An Illustrated History of Central Oregon, Western Historical Publishing Company, Spokane, WA. 1905, pages 316-317 THOMAS BISHOP has one of the choice farms of the Hood River valley and although not as large as some is exceptionally well tilled and from it Mr. Bishop produced apples and potatoes which took the prize at The Dalles fair. He lives about four miles southwest from Hood River near the Christian church in the Barrett school district and is a director of the same. Thomas Bishop was born in Guelph, Ontario, on October 6, 1847, the son of Thomas and Sarah A. (Burns) Bishop, natives of England and Dublin, respectively. Their marriage occurred in Manchester and the mother died in Guelph in 1866. The father came to Canada in 1841 and died in 1881 on his farm near Guelph. Our subject was educated in the district schools and grew up on a farm which he rented when twenty-two, for ten years. Then he came to Umatilla county, Oregon, it being 1882, and located ten miles out from Pendleton where he purchased a half section. For eleven years he was numbered among the progressive wheat growers in that country and in 1893 he came to Hood River and purchased eighty acres near where he now lives. He sold his place in 1901 and bought ten acres which he has improved in good shape and it is his home now. Nine acres of this land are producing fruit and vegetables while on the other acre is a most beautiful fir grove and a number of choice springs. The soil is equal to any other place in the valley and Mr. Bishop's thrift and industry have made the place both a valuable producer and beautiful. On June 18, 1871, at Fergus, Ontario, Mr. Bishop married Miss Jane A. Kerr, born near Montreal, Canada. Her father, Robert Kerr, was born in Ireland and died in Ontario in 1884. Mr. Bishop has no brothers nor sisters but his wife has those, named as follows, George, Robert, Marguerite, Till, Matilda and Elizabeth. Five children have been born to our subject and his wife; Sarah A., wife of Christopher Simpson in Portland, Oregon; Maggie J., wife of Edgar Miller, near Moro, Oregon; Thomas G., at home; Laura B., a student in the business college at Portland; and Lloyd, at home. Mr. Bishop and his wife are both members of the Christian church and assisted in the organization of the same. He is now one of the trustees. Politically, Mr. Bishop is a Republican and while not especially active in the campaigns, he has always taken a deep interest in educational matters and has served on many occasions as director. He has also been road supervisor for a long time and was director of the Water Supply Company in Hood River valley, being a stockholder in that company. He is a good substantial man and is known as a thrifty and stanch citizen. ******************* Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in January 2005 by Jeffrey L. Elmer. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.