Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....Youngson, D. D., Rev. William Wallace December 27, 1869 - 
************************************************
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 Wakley iwakley@msn.com January 18, 2011, 1:52 pm

Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 698 - 704
Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company

     REV. WILLIAM WALLACE YOUNGSON, D. D.  It is not unusual to analyze the 
qualities that make for success in commerce, in agriculture or in the 
professions. These on the whole are qualities that differ in considerable 
measure from those traits which must be the possession of the man who gains 
eminence in the ministry, exerting a widefelt influence in behalf of all of 
those agencies which make for the uplift of the individual or building of 
character. William Wallace Youngson, pastor of the Rose City Park Methodist 
Episcopal church of Portland, is spoken of wherever he is known — and he has 
an extremely wide acquaintance — as one of the distinguished divines of the 
country. He has developed his intellectual powers to a point of notable 
scholarship and at the same time has reached out in that broadening sympathy, 
kindliness and helpfulness without which the most learned representative of 
the ministry finds his labors futile. These statements find their verification 
in the unfolding of the life record of Dr. Youngson, who was born in 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, December 27, 1869, a son of James B. and Martha Jane 
(Parker) Youngson. That he was reared in a home where intellectual progress is 
rated at its true value is indicated in the liberal opportunities which were 
accorded him. After completing a course in the Central high school of his 
native city he attended Allegheny College at Meadville, Pennsylvania, having 
determined to enter the ministry, and he was graduated in 1891, receiving from 
his alma mater in due course of time the degrees of Bachelor and of Master of 
Arts and that of Doctor of Divinity. He became a member of Phi Kappa Psi and a 
Phi Beta Kappa during his collegiate work at Meadville. He then matriculated 
in Drew Theological Seminary, at Madison, New Jersey, which in 1895 conferred 
upon him the Bachelor of Divinity degree. The same year he joined the 
Pittsburgh conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church and each year of his 
ministry in the east marked a steady growth in those qualities which are so 
essential to success in the work of the church. His first pastorate 
was "Redstone circuit" centering at Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and extending 
from 1895 until 1897. The four succeeding years were passed at a Methodist 
minister at Vandergrift, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. From 1901 until 
1904 he filled the 'pulpit of the Crafton church at Pittsburgh; from 1905 
until 1908, St. James church, Elizabeth, New Jersey; and from 1908 until 1913 
Park Avenue church at East Orange, New Jersey.

     It was on the 20th of October, 1897, that Dr. Youngson was married to 
Miss Ida Honor Farrell, of Portland, Oregon. She was one of the five children 
of Sylvester and Honor (Miller) Farrell. Her father was born in St. Thomas, 
Ontario, Canada, August 2, 1833, and was the eldest of three sons and a 
daughter but was only ten years of age when left an orphan. He and his younger 
brothers lived upon a farm and educational opportunities accorded them were 
extremely meager. When but a boy Sylvester Farrell became clerk in a grocery 
store in St. Thomas until he responded to the call of the rapidly developing 
west and went to San Francisco, where he learned and for three years followed 
the miller's trade. In 1867 he arrived in Portland and after serving as an 
employe with various concerns formed a partnership with Richard Everding and 
purchased the business of the firm of Everding & Beebe, the firm style of 
Everding & Farrell being then assumed. From that time until his demise he was 
continuously active in the conduct of the wholesale produce and commission 
business of this firm, which in the course of years also broadened its 
interests to include connection with logging and with the salmon packing 
industry, owning canneries at Pillar Rock, Washington, where their output 
amounted to thirty thousand cases yearly. They operated as loggers at Deep 
River, Washington, selling timber directly to the mills. It was in 1879, in 
association with George T. Myers, that Mr. Farrell built the first salmon 
cannery, on Puget Sound. Later he sold to his partner and developed his 
interests at Pillar Rock on the Columbia, becoming president of the Pillar 
Rock Packing Company. His commission and grain business, too, assumed 
extensive proportions and Mr. Farrell long occupied a prominent place in the 
business circles of the city. It was a current saying that "Mr. Farrell opened 
Front street every morning," for he was usually at his place of business 
between six and seven o'clock. A few moments after entering his offices there 
on the morning of January 11, 1909, he passed away. A contemporary biographer 
has written of Mr. Farrell as follows: "While Mr. Farrell held membership with 
the Masons, the Odd Fellows, the United Workmen and a number of other 
fraternal organizations, he seldom attended lodge, invariably spending his 
evenings at home with his family, to whom he was most devoted. His kindly 
spirit was always manifest in his treatment of dumb animals and a pet dog, 
horse or cat was almost invariably his companion. In his office for seven 
years he had a large Maltese cat and each Sunday and on holidays he would go 
to the store with milk and food for his pets. A nature that thus responds to 
the needs of the dumb animals is sure to have a heart warm with kindness for 
all humanity and the spirit of helpfulness was manifest in all Mr. Farrell's 
relations with his fellowmen. He was one of the founders and for many years a 
trustee of the Boys and Girls Aid Society of the state of Oregon. He was never 
neglectful of the duties of citizenship and gave hearty and generous response 
when his aid was needed to further any public project that promised to be of 
value to city, state or nation. He figured prominently in state and county 
politics, for several terms represented his district in the general assembly 
and for six years was a member of the city council. He served upon nearly all 
of the city commissions and up to the time of his death was a member of the 
state board of pilot commissioners."

