An ACT, to legalize the elections of certain persons as justices of the peace in the county of Jackson.
    WHEREAS, John R. Hardin, Chauncey Nye, U. S. Hayden, Clark Rogers and W. W. Fowler, have been informally elected justices of the peace for said county, or precincts of said county of Jackson, under the title of alcaldes, and doubts have arisen respecting the legality of their proceedings,
    Section 1. Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Oregon, That the said John R. Hardin, Chauncey Nye, U. S. Hayden, Clark Rogers and W. W. Fowler, and each of them, be declared and deemed to have been legally elected and qualified to discharge the office and duties of a justice of the peace for said county; and that all their acts and proceedings in that capacity be deemed and declared to be valid--provided, that the same would have been valid if done by a justice of the peace duly elected and qualified.
    Passed, Dec. 21, 1853.
Oregon Territory Special Laws, 5th Session, 1853-54, page 12

Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, March 14, 1868, page 3


    Near Flounce Rock, a romantic and secluded cove in the mountains, far up Rogue River, there are a number of settlers located and engaged in farming and stock raising. Among them is Chauncey Nye, a pioneer of territorial times. He was born in Macomb County, Michigan in 1826, but when quite young removed with his parents to Oakland County, Indiana, where he resided until the spring of 1850 when he crossed the plains to California.
    He mined for a short time near Pla[cerville], but being attracted by the [glowing] reports from Yreka he visited [Oregon] in the spring of 1851 and [return]ing the summer of that year. In the fall he left the mines and went to Salem, Marion County, where he established the first bakery ever started in that town. He remained in Salem until the spring of 1852, at which time he removed to Jackson County and engaged in mining on Jackson Creek and continued in the business until the following summer. He was elected a member of the lower house of the Territorial Legislature and served during the terms of 1853-4. He served during the Indian war of 1855 in Capt. John F. Miller's company of volunteers, part of the time as Orderly Sergeant. In 1865 he was married to Amarantha Burt, and the family now consists of himself, wife and three children. In politics Mr. Nye is a Republican, but independent when local questions are voted upon. His religious views are liberal. Unobtrusive in his manner, just in his dealings with his fellow men, he is held in high esteem by his neighbors and all know him as a man of
unquestioned integrity and a true type of a genuine pioneer.
Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, October 24, 1879, page 2 


Ashland Tidings, August 6, 1896, page 3


    H. B. Nye, the gentleman who arrived in Medford last week from Kalispell, Mont., has decided to remain in Southern Oregon for several months at least--possibly become a permanent resident. He is a nephew of our good friend, Hon. Chauncey Nye, who lives at Prospect. Mr. Nye is a mining man of experience and means and will undoubtedly invest in Southern Oregon property. His father is expected to arrive this week.
"Purely Personal," Medford Mail, April 27, 1900, page 6


