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 263-268.

ROGERS, GEORGE F., of Salem, was born in Portland, October 10, 1871. At the age of fourteen he was appointed assistant secretary of the Sate Board of Immigration. In 1892 he went to Salem to manage a branch bindery of Meston & Dygert, and in 1895 he became owner of the business. Mr. Rodgers is secretary of the Salem Club, the largest in the state, and was secretary of the last county convention, and was a delegate to the league in 1895 and 1896.

ROSA, HON. R. H. [Editor inserted: Ralph H. Rosa], of Bandon, was born in Sterling, New York, in 1848. He removed to Michigan in 1853, and in 1863 enlisted in the Thirteenth Michigan Artillery. He then attended Eastman’s Business College, and in 1870 removed to Oregon. In 1876 he was elected to the legislature from Coos County. He was a delegate to the district and state conventions of 1896, and is president of the club at Bandon.

SANDERS, HON. I. N. [Editor inserted: Isaac N. Sanders], of Union, was born in Orange County, Indiana, November 25, 1840. In 1862 he enlisted to Company D, Sixty-sixth Indiana Infantry, and served to the close of the war, being severely wounded at Collinsville. He taught school at Centralia, Illinois, till 1871, when he came to Oregon and taught in Multnomah County till 1875, when he was elected City Recorder of East Portland. He held the office five years, and was then elected Mayor. In 1883 he was elected county Assessor, and in 1885 County Clerk. Upon retiring he engaged in farming and stock raising in Union County. In 1890 he was elected County Judge of Union County, and was re-elected 1894. He has attended many county and state conventions and league meetings, been a member of county and state central committees, and has been an alternate delegate to the national convention.

SARGENT, WILLIAM B., a financial and real estate agent at La Grande, was born in Albany, New York, October 4, 1868. In 1889 he came to Oregon and superintended the supply of a large number of ties for the Union Pacific at Hilgard, and then located in La Grande. Mr. Sargent was elected City Recorder in 1892 and 1893, and Justice of the Peace in 1894. He is a member of the Republican Club, and was a delegate to the league in 1895, and has been a delegate to the county convention.

SCOTT, HON. LYMAN S., of Salem, was born in Connecticut in 1830. He went to California in 1850 and mined ten years in Amidor County. In 1861 he became Captain in the Fourth California and served four years in Oregon. He then settled in Oregon, merchandising in Portland and locating in Salem in 1866. He was elected Mayor of Salem in 1868, Sheriff of Marion County in 1872, chairman of the state central committee in 1874, and a member of the legislature in 1878. He was appointed Postmaster in 1879 and Adjutant General in 1883.

SCOTT, HARVEY W., of Portland, editor-in-chief of the Oregonian, is one of the acknowledged first ten of the editorial writers of the United States, and his ability has placed his paper on a par with the leading journals of the great metropolitan cities. He was born in Tazewell County, Illinois, February 1, 1838, and came to Oregon in 1852. He was first graduate of the Pacific University. HE soon after became editor of the Oregonian, and , except from 1873 to 1877, has been continuously at the head of that paper and has shaped its editorial policy and stamped it with his own strong individuality. During the interval when not editing the paper, he occupied the position of Collector of Customs. He has always been an earnest advocate of the broadest and soundest Republican principals, and has never trimmed his sails to catch the shifting popular breeze. He has been a member of the many conventions and has helped draft platforms, both state and national.

SCRIBER, J. W. [Editor inserted: Jefferson Walgrave Scriber], of La Grande, was born in Marion County, Oregon, April 22, 1857. He went to La Grande in 1890, where he is cashier of the Farmers’ and Traders’ National Bank. He is a member of the La Grande Club, a delegate to the league in 1894 and 1896, and is an earnest Republican worker.

SEARS, GEORGE C., of Portland, was born in Vermont in 1840, going with his father to California in 1850. As a clerk he earned money to give himself a course of four years at Oakland college. He then enlisted in the California Volunteers and served until the close of the war, being mustered out as a lieutenant. He engaged in merchandising, saw mill business and stock raising until 1872, when he came to Portland and engaged in the grocery business two years and in the livery business four years. In 1878 he was elected Assessor of Multnomah County, and was re-elected was re-elected in 1880. In 1882 he was elected Sheriff. In 1890 he was again the Republican nominee for Assessor, and was elected. In 1892 he was re-elected as an independent candidate, and in 1894 was elected Sheriff as an independent candidate. He is now the nominee for that office of one wind of the Republican party. In 1878, at the time of the Indian war in Eastern Oregon, Mr. Sears raised a company of one hundred men for service. He is a member of many fraternal and patriotic societies, and an active worker in them all.

SEHLBREDE, HON. C. A. [Editor inserted: Charles Augustus Sehlbrede], an attorney of Roseburg, was born in Louisville, Kentucky, December 10, 1851. He was admitted to the bar in 1874, and practiced in New Albany, Indiana, till 1877, when he came to Oregon. He practiced at Salem till 1884, when he located in Roseburg. He has been active as a Republican worker, attending conventions and league meetings. In 1894 he was elected to the legislature, and in 1895 was chosen a delegate to the National League convention at Columbus.

SMITH, HERBERT C., County Clerk of Multnomah County, came to Portland in 1882. He was in the employ of the O. R. & N. and elsewhere as an accountant until 1889, when he became a deputy in the office of County Clerk T. C. Powell. In 1894 he was elected Clerk, and is again nominated for the position on one of the Republican tickets.

SETTLEMIER, HON. JESSE H., of Woodburn, was born February 5, 1840, went to California in 1849 and came to Oregon in 1850. He lived on a farm at Mount Angel till 1863, when he settled at Woodburn, where he has a large nursery. He has been a Republican continuously, and has several times been a member of the county convention, and was a delegate to the state convention in1886. He is a member of the McKinley Club, and was a delegate to the league in 1892. He has been a nominee for the legislature, and was elected Mayor in 1895.

SHATTUCK, HON. ERASMUS D., Judge of the fourth Judicial District for the last ten years, though elected as a Democrat without Republican opposition, is really an independent, and was originally a Whig and then a strong Union Republican in the early history of the party. As an Independent he was elected to the last territorial legislature in 1858. In 1861 President Lincoln appointed him United States District Attorney. In 1862 he was elected Judge of the Fourth Judicial District. He retired in 1867, was elected again in 1874, and served till 1878, was elected in 1886 and again in 1892. He was born in Bakersfield, Vermont, December 31, 1824, was educated at the University of Vermont, taught school in Vermont, Georgia and Maryland, was admitted to the bar in New York in 1851, and came to Oregon in 1853. He was a professor at the Tualatin Academy and Pacific University until 1857, and served as Superintendent of Schools, Probate Judge and delegate to the constitutional convention, locating then in Portland in the practice of law.

SHAW, HON. THOMAS C, was born in Missouri, February 23, 1823, and came to Oregon in 1844. He was Second Lieutenant of Company B in the Cayuse war. In 1851 he took up a homestead on Howell Prairie, Marion County. He was elected County Commissioner in 1864, Assessor in 1870 and 1872. Sheriff in 1874, and County Judge in 1880.

SHORT, HON. ROBERT V., of Portland, was born in Fayette Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, March 31, 1823. He learned the tailor’s trade and worked till he could pay for a course at the Ohio Wesleyan University. HE then taught school and worked at his trade till he came to Oregon in 1847. In 1848 he went to the California mines, and in 1849 located a donation claim on the Willamette. In 1850 he was engaged on a survey and map of Portland. In 1856 he was elected surveyor of Yamhill County as a Democrat, and in 1857 a member of the constitutional convention. Upon the breaking out of the war he became a Republican. In 1862 he was elected Assessor of Clackamas County, and later a member of the legislature. He has been continuously an active Republican. In 1887 he moved to Sunnyside, Portland.

SINCLAIR, HON. WALTER, of Bandon, was Joint Senator from Josephine, Coos and Curry counties from 1888 to 1892, and in the session of 1895 was chief clerk of the Senate. He has been frequently a member of county, district and state conventions. In 1894 he was the nominee to the legislature in Coos County. He is now a member of the state central committee, and is interested in building up the club organization in Coos County.

SKINNGER, HON. ALONZO A., deceased, was born in Huron County, Ohio, and was admitted to the bar before coming to Oregon in 1845. In 1846 he was made Judge of the provisional government. From 1851 to 1853 he was Indian Agent in Rogue River valley. Originally a Whig, he became a Republican upon the organization of that party. He was the Whig candidate for Congress in 1853. In 1862 he was elected Clerk of Lane County by the Republicans.

SMITH, HON. BERRYMAN M., Municipal Judge of Portland, was born in Warren County, Illinois, August 29, 1846, removing to Oregon with his parents in 1853 and locating in Polk County. He served in the war two years on this coast. After the war he returned to law with Judge Collins. In 1883 he removed to Portland, where he has always taken an active part in politics, and is an active Republican. He was elected Municipal Judge in 1894.

SMITH, HON. C. B. [Editor inserted: Cornelius B. Smith], physician and surgeon, living at Eagle Creek, Clackamas County, was born at Ovid, Seneca County, New York, in 1847. He came to Oregon in 1879. Dr. Smith has been an influential Republican worker in his own county, and has been a frequent member of conventions and a prominent factor in club work. He was chosen a member of the legislature in 1894.

SMITH, C. W., of Dallas, was born in Hertfordshire, England, January 3, 1849, and came to Oregon in 1889, engaging in the real estate business in Dallas. He was elected Justice of the Peace in 1890. Previous to coming to Oregon he was appointed Deputy Clerk of the Police County at Denver, Colorado, in 1885, and was elected Assessor of Cheyenne County, Colorado, in 1871 and was Sheriff in 1874.

SMITH, DR. CLARK, of Cornelius, was born in Greenup, Illinois, January 16, 1843. He came to Oregon in 1864, and graduated from the Texas Medical College. HE practiced in Texas, Mexico, and Kansas, engaged in educational work, and was pastor of the Methodist church in Tulare, California. He went as medical missionary to Central Africa, returning in 1886 and locating as a physician in Cornelius., Oregon. In 1888 he was elected County School Superintendent, and again in 1890. He has been a member of conventions and president of the Cornelius Club.

SMITH, HIRAM, of Harrisburg, was born in Missouri in 1821, and came to Oregon in 1853, settling in Lane County. In 1863 he began merchandising in Harrisburg, and also subsequently built a flouring mill and saw mill there and a saw mill at Coburg, and opened a store at Junction. For many years Mr. Smith was a prominent figure in Oregon politics. He was a member of state conventions and of the national conventions of 1864 and 1872. He was a candidate for congressional nominations in 1872, and several times made the fight as a nominee against the Democratic majority in Linn County.

SMITH, HON. IRA S., of Monmouth, was born in Polk County, Oregon, in 1859, and was educated at La Creole Academy, Dallas. He taught there two years, and then engaged in business in Independence. He served one term as Sheriff of Polk County before being elected to the legislature in 1894. He has been a member of county and state conventions and of the league meetings.

SMITH, DR. J. N. [Editor inserted: John N. Smith], of Salem, was born in Washington County, Iowa, October 1, 1852. He came to Oregon in 1874 and engaged in farming, and in teaching at the Warm Springs Agency. He graduated from the Medical Department of the Willamette University in 1881, and has since practiced medicine in Salem. He has been in all county conventions but one since 1884, to the state conventions in 1892, and the league in 1894, 1895 and 1896, and was elected a delegate to the National League in 1895. He was one of the chief organizers of the league club at Salem. Dr. Smith is now a Republican nominee for the legislature.

STEARNS, J. O. [Editor inserted: Joseph Orin Stearns], of Waldport was born in Jackson County, Oregon, October 15, 1855. From 1863 to 1879, he lived in Portland, working seven years as a machinist in Smith Bro.’ shops. In 1879 he moved to Walla Walla and engaged in insurance and real estate business, and in 1887 located at Waldport, where he is engaged in farming. He was a candidate on the Republican ticket for the legislature from Benton County in 1892, and was defeated by a small majority. He was appointed one of the first County Commissioners of Lincoln County in 1893 and served one year. He was Justice of the Peace seven years. In 1895 he was a delegate to the State League, and is now President of the Alsea Republican Club.

SMITH, LESTER P, of Woods, was born in Clackamas County, Oregon, near Butteville, in 1867. He lived in several counties till 1879, when the family settled in Tillamook County. He taught school and studied law, and was admitted to the bar in October, 1895. He was elected Justice of the Peace in the Hebo precinct in 1892, and in October, 1894, was appointed Superintendent of Schools of Tillamook County. He received in 1896 the recommendation of the county convention for joint Senator for Washington, Columbia, and Tillamook counties, but failed of nomination in the district convention. He was a delegate to the county convention in 1892, 1894 and 1896, a delegate to the congressional and state conventions of 1896, and is now the District Committeeman for Tillamook County.

SMITH, HON. ROBERT G., of Grant’s Pass, was born in Jackson County, Oregon, November 27, 1864. In his fifteenth year he entered the office of the Surveyor General at Portland. Two years later he taught school, and then entered a drug store in Grant’s Pass. In 1886 he became Police Judge, then Deputy District Attorney, then Deputy County Clerk, and in 1889 he was admitted to the bar. He declined the nomination for District Attorney in 1890 and 1892. In 1894 he was elected to the legislature. He is an active campaign worker and a brilliant speaker. He was chairman of the county committee in 1890 and 1894, and an organizer of the McKinley Club.

SOMERS. JOHN M., an attorney of Albany, was born in Steuben County, Indiana, December 13, 1854. In 1889 he came to Oregon and engaged in preparing a set of abstracts for Benton County. Three years ado he began practicing law in Linn County. Mr. Somers was a member of the national convention which nominated Harrison in 1888, from the twelfth district of Indiana. In 1892 he stumped Baker and Malheur Counties, and Linn County in 1894. He was a delegate to the league from the Lebanon Club in 1895 and 1896.

STANLEY, HON. CALVIN, of Newberg, was born in Indiana in 1848. In 1888 he came to Oregon and located in Newberg as a merchant. He has since been prominently identified with the Republican party in Yamhill County. He was elected to the legislature in 1894, and has again been nominated for that position.

STANLEY, HON. F. S. [Editor inserted: Frederick Sumner Stanley], of Perry was born at Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, February 6, 1864, and came to Oregon in 1889, locating at La Grande and Perry. He is secretary and treasurer of the Grand Ronde Lumber Company. Mr. Stanly was a delegate to the last three county conventions and the state conventions of 1892 and 1894. In 1890 he was elected Mayor of La Grande, but resigned because of an error in the ticket. He is a member of the county central committee, and the Republican nominee for legislature.

STARKWEATHER, HON. W. A. [Editor inserted: William Austin Starkweather], was born in Preston, Connecticut, in 1822. In 1850 he came to Oregon and settled near Scio, but two years later located permanently in Clackamas County. He was one of the early Republicans. He represented Clackamas County in the territorial house in 1854, and served times in the state legislature, and in 1878 was elected to the State Senate. For years he was a delegate to the county and state conventions.