William J. Bailey
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Doctor William J. Bailey (1805-February 5, 1876) was a pioneer and politician in the Oregon Country. Bailey participated in attempts to create a provisional government of Oregon and later a member of that government.
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[edit] Early life
Dr. Bailey was born in Ireland in 1805 and immigrated to the United States sometime before 1834.[1]
[edit] Oregon
William Bailey moved to Oregon from California in 1835, settling in the Willamette Valley.[1] Bailey’s group included John Woodward, George Gay, and John Turner.[1] On this journey north, he and his traveling group fought with the Rogue River Indians with four of the eight members of the party being killed.[1] Woodward, Gay, Bailey, and Turner were the survivors.[1] This led to retaliation by Bailey years later when he and fellow survivor, George Gay murdered a Native American youth in the same area.[2] The murder occurred while Bailey was participating in the Willamette Cattle Company cattle drive from Mexican owned California to Oregon.[2] In charge of that cattle drive was Ewing Young, who had murdered several natives on his own journey to Oregon in 1834, which led to the attack on the Bailey party the following year.[2]
[edit] Politics
In February of 1841 attempts to create a government in Oregon Country began, and intensified after Ewing Young died without a will or known heir.[2] During these meetings Bailey was selected as chairman to the committee that was responsible for drafting the constitution and laws of a government.[1] However these plans for a government fell through at that time, only to re-surface in 1843 with the Champoeg Meetings leading to the creation of a provisional government in Oregon.
During the provisional government William Bailey served as a member of the Second Executive Committee, along with Peter G. Stewart and Osborne Russell. This committee acted in place of a single executive, but the second committee was replaced by a single executive to streamline the executive branch of the government. The first governor under the new law was George Abernethy. Later, in 1848, Bailey was elected to the provisional legislature from the Champooick district.[1]
[edit] Later life
Doctor Bailey died at Champoeg on February 5, 1876.[1]
[edit] References
| Preceded by First Executive Committee with Alanson Beers David Hill Joseph Gale |
Second Executive Committee Provisional Government of Oregon 1844-1845 with Osborne Russell Peter G. Stewart |
Succeeded by Governor of Provisional Government George Abernethy |
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Pioneer History of Oregon (1806–1890) |
|---|---|
| Topics |
Oregon Country · Oregon Treaty · Oregon missionaries · Executive Committee · Oregon Trail · Oregon boundary dispute · Pacific Fur Company · Provisional Government of Oregon · Hudson's Bay Company |
| Events |
Treaty of 1818 · Russo-American Treaty · Champoeg Meetings · Whitman massacre · Donation Land Claim Act |
| Places |
Fort Astoria · Oregon Mission · Fort Vancouver · Champoeg, Oregon · Fort William · Barlow Road · Whitman Mission |
| People |
George Abernethy · Sam Barlow · Tabitha Brown · Abigail Scott Duniway · Philip Foster · Peter French · Joseph Gale · William Gilpin · David Hill · Jason Lee · Asa Lovejoy · John McLoughlin · Joseph Meek · Ezra Meeker · John Minto · Joel Palmer · Sager orphans · Henry H. Spalding · Marcus Whitman · Narcissa Whitman · Ewing Young |
| Oregon History |
Native Peoples History · History to 1806 · Pioneer History · Modern History |
