Uriah Francis Abshier (September 17, 1849 – May 23, 1934) was a state legislator from the state of Oregon. He served one two-year term in the Oregon House of Representatives as a Republican legislator, representing a large rural district in south-central Oregon. He was the postmaster for Silver Lake, Oregon and owned ranch property near that town. Later, he ran a hardware store in Centerville, Washington.
Early life
Abshier was born in White County, Illinois, on September 17, 1849, the son of Joel M. Abshier and Margaret (Miller) Abshier. As a young man, sometime before 1868, he moved west, settling in Colusa County, California. After arriving in California, he made his living as a farmer. He continued farming in that area for at least four years."Uriah Abshier", California Great Registers 1850–1920; citing voter registration record, Grand Island No 2, November 2, 1868, FHL microfilm 976,457, county clerk offices, Colusa, California; accessed April 1, 2021, via www.familysearch.org."Uriah Abshier", California Great Registers 1850–1920; citing voter registration record, Spring Valley No 2, November 4, 1872, FHL microfilm 976,457, county clerk offices, Colusa, California; accessed April 1, 2021, via www.familysearch.org."Uriah Francis Abshier", FamilySearch International, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah, accessed April 1, 2021.
Sometime between 1873 and 1875, Abshier moved north to Oregon, settling in Silver Lake in Lake County. After arriving in Oregon, he worked as a stockman.Abshier, U.F., 1875 Lake County Tax Assessment 462507, Oregon Historical Records Index, Oregon State Archives, Salem, Oregon, accesses April 19, 2021."Uriah F. Abshier", United States Census, 1880, citing NARA microfilm publication T9, Oregon>Lake>Silver Lake>ED 59, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, District of Columbia, accessed April 1, 2021, via www.familysearch.org.
While in Silver Lake, Abshier became active in local politics. In 1881, he was appointed to the position of Lake County commissioner after the elected commissioner resigned from the post. A year later, the county Democratic convention selected Abshier as the party's candidate for county commissioner. Abshier was elected to the county commissioner position in the 1882 general election, defeating three other candidates. In that election, Abshier received 360 votes while J. B. Phelps (another Democrat) ran second with 304 votes with Republican, P. G. Chrisman, receiving 247. There was also an Independent candidate who received two votes.Shaver, Frederic Ambrose, Illustrated History of Central Oregon Embracing Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam, Wheeler, Crook, Lake, and Klamath Counties, Western History Publishing Company, Spokane, Washington, 1905, pp. 871–873."More About Candidates", Record-Union, Sacramento, California, April 13, 1882. P. 4."Northern Lake’s Representation", Lake County Examiner, Lakeview, Oregon, April 12, 1906. p. 1.
State Legislature
In 1884, Abshier decided to run for a seat in the state legislature as a Republican. He was nominated for the District 22 seat in the Oregon House of Representatives, representing Lake and Klamath counties in rural south-central Oregon. Abshier won the House seat in the 1884 general election."Oregon Legislature", Eugene City Guard, Eugene, Oregon, December 6, 1884, p. 1."The State Legislature", Coast Mail, Marshfield, Oregon, December 25, 1884, p. 1.
Abshier took his seat in the Oregon House on January 12, 1885, representing District 22. At that time, Klamath County had just been separated from Lake County, so some documents show District 22 representing only Lake County and others show the district representing both Lake and Klamath counties. In reality, the boundary of District 22 did not change since Klamath County was originally part of Lake County and remained part of District 22 after the counties were separated. Abshier served through the 1895 regular legislative session which ended on February 21."1885 Regular Session (13th): January 12 – February 21", Oregon Legislators and Staff Guide, Oregon State Archives, Salem, Oregon, accessed April 1, 2021. During the short six-week session, he served on the assessment and taxation committee."House Standing Committees", Journal of the House of the Special Session of the Thirteenth Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon, 1885, W. H. Byers State Printer, Salem, Oregon, 1885, p. 3. He also introduced a bill to set a standard salary of county treasurers."The Legislature", Southwest Oregon Recorder, Langlois, Oregon, January 22, 1885, p. 1.
Later that year, the Oregon legislature was recalled for a special session. The special session began on November 11 and lasted through November 24. Abshier served through that session as well. During the session, he introduced one of the assembly's most important bills. His bill proposed that the Warner Valley be separated from Grant County and be attached to Lake County. The rationale for the change was simple and persuasive. The Warner Valley was from Canyon City (the Grant County seat) while it was only from Lakeview (the Lake County seat). The Oregon legislature agreed and passed the bill, enlarging Lake County by about 20 percent. During the session, he also sponsored a bill to donate 20 acres of state land to the city of Linkville (now Klamath Falls, Oregon) for a cemetery."1885 Special Session (13th): November 11—24", Oregon Legislators and Staff Guide, Oregon State Archives, Salem, Oregon, accessed April 1, 2021."The Legislature", Morning Astorian, Astoria, Oregon, November 13, 1885, p. 3.Shaver, Frederic Ambrose, Illustrated History of Central Oregon Embracing Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam, Wheeler, Crook, Lake, and Klamath Counties, Western History Publishing Company, Spokane, Washington, 1905, pp. 825.
