About the Convention Delegates

The June 1857 vote that resulted in a 7,559 to 1,081 majority in favor of holding a constitutional convention also brought the election of 60 convention delegates. These men—women were more than 50 years from direct participation in state politics—represented something of a cross section of Oregon, but were numerically dominated by Democrats and farmers. Yet, sheer numbers don't tell the whole story. Individual personalities, past experiences, speaking skills, and other factors also affected the outcome of the convention as it began in the small Salem courthouse on August 17, 1857.

Social commonalities
The delegates had much in common. According to historian Charles H. Carey, they were all pioneers, "none of whom was wealthy, and many of whom had known the pinch of hard times and had suffered from scarcity of the comforts of life...."(1) Most had come to Oregon seeking a rural, noncommercial, and self-sufficient lifestyle that sharply contrasted with that sought by the gold-driven entrepreneurs who had dashed in the direction of California. Despite their sometimes biting rhetoric, the delegates shared the ideals of civic-minded altruism and face-to-face political relationships. A large number had come to Oregon from the Midwest where they had been influenced by issues debated at earlier constitutional conventions. Farmers comprised most of the delegates but they were easily overshadowed in terms of influence by lawyers, a group that included all three territorial supreme court justices. Of the total number, 33 were farmers, 18 were lawyers, five were gold miners, two were journalists, and one was a civil engineer. Seventeen delegates had served in the territorial legislature, one was a veteran of an Ohio constitutional convention, and two had participated in statehood campaigns in Iowa.(2)

Political contrasts
Politically the Democrats dominated from the beginning of the convention. According to one estimate, they claimed up to 75 percent of the delegates. The Democrats came in organized, disciplined, and with a plan. Holding a clear majority, they set out to avoid division at the convention by planning to pass the issues of slavery and the immigration of free blacks to a vote of the people. They also had agreed to use the Indiana Constitution as a template and had completed significant work on parts of the constitution. For example, the three territorial supreme court justices, who were also Democratic delegates, had drafted the outlines of a plan for the state judiciary. These intentions were cemented at a Democratic Party caucus meeting the first evening of the convention, as 45 delegates declared their solidarity and selected Matthew Deady to be their candidate for president of the convention. In contrast, anti-Democrats were unorganized and lacked a common purpose. At best, they were held together by a shared animosity for and suspicion of the dominant Democrats led by the Salem Clique. Their ranks included colorful figures such as Thomas Dryer and David Logan, complemented by evangelicals dedicated to the causes of anti-immigration, temperance, and others.(3)

The delegates
The following men served as delegates to the Oregon Constitutional Convention. Click on a delegate name to view a brief biographical sketch as well as an image, if available.

