. He was a delegate to the national convention of 1888, and was one of the committee selected to notify President Harrison of his nomination. Mr. Mays is now president of the Multorpor Republican Club.

MAYS, HON. ROBERT, of The Dalles, was born on a farm in Tennessee in 1830, and educated in the common schools. He was reared in Illinois, and in 1852 crossed the plains to Oregon, and located in Lane County. In 1858 he moved to Wasco County, where he has ever since been engaged in farming and stock-raising, and is one of the most successful men in the county. For the past twenty-four years he has resided in The Dalles. Mr. Mays was elected as a democrat to the legislature in 1860, but was one of those who voted for Colonel E. D. Baker for Senator, and has ever since been a Republican. He was again elected in 1874. Recently he served two terms as Mayor of Dalles City, and is now the Republican nominee for Judge of Wasco County. HE has continuously taken an active part in Republican work. Mr. Mays has a large landed and stock interests, and is interested in two large stores.