Asa Lovejoy
| Asa Lovejoy | |
|---|---|
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| Speaker of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon | |
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In office December 1, 1846 – December 19, 1846 |
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| Preceded by | Henry A. G. Lee |
| Succeeded by | Robert Newell |
| Speaker of the Oregon Territory House of Representatives | |
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In office July 16, 1849 – September 29, 1849 |
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| Preceded by | Levi A. Rice (Provisional Legislature) |
| Succeeded by | Ralph Wilcox |
| Constituency | Clackamas County |
| Delegate to the Oregon Constitutional Convention | |
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In office August 17, 1857 – September 18, 1857 |
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| Constituency | Clackamas County |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 14, 1808 Groton, Massachusetts |
| Died | September 10, 1882 (aged 74) Oregon |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth McGary |
Asa Lawrence Lovejoy (March 14, 1808 – September 10, 1882) was an American pioneer and politician in the region that would become the U.S. state of Oregon. He is best remembered as a founder of the city of Portland, Oregon. He was an attorney in Boston, Massachusetts before traveling by land to Oregon; he was a legislator in the Provisional Government of Oregon, mayor of Oregon City, and a general during the Cayuse War that followed the Whitman massacre in 1847. He was also a candidate for Provisional Governor in 1847, before the Oregon Territory was founded, but lost that election.
Lovejoy continued his political career during territorial period as a member of both chambers of the Oregon Territorial Legislature; he served as the first Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives in 1849. He was also a delegate to the Oregon Constitutional Convention held in 1857 that paved the way for Oregon's entry into the Union. He was part owner of the Oregon Telegraph newspaper, and worked on railroad development in the Willamette Valley after leaving politics. Lovejoy Street in Northwest Portland and the Lovejoy Fountain in Downtown Portland are named in his honor.
Lovejoy was born in Groton, Massachusetts, on March 14, 1808. His parents were Betsy Lovejoy (née Lawrence) and Doctor Samuel Lovejoy. In the Eastern United States, he attended college at both Cambridge College and Amherst College, before studying law and passing the Maine bar to become an attorney. After leaving Boston he moved west to Missouri, but left the bottom lands of that state for the unorganized Oregon Country due to poor health.
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