George W. Joseph
George W. Joseph | |
---|---|
Oregon Senate from the 13th district | |
In office 1921–1929 | |
In office 1911–1915 | |
Personal details | |
Born | George W. P. Joseph May 10, 1872 Modoc County, California, U.S. |
Died | June 17, 1930 Clatsop County, Oregon, U.S. | (aged 58)
Political party | Republican |
Spouse |
Bertha Snell (m. 1903) |
Children | 1 |
George W. P. Joseph (May 10, 1872 – June 17, 1930) was an attorney and Republican politician in the U.S. state of Oregon. A native of California, his family relocated to Oregon when he was young. There he would practice law and serve in the Oregon State Senate.
Early life
Joseph was born on May 10, 1872, in a log cabin on Joseph Creek in
Joseph moved to Portland and began working for the law offices of Watson, Hume and Watson in 1892.
Two years later, the Alaska gold rush hit, and Joseph traveled to Alaska with a Judge Adams to explore the opportunity.[3] They staked a claim and established a mine. Joseph ultimately returned to Oregon poorer than when he had left, and resumed his partnership with Meier. During this period, Joseph found a respect for the political progressivism of Theodore Roosevelt.[3]
Joseph married Bertha L. Snell in September 1903 in Drain, Oregon.[2][3][4] They had a son, George W. Joseph Jr., born in 1905.[3] George Jr. went on to chair the state hydroelectric commission, appointed by Gov. Meier, and also served as president of the Oregon mental health association.[5]
After Meier left the partnership to join his family's department store, Meier & Frank, Joseph partnered with
Joseph was a noted opponent of an effort to call a state
Political career
Joseph was elected to the
In 1918, Joseph made a gift of the historic Barlow Road to a committee tasked with creating a commemorative highway between Portland and Mount Hood.[9]
In 1920, Joseph was re-elected to the Senate.
During his time in the Oregon Senate, Joseph introduced numerous bills that would have promoted the development of
In late 1925, Joseph considered a run for the United States Senate, and received strong assurances from Henry Hanzen, a political editor, that the Republican nomination was his for the asking. He ultimately declined to run for national office, however, stating to Hanzen:
...I shall never seek office which will take me away from the people of Oregon. I am going to stay in the fight for them.[3]
(Had he won the nomination, he would have faced his former law partner, Democrat Bert Haney, in the general election.)
In the late 1920s, the matter of Wemme's estate went before the
Joseph was considered a
About two weeks after the primary election, Joseph and Mannix were both permanently disbarred by the Oregon Supreme Court.
Legacy
The Republican Party nominated Phil Metschan to take Joseph's place on the ballot. Metschan, who had not run in the primary, opposed public power utilities, a significant departure from Joseph's platform.
Joseph's friend and former law partner
Joseph's heirs donated a piece of property to the State of Oregon in 1934, which is now known as George W. Joseph State Natural Area.[22] Joseph's cousin, George M. Joseph, was a prominent Oregon attorney and judge.
References
- ^ a b c "Oregon Ousting". Time. June 9, 1930. Archived from the original on July 15, 2010. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
- ^ a b c d e Colmer, Montagu, and Charles Erskine Scott Wood. History of the Bench and Bar of Oregon. Portland, Or: Historical Pub. Co, 1910. p. 85.
- ^ ISBN 1-4325-9812-0. Page 47 (lists 10/7/03.)
- ^ "The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current, September 13, 1903, PART THREE, Page 22, Image 22 « Historic Oregon Newspapers".
- ^ "Obituary: Illness Fatal to George Joseph Jr". Oregon Journal. July 11, 1958.
- ^ Oregon Voter
- ^ "Time to Change: Many lawyers favor new constitution". The Oregonian. January 29, 1905.
- ^ "Big Appropriation for Fair Favored. George W. Joseph Says Oregon Should Devote $500,000 to Exposition". The Oregonian. December 20, 1912.
- ^ "Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, December 04, 1918, Page 14, Image 14 « Historic Oregon Newspapers".
- ^ 1921 Regular Session (31st). Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on May 28, 2008.
- ^ "Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, October 21, 1921, Page 6, Image 6 « Historic Oregon Newspapers".
- ^ 1925 Regular Session (33rd). Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on May 28, 2008.
- ^ 1929 Regular Session (35th). Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on May 28, 2008.
- JSTOR 3138633.
- ^ a b "Court Disbars Oregon Candidate for Governor Who Won Nomination on 'Vindication' Issue". New York Times. May 28, 1930.
- ^ "Joseph takes lead in Oregon primary; Republican 'Vindication' Candidate for Governor Is 5,485 Ahead of Incumbent". The New York Times. May 18, 1930.
- ISBN 0-405-05904-3.
- ^ "Nominee drops dead in Oregon". Los Angeles times. June 17, 1930. Archived from the original on October 5, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ISSN 2472-4343. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
- ^ "Governor Julius L. Meier's Administration: Governor's Message, 1935". Oregon State Archives. 1935. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
- ^ Oregon Historical Quarterly, Vol. 32, No. 3 (Sep., 1931), pp. 287-296.
- ^ Lewis and Clark's Columbia River - Latourell Falls, Oregon Archived 2007-08-14 at the Wayback Machine