John Whiteaker

John Whiteaker (* May 4, 1820 in Dearborn County, Indiana; † 2 October 1902 in Eugene, Oregon ) was an American politician and from 1859 to 1862, the first Governor of the State of Oregon.

Early years

John Whiteaker has visited only briefly a regular school. He has taught himself by self-study His academic knowledge. During the war with Mexico he volunteered, but his unit was not used. He worked as a carpenter and joiner, before he followed the call of gold during the California gold rush and moved to the West Coast. He was so successful that he was able to travel to Oregon in 1852. His family came over the Oregon Trail also in the spirit of that territory.

Rise in Oregon

In Lane County, he settled as a farmer. There he became a member of the Democratic Party. In 1855 he was elected judge of the local probate court. In 1857 he also became a member of the territorial legislature. Following the adoption of a state constitution in the same year he was elected by a faction of his party for the first governor of the new U.S. state. His election took place only against a competitor from his own party because the Republican candidate had given up even before the election.

Governor of Oregon

John Whiteaker was indeed introduced to his new office on July 8, 1858 but could only compete with the official admission of Oregon in the American Association of State on February 14, 1859. From the technical point had Oregon in the transitional period, two governors, as the territorial governor George Law Curry remained until February 14, 1859 in office. Practice, however, has already acquired until February 1859 his new office Whiteaker. As governor, he pushed for the establishment of a domestic industry in Oregon. Another problem of his tenure was the equitable distribution of land. Furthermore, there were fierce debates with the different candidates. Since Whiteaker had placed on the national question of slavery on the side of the southern states, he got in Oregon, which was set by a large majority against this institution, problems. Nevertheless, he was able to complete his term regularly on 10 September 1862.

Further CV

After the end of his governorship Whiteaker remained politically active. Between 1866 and 1868, and again in 1870 he was a member of the House of Representatives from Oregon. At times he was even President of the house. After that, he was chairman of a commission to investigate possible circumvention of the falls of the Willamette River. Between 1876 and 1879 Whiteaker was a member of the State Senate. Again, he served temporarily as president of the house. Between 1879 and 1881 he represented his state in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington. After he missed the re-election to Congress, he was appointed to head the Federal tax authorities in Oregon (Collector on Internal Revenue ). He held between 1885 and 1890 this office. He then retired to Eugene, where he spent his twilight years. He is also passed in 1902. He was married to Nancy Jane Hargrave, with whom he had six children.