Benjamin Peyton Cornelius (November 9, 1850 – December 24, 1930) was an American politician and judge in

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 Republican, he served 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 as the mayor of

Hillsboro, Oregon Hillsboro ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County, Oregon, Washington County. Situated in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city hosts many High tech, high-te ...

. The son of Thomas R. Cornelius, he was also the sheriff of Washington County and a judge in that county.

Early life

Cornelius was born to Thomas Cornelius and Florentine Wilks on November 9, 1850, in Hillsboro,

Washington County, Oregon Washington County is one of Oregon counties, 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon and part of the Portland metropolitan area. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded the population as 600,372, making it the second most populous c ...

.Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- ), and Republican League of Oregon
Republican League Register, a Record of the Republican Party in the State of Oregon.
Portland: Register Pub. Co, 1896. p. 191. He was raised in that county and was engaged in agriculture before marrying Esther A. Barrett on November 11, 1871, in neighboring Glencoe. Cornelius became involved in politics as a Republican and served as a delegate to the county's party convention and state conventions starting in the 1880s.

Political career

In 1884, Cornelius won his first election when he was elected as the sheriff of Washington County. He was elected again in 1888, and in 1894 was elected as a county judge. In 1892, Cornelius entered state politics and was elected to a two-year term in the

as a Republican representing Washington County. Following his term as county judge he returned to farming before winning election as mayor of Hillsboro in 1903.Mayors: City of Hillsboro. ''

The Hillsboro Argus ''The Hillsboro Argus'' was a twice-weekly newspaper in the city of Hillsboro, Oregon, from 1894 to 2017, known as the ''Washington County Argus'' for its final year. The ''Argus'' was distributed in Washington County, Oregon, United States. First ...

'', October 19, 1976 The seventeenth person to serve as mayor of Washington County's seat, he was in office from December 15, 1903, until December 4, 1906. Cornelius returned to the Oregon House in 1917 after winning election in 1916, again representing Washington County.Oregon Legislators and Staff Guide, 1917 Regular Session (29th).
Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on June 19, 2016. Benjamin P. Cornelius died on December 24, 1930, at the age of 80.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius, Benjamin P. 20th-century mayors of places in Oregon Republican Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Mayors of Hillsboro, Oregon Oregon sheriffs 1850 births 1930 deaths County judges in Oregon 19th-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly 20th-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly