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 256-262.

NORVAL, HON. J. W. [Editor inserted: John W. Norval], of Union County, was born in Fulton, Illinois, June 5, 1840, and was educated at Lombard College. At the age of twenty he went to California and began teaching school. In 1861 he went to the mines of Eastern Oregon, and mined there and in British Columbia and Idaho seven years. In 1868 he located in Union County, and has since been engaged in farming and stock-raising. E was three times nominated to the legislature in that strong democratic section, and for the fourth time in 1888, when he was elected Joint Senator for Union and Wallowa counties. He has frequently been a member of county and state conventions.

ODELL, HON. WILLIAM H., of Salem, was born December 25, 1830, and came to Oregon till 1851, locating in Yamhill County, on a farm, remaining there till 1860, except three years at school in Salem. He had charge of the Santiam Academy for a few years. Mr. Odell has been one of the leading Republicans of the state from the very birth of the party. In 1864 he went to Eugene as United States Deputy Surveyor till 1871, and was then Surveyor-General one term, and then was Deputy Surveyor till 1876, in which year he was elected Presidential Elector, and helped hold Oregon’s electoral vote for Haynes. In 1877 he became editor of the Salem Statesman, and in 1880 was elected State Printer for two years. February 1, 1885, he became editor of the Salem Port for four years, and in 1891 entered the service of the Unites States Indian Bureau, at Siletz reservation, and while there was made Commissioner for the sale of reservation lands. In 1895 he was appointed Clerk of the State Board of Land Commissioners. MR. Odell has been delegate to county conventions in Yamhill, Lane, and Marion counties since 1858, state conventions since 1868, club conventions, and member of the state central committee.

OLMSTEAD, HON. M. L., of Baker City, was born in Tennessee in 1844. He was appointed Cadet to West Point in 1861, but volunteered for the war, serving successfully in three New York regiments, being wounded five times. He is Past Department Commander of the G. A. R., of Oregon. HE was admitted to the bar in New York in 1867, and practiced law in several Western states, and in Canyon City and Baker City since 1874. He was elected Judge of the Fifth Judicial District on the Republican ticket in 1880, and of the Sixth District in 1884 and in 1886, and has filled other official positions.

OLINGER, E. S. [Editor inserted: Ephraim Scott Olinger], of Hood River, was born in Marion County, Oregon, March 26, 1848, where he resided until he located in Hood River in 1880. He is engaged in the livery and stage business. Mr. Olinger has been Constable since 1881, and is City Marshal and Deputy Sheriff. He has always been an active Republican, and was a member of the last four county conventions, the state convention of 1894, and the league conventions of 1895 and 1896. HE is vice-president of the McKinley Club.

PAINE, DR. DeWITT A., Superintendent of the Oregon State Insane Asylum, was born in Paine’s Hollow, Herkimer County, New York, October 16, 1853. In 1869 the family removed to Delaware County, Iowa. HE was educated at the State University, and graduated from the medical department of the Central University of Kentucky, He practiced in Rapid City, Dakota, and Sand Spring, Iowa. In 1887 he took a special course in New York, and in 1888 came to Oregon and located in Eugene. He has been president of the Lane County Medical Society, is a member of the National Association of Railway Surgeons, and was Division Surgeon of the southern Pacific until appointed Superintendent of the Insane Asylum in 1895. He is an active Republican, and has been a member of county and state conventions and committees, and of league meetings.

PAQUET, HON. PETER, deceased, was born in St. Louis, January 13, 1839, and came to Oregon in 1852. HE was a republican from the first. HE was elected to the legislature in 1870, 1888, 1890 and 1892. He was a member of the council and Mayor of Oregon City. In 1892 he was appointed Receiver of the United States Land Office, at Oregon City. HE was frequently a member of county and state conventions and county and state central committees. Mr. Paquet died at Oregon City a few weeks ago.

PARRISH, CHARLES W., an attorney of Canyon City, was born in Clatsop County, Oregon, in 1844. Mr. Parrish was admitted to the bar, and in 1868 was appointed Deputy District Attorney in Multnomah County. In 1870 he was elected County Clerk of Multnomah, and was then Deputy District Attorney again, till he went to the Malheur Indian Agency, as Commissary, in 1874, since when he has lived in Grant County. HE was a delegate to the Grant County convention six times, to the state convention in 1892, and the congressional and state conventions in 1894. He was chairman of the county central committee in 1888, 1894, and 1896, member of the district committee in 1892, and is now a member of the state committee. HE is a delegate to the national convention at St. Louis. In 1895 he was appointed District Attorney for the Ninth District, and is now the nominee for that position.

PAXTON, HON. O. F. [Editor inserted: Oscar Frank Paxton], a prominent attorney of Portland, was born in Albany, Oregon , January 4, 1858. He graduated from the Portland High School in 1878, and was for a time president of the alumni. For a few months he was Private Secretary Governor Thayer, and then studied law, being admitted to practice in 1880. HE began at once to take an interest in politics, and has continued to do so ever since. In 1882 he was elected County School Superintendent, and was appointed Attorney for the State Board of School Land Commissioners. In 1892 he was elected to the legislature, and again in 1894. He is now nominated for the state senate on the republican ticket.

PATTERSON, A. W., of Heppner, was born in Hendricks County, Indiana, in 1870, and came to Oregon in 1891, where he is associated with his brothers Otis W. and Orin L., in Publishing the Heppner Gazette and Long Creek Eagle. Upon the formation of the first Republican Club at Heppner, in 1892, he was elected president, and was re-elected in 1894. He began the organization of the other clubs until one had been formed in every precinct in the county. In 1894, 1895, and 1896 he was a delegate to the league. In 1894 he was chairman of the county convention and the county central committee, and in 1896 a delegate to the secretary of the Second District congressional convention. He is the Republican nominee for County Clerk of Morrow County.

PATTERSON, G. W. [Editor inserted: George W. Patterson], of Hillsboro, was born in Belmont County, Ohio, December 16, 1857, and came to Oregon seventeen years ago, locating in Hillsboro as a contractor and builder, and is now a dealer in furniture and an undertaker. He was City Treasurer six years, and School Director five years. Mr. Patterson is president of the Hillsboro Club, has been a delegate to county conventions since 1888, the last thee league meetings, and the congressional and state conventions. He is now the nominee for Joint Senator for Washington, Columbia and Tillamook counties.

PATTERSON, HON. I. L. [Editor inserted: Isaac L. Patterson], a merchant of Salem, was born in Benton County, Oregon, September 17, 1859. He lived on a farm in Polk County till nineteen years old, and then began clerking in Salem, where he has now a large mercantile establishment. He has frequently been a member of the county and state conventions and league meetings, and in 1892 was chairman of the county committee. In 1894 he was elected to the state senate.

PATTERSON, J. M. [Editor inserted: Jeremiah M. Patterson], of The Dalles, was born in Cambridge, Ohio, November 1845. He was engaged in the general agency business in Salem from 1860 to 1885, including three years in the post office. Since 1885 he was resided in The Dalles. HE was twice delegate to the Marion County convention, to the Wasco County convention three times, and to the state and congressional conventions of 1896.

PATTERSON, HON. ORIN L., of Long Creek, was born in Hendricks County, Indiana, December 14, 1867. He taught school several years, and then came to Oregon, where he is interested as part proprietor of the Heppner Gazette and the Long Creek Eagle, being editor of the latter. He has been a member of the city council and Mayor, and since 1893 has been Commissioner of the United States Circuit Court. In 1894 he was elected Joint Representative of Grant and Harney Counties. He has been a member of conventions and league meetings.

PATTERSON, OTIS, editor of the Heppner Gazette, in thirty-four years of age, and of Southern extraction. He came to Oregon in 1883 and has resided in Heppner since 1885, being two years in the hardware business, and since then editor of the Gazette. HE has assisted, as a teacher and director, to make the Heppner school second to none in the state. Mr. Patterson has been honored in municipal affairs, and has taken a deep interest in the success of the Republican party. He was a member of the state conventions of 1892, 1894 and 1896, and assistant secretary of the latter, and a delegate to the league conventions.

PATTON, HON. THOMAS McF., deceased, was born in Carrollton, Ohio, March 19, 1829. HE was admitted to the bar in 1859, and came to Oregon in 1851. With the exception of a short time in Jackson County, where he was County Judge, he lived many years in Salem. In 1860 and 1866 he was Chief Clerk of the house of representatives of this state. In 1872 he was elected to the legislature, and from 1876 to 1884 was United States Appraiser, when he was appointed United States Consul to Japan. Upon his return he engaged in Salem till his death, a few years ago.

PALMER, GENERAL JOEL, deceased, was born in Canada in 1810, of American parents. HE resided many years in Indiana, and was a member of the legislature of that state. He came to Oregon in 1845, re-turned in 1846, and in 1847 came back to Oregon at the lead of a large immigration. HE located in Yamhill County, and laid out the town of Dayton. He served as Commissary-General during the Cayuse War, and subsequently was Superintendent of Indian Affairs. HE was a member of the legislature several terms, and in 1870 was the Republican candidate for Governor.

