Thomas Egenton Hogg (1828–1898) was a master in the Confederate States Navy who participated in raids on Union ships during the American Civil War.

[2] On November 16, 1863, Hogg and five other Confederate sympathizers from Ireland boarded the Joseph L. Gerrity, a Union schooner loaded with cotton, in Matamoros, Mexico.

Hogg began gathering investors, who were sold on the idea of reducing the time it took Willamette Valley farmers to get their produce to California.

[8] The company made little headway in raising capital and building until Hogg teamed with Corvallis banker Wallis Nash [Wikidata].

[11] Other problems included the fact that the Yaquina Bay harbor was too shallow for large ships, which was not an issue for the Columbia River; moreover, building the railroad over the mountains proved to be expensive and plagued by mismanagement of funds.

[18] Hogg had retained thousands of acres of land in Oregon granted to him for the railroad, but after his death, the estate became mired in legal entanglements.

[19] Spencer worked to restore 15,000 acres (61 km2) to Hogg's widow Naomi in 1908, and within two years, had divorced his wife and remarried Mrs.

[15][20] In 1920, in what was attributed to his ill health and financial concerns over a horse farm they owned, Spencer attempted to kill his wife with a revolver.