Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....Doernbecher, Frank Silas February 4, 1861 - January 27, 1921 ************************************************ 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 L. Wakley iwakley@msn.com May 31, 2010, 12:41 pm Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 353 - 354 Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company FRANK SILAS DOERNBECHER made large and valuable contribution to Portland's commercial development and consequent substantial growth through the establishment of the plant of the Doernbecher Manufacturing Company in this city. The infant industry which he removed from Chehalis to Portland, under his guidance and through the operation of his plans, became one of the largest furniture manufacturing plants in the United States and the largest in its line in the entire country. A native of Wisconsin, born February 4, 1861, he was sixty years of age when he passed away on the 27th of January, 1921. In the intervening decades his record was one of notable achievement. He had the ability to plan and perform and the broad vision that enabled him to recognize and utilize opportunities. In early life he had learned the trade of furniture making under the direction of his father, Silas Doernbecher, who was a political exile from Germany. In 1888, when a young man of twenty-seven years, Frank S. Doernbecher made his way westward to the Pacific coast, settling in Tacoma, Washington, where in 1890 he organized the Doernbecher Furniture Company. Subsequently he moved to Chehalis, where he continued in the same line of business, and then in 1900, feeling that he might find a more profitable field in Portland, came to this city, where he continued in the manufacture of furniture throughout his remaining days. The difficulties which confronted him in the beginning were such as would have utterly discouraged a man of less resolute purpose and determination. Without capital and but limited financial backing, his first years as a manufacturer were full of struggle against great handicaps, and the mammoth enterprise which he eventually developed is an enduring monument to his splendid business ability, unfaltering perseverance and keen insight. His plans were ever carefully formulated and he studied the situation from every possible angle, so that he made no false moves in the development of the enterprise, which under his guidance was destined to become one of the chief productive industries of Portland. Prior to his death and in order to insure the continued success of the business, Mr. Doernbecher had disposed of the larger part of his interests to his associates — H. A. Green, B. P. John, Clarke E. Dye, E. S. Beach, F. A. and Conrad Tauscher and P. J. Lychywek, all of whom had gained valuable knowledge and experience under the wise direction of Mr. Doernbecher and who continued to carry on his policies, developing the business along the lines which he had so clearly marked out. Mr. Doernbecher married Miss Nancy Dewey and to them were born a son and a daughter: Edward, who is now a manufacturer of Seattle, Washington; and Ada, who is the wife of Dr. Edwin W. Morse, of Portland, and is prominently known in the social circles of the city. Mr. Doernbecher was a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason and a member of the Mystic Shrine. His name was likewise on the membership rolls of the Waverly Country Club, the Arlington Club, Multnomah Athletic Club and the Portland Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Doernbecher requested in his will that one quarter of his estate be used for charity for the benefit of the people of Portland and Oregon, the object to be selected by his children in the administration of his estate. Two hundred thousand dollars was given toward the building and equipment of the Doernbecher Memorial Hospital for Children. The funds necessary to carry on the work are donated through several different sources. The furnishings and equipment of the hospital, which is of the most modern type, were provided through popular subscription. Additions are being planned at the present time. The hospital admits all kinds of cases and accepts free, part-pay and full-pay patients ranging from infancy to the age of sixteen. An editorial in a local paper pays the following just tribute to Mr. Doernbecher: "By the death of F. S. Doernbecher, Portland loses the founder of one of the greatest manufacturing industries and his career is a conclusive answer to those who say that the day of opportunity is past for a man whose capital consists of skill, industry, integrity and the small sum he has saved from his wages. He was a pioneer in a new industry in the Pacific northwest. After he established his factory in Portland he had a hard struggle to get firmly on his feet. Then it grew because of his energy and zeal. His success was not the result of exploitation of men or of natural resources nor of any capitalistic promotion scheme; it was the result of character and ability. He made the best and insisted on the best from others. He was an inspiration to his associates. In working to build his own fortune he did his part for his adopted city and state. F. S. Doernbecher was always to the front in everything good." Such in brief is the history of one who learned to place a correct valuation upon life and its opportunities and who was among the pioneers of those who have made service a watchword of business. He early resolved that the public should have the best that he could produce in his line and it was upon the foundation of capability and reliability that he developed one of Portland's foremost enterprises and came to be recognized as one of her most valued and honored citizens. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/multnomah/bios/doernbec1098gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/orfiles/ File size: 6.1 Kb