Representative George Augustus La Dow

George Augustus La Dow (March 18, 1826 – May 1, 1875) was a U.S. Representative from Oregon. Elected as a Democrat due to a split among Republicans, La Dow died before Congress assembled. As a member of the Democratic Party representing Oregon, he contributed to the legislative process during one term in office, participating in the democratic process and representing the interests of his constituents during a significant period in American history, although his service in the national legislature was cut short by his death.

La Dow was born on March 18, 1826, in Cayuga County, New York, near Syracuse. During his youth he moved with his family westward to McHenry County, Illinois, a frontier region experiencing rapid settlement in the mid-nineteenth century. There he attended public schools and pursued legal studies, preparing for a professional career in the law at a time when formal legal education was often obtained through apprenticeship and independent study rather than university training.

In 1850, La Dow was admitted to the bar and established a law practice in Waupaca, Wisconsin. As the community grew, he became an active figure in local legal and political affairs. From 1860 to 1862, he served as district attorney of Waupaca County, a role that placed him at the center of county-level law enforcement and judicial proceedings on the eve and in the early years of the Civil War. His work as district attorney helped solidify his reputation as a capable lawyer and public servant.

In 1862, La Dow moved his law practice to Wilton, Minnesota, continuing his westward progression as new states and territories opened to settlement. He entered state politics there and was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives, serving in that body in 1868 and 1869. His legislative service in Minnesota provided him with experience in lawmaking and public policy, and it marked his emergence as a Democratic politician of regional standing in the Upper Midwest.

La Dow relocated again in 1869, this time to Pendleton, in Umatilla County, Oregon, where he resumed the practice of law and quickly became involved in the political life of his new state. He was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives and served one term from 1872 to 1874. In the state legislature he represented the interests of his eastern Oregon constituents at a time when the region was developing economically and politically within the relatively young state.

In 1874, La Dow was selected as the Democratic nominee for Oregon’s at-large seat in the United States House of Representatives. Though little known outside Umatilla County, he benefited from deep divisions among Oregon Republicans. The regular Republican candidate, Richard Williams, faced a challenge from Timothy W. Davenport, who ran as an Independent Republican and was the father of future political cartoonist Homer Davenport. Williams and Davenport debated each other extensively around the state, splitting the Republican vote. This division allowed La Dow, as the sole major Democratic candidate, to secure a plurality of the vote and win the election to Congress.

La Dow’s election made him Oregon’s Democratic representative in the Forty-fourth Congress, but he did not live to take his seat. Before Congress convened its session, he died on May 1, 1875, in Pendleton, Oregon. His death placed him among the members-elect and members of the United States Congress who died in office in the nineteenth century. He was interred in Pioneer Park Cemetery in Pendleton, leaving a record of public service that spanned several states and levels of government, from county office to state legislatures and finally to election to the national House of Representatives.