Multnomah-Linn County OR Archives Biographies.....Bilyeu, Thomas 1879 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/or/orfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ila Wakley iwakley@msn.com November 12, 2009, 11:48 am Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 252 - 253 Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company In the field of mechanical engineering, one of the best known men in the country is Thomas Bilyeu, of Portland, who has won a high reputation and has become known nationally for his inventions, which have received distinctive recognition in the scientific world. Mr. Bilyeu was born in Linn county, Oregon, in 1879, and is a son of Peter and Melinda (DeVaney) Bilyeu. The paternal grandfather, George Bilyeu, who was a native of Missouri, came to Oregon in the middle '40s and located at what is now known as Bilyeu Den, on Thomas creek above Scio, where he found plenty of wild game and an abundance of good water. There he took up a donation claim, as did several of his brothers, their aggregate holdings amounting to several square miles. They prospered and reared large families, so that at a later period there were several hundred voters of this family in Linn county. Peter Bilyeu was born and reared in Linn county and thereafter devoted his attention to farming until the failure of a bank at Albany so seriously crippled him financially that he left Linn county and, with his three sons, drove with a team to Idaho. His wife's death occurred at about that time. Thomas Bilyeu was ambitious for an education, having received only a public school training, and expressed to his father a desire to attend the Oregon State College. In thorough sympathy with his son's ambition, the father drove back to Corvallis and Thomas entered college, while the father went to work with his team to meet their expenses. He had the assistance of his sons, all of whom became students in the college, which they attended during the winter months, while in summer they worked in the neighborhood, receiving one dollar for a day's work of ten hours. They were compelled to live on a scanty diet, while their clothes were worn as long as they would hold together. When Thomas Bilyeu graduated from the Oregon State College, he delivered the class oration, wearing a suit that cost six dollars. After leaving college he worked at various occupations, about one year and managed to save eighty-four dollars. With this he bought a scalper's railroad ticket to New York, traveling all the way in a day coach, and when he landed at Ithaca, New York, he bought an umbrella for ninety cents. He tendered the merchant a twenty- dollar gold piece and received in change nineteen one-dollar bills and a dime. He entered Cornell University, where he worked his way through for one year, and then returned to Corvallis and for the next two years was a member of the faculty of his alma mater, teaching mechanical engineering. In 1906 Mr. Bilyeu came to Portland and opened an office as a mechanical engineer, and in 1909 he became a registred patent attorney. He has practiced these two professions here continuously since and has enjoyed a large and remunerative clientele. From 1908 to 1915 Mr. Bilyeu engaged extensively in construction work as a contractor and during this period was regarded as one of the foremost contractors in Oregon. He built part of the Oregon Trunk Railroad, and was one of the contractors on the Broadway bridge. Mr. Bilyeu's inventive genius has led him into advanced fields of experiment and among his achievements along this line is an international money machine, the operations of which are remarkable, for it counts all kinds of money rapidly and accurately, makes out payrolls and does similar work, replacing the time and labor of a number of persons. The patents for this are now owned by the Remington Arms Company. The first model of this machine cost ninety-four thousand dollars, which gives some indication of its intricacy and size. Mr. Bilyeu has also invented the "Bilyeu check writer" and a machine for writing shorthand. In 1917 Mr. Bilyeu received the John Scott medal for distinguished work as an inventor on the recommendation of the committee on science of the Franklin Institute of Pennsylvania, the bronze medal being presented by the board of trustees of the city of Philadelphia, and he also received at that time a life membership in Franklin Institute. When the United States became involved in the World war Mr. Bilyeu established the Astoria Marine Iron Works and built seventeen wooden ships for the government, in this way contributing directly to the success of the war. In March, 1908, Mr. Bilyeu was united in marriage to Miss Josephine Schulmerich of Hillsboro, Oregon, a daughter of Conrad Schulmerich, and they are the parents of three children, namely: Eloise, who is attending the Oregon State College; Marion, who is in St. Helen's Hall; and Virginia, who is in Ainsworth School. Politically Mr. Bilyeu gives his support to the republican party and has maintained a good citizen's interest in public affairs, though he has never sought public office. He is a member of the University Club of Portland and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and holds an Oregon state license as a mechanical engineer. He has led a busy and useful life, fruitful in its results, and has well merited the high place which he holds in public esteem, while throughout his home community his splendid personal qualities and his cordial and affable manner have won for him the respect of all who know him. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/multnomah/bios/bilyeu1013gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/orfiles/ File size: 6.0 Kb