Woodson Taylor Slater (November 18, 1858 – November 30, 1928) was an American attorney and jurist in Oregon. He was the 38th associate justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, serving from 1909 to 1911. Slater was the son of Congressman

James H. Slater James Harvey Slater (December 28, 1826January 28, 1899) was a United States representative and Senator from Oregon. An Illinois native, Slater also served in the Oregon Territory's Legislature, then later the Oregon State Legislature, and was ...

. The Oregon native also worked in the state’s treasurer’s office and for the Supreme Court prior to his appointment as a judge to the state’s highest court.

Early life

Woodson Slater was born on November 18, 1858, in Corvallis, Benton County, Oregon Territory to Elizabeth (Edna) Gray and later Congressman

.Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956. In 1863 the family moved to Walla Walla, Washington, and then

Auburn, Oregon Auburn was an unincorporated community in rural Baker County, Oregon, United States, now considered a ghost town. Auburn lies off Oregon Route 7 southwest of Baker City and east of McEwen on the edge of the Blue Mountains. Auburn is deserted ...

, before settling in the Eastern Oregon town of La Grande in 1866. There in Union County Woodson received his primary education in the public schools. In 1883, he graduated from the University of Oregon in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

, before being admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

two years later. Slater married in 1885 to Mary Price Howe and the couple would have four children.

Legal career

Upon becoming a lawyer Slater moved to Pendleton, Oregon, and began practicing law in 1886. The following year he moved to

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river ...

, where he worked in the office of the Oregon State Treasurer until 1890. He then returned to La Grande where he became involved in the mercantile industry, but returned to Salem in 1894 and opened a law practice. In Salem, he taught law at Willamette University College of Law in 1903 as a professor of torts and contracts. Then from 1907 until early 1909 he was the commissioner of the Oregon Supreme Court. On February 12, 1909, Oregon Governor George Earle Chamberlain appointed Slater to the state supreme court bench when the court expanded from three to five justices.Oregon State Archives: Governor's Records Guides.
Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on February 2, 2008.Oregon Blue Book: Earliest Authorities in Oregon - Supreme Court Justices of Oregon.
Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on February 2, 2008. He left the court at the end of the term on January 1, 1911.

Later years

Woodson T. Slater died in Portland, Oregon, on November 30, 1928, at the age of 70.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slater, Woodson T. Justices of the Oregon Supreme Court University of Oregon alumni 1858 births 1928 deaths Willamette University College of Law faculty People from La Grande, Oregon