Multnomah-Benton County OR Archives Biographies.....Masters, Will H. May 22, 1887 - ************************************************ 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 and July 4, 2006, 1:29 pm Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Volume II, Pages 131 - 132 WILL H. MASTERS. An attorney of high standing, Will H. Masters is ably following in the professional footsteps of his father and he represents the third generation of the family in Portland, bearing a name that has long been an honored one in this city. He is one of the loyal sons of the city and was born here May 22, 1887. The family is of Swiss origin and was founded in this country in 1734 by Gregorious Masters. His son, Melchoir, became the father of Christopher Masters, whose son, William, became the grandfather of W. H. Masters of this review. William Masters was born in Pennsylvania, May 17, 1819, and when a young man went to Iowa. He made the long and arduous journey across the plains with the pioneers of 1852 and was numbered among the early settlers of Portland. As one of its pioneer merchants he stimulated the commercial development of the city, conducting a general store here for many years, and also operated a cattle ranch in the Yakima valley of Washington. He figured conspicuously in both business and public affairs of Portland and also furthered its progress along moral and religious lines as one of the organizers of the Taylor Street Methodist church, thoroughly demonstrating his worth as a citizen. His son, William York Masters, was born April 1, 1862, in Portland and after the completion of his high school course entered the Oregon State Agricultural College, from which he won the degree of Master of Arts in 1881. Later he read law, becoming a member of the Oregon bar in 1884, and on March 4, 1890, was admitted to practice before the United States supreme court. In the field of corporation law he has become particularly well known and from 1889 to 1916, a period of twenty-seven years, was attorney for the Pacific Title & Trust Company. Since 1884 he has practiced continuously in Portland, successfully handling much important litigation, and is generally regarded as one of the city’s leading attorneys. During the World war he served on the legal advisory board and was also active in the Liberty bond drives. For two terms he was one of the aldermen of Portland and has always manifested a deep and helpful interest in matters affecting the city’s welfare and progress. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and his religious belief is indicated by his affiliation with the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a thirty-second degree Mason and also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In Corvallis, Oregon, he was married March 31, 1886, to Miss Elizabeth Margaret Bell, a daughter of Henry M. Bell, who settled in Oregon in 1852, and they became the parents of six children: Will H., Bertha Bell, Edward Wilbur, Alfred R., Margaret Elizabeth and Robert Charles. In the acquirement of an education Will H. Masters attended the public schools and Portland and continued his studies in Stanford University, from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1909 and that of Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1911. In 1910 he had qualified for practice before the supreme court of Oregon and since 1911 has successfully followed his profession in Portland, specializing in automobile law. He is attorney for the Pacific Abstract & Title Company and the Manley Automobile Company, also acting as manager of the Manley estate. Mr. Masters is likewise vice president of the Manley Automobile Company, vice president and a member of the directorate of the Pacific Abstract & Title Company and a director of many other corporations. Like his father, he is an able advocate and a wise counselor and wins a large percentage of his cases. On the 19th of January, 1918, Mr. Masters responded to the call of his country, entering a non-commissioned officers’ training school at Benecia Arsenal in California. Later he was ordered to Camp Hancock, Georgia, and on May 20, 1918, was assigned to duty with the Three Hundred and Fifteenth Regiment of United States cavalry. He was then sent to Fort Russell in Wyoming and in August, 1918, the Three Hundred and Fifteenth was converted into two regiments of light field artillery, numbers Seventy-one and Seventy- two. Mr. Masters was assigned to the Seventy-second Regiment as ordnance sergeant, having been advanced to that rank June 20, 1918, while at Fort Russell. On September 5, 1918, his regiment was ordered to West Point, Kentucky, and remained there until December 24. It was then transferred to Camp Knox, Kentucky, and on the 7th of February, 1919, was disbanded. Mr. Masters was married October 28, 1918, in Louisville, Kentucky, to Miss Mary A. Shattuck, a daughter of J. W. and Mary C. (Allen) Shattuck. The father of Mrs. Masters was born in Kentucky and served in the Confederate army during the Civil war. Late in the ‘60s he journeyed to Portland, Oregon, and developed a ranch near Gresham. Mr. Shattuck’s wife was a daughter of Washington Allen, who crossed the plains to Oregon in 1853 and took up a donation claim in the Brooklyn district, remaining on the property until his demise. Mr. and Mrs. Masters have a son, William John, who was born September 2, 1919, and is a grammar school pupil. In politics Mr. Masters is a republican and his conduct is shaped by the teachings of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is prosecutor for the Multnomah County Bar Association and also belongs to the State Bar Association and American Bar Association, while along fraternal lines he is connected with the Woodmen of the World. In 1925 he was elected commander of Portland Post of the American Legion and at the present time is acting as chairman of the soldiers and sailors commission of Oregon. He is a member of the executive committee of the Veterans’ Hospital and is also serving on the president’s council. Mr. Masters has a keen sense of the duties and responsibilities of his profession, in which he has steadily advanced, and measures up to high standards in every relation of life, enjoying the respect and esteem of his fellowmen. Additional Comments: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Volume II, Chicago, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1928. 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