Clark, Robert Carlton, Ph.D. "History of the Willamette Valley Oregon."  Vol. 2.
Chicago: Chapman Publishing Company, 1927. p. 79.
 
F. A. ELLIOTT
 
   Oregon being essentially a timber state, the importance of the protection and
perpetuation of its forests cannot be over-estimated, and therefore the forestry
department of the state government bears a most vital relation to the prosperity
and general welfare of the commonwealth. The present state forester, F. A.
Elliott, is a man of long and varied experience in this special field and his
record as the head of this department for sixteen years has gained for him
distinction throughout the northwest, due to his intelligent and effective
achievements in handling the many difficult problems with which he has been
confronted.
 
   Mr. Elliott was born in Vermilion county, Illinois, September 26, 1865, and
is a son of John M. and Sarah (Mendenhall) Elliott. The father was a farmer by
occupation and both are now deceased.
 
   F. A. Elliott secured his education in the public schools and Vermilion
Academy, and also took a course in a business college at Danville, Indiana. In
1888 he came to Oregon and in the following year became an assistant timber
cruiser for the Oregon & California Railroad Company, eventually being promoted
to the position of head land examiner. In 1906, after having done considerable
commercial cruising throughout the state, he entered the employ of the Spalding
Lumber Company, with which he remained until 1911, when he was appointed state
forester, and his continuous retention in that office to the present time stands
in evidence of his faithful and efficient service. When it is remembered that
Oregon still contains nearly four hundred billion board feet, representing
one-fifth of the merchantable timber in the United States, and that this immense
crop is being harvested at the rate of three and three-quarter billion feet
annually, giving employment to fifty thousand people, and that the labor and
supply bill puts approximately forty million dollars into circulation annually,
it is readily seen that the protection of this great industry overtops in
importance every other interest, and hence the work of the state forester is in
the same ratio of vast responsibility and importance. His work includes the
minimizing of the fire hazard, which is always present; the control of fires;
the reforestation of denuded lands, which are being added to at the rate of one
hundred and thirty thousand acres annually; the enforcement of the state fire
and timber laws, the control of the forest fire evil probably being one of the
most important functions of the department, and the education of the public as
to forestry laws and forest problems. Mr. Elliott devotes his attention closely
to the work of his department, the organization of which through the years has
been gradually developed until today it is regarded as the best functioning and
most efficient forest department in the United States.
 
   In 1893 Mr. Elliott was united in marriage to Miss Marguerite Price, of
Champaign county, Illinois, and they are the parents of a son, John James, who
resides in McMinnville, Oregon. Mr. Elliott is a member of the Benevolent
Protective Order of Elks, the Woodmen of the World and the Rotary Club and is
president of the Illihee Country Club of Salem. In his political views he is a
stanch republican and in every relation of life has been consistent and loyal to
all obligations. His entire service reflects honor and credit upon the
commonwealth and over his record there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of
evil.

     
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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in December 2016 by Diana Smith.
Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned
above.