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Gc 979.5 Orl 1461007
OFREALOGY SOLLENTO
HVITIL PUPLIC LIBHAHY
3 1833 00865 2981
M. L.
H+F 1750
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
Avery of L. F. MOITON 201
OREGON
PICTORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL
DE LUXE SUPPLEMENT
1912 THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICAGO
1461007
Goodspeed #1950 10-8.68 And. 5044 P.O. 5919
David P. Thompson
T HE estimate of the individual is based upon his im- provement of opportunity, his utilization of natural talents and his fulfillment of his obligations. In every phase of his life measuring up to the highest standards in these particulars, David P. Thompson leaves to the state of Oregon as a priceless heritage the memory of a purposeful, resultant and honorable life that through years to come should serve as a source of example, encouragement and inspiration to the citizens of Oregon. He came to the state in 1853, when a youth of nineteen years.
He was born in Cadiz, Ohio, November 8, 1834, and in the paternal line was of Irish extraction while in the maternal line he was of Scotch descent. The family home stood directly below the Harrison county infirmary, beyond which to the west he could see the apex of a hill. He frequently said in later years that when he reached the summit of that hill he almost thought he had reached the confines of the world. But to him as to all others the horizon broadened as he advanced and he came to know that there was a great universe beyond Cadiz. His father owned and operated a mill, around which he played in his boy- hood. He was reared in a Christian home and with his parents at- tended the Associate Reform church of Cadiz. The lessons which were impressed upon his mind in his youth concerning those things which are honorable and of good repute were never forgotten. His knowledge of blacksmithing was obtained at the forge of Elijah Lizure, under whom he served an apprenticeship. He was afterward engaged for some time in railroad surveying with General Blickens- dorffer and in the knowledge and practical experience that he was acquiring he laid the foundation for his success and usefulness in later life. Mr. Thompson came to Oregon in 1853, employed by Colonel R. R. Thompson, who removed to this state in 1849, to drive sheep and thus following the flock, David P. Thompson walked all the way over the arid plains and unsettled prairies and across the mountains to the northwest. He worked at whatever he could find to do. His knowledge of blacksmithing proved of priceless value to him after reaching Oregon. He was prominent in building the first railroad in the state-a line constructed around the falls of the Willamette. He
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David P. Thompson
neers of 1845. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson became the parents of a son, Ralph, now living in the state of Washington, and two daughters, Bessie M., who is the wife of Joseph N. Teal, a distinguished and suc- cessful lawyer of Portland; and Genevieve, whose home is with her mother in Portland.
Mr. Thompson was a member of the Masonic fraternity, being the first man initiated into Harrison Lodge, No. 218, F. & A. M., at Cadiz, Ohio. He was then but nineteen years of age. He remained loyal to the beneficent principles and fraternal spirit of the order throughout his entire life and was equally faithful to his membership in the Uni- tarian church.
In May, 1901, Mr. Thompson left home for a trip around the world, but had proceeded eastward only as far as Iowa when he be- came ill and was obliged to return home. He never fully recovered and passed away on the 14th of December, 1901. The press of the entire country commented upon his death in terms of commendation and of respect. Said one of the journals of Walla Walla, Wash- ington: "The Walla Walla friends of the late D. P. Thompson, of Portland are profoundly grieved to learn of his death. Mr. Thomp- son was for years during his lifetime connected with the financial institutions of Walla Walla and had always taken a lively interest in the progress of the Garden City. He was a man highly respected by everyone who knew him. He acquired wealth and influence in both public and private life by reason of his close application to work and his constant effort to progress in all walks of life. He came to the Pacific coast a pioneer and by his own indomitable will and cour- age, in the face of obstacles, made his mark among his fellowmen."
