Lucien Heath (May 10, 1819 – December 19, 1888) was an American farmer, merchant, and politician 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 ...

. A native of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, he was raised there and in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

before immigrating to 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 ...

. A Democrat, he served as the first

Oregon Secretary of State The secretary of state of Oregon, an elected constitutional officer within the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Oregon, is first in line of succession to the governor. The duties of the office are auditor of public accounts, ch ...

after Oregon entered the Union in 1859, and was also the mayor of

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

. After moving to

Santa Cruz County, California Santa Cruz County (), officially the County of Santa Cruz, is a county on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 270,861. The county seat is Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz County comprises the Santa ...

, he was elected to the

California Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Asse ...

for two terms as a Republican.

Early life

Lucien Heath was born on May 10, 1819, in the state of

near Buffalo to a merchant father. The family moved to

when Heath was young where he farmed. In 1849, he married there to Jane Edwards of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, and they had two sons and a daughter.Koch, Margaret
Artists Frank and Lillian Heath.
Local History, Santa Cruz Public Libraries. Retrieved on January 7, 2009. In 1852, the family of Jane, Lucien, and son Henry (the daughter Lina had already died), moved to the

over 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 ...

Career

Heath and the family settled in

Polk County Polk County is the name of twelve counties in the United States, all except two named after president of the United States James Knox Polk: * Polk County, Arkansas * Polk County, Florida * Polk County, Georgia * Polk County, Iowa * Polk Count ...

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, ...

where he started a farm.Corning, Howard M. (1989) ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 110. In 1854, he was appointed as the clerk of the territorial court. He later became a trustee of the La Creole Academy that was started in 1856 in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. Heath then served as clerk of Polk County. After Heath moved to Salem he became a merchant. He also served as the recording secretary for the State Agricultural Society in Marion County where Salem is located. In this position, Heath became the first financial secretary of the

Oregon State Fair The Oregon State Fair is the official state fair of the U.S. state of Oregon. It takes place every August–September at the Oregon State Fairgrounds located in north Salem, Oregon, Salem, the state capital, as it has almost every year since 1862. ...

, held at

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 ...

. In 1858, he was elected as a Democrat to serve as Secretary of State once Oregon was admitted to the Union. Oregon became a state on February 14, 1859, with the news of acceptance arriving in Oregon weeks later. Heath took office on March 3, 1859, replacing outgoing territorial secretary

Benjamin F. Harding Benjamin Franklin Harding (January 4, 1823June 16, 1899) was an American attorney and politician born in Pennsylvania. He held political offices in the Oregon Territory and later served as a United States senator from the state of Oregon. Early ...

. He moved to Salem and served in office until leaving on September 8, 1862. He also was mayor of

, the state capitol, in 1861. He then served as the clerk to the

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

twice. Heath was elected in November 1882 and re-elected in 1884 to represent district 50.Election History for the State of California: Lucien Heath.
JoinCalifornia. Retrieved on January 7, 2009. In 1866, Heath moved south to

, where he continued to farm. He also was a hardware merchant and then president of the Santa Cruz County Bank. The hardware store was on Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz and partly owned by John Byrne. Later he entered the real estate business as a partner with Samuel Drennan.

Personal life

Heath died on December 19, 1888, at the age of 69 while on a trip to the East Coast and was buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Santa Cruz. Heath’s brother Albert was a captain for the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, and son

Frank Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

was a landscape artist while the other son Henry followed in his father’s footsteps as a merchant.

References

External links

Portrait of Heath
–

Oregon State Library The State Library of Oregon in Salem, is the library for the U.S. state of Oregon. The mission of the State Library of Oregon is to provide leadership and resources to continue growing vibrant library services for Oregonians with print disabil ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heath, Lucien Secretaries of State of Oregon Politicians from Buffalo, New York People from Polk County, Oregon 1819 births 1888 deaths Hardware merchants Mayors of Salem, Oregon Members of the California State Assembly Oregon pioneers 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American businesspeople