Alonzo Gesner (March 2, 1842 – March 6, 1912) was an American land surveyor, Indian agent, and politician in the state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. A native of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, he immigrated as a boy to the

Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been created by the Treaty of 1818, co ...

with his family where he became a deputy surveyor for the United States government. A Republican, he also was appointed as an Indian agent to the

Warm Springs Reservation The Warm Springs Indian Reservation consists of in north-central Oregon, in the United States, and is governed by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Tribes Three tribes form the confederation: the Wasco, Tenino (Warm Springs) and P ...

and later was a member of the

Oregon State Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the state Sena ...

Early life

Alonzo Gesner was born in

Coles County, Illinois Coles County is a county in Illinois. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,863. Its county seat is Charleston, which is also the home of Eastern Illinois University. Coles County is part of the Charleston- Mattoon, IL Micropolitan St ...

, to Reuben A. Gesner and his wife Mary V. Bailey on March 2, 1842.Glenn, William
“Alonzo Gesner”
''The Oregon Surveyor'', April 1990. Retrieved on January 12, 2009. His father was a native New Yorker who moved to Illinois in 1834 where he married Bailey of Kentucky. The family took the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...

in 1845 to the unorganized Oregon Country and settled in the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long 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, ...

. Gesner's parents took up a land claim in the Champoeg District (now Marion County) southwest of the now city of Salem. Once Oregon became a U.S. territory in 1848, Congress passed the

Donation Land Claim Act The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850, sometimes known as the Donation Land Act, was a statute enacted by the United States Congress in late 1850, intended to promote homestead settlements in the Oregon Territory. It followed the Distribution-Preem ...

in 1850, and the Gesners were able to secure their claim to their farm. The younger Gesner was educated at

Willamette University Willamette University is a private liberal arts college with locations in Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United States. Originally named the Oregon Institute, the school was an unaffiliated ...

in Salem before a brief teaching career. He taught in

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

in 1865 where he was the first teacher in a new school and the first teacher for that school district.

Career

Gesner left teaching after a single year to pursue manual labor and spent a year chopping firewood to enable him to buy a farm near his parents' property. In 1872, he started working in the land surveying field, working for Jasper Wilkins, a deputy surveyor for the federal government. The following year he went into the business himself, receiving a contract to survey land in the McKenzie River Valley in the southern portion of the Willamette Valley. Gesner continued in the business until 1908, in the process surveying public lands primarily in western Oregon and some in what became the state of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. Gesner married Rhoda E. Neal on October 14, 1875. In 1882, he and Wilkins bought the ''

Oregon Statesman The ''Statesman Journal'' is the major daily newspaper published in Salem, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1851 as the ''Oregon Statesman'', it later merged with the ''Capital Journal'' to form the current newspaper, the second-oldest in Oreg ...

'' newspaper, though Gesner sold-out his share eight months later.''Daily Oregon Statesman'', March 7, 1912, 1:6 & 4:5.

Public service

In 1872, when he started surveying land he was elected as Marion County's surveyor. Gesner won election again and served from 1876 to 1878 as well. On March 2, 1884, he became the

Indian agent In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with American Indian tribes on behalf of the government. Background The federal regulation of Indian affairs in the United States first included development of t ...

to the

Warm Springs Indian Reservation The Warm Springs Indian Reservation consists of in north-central Oregon, in the United States, and is governed by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Tribes Three tribes form the confederation: the Wasco, Tenino (Warm Springs) and Pa ...

Central Oregon Central Oregon is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Oregon and is traditionally considered to be made up of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook counties. Other definitions include larger areas, often encompassing areas to the north towards the ...

after accepting an appointment from U.S. President

Chester A. Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He previously served as the 20th vice president under President James ...

. The next year he left the position after 18 months as a new administration was in power in Washington, DC. He was also a member of Oregon's militia for nine years, including nearly three years as a captain. Gesner was elected as the surveyor of the city of Salem in 1889 and served until 1891. In 1894, he was elected to the

as a Republican. Serving a four-year term, he represented District 4 that included both Clackamas and Marion counties. Gesner was in both the 1895 and 1897 sessions of the legislature, with the 1897 session fruitless as the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 65,000. The House meets in the west wing of the ...

failed to organize.

Later years and family

Gesner had three children with his wife Rhoda; Leroy, Rhoda and Stella. He was a member of the

Ancient Order of United Workmen The Ancient Order of United Workmen (AOUW) was a fraternal organization in the United States and Canada, providing mutual social and financial support after the American Civil War. It was the first of the "fraternal benefit societies", organizatio ...

, the

Masonic Order Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, and the

Sons of the American Revolution The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR or NSSAR) is an American Congressional charter, congressionally chartered organization, founded in 1889 and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky. A non-prof ...

. Both a brother and nephew also worked as surveyors. Alonzo Gesner died in Salem on March 6, 1912, at the age of 70 and was buried at

Salem Pioneer Cemetery Salem Pioneer Cemetery (also known as the I.O.O.F. Cemetery or Oddfellows Cemetery) is a cemetery in Salem, Oregon, United States. Overview Salem Pioneer Cemetery is one of two historic cemeteries located next to each other at the intersection ...

.Alonzo Gesner.
Salem Pioneer Cemetery. Retrieved on January 14, 2009.

References

External links

Bill for Relief of Alonzo Gesner
– Oregon Historical Quarterly

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gesner, Alonzo People from Coles County, Illinois Politicians from Salem, Oregon Republican Party Oregon state senators Willamette University alumni Burials at Salem Pioneer Cemetery 1842 births 1912 deaths American surveyors Sons of the American Revolution 19th-century American politicians