Mr. Thompson was a most generous man. His benevolence fos- tered many good works and his helpful aid tided many an institu- tion and individual over a critical period. The Oregonian said of him: "Occasionally a man carves out a fortune by dint of toil and the exercise of foresight and then proceeds to make his fellowmen the better for his having lived and grown rich. David P. Thompson was of this class. His life is to be cited as an example of the possi- bilities of human nature untarnished by the corrupting influence of gold. His was a career that spurs on young men to strive for the better part. D. P. Thompson stood for higher education. His in- fluence went for the upbuilding of all institutions that make for mind improvement. He was distinctly a friend of the younger generation who aspire to climb the ladder of intellectual achievement. Oregon owes him a debt of gracious memory for what he did for the schools of the state. And in what other sphere does not the same apply?
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Babi p. Thompson
He stood for the interests of the common man as against the too often oppression of the more powerful. His political career was illus- trative of the truth now too frequently scouted, that a man may engage in the performance of civic duties without tarnishing a good name. No breath of suspicion ever attached to him through a long and eventful life. D. P. Thompson stood for industrial develop- ment, and he possessed in a remarkable degree the foresight that enables men to see into the future and plan permanently for what will be the coming needs. He was humane. The humanity of his nature impressed anyone meeting him casually, shining out of benev- olent eyes and manifesting itself in acts of charity and evidences of good-will for all."
A fitting tribute to his memory was expressed in an editorial of the Oregonian, giving a just estimate of the character of one who had been a resident of Portland and whose life was as an open book that all might read. The editorial said: "David P. Thompson was a faithful type of the men whose rugged virtues and indomitable force of character are indispensable in the molding of wildernesses into states. They take no account of hardships, stop at no obstacles, so that the goal which measureless useful ambition has set before them may be achieved. The dauntless purpose that sends them out into the front line of civilization's advancing wave becomes, in the new environment a transmuter of energy into every needed form of expression. The iron will adapts itself to every circumstance and conquers every difficulty. Out of its inexhaustible reservoir of deter- mination it passes at will into versatility in whatever direction need is found. In the tamer days of more settled community life every man must stick to his last. No one thinks of leaving the beaten path of his chosen calling, for thus he would enter upon an unknown sea, dark with vague terrors. But no such timidity or circumspection hedges in the man of Mr. Thompson's character and times. He threw himself into every opening industry offered or civic duty required. It was not for him to take council of capacity or tem- perament but to apprehend what needed doing and force his powers to its accomplishment. Thus he became successively, as occasion required, woodchopper, blacksmith, surveyor, railroad builder, vol- unteer soldier, manufacturer, educator, statesman, banker, philan- thropist. Most distinctive and necessary in all this was the work of his earlier years in assisting at the establishment and formation of the Oregon country. Any man can make money and most men can save some of it. Any man of generous impulses and broad views can give money away to worthy objects. So, while Mr. Thompson's
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Dabid p. Thompson
contributions to charity and diplomacy were real and creditable, his signal service was in the vigor he lent to the pioneer era, in making this region habitable, in bringing its resources to light and in stamp- ing his intensely practical ideas upon the educational system of the state. Such careers are too near us now for their significance to be appraised at its true value, but the future will be able to trace the tremendous effect of their labors upon the society and the institu- tions of their time. The possibilities of high position afforded in the United States to industry and fidelity were never better illustrated than in Mr. Thompson's case. He crossed the plains as a boy of nineteen, working for his living and dependent on his own hands for whatever the world was to bring him of enjoyment or honors. He died possessed not only of great wealth and political honors but of exalted social position, a man enriched by years of foreign resi- dence and travel, by books and art, by constant mingling with men and women of the highest breeding, education and accomplishments. He started with nothing, he ended with almost everything that man covets as of value. And he won it all by his own unaided exertions. It is well that so successful a life should also have found time for the finer things our self-made men are so prone to overlook-aid in money and personal attention to schools and churches, collection of rare objects of beauty from all over the world, and the artistic adornment of his city and his home. It seemed almost akin to mockery to commiserate those immediately bereaved upon the completion and end of such a career of usefulness and strength. His work was done and rest comes fittingly at close of day. When a man has done all that has been required of him and seventy years of care and toil lies behind him in satisfying memory, a peaceful taking off as he sits patiently on the western piazza waiting for his sun to set is far preferable to the lot of those who linger on in bitterness and gloom to outlive not only their capacity for enjoyment but also their power to add to the happiness of others. Mr. Thompson filled a large place where his manhood years were passed and it, though he is gone, is secure. In the history of his adopted state and in the institutions he helped to form, his true monument stands, more beneficent than all his gifts to charity, more lasting even than the bronze or granite tokens he left in Portland's streets to perpetuate his name."
