Multnomah-Wheeler County OR Archives Biographies.....Robbins, William Arthur July 27, 1873 - 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Ila L. Wakley iwakley@msn.com May 16, 2009, 4:24 pm

Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company

     WILLIAM ARTHUR ROBBINS.  One of the leading members of the legal 
profession in the Columbia River valley is William A. Robbins, of Portland, 
who for the past twenty-three years has rendered able and effective service as 
attorney for the Union Pacific Railroad Company. Mr. Robbins was born about 
eight miles west of Salem, Oregon, on the 27th of July, 1873, and is a son of 
J. H. and Mary Margaret (Harvey) Robbins, the former born in Decatur county, 
Indiana, and the latter in Magnolia, that state. J. H. Robbins crossed the 
plains in 1862 with his first wife and four small children and at Baker, 
Oregon, the wife and one child died. His oxen also died and he was in 
desperate financial straits, so that he was glad to secure any kind of work. 
In the fall of 1862 he constructed a boat, on which he traveled from The 
Dalles, Oregon, to Vancouver, Washington, where he placed his children in a 
school, and then came to Portland. Here he spent some time in looking for 
employment and eventually began selling Bibles, for which he paid one dollar 
and a half and sold for six dollars, and in this way made a little money. 
While at Bethel, Oregon, he met Miss Mary M. Harvey, a daughter of Amos 
Harvey, a pioneer Indian agent, a Quaker in religious faith and one of the 
first trustees of Bethel Institute, in this state. Mr. Robbins and Miss Harvey 
were married in 1864. Mr. Robbins was a good singer and taught music and 
singing. About 1872 he opened one of the earliest music stores in Portland, 
also selling pianos and organs, and met with splendid success, becoming 
wealthy, but he made an unfortunate venture in the mining industry at Baker, 
Oregon.

     William A. Robbins and his brother had to work on the old ranch at Bethel 
in order to help pay off a mortgage, in which laudable effort they did their 
full part. Mr. Robbins secured a public school education and then entered the 
law department of Willamette University, from which he was graduated in 1898 
with the degree of Bachelor of Law and on March 17th of that year was admitted 
to the bar at Salem. He located at Fossil, Oregon, where he engaged in the 
practice of his profession until 1902, and during that period served as deputy 
district attorney for the seventh judicial district. He then took a 
postgraduate course at Leland Stanford University and in 1904 came to 
Portland, since which time he has been associated with the Oregon-Washington 
Railroad and Navigation Company, Union Pacific system. With a comprehensive 
knowledge of the basic principles of jurisprudence he combines a skill and 
resourcefulness in practice which have gained for him an enviable reputation 
as a successful lawyer. During the war period, under the federal control of 
railroads, Mr. Robbins served as general attorney for the railroad 
administration, having charge of legal matters in the west, and under the 
present organization he is general attorney for the Union Pacific system for 
the state of Oregon.

     On March 6, 1901, Mr. Robbins was united in marriage to Miss Edyth Grace 
Savage. He is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Benevolent 
Protective Order of Elks , the Portland Business Men's Club, of which he is 
president, and the University Club. A gentleman of kindly and genial manner, 
constant in his friendships and loyal and true in every relation of life, he 
has long commanded a high place in the confidence and respect of his fellowmen 
and is regarded as one of Portland's representative citizens.


Additional Comments:
History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. II, 
Pages 725-726

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