James K. Weatherford

[1] His father moved to Illinois early in his life and it was in that state that the couple met and married, soon purchasing land in Putnam County, Missouri,[1] towards the western edge of American development in that period.

[1] The mill was destroyed by fire in 1865, however, and Weatherford was briefly forced to return to his previous occupation driving ox teams in the arid eastern part of the state.

[1] While working as a teacher and school administrator, Weatherford studied law in his spare time, gaining admission to the Oregon State Bar in September 1876.

[1] Weatherford specialized in criminal law and was regarded as an effective trial lawyer, defending numerous clients accused in murder cases over the course of his career.

[5] Weatherford then moved to the Oregon State Senate, winning election for the first time in 1878 and ultimately serving a total of three four-year terms of office, albeit not in succession.

[5] In 1882 Weatherford attempted to win a place in statewide office, standing the Democratic nominee for Oregon Secretary of State.

[7] Weatherford returned to the Oregon State Senate in 1890, with Linn County voters sending the Democrat back to Salem.

With his term coming to a close in 1894, rather than seek re-election Weatherford's name was put forward by the Democratic Party as its nominee for United States Congress.

[5] Weatherford was a longtime member of the Oregon Agricultural College Board of Regents from 1886 through 1929, serving as the president of that body from 1901 to the end of his tenure.

Weatherford was married in 1877 to the former Annette Cottle, a native of Linn County, and the couple had two sons, named Realto and Alfred.