Lucien Heath

Lucien Heath
Heath in his later years
Oregon Secretary of State
In office March 3, 1859 – September 8, 1862
Preceded by	Benjamin F. Harding (territorial)
Succeeded by	Samuel E. May
Mayor of Salem, Oregon
In office 1861
Preceded by	Wiley Kenyon
Succeeded by	E. N. Cooke
Member of the California State Assembly from the 50th district
In office 1883 – 1887
Personal details
Born	1819 near Buffalo, New York
Died	December 19, 1888(1888-12-19) (aged 69)
Political party	Democrat Republican
Spouse(s)	Jane Edwards
Occupation	Farmer, merchant

Lucien Heath (1819 – December 19, 1888) was an American farmer, merchant, and politician in Oregon. A native of New York, he was raised there and in Michigan before immigrating to the Oregon Territory. A Democrat, he served as the first Oregon Secretary of State after Oregon entered the Union in 1859, and was also the mayor of Salem. After moving to Santa Cruz County, California, he was elected to the California Assembly for two terms as a Republican.

Lucien Heath was born in 1819, in the state of New York near Buffalo to a merchant father. The family moved to Michigan when Heath was young where he farmed. In 1849, he married there to Jane Edwards of Ohio, and they had two sons and a daughter. In 1852, the family of Jane, Lucien, and son Henry (the daughter Lina had already died), moved to the Oregon Territory over the Oregon Trail.

Heath and the family settled in Polk County in the Willamette Valley where he started a farm. In 1854, he was appointed as the clerk of the territorial court. He later became a trustee of the La Creole Academy that was started in 1856 in Dallas. Heath then served as clerk of Polk County. After Heath moved to Salem he became a merchant. He also served as the recording secretary for the State Agricultural Society in Marion County where Salem is located. In this position, Heath became the first financial secretary of the Oregon State Fair, held at Oregon City.