George Lemuel Woods
George Lemuel Woods | |
---|---|
Governor of Utah Territory | |
In office 1871–1875 | |
Preceded by | Vernon H. Vaughan |
Succeeded by | Samuel Beach Axtell |
3rd Governor of Oregon | |
In office September 12, 1866 – September 14, 1870 | |
Preceded by | A. C. Gibbs |
Succeeded by | La Fayette Grover |
Personal details | |
Born | Republican | July 30, 1832
Spouse | Louisa A. McBride |
Profession | Lawyer |
George Lemuel Woods (July 30, 1832 – January 7, 1890) was an American lawyer, judge, and politician. A member of the
Biography
Early years
George Lemuel Woods was born July 30, 1832, in Boone County, Missouri, the second of four boys born to Caleb Woods and the former Margaret McBride.[1] His ancestors came to North America from Scotland in the late 17th Century, settling first in Virginia before moving to the Kentucky frontier.[2] His father had moved to Missouri in 1808.[2]
In 1847, when George was just 15, his parents moved to the Oregon Territory.[3] In Oregon, the family settled in Yamhill County, George was educated in the public schools.[3]
In April 1852, Woods was married to Louisa A. McBride.[4] The couple had two sons.[3] The young couple took a homestead on unimproved government land, which Woods cleared, fenced, and plowed.[5]
Unsatisfied with rural life, in 1856 Woods sold his property and enrolled at
Political career
In 1857, Woods organized Republican clubs in the state and was a noted speaker of the party.[3]
Woods was appointed a judge in
In 1865 he was appointed to serve on the Idaho Territory’s Supreme Court, but before his formal commission arrived he was nominated for governor by the Union Party.[6] Woods won election over his Democratic opponent, prominent attorney James L. Kelly, in a heated and intense campaign, becoming the third Governor of the state of Oregon.[6] His term began on September 12, 1866, and continued until September 14, 1870.[7]
An 1870 portrait of Woods by one who had heard him speak on numerous occasions characterized the "positive and magnetic" Governor as
"...tall, graceful, and commanding, with a handsome, cheerful face, which is set off by a full, flowing beard and manifesting the utmost mental activity.... His manner of speaking is rapid, but distinct and impressive, never using long or high-sounding words or indulging in any extravagance or impropriety or metaphor. He seems to depend on the natural forces of ideas rather than upon the sonorousness of words; and although never written, unless by some very swift reporter at the time of their delivery, his speeches would be considered well adapted to the most refined of lecture-rooms.... Perhaps no American orator is capable of a quicker or keener retort, but it is a cut from a rapier, rather than a stroke with a bludgeon."[8]
Woods' prowess as a public speaker placed him in demand for other candidates around the country, and he made campaign speaking tours on behalf of Republican candidates in California in 1867 — where he made 30 speeches in 35 nights — and the New England states of New Hampshire and Connecticut in 1868.[6]
Woods failed to win re-election but was immediately appointed by new Republican President
Later life
After leaving the Utah governorship Woods moved to California, where he remained for ten years.[1] He then returned to Oregon in 1885, where he died on January 7, 1890. Woods was buried at River View Cemetery in Portland, Oregon.[10]
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d John B. Horner, Oregon: Her History, Her Great Men, Her Literature. J.K. Gill Co.: Portland, 1921; pp. 125, 153–154, 176.
- ^ a b Oscar T. Shuck, Representative and Leading Men of the Pacific. San Francisco: Bacon and Co., 1870; pg. 271.
- ^ a b c d e Howard M. Corning, Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.
- ^ Shuck, Representative and Leading Men of the Pacific, pp. 271-272.
- ^ a b c d e f Shuck, Representative and Leading Men of the Pacific, pg. 272.
- ^ a b c Shuck, Representative and Leading Men of the Pacific, pg. 273.
- ^ Oregon Blue Book: Elections Process and History
- ^ Shuck, Representative and Leading Men of the Pacific, pg. 274.
- ^ Hal Schindler, "The Territorial Governors," Salt Lake Tribune, Jan. 7, 1996.
- ^ Lawrence Kestenbaum (ed.), "George Lemuel Woods (1832-1890)," politicalgraveyard.com/
Further reading
- Oscar T. Shuck, Representative and Leading Men of the Pacific: Being Original Sketches of the Lives and Characters of the Principal Men, to which are Added Their Speeches, Addresses, Orations, Eulogies, Lectures and Poems, Including the Happiest Forensic Efforts of Baker, Randolph, McDougall, T. Starr King, and Other Popular Orators. San Francisco: Bacon and Co., 1870.
External links
- Murphy, Miriam B. (1994), "Territorial Governors", in Powell, Allan Kent (ed.), Utah History Encyclopedia, Salt Lake City, Utah: OCLC 30473917
- Governor George L. Woods' Administration from the Oregon State Archives
- Oregon State Library: George Lemuel Woods