Clackamas-Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....Harvey, Nathan Benjamin 1859 - 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Ila L. Wakley iwakley@msn.com June 8, 2007, 7:33 pm

Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company

     NATHAN BENJAMIN HARVEY.  The Pacific northwest has been the land of 
opportunity to Nathan Benjamin Harvey, who was long numbered among the leading 
nurseryman of Oregon and is now a successful realtor and an influential figure 
in business circles of Milwaukie. He was born in 1859, twenty miles west of 
Burlington, in Lee county, Indiana. His father, Isom Harvey, was a native of 
North Carolina and when a young man went to Indiana, where he acquired 
thirteen and a half sections of land. Before he reached the age of thirty he 
removed to Iowa and also became the owner of large tracts of land in that 
state, in which he spent the remainder of his life, passing away January 12, 
1912. While a resident of the Hoosier state he became acquainted with Seth 
Lewelling, who was also his neighbor in Iowa. In Indiana, Mr. Harvey married 
Miss Mary A. Jones, a native of Baltimore, Maryland. Two children were born of 
the first marriage and by his second wife Mr. Harvey had twelve children, of 
whom Nathan Benjamin is the youngest. His brother, W. C. Harvey, migrated to 
Oregon in January, 1875, while Daniel Harvey arrived in September, 1876, and 
both have passed away. Another brother, Henry S. Harvey, came to the Pacific 
coast in 1892 and now lives near Gresham, Oregon.
     Nathan B. Harvey was reared in Iowa and received a public school 
education.  When a young man of twenty-two he responded to the call of 
adventure and joined his brothers in Oregon, arriving in Portland, March 18, 
1881. He secured work with Seth Lewelling and in the fall of 1881 paid a visit 
to Iowa, returning to Oregon in the spring of 1882. Mr. Harvey reentered the 
employ of Mr. Lewelling and soon afterward took charge of the marketing of 
nursery products. In the fall of 1882 he leased all of the Lewelling nursery 
property, located in what is now the center of Milwaukie, and during that time 
purchased his present place, to which he moved two years later on the 
expiration of his lease, purchasing nursery stock. At first he had five acres 
of timber land, which he cleared in a short time, and afterward increased his 
holdings. While developing the nursery he was connected with Mark Levy & 
Company, produce merchants of Portland, working with the corporation rather 
than for it, and during the period from 1886 until 1889 inclusive, purchased 
for the firm one hundred and ninety thousand boxes of apples and pears, also 
supervising the shipment of the fruit. As time passed Mr. Harvey acquired a 
considerable share of the Levy property, of which a division was made in the 
spring of 1892, when he severed his connection with the company. He conducted 
his nursery in Milwaukie until 1895, when be returned to Portland as assistant 
manager of the Multnomah Fruit Growers Union, which was dissolved at the end 
of a year. However, he remained in the Rose city and there made his home for 
five years, handling fruit and other produce. In the summer of 1900 he went to 
Alaska and spent one season at Nome, being fairly successful in his quest for 
gold. On his return to Oregon he resumed his activities as a nurseryman and 
was thus engaged until the spring of 1925. Since that time he has operated in 
real estate, laying out subdivisions and doing much important development work 
in Milwaukie and this vicinity. He had about forty acres of land and has 
platted a portion of the tract, while he is now making plans to improve the 
remainder. Mr. Harvey is an astute, farsighted business man and success has 
attended his undertakings. He was active in founding the First State Bank of 
Milwaukie, of which he was the first vice president, and since its 
organization has been one of the directors of the institution, influencing its 
growth and stability.
     In December, 1889, Mr. Harvey made a second trip to Iowa and in that 
state was married January 2, 1890, to Miss Ida E. Satterthwaite, a native of 
the same locality in which he was born. Her parents, Benjamin and Rebecca 
(Burnett) Satterthwaite, were pioneer settlers of Iowa and both passed away in 
that state. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey have two children: Corwin S., who lives in 
Salem, Oregon, and Edith H., who is Mrs. W. T. Wright, of Milwaukie.
     The house in which Mr. and Mrs. Harvey reside was built in 1886 and 
theirs is one of the most hospitable homes in this locality. Mr. Harvey 
adheres to the Methodist faith and closely observes the teachings of the 
church. In the summer of 1926 he aided in organizing the East Milwaukie 
Improvement Club, of which he is a charter member. His personality has been an 
inspiration to progress and his outstanding qualities are such as inspire 
esteem, confidence and friendship.


Additional Comments:
History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. II, 
Pages 333-334

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