Thurston, Samuel Royal, 1816-1851

Blain was a Presbytarian minister and the editor of the newspaper "Oregon Spectator," 1849 Oct. 4 - 1850 Sept. 5.

Lawyer, member of Congress from Oregon Territory.

Samuel Royal Thurston, first Oregon delegate to Congress, was born April 15, 1816 in Monmouth, Maine. Thurston graduated from Bowdoin College in 1832 and was admitted to the Maine bar in 1844. During 1847, Thurston and his wife Elizabeth (married in 1845) traveled overland to Oregon City, where he began a law office. Shortly after moving to Washington County in 1848, he was elected to the Provisional Legislature and on June 6, 1849 was selected as the first Oregon Territorial Delegate to Congress. The major accomplishment during his term as delegate was the passage of the Oregon donation land law. While returning to Oregon after his first term, he died at sea off Acapulco, Mexico, April 9, 1851. Originally buried in Acapulco, the territorial legislature appropriated $1,500 to reinter Thurston's remains in Oregon soil.

Samuel Royal Thurston (1816-1851) was the first Oregon delegate to Congress.

Samuel Royal Thurston, first Oregon delegate to Congress, was born April 15, 1816 in Monmouth, Maine. Thurston graduated from Bowdoin College in 1832 and was admitted to the Maine bar in 1844. During 1847, Thurston and his wife Elizabeth (married in 1845) traveled overland to Oregon City, where he began a law office. Shortly after moving to Washington County, Oregon, in 1848, he was elected to the Provisional Legislature and on June 6, 1849 was selected as the first Oregon Territorial Delegate to Congress. The major accomplishment during his term as delegate was the passage of the Oregon donation land law. While returning to Oregon after his first term, he died at sea off Acapulco, Mexico, April 9, 1851. Originally buried in Acapulco, the territorial legislature appropriated $1,500 to reinter Thurston's remains in Oregon soil.

Samuel Royal Thurston (1816-1851) was the first Oregon delegate to Congress.

He was born in Maine and in 1847 he came overland to Oregon City where he opened a law office. He moved to Washington County in 1848 and there he was appointed as the Oregon Territorial delegate to Congress. Among his many accomplishments during career was that he helped pass the donation land law. He died in Mexico on his way back to Oregon.