Amory Holbrook (August 15, 1820 – September 26, 1866) was an American attorney and politician in 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 Union as the State of Oregon. Ori ...

. He was the first

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the territory and later served as mayor of

Oregon City ) , image_skyline = McLoughlin House.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = The McLoughlin House, est. 1845 , image_flag = , image_seal = Oregon City seal.png , image_map ...

and in the

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the Ho ...

Early years

Holbrook was born on August 15, 1820, on the

United States East Coast The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...

. He attended

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

Brunswick, Maine Brunswick is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 21,756 at the 2020 United States Census. Part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area, Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College, the Bowdoin Intern ...

, where he graduated in 1841. Following graduation he studied law under

Rufus Choate Rufus Choate (October 1, 1799July 13, 1859) was an American lawyer, orator, and Senator who represented Massachusetts as a member of the Whig Party. He is regarded as one of the greatest American lawyers of the 19th century, arguing over a th ...

and began practicing law. He married Mary Hooper, and they had one son named Millard.Corning, Howard M. (1989) ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 116.

Oregon

In August 1848, the United States created the

out of territory gained with the settlement of the

Oregon Question The Oregon boundary dispute or the Oregon Question was a 19th-century territorial dispute over the political division of the Pacific Northwest of North America between several nations that had competing territorial and commercial aspirations in t ...

in 1846. Holbrook was appointed as the first United States Attorney for the territory by President

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

, and arrived in

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 ...

in May 1850 with his family. In June, he served as the prosecution in the trial of the Native Americans charged with carrying out the

Whitman Massacre The Whitman massacre (also known as the Walla Walla massacre and referred to as the Tragedy at Waiilatpu by the National Park Service) was the killing of the Washington missionaries Marcus Whitman and his wife Narcissa, along with eleven others, ...

.Carey, Charles Henry. (1922). ''History of Oregon''. Pioneer Historical Publishing Co. p. 363. The five members of the Cayuse were convicted and hung in

Oregon City ) , image_skyline = McLoughlin House.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = The McLoughlin House, est. 1845 , image_flag = , image_seal = Oregon City seal.png , image_map ...

. Holbrook was elected as mayor of Oregon City in 1856, serving until 1859. Oregon entered the Union in 1859 as the 33rd state. In 1860, he was a candidate for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

, but lost that year and a subsequent attempt for the position.Lansing, Ronald B. 2005. ''Nimrod: Courts, Claims, and Killing on the Oregon Frontier''. Pullman: Washington State University Press. p. 263. That year he also served in 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 ...

.Oregon Legislative Assembly (1st) 1860 Regular Session.
Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on March 3, 2008. Holbrook represented

Clackamas County Clackamas County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the Native ...

as a Republican. He then started the

Know Nothing Party The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

in the state before serving as editor of ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'' from 1862 to 1864. Holbrook retired from politics after serving as editor and entered private legal practice. He died at the age of 46 on September 26, 1866.

References

External links

The Lincoln LogThe Whitman Murders Trial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holbrok, Amory Bowdoin College alumni Mayors of places in Oregon Republican Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Politicians from Oregon City, Oregon 1820 births 1866 deaths Oregon pioneers United States Attorneys for the District of Oregon Oregon Know Nothings The Oregonian people 19th-century American journalists American male journalists 19th-century American male writers