Absalom Jefferson Hembree (December 14, 1813 – April 10, 1856) was an American soldier and politician in what became the state of

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 ...

. A native of

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, he served in the

Provisional Legislature of Oregon The Provisional Legislature of Oregon was the Unicameralism, single-chamber legislative body of the Provisional Government of Oregon. It served the Oregon Country of the Pacific Northwest of North America from 1843 until early 1849 at a time whe ...

and 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 ...

before being killed in action during the

Yakima War The Yakima War (1855–1858), also referred to as the Plateau War or Yakima Indian War, was a conflict between the United States and the Yakama, a Sahaptian-speaking people of the Northwest Plateau, then part of Washington Territory, and the tr ...

Early years

Absalom Hembree was born in

Warren County, Tennessee Warren County is a County (United States), county located on the Cumberland Plateau in Middle Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions of the United States of America, U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census ...

, on December 14, 1813, to James and Nancy Hembree (née Pettie).Corning, Howard M. (1989) ''Dictionary of Oregon History''.

Binfords & Mort Publishing Binford & Mort Publishing is a book publishing company located in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1930, the company was previously known as Metropolitan Press and Binfords & Mort. At one time they were the largest book publisher in th ...

. p. 111. On January 14, 1835, he married Nancy Dodson in White County, Tennessee, and the two would have ten children. In 1843, he and his family that now included three children (William, Ann, and Nancy), along with an older brother Joel, immigrated 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 ...

across the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...

.Flora, Stephenie
Emigrants to Oregon in 1843.
Oregon Pioneers, accessed June 12, 2008. Hembree's infant son died along the trail, with the family arriving in

Oregon City 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 ...

where they stayed until the Spring of 1844.

Oregon

In 1844, the family moved to the newly organized

Yamhill District The Provisional Government of Oregon was a popularly elected settler government created in the Oregon Country (1818-1846), in the Pacific Northwest region of the western portion of the continent of North America. Its formation had been advanced ...

and settled on a land claim near the present community of Carlton. Hembree's land claim was one of the first in what became a Yamhill County. There the family raised livestock and Absalom operated a store in nearby Lafayette. While in Oregon, the couple would have seven more children. Hembree served as a director of the Portland & Valley Plank Road Company that started construction on

Canyon Road Canyon Road (formerly known as Great Plank Road) is a major road and partial state highway, which serves as a connector between Beaverton and Portland, Oregon, United States. It was the first major road constructed between the Tualatin V ...

in 1849, and was involved with the creation of the Pacific Telegraph Company in 1855. In 1846, Hembree was elected to the

to represent the Yamhill District, and won re-election the following year. He won election to the final session of that body in 1848, serving through the early 1849 session.Oregon Legislative Assembly (4th Provisional) 1848-1849 Regular Session.
Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on June 12, 2008. The creation of 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 United States, Union as the Oreg ...

and take over by the federal government superseded the

Provisional Government of Oregon The Provisional Government of Oregon was a popularly elected settler government created in the Oregon Country (1818-1846), in the Pacific Northwest region of the western portion of the continent of North America. Its formation had been advanced ...

's authority. In 1849, he was elected to serve in the first session of the

, representing Yamhill County.Oregon Legislative Assembly (1st Territorial) 1849 Regular Session.
Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on June 12, 2008. Hembree served again in the 1851 and 1854 sessions in the lower

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, the upper house being the Oregon State Senate. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of ...

as a Democrat. He had run for the office of U.S. Marshall for the territory, but lost to

Joseph Meek Joseph Lafayette Meek (February 9, 1810 – June 20, 1875) was an American pioneer, mountain man, law enforcement official, and politician in the Oregon Country and later Oregon Territory of the United States. A trapper involved in the fur tr ...

Death and legacy

In 1855, the

between the United States government and Native Americans broke out in the eastern part of the

Washington Territory The Washington Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

. Following the defeat of Major Haller on October 5, 1855, Hembree and many others in the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a 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 east, the ...

volunteered to fight the Native Americans. A captain, he was in charge of a company of troops when he and a small group of his men were doing reconnaissance on Satus Creek on April 10, 1856. The group was ambushed and Hembree was killed, the lone casualty for the Americans. His body was returned to Oregon and he was given a Masonic burial at the Hembree Cemetery in Yamhill County. On June 20, 1920, the

Washington State Historical Society The Washington State Historical Society is the historical society of the U.S. state of Washington. Based in Tacoma, it is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and is a trustee agency of the state. It was founded in 1891. The board of trustees of the society inc ...

placed a monument at the site of his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hembree, Absalom J. Members of the Oregon Territorial Legislature Members of the Provisional Government of Oregon People from Warren County, Tennessee People from Carlton, Oregon 1813 births 1856 deaths Oregon pioneers People from Lafayette, Oregon People from White County, Tennessee