John Kelsay

John Kelsay (October 23, 1819 – January 19, 1899) was an American politician and judge in Oregon. He was the 18th justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, and fought in the Rogue River Wars. A Kentucky native, he was a member of the 1857 Oregon Constitutional Convention and served in the Missouri General Assembly.

Early life Kelsay was born to Alexander Kelsay and his wife Jane Kelley in the state of Kentucky in Wayne County on October 23, 1819. At the age of ten the family and John relocated to Missouri. There his mother educated John and then later he would begin the study of law in 1842. Then in Oregon in 1857 he represented Benton County at the Oregon Constitutional Convention as Oregon prepared for statehood. At the convention John was selected as chairman of the military committee. His two-year term ended in 1870 and he left the bench. In Oregon he was one of the early leaders of the Republican Party.

Later life Before his time on the high court Kelsay married a second time in 1864. With his second wife Cornelia Corintner he fathered two children. Later served as mayor of Corvallis. John Kelsay died on January 19, 1899, in Oregon.