     The Oregonian of January 13, 1909, published the following tribute from 
the pen of one who had known him long and well: "The lives well spent, the 
good names well earned, are not so numerous as to be overlooked. The passing 
over of Sylvester Farrell deserves public recognition. Commencing his business 
life in this city forty years ago in a little, old, ramshackle shed of a 
warehouse on the river's brink, near the foot of Madison street, with nothing 
but willing hands and honest hearts, he and his still remaining partner built 
up a profitable and enduring business which defied the storms of adversity, 
brought them an ample fortune and placed their names at the top of the list of 
honest, successful and absolutely trustworthy merchants. No man ever trusted 
the word of Sylvester Farrell and was disappointed. His word was as good as 
his bond and passed current for ready cash. Not only in private life, but 
equally so in all his business transactions, he was a just man and loved 
mercy.  Many is the man whose account has been carried by his firm through the 
stress of hard times and until the clouds had rolled by, bringing relief. 
Whether he was a member of any church, I know not, but in his intercourse with 
his fellowmen he manifested the vital principle of Christianity and never 
forgot the Golden Rule. As a citizen Mr. Farrell was a model man. Willing to 
serve wherever he could render useful service, he most efficiently served his 
city and state in many positions and without self-seeking in any form. Public-
spirited to the extent of his ability, he rendered valuable aid in developing 
the resources of the state and building up this city. He was one of the 
directors of the company that proposed and constructed the Dayton, Sheridan & 
Dallas Railroad, which was the foundation of the second railroad system of the 
Willamette valley, and rendered great and effective support to that 
enterprise. He also gave great aid to the railroad development of the timber 
resources of the Columbia river region. And taking the man in all his 
relations to his fellow citizens, his city and his state, he is among all the 
hundred thousand citizen voters of the state most worthily to be ranked the 
one in a thousand. Good friend, true man, hail and farewell! The machinery of 
an iron constitution suddenly stopped. The light of his lamp has gone out, and 
Sylvester Farrell, the junior member of the oldest living firm in the city of 
Portland, has crossed the great river, there to await those who will follow." 
The family of Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester Farrell numbered five children, of whom 
Ida became the wife of Dr. W. W. Youngson.

