Clark County WA Archives Biographies.....Sleret, E. E. November 1867 - 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Ila Wakley iwakley@msn.com October 27, 2009, 4:05 pm

Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 150-151
Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company

     Among Clark county's successful and influential citizens stands E. E. 
Sleret, vice president of the American Security Bank of Vancouver and an 
extensive land owner, —  a man whose activities have tended to promote the 
general progress and prosperity of his section of the valley. Mr. Sleret was 
born in Gresham, Oregon, in November, 1867, and is a son of G. W. and Barbara 
(Baumgartner) Sleret. His father came from Illinois to the coast in 1861, 
driving a horse team, one of the first teams to be brought into this part of 
the country. He was a blacksmith by trade and established the first shop in 
Oregon east of the Willamette river. He was also a farmer, owning a large 
ranch near Gresham, and was successful in his business affairs. Although an 
active supporter of the democratic party, he never sought nor held public 
office. His death occurred in 1885 and he was long survived by his widow, who 
passed away in 1923. They became the parents of nine children: John and 
George, who live at Gresham, Oregon; Mary, deceased; Jennie, who is the wife 
of Fred Ruegg, of Gresham; Carrie, who is the wife of J. W. Townsend, of 
Portland, Oregon; E. E.; Mrs. Eva Idleman, of Nampa, Idaho; Olive, the wife of 
Lewis Shattuck, of Vancouver; and Nellie, the wife of A. L. Lindsay, of Nampa, 
Idaho. The first four were born in the east.

     E. E. Sleret attended the public schools of his native town and then 
assisted his father in the blacksmith shop, also working the farm after his 
father's death, his brothers, George and John, taking over the blacksmith 
shop. Mr. Sleret remained at Gresham until 1912, when he went to Portland and 
established a Ford agency at East Eighth and Hawthorne streets, his being the 
only Ford agency in Multnomah county at that time. In 1914 he located in 
Vancouver, where he formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, Lewis 
Shattuck, under the firm name of Shattuck & Sleret, and operated a Ford agency 
until 1922, during which time he was very successful in his business affairs. 
He then sold his interest in the firm and acquired stock in the American 
Security Bank of Vancouver, of which he became a director. He was later made 
president of that institution, which position he held for two years, but in 
1926 he retired from active banking although now is vice president. He has 
invested heavily in land, owning three farms in Oregon and five in Washington, 
and now makes his home on one of his farms just outside of Vancouver, where he 
has an attractive residence, commanding a beautiful view of the Columbia river.

     In 1898, at Gresham, Mr. Sleret was united in marriage to Miss Matilda J. 
Shattuck, who was born near Albany, Oregon, and is a daughter of J. W. and 
Mary C. (Allen) Shattuck, both of whom are deceased, the father dying in 1913 
and the mother in 1927. Mrs. Sleret's maternal grandfather, W. F. Allen, was a 
member of one of the earliest families to settle in Portland. Mr. and Mrs. 
Sleret are the parents of two children, Helen and Mildred, both born in 
Portland and now attending high school. Mr. Sleret is a member of the 
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
and in the latter has passed through the chairs of the lodge at Gresham and 
has served several times as a delegate to the grand lodge. He is a man of 
sound and clear-headed judgment in business affairs, whose opinions are held 
in high regard by his associates, and he has always commanded the confidence 
and respect of all who have had dealings with him. As a citizen he is 
unselfish and public-spirited, standing for those things which contribute to 
the public welfare, while as a neighbor and friend he has ever been constant 
and reliable. 

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