A native of Illinois, he immigrated as a boy to the Oregon Country with his family where he became a deputy surveyor for the United States government.
A Republican, he also was appointed as an Indian agent to the Warm Springs Reservation and later was a member of the Oregon State Senate.
[1] Gesner's parents took up a land claim in the Champoeg District (now Marion County) southwest of the now city of Salem.
[1] Gesner continued in the business until 1908, in the process surveying public lands primarily in western Oregon and some in what became the state of Washington.
[3] In 1882, he and Wilkins bought the Oregon Statesman newspaper, though Gesner sold-out his share eight months later.
[4] Serving a four-year term, he represented District 4 that included both Clackamas and Marion counties.