Postmaster and rancher
After the close of the 1885 special session, Abshier returned to Silver Lake. In 1886, the local post office was moved from an outlying ranch into the town of Silver Lake and Abshier was appointed postmaster. He held the position of postmaster through 1891.Shaver, Frederic Ambrose, Illustrated History of Central Oregon Embracing Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam, Wheeler, Crook, Lake, and Klamath Counties, Western History Publishing Company, Spokane, Washington, 1905, pp. 854. "All U.S., Appointments of U. S. Postmasters, 1832–1971 results for Uriah F. Abshire", National Archives and Records Administration Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls. Records of the Post Office Department, Record Group Number 28, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, District of Columbia; accessed on March 31, 2021, via www.ancestry.com. During that same time period, he also began operating the official Silver Lake weather station."List of Stations", Biennial Report of the Oregon Weather Bureau, Frank C. Baker, Oregon State Pinter, Salem, Oregon, 1891, p. 36.
On September 28, 1887, Abshier married Judah Joan Harlow. The wedding was held at her family home in Lane County near Eugene, Oregon."City and County", Eugene City Guard, Eugene, Oregon, October 1, 1887, p. 3."Married", Weekly Oregon Statesman, Eugene, Oregon, October 1, 1887, p. 3."Married", Eugene City Guard, Salem, Oregon, October 7, 1887, p. 8. Together they had one son.Heywood, L. L., "Orland Resident Dies of Injuries", Chico Enterprise, Chico, California, May 24, 1934, p. 6.
In the early 1890s, Abshier filed three land grant claims in the valley north of Silver Lake. The first was a property claimed under the Desert Land Act. He patented that land claim in 1890."Silver Lake Desert Land Act, Uriah F. Abshier", patent information based on publicly available Bureau of Land Management data accessed on March 31, 2021, via The Land Patents, Chattanooga, Tennessee. The second parcel was a homestead claim, patented in 1893.Silver Lake Homestead Patent, Uriah F. Abshier", patent information based on publicly available Bureau of Land Management data accessed on March 31, 2021, via The Land Patents, Chattanooga, Tennessee. The third land grant was for a timber culture claim, which was patented two years later."Silver Lake Timber Culture, Uriah F. Abshier", patent information based on publicly available Bureau of Land Management data accessed on March 31, 2021, via The Land Patents, Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Abshier also remained active in local politics and government affairs. In 1892, Abshier was elected to the position of Lake County assessor as a Democrat, beating the Republican candidate, C. S. Benefiel, 481 votes to 208. Two years later, Lake County's Democratic convention nominated Abshier to run as its candidate for county clerk, but he was defeated by the Republican, William A. Massingill. In that election, Abshier got 219 votes against 388 for Massingall with a People's Party candidate, J. S. McLaughlin, receiving 136 votes. "Lake County Democrats", Dalles Daily Chronicle, The Dalles, Oregon, April 14, 1892, p. 1."Brevity Basket", Valley Record, Ashland, Oregon, April 19, 1894, p. 4.
On Christmas Eve 1894, Silver Lake experienced a great tragedy. That evening virtually the entire town's population of 50 inhabitants along with another 150 people from ranches in the surrounding valley had gathered in the local community center to celebrate the Christmas holiday. During the entertainment program, an oil lamp hanging from the ceiling was bumped and spilled its contents, starting a fire in the crowded hall. The room was on the second floor with only one door and two small windows for escape. In the fire and panic that followed, 43 people were killed and an additional forty severely burned. Abshier was able to rescue his five-year-old son from the blaze; however, his wife was playing the organ on the far side of the room and was unable to escape the flames. She perished in the fire.Brogan, Phil F., East of the Cascades, Binford and Mort Publishers, Portland, Oregon, 1965, pp. 163–165.Jackman, E. R. and R. A. Long, The Oregon Desert, Caxton Press, Caldwell, Idaho, 1964 (14th edition, 2003), pp. 126–27Abshier, U. F., "Old Story Told Again", Lake County Examiner, Lakeview, Oregon, January 15, 1903, p. 2."Orland Rancher Dies as Auto Turns Over", Oroville Mercury Register, Oroville, California, May 23, 1934, p. 1. Abshier never remarried, remaining a widower for the next 40 years. At the time, the fire was reported in newspapers throughout the United States."Forty-One Lives Lost", San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, California, December 29, 1894, p. 1."Scores Die By Fire", Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, December 29, 1894, p. 1."Crowd Became Panic Stricken", Leavenworth Times, Leavenworth, Kansas, December 30, 1894, p. 1."A Prison of Flame", Morning Oregonian, Portland, Oregon, January 2, 1895, p. 1. Even today, details of the tragedy are periodically recounted in media articles."100 Years Later, Oregon Remembers Worst Fire : Tragedy: Forty-three people perished on a bitterly cold Christmas Eve in a remote trading post", Los Angeles Times (from Associated Press), Los Angeles, California, December 25, 1994.Juillerat, Lee, "A Look Back: 1894 Christmas Eve Fire", Medford Mail Tribune, Medford, Oregon, December 25, 2013.Hasselman, Lynne, "The 1894 Christmas Eve fire in Silver Lake scarred remote community for decades", Oregonian/OregonLive, Portland, Oregon, December 22, 2018.
Businessman and farmer