PEEBLES, HON. JOHN C., was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, January 23, 1826, and came to Oregon from Indiana in 1850, settling in Marion County. In 1852 he was Assistant Clerk of the House, and in 1853 was elected a member of that body. In 1854 he was elected to the Territorial Council, and in 1857, a member of the constitutional convention. In 1860 he was elected state librarian. In 1862 he was elected County Judge, and again in 1866 and again in 1874. In 1880 he was Chief Clerk of the House. He was for years a member of the state and county conventions and committees, and twice chairman of the state convention.

PERRINE, FINLEY S., of Salem, was born in Indiana in 1845. At the beginning of the rebellion, he enlisted in the Twenty-fourth Indiana Infantry, and served three years. HE was then in the Government Secret Service for many years. In 1875 he settled in Oregon, where he has since been continuously an earnest and active Republican, attending conventions and league meetings.

PERRY, WELLINGTON, M., editor of the Rainer Review, was born in Moira, New York, in 1848. He completed his education at the Lawrenceville Academy. In 1872 he was nominated for School Superintendent. He went to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the same year, and for six years was in the lumber business there, and at Minneiska, Minnesota. In 1879 he settled on a farm in Hanson County, Dakota. He taught school part of the time, and was elected School Superintendent, and served two yeas. HE came to Union County, Oregon, in 1884, and to Rainer in 1889. He was secretary of the Columbia County Republican Club and in 1894, and a delegate to the league in 1895 and 1896.

PITTOCK, HENRY, L., of Portland, part owner and business manager of the Oregonian, came to Oregon as a young printer looking for work in 1853. He found employment on the Oregonian, then in its third year and was soon foreman and general manager. In 1860 he became owner of the paper, and February 4, 1861, began publishing daily. He has been its manager steadily for forty-three yeas, and his great success and high position are chiefly due to his unceasing care and practical business methods.

PLUMMER, H. B. [Editor inserted: Hiram B. Plummer], of Dallas, was born in Tipton County, Indiana, February 4, 1850, and came to Oregon in 1876, locating in Polk County. He is engaged in the hardware and implement business. Mr. Plummer is an active Republican and organizer of the Dallas Club. He has been City Treasurer two terms, Councilmen two terms, delegate to the county convention five times and to the league once. In 1894 he was elected Sheriff, and has been renominated this year.

POORMAN, JOHN M., of Woodburn, was born in Sangamon County, Illinois, April 20, 1854. He came to Oregon in 1877 and engaged in railroading in Sheridan. In 1884 he came to Woodburn, and organized the Bank of Woodburn, of which he is cashier. He has been a delegate to the county conventions ever since, except in 1892 and 1896, and was a member of the central committee four years. He was a delegate to the state convention in 1890, and the league in 1895 and 1896. In 1894 he was elected President of the City Council. Mr. Poorman is President of the McKinley Club of Woodburn.

POWELL, HON. JOHN, of Portland, was born in Piketown, Kentucky, May 28, 1823. He became an orphan at the age of seven, and at fifteen went to Western Missouri and Kansas, coming to Oregon in 1847. The next two years eh spent chiefly in the California mines. He then located on a claim in Multnomah County, where he lived until he moved to Portland in 1883. Mr. Powell was a Douglas Democrat until the war broke out, but has ever since been a Republican. In 1884 he was elected to the state senate.

POWELL, T. C. [Editor inserted: Thomas C. Powell], of Portland, was born in Multnomah County, Oregon, June 23, 1857. He graduated from the University of Oregon in June 1880. Mr. Powell was for a time in the Sheriff’s office, and June 13, 1889, was appointed County Clerk to fill the vacancy caused by the death of E. C. Wheeler. In 1890 he was elected County Clerk, and again in 1892. He has been a frequent member of conventions and league meetings.

PRACHT, MAX, of Ashland, was born in Palatinate, Germany, in 1846, and two years later his father fled from the persecution that also drove Schurz, Hecker, Sigel and Rosecrans to the land of liberty, and brought his family to America. He served in the navy during the Rebellion, and is a comrade of Burnside Post No. 23, G. A. R. He is the proprietor of the famous Peachblow Paradise orchards, at Ashland, and is still waiting for the Cleveland administration to raise enough revenue or sell enough bonds to buy him a gold medal he won as the first prize against all comers at the World’s Fair. He is a Republican of irrepressible enthusiasm. It was born and bred in him. Much of his time the past two yeas has been spent traveling in the interest of the American Protective Tariff League, of which he is financial secretary. During the last Republican administration he was Collector of Customs and special commissioner in charge of the salmon fisheries of Alaska, and his Republicanism was so offensive that, as soon as Cleveland was inaugurated, the telegraph and a special steamer were used to inform him that he was removed from office. In 1894 Mr. Pracht was chairman of the Oregon delegation at the National League convention, at Denver, and was made vice-president for Oregon for the ensuing year. Wherever he goes, whether at home or abroad, his voice and en are used to acquaint the world with the beauties and resources of Oregon, including both immigration and the investment capital.

