William Strong (Oregon judge)
Encyclopedia
William Strong was an American
attorney and jurist in the Pacific Northwest
. He was the 4th Associate Justice
of the Oregon Supreme Court
when the region was still the Oregon Territory
. A native of Vermont
, he settled in the Washington Territory
after it was created in 1853 and served in the legislature of that territory
and on the Washington Supreme Court
. Later he returned to Oregon
and settled in Portland
.
to Laura Strong and Henry Pierce Strong, a preacher. He earned his primary education near the town of Rushville, New York
, before entering Yale College
(now university) at the age of seventeen. William graduated from Yale in 1838 and then began teaching while also studying law. At Yale he graduated with honors and then after graduation served as a principal at a school in Ithaca, New York
. There in 1840 he married Lucretia Robinson, and the couple would have six children together. Then in 1840 he passed the bar
and started practicing law in Cleveland, Ohio
where the couple remained until 1849.
after being appointed by President Taylor
to the Oregon Supreme Court
the previous year. The trip to Oregon for the family started aboard the ship Supply that took them around Cape Horn
on the southern tip of South America
to San Francisco, California
where they transferred to a sloop-of-war
vessel named the Falmouth that delivered them to Astoria, Oregon
on August 13. On the trip were also Strong’s wife and two children, the new secretary for the territory Edward D. Hamilton
, and the new governor John P. Gaines
, but Strong’ oldest son Frederick died after contracting Yellow Fever
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Strong family would then settle on a farm in Cathlamet
on the Columbia River
where William would file a land claim under the Donation Land Claim Act
on September 27.
Once in Oregon, Strong served on the supreme court from 1850 to 1853. His assigned district was the third, which covers all of modern Washington state where he served as a circuit riding trial level judge and as an appeals level justice. He replaced Peter H. Burnett
who had served under the provisional government
, but declined to serve on the territorial court. Strong’s first trial was held on November 12, 1850 in Lewis County
near present day Chehalis, Washington
at the home of John Jackson. His brother James served as William’s court clerk while riding circuit. His annual salary for his services was $2,000. In 1853, when Washington Territory
was formed out of the northern portion of the Oregon Territory, Strong became the sole judge in the territory until his term ended in November.
That November he left the bench and returned to farming at Cathlamet. William Strong then served as a surveyor of a large section of land in the territory. Next on February 27, 1854, Washington Territory Governor Isaac Stevens
appointed Strong, along with Edward Lander and Victor Monroe, to help write the new territory’s laws. After this Stevens then asked Strong to serve as his legal adviser. Next, 1855 when war with the Native Americans
broke out he joined the militia and was assigned to Fort Vancouver
as a commander of a company of cavalry
. While in command he and his troops were ordered out to return the Cowlitz tribe to the protection of the fort, as the tribe was sequestered at the fort to protect them from possible white violence during the Yakima Wars. The Cowlitz had fled after fearing an American attack after a false rumor had spread that the Cowlitz were preparing to attack American settlements. Strong was able to negotiate with the tribe and bring them back, but his men fired shots in the air in celebration that was misconstrued by nearby listeners as an actual engagement. This incident is how Battle Ground, Washington
received its name.
In 1856, Strong was elected to the territorial Washington House of Representatives
as a Democrat, as the Whig Party
he had previously been associated with was no longer a relevant political entity. While in the house he represented Wahkiakum County and made an unsuccessful bid for Congress. Strong served in the territorial legislature until 1858 when he was appointed to the Washington Supreme Court
, serving until 1861. President James Buchanan
appointed him to the post on the high court of the Washington Territory
.
girl named Wahkeenah as a slave to assist his wife with household tasks. Once retired from public service, in December 1862 the Strong family moved to Portland, Oregon
where William returned to private law practice. There he served as general counsel for the Oregon Steam Navigation Company
until 1879 when the company was sold. Then in 1883 he retired from the legal profession. Eventually his sons took over his legal practice and William Strong died on April 10, 1887 in Portland.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
attorney and jurist in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
. He was the 4th Associate Justice
Associate Justice
Associate Justice or Associate Judge is the title for a member of a judicial panel who is not the Chief Justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the United States Supreme Court and some state supreme courts, and for some other courts in Commonwealth...
of 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...
when the region was still the Oregon Territory
Oregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries , the region was...
. A native of Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, he settled in the Washington Territory
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....
after it was created in 1853 and served in the legislature of that territory
Washington State Legislature
The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a bipartisan, bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 Representatives, and the upper Washington State Senate, with 49 Senators.The State Legislature...
and on the Washington Supreme Court
Washington Supreme Court
The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the judiciary of the U.S. state of Washington. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and eight Justices. of the Court are elected to six-year terms...
. Later he returned to Oregon
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...
and settled in 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...
.
Early life
Strong was born on July 15, 1817 in St. Albans, VermontSt. Albans (town), Vermont
St. Albans is a town in Franklin County, Vermont. The population was 6,392 at the 2010 census. The town completely surrounds the city of St. Albans, which was separated from the town and incorporated in 1902. References to "St. Albans" prior to this date generally refer to the town center, which...
to Laura Strong and Henry Pierce Strong, a preacher. He earned his primary education near the town of Rushville, New York
Rushville, New York
Rushville is a village in Ontario and Yates Counties in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 621 at the 2000 census.Most of the Village of Rushville is within the Town of Potter in Yates County and a small part is in the Town of Gorham in Ontario County.- History :Elisha Gilbert was the...
, before entering Yale College
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
(now university) at the age of seventeen. William graduated from Yale in 1838 and then began teaching while also studying law. At Yale he graduated with honors and then after graduation served as a principal at a school in Ithaca, New York
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
. There in 1840 he married Lucretia Robinson, and the couple would have six children together. Then in 1840 he passed the bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
and started practicing law in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
where the couple remained until 1849.
