James Willis Nesmith (July 23, 1820 – June 17, 1885) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

politician and lawyer 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 ...

. Born in

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to American parents, he grew up in

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

and

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. A Democrat, he moved to

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 1843 where he entered politics as a judge, a legislator in 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 ...

, a

United States Marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the United States federal judi ...

, and after statehood a

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 ...

and Representative. Nesmith's grandson, Clifton N. McArthur, and son-in-law,

Levi Ankeny Levi Ankeny (August 1, 1844March 29, 1921) was a Republican United States Senator from the state of Washington. He was born in Buchanan County, Missouri, near St. Joseph, but crossed the plains to Oregon in 1850 with his parents and settled in ...

, both later served in Congress.

Early years

James Nesmith was born in what is now the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

(which was a

British colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony governed by England, and then Great Britain or the United Kingdom within the English and later British Empire. There was usually a governor to represent the Crown, appointed by the British monarch on ...

at the time) while his parents were on a visit from their home in

Washington County, Maine Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of the 2020 census, its population was 31,095, making it the third-least populous county in Maine. Its county seat is Machias. The county was established on June 25, 1789. ...

, on July 23, 1820.Nesmith, James Willis.
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on June 11, 2008. Of Scottish and Irish heritage, his father was William Morrison Nesmith and his mother the former Harriet Miller.Corning, Howard M. (1989) ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 174. About 1828, James and his father moved to

Claremont, New Hampshire Claremont is the only city in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 12,949 at the 2020 census. Claremont is a core city of the Lebanon–Claremont micropolitan area, a bi-state, four-county region in the upper Connec ...

, where he received a limited education. In 1838, Nesmith moved to

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, followed by

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

in 1842 where he waited to immigrate to Oregon Country. Nesmith planned on traveling 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 ...

with

Elijah White Dr. Elijah White (1806–1879) was a missionary and agent for the United States government in Oregon Country during the mid-19th century. A trained physician from New York State, he first traveled to Oregon as part of the Methodist Mission in th ...

in 1842, but was late to arrive and instead left the next spring with

Marcus Whitman Marcus Whitman (September 4, 1802 – November 29, 1847) was an American physician and missionary. He is most well known for leading American settlers across the Oregon Trail, unsuccessfully attempting to Christianize the Cayuse Indians, and wa ...

after working as a carpenter in the interim at Fort Scott in

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

Oregon

In 1843, Nesmith arrived in Oregon where he studied law and 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 ...

before being selected to serve as Supreme Judge of the

in 1845.Colmer, Montagu, and Charles Erskine Scott Wood. 1910. ''History of the Bench and Bar of Oregon''. Portland, Or: Historical Pub. Co. p. 271-271. He finished his term in 1846 and moved to Polk County where he took a land claim, began farming, and married Pauline Goff on June 21, with whom he would have seven children. In 1847, he was elected to 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 ...

from Polk County, and served briefly in the 1848 session before resigning.Oregon Legislative Assembly (4th Provisional) 1848-1849 Regular Session.
Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on June 11, 2008. James Nesmith from Centennial History of Oregon

James Nesmith from Centennial History of Oregon

Nesmith next served as a captain during 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 ...

against Native Americans in

Eastern Oregon Eastern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity; thus, the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmost countie ...

from 1847 to 1848. When news of the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

reached 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 ...

in 1848, he traveled south to the gold fields, remaining until 1849. In 1849, he returned to Polk County where he purchased a flour mill on Rickreall Creek near the county seat of

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. There Nesmith engaged in agricultural pursuits in the community that was for a time named after him, as well as stock raising. He again was a captain in the militia forces during the

Rogue River War The Rogue River Wars were an armed conflict in 1855–1856 between the U.S. Army, local militias and volunteers, and the Native American tribes commonly grouped under the designation of Rogue River Indians, in the Rogue Valley area of what t ...

in 1853 and the Yakima Indian War in 1855. Between the two wars he was the

for 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 ...

, replacing

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 ...

. From 1857 to 1859 he was the Superintendent of Indian Affairs for

and

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Territories. As Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Nesmith was aggressive against American Indians on Oregon's south coast, and once stated to Commissioner of Indian Affairs George Manypenny that the extermination of the

Chetco people The Chetco ( Chetco: chit-dee-ni, chit-dee-ne or Chit-dv-ne' ) are a tribe of Native Americans who originally lived along the lower Chetco River and Winchuck River in Curry County in the U.S. state of Oregon. The name Chetco comes from the word ...

"would occasion no regrets at this office."

Congress

On February 14, 1859, Oregon entered the Union as the 33rd state. In 1860, 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 ...

elected Nesmith to 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 ...

. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, he served from March 4, 1861, to March 3, 1867, and was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election. While in the Senate, he and fellow Oregon Senator Benjamin F Harding were the only Democrats in that chamber to vote for the

Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Thirteenth Amendment (Amendment XIII) to the United States Constitution abolished Slavery in the United States, slavery and involuntary servitude, except Penal labor in the United States, as punishment for a crime. The amendment was passed ...

to abolish slavery. After serving in the Senate, he was appointed Minister to

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, but his nomination was not confirmed. After returning to Rickreall, he served as road supervisor of Polk County in 1868. Nesmith was elected to the Forty-third Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of his cousin, Joseph G. Wilson, and served from December 1, 1873, to March 3, 1875. He did not seek re-nomination in 1874 to the Forty-fourth Congress and returned to farming in Polk County.

Later years and family

In addition to his cousin Joseph Wilson, Nesmith's grandson,

Clifton Nesmith McArthur Clifton Nesmith McArthur (June 10, 1879 – December 9, 1923) was a U.S. Representative from Oregon, and grandson of Senator James Willis Nesmith. His father was a member of the Oregon Supreme Court, and Clifton twice served as Speaker of the O ...

, was also a United States Representative from Oregon.

, Senator for

, was his son-in-law.

Death and burial

James Willis Nesmith died in Rickreall, Oregon, on June 17, 1885, at the age of 64 and was interred in Polk County on the south bank of Rickreall Creek.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nesmith, James 1820 births Expatriates in Pre-Confederation Canada 1885 deaths People from Washington County, Maine People from Polk County, Oregon 19th-century United States Marshals Justices of the Oregon Supreme Court Law enforcement officials from Oregon Members of the Provisional Government of Oregon People from Oregon Territory Oregon superintendents for Indian affairs Democratic Party United States senators from Oregon Rogue River Wars 19th-century American judges Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oregon 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century United States senators