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 rise

Zenas Moody attended the local schools of his home. In 1851 he came with his family across the Isthmus of Panama to Oregon. There Moody ran a store in Brownsville. He was also a surveyor on behalf of the federal government. He then returned for some time in the East. About Illinois, he came to Washington. In 1861 he joined during the Civil War a unit for the defense of Washington. But he did not remain in the military, but returned in 1862 back to Oregon. There he ran a business that supplied the gold rush with the necessary requirements. In The Dalles, then he worked as manager for the Wells Fargo Company. At that time, Moody also operate a steamship operating with a license for the supply and delivery of postal items.

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

Governor of Oregon

Zenas Moody took office on 13 September 1882. During his tenure, the Capitol was completed (except for the dome ). Also, begun before his term hospital for the mentally handicapped was completed. Moody encouraged immigration to Oregon. However, this was not true for Chinese immigrants. He supported the respective legislation that would restrict or prohibit the immigration from China.

Moody's term ended not only in September 1887, but on 12 January this year, because they had the data of the elections and terms of office adapted to the general election in the federal government and most other U.S. 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.