Samuel B. Huston

Infobox Politician
name = Samuel B. Huston


imagesize = 150px
office = Oregon State Senator
term = 1893-1897
1917-1921
preceded =
succeeded =
constituency = Washington County
Multnomah County
office2 = Member of the Oregon House of Representatives
term2 = 1915-1917
preceded2 =
succeeded2 =
constituency2 = Multnomah County
office3 = 11th Mayor of Hillsboro, Oregon
term3 = 1889-1890
1894-1895
constituency3 =
predecessor3 = S. T. Linklater
Joseph C. Hare
successor3 = F. A. Bailey
R. B. Goodin
birth_date = March 16 1858
birth_place = New Philadelphia, Indiana
death_date = ??
death_place =
nationality = American
spouse = Ella Geiger
party = Democrat, then Republican
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater = Northern Indiana University
occupation =
profession = Attorney
religion =


website =
footnotes =

Samuel Bruce Huston (March 16 1858 – ?) was an American politician and lawyer in Oregon. Originally a Democrat and later a Republican, he served in both chambers of the Oregon Legislative Assembly and was twice the mayor of Hillsboro, Oregon. A native of Indiana, he served in the state senate as a Democrat from one county his first term, but moved and changed parties by his second term 20 years later.

Early life

Samuel Huston was born in New Philadelphia, Washington County, Indiana on March 16 1858, to Oliver W. Huston and Lucretia P Huston (nee Naugle).Colmer, Montagu, and Charles Erskine Scott Wood. "History of the Bench and Bar of Oregon". Portland, Or: Historical Pub. Co, 1910. p. 159.] The family moved from this southern Indiana town to Illinois, where Samuel received his education at a private school in Grand Glade. He then earned his college education at Northern Indiana University (now Valparaiso University) in Valparaiso.

He was admitted to the Indiana bar in 1879 before moving to Oregon and arriving on May 18 1883. In Oregon on June 28 1884, he married Ella Geiger, the daughter of Dr. William Geiger, Jr. of pioneer stock. He was admitted to Oregon's bar in October 1884 and began practicing law in Washington County. In 1894, they had a son, Grover Clay, who died five months after birth. [ [http://ftp.rootsweb.ancestry.com/pub/usgenweb/or/washington/cemeteries/hill-e-h.txt Hillsboro Pioneer Cemetery Inscriptions, Surnames E - H.] Cemeteries. Retrieved on May 16 2008.] Another son, Oliver, attended the University of Oregon and Yale University. [Schmitt, Martin. [http://libweb.uoregon.edu/ec/e-asia/read/schmitt.pdf Catalogue of Manuscripts in the University of Oregon Library.] University of Oregon. Retrieved on May 16 2008.]

Later he moved to Portland, where he continued to practice law and served as a member of the city's commercial club. In 1906, Huston and Martin L. Pipes represented a defendant in the Oregon land fraud scandal with Francis J. Heney as the prosecutor and Charles E. Wolverton presiding in Oregon's federal court. [Puter, Stephen A. Douglas, and Horace Stevens. "Looters of the Public Domain, Embracing a Complete Exposure of the Fraudulent System of Acquiring Titles to the Public Lands of the United States". Portland, Ore: Portland Printing House, 1908. pp. 355-356.]

Political career

Huston entered politics in 1889 when he won the election for mayor of Hillsboro.Mayors: City of Hillsboro. "The Hillsboro Argus", October 19 1976] The eleventh person to serve as mayor of Washington County's seat, he was in office from December 2 1889 until December 5 1890. In 1892, Huston was elected to a four-year term in the Oregon State Senate. [ [http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/legislative/histleg/statehood/1893reg.htm 1893 Regular Session (17th).] Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on May 16 2008.] A Democrat at the time, he represented District 29 and Washington County, serving through the 1895 session. [ [http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/legislative/histleg/statehood/1895reg.htm 1895 Regular Session (18th).] Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on May 16 2008.] During this time he also served as mayor of Hillsboro a second term from December 4 1894 until December 5 1895.

In 1914, he was elected to the Oregon House, representing Multnomah County, now as a Republican. [ [http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/legislative/histleg/statehood/1915reg.htm 1915 Regular Session (28th).] Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on May 16 2008.] Huston then returned to the Oregon Senate after election in 1916. [ [http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/legislative/histleg/statehood/1917reg.htm 1917 Regular Session (29th).] Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on May 16 2008.] He represented District 13 and Multnomah County, [ [http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/legislative/histleg/statehood/1919reg.htm 1919 Regular Session (30th).] Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on May 16 2008.] and served in the 1919 regular session and 1920 special session as a Republican. [ [http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/legislative/histleg/statehood/1920spe.htm 1920 Special Session (30th).] Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on May 16 2008.]

Later years

During his later life, Huston served as a director at the Oregon Historical Society. [Oregon Historical Society. "The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society": June 1925, Volume Xxvi, Number 2. Portland: Oregon Historical Society Press, 1925. p. 300.]

References