George Abernethy (October 7, 1807 – March 2, 1877) was an American politician, pioneer, notable entrepreneur, and first

governor of Oregon The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...

under the

provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...

based in the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, ...

, an area later a part of the American

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

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 ...

. He traveled to

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 ...

as a secular member of the

Methodist mission The Methodist Mission was the Methodist Episcopal Church's 19th-century conversion efforts in the Pacific Northwest. Local Indigenous cultures were introduced to western culture and Christianity. Superintendent Jason Lee was the principal leader fo ...

, where he became involved in politics and helped found the first American newspaper west of the Rocky Mountains.

Early life

Abernethy was born on October 7, 1807, in New York City to

shoemaker Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as '' cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen ...

William Abernethy and an unidentified mother.Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956. He was of Scottish descent. He received his education in New York as well as learning the commercial trade. In 1830, Abernethy married Anne Pope. Missionary

Jason Lee Jason Lee may refer to: Entertainment *Jason Lee (actor) (born 1970), American film and TV actor and former professional skateboarder *Jason Scott Lee (born 1966), Asian American film actor * Jaxon Lee (Jason Christopher Lee, born 1968), American v ...

recruited Abernethy in 1839 to join him at the

Methodist Mission The Methodist Mission was the Methodist Episcopal Church's 19th-century conversion efforts in the Pacific Northwest. Local Indigenous cultures were introduced to western culture and Christianity. Superintendent Jason Lee was the principal leader fo ...

. He, his wife, and two children joined the Great Reinforcement that sailed on the ship ''

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

'' around

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...

to the Pacific Northwest.

Oregon

Arriving on June 1, 1840, Abernethy was placed in charge as Steward of the Oregon Mission,Gatke, Robert M. ''A Document of Mission History, 1833-43.'' Oregon Historical Quarterly 36, No. 1 (1935), pp. 71-94. focusing on the Mission's mercantile business in Oregon City. His specific instructions from the Methodist board requested an annual

account of all the goods, merchandise, clothing, farming and mechanical utensils, the produce of the farms, and the mechanical shops, the stock on the farm at a fair valuation, together with the worth of the houses, barns, mills, and shops, or whatever else may belong to the Mission, and likewise charge to each member of the Mission family the article or articles he or she may take from the store or farms for his or her use ...

Among his early accomplishments were establishing the first newspaper (the ''

Oregon Spectator ''The Oregon Spectator'', was a newspaper published from 1846 to 1855 in Oregon City of what was first the Oregon Country and later the Oregon Territory of the United States. The ''Spectator'' was the first American newspaper west of the Rocky Mo ...

'') in the Oregon Territory and establishing good business relations with the British

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

. Abernethy was also a member of the

Oregon Lyceum The Oregon Lyceum or Pioneer Lyceum and Literary Club was founded in Oregon City, Oregon Country around 1840. The forum was a prominent fixture for the leading pioneer settlers during its brief existence. It would begin publishing the first Ameri ...

in Oregon City. In 1842 he introduced a resolution there to hold off forming an independent country. This was adopted and counter-acted a resolution introduced by Dr.

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 ...

of the HBC that had earlier been adopted by the Lyceum.

Governor

On June 3, 1845, Abernethy was elected to serve as Provisional Governor of the

, defeating

Osborne Russell Osborne Russell (19 June 1814 – 1 May 1884) was a mountain man and politician who helped form the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. He was born in Maine. Early life Osborne Russell was born 19 June 1814, in the village of Bowdoinh ...

, a member of the outgoing

Executive Committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

. Abernethy and his supporters were American loyalists who believed that the Provisional Government was strictly interim until the question of U.S. and British claims on the Oregon Country were finalized. Russell, however, headed up the "Independents" faction which wished to create a Republic of the Pacific. As provisional governor, Abernethy worked to build roads, levied the first property taxes, and sent representatives of the Provisional Government to Washington, D.C., to lobby for official U.S. territorial status. He was reelected in 1847 with the endorsement of the influential Dr.

over Asa Lovejoy, co-founder of Portland. Among the more interesting prerogatives of Abernethy was his solution to the shortage of U.S. currency throughout the territory. He and eight other leading citizens established the Oregon Exchange Company, which became the de facto territorial mint for a short time. The organization minted the now-rare five dollar and ten dollar " Beaver Coins", making Oregon one of the few U.S. territories to ever mint its own currency. The Abernethy administration technically ended when efforts to gain territorial status came to fruition on August 14, 1848. President

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...

signed the Oregon Territory Act, and appointed General

Joseph Lane Joseph "Joe" Lane (December 14, 1801 – April 19, 1881) was an American politician and soldier. He was a state legislator representing Evansville, Indiana, and then served in the Mexican–American War, becoming a general. President James K. ...

as the first official territorial governor. Abernethy continued to carry out his duties until Governor Lane arrived at Oregon City March 3, 1849.

Later life and legacy

After leaving office, Abernethy continued doing well in his business. Among other things he served as the Oregon City agent for the pioneer steamer ''Lot Whitcomb'', the first steam-powered vessel built on the Willamette River and the second one built in the entire

. Abernethy's assets were destroyed during the flood of 1861. He moved to

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 ...

shortly after. He died in 1877 at 70 years of age. Abernethy was buried at River View Cemetery. Today, the

Abernethy Bridge The George Abernethy Bridge, or simply Abernethy Bridge, is a steel plate and box girder bridge that spans the Willamette River between Oregon City and West Linn, Oregon, United States, and which carries Interstate 205. It is also known as the Or ...

in Oregon City is named in his honor. The end of 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 ...

, also in Oregon City, lies near an area known as Abernethy Green. Several other public works (and natural features such as streams) in

are also named in his honor; though several are given the variant spelling of Abernathy.

References

*''Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896.'' Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1963.

External links

Oregon State Library: Governors of Oregon
- Photograph and biography.

- Biography on personal family genealogy site, extensively sourced. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abernethy, George 1807 births 1877 deaths Governors of Oregon Territory Methodist Mission in Oregon American people of Scottish descent Politicians from New York City Methodist missionaries in the United States Politicians from Portland, Oregon Politicians from Oregon City, Oregon Members of the Provisional Government of Oregon American Methodist missionaries Burials at River View Cemetery (Portland, Oregon) Oregon pioneers 19th-century American politicians