Political career
In August 1850 William Strong arrived in the Oregon TerritoryOregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries , the region was...
after being appointed by President Taylor
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...
to 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...
the previous year. The trip to Oregon for the family started aboard the ship Supply that took them around Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
on the southern tip of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
to San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
where they transferred to a sloop-of-war
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
vessel named the Falmouth that delivered them to Astoria, Oregon
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
on August 13. On the trip were also Strong’s wife and two children, the new secretary for the territory Edward D. Hamilton
Edward D. Hamilton
Edward D. Hamilton was an American attorney, military officer, and politician in what became the state of Oregon. A native of Virginia, he lived in Ohio before fighting in the Mexican-American War. A member of the Whig Party, he served as Secretary for the Oregon Territory in the 1850s...
, and the new governor John P. Gaines
John P. Gaines
John Pollard Gaines was a U.S. military and political figure. He was a Whig member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Kentucky from 1847 to 1849, and he served as Governor of the Oregon Territory from 1850 to 1853, stepping down after a turbulent term in office.-Early...
, but Strong’ oldest son Frederick died after contracting Yellow Fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Strong family would then settle on a farm in Cathlamet
Cathlamet, Washington
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 565 people, 246 households, and 138 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,426.2 people per square mile . There were 278 housing units at an average density of 701.7 per square mile...
on the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
where William would file a land claim under the Donation Land Claim Act
Donation Land Claim Act
The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 was a statute enacted by the United States Congress intended to promote homestead settlement in the Oregon Territory in the Pacific Northwest...
on September 27.
Once in Oregon, Strong served on the supreme court from 1850 to 1853. His assigned district was the third, which covers all of modern Washington state where he served as a circuit riding trial level judge and as an appeals level justice. He replaced Peter H. Burnett
Peter Hardeman Burnett
Peter Hardeman Burnett was an American politician and the first state governor of California, serving from December 20, 1849 to January 9, 1851. He was also the first California governor to resign from office...
who had served under the provisional government
Provisional Government of Oregon
The Provisional Government of Oregon was a popularly elected government created in the Oregon Country, in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It existed from May 2, 1843 until March 3, 1849. Created at a time when no country had sovereignty over the region, this independent government...
, but declined to serve on the territorial court. Strong’s first trial was held on November 12, 1850 in Lewis County
Lewis County, Washington
Lewis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of 2010, the population was 75,455. The county seat is at Chehalis, and its largest city is Centralia....
near present day Chehalis, Washington
Chehalis, Washington
Chehalis is a city in Lewis County, Washington, United States. The population was 7,259 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Lewis County.-History:...
at the home of John Jackson. His brother James served as William’s court clerk while riding circuit. His annual salary for his services was $2,000. In 1853, when Washington Territory
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....
was formed out of the northern portion of the Oregon Territory, Strong became the sole judge in the territory until his term ended in November.
That November he left the bench and returned to farming at Cathlamet. William Strong then served as a surveyor of a large section of land in the territory. Next on February 27, 1854, Washington Territory Governor Isaac Stevens
Isaac Stevens
Isaac Ingalls Stevens was the first governor of Washington Territory, a United States Congressman, and a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War until his death at the Battle of Chantilly...
appointed Strong, along with Edward Lander and Victor Monroe, to help write the new territory’s laws. After this Stevens then asked Strong to serve as his legal adviser. Next, 1855 when war with the Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
broke out he joined the militia and was assigned to Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District...
as a commander of a company of cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
. While in command he and his troops were ordered out to return the Cowlitz tribe to the protection of the fort, as the tribe was sequestered at the fort to protect them from possible white violence during the Yakima Wars. The Cowlitz had fled after fearing an American attack after a false rumor had spread that the Cowlitz were preparing to attack American settlements. Strong was able to negotiate with the tribe and bring them back, but his men fired shots in the air in celebration that was misconstrued by nearby listeners as an actual engagement. This incident is how Battle Ground, Washington
Battle Ground, Washington
Battle Ground is a city in Clark County, Washington, United States. The population was 17,571 at the 2010 census. According to the Washington State Office of Financial Management, Battle Ground ranked 4th of 279 eligible incorporated communities in population growth between 2000 and 2005.-Origin of...
received its name.
In 1856, Strong was elected to the territorial Washington House of Representatives
Washington House of Representatives
The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, the legislature of the U.S. State of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 districts, each of which elects two members. All members of the House are elected to a two-year term without...
as a Democrat, as the Whig Party
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
he had previously been associated with was no longer a relevant political entity. While in the house he represented Wahkiakum County and made an unsuccessful bid for Congress. Strong served in the territorial legislature until 1858 when he was appointed to the Washington Supreme Court
Washington Supreme Court
The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the judiciary of the U.S. state of Washington. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and eight Justices. of the Court are elected to six-year terms...
, serving until 1861. President James Buchanan
James Buchanan
James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....
appointed him to the post on the high court of the Washington Territory
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....
.
Personal life
On the farm at Cathlamet the family built a log cabin in early 1851, and then a frame house that was completed in March 1853. At the farm Judge Strong purchased a Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
girl named Wahkeenah as a slave to assist his wife with household tasks. Once retired from public service, in December 1862 the Strong family moved to Portland, Oregon
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...
where William returned to private law practice. There he served as general counsel for the Oregon Steam Navigation Company
Oregon Steam Navigation Company
The Oregon Steam Navigation Company was an American company incorporated in 1860 in Washington with partners J. S. Ruckle, Henry Olmstead, and J. O. Van Bergen...
until 1879 when the company was sold. Then in 1883 he retired from the legal profession. Eventually his sons took over his legal practice and William Strong died on April 10, 1887 in Portland.