Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....Merry, William P. March 17, 1879 - 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Ila Wakley iwakley@msn.com November 12, 2009, 11:56 am

Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 253 - 254
Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company

     The value of a business property counselor is recognized by the 
successful business man as one of the most positive means of insuring 
continued prosperity. As a specialist in this field William P. Merry has 
achieved distinction, becoming a dominant personality in realty circles of 
Portland, and is also well known in this connection in the east. He was born 
March 17, 1879, and is a native of Brooklyn, New York. His father, William P. 
Merry, Jr., was a son of William P. Merry, Sr., a surgeon in the British army. 
The son left England when a young man and became a citizen of the United 
States. He married Miss Catherine Thompson and their union was severed by his 
demise in 1884, while his wife passed away two years later.

     Their son, William P. Merry (III), and his brother Harry were reared by 
Miss Susan Thompson, a maternal aunt, and attended the public schools of 
Brooklyn. Afterward William P. Merry earned his first money while working as a 
printer's devil in Brooklyn. He started at a dollar and a half per week and at 
the end of six months received an increase of fifty cents in his weekly 
salary. Through diligence and close application he learned the printer's 
trade. As a young man he acquired a fundamental knowledge of the real estate 
board business, studying real estate bonds while in New York, and his efforts 
were encouraged by his friend, ex-Governor Black of that state. Mr. Merry went 
to Detroit in 1905 at the request of W. W. Hannan, one of the foremost 
realtors of that city, in which he owned three large apartment hotels. These 
Mr. Merry assisted in bonding and selling, displaying a special talent for the 
work, and thus gained valuable experience in the management of business 
property. During that time he met Henry I. Forsyth, a successful real estate 
man, and for six months they were associated, but operated as individuals. At 
the end of that time they formed the Forsyth-Merry Company, business property 
realtors and owners of the Detroit Bond Corporation. For fourteen and a half 
years Mr. Merry was secretary and treasurer of the Forsyth-Merry Company, 
which promoted and erected many large buildings in Detroit, and he then came 
to the Pacific northwest, in which he spent several months, visiting the 
principal cities along the coast. Conditions in Portland impressed him most 
favorably and on October 20, 1920, he allied his interests with those of the 
city. Time has proven the wisdom of his choice and he is now at the head of a 
large and rapidly growing business, conducted under the name of the William P. 
Merry Company, which gives to its clients capable, intelligent understanding 
of their business property problems and a service that is certain and unerring 
in its all-round efficiency. The company has handled business property affairs 
that have made and saved millions of dollars for its patrons and every 
transaction of importance intrusted to the firm has the personal attention of 
Mr. Merry, who renders to those in need of his services the advice, counsel 
and wisdom of an expert. His offices are situated on the third floor of the 
Title & Trust building and he has seven employes, five men and two women. He 
purchased the land and built the municipal bus terminal and also the first 
Heathman and Roosevelt Hotels. Mr. Merry represented the Fleischaker's in the 
leasing of six stories of the Pittock block and was also commissioned to build 
these floors. In dealing with him the maximum element of risk is eliminated 
and throughout his independent business career he has upheld a standard that 
has made the firm name synonymous with safety in real estate investment.

     On the 1st of January, 1918, Mr. Merry was united in marriage to Miss 
Rose B. Church, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and both have a wide circle of 
friends in Portland. Mr. Merry enjoys outdoor life and was the originator of 
the plan of holding winter sports on Mount Hood. In 1927 he was president of 
the local Advertising Club and is now an official of the Pacific Coast 
Association of Advertising Clubs, acting as vice president for Oregon and 
Idaho. His name appears on the directorate of the Royal Rosarians of Portland 
and he is one of the executives of the local realty board. He is chairman of 
the historical committee of the Oregon Chamber of Commerce, a member of the 
conventions committee of the Portland organization, and president of the 
Oregon Museum Association. Mr. Merry is thoroughly appreciative of the 
advantages, attractions and resources of the state of his adoption and 
considers Portland an ideal place of residence. He is one of the 
city's "boosters" and a man of forceful personality and genuine worth. 

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