Cowlitz County WA Archives Biographies.....Pearcy, Joel N. March 30, 1860 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/wa/wafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ila L. Wakley iwakley@msn.com May 28, 2009, 11:17 am Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company JOEL N. PEARCY. A wise counselor and an able advocate, Joel N. Pearcy stands deservedly high at the bar of Kelso and brings to the discharge of his professional duties the knowledge and wisdom resulting from forty-six years of experience as a legal practitioner. A product of Oregon, he was born on Pearcy's island, at the mouth of the Willamette River, in Multnomah County, March 30, 1860, and is of English lineage in the paternal line. His great- grandfather, John Pearcy, was born in 1736 and became the American progenitor of the family. He was a sea captain and settled in Virginia about the time the Revolutionary war ended. In his family there were eleven children, the youngest being Nicholas, who was born in the Old Dominion in 1779 and retained the ancestral mansion until after the close of the Civil war. His son, Nathan Pearcy, the father of Joel N. Pearcy, was born in Bedford, Virginia, May 28, 1823, and died at Portland, Oregon, in 1903, when eighty years of age. Nathan Pearcy married Frances A. Knight, who was born near Keokuk, Iowa, December 14, 1840, and passed away in 1927 at the advanced age of eighty-seven years. Her oldest brother, Rev. P. Knight, was a pioneer minister of Salem, Oregon, and the Congregational church in that city was named for him. For about fifty years he was engaged in pastoral work in Salem, exerting a strong force for moral progress and spiritual uplift, and he married and buried three generations of its citizens. Joel N. Pearcy attended the rural schools of his native county and in 1876 was a member of the second class graduated from the old Portland high school. He then matriculated in Oregon University, which was started in 1876, and was a member of its second class. It comprised six students and the first to die was John McQuinn, who passed away in Portland in 1928, forty-nine years after his graduation. Mr. Pearcy received the degree of Bachelor of Arts from Oregon University in 1879 and in 1882 won the Master of Arts degree from that institution. In the latter year he was admitted to the Oregon bar and practiced in Portland for five years. At the end of that time he removed to St. Helens, Oregon, where he spent two years, and then opened a law office in Kelso, Washington. There he remained for eleven years and then returned to Portland. For twenty-eight years he followed his profession successfully in the Rose city and since 1927 has practiced in Kelso. He is well versed in all branches of jurisprudence but makes a specialty of probate work and has been entrusted with much important litigation. In the preparation of his cases he is thorough and painstaking and has won many verdicts favorable to the interests of his clients. Mr. Pearcy was married January 12, 1888, in Portland, to Miss Mary M. Pike, who was born in Little Suamico, Wisconsin, and was an infant when her parents, Stillman and Betsy (Olds) Pike, migrated to Estherville, Iowa. Her mother was a native of New York and the father was born in that state in 1822. During the Civil war he was a Union soldier, serving with a Wisconsin regiment, and his half-brother. Albert Pike, was a colonel in the Confederate army. The latter was a Mason in high standing and a leader in the southern jurisdiction of the order. Stillman Pike spent the latter part of his life in South West City, Missouri, and died at the age of eighty- two years. Mrs. Pearcy traces her lineage to Henry Allen, a brother of Ethan Allen, who captured Fort Ticonderoga from the British in 1775, and is a cousin of R. E. Olds, the well known automobile manufacturer of Lansing, Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Pearcy became the parents of five children. Knight, the eldest, was born April 16, 1889, and married Miss Maude Holgate. Earl, born February 16, 1891, was in training at Camp Lewis, Washington, during the World war and afterward was united in marriage to Miss Jean McInturrf. Harry, born February 29, 1892, was also stationed at Camp Lewis and married Miss Vivian Marsters. J. Frank, was born in August, 1895, and completed his education in Rush Medical College, which conferred upon him the degree of Ph. D. He specializes in research work and during the World war was blood analyst at Camp Lewis. He has recently been elected to a fellowship in the Rockefeller Foundation as a result of his original research work, especially in perfecting the sodium-nitrate treatment for the cure of seasickness. Hazel Perkins, the youngest member of the family, was born January 31, 1900, and is now the wife of Frank Perkins. Mr. Pearcy has passed through all the chairs in the subordinate lodge of the Independent Order Odd Fellows and is a member of the local camp of the Woodmen of the World. He belongs to the Kiwanis and Kelso Clubs and his wife is a member of the Woman's Club. In politics he is a strong republican but has never sought office as a reward for party fealty. However, he manifests a deep interest in matters of public moment and lends the weight of his support to measures of reform, progress and improvement. Among his treasured possessions are: a ticket used by his father and Uncle James when they made the voyage around Cape Horn in a packet in 1849; a membership certificate issued by the Sons of Temperance of Virginia in 1849; early tax receipts of Oregon, and letters written by his Uncle George during the '40s, when he was a Baptist missionary in China. Mr. Pearcy is deeply attached to the Columbia River valley, in which he has always resided, and is well informed on matters pertaining to its history. He has a wide circle of steadfast friends in Washington and Oregon and maintains the dignity and honor of his profession. Additional Comments: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. II, Pages 786-787 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/wa/cowlitz/bios/pearcy33gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wafiles/ File size: 6.4 Kb