As was befitting his sturdy character and life a plain granite slab marks his last resting place in Riverview cemetery. His family lias erected in his memory in the City Park, on a high hill overlooking the city he served so well, a magnificent group called "The Coming of the White Man" by the American sculptor Herman A. MacNeil.
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Dabis P. Thompson
His group typifies, as the title indicates, the approach of the first white men in the Oregon country. Two Indians, of Heroic size, standing on a great unhewn stone, are gazing with intense interest up to the gorge of the Columbia river down which the pale faced strangers are coming. The younger Indian bears an expression of interest and welcome and in his hand a branch from a tree as a symbol of peace; the older Indian wears a somewhat resentful ex- pression as if his mind were dwelling on the future history of his race and the sculptor has depicted with great skill the old warrior's doubt and possible dread as to the outcome. It is a masterful work of art and is said to be one of the most artistic and beautiful bronze groups in America.
I1 7h Corbett
Don. Denry UU. Corbett
ORN on the Atlantic coast, Henry W. Corbett came B to the Pacific seaboard in early manhood and from that time aided in shaping and formulating the policy of the great western country, leaving the im- press of his individuality upon its material develop- ment, its political advancement and less directly, but none the less effectively, upon its intellectual and moral progress. His natal day was February 18, 1827, and the place of his nativity Westboro, Massachusetts. He traced his ancestry back to Roger Corbett, a military chieftain who won fame and name by service under William the Conqueror. Roger Corbett's eldest son, William Corbett, was the owner of a county seat at Wattesborough, Eng- land, while the second son, Sir Roger Corbett, had for his in- heritance the castle and estate of Caus. He was the father of Robert Corbett, Sr., who participated in the seige of Acre under Rich- ard I, bearing for his arms in the campaign two ravens, which have since been used by the family for a crest. A branch of the family was planted upon New England soil in early colonial days when a set- tlement was made at Milford, Massachusetts. Elijah Corbett, son of Elijah Corbett, Sr., and a native of Massachusetts, engaged in the manufacture of edged tools in that state and afterward at White Creek, Washington county, New York, where his death occurred. His wife, Melinda Forbush, was also a native of Massachusetts and a representative of one of the pioneer families of that state, whose history is also traced back to England. Her death occurred in New York. There were eight children in the family, of whom three sons and two daughters attained adult age, including Elijah Corbett, who came to Portland in 1864 and remained here until his death. Another son, Hamilton, died in New York in early manhood. The daughters were Mrs. Thomas Robertson, who came to Portland in 1856, and Mrs. Henry Failing, who became a resident of this city in 1858, but both are now deceased.
The youngest member of the family was the Hon. Henry W. Corbett of this review, who was only four years of age when his par- ents removed with their family to White Creek, New York. Follow- ing their removal to Cambridge, New York, he completed a course in
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Don. Henry Tel. Corbett
the Cambridge Academy when thirteen years of age. Entering busi- ness life as a clerk in a village store, after three years he sought the broader opportunities of the city and went to New York, carrying with him his entire cash capital, consisting of but twenty-two dollars. Soon he secured a position in a dry-goods store on Catherine and East Broadway and a year later he accepted a clerkship in the wholesale dry-goods house of Bradford & Birdsell on Cedar street, there remain- ing for three years. He was afterward with Williams, Bradford & Company, wholesale dry-goods merchants, but with notable prescience determined to seek a home on the Pacific coast and in 1850 arrived at Portland. The tide of emigration was at that time all toward Cali- fornia, attracted by the gold discoveries, and few realized what a source of wealth there was in the northwest, with its splendid forests, its rich agricultural lands and many other natural resources which might be utilized in the attainment of wealth. Mr. Corbett recognized the fact that products raised in Oregon would be sold in California, where almost the entire population were engaged in mining gold, that payments would be made with gold dust and thus Portland would become an excellent trading point. That his reasoning was sound time has proven.
