Aaron E. Waite (December 26, 1813 – December 12, 1898) was an American judge and politician. He was the 4th Chief Justice of the

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest State court (United States), state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.

serving from 1859 to 1862. He was the first chief justice after

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

became a state on February 14, 1859. A

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

native, Waite also served in the

Oregon Territorial Legislature Oregon's Territorial Legislature was a bicameral legislative body created by the United States Congress in 1848 as the legislative branch of the government of the Oregon Territory. The upper chamber Council and lower chamber House of Represent ...

Early life

Aaron Waite (sometimes spelled "Wait") was born on December 26, 1813, in

Franklin County, Massachusetts Franklin County is a nongovernmental county in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 census, the population was 71,029, which made it the least populous county on the Massachusetts mainland, and the third leas ...

, where he was raised by his grandfather and an uncle.Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956. His father had died as a soldier in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

.Clatsop County District Court Judges.
Oregon Judicial Department. Retrieved on January 20, 2008. At the age of 14 he became an apprentice broom maker, working for four years until also enrolling in school for two years. Waite then moved to New York at the age of 20. Once there he taught as an assistant teacher on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

at Flatbush in Erasmus Hall. Waite then returned to Massachusetts before moving west in 1837 and settled in Michigan. He settled in

Centreville Centreville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, D.C., the nation's capital. It had a population of 73,518, making it the most-populous community in Fairfax County as of t ...

where he studied law under judge

Columbia Lancaster Columbia Lancaster (August 26, 1803 – September 15, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the first Delegate from the Territory of Washington to the United States House of Representatives. Biography Early life Columbia Lan ...

and was admitted to the bar in 1842. Later he became the military secretary for governor

John S. Barry John Stewart Barry (January 29, 1802– January 14, 1870) was the fourth and eighth governor of Michigan. He was Michigan's only three-term governor in the 19th century. His main accomplishment was to rationalize state finances after the state's ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Oregon

In 1847, Waite headed to the

Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long Oregon boundary dispute, dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been demarcat ...

in a wagon train of 40 wagons. This included Judge Lancaster and Lancaster's family. Once in Oregon he set up a law practice in

Oregon City, Oregon Oregon City is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, located on the Willamette River near the southern limits of the Portland metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 37,572. Established in 1829 ...

, and worked on the ''

Oregon Spectator ''The Oregon Spectator'', was a newspaper published from 1846 to 1855 in Oregon City of what was first the Oregon Country and later the Oregon Territory of the United States. The ''Spectator'' was the first American newspaper west of the Rocky Mo ...

'' newspaper. Waite then fought in the

Cayuse War The Cayuse War (1847–1855) was an armed conflict between the Cayuse people of the Northwestern United States and settlers, backed by the U.S. government. The conflict was triggered by the Whitman massacre of 1847, where the Cayuse attacked a ...

before leaving for the gold fields of California in 1849, only to return within a few years.

Politics

Upon returning he was elected as a commissioner to audit the claims from the Cayuse War. Then in 1852 he served in the Oregon Territory House of Representatives. Following an absence from the legislature he returned as a member of the upper chamber Council in 1857 and 1858 serving as a Democrat. In 1858 he ran and was elected to the Oregon Supreme Court. Prior to this the judges were appointed by the

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

as Oregon was still a territory. Wait's term began in 1859 and he served on the state's highest court until resigning on May 1, 1862. During that same time he served as the chief justice of the court. In July 1867, Waite was elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

by the

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

city council following the death of Thomas J. Holmes, who had died the morning after his election. Waite declined the nomination due to ill health and J. A. Chapman was elected instead.

Later years

Waite married twice and had a total of six children, of which both of his wives and four of the children died before him. After serving on the court he retired to his farm that was located in Clackamas County. In 1891 he moved to

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, with most of his time in retirement spent managing his land holdings in the Pacific Northwest. Aaron E. Waite died on his farm near Canby on December 12, 1898, at the age of 84.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waite, Aaron E. 1813 births 1898 deaths Members of the Oregon Territorial Legislature Chief justices of the Oregon Supreme Court People from Franklin County, Massachusetts Oregon Democrats People from Oregon City, Oregon People from Centreville, Michigan Politicians from Portland, Oregon People from Canby, Oregon 19th-century American judges Justices of the Oregon Supreme Court