     Dr. and Mrs. Youngson became parents of a daughter, Honor Farrell, and a 
son, William Wallace, Jr. It was through his marriage that Dr. Youngson became 
attached to the Oregon conference. Various acquaintances and friends of his in 
Portland sought his appointment as pastor upon the organization of the Rose 
City Park church, where he entered upon his duties April 18, 1913, after being 
transferred from his eastern connections to Oregon. He occupied the pulpit of 
that church most acceptably for several years and was then appointed to the 
superintendency of the Portland district in September, 1916, by Bishop Matt S. 
Hughes. His labors in that connection through a period of eight years were 
most effective and constituted a potent element in the continued development 
of his denominational work in the west. After putting aside his duties in that 
connection he again became pastor of the Rose City Park church in September, 
1924, and greatly promoted its development through the building of a new 
auditorium at an expenditure of ninety-five thousand dollars. It is difficult 
to think of the work of this church under the guidance of any other man than 
Dr. Youngson. He has the full cooperation of his people, their entire 
confidence and love, and the various departments of the church have been 
thoroughly organized, while the work has been promoted along the same 
progressive lines that have made for the rapid upbuilding and development of 
the west.

     Dr. Youngson is identified with many of the agencies which have made for 
improvement in Portland and this section of the country. He is a trustee of 
Willamette University, Salem, Oregon; the Northwest Training School, Seattle, 
Washington and the Oregon Anti-Saloon League. He was chosen a member of the 
Rotary Club and served as a delegate to its international convention held in 
Kansas City. He also has membership in the Ad Club and the Progressive 
Business Men's Club and his sound judgment, activity and broad vision have 
been vital elements for the promotion of the work of these various 
organizations. He is now chaplain of the Royal Rosarians and for two years was 
the efficient chairman of the Floral Parade, acting as a director of the 
famous Rose Festival which annually draws thousands of visitors to Portland. 
The Altrurians, an organization of former Rotarians, has chosen Dr. Youngson 
vice president of its international organization. In Masonry, too, his name is 
one to conjure with. He has been a charter member of two of the Blue Lodges of 
the order and served as grand chaplain of the Grand Lodge of New Jersey. The 
Grand Lodge of Oregon made him its grand orator and he has been grand prelate 
of the Grand Commandery Knights Templar of Oregon and grand prelate of the 
Grand Encampment Knights Templar, U. S. A., having occupied that postiion from 
1916 until 1920. He is now grand orator of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch 
Masons of Oregon and grand chaplain of the Grand Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of this 
state. The honorary thirty-third degree has been conferred upon him by the 
southern jurisdiction. He is now grand chaplain of the Supreme Council of the 
33rd and last degree, of the Southern Jurisdiction, Scottish Rite Masons, U. 
S. A. Dr. Youngson is the highest ranking minister in Masonic circles in the 
world. Thus it is that Dr. Youngson has directed his efforts into fields which 
advance ethical standards and which contribute in notable measure to material, 
intellectual and civic progress.

     At the same time Dr. Youngson has been one of the vital forces in the 
steady growth and development of the Methodist Episcopal church in all of its 
various branches or fields of activity. He became a charter member of Chapter 
No. 2 of the Epworth League of the Methodist Episcopal church, was president 
of the McKeesport and Blairsville districts and of the Pittsburgh conference 
of the Epworth League. He was serving in that capacity when the island of Java 
was taken over by the young people of the Pittsburgh conference and when J. R. 
Denyes was sent out as its first missionary, each of the four districts of the 
conference giving one thousand dollars for the work, with promise to continue 
the donation annually. As the result of this plan, largely formulated by Dr. 
Youngson, there is now a staff of more than twenty workers in Java and the 
society owns large property interests there. In 1898 he was chosen to address 
the International Epworth League convention at Indianapolis, being the 
youngest speaker on the program. He has visited Hawaiian and Alaskan missions 
and for four and one-half months traveled extensively through European 
countries, thus adding to the liberal culture which has always characterized 
him. As a member of the board of home missions and church extension his 
influence has been felt in a constructive way and he did equally effective 
work as a member of the committee of twenty-five that planned the world 
service program for Methodism from 1924 to 1934. Dr. Youngson also acted as 
chairman of the Portland area council for the great Methodist centenary. He is 
regarded as one of the distinguished orators in his denomination and in 1922 
was chosen speaker at the commencement Sunday vesper service on the campus of 
Allegheny College. He was chairman of the Oregon conference delegation to the 
general conference of the Methodist Episcopal church held at Des Moines, Iowa, 
in May, 1920, and was a delegate to the general conference in Springfield, 
Massachusetts, in May, 1924. He is president of the historical society of the 
Oregon conference of the Methodist Episcopal church.

