George Riley (abolitionist)

George Putnam Riley (Geo P. Riley) was a native of Boston born on March 29, 1833.[2] His grandfather was a participant in the Revolutionary War. Riley's father was engaged in the clothing trade in Boston. His parents, William and Elizabeth Riley, were abolitionists.[3][2] When Riley was a baby, his six-year-old half-brother James Jackson Jr. died.[2]

Riley was prevented from attending college because he was black. He worked at Benjamin Butler's law office, and later as a barber.[2] George moved to San Francisco in the historic California Gold Rush,[4] and later moved back to Boston. Harriet Elizabeth Gordon and he wed on April 30, 1866 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. They had a daughter in 1867.[2]

Riley moved to Oregon by early 1869.[2] In Portland, he was employed by the federal customs department.[4] He also briefly worked as a barber again.[2]

In 1869, Riley and twelve other Black men and two white men, organized the Workingmen's Joint Stock Association (WJSA) in Portland, Oregon.[5] Riley was president of the WJSA. They bought property in Seattle (20 acres) and Tacoma on speculation.[5] The land was under litigation at the time of his death, where it had been under litigation for more than 20 years.[6]

In 1887 he moved to Tacoma, Washington.[4] There, he orated Tacoma's Annual Emancipation Day festivities, and worked to resolve legal disputes relating to the properties belonging to WJSA in Tacoma.[2]

Harriet Riley died in 1896,[2] and Riley died on October 1, 1905.[2] Congressman F.W. Cushman attended his funeral and spoke about the lessons learned from Riley's life.[7]

Riley was a Republican, described as, "the ablest orator among the Republicans of Multnomah County."[8] He was a candidate for legislature, but did not win. In a "card" published in an Oregon newspaper Riley writes:

Portland, May 14, 1878 Editor Standard: -Noticing an article in your paper requesting me to reply to a question as to why I was not indorsed [sic] by the Republican Convention, or rather a clique who assume to be dictators of the party, I have only to remark that while they admit I have the ability, they discarded me on account of color. - Geo. Putnam Riley.[8]

Riley had one daughter, Bonita Riley Wright.[9] She was a founding member of the Seattle NAACP in 1913.[10]

In 2004, a housing and commercial development group in Seattle was named in honor of George Riley Putnam. The company has taken its roots since 1983 as a result of the activities of African American businessmen followers of Riley.[11]

Announcement for the speech "The Colored Citizen and the Ballot" given by Riley.

• 1870, April 7, "The Ratification Jubilee", Portland, Oregon[12]

• 1870, April 26, "The Colored Citizen and the Ballot", Portland, Oregon[13]

• 1871, February 7, "Toussaint L'Ouverture, the Hero of San Domingo", Salem, Oregon[14]

• Chandler, J. D. (2013). Hidden History of Portland, Oregon. Charleston, SC: History Press. ISBN 978-1626191983.
• Moreland, Kimberly Stowers (2013). African Americans of Portland. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0738596198.