William Galloway, Oregon political figure and Circuit Court judge, was born in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, in 1845. He came overland to Oregon with his family, settling at first near Amity. He graduated from Willamette University in 1868, taught school, and served in the Oregon House of Representatives in 1874, 1878, and 1880. After a stint as a judge in Yamhill County, he ran unsucessfully for governor in 1894, served as receiver of the U.S. Land Office from 1896 to 1902, and sat as a Circuit Court judge until 1917.
In 1875 Galloway married Emmaline Baker (1851-1919), a native of Adams County, Wisconsin, who had crossed the plains to Oregon with her family in 1865. Her mother was Sally Finel Baker (1832-1907), daughter of Edward Finel; and her sister was Lydia Baker Hendricks. Emmaline and William Galloway had three children, Charles (1878-1947), who became the state tax commissioner; Zilpha (1879-1963); and Francis (1885-1942), who served as district attorney at The Dalles. William Galloway died at The Dalles in 1920.
Kenneth Leigh Cooper (1884-1972) was related to the Galloway family through his sister, Mildred Cooper Galloway. A native of The Dalles, Oregon, he served in World War I, was a Veterans' Affairs administrator, ran an investment business, and was elected a Portland City Commissioner in 1940, remaining in office for ten years.
The collection documents the Galloway and related families, including the Baker, Finel, Cooper, and Lord families. The largest groups of materials are papers of and related to Judge William Galloway, Kenneth L. Cooper, the Baker and Finel families (relatives of William Galloway's wife Emmaline Baker Galloway). Of note is political correspondence of William Galloway, including letters from Asahel Bush, Henry W. Corbett, General Joseph Lane, John H. Mitchell, James Nesmith, and J. M. Thompson; correspondence between members of the Finel and Baker families of Oregon and Wisconsin, in the 1850s and 1860s; documentation of Kenneth L. Cooper's career in World War I and his service as Portland City Commissioner; and letters of a Civil War soldier, J. M. Patterson, whose relation to the Galloway family is unknown. Also included are letters from Louis Scholl to Elizabeth Lord concerning the history of Fort Vancouver, Washington; a narrative of A. A. Cooper's journey across the plains in 1863; and a scrapbook of Mildred S. Cooper Galloway from her years at the Portland Academy, 1909.
The collection includes materials formerly designated Mss 730, Mss 730-1 and Mss 730-2.
The collection is arranged alphabetically by name of family member.
The collection is open to the public.
The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library prior to any use of reproductions. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use of reproductions may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright holders.
Galloway family papers, Mss 730, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Library accessions 18893, 19732, and others.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.