Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....Meier, Aaron  May 22, 1831 - August 16, 1889
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Ila Wakley iwakley@msn.com January 19, 2011, 9:07 pm

Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 715 - 717
Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company

     AARON MEIER.  One of the notable elements in Portland's growth has been 
found in the adaptability with which certain representatives of her 
citizenship have utilized the opportunities of the great west, have used the 
chance which the new world offers and have become builders of her greatness 
and promoters of her development. It is in this connection that Aaron Meier 
should be mentioned. While his activities have long since ceased, his name yet 
figures in connection with one of the largest commercial establishments of 
this part of the country — the great Meier & Frank department store, 
the "Marshall Field's" of the Pacific coast, — of which he was the founder and 
builder and which is a monument to his ability, foresight, discrimination and 
unabating energy.

     Aaron Meier was born at Ellerstadt, in Bavaria, Germany, May 22, 1831, 
and was a son of Abraham and Rebecca (Levi) Meier. Although he was left 
fatherless at an early age, he had the benefit of the wise guidance and 
counsel of his mother, who reached the age of seventy-seven years. In his 
early youth he attended school and he began earning his livelihood by working 
in a brickyard with an uncle. The stories which reached him concerning America 
and her opportunities led him to determine to try his fortune in the new world 
in 1855, his brothers, Julius and Emanuel, having already crossed the 
Atlantic. Turning his face to the setting sun, he journeyed westward until he 
joined his brothers in Downville, California, where he continued for two years 
and then in 1857 came to Portland.

     He found a city of limited population scattered along the bank of the 
Willamette, with a business district on First and Front streets. He lived to 
see marvelous changes ere death called him. The city had grown along the lines 
of modern development and improvement and Mr. Meier had been a valuable 
contributing factor to this result. He felt that Portland, advantageously 
situated, had before it a notable future and he resolved to cast in his 
fortunes with the residents already here. After studying the general situation 
for a brief period he formed a partnership with a merchant by the name of 
Mariholtz and for seven years they engaged in the sale of dry goods and 
general merchandise, their trade steadily growing until it became one of 
substantial proportions for that period.

     Mr. Meier then felt it to be his duty to return home and visit his mother 
and it was during this trip to his native land that he wedded Miss Jeanette 
Hirsch, a daughter of Moses and Fannie (Levi) Hirsch. A little later he 
started with his bride for the new world and Portland received the young 
couple gladly, welcoming them into the social life, while Mr. Meier returned 
to commercial circles to occupy a still more creditable and prominent position 
than he had already attained before he retraced his steps across the Atlantic. 
He opened what was then a pretentious dry goods house between Yamhill and 
Taylor streets, on Front street, personally erecting the building and 
equipping it for the conduct of the trade. As his patronage increased he 
secured better quarters and afterward occupied a store opposite his old place 
on Front street. While visiting San Francisco to purchase stock Mr. Meier had 
formed the acquaintance of Emil Frank, who entered his employ as a clerk, and 
later Sigmund Frank, who had come from Germany to establish a home in San 
Francisco, removed from that city to Portland and entered the store. After a 
time Emil Frank sold his interest to Mr. Meier and his brother, Sigmund Frank, 
and thus came into existence the great partnership which so largely furthered 
the commercial development of the city. In 1882 the store and property were 
wiped out by a disastrous fire, but the courageous spirit of the partners was 
not quenched and it was only a brief period until they had again purchased a 
stock of goods and were once more operating successfully in the commercial 
circles of the city. From Front street a removal was made in an early day to 
First street and there larger quarters were secured from time to time until 
the store faced not only on First but also on Second, Yamhill, and Taylor 
streets. A most liberal patronage was accorded the firm, which met every 
requirement of the trade and by progressive and honorable methods secured a 
business that made it a leader in the mercantile world of the northwest. A 
further removal was made to Fifth, Morrison and Alder streets, then considered 
outside the retail zone of Portland, but the store continued to draw trade and 
has remained to the present time the foremost mercantile enterprise of the 
city.

     With the passing years the young couple who had arrived from Germany to 
take up their abode in Portland became the parents of four children. Fannie, 
the eldest, married Sigmund Frank, her father's partner, who is mentioned 
elsewhere in this work. Abraham, the elder son, who became president of the 
Meier & Frank Company, married Minnie Eising, a former resident of New York, 
and they had four children: Harold, Allen, Jeanette and Frank. Hattie, the 
third child, died at the age of two and one-half years. The youngest was 
Julius, who became manager of the Meier & Frank Company and who wedded Grace 
Mayer, of Portland, by whom he had three children, Jean Ellen, Elsa Frances 
and Julius L. Meier, Jr. The family circle was again broken by the hand of 
death when on the 16th of August, 1889, the husband and father passed away, 
leaving to his family not only a handsome competence but also the priceless 
heritage of an untarnished name and a record that will always serve to inspire 
and encourage others, showing what may be accomplished through individual 
effort, intelligently directed. He deserves mention among the founders and 
promoters of Portland, his business activities featuring in the commercial 
development of the city. He concentrated his efforts and attention largely 
upon his business and never sought to figure prominently in other public 
connections, yet when Portland needed assistance along any line contributing 
to her growth and improvement he made immediate and generous response. He thus 
measured up to the highest standards of citizenship, for he endorsed every 
plan contributing to civic virtue and civic pride. In the upbuilding of his 
own fortunes he utilized methods that would bear the closest investigation and 
scrutiny. His honesty was an outstanding quality in his career and his 
progressiveness enabled him to pass beyond the point that others had reached 
and to build strongly for the future. He never had occasion to regret his 
determination to try his fortune in America and Oregon received a valued 
citizen when he cast in his lot with the residents of Portland. The sterling 
worth of his character was acknowledged by all and with him acquaintanceship 
was soon converted into friendship. What he accomplished represented the 
utilization of his innate talents and powers, but his qualities were such as 
any might cultivate and in every relation of life he measured up to the 
highest standards of manhood and of citizenship.

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