Hines, H. K. "An Illustrated History of the State of Oregon." Chicago: Lewis
Pub. Co. 1893.  p. 706.
 
MAJOR THOMAS CHARMAN
 
     a pioneer merchant and banker of Oregon City, was born in England, in the
parish of Walking, county Surrey, on the 8th day of September, 1829. His parents
were Arthur and Rebecca (Garton) Charman, both English people. Mr. Charman was a
large farmer in England. They had fifteen children, of whom four are yet living.
The father died on the 1st day of May, 1880, aged over eighty-five years. His
wife survived him until the 20th day of November, 1887, when her death occurred.
Her mother was named Sarah Vanor Garton. She was the mother of twenty-four
children and lived to be 106 years old. All the ancestors of the family were
Church of England people and of the highest respectability.
 
     Major Charman was educated in England, but came to New york in 1848, when
he began his business career as clerk in a store. From there he went to Buffalo,
New york, and was in business there a short time. In the latter part of the year
1849 he removed to Centreville, Wayne county, Indiana, where he had charge of
the business of the firm of I. and D. Abram, in which capacity he continued
until the fall of 1852, when he came to Oregon City. In 1853 the firm of Charman
& Warner was established in a business of general merchandising. They continued
in this business until 1865, when Mr. Warner sold his interest to his partner.
Mr. Charman met with great success, keeping a large stock of everything from a
needle to a threshing machine. He dealt with a very large circle of patrons and
made many pleasant acquaintances among the best people of Oregon. Wonderful are
the changes which have been wrought in the State of Oregon since the Major first
came to it. Since his arrival in Oregon City, in 1852, he has established the
business in which he has been for forty years and has made a record that
reflects the highest credit upon his talent and integrity. His eldest son,
Frederick Ross Charman, is now a member of the firm.
 
     One of the things that Major Charman did, when he came to Oregon City, was
to purchase the business that the Hudson's Bay Company was then doing, with Dr.
John McLoughlin, the founder of the town of Oregon City. So his business is the
continuance of the pioneer mercantile business of the State. He and Dr.
McLoughlin were fast friends and Mr. Charman pronounces him the noblest of men.
 
     From the day that Major Charman first opened business in Oregon City, to
the present time (1892), he became entirely identified with the interests of his
town and has been most public-spirited in promoting all of its industries and
interests. He was one of the first movers in establishing the woolen factory of
the city, now the largest on the coast, and also became a prominent factor in
the development of the Willamette Falls water power. Out of this has grown the
Willamette Falls Electric Company, by which the power is transmitted to the
metropolis of the State, now lighting the city. In the near future it will no
doubt run nearly all the machinery there. In 1882 he was one of the organizers
of the Bank of Oregon City and was elected its president, which position he has
since held. He has invested considerably in lands, having over 2,000 acres of
valuable land, besides a large amount of town property.
 
     On the 27th day of September, 1854, he was united in marriage to Miss
Sophia Diller, a native of Baden Baden and came to American when a child and was
raised in Louisville, Kentucky. She came to Oregon with her father, Joseph
Diller, in 1852. The latter settled at Corvallis, where his death occurred in
1889.
 
     Mr. and Mrs. Charman have had five children, and all were born in Oregon
City. All but two are living, namely: Frederick Ross, born May 25, 1857; Nellie
Vaner, now the wife of Mr. J. H. Walker, residing in Oregon City; and Mary Jane,
a graduate of St. Helen's Hall, Portland. The two lost were: Arthur D., in his
seventh year; and Anna Louisa, in her fourteenth year. Major Charman is Past
Master of Multnomah Lodge, No. 1, A.F. & A.M. He is also a member of the
I.O.O.F. and has frequently been a representative to the Grand Lodge of his
State. In politics his record is equally honorable. He is one of the few who met
in the first Republican convention of the state, and therefore has the honor of
being one of the organizers of the great party, which had made such an
illustrious history in the politics of the United States. He was elected a
delegate of the Republican convention held in Philadelphia, but he could not
attend, so appointed as proxy Rev. De Voar. While the convention was in session,
the result of the election in Oregon, which had gone Republican, was telegraphed
by Major Charman to Rev. De Voar and by him announced to the committee. It
caused intense rejoicing and the committee voted the flag that floated over the
building to Mr. Charman. This flag is now at the Oregon State capitol, sent
there as a memento by Major Charman.
 
     Major Charman has often been honored by his own townsmen. He has been
elected several times Mayor of Oregon City and Treasurer of his county. He was
appointed by his excellency, Governor Addison C. Gibbs, on the staff of
Major-General Palmer of Enrolled and Volunteer Militia of the State, with
commission of Major.
 
     Mr. Charman is the only survivor of the fourteen, who came to Oregon in his
company in 1852. He is still a remarkably well-preserved gentleman and looks as
if he had scarcely passed the prime of life. He resides with his family in a
commodious home of his own building, in the city of his choice, where his career
has been one of success and honor.

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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in January 2013 by Diana Smith.  Submitter
has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.