Art work by Theodore Gegoux   (1850 - 1931)  

Courtesy of the Oregon Historical Society

Portraits of the Early Mayors of Portland, Oregon, (1851 - 1913).   The collection of which there were 29 in all.  See below for the entire list of Mayors in this collection.
"I believe that it is not wise to wait until I get them all for I might be an angel before the finish". Theodore Gegoux to George Himes, September 1913
Early Mayors of Portland Oregon   By February 1913, Gegoux's letters to George Himes of the Oregon Historical Society reveal that he had nearly finished painting his "Early Mayors of Portland" series.  Gegoux's letters indicate that George Himes of the Oregon Historical Society was mailing him photographs of the former mayors.  Gegoux was anxious to finish the Mayor's series in the fall of 1913 saying, "I might be an angel before the finish".  During this time, Gegoux was working somewhere near the "Port of Los Angeles" at Santa Monica, California.  In photographs, there appears a small shack near the water, where Gegoux is believed to have operated a portrait studio.  His sign on the beach shack read, "Let Me Paint Your Portrait". This was painted in large letters so as to be visible from the road.   During this period no reference is made to him in the Santa Monica City Directory, however Gegoux was known to be painting in this area during the years 1913 to 1915.  Gegoux continued to paint in California completing two versions of "Topanga Canyon", one in 1914 and the other in 1915.  In January of 1916, Gegoux moved back to Oregon bringing with him all 29 paintings of his mayors series.  He consigned these paintings to Mr. Himes and the paintings remain at the Oregon Historical Society to this day, having been looked after by Jack Cleaver for many years.  It is not known at this time whether Gegoux traveled by train to Portland or took one of the last ships from the "Long Wharf" which was closed down permanently shortly after Gegoux left California.
	1st Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1851 - 1852)     Hugh O'Bryant Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.223   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography Hugh D. O'Bryant (1813-circa 1890) was the first mayor of Portland, Oregon, United States, serving from 1851-1852.  He later served as the President of the Oregon Territory Council chamber of the legislature, and was a member of Washington Territory’s legislature.   Reference: 1) Lansing, Jewel. (2003). Portland: People, Politics, and Power, 1851-2001.
	2nd Mayor of Portland 1852     A. C. Bonell Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.224   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography Allison C. Bonnell (born June 7, 1825, date of death unknown) was an American politician and businessman.  He was elected as Portland, Oregon's second mayor in 1852, succeeding Hugh O'Bryant.  Bonnell then served as the city's recorder in 1853.  He owned and operated a lumber mill.  When the mill burnt down in 1856, he moved to the San Francisco area.   Reference: 1. Scott, Harvey W. (1890). History of Portland, Oregon with illustrations and biographical sketches of prominent citizens and pioneers. Syracuse, N.Y.: D. Mason & Co.
No photograph available	3rd Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1852 - 1853)     Simon B. Marye	Biography Simon Bolivar Marye was an American politician and lawyer.  He served as Portland, Oregon's third mayor in 1852 and 1853, succeeding Allison C. Bonnell.  He was an attorney before the Supreme Court of the Territory of Oregon in December 1851.   Reference: 1. Scott, Harvey W. (1890). History of Portland, Oregon with illustrations and biographical sketches of prominent citizens and pioneers. Syracuse, N.Y.: D. Mason & Co.
No photograph available	4th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1853 - 1854)     Josiah Failing Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches The whereabouts of the Gegoux portrait of Josiah Failing is not known with certainity.  It is believed that George Himes arranged it's sale to the family in the 1920s.	Biography Josiah Failing (July 9, 1806 - August 14, 1877) was a businessman and the fourth mayor of Portland, Oregon, United States.  Born in New York, he moved to Portland when it was still a small town of a few hundred.  He and his son Henry, who also became a noted businessman and mayor of the city, started a general merchandising business that became very successful.   Reference: 1. Scott, Harvey W. (1890). History of Portland, Oregon with illustrations and biographical sketches of prominent citizens and pioneers. Syracuse, N.Y.: D. Mason & Co.
	5th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1854 - 1855)     William S. Ladd Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.225   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography William Sargent Ladd (October 10, 1826 - January 6, 1893) was an American politician and businessman in Oregon.  He twice served as Portland, Oregon’s mayor in the 1850s.  A native of Vermont, he was a prominent figure in the early development of Portland, and co-founded the first bank in the state in 1859.  Ladd also built the first brick building in Portland and was a noted philanthropist.  Part of his former estate, the Ladd Carriage House, is on the National Register of Historic Places.   Reference: 1. Scott, Harvey W. (1890). History of Portland, Oregon with illustrations and biographical sketches of prominent citizens and pioneers. Syracuse, N.Y.: D. Mason & Co.
	6th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1855 - 1856)     George W. Vaughn Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.226   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography George W. Vaughn, elected in 1855, was a native of New Jersey, a man who in his prime was personally very handsome, with the full and imposing features of the middle coast people of the Atlantic seaboard.  He began actively in commercial business and followed this successfully both in the Eastern States and Canada.  He came to Portland in 1850 and established a hardware store.  His investments were made with good judgment and brought large returns.  In 1865 he built the large brick flour mill on Main street, which was burned in 1873.  By that fire his losses were reckoned to be nearly two hundred thousand dollars; nevertheless they were not sufficient to bring him to insolvency.  He died some years since at Portland.
	7th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1856 - 1857)     James O'Neill Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Signed and dated.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.227   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography James O'Neill (1824 - 1913) was an American businessman and politician in the Oregon Territory and the territory and state of Washington.  A New York native, he was mayor of Portland, Oregon, and an Indian Agent in Idaho and Washington territories. He later served in the legislatures of the Washington Territory and the State of Washington.   Reference: 1. Scott, Harvey W. (1890). History of Portland, Oregon with illustrations and biographical sketches of prominent citizens and pioneers. Syracuse, N.Y.: D. Mason & Co.
	8th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1857 - 1858)     William S. Ladd Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.225   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography William Sargent Ladd (October 10, 1826 - January 6, 1893) was an American politician and businessman in Oregon.  He twice served as Portland, Oregon’s mayor in the 1850s.  A native of Vermont, he was a prominent figure in the early development of Portland, and co-founded the first bank in the state in 1859.  Ladd also built the first brick building in Portland and was a noted philanthropist. Part of his former estate, the Ladd Carriage House, is on the National Register of Historic Places.   Reference: 1.  Scott, Harvey W. (1890). History of Portland, Oregon with illustrations and biographical sketches of prominent citizens and pioneers. Syracuse, N.Y.: D. Mason & Co.
No photograph available	9th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1858 - 1859)     A. M. Starr	Biography A. M. Starr, eleted in 1858, was a New Yorker by birth, and came to Portland as early as 1850, opening a stove and tin store on the block now occupied by the business house of Corbitt & Macleay.  He was one of the parties to the famous suit of Stark vs. Starr.
	10th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1859 - 1860)     S. J. McCormick Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.228   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography S. J. McCormick, who held the office next in succession, was from Ireland, and for many years infused into the life of our city much of his own native enthusiasm and humor.  He first set up in business with a little job printing office in a room seven by nine on the west side of Front street between Washington and Alder.  For many years McCormick's Almanac was a regular publication, and seemed to be a part of the on-goings of the city itself.  It was a breezy little pamphlet and of much value throughout the State.  In addition to his Almanac he began in 1863 the publication of a City Directory and continued this yearly until late in the seventies.  The historians of Portland will ever be grateful to him for the information which he stored away in these volumes.  He first came to Portland in 1851, having with him his wife and his wife's sister.  The latter lady was then unmarried; but was afterwards joined in wedlock with Thomas Robinson, who lived upon the hill now known by his name on the southern side of the city.  Mr. McCormick evently moved to San Francisco.
	11th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1860 - 1861)     George Collier Robbins Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Signed and dated.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.229   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography George C. Robbins, elected in 1860, came to Portland in 1854 and engaged in business as a jeweler.  He brought with him a family. Some years since he removed from the city to Nevada.
	12th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1861 - 1862)     John M. Breck Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Signed and dated.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.230   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography John M. Breck, who served in 1861, is at present one of our well known and active citizens.  He was born in Philadelphia in 1828.  At the age of sixteen he went out to Wisconsin, but in 1850, at the instance of Aspinwall, president of the Pacific Mail Steamship Co., took passage on the Columbia for Oregon.  On this vessel he served as purser for the voyage, and brought a stock of goods.  From 1852 until 1855 he was in business with W. S. Ogden, of New York, a well educated young man, nephew of Peter Skeen Ogden, of the Hudson's Bay Company.  In 1860 Mr. Breck received appointment as purser on the steamer Northerner of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, which made the trip from San Francisco to Victoria, Olympia and Portland.  On his second voyage he suffered shipwreck in this steamer, off Cape Mendocino, on Blunt's Reef.  Reaching Portland after this disaster, he accepted a position as shipping agent of the company, and remembers the immense cargoes of apples with which the steamships were loaded down-believing the estimates of shipments usually given as to that period, much too low.  In 1862 he received unexpectedly the nomination as county clerk on the Union ticket and was elected over a very popular opponent.
No photograph available	13th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1862 - 1863)     William H. Farrar	Biography William H. Farrar (1826 - November 2, 1873) was an American politician who served as mayor of Portland, Oregon, in 1862.  Appointed as Oregon Territorial District Attorney in 1853 by President Franklin Pierce.  He served as District Attorney for Oregon from 1853-1859.  In 1857 he was a delegate to the Oregon Constitutional Convention representing Multnomah County.  According to the Oregon State Archives he voted against approving the Constitution.  He was elected in 1862 as the mayor of Portland, Oregon.  He died in 1873, in Washington City, District of Columbia.   Reference: The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society, March 1901
	14th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1863 - 1864)     David Logan Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Signed and dated.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.231   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography David Logan, mayor in 1864, was an intense and brilliant mind, popular with the men of the city on account of his ready speech and familiar manners.  His abilities as a lawyer were of the first order; as a political speaker his powers were unrivalled in his day, and his fame was co-extensive with the Northwest.  He was three times the candidate of his party for congress, but at each time may be said to have "led a forlorn hope," as the opposition was too strong to be overcome.  About the year 1871 he retired from the practice of the law in Portland, took a farm in Yamhill county, and died there a few years later.
	15th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1864 - 1865)     Henry Failing Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.232   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography Henry Failing (1834 - 1898) was elected to the first of his three terms as mayor of Portland in 1864.  Failing was concerned that Portland's roads were "a reproach to the city and its inhabitants;" one of his first actions as mayor was to pass a city charter amendment, which required property owners to pay for the grading and paving of streets adjacent to their property.  His first term accomplishments included forecasting budget revenues, codifying city ordinances, financing gas street lamps, funding the removal of snags from the Willamette River, and sewer planning.   Failing was elected to a second 15-month term in June 1865, with only five votes cast against him out of 790, making it the nearest-unanimous mayoral election in Portland history.  Though popular, Failing resigned in November 1866; no reason for his resignation was recorded.   Failing was later elected to a third term as mayor in 1873, on the Citizens Ticket.  It was a narrow victory this time; the margin was 40 votes out of 2,036.  On August 2, a month after he took office, 22 blocks along Portland's waterfront, near SW Alder Street, burned in the largest fire in Portland history.  Failing was criticized for his response to the fire, but public opposition to several of his ordinances was considered the reason for his loss to J. A. Chapman in his final reelection campaign for mayor in 1875.
	16th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1866 - 1867)     Thomas J. Holmes Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Signed and dated.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.233   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography Thomas J. Holmes (1819-1867) early began to take an active interest in public affairs, being among the first to advocate the establishment of the free school system.  He was also active in politics, and was frequently elected by his fellow townsmen to public stations, serving in the city council for several terms.  Upon the resignation of Henry Failing as mayor, in 1866, he was selected by the council to serve the unexpired term.  So satisfactory to the people was his administration of affairs that he was nominated by his party as its candidate for the following term.  The election was hotly contested, but so great was Mr. Holmes' personal popularity that he won the election, although his opponent was a man of high character and earnestly supported by his party.   The evening of the day of election, June 17, 1867, he addressed his fellow citizens in a speech marked by his accustomed vigor.  The day following he was upon the streets attending to his business and receiving the congratulation of his large circle of friends.  The next day, however, Wednesday, June 19, while apparently possessing usual health, he was stricken with apoplexy, resulting in death within a few hours.  This event, occurring after a heated political contest in which he had borne the leading part and from which he had emerged as a victorious candidate, was particularly sad, and shocked the entire community.   Reference: (1) "History of Portland, Oregon", edited by H.W. Scott, 1890, D. Mason & Co. Publishers
	17th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1867 - 1868)     J. A. Chapman Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Signed and dated.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.234   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography Dr. J. A. Chapman was born in Allegheny county, New York, in 1821.  At an early age he began the study of medicine at Cuba, New York, and graduated from the medical college at Geneva, in that State, in 1846.  In 1861, upon the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, he placed his services at the disposal of the government, and was appointed army surgeon.  After serving during a campaign at the South, he was transferred to an overland expedition and came with it to Oregon as acting surgeon, with rank of major.  Returning to civil life he came to Portland and engaged in the practice of medicine with Dr. William H. Watkins.  He filled three terms as mayor of Portland, and was also surgeon-general of the Oregon militia by appointment of Gov. L. F. Grover.
