Multnomah-Marion County OR Archives Biographies.....Wiggins, Ernest R. April 1, 1878 - ************************************************ 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 June 12, 2009, 1:39 am Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company ERNEST R. WIGGINS. As wholesale dealers in automotive accessories and supplies, the Wiggins Company, Inc., of Portland, stands in the forefront of the firms in its line on the Pacific coast and, because of its progressive policy and sound business methods, is enjoying continuous growth in volume of business. Ernest R. Wiggins, president of this well known concern, was born in Kansas on the 1st of April, 1878, and is a son of Robert and Eliza (Bryson) Wiggins. Both parents were born in Ireland of Scotch descent and became pioneer settlers of Canada, where they were reared and married, and became pioneer settlers of Kansas, where the father engaged in farming. In 1903 he sold out there and came to Oregon, locating first in Salem, where he lived until 1906, when he retired from active business affairs and established his residence in Portland, where he and his wife spent their remaining years, Mr. Wiggins dying in 1918, at the age of seventy-nine years, and his wife in 1925, at the age of eighty-four years. Ernest R. Wiggins attended the public schools of his native state, completing his education in the Southern Kansas Academy. In 1902 he came to Oregon, locating in Salem, where he and his brother, F. A. Wiggins, engaged in the implement business. They were among the first firms in the state of Oregon to engage in the automobile business, as in 1903 they took the agency for the Rambler and White Steamers cars, of which they sold several in that year. They were also pioneers in the motorcycle business, becoming agents for the Thomas- Autoby machines. In the fall of 1906 they sold out there and E. R. Wiggins came to Portland, where for two years he was with the firm of Balton & Wright, having charge of country orders. In the spring of 1909 he went to Spokane, Washington, and established the firm of Archer, Combes & Child Company, and in the following year returned to Portland, where for one year he continued with the same firm. Then he and his brother, W. B. Wiggins, bought Mr. Combes' interest in the business, which was thereafter conducted as the Archer & Wiggins Company. The business was at that time located at the corner of Sixth and Oak streets, where it remained until June 10, 1920, when it was moved to Park and Couch streets, where W. B. Wiggins has erected a fine, two-story building, one hundred by one hundred feet The Wiggins brothers had bought Mr. Archer's interest in the business in 1915 and on moving to the new location the business was incorporated under the name of Wiggins Company. Ernest R. Wiggins has been the executive head of the business continuously since 1911 and is also the active manager. His brother, W. B. Wiggins, died in September, 1924, and K. R. Crookham is now secretary and treasurer of the company, also serving as buyer. The company handles a complete line of automotive supplies, replacement parts, Badger tires and Hyois motor oils. Its sale territory includes Oregon and southern Washington, which field is covered by twelve traveling representatives, while twenty-eight people are employed in the house. The company is now doing a business of three-quarters of a million dollars a year, and each year shows a substantial gain. On November 17, 1904, Mr. Wiggins was united in marriage to Miss Leila Cavanagh, of Salem, a daughter of L. C. and Eva (Miller) Cavanagh, who were pioneer settlers of Oregon. Mr. and Mrs. Wiggins have two children: Fielda, now twenty years of age, who is a student in the Oregon Agricultural College, and Lawrence C., aged seventeen years. Both will enter the University of Oregon in the fall of 1928. Mr. Wiggins is a member of Portland Lodge, No. 55, A. F. & A. M.; Portland Chapter, No. 3, R. A. M.; Portland Commandery, No. 1, K. T.; Al Kader Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S.; the Kiwanis Club, of which he was president in 1920; the Chamber of Commerce, of which he is a member of the trade and commerce committee; the Rosarians, of which he is a past prime minister; the Alderwood Country Club, and the Oregon Automotive Equipment Association, of which he is a past vice president. The republican party receives his support and he stands for all that is best in the life of the community, supporting all measures calculated to promote the public welfare. In referring to the early history of the automobile business on the coast, Mr. Wiggins recalls the fact that in 1903 his brother and J. H. Albert, of Salem, drove a White Steamer front Salem to Portland, over dusty dirt roads, and attracted enormous crowds wherever they stopped, while everyone along the countryside stopped their work and watched them as they passed. Mr. Wiggins may be properly classed among the veterans of the automobile accessory trade and has been an interested witness of the growth of the business and the wonderful strides made in the various lines of equipment. He keeps fully abreast of the times in every department of his business, is a man of keen sagacity and clear headed judgment and to a marked degree commands the respect of his associates and the confidence of the public. Additional Comments: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. II, Pages 856-857 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/multnomah/bios/wiggins767gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/orfiles/ File size: 5.8 Kb