On the 20th of January, 1851, he embarked as a passenger on the Empire City, which sailed from New York to Panama. He crossed the isthmus on a mule and then sailed on the Columbia, a steamer which had been built by Howland Aspinwall, of New York, for the trade between San Francisco and Portland. After a few years spent in the former city, Mr. Corbett continued northward to Astoria, where he arrived on the 4th of March, and the following day he reached his destination. Large forests of pine and spruce covered nearly the entire site of what is now one of America's most beautiful cities, al- though a few business houses had been settled on Front street, around which were seen the homes of a few settlers. The territory of Oregon at that time embraced Washington, Idaho and a part of Montana. The goods which he had shipped on the bark Francis and Louisa by way of Cape Horn some months before he started reached Portland in May, 1851, and in a little building on Front and Oak streets he opened a general mercantile store, over which he had personal super- vision until June, 1852, when he placed his store in charge of a man- ager and by way of the Panama route returned to the east. For almost a year he remained in New York, during which time he made shipments to the Portland store. In 1853 he resumed personal charge of the business and after the completion of the Union Pacific Rail- road merchandise was shipped in that way to San Francisco and
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Don. Henry JU. Corbett
thence by boat to Portland. In 1868 he made his first trip by rail from the east to San Francisco, previous to which time he had crossed the isthmus thirteen times on trips between the east and the west. From the earliest period of his residence in Portland he was recog- nized as a prominent factor in its commercial circles. He instituted many progressive methods and also reformed measures in the conduct of his business. When he closed his store on Sunday it was regarded as a startling innovation, for previous to that time every business house was open on the first day of the week. With the growth of the city his enterprise expanded, the original house of H. W. Corbett becoming in time the property of the firm of H. W. Corbett & Com- pany, predecessors of Corbett, Failing & Company, who in turn were succeeded by Corbett Failing & Robertson. The line of general merchandise was discontinued and the trade centered in wholesale hardware, the business in this line exceeding every other similar enter- prise in the northwest since 1867.
The labors of Mr. Corbett became an integral part of the history of Portland and this section of the country. Strong in his ability to plan and perform, strong in his honor and name, Mr. Corbett not only promoted many business projects but largely set the standard for commercial and financial integrity and enterprise. In 1868 he purchased a controlling interest in the First National Bank, of which Mr. Failing was made president and so continued until his death in 1898, when Mr. Corbett became the executive head of the institution. This was the first national bank organized on the coast and during his lifetime the capital stock was increased from one to seven hundred thousand dollars, while its deposits aggregated about seven million dollars. It became the largest bank of the northwest and its success was due in no small measure to the conservative policy and prog- ressive methods of Mr. Corbett. He was also prominent in organiz- ing the Security Savings & Trust Company of Portland and became its president and one of its directors and figured prominently in the financial circles. He was, moreover, president of the Willamette Steel & Iron Works and president of the Portland Hotel Company, which erected at Portland one of the finest hotels on the coast. He was a promoter of city and suburban railway building and, serving as a member of the board of directors of the Street Railway Com- panies, added much to the development of the lines. Long be- fore this, however, he was connected with transportation fa- cilities. In 1865 he was awarded the contract for transporting the mails to California and four years later became owner of the Cali- fornia stage line, which he extended to carry out the contract for run-
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Don. Henry Tel. Corbett
ning the four-horse stage coach with the mail between Portland and California. On his election to the United States senate in 1866 he relinquished the contract, but for many years thereafter was identified with transportation interests as one of the directors of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company and of its successor, the Oregon Rail- road & Navigation Company.
