Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....Pearson, Walter E. September 23, 1874 - 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Ila L. Wakley iwakley@msn.com May 5, 2007, 11:25 am

Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company

     WALTER E. PEARSON.  Choosing a line of work well suited to his talents, 
Walter E. Pearson has steadily progressed, becoming recognized as one of the 
leading insurance men of Portland, and in the conduct of his affairs brings to 
bear the knowledge and wisdom acquired by thirty-two years of practical 
experience in the business. A native of the south, he was born in Richmond, 
Virginia, September 23, 1874, a son of William A. and Mary C. (Bass) Pearson, 
who are now deceased. His father was a Baptist minister and an earnest 
follower of the faith he preached.
     Walter E. Pearson was reared in Virginia and South Carolina and attended
Richmond College at which time the family home was at Bluefield, West Virginia.
For a year he was a railroad employe and next became a shipping clerk in a 
jobbing house. Later he had charge of a flour mill and in 1896 became manager 
of the Flattop Insurance Agency. In June, 1906, he came to the Pacific coast 
and first visited San Francisco, California. A week was spent in Portland, 
Oregon, and afterward he traveled to Tacoma and Seattle, Washington, in search 
of a suitable location. Portland was his choice and in 1908 he returned to the 
Rose city where he entered the insurance office of McCargar, Bates & Lively, 
and on January 1, 1910, was admitted to a partnership in the business, which 
since March 1, 1924, has been conducted under the style of Bates, Lively & 
Pearson, this being one of the largest firms of the kind in the state. Their 
business covers Oregon and the counties in Washington which are situated along 
the Columbia river. They write insurance of all kinds, representing the oldest 
and best known corporations, and have over thirty employes, occupying a suite 
of offices in the Yeon building. The service is adapted to every need, and a 
well deserved reputation for efficiency and thorough reliability constitutes 
one of the most valuable assets of the firm. An expert insurance man as well 
as a capable executive, Mr. Pearson has become a forceful factor in the 
control of the business and is also secretary-treasurer and one of the 
directors of the Lincoln County Logging Company.
     Mr. Pearson was married July 31, 1901, in Bluefield, West Virginia, to 
Miss Virginia Johnston, a daughter of David E. Johnston, a well known 
attorney, who served as circuit judge and as congressman. In the fall of 1906 
members of the family made a trip to the Pacific northwest for the purpose of 
selecting a desirable place of residence. Portland pleased them the most and 
in the same year Dr. and Mrs. F. L. A. Wilson, the brother-in-law and sister 
of Mrs. Pearson, established their home in this city, in which they lived 
until 1926, when they went to California. Mr. and Mrs. Pearson have three 
children. Virginia E., the eldest, is the wife of the Rev. Philip P. Werlein 
and lives in Houston, Texas. Walter J., who is also married, was graduated 
from the University of Oregon and is associated with his father in business. 
David William, the third in order of birth, is a high school pupil.
     Mr. Pearson is a Knight Templar Mason and a Shriner. He became a charter 
member of the Progressive Business Men’s Club but is not identified with the 
organization at the present time. For two years he was president of the 
Waverly Club and also belongs to the Arlington Club of Portland. In politics 
he is a strong democrat but has neither sought nor held public office, 
preferring to remain in the background. By nature he is modest, frank and 
sincere, caring nothing for the artificialities of life. Time has proven his 
worth and his fellow citizens speak of him in terms of high regard.


Additional Comments:
History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Pages 244-245

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