Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....Hall, Edwin J. May 27, 1866 - January 27, 1925
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Ila L. Wakley iwakley@msn.com April 27, 2009, 11:32 pm

Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company

     EDWIN J. HALL.  The life record of Edwin J. Hall contains much of 
inspirational value, for he was a self-made man in the truest sense of the 
term, having worked his way upward unaided until he had become a national 
character in the wholesale grocery business. He long enjoyed an enviable 
reputation as one of the most enterprising and progressive grocery men on the 
Pacific coast and organized the wholesale grocery firm of T. W. Jenkins and 
Company, absorbing the brokerage company of T. W. Jenkins and Son. He served 
as vice president and general manager until the time of his death. He was in 
his fifty-ninth year when death called him on the 27th of January, 1925, 
having been born at Auburn, Indiana, May 27, 1866, of the marriage of William 
Alexander and Susan Hall. The father engaged in merchandising prior to his 
removal to Yakima, Washington, where he devoted his attention to the 
contracting business and where both he and his wife passed away.

      Industry and close application characterized Edwin J. Hall from early 
life. He provided the necessary funds for his public school education by 
working on farms and in fact scorned no employment that would yield him an 
honest dollar. He was a young man of twenty years when in 1886 he responded to 
the lure of the west going to California, and a year later coming to Portland, 
Oregon. As he had no money, he accepted the first position offered him – that 
of running an elevator in the old Esmond Hotel. A week later, however, he 
obtained a place in the office of the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation 
Company, while subsequently he entered the service of the Wells Fargo Express 
Company. His next change brought him into the wholesale grocery business in 
which he was destined to win notable success and distinction.  He became 
connected with the firm of Allen & Lewis and for several years worked in the 
office under Mr. Lewis, Sr., being thus trained by one of the most successful 
men in the grocery business. Later he entered the employ of the firm of Kelly 
& Clark in Seattle but after a few months returned to Portland and became city 
salesman with the wholesale grocery house of Lang & Company.  Eventually, in 
association with Mr. Lang and others, he organized the Idaho Grocery Company 
and went to Lewiston, Idaho, to take charge of the business. The enterprise 
prospered and not long afterward, owing to his efforts, it was merged with the 
Lewiston Mercantile Company, an old established house. Mr. Hall was greatly 
complimented for his work in the connection. Soon after his return to Portland 
he organized the firm of T. W. Jenkins & Company of which he was vice 
president and general manager, with which he was thus associated throughout 
the remainder of his life. The remarkable success which followed his 
undertakings gained him nationwide recognition and his attendance at wholesale 
grocer's conventions was considered a valuable asset to the business. In 
modern parlance, Mr. Hall was known as one of the keenest grocery men on the 
coast.

     On the 5th of September, 1892, Mr. Hall was united in marriage to Miss 
Kate Huston, daughter of Littleton and Annetta Huston, of Keokuk, Iowa. Her 
father enlisted for service in the Civil war and served as a private of the 
Seventeenth Iowa Regiment until promoted to a captaincy, with which rank he 
was honorably discharged at the close of hostilities. Mr. and Mrs. Hall became 
the parents of a daughter, Helen, who is now the wife of George I. Steele of 
San Francisco. Mrs. Hall took a very prominent part in Red Cross work during 
the World war, and her daughter, Helen, organized the Red Cross Motor Corps.

     Mr. Hall at all times manifested a deep and helpful interest in public 
affairs, but the demands of his business precluded his activity in political 
ranks. He held membership in the Chamber of Commerce and in fraternal circles 
was known as a Scottish Rite Mason, belonging to Hawthorne Lodge, F. & A. M., 
and to the Mystic Shrine. He was likewise affiliated with the Benevolent and 
Protective Order of Elks, and a member of the Auld Lang Syne Society. His 
natural sympathy for ambitious but poor boys found tangible expression in 
material aid, and at his death many who had benefited by his assistance paid 
him merited tribute. His loss was most keenly felt in his own home, for he was 
a loving husband and father who counted no personal sacrifice on his part too 
great if it would enhance the happiness and welfare of the members of his 
household. His widow, who resides at 750 Thompson street in Portland, has many 
friends throughout the city.


Additional Comments:
History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. II, 
Pages 590-593

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