He was a cooperant factor in establishing and promoting many manufacturing interests of Portland whereby the industrial activity of the city has been greatly promoted and while in the United States senate he was a stanch champion of the cause of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Portland's upbuilding has been greatly promoted by him, for he was largely instrumental in erecting the First National Bank building; the Worcester block on Third and Oak streets; the Cam- bridge block on Third and Morrison; the Neustadter building on Stark and Fifth; the Corbett, Hamilton and Marquam buildings, etc. At all times recognizing the signs of the times, he labored to meet existing conditions and to anticipate the needs of a growing com- munity, and while he promoted his individual interests he contributed as well to the general prosperity. The activity of today becomes the history of tomorrow and thus Mr. Corbett was closely associated with events which are regarded as important features in the city's annals.
He had close connection with many interests and events which bore no relation to commercial, industrial or financial activity. He stood as the promoter of many municipal projects and his prominence and public spirit made him logically the candidate for the United States senate in 1866, when he was elected over Governor Gibbs and John H. Mitchell, becoming a member of the upper house of the national legislature on the 4th of March, 1867. His service there was attended with tangible and beneficial results. He secured the appropriation for the Portland postoffice, also the custom house at Astoria and succeeded in having Portland made the port of entry for the Willamette customs district. He introduced a bill providing for the return of the government to specie payment, which, though not passed at the time, was eventually adopted. In the senate he was especially effective in securing much needed financial legislation. After his retirement on the 4th of March, 1873, he spent seven months in travel abroad. He again became an active factor in politics when, in 1896, the St. Louis platform declared for the gold standard. He was among those that held the party to this standard in Oregon, when many of its advocates became supporters of the free silver platform. The labors of Mr. Corbett and his associates, however, won a republi- can victory in Oregon when all of the other western states gave their
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Don. Denry UU. Corbett
support to the democracy. In 1900 he was again the candidate of his party for the United States senate and had the majority of republi- can legislators but was defeated by John H. Mitchell through a com- bination of democrats and some of the republicans. When the Ore- gon legislature failed to elect a United States senator in 1899 Gov- ernor Geer appointed him to the office but he was not seated on ac- count of the senate ruling that an appointed senator was not entitled to a seat caused by the failure of a state legislature to elect when they had the opportunity. He was several times chosen as a delegate to the republican national conventions and was recognized as one of the Oregon leaders.
Among Mr. Corbett's more recent public work was his splendid service in connection with the Lewis and Clark Exposition. He served as president of the board of directors and bent every energy toward making the exposition the success which history records. Ideally situated on the bank of an inland lake, the exposition grounds were laid out in most attractive form and the exhibits were of a most interesting character. Mr. Corbett gave much time and thought to plans and active work for the exposition and contributed in substan- tial measure to its success up to the day prior to his death, when, real- izing that his strength was failing, he resigned the presidency.
Pleasantly situated in his home life, Mr. Corbett was married in Albany, New York, to Miss Caroline E. Jagger, who was born in that city and there passed away in 1865, leaving two sons, Henry J. and Hamilton F., both of whom died in Portland in early manhood. It was in Worcester, Massachusetts, that Mr. Corbett wedded Miss Emma L. Ruggles, a native of that state.
Few men have more fully realized the obligations of wealth or met their responsibilities in a more creditable manner. He was deeply interested in and a generous supporter of the Boys and Girls Aid Society, which endeavored to secure arrangements whereby children guilty of a first crime should not be thrown among hardened criminals. The home was built especially for such first offenders, and its influence has been most beneficial. Mr. Corbett's private benevolences were many, and in fact, no good work done in the name of charity or re- ligion sought his aid in vain. He never allowed the acquirement of wealth to warp his kindly nature, but remained throughout life a genial, courteous gentleman, appreciative of social amenities and generously bestowing warm regard in recognition of true personal worth. Many enterprises of Portland today stand as monuments to his life work but a more fitting and even a more lasting tribute to him is the cherished memory which his friends entertain for him.
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