PRICE, HON. A. R. [Editor inserted: Alfred R. Price], Senator from Umatilla County, was born in Indiana in 1837, crossed the plains in 1853 to Washington, came to Linn County, Oregon, in 1856, and later to Weston. He was elected to the Senate in 1894.

PROSSER, HON. GEORGE W., of Oswego, was born in Des Moines, Iowa, December 20, 1846, and crossed the plains in the winter of 1852-3, locating in Clackamas County. HE was engaged in farming till 1881, when he embarked in business. He discovered the iron mines at Oswego, and sold them to the old company. Mr. Prosser has been School Director, Road Commissioner and Postmaster, and has been a political leader for years, a member of conventions and central committees. He was elected to the legislature in 1880, and is again nominated to that body.

QUICK, E. E. [Editor inserted: Emerson E. Quick], of St. Helens, was born in Franklin County, Indiana, November 8, 1852, and came to Oregon in 1862. HE lived in Washington County eighteen years, and since in Columbia County. He is a teacher by profession. In 1882 he was elected School Superintendent of Columbia County, and again in 1884 and 1886. In 1888 he was elected County Clerk, and re-elected in 1890 and 1892. HE served two years in the City Council, and is now City Treasurer and Deputy County Treasurer. HE has been elected School Clerk and secretary of the St. Helens Club.

RANDS, EDWARD M., of Oregon City, was born in Marshall County, Iowa, June 2,, 1856. He worked and taught school till he completed his education at the Iowa State Normal School, and then became principal of the Osage High School. He was County High School Superintendent five yeas. HE had charge of the Osage News three years. For a time he was in a school supply house in Chicago. In 1886 he came to Oregon, taught school in Scio, and in 1887 purchased the Oregon City Enterprise, selling it in 1889. He has been a frequent member of conventions, secretary and chairman of the county committee, a delegate to three state conventions, clerk of the state central committee in 1890, a legislative clerk, and Postmaster of Oregon City five years. In 1895 he removed to Vancouver, Washington, and purchased the Independent.

RANDALL, THOMAS, P., of Oregon City, was born in Clackamas County, Oregon, November 22, 1863. HE graduated from the Portland Business College. He has since been interested in real estate and in the Oregon City Transportation Company. He served in the Oregon National Guard, holding a commission at First Lieutenant of Company F, First Regiment. Since 1894 he has been secretary of the Oregon City Republican Club, and has been a member of county conventions and State League meetings.

REED, HON. CYRUS A., of Portland, formerly of Salem, was born in New Hampshire in 1825. In 1849 he went to California, and the next year to Portland. He taught school and worked at other things, and finally engaged in mercantile business in Salem. He was elected to the legislature from Marion County in 1862, and the same year was appointed Adjutant General. He was again elected to the legislature in 1874 and in 1878.

RICE, W. J. [Editor inserted: William J. Rice], of St. Helens, was born near Olive Hill, Kentucky, July 3, 1864, and graduated at Central College, Danville, Virginia, in 1881. He was admitted to the bar in 1885. In 1889 he came to Oregon and located in Hillsboro, removing to St. Helens in 1882, being appointed District Attorney the same year. He is an active Republican, and has done much to organize clubs in Columbia County. He has been a member of county and state conventions, and secretary of the county committee.

RIDDELL, GEORGE H., of The Dalles, was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1832, and came to Oregon in 1858. He lived in Douglas County till 1862, in Marion till 1872, in Linn till 1881, and since then in Wasco County. He graduated from the Wasco Independent Academy and State Normal School in 1890, and studied law in the office of Mays, Huntington & Wilson, at The Dalles, and Dolph, Bellinger, Mallory & Simon at Portland, and attended the Law School of the University of Oregon, graduating in 1892 and being admitted to the bar. He began practice at The Dalles, and at once entered actively into political work, participating in the campaigns of 1892 and 1894. In 1894 he was secretary of the county committee, and was elected secretary of the McKinley Club, which position he still holds. He has given special attention to organizing clubs throughout the county, and attended the State League in 1895 and 1896. In October, 1895, he was elected vice-president of the State Bar Association.