Zenas Ferry Moody (May 27, 1832 – March 14, 1917) was the seventh Governor of Oregon from 1882 to 1887.

Early life

Zenas Ferry Moody was born on May 27, 1832, in

Granby, Massachusetts Granby is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,110 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The census-designated place of Granby corresponds to th ...

, to Thomas Hovey and Hannah Ferry.Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956. The family immigrated to Oregon Territory in 1851, traveling the

Isthmus of Panama The Isthmus of Panama ( es, Istmo de Panamá), also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien (), is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country ...

route. Moody was a surveyor and store keeper in Brownsville, Oregon until moving to Illinois in 1856. He then returned to Oregon in 1862 when he settled in The Dalles. At The Dalles he set up a general store and was responsible for surveying the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Then in 1865 he organized the Oregon & Montana Transportation Company. During his time in The Dalles he was a major shipper of Oregon wool from Eastern Oregon.

Politics

In 1880, he was elected to 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 ...

. During his only term there, he also served as Speaker of the House. Then in 1882, Moody was elected as the seventh Governor of the state of Oregon. He took office on September 13, 1882 and served until January 12, 1887.

Family

Moody married Mary Stephenson in Brownsville on November 19, 1853. They would have five children, including

Malcolm A. Moody Malcolm Adelbert Moody (November 30, 1854 – March 19, 1925) was an American businessman and politician who served two terms as a Republican U.S. congressman from Oregon from 1899 to 1903. Early life Moody was born near Brownsville in the Ore ...

, who would serve in the United States Congress, and Ralph E. Moody, who would serve in the

and as assistant attorney general of Oregon. Zenas was the nephew of William Montague Ferry, and the cousin of U.S. Senator

Thomas W. Ferry Thomas White Ferry (June 10, 1827October 13, 1896), or T.W. Ferry, was a U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and acting Vice President of the United States from the State of Michigan. Except for President Gerald Ford, no Michigan politician has ...

Death

Moody died in

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 ...

on March 14, 1917. He is buried in Salem's

City View Cemetery City View Cemetery is a privately owned cemetery in Salem, Oregon, United States that was established in 1893. Its Mount Crest Abbey Mausoleum, opened in 1914, contains the remains of eight governors of Oregon. History The cemetery was establish ...

References

External links

Z. F. Moody Biography on Oregon State Library website

Public documents of Z. F. Moody on Oregon Secretary of State website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moody, Zenas Ferry 1832 births 1917 deaths People from Granby, Massachusetts Republican Party governors of Oregon Speakers of the Oregon House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives People from The Dalles, Oregon Burials at City View Cemetery 19th-century American politicians People from Brownsville, Oregon