Owen Summers (June 13, 1850 – January 21, 1911) was a businessman, Oregon state legislator, and founder of the

Oregon National Guard The Oregon Military Department is an agency of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon, which oversees the armed forces of the state of Oregon. Under the authority and direction of the governor as commander-in-chief, the agency is responsib ...

. Colonel Summers Park in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, is named in his honor.

Early years

Owen Summers was born in

Brockville Brockville, formerly Elizabethtown, is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically Independent city, independent of the county. It i ...

, Canada West, on June 13, 1850, to parents John and Elizabeth Ann Summers, with Owen one of five children. The family soon moved to Chicago, Illinois, where John Summers entered the shoe business. In 1856, the parents and one daughter died in a cholera epidemic, leaving the remaining four children orphans. Owen went to a farm in

Frankfort, Illinois Frankfort is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion in Cook County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 20,296. According to Forbes.com, in 2007 the village ranked as the 36th fastest growing suburb in the Un ...

, near

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Owen worked on the farm, earning his room and board, as well as clothing, and attended school nearby when possible.

Civil War service

In 1865 Owen, and four of his friends decided to join the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

in 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 ...

. They were fourteen years old. The recruiters refused to enlist them, six times. Then a Pennsylvania Dutchman agreed to take on the youngsters as their guardian, and the Army allowed them to join. On February 1, 1865 Owen Summers joined Company H of the 3rd Illinois Cavalry Regiment. Summers immediately shipped out to his unit, in Eastern Mississippi. Based on these dates, young Summers may have seen action in some battles before the end of the war, or perhaps he joined units that were ending their involvement. The Third Illinois Cavalry was reassigned to Missouri, to join battles against the Sioux Indians in Minnesota and the Dakotas. This assignment lasted during the summer of 1865. Summers and the regiment were mustered out in December, 1865.

Business and civic

Returning to the farm after his stint in the Army, Summers later moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1871. He was caught in the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 10 ...

, rescuing his new family and two others. After the fire, Summers performed contractor work in rebuilding the city. He continued his contractor work on the West Coast, working in San Francisco and San Diego, before arriving in

in 1879. He founded a crockery business with his brother-in-law, J. C. Olds, called Olds & Summers, and supplying crockery both wholesale and retail. The business flourished, as the two men became prominent local businessmen in Portland, Oregon. In 1896, Summers was selected as the United States Appraiser for the Port of Portland, Oregon. In this role he was responsible for the examination, appraisal, and classification of all merchandise which is liable to customs duties upon importation or exportation from the Port. He continued to serve in this role until his death, with the exception of the period of his military duties in the Philippines.

Military service

In 1886, serving in the Oregon State Assembly, Summers was instrumental in getting a bill passed that resulted in the state militia becoming the Oregon National Guard. One of the three new guard regiments was one Summers had organized in 1883 from veterans of the Civil War. At the opening of the Spanish–American War, the guard was consolidated into the

2nd Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 2nd Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment was a military regiment recruited in the U.S. state of Oregon during the Spanish–American War. As the first foreign war in U.S. history, it was the first time members of the Oregon National Guard had fo ...

, with Summers as its commanding colonel. In May, 1898, the Oregon Volunteers were the first regiment to sail for the Philippines in the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

. Arriving in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

in August they accepted the surrender of the Spanish Army of 15,000 soldiers. The Philippine insurgents who had been fighting the Spanish for several years expected to become the government of the new independent nation. Fighting now began between 11,000 American soldiers and the Philippine insurgents. The Second Oregon Regiment fought in a number of major battles, and provided provost duties in Manila. During its term of service the regiment participated in forty-two engagements. The Second Oregon Regiment returned to the United States in 1899, and was de-commissioned from the Army. Owen Summers was honored with a

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

Brigadier General recognition.

Family

Owen Summers was married to Clara T. Olds in Portland, Oregon on July 23, 1880. Clara was the daughter of some of the original pioneers in Oregon. They had one child, Owen Summers Jr. Their son also joined the military, serving in World War II as a Major General, and having received multiple honors including the Silver Star and a Purple Heart. Mr. and Mrs. Summers were active in many civic and fraternal organizations in Oregon. Owen Summers died in Portland, Oregon, on January 21, 1911. He and his son are buried in Portland's River View Cemetery, where many Spanish–American War veterans are buried.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Summers, Owen 1850 births 1911 deaths Businesspeople from Portland, Oregon Members of the Oregon House of Representatives Emigrants from British North America to the United States Union Army personnel 19th-century American legislators People from Brockville People from Frankfort, Illinois United States Army colonels American military personnel of the Spanish–American War 19th-century American businesspeople Oregon National Guard personnel Military personnel from Illinois