George Wycliffe McBride (March 13, 1854June 18, 1911) was an American politician and businessman from the U.S. 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 ...

. An Oregon native, he served in the

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the State legislature (United States), state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper house, upper and lower chamber: the Oregon State Senate, Sena ...

as Speaker of the House and as

Oregon Secretary of State The secretary of state of Oregon, an elected constitutional officer within the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon, is first in the line of succession to the List of Governors of Oregon, governor. The duties of the offi ...

for two terms before election as

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

from Oregon. A Republican, he was the first native Oregonian to serve in the Senate. His father and two of his brothers were also politicians.

Early life

George McBride was born on March 13, 1854, near Lafayette, in

Yamhill County, Oregon Yamhill County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 107,722. The county seat is McMinnville. Yamhill County was named after the Yamhelas, members of the Kalapuya Tribe. Yamhill Co ...

. His father was James McBride, a physician from

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 ...

and

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 ...

, and his mother the former Mahala Miller.Corning, Howard M. (1956) ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, p. 159. George was one of fourteen children in the family that included brother John Rogers, who 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, and

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

who served on 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.

from 1909 to 1930. George attended the local public schools before enrolling in the preparatory department of

Willamette University Willamette University is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with locations in Salem, Oregon, Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United ...

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...

. After one year at Willamette he enrolled at Monmouth Christian College (now

Western Oregon University Western Oregon University (WOU) is a public university in Monmouth, Oregon, United States. It was originally established in 1856 by Disciples of Christ pioneers as Monmouth University. Subsequent names included Oregon State Normal School, Oreg ...

) in

Monmouth, Oregon Monmouth () is a city in Polk County in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was named for Monmouth, Illinois, the origin of its earliest settlers. The population is 11,110 at the 2020 Census and it is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area. Th ...

, where he spent two years. McBride then studied law and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

, but never practiced. He moved to St. Helens where he engaged in mercantile pursuits for nine years.

Politics

McBride was elected to 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 ...

in 1882 to serve Columbia County.Oregon Legislators and Staff Guide: 1882 Regular Session (12th).
Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on April 27, 2009. Elected as a Republican, he was selected by fellow legislators to serve as

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

. After his lone session in the legislative assembly, he was elected as the

in 1886 to a four-year term and re-elected in 1890 to a second term. He was in office from January 10, 1887, until January 14, 1895, when Harrison R. Kincaid took office. On February 23, 1895, the

selected McBride to serve in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. Elected as a Republican, he served one term in office from March 4, 1895, to March 3, 1901. In the Senate he was chairman of the

United States Senate Committee on Transportation Routes to the Seaboard The United States Senate Committee on Transportation Routes to the Seaboard, was a Senate committee, initially authorized by Senate resolution as a select committee on December 16, 1872. The select committee, also known as the Windom Select Commit ...

during the

Fifty-fourth Congress The 54th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1895 ...

, though the committee may never have met during his tenure, and also a member of the Committee on Coast Defenses during both Fifty-fifth and Fifty-sixth Congresses. He was the first native Oregonian to serve in the Senate. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1900.

Later life

McBride was appointed as a United States commissioner to the St. Louis Exposition of 1904. After politics he was engaged as an agent of the

Western Pacific Railroad The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California. WP's Feather River Route dire ...

in California. On May 24, 1902, in New York City he married Laura W. Walter with whom he had one daughter. In 1911 McBride died 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, ...

, at the age of 57. His remains were cremated and the ashes interred in the Masonic Cemetery in St. Helens.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McBride, George W. 1854 births 1911 deaths People from Yamhill County, Oregon American people of Scottish descent Republican Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Republican Party United States senators from Oregon Secretaries of state of Oregon Speakers of the Oregon House of Representatives People from St. Helens, Oregon Western Oregon University alumni 19th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly