John P. Gaines facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Pollard Gaines
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| 3rd Territorial Governor of Oregon | |
| In office August 18, 1850 – May 16, 1853 |
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| President | Millard Fillmore |
| Preceded by | Kintzing Prichette |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Lane (as Acting Territorial Governor) |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 10th district |
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| In office March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1849 |
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| Preceded by | John W. Tibbatts |
| Succeeded by | Richard H. Stanton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 22, 1795 Augusta County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | December 9, 1857 (aged 62) Salem, Oregon, U.S. |
| Political party | Whig |
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| Profession | Politician, Lawyer |
John Pollard Gaines (born September 22, 1795 – died December 9, 1857) was an important figure in American history. He was a soldier and a politician. He belonged to the Whig Party. From 1847 to 1849, he represented Kentucky in the United States House of Representatives. Later, he became the Governor of the Oregon Territory, serving from 1850 to 1853. His time as governor was quite challenging. John P. Gaines also owned Margaret Garner, an enslaved person whose life story inspired the famous novel Beloved by Toni Morrison.
Contents
Biography
Early Life and Education
John Pollard Gaines was born on September 22, 1795. His birthplace was Augusta County, Virginia. His parents were Abner Gaines and Elizabeth Matthews. His grandfathers and great-grandfather fought in the American Revolutionary War. John Gaines received a good education and studied law. He also volunteered to fight in the War of 1812.
In 1819, Gaines married Elizabeth Kincaid from Kentucky. He worked as a lawyer in Boone County, Kentucky. During the 1820s and 1830s, he served as a state lawmaker in Kentucky.
Military Service
In 1846, Gaines volunteered for the Mexican–American War. He was given the rank of Major. In 1847, he worked as an aide to General Winfield Scott. During the war, Gaines and about 80 soldiers were captured in January 1847. They were held as prisoners in Mexico City until August.
While he was a prisoner, people in Kentucky elected him to the U.S. Congress. He served one term from March 4, 1847, to March 3, 1849. He later lost his bid for re-election.
Governor of Oregon Territory
John P. Gaines supported President Zachary Taylor, who was elected in 1848. After his time in Congress, Gaines returned to Boone County. In October 1849, he accepted the job of Governor for the Oregon Territory. He got this position after Abraham Lincoln turned it down. Lincoln had also finished his term in Congress that year. Gaines traveled to Oregon by ship with Territorial Secretary Edward D. Hamilton.
His time as governor started with difficulties. On his journey to Oregon, two of his daughters died from yellow fever in Brazil. Soon after arriving, his wife died in 1851 after falling from a horse. His political life also proved to be very challenging.
In June 1850, Gaines became part of an Indian Commission. This group was set up by the U.S. government. Their job was to make treaties with Native American tribes. These tribes lived west of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon. The commission was formed because the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 allowed people to settle on large areas of land. The government wanted land west of the Cascades for new settlers. They also wanted to move the tribes to Eastern Oregon.
However, Gaines and the other commissioners, Alonzo A. Skinner and Beverly S. Allen, could only get treaties signed that let the tribes stay on the west side. They remained in the foothills of the Willamette Valley. The commission approved 19 treaties. It was then closed down in February 1851.
Gaines's time as governor was marked by strong political disagreements. He faced opposition from newspapers and the territorial legislature. This legislature was controlled by the Democratic Party. Gaines tried to keep the capital city in Oregon City, but he was not successful. He also supported other Whig Party ideas that were not popular. These unpopular ideas, along with the strong political fights, made many people see Gaines as an "Easterner." They felt he did not understand the needs of the Pacific Coast.
In 1853, Gaines left office. Joseph Lane, a Democrat, took over as governor for a short time. Even with all the political challenges, Gaines decided to stay in Oregon. He remarried and settled on a farm near Salem. His second marriage was to Margaret B. Wands in 1853. In 1854, he and two of his sons brought over 200 cattle from Kentucky and Arkansas to Oregon. This included 35 purebred Durham cattle. They did this to help start the beef cattle industry in Oregon.
Historical Context: Slavery
In 1825, John P. Gaines bought a farm in Kentucky called Maplewood. About a dozen enslaved people worked on this farm. One of them was the mother of Margaret Kite Gaines, who was born in 1833. When Margaret was about five or six, she began working in Gaines's house. Her duties included taking care of his children. In 1849, Gaines allowed Margaret to marry Robert Garner. Robert's owner, James Marshall, lived on a nearby farm.
In 1849, Gaines left Kentucky to become governor of the Oregon Territory. He sold Maplewood and the enslaved people there to his younger brother, Archibald Gaines. Margaret Garner's life story later became the inspiration for Toni Morrison's famous novel Beloved.
Later Life and Legacy
In 1855, Gaines ran for the U.S. House of Representatives again, but he lost to Joseph Lane. His appointment as governor sadly led to the deaths of some of his family members. His daughters, Harriet and Florella, died in 1850. In 1851, his wife Elizabeth was riding a horse when it got scared by a wagon. She was thrown off and died from her injuries. After this tragedy, his remaining children were sent back to relatives in the East.
About 15 months after his wife's death, Gaines married Margaret B. Wands. She was one of five schoolteachers who had recently moved to Oregon.
John P. Gaines passed away on December 9, 1857. He is buried in the Old Pioneer Cemetery in Salem, Oregon.
