Benjamin Franklin Burch (May 2, 1825 – March 24, 1893) was an American farmer, 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

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, he moved 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 1845 and served in the Cayuse and

Yakima Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the state's 11th most populous city. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The ...

wars. A Democrat, he represented Polk County at the

Oregon Constitutional Convention The Oregon Constitutional Convention in 1857 drafted the Oregon Constitution in preparation for the Oregon Territory to become a U.S. state. Held from mid-August through September, 60 men met in Salem, Oregon, and created the foundation for Oregon' ...

, in the

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 ...

, and in the

Oregon State Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the State legislature (United States), statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. Ther ...

including one session as President of the Senate.

Early life

Benjamin Burch was born in

Chariton County, Missouri Chariton County is a County (United States), county located in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 7,408. Its county seat is Keytesville, Missouri, Keytes ...

, on May 2, 1825, to Samuel Burch and Eleanor (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Lock) Burch.Corning, Howard M. (1989) ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 38. In 1845, he crossed the Great Plains on 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 ...

bound for the

. He settled in what became Polk County 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 ...

of Oregon. At the time it was under the authority of 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 ...

, and in 1848 became 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 ...

. In 1846, he helped

Jesse Applegate Jesse Applegate (July 5, 1811 – April 22, 1888) was an American pioneer who led a large group of settlers along the Oregon Trail to the Oregon Country. He was an influential member of the early government of Oregon, and helped establish the ...

and Levi Scott build the

Applegate Trail The Applegate Trail was an emigrant trail through the present-day U.S. states of Idaho, Nevada, California, and Oregon used in the mid-19th century by emigrants on the American frontier. It was originally intended as a less dangerous alternati ...

, a route to the valley through

Southern Oregon Southern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon south of Lane County and generally west of the Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia thr ...

.Lang, Herbert O. (1885
''History of the Willamette Valley, Being a Description of the Valley and Its Resources, with an Account of Its Discovery and Settlement by White Men, and Its Subsequent History Together with Personal Reminiscences of Its Early Pioneers''.
G.H. Himes, Book and Job Printer, p. 633. Burch then returned to his home where he had tutored Applegate's children before becoming a teacher at the first school in the county. After the breakout of 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 ...

in 1847, he volunteered for the militia and served as an

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

. Following the war, on September 6, 1848, he married

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

native Eliza A. Davidson who had immigrated to Oregon from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

the year before. They had seven children, including Benjamin Jr. 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 ...

in 1856 Burch served as a captain of a company of militia.“Another Of The Few Remaining Pioneers Of Oregon Is Dead”
''The Oregonian'', March 25, 1893.

Political career

In 1857, he was elected to represent Polk County in the

held in

in August and September. At the convention he was part of a special committee with James K. Kelly and

La Fayette Grover La Fayette Grover (November 29, 1823May 10, 1911) was a Democratic politician and lawyer from the U.S. state of Oregon. He was the fourth Governor of Oregon, represented Oregon in the United States House of Representatives, and served one ter ...

that designed the

Oregon State Seal The seal of the State of Oregon is the Seals of the U.S. states, official seal of the U.S. state of Oregon. It was designed by Harvey Gordon in 1857, two years before Oregon was admitted to the Union. The seal was preceded by the Salmon Seal of ...

. Burch was also a member of the Military Affairs Committee. In 1858, he was elected to the first session of the state legislature as a Democrat representing Polk County in the

. Oregon was still waiting to be admitted to the Union, and the legislature did not officially convene until 1859. Burch remained out of politics until 1868 when he was elected to the

.Oregon Legislators and Staff Guide: 1868 Regular Session (5th).
Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on June 20, 2016. He represented Polk County as a Democrat during a four-year term.Oregon Legislators and Staff Guide: 1870 Regular Session (6th).
Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on June 20, 2016. During the 1868 legislature he served as

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the Speaker (politics), speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's Order of succession, succes ...

Later years

In 1877, he became the Superintendent of the

Oregon State Penitentiary Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP), also known as Oregon State Prison, is a supermax, maximum security prison in the northwestern United States in Salem, Oregon. Originally opened in Portland, Oregon, Portland in 1851, it relocated to Salem f ...

in Salem by appointment of Governor Stephen F. Chadwick, serving two terms. He was appointed as the receiver at the

Oregon City Land Office Oregon ( , ) is a 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, while the Snake River delineates much o ...

in 1887 by President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

. Benjamin Franklin Burch died on March 24, 1893, at the age of 67 at his farm near

Independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burch, Benjamin F. Members of the Oregon Constitutional Convention Democratic Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Presidents of the Oregon State Senate Democratic Party Oregon state senators People from Chariton County, Missouri People from Independence, Oregon Cayuse War 1825 births 1893 deaths People from Oregon Country People who traveled the Oregon Trail People from Oregon Territory 19th-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly