Sylvester Pennoyer
Sylvester Pennoyer | |
---|---|
Mayor of Portland, Oregon | |
In office 1896–1898 | |
Preceded by | George P. Frank |
Succeeded by | William S. Mason |
Personal details | |
Born | Groton, New York | July 6, 1831
Died | May 30, 1902 Portland, Oregon | (aged 70)
Political party | Democrat-People's[1] |
Spouse |
Mary A. Allen (m. 1856) |
Children | five |
Occupation | Politician, lawyer |
Sylvester Pennoyer (July 6, 1831 – May 30, 1902) was an American educator, attorney, and politician in
He later served as
Early life
Sylvester Pennoyer was born in
In 1856 he married Mary A. Allen, with whom he had five children.[2] While teaching, he also practiced law. Pennoyer was chosen as the superintendent of Multnomah County schools in 1860, and served until 1862.[2] He then shifted to the lumber industry from 1862 to 1868, accumulating a fortune.[3] He then purchased the Democratic-leaning Oregon Herald newspaper and served as editor until he sold it in 1869.[3]
In 1866,
Political career
Pennoyer was a
Governor of Oregon
As governor Pennoyer quickly made a name for himself as a quirky and cantankerous leader. In 1891 he pointedly snubbed
In 1893 he refused to grant the state Democrats permission to use the state's ceremonial cannon to fire a salute in celebration of Grover Cleveland's inauguration as president. (Pennoyer had just left the Democratic Party to become the second Populist Party governor in history.) "No permission will be given to use state cannon for firing a salute over the inauguration of a Wall Street plutocrat as president of the United States," he said, and locked the cannon away under armed guard. The Democrats were able to get hold of the cannon by using an unpaid blacksmith's bill for $10 as a pretext to have the sheriff seize the weapon, and the salute was fired on schedule.[7]
Pennoyer's relationship with Cleveland did not improve noticeably with time. Just a few months later, on May 3, 1893, he refused to use his resources to protect
Pennoyer refused another request from Cleveland, who asked him to intervene when a group of unemployed workers, part of "
Throughout his terms in office, Pennoyer had an antagonistic relationship with Oregonian newspaper editor Harvey Scott, who referred to him in editorials as "His Eccentricity."[8]
Mayor of Portland
On June 1, 1896, Pennoyer was elected the mayor of Portland.[10] Previously, while governor, he had opposed the Bull Run Water Project, and at one point he vetoed a request for a $500,000 bond to finance its construction, claiming the water, because it originated in glaciers, would "cause goiter to the fair sex of Portland."[11] The legislature came within one vote of overriding this veto, but it stood, and Judge Matthew Deady—who had drafted it—was so put out that he called the governor "Sylpester Annoyer."[12] Ironically, during Pennoyer's term as mayor it fell to him to take the ceremonial first sip at the new water system's dedication ceremony. He took his drink of Bull Run water, set the goblet down and said, "No flavor. No body. Give me the old Willamette."[13]
He was the second mayor to sit in the new
Death and legacy
Pennoyer donated land to Portland to serve as a park, originally known as Pennoyer Park and now known as
References
- ^ "Earliest Authorities in Oregon Oregon" (PDF). Oregon Blue Book. Oregon State Archives. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Corning, Howard M. (1989) Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 194.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Terry, John. Oregon's Trails: Death shroud a suggestive footnote to a gadfly's death. The Oregonian, November 9, 2003.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Leeson, Fred. (1998). Rose City Justice: A Legal History of Portland, Oregon. Oregon Historical Society Press. pp. 47-49.
- ^ Carlos A. Schwantes, The Pacific Northwest: an interpretive history (1989) p 264
- ^ a b Oregon Blue Book: Earliest Authorities in Oregon. Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved March 20, 2008.
- ^ a b "Oregon governor to United States president: Drop dead", By Finn J.D. John, (August 1, 2010).
- ^ a b Pintarch, Dick. "His Eccentricity: Gov. Sylvester Pennoyer," Great Moments in Oregon History_. Portland: New Oregon Publishing, 1987
- ^ a b Horner, John B. (1919). Oregon: Her History, Her Great Men, Her Literature. The J.K. Gill Co.: Portland. p. 245.
- ^ a b "Directory of Current and Past Elected Officials: Mayors of Portland". Auditor's Office, City of Portland, Oregon. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
- ^ Lansing, Jewel (2003). Portland: People, Politics and Power 1851-2001. Corvallis, Ore.: Oregon State University Press. p. 194.
- ^ MacColl, E. Kimbark (1988). Merchants, Money and Power: The Portland Establishment 1843-1913. Portland, Ore.: Georgian Press. p. 248.
- ^ Lansing, Jewel (2003). Portland: People, Politics and Power 1851-2001. Corvallis, Ore.: Oregon State University Press. p. 217.
- ^ River View Cemetery. The Political Graveyard. Retrieved on March 20, 2008.
- General
- Holden, Margaret K. "Voices of Federalism: Sylvester Pennoyer, Matthew P. Deady, and the Money Question in Oregon," Western Legal History: The Journal of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society, 1992, Vol. 5 Issue 2, pp 143–165
External links
- Works by or about Sylvester Pennoyer at Internet Archive
- Oregon State Archives: Governor Sylvester Pennoyer's Administration
- "Oregon governor to United States president: Drop dead"
- "WHAT PENNOYER IS.; TRAITS OF OREGON'S GOVERNOR – "HANK" VAUGHN'S SCHEME". New York Times. May 11, 1891. Retrieved 2008-08-06.