Multnomah-Linn County OR Archives Biographies.....Thompson, Edward Lewis 1864 - October 14, 1927 ************************************************ 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 April 19, 2008, 5:18 pm Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company EDWARD LEWIS THOMPSON. On the stage of activity in Portland, Edward Lewis Thompson long occupied a central place, influencing the growth of the city along many lines, and other sections of the state also profited by his enterprise and ability. He was a true westerner, animated at all times by the spirit of progress, and a worthy representative of a pioneer family whose name has long stood for the best traditions in Oregon’s citizenship. His birth occurred in Albany, Linn county, Oregon, in 1864 and his father, David M. Thompson, was a native of Iowa. In 1852 he came to Oregon and lived for some time in Scottsburg. During the Civil war he joined the Oregon Volunteers and rose to the rank of colonel. Afterward he located in Albany, Oregon, becoming the - proprietor of one of its first harness and saddlery shops, and there spent the remainder of his life. He was identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and figured prominently in Masonic affairs, serving as district deputy grand master. Mr. Thompson married Miss Louisa Burkhart, a daughter of John Burkhart, who journeyed from Indiana to Oregon in 1847 and was one of the earliest settlers of Linn county. The demise of David M. Thompson occurred on November 9, 1879, when he was forty-nine years of age and at the height of his usefulness. His widow long survived him, passing away in 1907 at the ripe age of seventy-four years. Edward L. Thompson supplemented his public school education by a course in Albany College and after the death of his father took charge of the harness and saddlery business, which he conducted successfully for several years. In 1890 he closed the shop and removed to Portland. He was made fire insurance adjuster for the Northwest Fire & Marine and the North British & Mercantile Insurance Companies, covering Oregon, Washington, Idaho and California, and filled the position for about eight years. In 1898 he became associated with J. L. Hartman and H. L. Powers in the real estate and brokerage business under the style of Hartman, Thompson & Powers and this relationship was terminated by the retirement of Mr. Powers in 1905. At that time a reorganization was effected and the private bank of Hartman & Thompson was established. This later became the Pacific Bank of Commerce of which Mr. Thompson served as president until 1926, when it was sold to the Canadian Bank of Commerce. In 1910 he was one of the organizers of the Ridgefield State Bank, of which he was elected president, and also placed that institution upon a solid financial basis, following a policy which inspired public trust and confidence. The old firm of Hartman & Thompson likewise engaged in home building, buying and selling city realty as well, and the Rose City Park addition was one of the properties which they successfully handled. In 1901 Mr. Thompson was the founder of the Portland Woolen Mills, established in Sellwood, a suburb of the city, and soon afterward the buildings were destroyed by fire. A new plant was erected at St. Johns, in one of the outlying districts of Portland, and the company built many homes for its employes. The men received high wages and good treatment and the firm never had to contend with strikes. Mr. Thompson was the general manager and principal owner of the industry, which steadily expanded, the other stockholder; being W. P. Olds, W. M. Ladd, T. B. Wilcox, W. E. Pettes and F. A. Nitchy. In 1897 Mr. Thompson organized the Ridgefield Mercantile Company and under his expert guidance it became one of the most successful firms of the kind in the state. He also was secretary of the firm of Beall & Company, dealers in farm implements, took a keen interest in agricultural affairs, materially furthering the project for irrigating the Willamette valley and enhancing its productiveness. Clover Hill Farms, a tract of four hundred acres situated about thirty miles north of Portland on the Columbia river, was the property of Mr. Thompson, who engaged in the breeding and raising of pedigreed Guernsey cattle and conducted a large dairy. He was awarded the first state board of health certificate for milk of guaranteed purity and in 1909 was elected president of the Portland Fair & Live Stock Association. Quick to perceive an emergency, he was equally ready in devising plans to meet it, and transacted an enormous amount of business in a short time and with apparent ease. Mr. Thompson had a remarkable capacity for detail and controlled the larger factors in his affairs with notable assurance and power. He seemed to know intuitively the possibilities and opportunities as well as the difficulties of a business situation and carefully avoided the latter while improving the former to the fullest extent. Mr. Thompson was married March 27, 1884, to Miss Amanda P. Irvine, whose father, R. A. Irvine, was one of the pioneer settlers of Linn county, Oregon. Mrs. Thompson completed a course in Albany College and was an accomplished musician. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson became the parents of two sons: Lewis Irvine, an inventor and a successful architect, was married, in June, 1009, to Miss Sadie Jackson and they maintain their home in Portland; Edward A., born in Portland in 1898, is engaged in the insurance business in this city, is one of the executives of the Eltico Investment Company, a director of the Wherrie Clothing & Tailoring Company and formerly served on the directorates of the various corporations with which his father was identified, inheriting the latter’s keen sagacity and executive force, He is a valued member of the Chamber of Commerce and one of the directors of the Portland Traffic & Transportation Association, heartily cooperating in movements for the advancement and betterment of the city. He is a Royal Arch Mason and he casts his ballot for the candidates of the republican party. Along social lines he is connected with the Multnomah, University and Waverley Clubs. In 1920 he married Miss Charlotte Breyman, of Portland, and they have one child, Charlotte. In 1907 Edward L. Thompson erected a beautiful home on Portland Heights and his summer residence was at Seaside, Oregon. The members of the Portland Chamber of Commerce chose him as their president and for many years he was head of the Forum. He was a thirty-second degree Mason and also belonged to the University and Waverley Clubs. In politics he was a strong republican but not an office seeker. A devout Congregationalist, he united with the church at the early age of fourteen and for several years was one of its trustees. His was an unselfish disposition and many civic and philanthropic organizations benefited by his aid and cooperation. Mr. Thompson was a man of varied talents and in the many fields in which he operated his broad mind and strong personality placed him in the vanguard, while his actions were characterized at all times by a fidelity of purpose born of the desire to have every duty well done. His was a career of conspicuous usefulness and his death, on October 14, 1927, was an irreparable loss to his city and state. Additional Comments: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. II, Pages 476-477 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/multnomah/bios/thompson470gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/orfiles/ File size: 7.8 Kb