James Nesmith

James Willis Nesmith (July 23, 1820 – June 17, 1885) was an American politician and lawyer from Oregon. Born in New Brunswick to American parents, he grew up in New Hampshire and Maine. A Democrat, he moved to Oregon Country in 1843 where he entered politics as a judge, a legislator in the Provisional Government of Oregon, a United States Marshal, and after statehood a United States Senator and Representative. Nesmith’s grandson, Clifton N. McArthur, and son-in-law, Levi Ankeny, both later served in Congress.