# Cyrus Olney

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Cyrus_Olney
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Cyrus_Olney.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrus_Olney
> Source revision: 1350938818
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|American judge}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name         = Cyrus Olney
| image        = Cyrus Olney.jpg
| image_size   =
| caption      = 
| office       = 6th Justice of the [Oregon Supreme Court](/source/Oregon_Supreme_Court)
| term_start   = 1853
| term_end     = 1858
| nominator    = 
| appointer    = [Franklin Pierce](/source/Franklin_Pierce)
| predecessor  = [William Strong](/source/William_Strong_(Oregon_judge))
| successor    = [Reuben P. Boise](/source/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](/source/Geneva%2C_New_York)
| death_date   = {{death date and age|1870|12|12|1815|10|11}}
| death_place  = [Astoria, Oregon](/source/Astoria%2C_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](/source/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](/source/Oregon). He was the 6th justice of the [Oregon Supreme Court](/source/Oregon_Supreme_Court) serving while the region was still the [Oregon Territory](/source/Oregon_Territory). A native of [Ohio](/source/Ohio), Olney later was a member of the 1857 [Oregon Constitutional Convention](/source/Oregon_Constitutional_Convention), and later served in the Oregon legislature.

==Early life==
Cyrus Olney was born on October 11, 1815, in [Geneva, New York](/source/Geneva%2C_New_York).<ref name="osa"/>  He was raised in [Ohio](/source/Ohio), where he was educated in the public schools and later law school in [Cincinnati](/source/Cincinnati%2C_Ohio).<ref name=Oregon>Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.</ref> After passing the [bar](/source/bar_(law)) he practiced law for a time in Ohio before moving to [Iowa](/source/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](/source/Portland%2C_Oregon) in 1851.<ref name=Oregon/> He continued in this endeavor until 1853,<ref name=Oregon/> when [United States President](/source/United_States_President) [Franklin Pierce](/source/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](/source/Oregon_Constitutional_Convention) in 1857 representing [Clatsop County](/source/Clatsop_County%2C_Oregon).<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](/source/Oregon_House_of_Representatives) from Clatsop, [Columbia](/source/Columbia_County%2C_Oregon), and [Tillamook](/source/Tillamook_County%2C_Oregon) 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](/source/Olney%2C_Oregon) was named for him.<ref name="osa"/><ref name=OGN>{{cite OGN|7th|page= 721}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{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

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Cyrus Olney](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrus_Olney) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrus_Olney?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.