Robert V. Short

American politician

Robert Valentine Short

Robert V. Short

Delegate to the Oregon Constitutional Convention
In office
1857
Constituency| Yamhill County
Member of the Oregon House of Representatives
In office
1888–1890
Constituency| Clackamas County
Personal details
Born| March 31, 1823
Fairview, Pennsylvania
Died| September 7, 1908(1908-09-07) (aged 85)
Portland, Oregon
Political party| Democrat
Spouse| Mary Geer

Robert Valentine Short (March 31, 1823 – September 7, 1908) was an American politician and land surveyor in Oregon. A native of Pennsylvania, he traveled the Oregon Trail where he eventually settled in Yamhill County. He was a member of the Oregon Constitutional Convention and later the Oregon House of Representatives. Short also served in the Indian Wars and lived in Portland.

## Early life

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Robert Short was born on March 31, 1823, to James and Eleanor (née McFarland) Short in Fairview, Pennsylvania.[1] After apprenticing as a tailor he worked in Delaware and Gallion, Ohio before entering Ohio Wesleyan University in 1841.[1] He left college the next year and was a school teacher from 1843 to 1844, before returning to tailoring in 1845 in Illinois.[1] Short then worked as a farmhand in 1846 before heading west to the then Oregon Country in 1847 with Joel Palmer and Joseph C. Geer.[1][2] Settling in Oregon City, he opened a tailoring shop before heading south to the gold mines of California from 1849 to 1850.[3] He married Mary Geer on February 19, 1848, and they had six children.[1]

## Oregon

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In 1850, Short returned to what had become the Oregon Territory where he helped complete the first survey of the Portland townsite, and purchased a lot on what is now southwest Third Street between Alder and Washington.[1][3] He built a house there, where the Dekum Building was later built.[1] Short also surveyed Oregon City for John McLoughlin that year, as well as becoming the first surveyor for Yamhill County (1855) where he set up a donation land claim.[3] During the Indian wars he served as a captain.[2] In 1857, he served as a Democratic delegate to the Oregon Constitutional Convention for Yamhill County.[3] At the convention he served on the Committee on Expenses.[3]

The next year the Oregon Legislature passed a bill naming him as a surveyor and commissioner to relocated a portion of the road between Corvallis and Portland.[4] After the American Civil War, he joined the Republican Party.[3] From 1862 to 1864 he was the assessor for Clackamas County after part of what had been Yamhill County was changed to Clackamas County.[5] In 1888, he was elected from District 6 to the Oregon House of Representatives representing Clackamas, serving a single two-year term.[6]

## Later life and death

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After leaving the legislature, he retired in 1891 to his home in Portland.[2] Robert Short died on September 7, 1908, at the age of 85 in Portland.[1] He was buried at Multnomah Park Cemetery in Portland.[2] In 2014, a Douglas fir tree on his former property in Wilsonville was designated as an Oregon Heritage Tree.[7]

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e f g h Howard McKinley Corning, ed. (1989). Dictionary of Oregon History. Portland, Oregon: Binford & Mort Publishing. p. 223.
2. ^ a b c d "Oregon Pioneer's Life Story Ends". The Morning Oregonian. September 9, 1908. p. 16. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
3. ^ a b c d e f "Biographical Sketch of Robert V. Short". Crafting the Oregon Constitution. Oregon State Archives. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
4. ^ "Special". Laws of the Territory of Oregon Enacted During the Ninth Regular Session of the Legislative Assembly, Begun December 7, 1857, Concluded February 5, 1858. Asahel Bush, Territorial Printer: 83. 1858.
5. ^ Republican League Register, a Record of the Republican Party in the State of Oregon. Register Publishing Company. 1896. p. 266.
6. ^ "1889 Regular Session (15th): January 14-February 22". Oregon State Archives. Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
7. ^ Kulla, Josh (May 14, 2014). "R.V. Short fir named an Oregon Heritage Tree". Wilsonville Spokesman. Retrieved 2014-05-21.

## External links

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* Works related to Autobiography of Robert Valentine Short at Wikisource
* Robert V. Short at Find a Grave