Multnomah-Marion County OR Archives Biographies.....Willis, Parish Lovejoy November 5, 1838 - October 28, 1917 ************************************************ 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 10, 2009, 11:31 pm Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company PARISH LOVEJOY WILLIS. At the time of his demise, which occurred in Los Angeles, October 28, 1917, Parish Lovejoy Willis was with one exception the oldest member of the Portland bar and his position as a representative of the legal fraternity was ever one of high honor and distinction. He was an equally forceful figure in commercial and political circles and his life record constitutes an important chapter in the annals of the Columbia River valley. He displayed courage in the face of adversity and his record was characterized by integrity, faithfulness and loyalty at all times. Born in Putnam county, Illinois, on the 5th of November, 1838, he had almost reached the seventy- ninth milestone on life's journey when he passed away. His parents were Stephen Dawes and Nancy A. (Ross) Willis. He crossed the plains in 1852, reaching Fosters in Clackamas county on the 29th of August. That was the first house which he saw after leaving the Missouri river. His wife made the trip westward by the water route. Subsequently they settled in Benton county, near Marysville, now Corvallis, and a year later took up their abode near Roseburg, where the father followed the occupation of farming. At the time the long journey was made P. L. Willis was a youth of thirteen years and he early became familiar with all of the conditions and hardships of pioneer life. After pursuing his early education in the common schools he attended the old Umpqua Academy and in 1861 entered Willamette University at Salem. He had no money but was ambitious to secure a good education, so he worked at odd jobs in order to pay his way through school. Professor Gatch, then at the head of the institution, was kind and helped him, and in due course of time he was graduated. Years later he served as one of the trustees of this old institution where so many of Oregon's pioneer sons and daughters received their education. When he had mastered a law course in the Willamette University he was admitted to the Oregon bar on the 6th of September, 1866, and on the same day he wedded Miss Irene Stratton, a daughter of Curtis P. and Lavina Stratton, who had come to Oregon in 1854 and settled in Douglas county. During pioneer times Mr. Willis served in the Southern Indian wars under Captain Nolan as a member of Company B, Second Regiment of Oregon Mounted Volunteers. He never failed to do his full duty in connection with any event or project that looked to the benefit and upbuilding of the district in which he lived. Following his graduation and his marriage he entered upon the practice of law in Salem, where one of his first partners was Judge Boise, and following the elevation of his partner to the bench Mr. Willis became associated with Judge Rufus Mallory, who also was later called upon for judicial service. His third partner was Richard Williams, and in his law practice in these various partnership relations he made steady progress, gaining a good clientage. He also held public office in Salem and his fidelity as a citizen and his ability as a member of the bar were widely recognized. It was in the year 1879 that Mr. Willis established his home in Portland and entered upon the active practice of his profession here. His partnership with Richard Williams continued until the latter was elected to congress, when Mr. Willis became associated with Judge Seneca Smith, with whom he continued until his partner was called to the bench. About 1886 he began practice alone and in 1890 opened an office in the Commercial block. He specialized in land titles and was considered an expert on that subject. For over thirty years he remained in the Commercial block and during a part of that time his son, Guy G. Willis, was associated with him. Mr. Willis continued in practice almost to the time of his death. He had a remarkable capacity for work, was possessed of great force and ingenuity and gained a notable position as a strong and capable lawyer. In another field, too, he made a creditable name and place for himself, for he entered the realty business and put upon the market several tracts of land, including University Park, Portsmouth and Garden Park. His largest realty holdings at the time of his death were timber lands on Wilson river, said to be worth several hundred thousand dollars. He also became interested in the Oregon Savings & Trust Company, a bank which was forced to close with a large list of depositors unpaid. At length the interests of that bank were taken over by the German-American Bank, into which Mr. Willis put four hundred thousand dollars in order that the affairs of the defunct institution might be closed out without loss to the depositors. One of the prominent men of Portland said: "I consider that the crowning act of Mr. Willis' career was that of putting into the German-American Bank four hundred thousand dollars of his own money, to obtain which he was obliged to hypothecate practically everything he possessed. From that transaction Mr. Willis never recovered, but he saved the depositors and did one of the grandest things ever credited to any man." Mr. and Mrs. Willis had a family of four children, of whom three reached adult age. The son, Guy G., died February 16, 1924. The daughter, Mabel, is the wife of M. A. M. Ashley, a well known banker and business man of Portland, and they have two children, of whom Willis married Antoinette Mears and has a daughter, Antoinette. Roscoe George, the second son of Mr. and Mrs. WiIlis, married Clea Nickerson and has one child, Robert. Both Guy G. and Roscoe George Willis were associated with their father in business. It would be to give an imperfect picture of the life record of P. L. Willis if reference were not made to the part which he played in connection with public interests. He was one of the founders of the old Portland University, an institution that for many years was carried on by the Methodist Episcopal church. In the midst of his extensive law practice and the supervision of his other interests he found time to take an active part in politics. He drafted and fathered the civil service law in Oregon and served on the first civil service commission in Portland, filling that position for several terms and giving much painstaking effort to the establishment of civil service reform in this city, being familiar with every phase of the charter and the opportunities which it granted for work along that line. In 1893 he was elected to the state senate and through the following four years was numbered among the lawmakers of Oregon, during which time he gave thoughtful and earnest consideration to all the vital questions which came up for settlement. The condition of his health prevented his active practice during the last three years of his life and when death called him many attested the high position which he held in public regard. Joseph Simon, at one time mayor of Portland, said of him: "Mr. Willis was a man of upright character, of fine qualities, and was clean and extremely scrupulous and honest in all of his dealings. He always took pains to make certain that his every transaction with his fellowman was fair and just. He will be greatly missed." His sense of honor was extremely high and he was a man of broad vision who recognized and utilized opportunities for the public good just as quickly and readily as he recognized the chance for personal advancement. His record was ever unsullied and his name was a synonym for all those qualities which upbuild character and which have made of man "the noblest work of God." Additional Comments: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. II, Pages 837-839 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/multnomah/bios/willis757gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/orfiles/ File size: 8.3 Kb