Doctor Ira Leonard Babcock (c.1808-March 21 1888) was an American pioneer selected as supreme judge with probate powers in 1841 in Oregon Country.[1] Although the meeting where he was selected did not produce an acting government, this was the first of several meetings that lead to a Provisional Government in the Willamette Valley in 1843.[1]
Background
Doctor Babcock came to Oregon from New York while working for the Methodist Mission run by Jason Lee.[2] Babcock arrived in Oregon in 1840.[3] He came via the ship Lausanne with his wife and one son.[3] They traveled with Jason Lee’s reinforcements for the mission that was re-located to present day Salem, Oregon.[3] The Lausanne sailed around Cape Horn and included future governor George Abernethy and the Reverend Gustavus Hines.
Judge
Babcock was selected on February 18 1841, to be the supreme judge for the settlers of the region.[1] There was a need for a probate court in order to deal with the estate of Ewing Young.[1] Young had become a wealthy rancher due to his economic activities that included participation in the Willamette Cattle Company in 1837. In 1842 he helped to organize the Oregon Institute as a school for the children of the American settlers.[2] After holding the supreme judge title for two years, Babcock took his family to the Sandwich Islands for one year.[3] After returning he was elected as judge again, but left Oregon permanently in November of 1844.[3] After leaving Oregon he joined the U.S. Army and served as a surgeon.[2] In 1870 he returned to Oregon on a visit.
References
- ^ a b c d Horner, John B. (1929). Oregon: Her History, Her Great Men, Her Literature. The J.K. Gill Company:Portland, Oregon.
- ^ a b c Corning, Howard M. Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.
- ^ a b c d e Flora, Stephenie. Emigrants to Oregon in 1840. Oregon Pioneers. Retrieved on 2007-02-22.
