Representative Sherman Otis Houghton

Sherman Otis Houghton (April 10, 1828 – August 31, 1914) was an American politician from California who served as both a United States Representative and the mayor of San Jose. Over the course of his public career he was a member of the Republican Party, representing California in the Forty-second and Forty-third Congresses, and he played a role in local and national affairs during a transformative period in American history. He is also noted for having married, in succession, two survivors of the Donner Party.

Houghton was born in New York City on April 10, 1828. He completed preparatory studies and attended the Collegiate Institute in New York, receiving the education that prepared him for later professional and public responsibilities. As a young man, he left the East Coast to participate in the nation’s military expansion and to seek opportunity in the West.

During the Mexican–American War, Houghton enlisted in the 1st Regiment of New York Volunteers in June 1846. With his regiment he sailed around Cape Horn and arrived in San Francisco, California, in 1847. The regiment garrisoned Santa Barbara and later took part in the capture of La Paz in Baja California. Houghton was honorably discharged with the rank of lieutenant at Monterey, California, in October 1848. Following his discharge, he joined the California Gold Rush, spending about six months mining for gold before settling in San Jose, where he entered various commercial enterprises as the region rapidly developed.

Houghton quickly became involved in civic affairs in his adopted state. In 1854 he served as deputy clerk of the Supreme Court of California and that same year was elected to the San Jose Common Council. He was elected the fourth mayor of San Jose, serving from 1855 to 1856, during which time the city was emerging as an important center in the Santa Clara Valley. While engaged in public service, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1857, commencing the practice of law in San Jose. During the Civil War, he was commissioned as a captain and later promoted to lieutenant colonel, serving successively as an inspector and ordnance officer, thus contributing to the Union war effort in a military administrative capacity.

After the Civil War, Houghton entered national politics. As a Republican representing California, he was elected to the Forty-second and Forty-third Congresses, serving from March 4, 1871, to March 3, 1875. He defeated Democrat Lawrence Archer in both elections. During his two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, he participated in the legislative process during a significant period in American history, representing the interests of his constituents as the nation grappled with Reconstruction and economic development. In the Forty-third Congress he served as chairman of the House Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures, a position that placed him at the center of debates over monetary standards and commercial regulation. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1874 to the Forty-fourth Congress.

Following his congressional service, Houghton continued to receive federal responsibilities and to practice law. In 1881 he was appointed commissioner to investigate the affairs of the United States Mint at San Francisco, reflecting his prior experience with coinage and financial issues in Congress. He moved to Los Angeles in 1886, where he continued the practice of law and became part of the professional and civic life of the growing Southern California metropolis.

Houghton’s personal life was closely linked to one of the most famous episodes in Western migration. In 1859 he married Mary Martha Donner, a survivor of the Donner Party. She died a year later, most likely from complications related to the birth of their only child, a daughter also named Mary. In 1861 he married his late wife’s first cousin, Eliza Poor Donner, likewise a survivor of the Donner Party. With Eliza he had seven additional children, and the family’s prominence in California history was later reflected in Eliza’s own writings and in the preservation efforts surrounding their home.

In 1881 Houghton built the Donner-Houghton House, a substantial residence in downtown San Jose that became associated with both his political career and the Donner family legacy. The building was later recognized for its historical significance and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. Over the years, various proposals were made to restore or renovate the structure. The house was almost completely destroyed by a fire on the morning of July 19, 2007, though it remained an important landmark in the historical record of San Jose.

Sherman Otis Houghton died on August 31, 1914, at the age of 86, in Hynes, California. He was interred in Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles. His life spanned from the era of the Mexican–American War and the Gold Rush through the Civil War and into the early twentieth century, and his career reflected the growth and transformation of California and the United States during that period.