Early Life
Benson was born in San Jose, California in 1858 to a minister sent west by the Methodist Episcopal Church. His father, Henry Clarke Benson, moved the family to Portland, Oregon to become editor of the Pacific Christian Accord in 1864. His mother was Matilda Williamson Benson, and his older brother Henry Landin Benson was speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives and served on the Oregon Supreme Court.
Young Frank enrolled in the Portland Academy, and completed his education at the College of the Pacific in Stockton, California, where he earned an A.B. in 1877, and an A.M. degree in 1882. After college, he returned to Oregon, and began a career in education. In 1880, he became the administrator of the Umpqua Academy in Wilbur, Oregon, a Methodist school that is now closed. Benson was elected Superintendent of Douglas County Schools in 1882, but resigned the next year to become president of the now defunct Normal School in Drain. In 1883, Benson married Harriet Ruth Benjamin, and they had two sons. Benson served as the clerk of the U.S. Land Office in Roseburg from 1894 to 1896.
Benson was elected Douglas County Clerk in 1892, and was re-elected in 1896. That year passed the state bar exam, and he began practicing law in Roseburg in 1898.
Read more about this topic: Frank W. Benson (Oregon Governor)
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