William Marion Ramsey
Encyclopedia
William Marion Ramsay was an American
politician and judge in Oregon
. He was the 43rd Associate Justice on the Oregon Supreme Court
serving from 1913 to 1915. He was also the first dean of Willamette University College of Law
and a mayor of Salem, Oregon
, and McMinnville, Oregon
.
, Iowa
. The next year the family traveled the Oregon Trail
and settled near the town of Newberg
in Oregon Country
. Arriving in the fall of 1847, William’s parents Susan Shuck (d. 1898) and David Ramsey (d. 1891) homesteaded on the same site as Ewing Young
’s former mill. William was the youngest of five children in the family when they moved to Oregon
, though his parents would have nine more children. He was schooled in the local public schools before attending and graduating from McMinnville College
. William read law in Yamhill County and passed the bar
, becoming a lawyer in 1868. Two years later he married Mahala A. Harris with whom he would father four children.
. He then practiced law in Lafayette, Oregon
for ten years including for a time as a law partner with Benjamin F. Bonham
, the two were partners from 1876 until 1885. From 1883 to 1888 Ramsey served as the first dean for Willamette University College of Law
in Salem, Oregon
, where he was in charge of a staff of three professors. While in Salem he also served as mayor before moving to east to Pendleton, Oregon
, and La Grande, Oregon
, (1902–1911) and then settling again in McMinnville, Oregon
, where he served two terms as mayor.
On June 3, 1913, Oregon Governor
Oswald West
appointed Ramsey and fellow former Willamette Law dean Charles L. McNary
to the state supreme court bench when the court expanded from five to seven justices. Ramsey, a Democrat, ran for re-election in 1914, but lost to Lawrence T. Harris
. Both McNary and Ramsey left the court at the end of the term on January 4, 1915.
aboard the Battleship Oregon
. After his first wife died William married Julia A. Snyder in 1896, and they would have one daughter. William Marion Ramsey died on September 15, 1937, at the age of 79 and was buried in McMinnville at a funeral attended by several Oregon Supreme Court
justices including Henry J. Bean
, John O. Bailey
, John L. Rand
, and Percy R. Kelly
.
Willamette University
’s law school holds an annual lecture in his honor.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician and judge in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. He was the 43rd Associate Justice on the Oregon Supreme Court
Oregon Supreme Court
The Oregon Supreme Court is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States. The OSC holds court at the Oregon Supreme Court Building in Salem, Oregon, near the capitol...
serving from 1913 to 1915. He was also the first dean of Willamette University College of Law
Willamette University College of Law
Willamette University College of Law is a private law school located in Salem, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1842, Willamette University is the oldest university in the Western United States...
and a mayor of Salem, Oregon
Salem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
, and McMinnville, Oregon
McMinnville, Oregon
McMinnville is the county seat and largest city of Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. According to Oregon Geographic Names, it was named by its founder, William T. Newby , an early immigrant on the Oregon Trail, for his hometown of McMinnville, Tennessee...
.
Early life
William Ramsay was born on Christmas Day 1846 in Monroe CountyMonroe County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 7,970 in the county, with a population density of . There were 3,884 housing units, of which 3,213 were occupied.-2000 census:...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. The next year the family traveled the Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
and settled near the town of Newberg
Newberg, Oregon
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 18,064 people, 6,099 households, and 4,348 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,599.4 people per square mile . There were 6,435 housing units at an average density of 1,282.2 per square mile...
in Oregon Country
Oregon Country
The Oregon Country was a predominantly American term referring to a disputed ownership region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from...
. Arriving in the fall of 1847, William’s parents Susan Shuck (d. 1898) and David Ramsey (d. 1891) homesteaded on the same site as Ewing Young
Ewing Young
Ewing Young was an American fur trapper and trader from Tennessee who traveled Mexican southwestern North America and California before settling in the Oregon Country. As a prominent and wealthy citizen there, his death was the impetus for the early formation of government in what became the state...
’s former mill. William was the youngest of five children in the family when they moved to Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, though his parents would have nine more children. He was schooled in the local public schools before attending and graduating from McMinnville College
Linfield College
Linfield College is an American private institution of higher learning located in McMinnville, Oregon, United States. As a four-year, undergraduate, liberal arts and sciences college with a campus in Portland, Oregon, it also has an adult degree program located in eight communities throughout the...
. William read law in Yamhill County and passed the bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
, becoming a lawyer in 1868. Two years later he married Mahala A. Harris with whom he would father four children.
Legal career
In 1870, William was elected as the county judge for Yamhill CountyYamhill County, Oregon
-National protected areas:*Siuslaw National Forest *Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 84,992 people, 28,732 households, and 21,376 families residing in the county. The population density was 119 people per square mile . There were 30,270...
