Paine (Payne) Page Prim (May 2, 1822 – August 8, 1899) was an American attorney and judge in 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 ...

. He was the 6th Chief Justice 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.

serving in that role three times between 1864 and 1878. Prim served on Oregon’s highest court for 21 years. Prim was the first graduate of

Cumberland University Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1842. The oldest campus buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896. History 1842–1861 The university was founded by the Cumberl ...

's law school, and a participant at the Oregon Constitutional Convention.

Early life

On May 2, 1822, Paine P. Prim was born in

Wilson County, Tennessee Wilson County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is in Middle Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 147,737. Its county seat is Lebanon. The largest city is Mt. Juliet. Wilson County is part of the Nashville-Davids ...

.Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956. He grew up on his father’s farm before enrolling at

Lebanon, Tennessee Lebanon ( ) is the county seat of Wilson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 38,431 at the 2020 census. Lebanon is located in Middle Tennessee, approximately east of downtown Nashville. Lebanon is part of the Nashville Metro ...

. Prim received his legal education and was the school's first law graduate. Then in 1851 he traveled to Oregon via 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 ...

. There he settled in Linn County where he set up a law practice. Next, in 1857 he represented Jackson County at Oregon’s constitutional convention.

Judicial career

In 1859, Prim was appointed to the

by Governor John Whiteaker to fill the seat of Matthew P. Deady who had resigned.Oregon Blue Book: Supreme Court Justices of Oregon.
Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved January 13, 2008. Then in 1860 he was elected to a full six-year term on the bench. Prim won re-election in 1866, and 1872. When his term ended in 1878, he was appointed on a temporary basis and served until 1880. While on the court he was chief justice three times: 1864 to 1866, 1870 to 1872, and 1876 to 1878.

Later life

Prior to serving on the bench, Prim married Teresa M. Stearns in 1857. The couple produced three children. In 1880, after his term on the court ended, Prim returned to private practice in

Jacksonville, Oregon Jacksonville is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States, approximately west of Medford, Oregon, Medford. It was named for Jackson Creek, which flows through the community and was the site of one of the first placer deposit, placer gold cl ...

. Then in 1882 he returned to politics when he was elected to 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 ...

as a Democrat from Jackson County.Oregon State Archives: 1882 Regular Session.
Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved June 20, 2016. He served again at the next session in 1885 in both the regular and special sessions that year.Oregon State Archives: 1885 Special Session.
Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved June 20, 2016. Paine Page Prim then died in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, on August 8, 1899, at the age of 77 and is buried in Jacksonville, Oregon. In 1961, the

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Arthur Franz was cast as Prim in the episode, "Justice at Jackson Creek", on the syndicated

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...

, ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American Western (genre), Western anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was ...

'', hosted by

Stanley Andrews Stanley Martin Andrews (born Andrzejewski; August 28, 1891 – June 23, 1969) was an American actor perhaps best known as the voice of Daddy Warbucks on the radio program ''Little Orphan Annie'' and later as "The Old Ranger", the first host of ...

. Prim is shown as a drunken, ostracized lawyer who hesitates to help a miner in legal trouble but must overcome his personal demons. The episode also stars Dub Taylor as Jake;

William Schallert William Joseph Schallert (July 6, 1922 – May 8, 2016) was an American character actor who appeared in dozens of television shows and films over a career spanning more than 60 years. He is known for his roles on ''Richard Diamond, Private ...

as Carl Spenger, and

Bill Bixby Wilfred Bailey Everett Bixby III (January 22, 1934 – November 21, 1993) was an American actor and television director. His career spanned more than three decades, including appearances on stage, in films, and on television series. He is known ...

as Kinney.

References

External links

Biographical Sketch of Paine Page Prim
at

Oregon State Archives The Archives Division of the Office of the Secretary of State of Oregon, or the Oregon State Archives, is an agency of the Oregon Secretary of State charged with preserving and providing access to government records. The Oregon State Archives is ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prim, Paine Page Oregon state senators People from Wilson County, Tennessee Cumberland University alumni Members of the Oregon Constitutional Convention 1822 births 1899 deaths Oregon pioneers Chief justices of the Oregon Supreme Court People from Jacksonville, Oregon 19th-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly 19th-century American judges Justices of the Oregon Supreme Court