Joseph K. Gill

Joseph Kaye Gill

Gill circa 1911
Born August 13, 1841
Huddersfield Yorkshire, England
Died October 1, 1931(1931-10-01) (aged 90)
Portland, Oregon
Alma mater Wesleyan Academy
Occupation Retailer
Religion Methodist
Spouse Frances A. Willson

Joseph Kaye Gill (J. K. Gill) (August 13, 1841 – October 1, 1931) was an American retailer and publisher in the state of Oregon. A native of England, he came to the United States with his parents and settled in Oregon where he managed a bookstore in Salem. Later he entered the business and became the owner of the now defunct J. K. Gill Company that operated in the Pacific Northwest as a book and office supply store.

Contents

Early years

Joseph Gill was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1841 to Mark and Amelia Gill.[1][2][3] He was the oldest of their eleven children.[2] In 1854, he emigrated to the United States with his parents.[1] The family first settled in Massachusetts where he received his education in the schools of Worcester before enrolling at Wesleyan Academy in Wilbraham at the age of eighteen.[1]

In 1864, he sailed to Oregon where he enrolled at Willamette University in Salem in an effort to improve his eyesight by moving west.[1][2] He had boarded with the wife of Salem founder William H. Willson while attending Wesleyan.[2] Gill also taught at Willamette’s preparatory department while he attended the college.[2] In 1865, he returned to Wesleyan Academy where he graduated in June 1866.[1]

Oregon

Gill returned to Oregon in 1866 where he was married in August to Frances A. Willson.[2] She was the daughter of William H. and Chloe Willson, and Gill took over operating the bookstore formerly owned by Willson at 356 State Street.[1][2] The couple would have six children, five daughters and one son, Mark.[3][2] After a short time he purchased the business, but sold it in 1870.[1] Gill then moved to Portland where he opened a new bookstore with George A. Steel that same year.[1] He gained sole control of the business in 1878 when Steel retired, and then named it J. K. Gill Company, later taking in his brother John as a partner.[1] In 1884, he founded the Columbia River Paper company with William Lewthwaite and Henry Pittock, with Gill serving as president.[4] He also helped found Merchants National Bank and served on the boards of several local insurance companies.[2]

Later years

In Portland Gill lived in a mansion on the affluent northwest Nineteenth Street.[5] A Methodist, he was the president of his church’s trustee’s board .[2] In the 1890s he climbed Mount Hood.[6] The flagship Portland store of Gill’s book business moved into a new ten-story building in 1921.[7] In civic affairs he was Republican and member of the Club Commercial Society.[3] Joseph Kaye Gill died on October 1, 1931, at the age of 90.[1] The company would grow to 63 stores in 1990 located in California, Ohio, Washington, and Oregon before a long decline due to increased competition from stores such as Office Depot.[8][9] In January 1999, the final seven stores of the office supply, book, stationery, and art supply retailer were closed.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Corning, Howard M. Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1989. p. 99.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Scott, Harvey Whitefield (1890). History of Portland, Oregon, With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Prominent Citizens and Pioneers. D. Mason & Co.. pp. 625–626. http://books.google.com/books?id=UsKKpvOVRRUC&dq=j.k.%20gill&lr=&as_brr=1&pg=PA625&ci=127,385,696,483&source=bookclip. 
  3. ^ a b c Who's who in the Northwest, Western Press Association, 1911, v.1.
  4. ^ "Camas mill history 1883: The Lacamas Colony Co.", The Oregonian, August 28, 2001, p. E6.
  5. ^ Terry, John. “Close-Up – History; Take a walking tour through city’s early social register”, The Oregonian, p. D2.
  6. ^ Larabee, Mark. “Mazamas records come out in the wash”, The Oregonian, April 19, 2006, p. B1.
  7. ^ Gultry, Margie. “Oregon life in the 1920s”, The Oregonian, December 22, 1999, p. E6.
  8. ^ Baker, Dean. “J.K. Gill says good-bye, closes mall store and all other sites”, The Columbian, December 27, 1998, p. B3.
  9. ^ Hill, Jim. “J.K. Gill will end operation”, The Oregonian, December 25, 1998, D1.
  10. ^ Hill, Jim. “Portland, Ore., Office Supply Retailer to Shut Down”, The Oregonian, December 25, 1998.