Clifton Nesmith McArthur (June 10, 1879 – December 9, 1923) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

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 ...

, and grandson of Senator James Willis Nesmith. His father was a member 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.

, and Clifton twice served as Speaker of 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 ...

Early life

McArthur was born in

The Dalles, Oregon The Dalles ( ;) formally the City of the Dalles and also called Dalles City, is an inland port, the county seat of and the largest city in Wasco County, Oregon, Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 United ...

on June 10, 1879.Clifton N. McArthur

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress The ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress'' (Bioguide) is a biographical dictionary of all present and former members of the United States Congress and its predecessor, the Continental Congress. Also included are Delegates fr ...

Accessed September 7, 2007 He was the eldest son of

Lewis Linn McArthur Lewis Linn McArthur (March 18, 1843 – May 10, 1897) was known as an American newspaper publisher, attorney, and state judge in Oregon. He served as a justice of the Oregon Supreme Court from 1870 to 1878. His son Clifton Nesmith McArthur also ...

, who served on the Oregon Supreme Court, and his wife, the former Harriet K. Nesmith.Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956. Clifton's only brother was Lewis A. McArthur, who would write the first edition of the

Oregon Geographic Names ''Oregon Geographic Names'' is a compilation of the origin and meaning of place names in the U.S. state of Oregon, published by the Oregon Historical Society. The book was originally published in 1928. It was compiled and edited by Lewis A. McArt ...

. Clifton attended the public schools at Rickreall, and the

Bishop Scott Academy Bishop Scott Academy was a school located in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. Affiliated with the Episcopal Church, the school was named for the Bishop Thomas Fielding Scott. The school opened in 1870 to educate young men in good citizenshi ...

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 ...

. In 1901 he graduated from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

. After college he worked as a reporter for the ''

Morning Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'' from 1901 to 1903. McArthur then engaged in agricultural pursuits near Rickreall from 1903 to 1906 and studied the law in order to become a lawyer. He was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

in 1906 and commenced practice in Portland. On June 25, 1913, he married Lucille Smith, and they would not have any children.

Political career

In 1908, McArthur served as secretary of the Republican State central committee. Then from 1908 until 1911 he was secretary to

Oregon Governor 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 ...

Frank W. Benson. During part of this time he was elected to serve in the State house of representatives in 1909 and 1913 as a Republican representing

Multnomah County Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland metropolitan area. The state's smallest and most populous county, it ...

. McArthur served as Speaker of the

in 1909 and 1913. Clifton McArthur was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-fourth and to the three succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1915 until March 3, 1923. He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1922 to the Sixty-eighth Congress.

Later life

McArthur resumed the practice of his profession and his former business activities in

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, ...

, where he died December 9, 1923, following what was described as a "supposedly routine sinus operation". His remains were cremated and the ashes deposited in the vaults of the Portland Cremation Association.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McArthur, Clifton N. 1879 births 1923 deaths Politicians from The Dalles, Oregon Speakers of the Oregon House of Representatives University of Oregon alumni The Oregonian people Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oregon 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly