Samuel R. Holcomb
(1836 – 1865?)
Marshal - April 6, 1858 – April 14, 1859
(1836 – 1865?)
Marshal - April 6, 1858 – April 14, 1859
Samuel Holcomb is probably the most mysterious man to ever hold the office of City Marshal in Portland, because there is very little that can be found on his life or activities. He was born in Illinois in 1836 (or possibly 1832) and there is no record of when he settled in Portland. He served as City Marshal at the time Oregon was preparing to become a state and he faced the problem of trying to enforce the law with little or no guidance or structure from the City Council. The population of the city had grown to more than 2,000 and it was becoming difficult for a single marshal to enforce order. In 1857 the City Council, responding to public clamor for a California-style Committee of Vigilance, had passed an ordinance demanding that the city “think” about forming a permanent police force.
In April 1858 Marshal Holcomb, along with ex-Marshal William Grooms, became an officer in the Jefferson Guard – a militia group that could perform as a posse comitatus at need. Later that year he appointed two permanent deputies, forming the first Portland police force that consisted of more than one man. Traces of Holcomb’s life after his service as City Marshal are conflicting. He married in 1859 and his wife remained in Portland the rest of her life, but Holcomb himself either died as a soldier in the Civil War in 1864, or he died in San Francisco in 1865.
In April 1858 Marshal Holcomb, along with ex-Marshal William Grooms, became an officer in the Jefferson Guard – a militia group that could perform as a posse comitatus at need. Later that year he appointed two permanent deputies, forming the first Portland police force that consisted of more than one man. Traces of Holcomb’s life after his service as City Marshal are conflicting. He married in 1859 and his wife remained in Portland the rest of her life, but Holcomb himself either died as a soldier in the Civil War in 1864, or he died in San Francisco in 1865.