General Joseph Lane, was born in North Carolina, reared in Kentucky, and moved to Indiana when a young man. He served with distinction in the Medican War and, when Oregon became a Territory, was appointed by the President as Governor of the new Territory. He in company with Joseph Meek, who was appointed Marshal for Oregon, set out overland to take over the duties of his new office. They arrived in Oregon City, March 2, 1849 and on the following day began his work as governor. He later served as Delegate to Congress until Oregon was made a state and was one of the state's first members in the United States Senate. He died at his home in Roseburg, Oreg, in 1881 at the age of 80.