"Portrait and Biographical Record of Portland and Vicinity, Oregon." Authors: "a
compilation of this work....by a number of writers".  Chapman Publishing Co;
Chicago, 1903. p. 199.
 
EDWARD EHRMAN

     The above named gentleman is one who at a very early age was thrown upon
his own resources, and while his efforts have been crowned with success, it is a
result that is the natural outcome if one but follows the policy adopted by Mr.
Ehrman when it became necessary for him to decide as to what he would do with
opportunities as they have been presented to him. In youth he was surrounded by
environments similar to those of many, and that he has passed others in the
great struggle for supremacy in the world of business, is due entirely to his
own ability, his perseverance, his honesty and his strict attention to his own
business interests. A native of Baltimore, Md., Mr. Ehrman was born March 18,
1854, and is one of the seven children born to William and Rosa (Beaman) Ehrman,
natives respectively of Lichtenfels and Bekunstadt, Bavaria. William Ehrman
immigrated to this country in about 1840, and settled in Baltimore, where he
engaged in the mercantile business, which he followed up to the time of his
death. His wife, who is still living, is a resident of Baltimore. She is
remotely separated from most of her children, as all of her sons and one
daughter are on the coast. Of her sons, M. Ehrman is at the head of M. Ehrman &
Co., of San Francisco, wholesale grocers and also interested in the store here ;
Joseph is one of the partners of our subject, and S. W. is a partner of the same
concern, the three residing in San Francisco.
     The business life of Mr. Ehrman began at the age of thirteen years, when he
secured a position as errand boy in a retail dry goods store in Baltimore. Two
years later he became associated with the firm of Elliott Brothers, cotton
merchants, with whom he remained until 1873. Becoming convinced that the far
west, where the work of developing was going forward, would offer more chance
for promotion than the developed east, Mr. Ehrman decided to migrate, and in the
last year mentioned he joined his brother in San Francisco, who at that time was
engaged in the wholesale grocery business. Accepting a position at the very
bottom, Mr. Ehrman started in to learn the ins and outs of the business. By
strict attention to whatever was assigned him to do and by perseverance he went
forward step by step, until he mastered all the details of the grocery business.
It was in February, 1886, that Mr. Ehrman came to Portland, and in partnership
with Mr. Mason, an old merchant of the cite, formed a company under, the name of
Mason, Ehrman & Co.  The firm opened a store at the corner of Front and Ankeny
streets, where they remained until removal was made to the corner of First and
Burnside streets. There they continued in business until 1893, when they removed
to their present location at the corner of Pine and Second streets. Five floors
of a building, 100 x 100 feet, ground dimensions, are devoted to the use of the
firm. Warehouses are located on Fourteenth and Kearney streets, the ground floor
dimensions being the same as the store building. In 1898 Mr. Ehrman was called
upon to mourn the loss of his partner, Mr. Mason, who passed away in March of
that year. Upon the death of Mr. Mason, Mr. Ehrman and his three brothers
purchased the interest of his late partner and they became sole owners of the
business, which from a small beginning has developed into one of the largest
wholesale grocery houses in the northwest. in addition to the grocery
department,  Mr. Ehrman has added a very complete line of cigars and tobaccos.
The territory covered by the concern is a large one and includes Oregon, Alaska,
British Columbia, Washington and Idaho.
     In the city of his birth, Mr. Ehrman was united in marriage with Miss
Nettie Rider, also a native of Baltimore, and a daughter of S. Rider, a dry
goods merchant during his entire life. Two children have been born to Mr. and
Mrs. Ehrman : Mason and Emily. As a member of the Chamber of Commerce and the
Portland Board of Trade, Mr. Ehrman is in a position to help any movement that
has for its object advancement and he is ever found ready and willing to do all
in his power to further the interests of his adopted city. Socially he is
connected with the Concordia Club, an association organized for purely social
purposes, and the Commercial Club. Fraternally Mr. Ehrman is identified with the
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Aside from these organizations he is
variously associated with benevolent and charitable organizations, and is a
generous contributor toward all agencies for the uplifting and help of those in
need. The position of Mr. Ehrman among the business men of the Pacific northwest
is an enviable one. He belongs to that class of men the world calls "self-made."
Mr. Ehrman has succeeded, and the people of Portland are proud of his record. He
has never neglected his obligations as a citizen and at no time has he been
called upon but what he has responded. His great faith in Oregon's future was
manifested by the interest he has taken in the Lewis and Clark Exhibition.  He
was one of the original incorporators and commissioners, but after the plans
were well under way, he discovered that to continue would be too much of a drain
on his time and therefore resigned. In closing this short review we will state
briefly that Mr. Ehrman commands the respect and confidence of Portland and the
western business world. He is a typical example of the business man of the coast
to whom its best development is chiefly due.


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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in April 2009 by Diana Smith.  Submitter
has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.