Zenas Ferry Moody

Zenas Ferry Moody (May 27, 1832 – March 14, 1917) was the seventh Governor of Oregon from 1882 to 1887.

Biography

Early life

Zenas Ferry Moody was born on May 27, 1832, in Granby, Massachusetts, to Thomas Hovey and Hannah Ferry. The family immigrated to Oregon Territory in 1851, traveling the Isthmus of Panama route. Moody was a surveyor and store keeper in Brownsville, Oregon until moving to Illinois in 1856. He then returned to Oregon in 1862 when he settled in The Dalles. At The Dalles he set up a general store and was responsible for surveying the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Then in 1865 he organized the Oregon & Montana Transportation Company. During his time in The Dalles he was a major shipper of Oregon wool from Eastern Oregon .

Politics

In 1880, he was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives. During his only term there, he also served as Speaker of the House. Then in 1882, Moody was elected as the seventh Governor of the state of Oregon. He took office on September 13, 1882 and served until January 12, 1887.

Family

Moody married Mary Stephenson in Brownsville on November 19, 1853. They would have five children, including Malcolm A. Moody, who would serve in the United States Congress, and Ralph E. Moody, who would serve in the Oregon House of Representatives and as assistant attorney general of Oregon.

Z. F. Moody died on March 14, 1917, in Salem, Oregon. He is buried in Salem's City View Cemetery.