George Abernethy (October 7, 1807 – March 2, 1877) was an American politician, pioneer, notable entrepreneur, and first governor of Oregon under the provisional government based in the Willamette Valley, an area later a part of the American state of Oregon. He traveled to Oregon Country as a secular member of the Methodist mission, where he became involved in politics and helped found the first American newspaper west of the Rocky Mountains.
Early life
Abernethy was born on October 7, 1807, in New York City to shoemaker William Abernethy and an unidentified mother. He was of Scottish descent. He received his education in New York as well as learning the commercial trade. focusing on the Mission's mercantile business in Oregon City. In 1842 he introduced a resolution there to hold off forming an independent country.