    The following interesting reminiscent letter from Chauncey Nye, who was one of Oregon's earliest legislators, was received by Governor Geer recently, and contains so much of historical interest to the entire state that the Governor has allowed it to be copied for publication:
    "Prospect, Jackson County, Or., Dec. 23, 1901.--My Dear Governor: I see in the newspapers last summer a report of your address at Newport, giving some extracts from the early laws of Oregon, among them some made by the legislature of 1853. You allowed that, as far as known, Grover and Boise were the only members living of those comprising that legislature.
    "I was a member of that legislature, from Jackson County, and have resided here ever since, and, as I am in a reminiscent mood, will say something about that body.
    "It was a working body, and got right down to business. A former legislature had authorized and elected a commission of three to make a rule of law for the territory. This was done, and the commission's work was printed and referred to both bodies of the legislature at the commencement of the session for amendment, approval or rejection. M. P. Deady and J. K. Kelly, two of that commission, had been elected to the council, and naturally wanted their code adopted, with as few amendments as possible, but notwithstanding this, a great many changes were made.
    "As in all bodies we had those members of certain peculiarities and eccentricities. There was Hadley, of Lane. When he arose and said, in his peculiar manner, 'I do now move that we now adjourn,' it was always agreed to and adjournment was had. There was John F. Miller, who wanted every subject referred to a select committee, and he was known as 'Select Committee.'
    "There was Uncle Billy Martin, of Douglas, who used as little of the King's English as possible. He was pleased to find one morning, as he took his seat, that someone had caricatured him on the wall at the end of his seat, a-leaning forward and holding out a bill, and underneath was written:
    "'I want to present a bill for the pertection of warnic trees.'
    "He said he knew that some Missourian had done this, as all Missourians used the name 'warnic' instead of 'walnut.' Shuck, of Yamhill, piled up the King's English, so that it was most ludicrous.
    "There was two lawyers in each house. Politically, the council was composed of eight Democrats and one Whig--Scott of Umpqua, the founder of Scottsburg, and after whom that place was named. The house had 21 Democrats and four Whigs. The latter were: Goff, of Lane; Durham, of Clackamas; Dr. Thompson, of Umpqua, and Nye, of Jackson. The officers of each house were two clerks, a sergeant-at-arms and a doorkeeper, and yet we got along about as well as a modern legislative body.
    "As in all mining towns of California, before county organizations were perfected, an alcalde was elected in each Southern Oregon town to administer justice in all cases. The same was done in Jacksonville. This officer's authority extended over everything, from a petty offense to a trial for life. The day I arrived in Jacksonville, a murder was committed. The murderer was immediately arrested, and the next day a jury was empaneled, a prosecuting attorney and counsel for the defense were appointed, the defendant was duly convicted, and he was sentenced to be executed in 10 days, which sentence was duly carried out. During about one year and a half this was the only court held in what now constitutes the counties of Jackson, Josephine, Lake and Klamath. For about one-half this time I was the alcalde, and had quite a number of interesting cases before me.
    "While in the legislature I introduced a bill to legalize all the proceedings and acts of these alcaldes, but Grover objected, as the organic act of the Territory of Oregon did not give justices of the peace such large jurisdiction, and he wished the law to conform to the organic law. My bill was thus amended and so passed, but I did not consider it of much value in that shape. However, the acts of these alcaldes were never questioned as to their legality. These alcaldes had but about a dozen laws or articles for their guidance, and no technicalities were allowed. A trial consisted of the statements of the parties and the evidence of witnesses, if any, and the case was decided by the court, or the jury, if either party wished one. There was but little dissatisfaction with the decisions of the court. In fact the whole community was ready to help enforce the decision if it was necessary.
    "While I was mining in Yreka, Cal., a case came before the alcalde that was not only summary, but rather novel. A man from Linn County, Oregon had employed a boy to drive a train of oxen to the mines for his board, and after arrival there the man had agreed to give the lad a certain amount to help him in mining. After a couple of months' work the fellow sold his cattle, wagons and mining claims and was ready to start for home, but being one of those men who believed that a boy had no rights a man is bound to respect, he refused to pay the lad for his work. The boy went to the alcalde and stated his case; the defendant was brought before the officer, and did not deny the boy's claim, but said he had no money, so the court ordered the constable to take and turn the defendant the other end up and shake him. The constable, being a big, burly fellow, did as he was ordered, when a large purse of gold dust dropped from his pocket. The alcalde picked up the purse, weighed out the amount of the boy's claim, and a half-ounce for the court's fees in the case, and the same amount for the constable, handed the purse back and wished the Oregonian safe journey home, and the case was closed.
    "I attended the Republican county convention at Ashland four years ago, and had an introduction to you, and in the short conversation we had I told you of putting up the first bakery in Salem in 1851. It was in the northern part of town, alongside of Cook's Hotel, and across the street from the home of Elijah Williams, father of Richard and George, who were then boys. Yours truly,
Crook County Journal, Prineville, January 2, 1902, page 1


    Once more has the grim reaper swung his scythe and another pioneer figure has joined the ranks of those who have gone before. Sunday, January 30th, marked the passing of Chauncey Nye, one of the sturdy band, who helped to build up a community of happy homes and prosperous cities from the wilderness which was Southern Oregon once.
    Mr. Nye was born in Macomb County, Michigan, on May 29, 1857, then thinly settled, and spent his whole life on the frontier.
    In 1851 he came to Oregon and settled first on Foots Creek, this county, afterward moving to Table Rock, where he owned property just on the opposite side of Rogue River, at the "Bybee" bridge. From there he removed to near Prospect and resided there until his death.
    He was a member of the first Oregon legislature, and, we are informed, there is but one surviving member now of that body.
    For many years he was a prominent figure in Jackson County politics and no Republican county convention was considered ready for organization until the name of "Chauncey Nye, delegate from Flounce Rock," had been inscribed upon the report of the committee on credentials.
    Besides his wife he leaves three children, two daughters, Mrs. Ethel Florey, of Eagle Point, Miss Elsie Nye, and a son, Nelson Nye, of Prospect.
    Of the Nye family, which originally came from New York, two brothers, N. B. Nye, of Medford, and another in Oklahoma, and two sisters of the deceased, one in Milwaukee, Wis., and another in New Orleans, La., still survive. An older brother, Nelson Nye, died at Fenton, Michigan, on January 20th.
Medford Mail, February 5, 1904, page 1