Multnomah-Statewide County OR Archives Biographies.....Kiernan, John March 16, 1842 - 
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Ila L. Wakley iwakley@msn.com April 19, 2008, 2:19 pm

Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company

	JOHN KIERNAN.  Coming to Oregon when a young man of twenty with no 
assets save intelligence, energy and determination, John Kiernan has 
progressed with the country, never fearing that laborious effort which is 
essential to advancement in all lines of endeavor, and has long been classed 
with Portland’s foremost business men and most valuable citizens. He is 
liberally endowed with that quality known as “the commercial sense” and his 
efforts have been directed into channels where fruition is certain. His birth 
occurred in Henderson county, Illinois, on the 16th of March, 1842, and his 
parents, Francis and Ann (O’Reilly) Kiernan, were natives of Ireland. They 
came to the United States as children and were married in New York, The father 
followed agricultural pursuits and when he settled in Illinois the only 
buildings in Galesburg were board shacks.
	Reared on his fathers farm, John Kiernan obtained his early 
instruction in the rural schools of Henderson county and for one term was a 
student in the academic department of Knox College at Galesburg. He operated a 
threshing machine and worked on various farms in his native state until April 
20, 1862, when he left Illinois, joining a train of about eighty wagons bound 
for the Pacific northwest, and although he paid the sum of seventy-five 
dollars for the privilege of riding in one of the prairie schooners, he was 
obliged to walk most of the distance, in addition to which work of various 
kinds was assigned him. On August 20, 1862, he reached the Powder River 
valley, in which he remained a short time, securing work as a ranch hand, thus 
earning a dollar per day. He next proceeded to Auburn, Oregon, where he worked 
in the mines and also whip-sawed lumber. During that time he outfitted a 
prospector for the mining district of Idaho and worked in his place on a 
building in Auburn.
	In November, 1862, Mr. Kiernan started for Walla Walla, Washington, 
making the journey on foot, and ten days later walked to Portland, Oregon, 
over the Indian trail. On December 20, 1862, he arrived in this city with two 
dollars and a half in his pocket, crossing the Willamette on an old mule power 
ferry at the foot of Stark street, paying a quarter for his fare. His supper 
at the Temperance House on Front street cost him twenty-five cents and his 
funds then amounted to two dollars, Being unable to find work, Mr. Kiernan 
recrossed the river and made his way to the homestead of James Stevens, who 
was making cider at that time. Mr. Stevens sent him to the Rev. Clinton Kelly, 
who had land to clear and who offered him the job, agreeing to pay him one 
dollar per day for the outside work. During stormy weather Mr. Kiernan was to 
receive his board in return for splitting wood, but the offer was refused and 
he finally secured more lucrative employment with Captain William Kearn, 
cutting wood for a dollar and a half per cord. For twenty days he was a 
woodcutter earning a dollar and a half per day and his board. From Captain 
Kearn he learned that Sherrer Ross, the owner of an island which was named for 
him and also the proprietor of a livery stable in Portland. was intending to 
start a dairy on the island and needed a man to take charge of it. Mr. Kiernan 
applied for the position and was hired, Mr. Ross providing him with a team of 
horses, the necessary machinery. a supply of seed and a number of cows. In 
compensation for his services he was to receive a half-interest in the 
business. He had never operated a boat and when he started for the island the 
craft tipped over. The river was twenty feet deep at that point and the water 
was very cold, as the accident happened in the month of January. With the aid 
of an old acquaintance, Ike Rucker, who was accompanying him on the trip, Mr. 
Kiernan finally managed to reach the island, on which they found a house and 
some dry wood. They made a fire and spent the night on the island, returning 
to the mainland the next morning for breakfast. For two years Mr. Kiernan 
rented the island and then traded his lease and his interest in the cattle for 
four mules, worth one hundred and fifty dollars each, also receiving seven 
hundred dollars in cash. During the following winter he studied photography 
and in the spring took his four mules and a light wagon to The Dallas, making 
the trip by boat in company with a friend, Frank Ford. Afterward they drove to 
Umatilla, Oregon, waiting five days for the water to recede in the Umatilla 
river, and at Meacham they crossed the Blue mountains. Next they drove to a 
point where Baker, Oregon, is now situated and reached Grand Ronde valley, 
about the time of the disastrous fire in Boise, Idaho. When they arrived in 
Silver City, Oregon, they found that flour was selling for a dollar a pound 
and disposed of their ten sacks, receiving in payment the sum of three hundred 
dollars. Mr. Ford, who had instructed Mr. Kiernan in the art of photography, 
decided that Silver City was an unprofitable field for his business and 
returned to Portland.
	Mr. Kiernan remained at Silver City and during the summer worked in 
the mines of that locality with a friend named Kennedy, whom he had met in 
Portland. Later they started for Susanville, Oregon, in company with a Mr. 
Ross, taking saddle and pack horses and leaving the mules on a ranch.   Mr. 
Ross was addicted to poker and joined a Mexican, with whom he played for a day 
and a night. On the following day Mr. Kiernan and Mr. Kennedy went to the 
