John Whiteaker (May 4, 1820October 2, 1902) was an American politician, soldier, and judge. A native of

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, he joined the army during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

and then prospected during the California Gold Rush. After moving to the

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. O ...

, he served as a judge and member of the legislature. A Democrat, Whiteaker served as the first state

Governor of Oregon The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...

from 1859 until 1862 and later was Oregon's Congressman from 1879 to 1881. He also was president of the Oregon State Senate and Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives.

Early life

John Whiteaker was born in

Dearborn County Dearborn County is one of 92 counties of the U.S. state of Indiana located on the Ohio border near the southeast corner of the state. It was formed in 1803 from a portion of Hamilton County, Ohio. In 2020, the population was 50,679. The county ...

in the southeast corner of

to farmers on May 4, 1820. His parents were John and Nancy (née Smales), and he had four siblings. Growing up he only received six months of formal schooling and as a result, was almost entirely self-educated. Before moving west, he had performed odd jobs, carpentry, and volunteered for military service during the Mexican War, although his unit was never called into battle.

Career

Gold Rush

In 1849, he joined the California Gold Rush, earning enough to move his family to

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

. After arriving in Oregon in 1852, he settled the family on a farm in the southern portion of the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the eas ...

in Lane County. There he became active in Democratic Party activities, and was elected to office first as judge of the Probate Court for Lane County in 1856. Whiteaker then was elected as a legislator in the Territorial Legislature in 1857 representing Lane County in the House of Representatives.

Governor of Oregon

Oregon was preparing for statehood in 1857, as voters had just approved a state constitution. Whiteaker was selected as a Democratic faction's nominee in the first state gubernatorial election, held in June 1858. Whiteaker won by a margin of 1,138, and was inaugurated July 8, 1858. He did not assume office until word that

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

had passed Oregon's statehood bill on February 14, 1859. Technically, Oregon had two governors in the interim, as Territorial Governor

George Law Curry George Law Curry (July 2, 1820 – July 28, 1878) was a predominant American political figure and newspaper publisher in the region that eventually became the state of Oregon. A native of Pennsylvania, he published a newspaper in St. Louis, Mis ...

was legally in charge until the state government-in-waiting was legally empowered to take control. Once in office, the new governor set out to untangle the large amounts of land claims and counter claims on public lands. He also promoted economic policies favoring home industries, products that Oregonians could make self-sufficiently. Although nicknamed "Honest John", this did not deflect his controversial stands on issues of national importance. Whiteaker held pro-

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

views which did not sit well with a population that largely opposed slavery in Oregon. Opponents often used this to attack him as a traitor as the United States descended into the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. Prior to 1864, individual states were responsible for picking their own date to celebrate Thanksgiving. In 1859 Governor Whiteaker proclaimed the fourth Thursday of December as the Thanksgiving holiday for Oregon. During his final year as governor in 1861, Republican U.S. Senator Edward Baker was killed in the

Battle of Ball's Bluff The Battle of Ball's Bluff was an early battle of the American Civil War fought in Loudoun County, Virginia, on October 21, 1861, in which Union Army forces under Major General George B. McClellan suffered a humiliating defeat. The operation wa ...

and Whiteaker appointed Democratic Party stalwart Benjamin Stark to fill the remainder of Baker's term. Whiteaker was not nominated again by the Democrats in the 1862 election, and thus left office. He stayed in local politics, winning three terms as a state representative (1866–1870), and election to the state senate in 1876. During the 1868 session he served as Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives. He also was president of the Oregon Senate during the 1876 and 1878 sessions.

Election to Congress and "Whiteaker's Ride"

Whiteaker was elected to

in 1878, as Oregon's Representative-at large. The Democrats had been weakened in the House, and needed one vote to prevail in their nominee for Speaker of the House. The vote was needed by March 18, 1879. Whiteaker, already on his way to Washington, received word of this urgency while on a steamer between Portland and San Francisco. Upon docking in San Francisco on March 12, he was met by a railroad agent, and rushed to a special Central Pacific Railroad express train at Oakland. The regular transcontinental train was 25 hours out of Oakland, but Whiteaker's train managed to catch up with it. He arrived in Washington on the morning of March 18, in enough time to be promptly seated by Congress and cast his vote. The trip cost $1500 at the time, an expense widely criticized by the Democrat's political opposition and the media. Many referred to it as "Whiteaker's ride". In 1880, Whiteaker ran for re-election to Congress, but was defeated by Republican Melvin Clark George by 1,379 votes. Following his defeat, he retired to his farm near Eugene.

Later life

John Whiteaker was called back into politics one more time, in 1885 when President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

appointed him as Oregon's Collector of Revenues at the U.S. Customs House in Portland. He moved back to Eugene after 1890, purchasing 10 city blocks in the central city. The plat, Whiteaker's Addition, is commonly known as the Whiteaker neighborhood.

Personal life

On August 22, 1847, he married Nancy Jane Hargrave and they had six children. Whiteaker remained in Eugene, Oregon until his death on October 2, 1902. He is buried there in the Masonic Cemetery. Whiteaker Elementary School is named in his honor, as is Whiteaker, a neighborhood in downtown Eugene.

References

External links

Whiteaker's Governor's Message 1862 at Oregon State Archives
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whiteaker, John Democratic Party governors of Oregon Members of the Oregon Territorial Legislature 1820 births 1902 deaths Speakers of the Oregon House of Representatives Presidents of the Oregon State Senate Democratic Party Oregon state senators People from Dearborn County, Indiana Union (American Civil War) state governors United States Customs Service personnel 19th-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oregon