Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....Francis, Clarence E. 1886 - 
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Ila Wakley iwakley@msn.com January 17, 2011, 5:08 pm

Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 697 - 698
Author: : The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company

     CLARENCE E. FRANCIS, who is the Portland agent for Ford and Lincoln cars, 
is a man of exceptional business qualities and has attained notable success, 
being regarded as one of the leading automobile men of the Columbia River 
valley. Mr. Francis was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1886, and is a son of 
Clarence A. and Sarah A. (Martin) Francis, the former a native of Vermont and 
the latter of England. The paternal grandfather, Stephen A. Francis, crossed 
the plains in 1852 and located at Oregon City, where he took a donation land 
claim. Clarence A. Francis, who is deceased, established and operated one of 
the first brass foundries in Portland. The maternal grandfather, Richard 
Martin, brought his family from England to Oregon in 1870 and here became a 
successful stone contractor, which line of business he followed to the time of 
his death. Mrs. Sarah Francis still resides in this city.

     Clarence E. Francis acquired his education in the public schools of 
Portland and was first regularly employed by the Marshall-Wells Hardware 
Company, with which he remained for five years. For three years he worked as a 
clerk in a retail hardware store. In 1909 he turned his attention to the 
automobile business as a buyer and seller of used cars, and two years later 
opened a place of business at Broadway and Everett streets. In 1914 he took 
the Oregon agency for the Brisco automobile, which he handled for two years, 
and in 1916 acquired the Ford agency, which he has handled continuously to the 
present time. His first Ford agency was at Thirteenth and Hawthorne streets, 
at which location he built up a business of such extent that in a few years it 
became necessary to secure larger quarters. To meet this situation, in 1920 
Mr. Francis bought three-quarters of a block of ground at Hawthorne and Grand 
streets, on which he erected an attractive and substantial three-story 
building, containing sixty thousand square feet of space, and now splendidly 
equipped for the proper handling of his extensive business. In addition to the 
spacious and well arranged office and the large display room, he has a fully 
equipped repair and service department and a complete parts room, so that he 
is prepared to give his patrons the very best service. He employs a large 
force of highly skilled mechanics and has built up a fine reputation for the 
satisfactory character of the service which he renders in every phase of his 
business. In addition to the full line of Ford cars, Mr. Francis also handles 
the Lincoln cars, which have attained a well merited popularity among the 
buyers of higher priced automobiles. He employs over sixty-five people and is 
enjoying a measure of success which he has fully merited because of his sound 
business methods and his splendid personal qualities. He now has the largest 
Ford agency in Oregon, and in former days enjoyed the distinction of being the 
first dealer in used cars to devote a vacant lot to that business exclusively.

     Though always showing a deep interest in public affairs, Mr. Francis 
maintains an independent attitude in politics, voting according to the 
dictates of his judgment, regardless of party lines. He is a member of 
Hawthorne Lodge, No. 111, A. F. & A. M.; Oregon Consistory, No. 1, A. A. S. 
R.; Al Kader Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S.; Portland Lodge, No. 142, B. P. O. E.; 
the Portland Golf Club; the Waverly Golf Club; and the Chamber of Commerce. 
The Francis Motor Car Company, under which name he carries on his business, is 
regarded as one of Portland's solid and substantial business concerns and Mr. 
Francis enjoys a splendid reputation as a progressive, enterprising and 
successful man, while his excellent personal traits have gained for him many 
warm and loyal friends.

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