gambling house to see how the game was progressing. They found that a quarrel 
had ensued and just as they arrived the Mexican started to shoot. Ross 
returned the fire but some one seized the pistol, deflecting his aim, and the 
shot killed his friend Kennedy. In November, 1862, Ross was tried for murder 
at Canyon City. After the shooting affray Mr. Kiernan returned to Silver City 
but was present at the trial of Ross, who was acquitted.
	About two years later Mr. Kiernan returned and engaged in ranching on 
Willow creek. At Tubb Springs he built an adobe house and there conducted a 
stage station for a few months. At the same time he followed the occupation of 
farming and sold his hay for one hundred dollars a ton. In May, 1865, he went 
to Montana, engaged in mining during the summer and that fall went to the Wind 
River district. After leaving Montana he went to Salt Lake City, Utah, and 
thence to Boise, Idaho, returning in 1866 to Portland, where he obtained 
employment in a store. He was married four years later. While working as a 
clerk he invested his savings in real estate, purchasing a half interest in 
Ross island, and also acquired other property. In order to discharge a debt of 
twelve thousand dollars he endeavored to sell part of his holdings at auction 
but was offered only two thousand dollars for property worth more than six 
thousand. Mr. Kiernan secured an extension of time from W. S. Ladd, the 
pioneer banker, through the aid of a brother-in-law, Mr. Wyberg, who endorsed 
his note, and then returned to Ross island. He purchased a few cows and 
prospered in his activities as a dairyman. In four years he was free of all 
indebtedness and had a cash capital of two thousand, two hundred dollars after 
disposing of the dairy.  After leasing the land he embarked in the salmon-
canning industry in Columbia, in association with Messrs. Everdine, Farrel, 
Brigham and Davis, acquiring one-fourth of the stock. As Mr. Kiernan had 
attended a commercial college, he took charge of the accounting end of the 
business but was obliged to send for a practical bookkeeper, whose services he 
was able to dispense with at the end of two weeks. Later he took over the 
Brigham and Davis holdings and thus obtained a third interest in the business, 
with which he was identified for seven years, returning to Portland with a 
profit of twenty thousand dollars.
	Meanwhile Mr. Kiernan had become a stockholder in the Oregon Transfer 
Company, a Portland concern, in which Henry Failing and H. W. Corbett were 
directors. The firm was steadily losing money and when the president retired 
Mr. Kiernan was placed at the head of the company. He reduced the number of 
clerks and the overhead expenses and rehabilitated the business. At the end of 
two months the books showed a profit of six hundred dollars and in four years 
he made ninety-eight thousand dollars for the company. In association with 
Charles Cook he organized the Cook & Kiernan company, which enjoyed a 
prosperous existence, and after an interval of ten years Mr. Kiernan acquired 
the controlling interest in the Oregon Transfer Company, consolidating the two 
firms. He continued the business under the name of the Oregon Transfer Company 
and filled the offices of president and manager.  A fire destroyed their large 
barn at the corner of Sixth and Glisan streets and they sold the ground and 
wagons before automobiles came into general use. Mr. Kiernan then entered the 
real estate field and in 1923 formed the John Kiernan Corporation, of which he 
has since been president. Among the holdings of the firm are a warehouse one 
hundred feet square and two stories in height at the corner of Fifteenth and 
Johnson streets; another warehouse which is a four-story structure and covers 
the block bounded by Davis, Everett, Twelfth and Thirteenth streets and a 
large sawmill on the Umpqua river. The plant has a capacity of one hundred and 
twenty-five thousand feet of lumber and furnishes employment to more than two 
hundred men, who work in eight-hour shifts. Mr. Kiernan is also heavily 
interested in the Bear Creek Logging Company and derives a large income from 
his various investments. Endowed with clear vision and exceptional business 
acumen, he has converted his opportunities into tangible assets and although 
eighty-five years of age, is still active in the management of his affairs, 
being remarkably well preserved.
	In 1870 Mr. Kiernan married Miss Sarah Ingram, who passed away in 
1913, leaving three daughters: Anna, the wife of James H. Murphy, who is vice 
president of the John Kiernan Corporation and a prominent business man of 
Portland; Sarah, now Mrs. R. B. Caswell of Portland; and Eva, who was united 
in marriage to Russell J. Hubbard and likewise makes her home in the Rose 
city. 
	Mr. Kiernan is a democrat and was twice a candidate for sheriff of 
Multnomah county, also entering the race for the office of city treasurer. He 
is a member of the Auld Lang Syne Club and by nature is genial, sympathetic 
and companionable. Working along constructive lines, he has materially 
influenced the development and progress of this region and his prosperity is 
the merited reward of hard work, good management and honest dealing. With the 
various phases of pioneer life in the Pacific northwest he is thoroughly 
familiar and his conversation is enriched with many interesting reminiscences 
of the past. Mr. Kiernan has extracted from life its real essence and his is a 
notable career in many respects.


Additional Comments:
History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. II, 
Pages 465-467

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