COLE, George Edward
(1826—1906)
COLE, George Edward, a Delegate from the Territory of Washington; born in
Trenton (now Trenton Falls), Oneida County, N.Y., December 23, 1826; attended
the public schools and Hobart Hall Institute; employed as clerk in a country
store; moved to Illinois, thence to California in 1849, and later to Oregon in
1850; member of the Oregon house of representatives in 1852 and 1853; engaged in
mercantile pursuits and steamboat transportation on the Willamette River; clerk
of the United States District Court of Oregon in 1859 and 1860; moved to Walla
Walla, Wash., in 1860; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-eighth Congress
(March 4, 1863-March 3, 1865); was not a candidate for renomination in 1864;
appointed Governor of the Territory by President Johnson in November 1866 and
served until March 4, 1867; returned to Portland, Oreg., in 1867; engaged in
railroad construction 1869-1872; postmaster of Portland, Oreg., 1873-1881; moved
to Spokane, Wash., in 1889;
treasurer of Spokane County 1890-1892; had extensive interests in mining,
manufacturing, and farming; died in Portland, Oreg., December 3, 1906; interment
in Lone Fir Cemetery.
Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present;
Contributed by A. Newell.