Robert Valentine Short (March 31, 1823 – September 7, 1908) was an American politician and land surveyor 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

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, he traveled 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 ...

where he eventually settled in

Yamhill County Yamhill County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 107,722. The county seat is McMinnville. Yamhill County was named after the Yamhelas, members of the Kalapuya Tribe. Yamhill Cou ...

. He was a member of the

Oregon Constitutional Convention The Oregon Constitutional Convention in 1857 drafted the Oregon Constitution in preparation for the Oregon Territory to become a U.S. state. Held from mid-August through September, 60 men met in Salem, Oregon, and created the foundation for Oregon ...

and later 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 ...

. Short also served in the Indian Wars and lived 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 ...

Early life

Robert Short was born on March 31, 1823, to James and Eleanor (née McFarland) Short in Fairview, Pennsylvania. After apprenticing as a tailor he worked in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

and Gallion, Ohio before entering

Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio. It was founded in 1842 by methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five – a consortium ...

in 1841. He left college the next year and was a school teacher from 1843 to 1844, before returning to tailoring in 1845 in

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 ...

. Short then worked as a farmhand in 1846 before heading west to the then

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 ...

in 1847 with Joel Palmer and Joseph C. Geer. Settling 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 ...

, he opened a tailoring shop before heading south to the gold mines of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

from 1849 to 1850. He married Mary Geer on February 19, 1848, and they had six children.

Oregon

In 1850, Short returned to what had become the Oregon Territory where he helped complete the first survey of the Portland townsite, and purchased a lot on what is now southwest Third Street between Alder and Washington. He built a house there, where the

Dekum Building The Dekum or the Dekum Building is a historic office building in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. With its rusticated sandstone base, over-scaled arches at street level ...

was later built. Short also surveyed Oregon City for

John McLoughlin John McLoughlin, baptized Jean-Baptiste McLoughlin, (October 19, 1784 – September 3, 1857) was a French-Canadian, later American, Chief Factor and Superintendent of the Columbia District of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver fro ...

that year, as well as becoming the first surveyor for Yamhill County (1855) where he set up a

donation land claim 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 ...

. During the Indian wars he served as a captain. In 1857, he served as a Democratic delegate to the

for Yamhill County. At the convention he served on the Committee on Expenses. The next year the

Oregon Legislature 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 ...

passed a bill naming him as a surveyor and commissioner to relocated a portion of the road between Corvallis and Portland. After 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 ...

, he joined the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

. From 1862 to 1864 he was the assessor for Clackamas County after part of what had been Yamhill County was changed to Clackamas County. In 1888, he was elected from District 6 to the

representing Clackamas, serving a single two-year term.

Later life and death

After leaving the legislature, he retired in 1891 to his home in Portland. Robert Short died on September 7, 1908, at the age of 85 in Portland. He was buried at Multnomah Park Cemetery in Portland. In 2014, a Douglas fir tree on his former property in Wilsonville was designated as an

Oregon Heritage Tree Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Short, Robert V. 1823 births 1908 deaths Oregon pioneers Members of the Oregon Constitutional Convention Members of the Oregon House of Representatives People of the California Gold Rush People from Butler County, Pennsylvania People from Yamhill County, Oregon People from Wilsonville, Oregon Politicians from Portland, Oregon Ohio Wesleyan University alumni 19th-century American politicians