Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....MacMaster, William February 4, 1858 - 
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Ila Wakley iwakley@msn.com October 22, 2009, 5:21 pm

Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 56-576
Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company

     WILLIAM MACMASTER has been identified with the loan and mortgage business 
in Portland for forty-five years, representing some of the strongest British 
mortgage and investment companies. During this period he has commanded the 
confidence and respect of all who have had dealings with him, for he has 
proven a man of fair mind, dependable judgment and sterling character.

     Mr. MacMaster was born in England on the 4th of February, 1858, a son of 
James and Annie (Heron) MacMaster, both of whom were natives of Scotland. He 
received his education in the public schools and at Dollar Academy in  
Scotland and assisted his father in his extensive farming operations until 
twenty-two years of age. He then entered the service of the Dundee Land 
Company of Scotland, which sent him to Iowa, where it owned over ten thousand 
acres of land. Mr. MacMaster served as manager of this property for two years, 
during which period he developed, sub-divided and sold various tracts. The 
Dundee Mortgage & Trust Investment Company, an associated corporation, then 
appointed him one of its security inspectors, and in January 1883, he was sent 
to its office in Portland, Oregon. He served in that capacity for one and a 
half years, when he was appointed general inspector for the United States, 
with headquarters at Portland, filling that position until 1890, when he 
formed a partnership with A. H. Birrell, under the firm name of MacMaster & 
Birrell, to represent various Scottish mortgage and investment companies, 
among which were The Alliance Trust Company, Ltd., of Dundee and The Investors 
Mortgage Security Company, Ltd., of Edinburgh. In 1903 Mr. MacMaster bought 
out his partner and continued the business alone, adding to his list of 
companies The Western & Hawaiian Investment Company, Ltd., of Dundee, The 
United States Investment Corporation, Ltd., of Edinburgh and others, and at 
one time he had outstanding investments for these companies aggregating over 
seven million dollars. He is still representing these companies. In September, 
1922, he organized the MacMaster-Ireland Company, Inc., to handle the Oregon 
investments of the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, of Boston, in 
Portland and part of Oregon. Of this company Mr. MacMaster is president; while 
R. M. Ireland, his son-in-law, is vice president and treasurer. About the same 
time the partnership of MacMaster & Ireland was formed to handle the old 
business.

     In 1890 Mr. MacMaster married Miss Annie Jeffrey Fender, of Edinburgh, 
Scotland, and they are the parents of three children, namely: Katherine, who 
is at home; Maisie, who is the wife of D. C. Oldenburg, of New York; and 
Ailsa, who is the wife of Reade M. Ireland, of Portland.

     Mr. MacMaster gives his support to the republican party and is deeply 
interested in everything pertaining to the prosperity and progress of his city 
and state. He is a member of St. Andrews Society, the British Benevolent 
Society, and the Arlington Club, of all of which he is a past president; the 
Waverly Country Club, of which he was president nine terms; and the Chamber of 
Commerce, of which he was president for two terms. He served on the municipal 
executive board of Portland under Mayor Williams and his predecessor. Mr. 
MacMaster's business record has been characterized by a high type of ability, 
keen discrimination and farsighted judgment, so that he has been uniformly 
successful, and those who have relied on his judgment have found him reliable 
and sound. He is a genial and friendly man, kindly and generous, and 
throughout Portland and vicinity has a large circle of stanch and loyal 
friends.

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