Multnomah-Josephine-Linn County OR Archives Biographies.....Lewis, John M. September 20, 1855 - ************************************************ 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 19, 2009, 11:28 am Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company JOHN M. LEWIS. No history touching upon the political or official record of Multnomah county would be complete without reference to the life and services of John M. Lewis, to whom belongs the distinction of having served as county treasurer for twenty-six consecutive years,—-longer than any other county treasurer in the history of Oregon. This fact stands as a distinctive testimonial of his ability and integrity, and it is safe assertion that no citizen of Multnomah county commands to a greater degree than he the confidence and respect of the people. Mr. Lewis was born in Linn county, Oregon, on the 20th of September, 1855, and is a son of James Preston and Tennessee Teresa (Tycer) Lewis. His ancestral lines are traced back to old families of Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee. His paternal great-grandfather, Fielding Lewis, was born in Virginia, in 1767, later lived in North Carolina and eventually settled in Tennessee. He was the father of Fielding Lewis, Jr., who was born in 1811 and who became a resident of Wabash county, Illinois, prior to 1830. Later he became a resident of Missouri and in the spring of 1852 started with his family for the Pacific northwest. After a six months' journey across the plains and mountains, they crossed the Snake river opposite the site of Huntington, followed the general course of the river down to its junction with the Columbia, thence down to the mouth of the Willamette river, and up the latter stream to a point near Brownsville, Linn county, Oregon. During the journey, Fielding Lewis' wife, Lucinda M., died of mountain fever and was buried on the banks of the Snake river. At Burnt river a son, Charles Wesley, died, and at the Upper Cascades they buried Marion Lewis, while Mary Ellen Lewis died on the Oregon side of the river opposite Vancouver barracks. James Preston Lewis, who was born in Wabash county, Illinois, took up a donation land claim in Linn county, which he cleared and developed into a good farm. In 1872, he moved to Althouse, Josephine county, where he bought a tract of land and there made his permanent home, living there until his death, February 18, 1906. He served three terms as county assessor and became prominent and influential in his community. On November, 29, 1853, he was married to Miss Tennessee Teresa Tycer, the ceremony being performed by the Rev. H. H. Spalding, who had come to Oregon with Marcus Whitman in 1836. Mrs. Lewis was born in Linn county, Missouri, and was a daughter of Lewis Tycer, who was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and became an early resident of Linn county, Missouri. Her paternal grandfather, a native of France, came to America and assisted the colonists in their struggle for independence. Lewis Tycer brought his family to Oregon in 1853 and eventually bought land near Brownsville, where he lived until his death, at the age of seventy-seven years. His wife also passed away at Brownsville. Their daughter, Mrs. Lewis, is still living in Josephine county, at the age of ninety-five years, and retains her mental and physical vigor to a remarkable degree. John M. Lewis lived in Linn county to the age of seventeen years and then moved with the family to Josephine county. He attended the public schools and assisted in the operation of the farm until 1881, when he came to Portland. He entered the Portland Business College, from which he was graduated in May, 1882, and was for awhile employed at various things, handling freight on the docks and driving a dray, and then entered the Portland post office, in which he spent four and a half years under Postmasters George A. Steel and C. W. Roby, having charge of the mailing division. However, office work did not agree with his health so that he resigned and for three years worked as a lumber inspector for the H. R. Duniway Lumber Company in East Portland. He took an interest in local public affairs and served in the city council of East Portland from 1888 to 1890, when he was appointed postmaster, in which position he served two years, when the office was discontinued owing to the merging of East Portland and Portland. His old office was superseded by substation A, of which he was appointed superintendent. This was the first postal substation established north of San Francisco, and Mr. Lewis remained in charge until 1894, when he was appointed deputy county treasurer under A. W. Lambert, serving also under his successor, Ralph W. Hoyt, a total period of six years. In 1902 he was elected county treasurer and, by successive reelections, has been retained by the people in that responsible position to the present time. On May 1, 1883, in Portland, Mr. Lewis was united in marriage to Miss Ella M. McPherson, who was born and reared in Linn county, Oregon, and is a daughter of W. A. McPherson, who came to this state about 1850. He served as state printer from 1866 to 1870 and his death occurred in 1891. To Mr. and Mrs. Lewis have been born four children: Herbert Wayne died at the age of two years; Edith, who taught in the public schools of Portland, is now the wife of A. G. Ervin, of this city, who served in the army during the World war; Ione, who also was a teacher in the public schools of Portland, is the wife of Dallas M. Mark, who spent fourteen months in France as a noncommissioned officer with the One Hundred and Sixteenth Engineer Corps; and Wade Vernon, who spent twenty-one months in France as a member of the Eighteenth Engineer Corps, took a course in mining engineering at the Oregon Agricultural College, and is now mineral inspector for the United States government in Denver, Colorado. He married Miss Jessie Thayer, of Rainier, Oregon, who during the war was engaged in reconstruction work in Boston, Massachusetts. Mr. Lewis has been a lifelong supporter of the republican party and has always shown an active interest in public affairs. He is a member of Washington Lodge, No. 46, A. F. & A. M., of which he has been chaplain for the past seventeen years; Washington Chapter, No. 18, R. A. M.; Washington Council, No. 3, R. & S. M.; Martha Washington Chapter, No. 14, O. E. S.; and Kerbyville Lodge, No. 55, I. O. O. F. He is a member of Abernethy's Cabin, No. 1, N. S. O.; the Modern Woodmen of America and the Woodmen of the World, having belonged to the last named organization for thirty-four years. He is also a member of the Oregon Historical Society. He is a member of the Central Presbyterian church, of which he is a ruling elder. Personally Mr. Lewis is a man of kindly manner, cordial in his social relations and stanch in his friendships, and wherever known he commands sincere esteem because of his sterling qualities and splendid record. Additional Comments: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. II, Pages 738-739 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/multnomah/bios/lewis682gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/orfiles/ File size: 7.5 Kb