No photograph available	18th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1868 - 1869)     Hamilton Boyd	Biography Hamilton Boyd, who was mayor in 1868-69; came to Portland about the year 1860.  He was reckoned a good man of business, became an assistant in the office of county clerk and shortly afterward took a position as leading accountant in the banking house of Ladd & Tilton.  In 1868 he was elected county commissioner, and served two years.  He was elected to the mayoralty by the common council to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Thomas J. Holmes.  Mr. Boyd died in Portland in 1886.
	19th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1869 - 1871)     Bernard Goldsmith Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.235   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography B. Goldsmith, who was mayor in 1869-70 and 1870-1, was an old resident of the Pacific Coast.  He came to California in 1851, thence to Oregon in 1856, and to Portland in 1861.  He was in business at Portland since then.  Throughout his career in this city he has been known as a man of business ability and energetic character.  He bore a leading part in bringing about construction of locks at Willamette Falls, and later has been prominently connected with development of mining property in Northern Idaho.  During many years he was at the head of a wholesale dry goods house in Portland. Mr. Goldsmith was born in Germany in 1832.
	20th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1871 - 1873)     Philip Wasserman Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.236   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography Philip Wasserman, elected mayor in 1871, was born in Germany in 1827, and came to America in 1849.  He has had an active life in mercantile pursuits.  In 1858 he came to Portland, and still lives here.  He served in the legislature of the State two terms.  Declining further legislative honors, he was prevailed on to stand as a candidate for mayor, and was elected by a large majority.  He was a careful and efficient mayor, but at the expiration of his term decided to withdraw from further service in office.  Mr. Wasserman has always been known as a worthy and successful man of business, and is held in high esteem.
	21st Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1873 - 1875)     Henry Failing Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.232   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography Henry Failing (1834 - 1898) was elected to the first of his three terms as mayor of Portland in 1864.  Failing was concerned that Portland's roads were "a reproach to the city and its inhabitants;" one of his first actions as mayor was to pass a city charter amendment, which required property owners to pay for the grading and paving of streets adjacent to their property.  His first term accomplishments included forecasting budget revenues, codifying city ordinances, financing gas street lamps, funding the removal of snags from the Willamette River, and sewer planning.   Failing was elected to a second 15-month term in June 1865, with only five votes cast against him out of 790, making it the nearest-unanimous mayoral election in Portland history.  Though popular, Failing resigned in November 1866; no reason for his resignation was recorded.   Failing was later elected to a third term as mayor in 1873, on the Citizens Ticket.  It was a narrow victory this time; the margin was 40 votes out of 2,036.  On August 2, a month after he took office, 22 blocks along Portland's waterfront, near SW Alder Street, burned in the largest fire in Portland history.  Failing was criticized for his response to the fire, but public opposition to several of his ordinances was considered the reason for his loss to J. A. Chapman in his final reelection campaign for mayor in 1875.
	22nd Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1875 - 1877)     J. A. Chapman Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Signed and dated.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.234   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography James A. Chapman (September 4, 1821 - December 12, 1885) was a physician in the U.S. state of Oregon who served three non-consecutive terms as mayor of Portland, Oregon.   Traveled to Oregon in 1861, with the onset of the American Civil War, Chapman volunteered for service and was appointed surgeon with the 50th New York Regiment.  He remained with the regiment as it moved south until 1862, when he was transferred to an overland expedition under Captain Medorem Crawford to assist emigrants to Oregon.   After the expedition arrived in Portland, Oregon, in late 1862, Chapman joined James C. Hawthorne's medical practice, but Hawthorne left shortly after to run the newly-established Oregon Hospital for the Insane. Chapman began a new practice with William H. Watkins.   Mayor of Portland in June 1867, mayor Thomas J. Holmes, who had been appointed the previous year after the resignation of Henry Failing, was elected to a full term, and then died the following morning.  Judge Aaron E. Waite was first chosen by the City Council to replace Holmes, but declined due to ill health.  Chapman was appointed mayor on July 31, 1867, and served until the following June, when a special election to complete Holmes' term was won by Hamilton Boyd.
	23rd Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1877 - 1879)     William Spencer Newbury Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.237   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography W. S. Newbury, who was elected mayor in 1877, is one whose life has been spent much in the Old West, or interior, as well as upon the Pacific Coast.  He was born at Ripley, N. Y., in 1834.  In 1850 he went to Chicago, engaging as salesman with one of the first firms of that city, on Lake street.  Four years later he went to Wisconsin, and there pursued a course of study in law, completing his education at a commercial college.  He soon accepted an important position as book-keeper and accountant, and afterwards became manager of a large business at Sioux City, Iowa, for the Little American Fur Company, of St. Louis.  Removing to Iola, Kansas, in 1860, he soon became identified with that town, some years later being elected mayor.  He served in the Union army, and was assistant provost marshal of Kansas, and also assistant secretary of the State senate.  He came to Oregon in 1870, settling at Portland in 1874. Until 1880 he conducted an extensive business in farm machinery, but since that date had been practiced law.
	24th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1879 - 1881)     David P. Thompson Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.238   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography David Preston Thompson (1834-1901) was an American businessman and politician in the Pacific Northwest.  He was governor of the Idaho Territory from 1875 to 1876. A native of Ohio, he immigrated to the Oregon Territory in 1853.   During the American Civil War he joined the United States Army, but remained in Oregon and did not see any action.  In his later years, the father of three would serve as the mayor of Portland, Oregon, and as United States minister to the Ottoman Empire.  A Republican for most of his political career, he was a presidential elector for the party, and in 1890 was its candidate for Governor of Oregon.  The Thompson Elk statue and fountain in the middle of Main Street in downtown Portland was donated by him to the city, and a city park in Northeast Portland is named in his honor.   In 1868, David Thompson served in the Oregon State Senate representing district 3 and Clackamas County as a Republican.  At the next session in 1870 he served as a Democrat representing district 16 and Multnomah County.  In 1878, he returned to the Oregon Legislature as a Republican representing Multnomah County.  He was elected Mayor of Portland on June 16, 1879, and reelected June 20, 1881, serving until 1882.
	25th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1882 - 1885)     J. A. Chapman Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Signed and dated.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.234   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography Dr. J. A. Chapman was born in Allegheny county, New York, in 1821.  At an early age he began the study of medicine at Cuba, New York, and graduated from the medical college at Geneva, in that State, in 1846.  In 1861, upon the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, he placed his services at the disposal of the government, and was appointed army surgeon.  After serving during a campaign at the South, he was transferred to an overland expedition and came with it to Oregon as acting surgeon, with rank of major.  Returning to civil life he came to Portland and engaged in the practice of medicine with Dr. William H. Watkins.  He filled three terms as mayor of Portland, and was also surgeon-general of the Oregon militia by appointment of Gov. L. F. Grover.
	26th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1885 - 1888)     John Gates Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Signed.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.239   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography John Gates, who was elected mayor in 1885, was a native of Maine.  Born in 1827, he came to Portland in 1851, and passed all his active life here.  His first situation was that of engineer at the steam saw-mill at the foot of Jefferson street.  When the Oregon Steam Navigation Company was organized he became its chief engineer, and superintended the construction and the placing of the machinery in all its boats.  He made many inventions, including one which produced almost a revolution in the construction of stern-wheel steamers.  He devised the method, now known to be highly successful, of sluicing out the sand bars of navigable streams with powerful propellers, and invented a most excellent and successful apparatus for applying hydraulic power to the steering gear of steam vessels.  Mr. Gates was a man of original mind and great industry.  He died, while holding the office of mayor, in April, 1888.
	27th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1888 - 1891)     Van B. DeLashmutt Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Signed.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.240   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography Van B. DeLashmutt (July 27, 1842 - October 4, 1921) served as mayor of Portland, Oregon from 1888 to 1891   Van B. De Lashmutt was born on July 27, 1842, in Burlington, Iowa.  His family journey over the Oregon Trail in 1852 and settled in Polk County, Oregon.  He then worked as a printer in Salem, Oregon, for Asahel Bush before moving to California.  At the start of the American Civil War he was in California and joined the Union Army in 1861, serving in the Third California regiment guarding the mail routes.  After he left the Army he returned to Oregon and settled in Portland.   In Portland, he joined The Oregonian newspaper in June 1865 as a compositor.  De Lashmutt married Maria Kelly in 1868, and they had four children, with their residence at Fourteenth an Columbia.  He established a farm near Hillsboro, the Witch Hazel Farm, which became famous for his horses and race tracks.  There he raised thoroughbreds and raced them on both a .5 miles (0.80 km) and 1 mile (1.6 km) track, which eventually became the community of Witch Hazel.  In business, he helped start the Oregon National Bank and the Metropolitan Savings Bank, and he served as president of both banks. On May 2, 1888, De Lashmutt was appointed as mayor of Portland. He was then elected to the position on June 18, 1888, and served until June 15, 1891 when William S. Mason took office.
	28th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1891 - 1894)     William S. Mason Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.241   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography William S. Mason served as mayor of Portland, Oregon from 1891 to 1894 and 1898 to 1899.
	29th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1894 - 1896)     George P. Frank Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.242   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography George P. Frank June 11, 1852 - August 23, 1896) served as mayor of Portland, Oregon from 1894 to 1896.
	30th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1896 - 1898)     Sylvester Pennoyer Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.243   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography 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 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, Oregon 1896 to 1898.
	31st Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1898 - 1899)     William S. Mason Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.241   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography William S. Mason served as mayor of Portland, Oregon from 1891 to 1894 and 1898 to 1899.
	32nd Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1899 - 1900)     W. A. Storey Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.244   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography W. A. Storey was the mayor of Portland, Oregon, United States from 1899-1900.
	33rd Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1900 - 1902)     Henry S. Rowe Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.245   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography Henry Spoor Rowe (October 11, 1851 - March 20, 1914) was an American businessman and politician.   After becoming active in politics at the county and state level, Rowe was elected Mayor of Portland, Oregon as a member of the Republican Party.  He took office on June 4, 1900. During Rowe's term, Portland's first Board of Park Commissioners was established.  Rowe also served as president of the Board of Fire Commissioners and on the city's Water Committee.  He is noted for his interest in developing Oregon's scenic attractions and also for reducing city expenditures.
	34th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1902 - 1905)     George Henry Williams Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.246   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography George Henry Williams (March 26, 1823 - April 4, 1910) was an American judge and politician. He served as Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, was the 32nd Attorney General of the United States, and was elected Oregon's U.S. Senator, and served one term.  Williams, as U.S. Senator, authored and supported legislation that allowed the U.S. military to be deployed in Reconstruction southern states to allow for an orderly process of readmittance into the United States.  Williams was the first presidential Cabinet member to be appointed from the Pacific Coast.   Williams returned to Oregon, resumed private law practice, and was elected Portland's mayor having served two terms from 1902 to 1905.  Williams advocated womens suffrage and that marriage and divorce proceedings needed to be handled by the civil courts rather then the church.  Williams, at the age of 83, was indicted while Mayor of Portland for not enforcing gambling restriction statutes; although he was aquitted and served out the rest of his term as Mayor.
	35th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1905 - 1909)     Harry Lane Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.247   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography Harry Lane (28 August 1855 - 23 May 1917) was an American politician in the state of Oregon.  A physician by training, Lane served as the head of the Oregon State Insane Asylum before being forced out by political enemies.  After a decade practicing medicine the progressive Democrat Lane won election as the mayor of Portland in 1905, gaining re-election in 1907.  Lane's tenure in office was largely ineffective, although he did gain lasting recognition for having appointed the first female police officer in America in 1908 as well as for his vision that the city should host an annual Rose Festival.   In November 1912, Lane was elected to the United States Senate where he was a leading advocate for woman suffrage and a more benevolent relationship between the American government and the nation's Native American population.  He was one of a small handful of federal legislators to vote against American participation in the war in April 1917, an action which made him the prospective subject of a recall effort.  This campaign was rendered moot when Lane died in office on May 23, 1917.
	36th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1909 - 1911)     Joseph Simon Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.248   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography Joseph Simon (February 7, 1851 - February 14, 1935) was a German-born politician and attorney in the U.S. state of Oregon.  He was born in Bechtheim, Germany, and his family immigrated to the United States when he was one year old, settling in Portland, Oregon.  A Republican, Simon served on the city council before election to the Oregon State Senate.  He was later elected to the United States Senate for one partial term, 1898 to 1903. He later served as mayor of Portland for one term, 1909 to 1911.
	37th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1911 - 1913)     Allen G. Rushlight Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.249   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography Allen Golden Rushlight (February 26, 1874 - January 6, 1930) was an American politician, businessman, and plumber in the U.S. state of Oregon.  A Republican, Rushlight served one term as mayor of Portland, Oregon, and was later elected to three terms in the Oregon House of Representatives.   In 1905, Rushlight was elected to the Portland City Council.  In 1909, he ran for mayor of Portland, but was defeated by Joseph Simon.  Later that year, he was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives, but declined to serve, instead remaining on the city council.  In 1911, Rushlight ran again for mayor against Simon, and this time, was elected.   As mayor, Rushlight was pragmatic as the young city built its infrastructure and worked to keep costs low.  He sometimes used his plumbing background to personally inspect engineering projects and once climbed into the city crematory to diagnose a problem, which, when repaired for a few dollars, doubled its capacity.  Rushlight spent much of his term unsuccessfully trying to get the city to build on Ross Island, an undeveloped island in the Willamette River, with plans for an industrial center, parks, a prison, and a contagious hospital.
	38th Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1913 - 1917)     H. Russell Albee Oil on canvas by Gegoux. 26 inches by 21 inches.   Oregon Historical Society - catalog number 75-1.250   Gegoux portrait photograph provided by the Oregon Historical Society (OHS).  Exhibited here with permission of OHS.  © Copyright - All Rights Reserved	Biography Harry Russell Albee (September 8, 1867 - December 31, 1950)   Albee was the first mayor to preside over Portland's commission form of government, which was not met with much enthusiasm by voters.  A recall effort against him and two commissioners in 1914 was unsuccessful.  His administration gave attention to controversial matters including riverfront improvement, water meters, municipal garbage collection, vice, public transit rates, and slum housing conditions, but little was accomplished of long-range significance.  By the end of his administration, the city had significantly cut back expenditures from the general fund, reducing it by 20 percent from $3.22 million to $2.5 million, even though the population of the city had grown by 5 percent since 1915.
Additional works by Theodore Gegoux at the Oregon Historical Society   Portrait, Lt. Neil M. Howison, 1917, chalk on paper (mounted), 50.8 cm. by 48.4 cm. Catalog number 77-44.9   Portrait, Capt. Robert Gray, 1916, chalk on paper (mounted), 50.9 cm. by 40.3 cm. Catalog number 77-44.10

 

From the records of the Oregon Historical Society

Portraits of the Early Mayors of Portland, Oregon, 1851 - 1913.  Painted mostly from photographs in Oregon Historical Soceity collections.  Circa 1910 - 1915, oil on canvas, each approximately 67 cm. by 54 cm., catalog numbers 75-1.223 thru 75-1.250     Gegoux's Mayors Painitings are catalogued at:     SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM RESEARCH DATABASES   600,000 records of the Inventory of American Painting & Sculpture, Photograph Archives and Pre-1877 Art Exhibition Catalogue Index.   SIRIS     1) Hugh O'Bryant, 1851-52 2) A. C. Bonnell, 1852 3) Josiah Failing, 1853 4) William S. Ladd, 1854 5) George W. Vaughan, 1855-56 6) James O'Neill, 1856-58 7) S. J. McCormick, 1859 8) George Collier Robbins, 1860-61 9) John M. Breck, 1861-62 10) David Logan, 1863-64 11) Henry Failing, 1864-65, 1873 12) Thomas J. Holmes, 1866-67 13) J. A. Chapman, 1867-68, 1875-77, 1882-85 14) B. Goldsmith, 1869-71 15) Philip Wasserman, 1871-73 16) W. S. Newberry, 1877-78 17) David P. Thompson, 1879-82 18) John Gates, 1885-88 19) Van B. de Lashnut, 1888-91 20) W. S. Mason, 1892-93 21) George P. Frank, 1894-95, 1898 22) Sylvester Pennoyer, 1896-97 23) William A. Storey, 1899 24) Henry S. Rowe, 1900-01 25) George H. Williams, 1902-04 26) Harry Lane, 1905-09 27) Joseph Simon, 1910-11 28) Allen G. Rushlight, 1912 29) H. R. Albee, 1913-17