Solomon Hasbrouck (May 30, 1833 – September 7, 1906) was an American politician and civil servant who was a pioneer of the

Idaho Territory The Territory of Idaho was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1863, until July 3, 1890, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as Idaho. History 1860s The territory ...

Biography

Hasbrouck was born on May 30, 1833, in

New Paltz, New York New Paltz () is an incorporated U.S. town in Ulster County, New York. The population was 14,407 at the 2020 census. The town is located in the southeastern part of the county and is south of Kingston. New Paltz contains a village, also with ...

, the son of Alexander and Rachel (née Elting) Hasbrouck. His grandfather, Solomon P. Hasbrouck, was a prominent lumber manufacturer and merchant. The subject worked as a clerk in New York from age sixteen to twenty, then sailed from New York City to San Francisco in 1854. He settled in

Nevada City, California Nevada City is the county seat of Nevada County, California, United States, northeast of Sacramento, California, Sacramento, southwest of Reno, Nevada, Reno and northeast of San Francisco. The population was 3,152 as of the 2020 United States ...

, where he mined until 1860. He then secured a 160-acre claim near Santa Barbara, but, finding it largely worthless, allowed it to lapse back to the government. In 1861, he relocated to mine Granite Creek, Oregon, then departed in June 1862, a month before a major gold discovery at Granite Creek. He then settled to mine at Jordan Creek, in what was then the

Washington Territory The Washington Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

. After the

was organized,

Owyhee County Owyhee County ( ) is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,913. The county seat is Murphy, and its largest city is Homedale. In area it is the second-largest county in I ...

was the first new county that the territorial legislature organized, and the territorial governor appointed Hasbrouck as one of its original county commissioners over the winter of 1863–1864. In 1864, Hasbrouck was elected by Owyhee County as a unionist to the Idaho Territorial House of Representatives. This session of the territorial legislature is most famous for moving the territorial capital from Lewiston to

Boise Boise ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and nor ...

. He then went on to work for the internal revenue service, and when his boss, John Cummins, was appointed to the Idaho Territorial Supreme Court in 1866, Hasbrouck was appointed as clerk of the district court that Cummins presided over. The following year, he returned to New York, married his former schoolmate, Ann Eliza Van Wagenen, and they returned to the Idaho Territory in 1868. They would have four children: Edward Hallock; Raymond DeLancy; Elizabeth M., Mrs. Charles D. Shrady; and Van Wagenen, father of actress

Olive Hasbrouck Olive Hasbrouck (1907–1976) was an American film actress of the silent era. Hasbrouck and her mother moved from Boise to Hollywood, where Hasbrouck attended Hollywood High School. She began working in films as an extra at Universal City. When ...

. Upon his return to the territory, Hasbrouck was reappointed as clerk of the district court, as well as of the territorial supreme court. For the next three years, he clerked for the courts and the territorial superintendent of Indian affairs, worked as a gauger for the internal revenue service, and studied law. In 1871, Hasbrouck opened a law firm with

Henry E. Prickett Henry Elliott Prickett (September 1, 1829 – June 14, 1885) was an American politician and jurist who served as mayor of List of mayors of Boise, Idaho, mayor of Boise, Idaho, Boise, Idaho Territory from 1867 to 1868 and as Associate Justice of ...

in Boise. This lasted until 1875, when Prickett was appointed as a district judge, and soon thereafter elevated to the territorial supreme court. For the next twelve years, Hasbrouck worked as a merchant, first in Boise, then in

Weiser Weiser may refer to: Places * Weiser Airpark, a defunct aerodrome in Texas * Weiser, Idaho * Weiser State Forest * Weiser Township, North Dakota * Weiser River People * Conrad Weiser (1696–1760), German pioneer * Grethe Weiser (1903–1970), Ger ...

. Hasbrouck won the 1885 Boise mayoral election as a Democrat, but resigned four months into his term, when he moved his business to Middleton, and thereafter to Weiser. A fire that wiped out most of Weiser destroyed his property. In 1889, territorial chief justice James H. Beatty appointed Hasbrouck as clerk of the local district court. That same year, he was elected as a Republican by Washington County as a delegate to the

Idaho Constitutional Convention The Idaho Constitution Convention drafted the Idaho Constitution in 1889 in preparation for the Idaho Territory to become a U.S. state. History Background On April 2, 1889, outgoing Territorial Governor Edward A. Stevenson, who had successfully p ...

. When the state supreme court was formed in 1890, it selected Hasbrouck as its clerk, a position he maintained until his death at his home in Boise on September 7, 1906.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasbrouck, Sol 1833 births 1906 deaths People from Idaho Territory Mayors of Boise, Idaho People from New Paltz, New York Members of the Idaho Territorial House of Representatives Idaho Republicans Members of the Idaho Constitutional Convention