Sylvester Pennoyer - Early Life

Early Life

Sylvester Pennoyer was born in Groton, New York, on July 6, 1831. His parents were the former Elizabeth Howland and Justus P. Pennoyer, a New York state legislator and a wealthy farmer. Sylvester attended school at Homer Academy and then began teaching. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1854. He moved to Oregon on July 10, 1855, where he resumed teaching.

In 1856 he married Mary A. Allen, with whom he had five children. While teaching, he also practiced law. Pennoyer was chosen as the superintendent of Multnomah County schools in 1860, and served until 1862. He then shifted to the lumber industry from 1862 to 1868, accumulating a fortune. He then purchased the Democratic-leaning Oregon Herald newspaper and served as editor until he sold it in 1869.

In 1866, Marcus Neff hired attorney John H. Mitchell to complete some legal business, but failed to pay Mitchell's bill. Mitchell sued and received a default judgment against Neff, with Neff's property sold at auction to pay the bill. Pennoyer purchased the land at the sheriff's auction, and later Neff became aware of the forced sale. Neff then sued Pennoyer to regain the property in a case that became the U.S. Supreme Court case of Pennoyer v. Neff that defined legal jurisdiction for citizens residing in different states. At the trial, federal judge and Pennoyer adversary Matthew Deady ruled in favor of Neff, with the Supreme Court affirming the decision in 1877. Pennoyer was compelled to give the land back to Neff, and the property became a part of the Willamette Heights neighborhood in later years.