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User:Halvorsen brian/D. C. Lewis

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Dewitt C. Lewis
Member of the Oregon House of Representatives for the 31st District
In office
1915–1921
ConstituencySt. Johns, Oregon
(until 1915)
Portland, Oregon (after 1915))
Personal details
BornNew York
Political partyRepublican
RelationsDr. S. Lewis (sister)
ChildrenDixie Lewis
ResidenceSt. Johns, Portland, Oregon
Alma materUniversity of Michigan
Occupationattorney

Dewitt C. Lewis (August 1853 – February 11, 1934) was an American politician and attorney from Oregon. Lewis served in the Oregon House of Representatives from 1915 to 1921 representing the 31st district, which included St. Johns, Portland, Oregon. A member of the Republican Party, Lewis was a proponent of prohibition, ending The Great War, industrial development of the Columbia Slough, moving Oregon's capital to Portland, and the ultimately successful annexation of the City of St. Johns to the City of Portland.

Biography edit

Early life edit

Dewitt C. Lewis was born in August 1853 in New York to Josephus and Milissa Lewis, who were natives of the state. At an early age the family moved to an Iowa farm.

Lewis attended the Iowa State University and was accepted to the University of Michigan Law School where he graduated in 1882.[1] After law school, Lewis moved to Pratt County, Kansas where he was elected county prosecutor.

Oklahoma edit

In 1889 Lewis moved to Oklahoma where he opened a law practice and served as the general solicitor to the Frisco Railroad. He also served as council to an artisan bottled water company in Oklahoma.[2]

In August 1894 Lewis represented Conjarde, a member of the Seminole people who was convicted of murdering a relative. Conjarde was sentenced to death and shot by two men on horseback in a public execution outside of Wewoka, Oklahoma.[3]

Lewis was one of the founders of Oklahoma's Silver Party in 1896 which was a coalition of members of the Democrats and Populists who were followers of the free silver movement. Prior to joining the Silver Party, Lewis was a member of the Democratic Party.[4] By the early 1900s Lewis joined the Republican Party and was elected a delegate from Oklahoma City to the Oklahoma Constitutional Conventions. In 1907, Lewis lobbied for legislation in Oklahoma protecting the state's indigenous birds and insects.[5]

While in Oklahoma, Lewis met Stella Carnahan from Arkansas, whom he married. The couple had one child, a daughter named Dixie.

Oregon edit

Lewis moved to St. Johns, Oregon in 1911 where he continued practicing law. He was a member of the St. Johns Progressive Association.[6] He joined the St. Johns Commercial C1lub in November 1911.[7]

In 1911 Lewis went to work for the Oregon Electric Company.[8]

Lewis proposed a streetcar bridge between Linnton, Oregon and St. Johns in 1912.[9]

In 1912 Lewis announced his candidacy for the Oregon House of Representatives. He ran on a platform that supported St. Johns annexation to Portland. He was endorsed by the St Johns Review.[10] He was ultimately unsuccessful in his first bid for the Oregon House.[11] He ran for the same seat in 1914 and was victorious. Lewis was reelected in 1916 and 1918.

Lewis was one of the chief proponents of St. Johns annexation into Portland. St. Johns citizens voted to annex their town to Portland in 1915. The City of Portland hired city officials from the former City of St. Johns, which included Lewis whose role was legal consultant.[12]

During his career, Lewis advocated for the improvement of the Columbia Slough, which he saw as a way to bring the maritime commerce from the Columbia River to St. Johns.[13] He successfully lobbied Oregon's United States Senator Charles L. McNary to support the slough improvement project.[14][15]

In 1915, Lewis supported the abolition of state funds being appropriated to private charities.[16]

Lewis was a proponent of prohibition during his career in the Oregon House of Representative.[17] That position was contrary to the one he held while serving as a delegate to the Oklahoma Constitutional Conventions in the 1900s.

During his 1918 reelection bid, Lewis called for a peaceful end to The Great War.[18]

Lewis was a defense attorney for George D. Chenoweth, who was an Oregon representative from Curry County who was charged with murder. According to prosecutors, Chenoweth returned from The Great War to find that his daughter had given birth out of wedlock. He went to a dance hall where he shot George Sydam, the man who impregnated his daughter. Lewis and the defense team successfully fought for a not guilty by reason of insanity verdict, claiming their client had received wounds during his military service that made him mentally unwell. Chenoweth opposed the defense because he did not think he was insane. However, it worked in his favor as a few months later he was deemed mentally fit and released.[19]

In January 1920 Lewis introduced a bill into the Oregon House of Representatives to remove the capital from Salem, Oregon to Portland, which was ultimately unsuccessful.[20]

Lewis ran unsuccessfully for the Oregon Senate in 1920.[21]

In 1912, Lewis submitted a permit to erect a house on Willamette Boulevard in St. Johns for the cost of $2,000.[22]

The Oregonian reported in 1917 that Lewis was a member of a party that made a trip from Pontiac, Michigan to Portland, Oregon in a "closed" automobile. It took the party two months to complete their tour, which took them through Glacier National Park.[23]

Lewis was a practicing Baptist.[24]

Lewis died in Portland, Oregon on February 11, 1934.

References edit

  1. ^ "Oregon Legislators No.31, 32, 33, 34". Morning Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. November 24, 1914. p. 6.
  2. ^ "To Bottle Artesian Water". The Daily Chieftain. Vineta, Indian Territory [Oklahoma]. May 21, 1901. p. 1.
  3. ^ "A Seminole Execution". The Guthrie Daily Leader. Guthrie, Oklahoma Territory. August 30, 1894. p. 4.
  4. ^ "Free Silver Organization". The Guthrie Daily Leader. Guthrie, Oklahoma Territory. September 20, 1896. p. 1.
  5. ^ "Protect Birds or Bugs". The Beaver Herald. Beaver, Oklahoma Territory. December 19, 1907. p. 1.
  6. ^ "Progressive Meeting". St. Johns Review. St. Johns, Oregon. August 11, 1911. p. 1.
  7. ^ "Commercial Club". St. Johns Review. St. Johns, Oregon. November 24, 1911. p. 1.
  8. ^ "Communication". St. Johns Review. St. Johns, Oregon. March 29, 1912. p. 3.
  9. ^ "Wants Distance Shortened". St. Johns Review. St. Johns, Oregon. July 19, 1912. p. 1.
  10. ^ "Don't Neglect to Vote for D. C. Lewis". St. Johns Review. St. Johns, Oregon. April 19, 1912. p. 1.
  11. ^ "The Primary Election". St. Johns Review. St. Johns, Oregon. April 26, 1912. p. 1.
  12. ^ "D. C. Lewis Gets Plum". St. Johns Review. Portland, Oregon. July 16, 1915. p. 1.
  13. ^ "Lauds Mr. Lewis". St. Johns Review. Portland, Oregon. December 7, 1917. p. 4.
  14. ^ "Commends Mr. Lewis". St. Johns Review. Portland, Oregon. November 1, 1918. p. 1.
  15. ^ "Should Not Be Closed". St. Johns Review. Portland, Oregon. June 14, 1918. p. 1.
  16. ^ "D. C. Lewis To Lead Fight Representative; Would Cut Off Aid for Charitable Institutions". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. December 17, 1916. p. 30.
  17. ^ "D. C. Lewis Makes Stand Plain". Morning Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. February 10, 1915. p. 10.
  18. ^ "Making His Decleration". St, Johns Review. Portland, Oregon. March 8, 1918. p. 4.
  19. ^ "Untitled". St. Johns Review. Portland, Oregon. April 25, 1919. p. 3.
  20. ^ "Untitled". St. Johns Review. Portland, Oregon. January 23, 1920. p. 1.
  21. ^ "Returns Show 15 Legislators Out". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. May 26, 1920. p. 1.
  22. ^ "Building Permits". St. Johns Review. St. Johns, Oregon. August 16, 1912. p. 1.
  23. ^ "Closed Car Tour Made; D. C. Lewis And Family Drive From Pontiac, Mich". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. August 12, 1917. p. 54.
  24. ^ Kupfer, F. J. (April 5, 1918). "Our Political News Letter". St. Johns Review. Portland, Oregon. p. 1.
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