     His writings, too, cover a broad field. He has been a frequent 
contributor to the "Shield" of Phi Kappa Psi, to various Masonic publications, 
has prepared many pamphlets, has written many articles for the daily and 
religious press, all in addition to his various public addresses and sermons. 
He was frequently the speaker on public occasions in connection with all the 
war drives and in behalf of the Salvation Army War Service Fund and labored 
untiringly for his country and her soldiery during the period of conflict. Dr. 
Youngson is the author of "The Binnacle of Phi Kappa Psi," which was read in 
all chapters and alumni associations on the occasion of the diamond jubilee — 
the seventy-fifth anniversary — of the founding of the Phi Kappa Psi 
fraternity. He is widely known in that organization, having been a member of 
the executive council for the first district in 1891-2 and a member of the "S. 
C. Society" of Phi Kappa Psi. His gift of oratory, which always clothes deep, 
earnest and sincere thought, occasioned him to be chosen a speaker at the 
banquets of the G. A. C of Phi Kappa Psi at Minneapolis, at Springfield, Ohio, 
and Kansas City, Missouri. He has served as a member of the national committee 
at the installation of Washington Alpha, Phi Kappa Psi, and was speaker at the 
banquet, and he was the founder of the Oregon Alpha, Phi Kappa Psi, at the 
University of Oregon. He was a member of the installing committee and a 
speaker at the banquet at the constitution of Phi Kappa Psi at the University 
of Oregon, was the founder of the Oregon Alumni Association of the Phi Kappa 
Psi, and to his brethren of the fraternity he is ever an inspirational 
companion, holding to the high ideals of the order and winning the cooperation 
of his associates. Dr. Youngson had membership in the University Afloat — the 
world's pioneer educational cruise around the world, made in 1926-27. His son 
accompanied him on this nine months' world tour. One of his present-day 
activities has to do with inducing the next session of the Oregon legislature 
to appropriate the necessary funds to carry out the plans for placing busts of 
Rev. Jason Lee and Dr. John McLoughlin in the rotunda of the capitol at 
Washington, D. C., in accordance with the vote of the legislative assembly.

     While Dr. Youngson's lines have fallen in pleasant places, there have 
been, too, the hours of trial, of difficulty, of sorrow, which mark the fate 
of every individual. On July 31, 1928, he was called upon to part with his 
loved and devoted companion on life's journey for more than three decades and 
to lay her to rest in Riverview cemetery by the side of her father and mother 
in the "Farrell" plot. Dr. Youngson had previously presented to the Rose City 
Park Methodist Episcopal church a beautiful window dedicated to the "Three 
Honors" — Mrs. Honor Miller Farrell, his wife's mother; Mrs. Ida Honor Farrell 
Youngson, his wife; and Honor Farrell Youngson, his daughter. It is a "Rose" 
window unsurpassed in beauty of design and artistic workmanship by any on the 
Pacific coast.

     The life record of the Rev. William Wallace Youngson has been one of 
continuous development, growth and progress, bringing him the broad vision of 
the man who reaches the mountain heights. Those who read between the foregoing 
lines will glimpse the steady unfolding of a nature that largely marks the 
attainment of the highest ideals in physical, mental and moral manhood.

Photo: http://www.usgwarchives.net/or/multnomah/photos/bios/youngson1366gbs.jpg

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/multnomah/bios/youngson1366gbs.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/orfiles/

File size: 18.6 Kb