Morton M. McCarver

Morton Matthew McCarver
Speaker of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon
In office 1844–1845
Preceded by	Position created
Succeeded by	Asa L. Lovejoy
Constituency	Tuality District
Personal details
Born	January 14, 1807 Lexington, Kentucky
Died	April 17, 1875(1875-04-17) (aged 68) Tacoma, Washington
Resting place	Tacoma Cemetery
Political party	Democrat
Spouse(s)	Mary Ann Jennings Julia Backalow

"General" Morton Matthew McCarver (January 14, 1807 – April 17, 1875) was an American politician and pioneer in the West. A native of Kentucky, he helped found cities in Iowa, Oregon, and Washington while also involved in the early government of California. He served in the Provisional Legislature of Oregon, including as the first speaker of that body, and also fought in the Rogue River Wars.

Morton Matthew McCarver was born on January 14, 1807, to Joseph and Betsy McCarver (née Morton) in Lexington, Kentucky. His father died during Morton's youth, and the younger McCarver left home at the age of 14. McCarver headed south and spent a few years in Texas and Louisiana before returning to Kentucky. He moved to Illinois in 1829 where he married Marry Ann Jennings on May 6, 1830, at Monmouth, Illinois, and the couple had two children before her death in 1846. In 1832, he fought with the Illinois militia in the Black Hawk War.

After moving to what would become Iowa, he helped found Burlington, Iowa, in 1833 and 1834. He had established a ferry across the Mississippi River in 1833, but his settlement was twice burned out as a trespasser on land then owned by Native Americans. Once the Black Hawk Purchase was complete in June 1833 he rebuilt his cabin in what was then the Iowa Territory. While in Iowa he served as commissary general of Iowa, earning him the nickname of general. In 1843, he joined the Great Migration and traveled the Oregon Trail west to the Oregon Country, arriving at the Willamette Valley in November of that year.

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