Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 25.djvu/86



In the death of Honorable Theodore T. Geer, the tenth governor of the state of Oregon, the people have lost a true and tried friend.

He was an honored son of Marion county, having been born on a farm in the Waldo Hills near Silverton, on March 12, 1851. He remained on this farm until arriving at the age of fourteen years, when he moved to the city of Salem and was a pupil at the Old Institute school. The writer of this article attended the same school with Governor Greer while he was in Salem. After a brief time here he moved to Union county in eastern Oregon, where he remained until 1877, when he came back to the Waldo Hills farm.

In 1880 he was elected as one of the representatives of the legislature for Marion county. In 1889 he was again elected as one of our representatives in the legislature. The people of Marion county, having implicit confidence in his integrity, elected him the third time as a representative, at which session, on account of his ability as a presiding officer and knowledge of parliamentary law, the members selected him as speaker of the house.

In 1891, at a special invitation, he made fifteen political speeches in the state of Ohio. Mr. Geer was an able stump speaker and debater.

In 1896 he was elected as a presidential elector and conveyed the electoral vote to the electoral college in the city of Washington.

In 1898 he was unanimously nominated as republican candidate for governor. At the ensuing election he was elected by a handsome majority, indicating the high es- teem in which he was held by the people of the state.