"Portrait & Biographical Record of the Willamette Valley Oregon."  Chicago:
Chapman Publishing Company, 1903. p. 1416.
 
BYRON J. PENGRA

     There has recently passed away from the scenes of his early associations a
man whom all of Oregon has come to know in the past fifty years, and to
appreciate for the evidence of a masterly ability which had ever characterized
his efforts toward the advancement of his own interests or those of his adopted
state. Byron J. Pengra was born February 15, 1823, and lived to attain the age
of eighty years, seven months and three days, his death occurring at the home of
his son, W. J. Pengra, near Coburg, Lane county, September 18, 1903. He came to
Oregon in 1853 and settled on a claim a few miles east of the present town of
Springfield, Lane county, and at once became identified with the political life
of the country.
     Mr. Pengra was a Republican, and in 1858 was the leader and the most
forcible speaker on that side of the legislative campaign, and though the whole
ticket was defeated at that time, the territory being largely Democratic, he
retained his influence in the circles of his party, two years later being known
as absolute dictator of the Oregon Republicans. He had been editing for about a
year the People's Press at Eugene, this paper being then the Republican organ of
the state, and at the time of his nomination as presidential elector he turned
the paper over to Joel Ware in order that he might give his undivided attention
to the exciting campaign before him. Through his influence Col. Edward D. Baker
was induced to come north from California, not only to help canvass Oregon for
members of the legislature and for Lincoln, but also to become candidate for
United States senator. Through the division of the Democrats, the Republican
electors were chosen by a small majority. Though not a member of the
legislature, Mr. Pengra went to Salem, where the legislature met, and engineered
the election of Colonel Baker and J. W. Nesmith to the senate by uniting the
Republicans with the Douglas Democrats, and in the next campaign united the two
factions under the name of Union Republican party. He carried the vote of Oregon
to Washington and cast it for Lincoln and Hamlin. The appointment of surveyor-
general of Oregon was given to Mr. Pengra through the influence of the senators
whose election he had engineered, and this office he held for some years, being
located in Eugene. Baker and Nesmith also secured for Mr. Pengra a land grant of
several hundred thousand acres, from Eugene to the eastern boundary of the
state, for a military wagon-road, which he intended should be used for the
construction of a railroad at some future time. This was the cherished ambition
of his life and to its accomplishment he gave years of energy and effort, only
to fail in the end, his first defeat being through the amendment which Senator
Williams made to his railroad bill in the senate, which allowed Ben Holliday to
build the road through Jackson and Douglass counties instead of up the
Willamette over Pengra's route. Many years later Mr. Pengra was enabled to begin
the building of the road through the help of C. P. Huntington, who was then
warring with Stanford for the control of the Southern Pacific, but with the
settlement of the differences between those two men work was discontinued and
Mr. Pengra was once more disappointed in his ambitious efforts. After that time
Mr. Pengra made his home in eastern Oregon on the line of the road which had
taken all of his energy and been the dream of his life. The failure to
accomplish this object was one out of a life of successes, his ability and
tenacity bringing about results aimed for in almost all other lines, all of
which added to the growth and prosperity of the state wherein he made his home.
He did much for the development of Oregon, and will long be remembered as a
factor in the pioneer days of the state.

     
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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in June 2010 by Diana Smith.  Submitter
has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.