Delegate	Birth	Place	Death	Place	County rep	Years(4)	Work	Political party
Anderson, Levi	1818	KY	1889	Oregon	Washington	5	Farmer	Anti-Democrat
Applegate, Jesse	1810	KY	1888	Oregon	Umpqua	14	Farmer	Anti-Democrat
Babcock, A D	1818	NY	1879	Oregon	Polk/Tillamook	5	Lawyer	Democrat
Boise, Reuben P	1819	MA	1907	Oregon	Polk	7	Lawyer	Democrat
Brattrain, J H	1813	OH	1859	Oregon	Linn	11	Farmer	Democrat
Brattrain, Paul	1801	NC	1883	Oregon	Lane	5	Farmer	Democrat
Bristow, W W	1826	KY	1874	Oregon	Lane	11	Farmer	Democrat
Burch, B F	1825	MO	1893	Oregon	Polk	12	Farmer	Democrat
Campbell, A J	1828	IN	1870	Oregon	Lane	4	Mechanic	Democrat
Campbell, Hector	1794	MA	1873	Oregon	Clackamas	8	Farmer	Democrat
Chadwick, Stephen	1825	CT	1895	Oregon	Douglas	6	Lawyer	Democrat
Cox, Jesse	1821	MO	1901	Oregon	Lane	6	Farmer	Democrat
Cox, Joseph	1811	OH	1876	Oregon	Marion	10	Farmer	Democrat
Coyle, Reuben	1821	KY	1888	California	Linn	10	Farmer	Democrat
Crooks, John T	1807	VA	1896	Oregon	Linn	9	Farmer	Democrat
Deady, Matthew	1824	MD	1893	Oregon	Douglas	8	Lawyer	Democrat
Dryer, Thomas	1810	NY	1879	Oregon	Mult/Wash	7	Editor	Anti-Democrat
Duncan, L J C	1818	TN	1886	unknown	Jackson	7	Miner	Democrat
Elkins, Luther	1809	ME	1887	Oregon	Linn	5	Farmer	Democrat
Farrar, William H	1826	NH	1873	Wash DC	Multnomah	4	Lawyer	Democrat
Fitzhugh, Solomon	1804	KY	1884	Oregon	Douglas	7	Farmer	Democrat
Grover, La Fayette	1826	ME	1911	Oregon	Marion	6	Lawyer	Democrat
Hendershott, S B	1832	IL	1886	unknown	Josephine	4	Miner	Democrat
Hoult, Enoch	1820	VA	1884	Oregon	Lane	4	Farmer	Democrat
Kelly, James	1819	PA	1903	Wash DC	Clackamas	6	Lawyer	Democrat
Kelsay, John	1819	KY	1899	Oregon	Benton	4	Farmer	Democrat
Kinney, Robert	1813	IL	1875	Oregon	Yamhill	10	Farmer	Anti-Democrat
Lewis, Haman	1803	NY	1889	Oregon	Benton	12	Farmer	Democrat
Logan, David	1826	NC	1874	Oregon	Multnomah	8	Lawyer	Anti-Democrat
Lovejoy, Asa	1811	MA	1882	Oregon	Clackamas	14	Lawyer	Democrat
McBride, John	1832	MO	1904	Wash State	Yamhill	11	Lawyer	Republican
McCormick, Stephen	1828	Ireland	1891	California	Multnomah	6	Printer	Democrat
Marple, Perry B	1819	VA	1862	Wash Terr	Coos	6	Farmer	Democrat
Matzger, William	1819	Germany	1883	California	Benton	10	Mechanic	Anti-Democrat
Meigs, Charles	1830	CT	1883	Oregon	Wasco	2	Lawyer	Democrat
Miller, Richard	1802	MD	1872	Oregon	Marion	10	Farmer	Democrat
Moores, Isaac	1796	IL	1861	Oregon	Lane	5	Surveyor	Democrat
Newcomb, Daniel	1800	VA	1867	Oregon	Jackson	4	Farmer	Democrat
Nichols, H B	1821	CT	1907	Oregon	Benton	5	Farmer	Anti-Democrat
Olds, Martin	1799	MA	1877	Oregon	Yamhill	6	Farmer	Anti-Democrat
Olney, Cyrus	1815	NY	1870	Oregon	Clatsop	6	Lawyer	Democrat
Packwood, William	1832	IL	1917	Oregon	Curry	8	Miner	Anti-Democrat
Peebles, J C	1826	PA	1897	Oregon	Marion	7	Farmer	Democrat
Prim, Paine Page	1822	TN	1899	California	Jackson	6	Lawyer	Democrat
Reed, J H	1824	PA	1884	Wash Terr	Jackson	2	Lawyer	Democrat
Robbins, Nathaniel	1793	VA	1863	Oregon	Clackamas	5	Farmer	Democrat
Scott, Levi	1797	IL	1890	Oregon	Umpqua	13	Farmer	Anti-Democrat
Shannon, Davis	1815	MO	1889	Oregon	Marion	13	Farmer	Democrat
Shattuck, Erasmus	1824	VT	1900	Oregon	Washington	4	Lawyer	Anti-Democrat
Shields, James	1811	IL	1879	Oregon	Linn	5	Farmer	Democrat
Short, Robert V	1823	PA	1908	Oregon	Yamhill	10	Surveyor	Democrat
Shrum, Nicholas	1803	TN	1863	Oregon	Marion	11	Farmer	Democrat
Smith, Delazon	1816	NY	1860	Oregon	Linn	5	Lawyer	Democrat
Starkweather, William	1822	CT	1905	Oregon	Clackamas	7	Farmer	Democrat
Watkins, William H	1827	NY	1888	Oregon	Josephine	5	Physician	Anti-Democrat
Watts, John W	1830	MO	1901	Oregon	Columbia	5	Physician	Anti-Democrat
Waymire, Frederick	1807	MO	1873	Oregon	Polk	12	Mechanic	Democrat
White, John S	1828	TN	1886	Oregon	Washington	12	Farmer	Anti-Democrat
Whitted, Thomas	1832	OH	>1880	unknown	Douglas	7	Farmer	Democrat
Williams, George	1823	NY	1910	Oregon	Marion	4	Lawyer	Democrat
								(5)

Notes:
1. Charles H. Carey, ed., The Oregon Constitution and Proceedings and Debates of the Constitutional Convention of 1857 (Salem, Oregon: State Printing Department, 1926) 56. (hereafter cited as Carey, Oregon Constitution).
2. David Schuman, "The Creation of the Oregon Constitution," Oregon Law Review 74-2 (Summer 1995): 618; Carey, Oregon Constitution, 28-29.
3. David Alan Johnson, Founding the Far West: California, Oregon, and Nevada, 1840-1890 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992) 172-173.
4. Number of years that the delegate had lived in Oregon at the time of the convention.
5. David Alan Johnson, Founding the Far West: California, Oregon, and Nevada, 1840-1890 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992) 358-361.

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