Sylvester Pennoyer

Infobox Politician
name = Sylvester Pennoyer


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office = 8^th Governor of Oregon
term_start = January 12 1887
term_end = January 14 1895
predecessor = Zenas Ferry Moody
successor = William Paine Lord
constituency =
majority =
office2 = Mayor of Portland, Oregon
term_start2 = 1896
term_end2 = 1898
predecessor2 = George P. Frank
successor2 = William S. Mason
constituency2 =
majority2 =
office3 =
term_start3 =
term_end3 =
predecessor3 =
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birth_date = birth date|1831|7|6|mf=y
birth_place = New York
death_date = death date and age|1902|5|30|1831|7|6|mf=y
death_place = Portland, Oregon
party = Democrat
relations =
spouse = Mary A. Allen
civil partner =
children =
residence =
occupation = Politician, lawyer
religion =


website =
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Sylvester Pennoyer (July 6 1831–May 30 1902) was an American educator, attorney, and politician in Oregon. He was born in New York, attended Harvard Law School, and moved to Oregon at age 25. A populist Democrat, he served two terms as governor of Oregon from 1886 to 1894. He was noted for his opposition to U.S. President Grover Cleveland. He later served as mayor of Portland from 1896 to 1898. He was the defendant in the landmark United States Supreme Court case "Pennoyer v. Neff", which he lost.

Early life

Sylvester Pennoyer was born in Groton, New York, on July 6, 1831.Corning, Howard M. (1989) "Dictionary of Oregon History". Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 194.] His parents were the former Elizabeth Howland and Justus P. Pennoyer, a New York state legislator and a wealthy farmer. Sylvester attended school at Homer Academy and then began teaching. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1854. He moved to Oregon on July 10 1855, where he resumed teaching.

In 1856 he married Mary A. Allen, with whom he had five children. While teaching, he also practiced law. Pennoyer was chosen as the superintendent of Multnomah County schools in 1860, and served until 1862. He then shifted to the lumber industry from 1862 to 1868, accumulating a fortune. He then purchased the Democratic-leaning "Oregon Herald" newspaper and served as editor until he sold it in 1869.

In 1866, Marcus Neff hired attorney John H. Mitchell to complete some legal business, but failed to pay Mitchell's bill.Leeson, Fred. (1998). "Rose City Justice: A Legal History of Portland, Oregon". Oregon Historical Society Press. pp. 47-49.] Mitchell sued and received a default judgment against Neff, with Neff's property sold at auction to pay the bill. Pennoyer purchased the land at the sheriff's auction, and later Neff became aware of the forced sale. Neff then sued Pennoyer to regain the property in a case that became the U.S. Supreme Court case of "Pennoyer v. Neff" that defined legal jurisdiction for citizens residing in different states. At the trial, federal judge and Pennoyer adversary Matthew Deady ruled in favor of Neff, with the Supreme Court affirming the decision in 1877. Pennoyer was compelled to give the land back to Neff, and the property became a part of the Willamette Heights neighborhood in later years.

Political career

Pennoyer was a Democrat most of his political career, but briefly a member of the Populist Party. In 1885 he ran for mayor of Portland, but lost to John Gates, partly due to his record of sympathy for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. The following year he ran for Governor of Oregon against T. E. Cornelius, gaining support for advocating the use of American labor over Chinese immigrants. Pennoyer was elected in November and assumed office on January 12 1887. [http://bluebook.state.or.us/state/elections/elections24.htm Oregon Blue Book: Oregon Governors.] Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved March 20 2008.] He was re-elected in 1890 and served in the office until his second term ended on January 14 1895.

As governor he pointedly snubbed President Benjamin Harrison when Harrison visited Oregon in 1891.huhTerry, John. Oregon's Trails: Death shroud a suggestive footnote to a gadfly's death. "The Oregonian", November 9 2003.] That year the Oregon Legislative Assembly created the Oregon Attorney General office, and Pennoyer appointed George Earle Chamberlain to that post. While in office Pennoyer declared without authority that the Oregon Supreme Court lacked the power to invalidate legislative acts on constitutional grounds.huh He also refused to use his resources to protect Chinese Americans when asked to do so by Grover Cleveland's Secretary of State on May 3, 1893. Pennoyer refused another request from Cleveland, who asked him to intervene when a group of unemployed workers, part of "Coxey's Army", hijacked a train to travel east and join a mass march on Washington, D.C.. Pennoyer stated, "let Cleveland's' army take care of Coxey's army." He also moved Thanksgiving Day in Oregon one week ahead of the national holiday in 1894 in further protest to President Cleveland's request.Horner, John B. (1919). [http://books.google.com/books?id=J8IdAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA245&lpg=PA245&dq=sylvester+pennoyer&source=web&ots=5WjOsb5WLr&sig=nMXeYDmWun875pg7u9mxWNhfV3o&hl=en#PPA245,M1 "Oregon: Her History, Her Great Men, Her Literature"] . The J.K. Gill Co.: Portland. p. 245.] His term as governor ended on January 14 1895.

On June 1 1896, Pennoyer was elected the mayor of Portland. [http://www.portlandonline.com/auditor/index.cfm?&a=ejgi&c=chbde City of Portland: Mayors of Portland] ] While mayor he opposed the construction of the Bull Run Water Project in favor of using the Willamette River, commenting that the Bull Run water lacked the body of the Willamette's water at the dedication of the project.huh He was the second mayor to sit in the new City Hall that was completed in 1895. Pennoyer described the building as "expensive, unseemly and unhealthful." He served as mayor until June 1898 when his successor W. S. Mason took office.

Death and legacy

Pennoyer donated land to Portland to serve as a park, originally known as Pennoyer Park. He died of heart disease in Portland on May 30 1902, at 4:00 PM in his house. He was initially buried at Lone Fir Cemetery in Portland, but in 1924 his remains were moved to River View Cemetery also in Portland. [ [http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/OR/MU.html#R9T0XKHY7 River View Cemetery.] The Political Graveyard. Retrieved on March 20 2008.]

References

External links

* [http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/governors/pennoyer/pennoyermenu.html Oregon State Archives: Governor Sylvester Pennoyer's Administration]
*cite news
author=
title=WHAT PENNOYER IS.; TRAITS OF OREGON'S GOVERNORndash "HANK" VAUGHN'S SCHEME.
date=
work=New York Times
url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A03E2D9163AE533A25752C1A9639C94609ED7CF
accessdate=2008-08-06

Tompkins County, New York