- published: 03 Oct 2014
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Joseph "Joe" Lane (December 14, 1801 – April 19, 1881) was an American politician and soldier. He was a state legislator representing Evansville, Indiana, and then served in the Mexican–American War, becoming a general. President James K. Polk appointed Lane as the first Governor of Oregon Territory. When Oregon was admitted as a state in 1859, Lane was elected one of Oregon's first two U.S. Senators.
In 1860, Lane was nominated for Vice President of the pro-slavery Southern wing of the Democratic Party, as John C. Breckinridge's running mate. Lane's pro-slavery views and sympathy for the Confederate States of America in the Civil War effectively ended his political career in Oregon.
A son was later elected U.S. Representative and a grandson U.S. Senator, making Lane the patriarch of one of the state's most prominent political families.
Joseph Lane was born in Buncombe County, North Carolina, on December 14, 1801, to a family of English extraction with roots in colonial Virginia. His father, John Lane, was a veteran of the American Revolutionary War. The Lane family moved to the state of Kentucky from North Carolina when Joseph was a young child.