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Scottish ancestry Politicians in Oregon

  George Abernethy (1807-1877) — Born in New York, New York County, N.Y., October 7, 1807. Governor of Oregon Territory, 1845-49; newspaper publisher. Methodist. Scottish ancestry. Died in Portland, Multnomah County, Ore., March 2, 1877 (age 69 years, 146 days). Original interment somewhere in Vancouver, Wash.; reinterment in 1883 at River View Cemetery, Portland, Ore.
  Relatives: Married 1830 to Anne Pope.
  Abernethy Bridge on I-205, crossing the Willamette River between Oregon City & West Linn, Oregon, is named for him.  — The World War II Liberty ship SS George Abernethy (built 1942 at Portland, Oregon; scrapped 1960) was named for him.
  See also Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
  James Laidlaw (1847-1913) — of Portland, Multnomah County, Ore. Born in Ayrshire, Scotland, January 23, 1847. Commission merchant; shipping broker; insurance business; Vice-Consul for Great Britain in Portland, Ore., 1874-95; arrested in June 1893, and charged by the Chief of Police with storing dynamite within the city limits; Consul for Great Britain in Portland, Ore., 1895-1913. Episcopalian. Scottish and English ancestry. Died, from peritonitis, in St. Vincent's Hospital, Portland, Multnomah County, Ore., January 5, 1913 (age 65 years, 348 days). Interment at River View Cemetery, Portland, Ore.
  Relatives: Son of Rev. James Laidlaw and Hannah (Goodfellow) Laidlaw; married, July 21, 1875, to Louise Carpenter; married, November 5, 1890, to Charlotte C. Stott; father of James Ernest Laidlaw.
  See also Find-A-Grave memorial
  James Ernest Laidlaw (1878-1934) — also known as J. Ernest Laidlaw — of Portland, Multnomah County, Ore.; Sausalito, Marin County, Calif. Born in Portland, Multnomah County, Ore., March 31, 1878. Lumber merchant; shipping broker; Vice-Consul for Great Britain in Portland, Ore., 1899-1904. English and Scottish ancestry. Died, from myocarditis, in Sausalito, Marin County, Calif., November 2, 1934 (age 56 years, 216 days). Cremated.
  Relatives: Son of James Laidlaw and Louise (Carpenter) Laidlaw; married, April 29, 1903, to Ruth Scott.
Douglas McKay Douglas James McKay (1893-1959) — also known as Douglas McKay — of Salem, Marion County, Ore. Born in Portland, Multnomah County, Ore., June 24, 1893. Republican. Served in the U.S. Army during World War I; automobile dealer; mayor of Salem, Ore., 1933-34; member of Oregon state senate 1st District, 1935; delegate to Republican National Convention from Oregon, 1940 (alternate), 1952; speaker, 1952, 1956; Governor of Oregon, 1949-52; resigned 1952; U.S. Secretary of the Interior, 1953-56; candidate for U.S. Senator from Oregon, 1956. Scottish ancestry. Member, Freemasons; American Legion; Veterans of Foreign Wars; Disabled American Veterans; Purple Heart. Died in Salem, Marion County, Ore., July 22, 1959 (age 66 years, 28 days). Interment at Belcrest Memorial Park, Salem, Ore.
  Relatives: Son of E. D. McKay and Minnie (Musgrove) McKay; married 1917 to Mabel Hill.
  Douglas McKay High School, in Salem, Oregon, is named for him.
  See also National Governors Association biography — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — OurCampaigns candidate detail
  Image source: Eminent Americans (1954)
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