{{Short description|American judge}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Cyrus Olney | image = Cyrus Olney.jpg | image_size = | caption = | office = 6th Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court | term_start = 1853 | term_end = 1858 | nominator = | appointer = Franklin Pierce | predecessor = William Strong | successor = Reuben P. Boise | office2 = | term_start2 = | term_end2 = | nominator2 = | appointer2 = | predecessor2 = | successor2 = | birth_date = {{birth date|1815|10|11|mf=yes}} | birth_place = Geneva, New York | death_date = {{death date and age|1870|12|12|1815|10|11}} | death_place = Astoria, Oregon | spouse = }} '''Cyrus Olney''' (October 11, 1815 – December 12, 1870)<ref name="osa">{{cite web|url=http://sos.oregon.gov/archives/exhibits/constitution/Pages/during-about-olney.aspx|title=Biographical Sketch of Cyrus Olney|work=Crafting the Oregon Constitution|publisher=Oregon State Archives|accessdate=2023-02-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024092249/http://sos.oregon.gov/archives/exhibits/constitution/Pages/during-about-olney.aspx|archive-date=October 24, 2021|url-status=dead}}</ref> was an American politician and lawyer in what would become the state of Oregon. He was the 6th justice of the Oregon Supreme Court serving while the region was still the Oregon Territory. A native of Ohio, Olney later was a member of the 1857 Oregon Constitutional Convention, and later served in the Oregon legislature.
==Early life== Cyrus Olney was born on October 11, 1815, in Geneva, New York.<ref name="osa"/> He was raised in Ohio, where he was educated in the public schools and later law school in Cincinnati.<ref name=Oregon>Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.</ref> After passing the bar he practiced law for a time in Ohio before moving to Iowa,<ref name=Oregon/> where he was a judge for four years.<ref name=Oregon/>
==Oregon== Olney moved to Oregon and began law practice in Portland in 1851.<ref name=Oregon/> He continued in this endeavor until 1853,<ref name=Oregon/> when United States President Franklin Pierce appointed him to the Oregon Supreme Court.<ref name=OSC>[https://sos.oregon.gov/blue-book/Documents/elections/history-officials.pdf Oregon Blue Book: Earliest Authorities in Oregon - Supreme Court Justices of Oregon.] Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on January 25, 2008</ref> Olney remained on the court until 1858 when he resigned, though he had attempted to resign in 1853 and 1854.<ref name=OSC/><ref name=nimrod>Lansing, Ronald B. 2005. ''Nimrod: Courts, Claims, and Killing on the Oregon Frontier''. Pullman: Washington State University Press. p. 262</ref> During this time, he also served as a delegate to the Oregon Constitutional Convention in 1857 representing Clatsop County.<ref name="osa"/> At the Convention he excused himself and did not vote on the final resolution.<ref name=nimrod/> In 1866 he was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives from Clatsop, Columbia, and Tillamook counties.<ref>[http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordpdf/6785262 Oregon Legislators and Staff Guide, 1866 Regular Session (4th).] Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on June 19, 2016.</ref> Serving as a Republican he was elected after a one session absence in 1870.<ref>[http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordpdf/6785264 Oregon Legislators and Staff Guide, 1870 Regular Session (6th).] Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on June 19, 2016.</ref>
==Later life and family== Olney married twice in his lifetime. He had a total of seven children from the two marriages. Olney died on December 21, 1870<ref name="osa"/> (or December 21, 1870<ref name=Oregon/>) in Astoria<ref name="osa"/><ref name=Oregon/> at the age of 55. He had been addicted to opium and chloroform up to his death.<ref name=nimrod/> Olney, Oregon was named for him.<ref name="osa"/><ref name=OGN>{{cite OGN|7th|page= 721}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Olney, Cyrus}} Category:Justices of the Oregon Supreme Court Category:1870 deaths Category:1815 births Category:Members of the Oregon Constitutional Convention Category:Republican Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Category:Politicians from Astoria, Oregon Category:Politicians from Geneva, New York Category:Iowa lawyers Category:Ohio lawyers Category:19th-century American state court judges Category:19th-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly