Daniel M. C. Gault (May 8, 1842 – April 20, 1912) was a newspaperman, educator and politician in the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. A native of

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, he immigrated 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 United States, Union as the Oreg ...

with his family as a child where he became a teacher in several locales. A Republican, he served three terms in the

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the State legislature (United States), state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper house, upper and lower chamber: the Oregon State Senate, Sena ...

over a period of nearly 30 years. He also worked for several newspapers and founded two others.

Early life

Daniel Gault was born on May 8, 1842, in

Davis County, Iowa Davis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,110. The county seat is Bloomfield. Davis County is included in the Ottumwa, IA Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Davis County wa ...

, along the border with

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. He was the one of five children of John Gault, a farmer and carpenter, and Lucy McClein. Daniel’s father was from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

and his mother from

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. In 1852, the family moved to the

to a farm eight miles southwest of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, near what was then Tigardville.

Oregon

In Oregon, Gault received his education at

Tualatin Academy Tualatin Academy was a secondary school in the U.S. state of Oregon that eventually became Pacific University. Tualatin Academy also refers to the National Register of Historic Places-listed college building constructed in 1850 to house the acade ...

in Forest Grove. His mother died in 1858 and his father in 1861, and at that time Gault began a long career as a teacher, first in

Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,339 as of 2023. The combined populat ...

. In 1865, he started in the newspaper field as the editor of the ''Jacksonville Sentinel'', continuing until 1868. While editor, he also

read law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship un ...

for the three years he was in the

Southern Oregon Southern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon south of Lane County and generally west of the Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia thr ...

community of

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

. In 1867, he married Anna Rebecca Howell, and they had two daughters, Elizabeth and Mary. The family then moved to

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada * Salem, Ontario, various places Germany * Salem, Baden-Württemberg, a municipality in the Bodensee district ** Salem Abbey (Reichskloster Salem), a monastery * Salem, Schleswig-Holstein Israel * Salem (B ...

and worked for the ''Daily Statesman'' for one year. While in Salem, he also taught mathematics at

Willamette University Willamette University is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with locations in Salem, Oregon, Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United ...

. Gault followed this by starting his own paper in

Dallas, Oregon Dallas is a city and the county seat of Polk County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,854 at the 2020 census. Dallas is along Rickreall Creek, about west of Salem, at an elevation of above sea level. It is part of the Salem M ...

, in 1869. He sold the ''Polk County Republican'' in 1870 and resumed teaching school, this time 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 Co ...

. That year his wife died, and in 1872 he moved north to Hillsboro where he continued working as a teacher until 1880. In 1878, he married a second time to Lydia E. Humphrey, and the marriage produced two sons, John and William. Humphrey’s sister Julia married poet Samuel L. Simpson. Gault left Hillsboro in 1880 and moved to the Halliday area of Portland and taught two years in there before moving to a farm outside the city. During this time he also worked for the ''Portland News''. He continued teaching until 1892 when he returned to the newspaper industry as part owner and editor of the ''Hillsboro Independent''. In January 1903, he left the newspaper and started a printing company in Salem with one of his sons. The Gault Printing Company was moved to Cottage Grove in 1905 where the Gaults established a newspaper, the ''Western Oregon''. They sold the paper and printing company to J. C. Howard three years later, with Howard then starting the '' Cottage Grove Sentinel''.

Political career

Gault entered public service in 1874 when he was elected as superintendent of public schools in Washington County, serving one four-year term and leaving office in 1878. In 1876, he was elected to a two-year term in the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, the upper house being the Oregon State Senate. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of ...

as a Republican to serve Washington County and District 56. From 1879 to 1880 he served on Hillsboro’s Board of Trustees, now known as the city council. In 1882, Gault returned to the Oregon House, this time representing District 45 and Multnomah County. He only served the one term each of his first two stints in the legislature. Gault was elected one final time in 1902, and served in the 1903 sessions as Washington County’s representative from House District 15.

Later years

In March 1908, Gault was appointed as the

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

of Cottage Grove, a position he retained until he died in 1912. His wife served as his deputy during this time at the post office. In civic affairs he was a member of the Congregational church, the

Independent Order of Odd Fellows The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is a non-political, non-sectarian international fraternal order of Odd Fellowship. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Wildey in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Evolving from the Odd Fellows, Order ...

, and the

Ancient Order of United Workmen The Ancient Order of United Workmen (AOUW) was a fraternal organization in the United States and Canada, providing mutual social and financial support after the American Civil War. It was the first of the "fraternal benefit societies", organizati ...

. Daniel Gault died on April 20, 1912, in Cottage Grove and was buried at the Hillsboro Pioneer Cemetery.Cemeteries: Hillsboro Pioneer Cemetery inscriptions, surnames E-H, Hillsboro, Washington County, Oregon.
USGenWEB Archives. Retrieved on April 18, 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gault, Daniel Republican Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives People from Cottage Grove, Oregon People from Davis County, Iowa 1842 births 1912 deaths Burials at Hillsboro Pioneer Cemetery Educators from Oregon American newspaper editors Pacific University alumni Oregon postmasters Willamette University faculty Hillsboro City Council members (Oregon) American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law People from Oregon Territory 19th-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly