William H. Gray (Oregon politician)
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| William H. Gray | |
|---|---|
| 120px | |
| Member of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon | |
| In office 1843 1845 |
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| Constituency | Clackamas District |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1810 |
| Died | 1889 |
| Children | Caroline Augusta Gray |
William Henry Gray (1810–1889) was a pioneer politician and historian of the Oregon Country in the present-day U.S. state of Oregon. He was an active participant in creating the Provisional Government of Oregon.[1] Gray later wrote the book A History of Oregon, 1792-1849 and was instrumental in the establishment of the Oregon Pioneer Society.
Contents
Biography
Gray came to the Oregon Country as a lay member of the Spalding-Whitman missionary group. Resigning his post in 1842,[2] he went to the Salem area to work at the Oregon Institute. Gray later became a farmer and a sawmill operator.
In the spring of 1843, Gray's house was the site of the first "Wolf Meeting", as part of the ongoing Champoeg Meetings. At a pioneer gathering on May 2, 1843, the French-Canadians and Americans present were divided about forming a "civil community."[3] Joseph Meek called for the division, and Gray seconded the motion for a division on the question. After voting on each article presented, the basis of the Provisional Government of Oregon was laid. Afterwards Gray was a member of the provisional legislature and of the committee that drafted the First Organic Laws for the provisional government.
In 1854 he purchased a sheep flock numbering 400 in Iowa and took them overland across the continent.[2] Using a scow and the assistance of a steamboat, Gray sailed down the Columbia River for the Clatsop Plains. While navigating from Astoria the scow was harangued by a storm and sunk at Chinook Point with all of Gray's livestock.[2]
Gray had at eight children, five boys and three girls.[4] The second child was Caroline Augustus Gray, born 1840, who married Jacob Kamm in 1859 or 1860.[5]
Both a pioneer and a historian of Oregon, Gray is credited with being the guiding spirit behind establishment of the Oregon Pioneer Society at a meeting held in the hall of the House of Representatives at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem in October 1867.[6]
Footnotes
- ↑ Cogswell, Philip Jr. Capitol Names: Individuals Woven Into Oregon's History. Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society, 1977. p. 44
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Mowry, William A. Marcus Whitman and the days of Oregon. New York City: Silver, Burdett and Co. 1901, pp. 237-239
- ↑ Grover, Lafayette. The Oregon Archives. Salem: A. Bush. 1853, p. 14
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- ↑ Hubert Howe Bancroft, The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft: Volume XXX: History of Oregon: Volume II, 1848-1888. San Francisco, CA: The History Company, 1888; pg. 603.
Works
- A History of Oregon, 1792-1849: Drawn from Personal Observation and Authentic Information. Portland, OR: Harris & Holman, 1870.
External links
- Works by William Henry Gray at Project Gutenberg
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