. He then practiced law in Lafayette, Oregon
Lafayette, Oregon
Lafayette is a city in Yamhill County, Oregon, United States on the Yamhill River and Oregon Route 99W. It was founded in 1846 and incorporated in 1878...
for ten years including for a time as a law partner with Benjamin F. Bonham
Benjamin F. Bonham
Benjamin F. Bonham was an American educator, politician, and judge in Oregon. He was the 9th Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, USA. Overall he was on Oregon’s highest court from 1870 to 1876. Prior to joining the court he was in the Oregon Territorial Legislature and the first State...
, the two were partners from 1876 until 1885. From 1883 to 1888 Ramsey served as the first dean for Willamette University College of Law
Willamette University College of Law
Willamette University College of Law is a private law school located in Salem, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1842, Willamette University is the oldest university in the Western United States...
in Salem, Oregon
Salem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
, where he was in charge of a staff of three professors. While in Salem he also served as mayor before moving to east to Pendleton, Oregon
Pendleton, Oregon
Pendleton is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. Pendleton was named in 1868 by the county commissioners for George H. Pendleton, Democratic candidate for Vice-President in the 1864 presidential campaign. The population was 16,612 at the 2010 census...
, and La Grande, Oregon
La Grande, Oregon
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 12,327 people, 5,124 households, and 2,982 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,833.5 people per square mile . There were 5,483 housing units at an average density of 1,260.3 per square mile...
, (1902–1911) and then settling again in McMinnville, Oregon
McMinnville, Oregon
McMinnville is the county seat and largest city of Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. According to Oregon Geographic Names, it was named by its founder, William T. Newby , an early immigrant on the Oregon Trail, for his hometown of McMinnville, Tennessee...
, where he served two terms as mayor.
On June 3, 1913, Oregon Governor
Governor of Oregon
The Governor of Oregon is the top executive of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. territorial governments....
Oswald West
Oswald West
Oswald West was an American politician, a Democrat, who served most notably as the 14th Governor of Oregon. Called "Os West" by Oregon writer Stewart Holbrook, who described him as "by all odds the most brilliant governor Oregon ever had."- Early life and career :West was born in Ontario, Canada...
appointed Ramsey and fellow former Willamette Law dean Charles L. McNary
Charles L. McNary
Charles Linza McNary was a United States Republican politician from Oregon. He served in the Senate from 1917 to 1944, and was Senate Minority Leader from 1933 to 1944. In the Senate, McNary helped to pass legislation that led to the construction of Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River, and worked...
to the state supreme court bench when the court expanded from five to seven justices. Ramsey, a Democrat, ran for re-election in 1914, but lost to Lawrence T. Harris
Lawrence T. Harris
Lawrence T. Harris was an American politician and lawyer in the state of Oregon. He was the 45th Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, serving from 1914 to 1924. An a native Oregonian, he also served as a state court judge and in 1903 was the Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives...
. Both McNary and Ramsey left the court at the end of the term on January 4, 1915.
Family
William’s son Frederick served as a captain in the United States NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
aboard the Battleship Oregon
USS Oregon (BB-3)
USS Oregon was a pre-Dreadnought of the United States Navy. Her construction was authorized on 30 June 1890, and the contract to build her was awarded to Union Iron Works of San Francisco, California on 19 November 1890. Her keel was laid exactly one year later...
. After his first wife died William married Julia A. Snyder in 1896, and they would have one daughter. William Marion Ramsey died on September 15, 1937, at the age of 79 and was buried in McMinnville at a funeral attended by several Oregon Supreme Court
Oregon Supreme Court
The Oregon Supreme Court is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States. The OSC holds court at the Oregon Supreme Court Building in Salem, Oregon, near the capitol...
justices including Henry J. Bean
Henry J. Bean
Henry J. Bean was an American politician and judge in Oregon. He was the 24th Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court. He served in that role twice during the 1930s. At his death on the bench he was the longest serving justice in the state’s history...
, John O. Bailey
John O. Bailey
John Ora Bailey was an American judge and politician in the state of Oregon. He was the 27th Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, serving on Oregon’s highest court from 1933 to 1950. Bailey also served in the Oregon House of Representatives and the Oregon State Senate...
, John L. Rand
John L. Rand
John Langdon Rand was an American politician and jurist in the state of Oregon. He served as the 22nd Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court. Overall he was on Oregon’s highest court from 1921 to 1942 serving as chief justice three times...
, and Percy R. Kelly
Percy R. Kelly
Percy R. Kelly was an American attorney and jurist in the state of Oregon. He was the 26th Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, serving on Oregon’s highest court from 1930 to 1949...
.
Willamette University
Willamette University
Willamette University is an American private institution of higher learning located in Salem, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest university in the Western United States. Willamette is a member of the Annapolis Group of colleges, and is made up of an undergraduate College of Liberal Arts and...
’s law school holds an annual lecture in his honor.