Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....Mann, Thomas April 28, 1836 - November 10, 1920
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Ila L. Wakley iwakley@msn.com June 9, 2007, 11:43 am

Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company

     THOMAS MANN.  A man of enterprise and determination, as well as 
pronounced ability, Thomas Mann accomplished much as a city builder, leaving 
the impress of his individuality upon the history of Portland’s development, 
and combined in his character all of the admirable qualities of the true 
pioneer. Fifty-four years of his life were spent in the Rose city and during 
that period he witnessed a marvelous transformation in its appearance as 
frontier conditions were replaced by the improvements and advantages of modern 
times.
     A native of Scotland, Mr. Mann was born April 28, 1836, on a farm near 
Abbotsford, the home of Sir Walter Scott, in Roxburghshire, and was one of the 
ten children of Andrew and Magdalene (Graham) Mann. His studies were pursued 
in Selkirk, four miles from his home, but owing to illness he was unable to 
attend school regularly. He lost his father in 1849 and three years later left 
Scotland in the hope of bettering his fortunes. In April, 1852, he arrived in 
Newcastle, England, and secured work in the coal mines. Mr. Mann was also 
employed on a railroad and in the coal mines of Newcastle, in which he spent 
two years. Leaving that city in company with Michael Stephenson, he went to 
Liverpool, England, and there boarded the Constitution, which sailed for 
America on June 22, 1854, under command of Captain Gray. The vessel arrived in 
New York harbor on the 6th of August and subsequently Mr. Mann visited many 
parts of the United States and Canada, working as a brick layer in New York; 
Chicago, Illinois; Valparaiso, Indiana; and in the cities of Toronto, 
Brantford and London, situated in the province of Ontario. In June, 1859, he 
returned to New York city and made the trip to Aspinwall on the steamship Star 
of the West.   He crossed the isthmus by railroad, viewing the city of Panama 
under an armed escort, and then sailed for California on the Golden Age, which 
reached the port of San Francisco on July 17, 1859. On the 20th of the month 
he secured passage on the steamer Forward and during the voyage had his first 
glimpse of the Oregon coast range. While the vessel was anchored in Neah bay, 
Washington, he took a ride in a canoe and first set foot on the soil of the 
northwestern coast. On July 27 he arrived in Victoria, British Columbia, and 
for five years was identified with building and contracting activities in that 
city.
     In 1863 Mr. Mann went to Paris, Canada, where he married Miss Barbara 
Brown on the 13th of March, 1864, and soon afterward they started for Victoria 
by the Aspinwall route. They made the trip to San Francisco on the 
Constitution and completed the remainder of the voyage on the Sierra Nevada. 
The vessel touched at Portland and Mr. Mann had his first view of the city. At 
that time the First Presbyterian church was being erected at Third and 
Washington streets, on the corner now occupied by the Spaulding building. 
Before reaching Victoria the Sierra Nevada encountered a heavy storm and was 
weather-bound in the North channel near Ilwaco for two days. During the winter 
of 1865-66 there was an epidemic of diphtheria and typhoid in Victoria and 
Mrs. Mann was among those who succumbed to disease.
     Broken in spirit as well as in purse, Mr. Mann decided to leave the city 
and after spending a short time in the Big Bend mine on French creek he 
embarked on the steamer 49, which was bound for Fort Colville, Umatilla, The 
Dalles and Portland. He arrived in the last named city on June 28, 1866, and 
during that year worked on a building which T. M. Richardson was erecting for 
Charles M. Carter at Front and Washington streets. In the spring of 1867 he 
went to San Francisco but found the climate of that city injurious to his 
health and returned to Portland a year later on the steamship Pacific, 
reaching here June 22, 1868. The vessel kept as close as possible to the 
Oregon shore and among its passengers were several United States engineers. An 
expert bricklayer and mason, Mr. Mann was constantly employed and as soon as 
he had accumulated sufficient capital ventured in business for himself.  
Success attended the undertaking resulting in his winning and retaining a 
position of leadership in the line in which he specialized. In 1874, while 
thus engaged, he passed the required examination and was admitted to the 
Willamette University and later attended the Medical College of San Francisco, 
California. He received the M. D. degree in 1876. His business activities were 
not interrupted, as his studies were pursued at night, and this was followed 
by a postgraduate course in the University of California. For a number of 
years Mr. Mann had been troubled with a severe throat affection and the 
treatments applied by his physicians proved of no avail. Believing that the 
malady could be eradicated, he mastered the science of medicine and effected a 
cure but never followed the profession as his interest centered in the 
business which constituted his life work. He was awarded the brick contract 
for Portland’s first high school building, which was erected in 1885 at the 
corner of Morrison and Fourteenth streets and is now known as the Girls’ 
Polytechnic School. Mr. Mann contributed substantially toward the upbuilding 
of the city and also did much important work in other parts of the state. He 
had charge of all of the brick work on the capitol and the State Insane Asylum 
and three of the additions thereto, likewise constructing the courthouses for 
Clackamas and Benton counties. No detail of his work was ever slighted and 
upon the enduring foundation of efficiency and honesty he erected the 
superstructure of success.
     By his first wife Mr. Mann had a son, Thomas Stephenson, who became 
manager of the Pacific Stoneware Company of Portland. In 1873 Mr. Mann married 
Elizabeth Driver, who passed away in February, 1884. His third wife was Mary 
Hawthorne, whom he married in 1900, and in October, 1906, she was called to 
her final rest. In 1909 he married Bessie F. Hill and they became the parents 
of two children, Barbara and Magdalene, aged respectively eighteen and sixteen 
years. The daughters reside with their mother, who occupies the family home at 
No. 595 East Thirty-third street, north.
     Mr. Mann attained the venerable age of eighty-four years, passing away in 
Portland November 10, 1920. Although a stanch republican, he was not active in 
politics and the only public office which he held was that of building 
inspector during Mayor Lane’s administration. In 1860 he was one of the 
organizers of the first St. Andrews’s Society in Victoria and in the same year 
aided in founding the First Presbyterian church of that city. Along fraternal 
lines he was connected with the Masonic order, being affiliated with 
Willamette Lodge, F. & A. M., and conscientiously adhered to its teachings. He 
was deeply attached to the country of his adoption and induced twenty-seven of 
his relatives to locate in the Pacific northwest, generously paying all of the 
expenses incident to the trip. Mr. Mann believed in the gospel of good and 
derived great pleasure from making others happy. He was a business man of high 
standing, a loyal public-spirited citizen, and his unfailing courtesy and 
natural kindness of heart won for him a secure place in the affections of 
those who were privileged to know him.


Additional Comments:
History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. II, 
Pages 360-363

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