| Loyal B. Stearns | |
| Office: | Member of the Oregon House of Representatives |
| State District: | 38 |
| Term Start: | 1878 |
| Term End: | 1879 |
| Preceded: | William Porter |
| Succeeded: | Tilmon Ford |
| Constituency: | Multnomah County |
| Birth Date: | May 2, 1853 |
| Birth Place: | Swanzey, New Hampshire |
| Nationality: | American |
| Spouse: | Mary Frances Hoyt |
| Alma Mater: | Willamette University |
| Occupation: | Attorney |
Loyal B. Stearns (May 2, 1853 - June 2, 1936) was an American politician, attorney, and jurist in Oregon. Born in New Hampshire and raised in Oregon, he became a lawyer and practiced in Portland. A Republican, he was a member of the Oregon House of Representatives and later a judge for several courts.
Loyal Stearns was born to Daniel W. Stearns and Almira Stearns (nee Fay) on May 2, 1853.[1] One of five children, he was born in Swanzey, New Hampshire, and sailed with his family that year via the Isthmus of Panama route to San Francisco, California.[2] In 1854, they continued north to the Oregon Territory.[2] There they settled in Southern Oregon in Scottsburg.[1] The younger Stearns was educated in Roseburg at the local schools and at Umpqua Academy.[2] He also traveled around the state and into Idaho while working with his merchant father.[2]
In 1871, Stearns relocated north to Portland where he attended Bishop Scott Academy until 1872.[1] Stearns then enrolled at the Willamette University College of Medicine in Salem, Oregon, for one term before leaving to study law.[1] He read law under the guidance of A. C. Gibbs and William Ball Gilbert at their law firm in Portland beginning in 1873.[2] [3] In December 1876, he passed the bar and began practicing law in Portland.[1] Stearns started as a partner of Gibbs before practicing on his own.[2]
Stearns was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 1878 as a Republican.[4] He represented District 38 which at that time was located entirely within Multnomah County, and included Portland.[4] His father Daniel Stearns served in the House previously, and then served in the state senate following Loyal's one session in the Oregon Legislative Assembly.[1] Loyal Stearns then served as Portland’s police judge from January 1879 to 1882 followed by election to the office of city attorney.[3] After a short time in that position, he was elected to a seat on Multnomah County’s court, and served from June 1882 to 1885.[1] [3] In 1885, he became a judge for the Oregon circuit court where he remained until 1898.[1] Governor Zenas Ferry Moody appointed him to the position, and Stearns won election to a full-term and then re-election until retiring from the bench.[2]
On June 19, 1883, he married Mary Frances Hoyt, and they had one daughter together.[1] Stearns worked in the real estate business following his judicial career.[1] Mary, the daughter of Captain Richard Hoyt, died in 1933.[1] Loyal Stearns died on June 2, 1936, at the age of 83.[1]