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Title
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Gaines, John Pollard
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Gender
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Male
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Biography
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Born to Elizabeth and Abner Gaines in 1795, John P. Gaines moved with his family from Augusta County, Virginia to Boone County, Kentucky shortly thereafter. (Hanger, page 5)
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Gaines volunteered for service in the The War of 1812. ("Governor John P. Gaines Obituary") After returning to Boone County, Gaines practiced law and became a member of the Kentucky State Legislature. From 1846 to 1848, he served in the Mexican War. Gaines was elected to Congress in 1847(Comer, page 6) despite being held as a prisoner of war, and his opponents' urging that “votes for Gaines might be votes for a dead man.”(Hanger, page 5)
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He was then appointed Governor of the Oregon Territory by President Taylor in 1850, a position that future President Abraham Lincoln would turn down.("Abraham Lincoln...") After selling his enslaved people (including Margaret Garner) and farm in Richwood to his brother, Archibald K. Gaines, Gaines began making preparations for his long trip to Oregon. Gaines' seven-month-long journey to Oregon by ship would prove fatal, as two of his daughters died of yellow fever along the way.(Hanger, page 5) Dissent brewed in Oregon, due to the length of his absence and the rest of his term would prove just as tumultuous.("Gaines, John Pollard...") Shortly after he took office, in 1851, his wife, Elizabeth died after being thrown from a horse. He left office in 1853, but stayed in Oregon with his second wife Margaret.(Comer, page 6) Gaines died in Oregon in 1857 of typhoid fever.("Governor John P. Gaines Obituary")
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Birth date
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22 Sep 1795
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Mother
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Matthews, Susan Elizabeth
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Life event(s)
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Marriage 1: 22 Jun 1819; Woodford County (Ky.)
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Woodford County (Ky.)
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Marriage 2: 25 Nov 1852; Clackmas County (Or.)
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Spouse(s)
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Kincaid, Elizabeth
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Wands, Margaret Burnsides
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Child(ren)
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Gaines, Archibald Kincaid
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Hanger, Anna Maria Gaines
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Gaines, Abner Pendleton
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Belding, Mary Elizabeth Gaines
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Gaines, Matilda
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Greene, Katherine Florella Hardenbaugh
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Gaines, Harriet
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Gaines, Florella
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Gaines, Richard
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Death date
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9 Dec 1857
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Place of death
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Salem (Or.)
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Death and burial information
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Cause of death: Typhoid fever
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Salem Pioneer Cemetery (Salem, Or.)
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Occupation(s)
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Farmer
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Lawyer
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Sheriff
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Politician
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U.S. Congressman
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Governor, Oregon Territory
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Military service
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1st Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry
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Allegiance
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United States of America
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Held rank
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Major
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Description
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Enslaved held in 1820: Males, under 14, one; Males, 14 thru 25, one; Females, 26 thru 44; one
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Enslaved held in 1830: Males, under 10, two; Males, 10 thru 23, one; Females, under 10, one; Females, 10 thru 23, two
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Enslaved held in 1840: Males, 10 thru 23, two; Males, 24 thru 35, one; Females, under 10, two; Females, 10 thru 23, one; Females, 24 thru 35, one
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Bibliographic citation(s)
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Hanger, Frances Marion. "John Pollard Gaines, Oregon's Governor 1850-53," The Oregonian, August 16, 1908, page 5 [PDF}
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"Governor John P. Gaines Obituary," Weekly Oregonian, December 15, 1857, page 2
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Comer, Elizabeth. "Gaines Tavern," Northern Kentucky Views [PDF]
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"Abraham Lincoln: Thanks But No Thanks, Oregon Territory," Oregon Public Broadcasting, February 12, 2009.
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"Gaines, John Pollard (Gov)" Oregon, Statesman Index Books, 1850-1866
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Early Oregonians Index, 1800-1860: "Gaines, John Pollard"
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Index To Compiled Service Records Of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During The Mexican War
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Oregon, Biographical and Other Index Card File, 1700s-1900s
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Appletons' Cyclopedia of American Biography, 1600-1889, page 573
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FindAGrave.com, memorial #6254267
Gaines family
Garner, Margaret