Sylvester Pennoyer
Encyclopedia
Sylvester Pennoyer 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 Democrat, he served two terms as the eighth Governor of Oregon
from 1886 to 1895. He joined the Populist cause in the early 1890s and became the second Populist Party state governor in history. He was noted for his political radicalism, his opposition the conservative Bourbon Democracy of President Grover Cleveland
, his support for labor unions, and his opposition to the Chinese in Oregon. He was also noted for his prickly attitude toward both U.S. Presidents whose terms overlapped his own -- Benjamin Harrison
and Cleveland, whom he once famously told via telegram to mind his own business.
He later served as mayor of Portland
from 1896 to 1898.
, on July 6, 1831. 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. 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.
most of his political career, but became a Populist in the early 1890s. 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. He was re-elected in 1890 and served in the office until his second term ended on January 14, 1895.
Benjamin Harrison
when Harrison visited Oregon on a campaign tour. He refused to leave his office to meet Harrison at the state border, and when Harrison came to Salem Pennoyer kept him waiting in the train station (in the rain) and arrived 10 minutes late. 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.
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.
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 Chinese American
s when asked to do so by Grover Cleveland
's Secretary of State
on May 3, 1893. (The Chinese Exclusion Act had just passed, and the president was worried about possible riots.) His telegraphed response to this request read, "Washington: I will attend to my business. Let the president attend to his."
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. His term as governor ended on January 14, 1895.
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."
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. 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.
in Portland, but in 1924 his remains were moved to River View Cemetery
also in Portland.
|date=May 11, 1891
|work=New York Times
|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A03E2D9163AE533A25752C1A9639C94609ED7CF
|accessdate=2008-08-06
}}
Tompkins County, New York
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. He was born in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, attended Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, and moved to Oregon at age 25. A Democrat, he served two terms as the eighth Governor of Oregon
Governor of Oregon
The Governor of Oregon is the top executive of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. territorial governments....
from 1886 to 1895. He joined the Populist cause in the early 1890s and became the second Populist Party state governor in history. He was noted for his political radicalism, his opposition the conservative Bourbon Democracy of President Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
, his support for labor unions, and his opposition to the Chinese in Oregon. He was also noted for his prickly attitude toward both U.S. Presidents whose terms overlapped his own -- Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
and Cleveland, whom he once famously told via telegram to mind his own business.
He later served as mayor of Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
from 1896 to 1898.
Early life
Sylvester Pennoyer was born in Groton, New YorkGroton (village), New York
Groton is a village in Tompkins County, New York, United States. The population was 2,470 at the 2000 census.The Village of Groton is near the center of the Town of Groton and is northeast of Ithaca and west of Cortland.- History :...
, on July 6, 1831. His parents were the former Elizabeth Howland and Justus P. Pennoyer, a New York state legislator
New York Legislature
The New York State Legislature is the term often used to refer to the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York. The New York Constitution does not designate an official term for the two houses together...
and a wealthy farmer. Sylvester attended school at Homer Academy and then began teaching. He graduated from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
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
Multnomah County, Oregon
Multnomah County is one of 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Though smallest in area, it is the most populous as its county seat, Portland, is the state's largest city...
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
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Oregon Herald
Oregon Herald
The Oregon Herald was a daily newspaper published in Portland, Oregon, United States from 1866 until 1873.-History:At the time the Oregon Herald was established, the only other daily paper in Portland was The Oregonian, all the others having closed. The Democratic paper was started on March 17,...
newspaper and served as editor until he sold it in 1869.
In 1866, Marcus Neff
Marcus Neff
Marcus Neff was the respondent in the United States Supreme Court case Pennoyer v. Neff. Neff was one of the early settlers of the U.S. state of Oregon, having traveled there from Iowa in early 1848. Neff subsequently claimed a parcel of land in Oregon under the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850...
hired attorney John H. Mitchell
John H. Mitchell
John Hipple Mitchell, also known as John Mitchell Hipple, John H. Mitchell, or J. H. Mitchell was a controversial American lawyer and politician, who served as a Republican United States Senator from Oregon on three occasions between 1872 and 1905...
to complete some legal business, but failed to pay Mitchell's bill. Mitchell sued and received a default judgment
Default judgment
Default judgment is a binding judgment in favor of either party based on some failure to take action by the other party. Most often, it is a judgment in favor of a plaintiff when the defendant has not responded to a summons or has failed to appear before a court of law...
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
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
case of Pennoyer v. Neff that defined legal jurisdiction for citizens residing in different states
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
. At the trial, federal judge and Pennoyer adversary Matthew Deady
Matthew Deady
Matthew Paul Deady was a politician and jurist in the Oregon Territory and the state of Oregon of the United States. He served on the Oregon Supreme Court from 1853 to 1859, at which time he was appointed to the newly created federal court of the state...
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 DemocratDemocratic Party of Oregon
The Democratic Party of Oregon, based in Portland, is the official Oregon affiliate of the United States Democratic Party. It is recognized by the state of Oregon as a major political party, along with the Oregon Republican Party...
most of his political career, but became a Populist in the early 1890s. In 1885 he ran for mayor of Portland, but lost to John Gates, partly due to his record of sympathy for the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The following year he ran for Governor of Oregon
Governor of Oregon
The Governor of Oregon is the top executive of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. territorial governments....
against T. E. Cornelius, gaining support for advocating the use of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
labor over Chinese immigrants. Pennoyer was elected in November and assumed office on January 12, 1887. He was re-elected in 1890 and served in the office until his second term ended on January 14, 1895.
Governor of Oregon
As governor Pennoyer quickly made a name for himself as a quirky and cantankerous leader. In 1891 he pointedly snubbed PresidentPresident of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
when Harrison visited Oregon on a campaign tour. He refused to leave his office to meet Harrison at the state border, and when Harrison came to Salem Pennoyer kept him waiting in the train station (in the rain) and arrived 10 minutes late. That year the Oregon Legislative Assembly
Oregon Legislative Assembly
The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the House of Representatives, with 60 members elected to...
created the Oregon Attorney General
Oregon Attorney General
The Oregon Attorney General is a statutory office within the executive branch of the state of Oregon, and serves as the chief legal officer of the state, heading its Department of Justice with its six operating divisions. The Attorney General is chosen by statewide partisan election to serve a term...
office, and Pennoyer appointed George Earle Chamberlain
George Earle Chamberlain
George Earle Chamberlain was an American politician, legislator, and public official in Oregon. A native of Mississippi and trained lawyer, he served as the 11th Governor of Oregon, a representative in the Oregon Legislative Assembly, a United States Senator.-Early life:Chamberlain was born near...
to that post. While in office Pennoyer declared without authority that the Oregon Supreme Court
Oregon Supreme Court
The Oregon Supreme Court is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States. The OSC holds court at the Oregon Supreme Court Building in Salem, Oregon, near the capitol...
lacked the power to invalidate legislative acts on constitutional grounds.
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.
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 Chinese American
Chinese American
Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
s when asked to do so by Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
's Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
on May 3, 1893. (The Chinese Exclusion Act had just passed, and the president was worried about possible riots.) His telegraphed response to this request read, "Washington: I will attend to my business. Let the president attend to his."
Pennoyer refused another request from Cleveland, who asked him to intervene when a group of unemployed workers, part of "Coxey's Army
Coxey's Army
Coxey's Army was a protest march by unemployed workers from the United States, led by the populist Jacob Coxey. They marched on Washington D.C. in 1894, the second year of a four-year economic depression that was the worst in United States history to that time. Officially named the Army of the...
", hijacked a train to travel east and join a mass march on Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. 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. His term as governor ended on January 14, 1895.
Throughout his terms in office, Pennoyer had an antagonistic relationship with Oregonian newspaper editor Harvey Scott
Harvey W. Scott
Harvey Whitefield Scott was an American pioneer, newspaper editor, and historian.Scott was born in on a farm in Illinois and migrated to Oregon with his family in 1852, settling in Yamhill County. He and his family moved near Olympia, Washington in 1853. At age 18, he fought in the American Indian...
, who referred to him in editorials as "His Eccentricity."
Mayor of Portland
On June 1, 1896, Pennoyer was elected the mayorMayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. While mayor he opposed the construction of the Bull Run Water Project in favor of using the Willamette River
Willamette River
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
, commenting that the Bull Run
Bull Run River (Oregon)
The Bull Run River is a tributary of the Sandy River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Beginning at the lower end of Bull Run Lake in the Cascade Range, it flows generally west through the Bull Run Watershed Management Unit , a restricted area meant to protect the river and its tributaries from...
water lacked the body of the Willamette's water at the dedication of the project. He was the second mayor to sit in the new City Hall
Portland City Hall (Oregon)
Portland City Hall is the headquarters of city government of Portland, Oregon, United States. The four-story Italian Renaissance-style building houses the offices of the City Council, which consists of the mayor and four commissioners, and several other offices. City Hall is also home to the City...
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 CemeteryLone Fir Cemetery
Lone Fir Cemetery in the southeast section of Portland, Oregon, United States is a cemetery owned and maintained by Metro, a regional government entity. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the first burial was in 1846 with the cemetery established in 1855...
in Portland, but in 1924 his remains were moved to River View Cemetery
River View Cemetery (Portland, Oregon)
River View Cemetery in the southwest section of Portland, Oregon, United States, is a non-profit cemetery founded in 1882. It is the final resting place of many prominent and notable citizens of Oregon, including many governors and United States Senators...
also in Portland.
External links
- Oregon State Archives: Governor Sylvester Pennoyer's Administration
- http://www.offbeatoregon.com/H1008a_governor-pennoyer-tells-president-to-drop-dead.html "HANK" VAUGHN'S SCHEME.
|date=May 11, 1891
|work=New York Times
|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A03E2D9163AE533A25752C1A9639C94609ED7CF
|accessdate=2008-08-06
}}
Tompkins County, New York
Tompkins County, New York
Tompkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, and comprises the whole of the Ithaca metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 101,564. The county seat is Ithaca, and the county is home to Cornell University, Ithaca College and Tompkins Cortland Community...