Daniel Bigelow (24 March 1824 – 15 September 1905) was a

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

lawyer and politician in

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. Europea ...

Biography

Daniel Richardson Bigelow was born March 24, 1824, in Belleville a hamlet in the township of

Ellisburg, New York Ellisburg is an incorporated town in Jefferson County, New York. The population was 3,474 at the time of the 2010 census. The town is in the southwestern corner of the county and is south of Watertown. Ellisburg is named after early European-Am ...

, a part of

Jefferson County, New York Jefferson County is a county on the northern border of the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 116,721. Its county seat is Watertown. The county is named after Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United St ...

. His parents were Jotham Bigelow (1784-1860) (son of Joel and Sarah (née Stowell) Bigelow) and Celinda Bullock ( d. 22 Apr 1824). He graduated from

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

in 1846 and attended Harvard Law School from 1847 to 1849. After graduation he began practice in Dodgeville, Wisconsin. News of the California Gold Rush sparked Bigelow's interest in relocating to the Pacific Coast. In 1851 Bigelow joined a

wagon train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings ...

headed west and crossed the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and 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 is now the state of Kans ...

with his law books and desk, arriving in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

in September. After determining Portland already had enough lawyers, he sailed up the coast in the schooner ''Exact'' to

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

in November 1851 on the same voyage that carried the

Denny Party The Denny Party is a group of American pioneers credited with founding Seattle, Washington. They settled at Alki Point on November 13, 1851. History A wagon party headed by Arthur A. Denny left Cherry Grove, Illinois on April 10, 1851. The part ...

. He continued south to Smithfield (later renamed Olympia), then part of the northern

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. O ...

. There he established a law office. At the time there were fewer than 200 American settlers. Bigelow was a gifted

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14th ...

whose July 4, 1852 speech in Olympia contributed to the movement to create

Washington Territory The Territory of Washington 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 ...

out of the part of the Oregon territory north of the Columbia River. Bigelow also served as one of the three commissioners who revised the laws of

at Salem during the summer of 1853. Daniel served as the first Treasurer of Thurston County, a member of the first legislature of

in 1854, the first Superintendent of the Olympia School, and President of the Board of Trustees of Puget Sound

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...

Institute, the forerunner of the

University of Puget Sound The University of Puget Sound (UPS or Puget Sound) is a private university in Tacoma, Washington. The university draws approximately 2,600 students from 44 states and 16 countries. It offers 1,200 courses each year in more than 50 traditional an ...

. On June 18, 1854, Bigelow married Ann Elizabeth White, one of the first school teachers in the area. Ann was born November 3, 1836 in

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

and settled with her family on Chambers Prairie, now part of

Lacey, Washington Lacey is a city in Thurston County, Washington, United States. It is a suburb of Olympia with a population of 53,526 at the 2020 census. Lacey is located along Interstate 5 between Olympia and the Nisqually River, which marks the border with ...

Thurston County, Washington Thurston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 294,793. The county seat and largest city is Olympia, the state capital. Thurston County was created out of Lewis County by the g ...

southeast of Olympia in what is now Lacey Township, in late 1851. Her father, William White, was one of two casualties in Thurston County of the 1855-56

Indian War Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asi ...

. Daniel and Ann Elizabeth were devout Methodists and helped found the ME church in Olympia. They were also strident advocates of

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

. Bigelow supported extending the right to vote to women in the 1854 legislature and in 1871, while serving as a Territorial Representative, gave a speech to the Washington Legislature advocating voting rights for women. Suffragist

Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony (born Susan Anthony; February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to s ...

visited Olympia to promote the cause and dined with the Bigelows at their home. The Bigelows were also instrumental in promoting public education in the territory. Daniel helped found the Olympia School District and assisted in the construction of the first school in the early 1850s. Bigelow also served as a regent of the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

in 1866 and later founded the Olympia Collegiate Institute, forerunner of the

. Daniel Bigelow died September 15, 1905, at Olympia, the last surviving member of the first territorial legislature. Ann Elizabeth Bigelow died February 8, 1926. The Bigelows had 9 children.Bigelow House Museum: History
Retrieved 10 April 2010.

References

External links

Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House MuseumBigelow Family Mementos available from the Washington State Library
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bigelow, Daniel History of Olympia, Washington 1824 births 1905 deaths Members of the Washington Territorial Legislature 19th-century American politicians Oregon Territory officials Union College (New York) alumni Harvard Law School alumni Regents of the University of Washington People from Ellisburg, New York

Biography

See also

References

External links