"Portrait & Biographical Record of Portland & Vinc. Oregon." Chapman 
Publishing Company, 1903. p. 805.
 
BERNARD ALBERS

     The career of Bernard Albers, president of the Albers Brothers Milling
Company, proprietors of the United States Mills of Portland, is from many
standpoints a remarkable one.  A few years since the occupant of an obscure
position in a local feed mill, he has risen solely through his own unaided
efforts to a place of responsibility and trust in the industrial world, and
today ranks as one of the successful and most enterprising young business men in
his line of trade in the northwest.  He likewise is recognized as an unexcelled
expert in the milling business.
     Mr. Albers was born in Lingen, Germany, in the principality of Hanover,
March 6, 1864, and is the eldest of the nine children born to John Herman and
Theresa (Voss) Albers, both also natives of Hanover.  John Herman Albers was a
grain merchant in Lingen for many years.  He removed to Portland in 1896, and in
this city he died the following year.  His wife, whose father was a miller, died
in her native land.  Besides the subject of this sketch, several of the children
are interested in the grain business.  Of these, Henry is head miller of the
United States Mills, and a director in the Albers Brothers Milling Company;
William is in charge of the hay and feed business of the concern; George is
manager of the business of the Seattle Cereal Company; and Frank is assistant
manager of the Cascade Cereal Company, Tacoma, Wash.  Anna, the only daughter in
the family, is the wife of Frank Terheyden of Portland.
     After graduating from the gymnasium at Lingen, Bernard Albers undertook to
familiarize himself with the grain business conducted by his father; and the
thorough training received under the direction of this experienced merchant is
undoubtedly largely responsible for the success which has rewarded his mature
efforts.  In 1887 he came to America, and for two years was employed by the firm
of Hulman & Co., wholesale grocers in Terre Haute, Ind.  In 1889 he removed to
Portland, and for four years was employed in the feed concern of Rogge & Storp.
Having by reason of this connection established a foothold in the business world
of Portland, he then, in 1893, inaugurated an independent business as head of
the firm of Albers & Tuke.  This business, which was conducted in the same block
as the enterprise of his former employers, was begun on modest lines, and
scarcely prophesied the immense cereal business done by the concern of which Mr.
Albers is now the head.  The increase in trade was such that, in order to meet
the requirements for the growing demand for their products, new quarters were
soon found necessary.  In 1898 Mr. Albers built a commodious milling
establishment at the corner of Front and Main streets; and in 1899 he added to
his responsibilities by the purchase of the United States Mills, which he has
since utilized for the manufacture of rolled oats and other cereals.  An
important adjunct to this business is the feed and hay enterprise located on
Front and Lovejoy streets, which has warehouses and splendid shipping
facilities, including a dock having dimensions one hundred and fifty by two
hundred and sixty-five feet.  The hay business has proved a source of large
revenue, a hay compressor turning out an average of one hundred tons per day.
The firm has the contract to supply all the hay shipped from Oregon to the
Philippine Islands for the use of the government there; and in 1901 it filled a
contract for thirteen thousand tons to be sent to the islands.  The local hay
establishment is augmented by a hay compressing plant at Forest Grove,
established by Mr. Albers in 1900, which has a capacity of two hundred tons of
round bales per day.
     The Albers & Schneider Company was incorporated in 1895 with Mr. Albers as
president and manager.  The enormous cereal output which has developed under the
capable management of the head of the concern permits of shipments to all parts
of the east, as well as to California, Arizona, Utah, Montana, Idaho,
Washington, Alaska and British Columbia.  The United States Mills have a daily
capacity of two hundred barrels of rolled oats and one hundred barrels of other
cereals.  The Cascade Cereal Company of Tacoma, Wash., in which Mr. Albers owns
a controlling interest and acts as president, produces one hundred and fifty
barrels of rolled oats and one hundred and twenty-five barrels of flour per day.
The Seattle Cereal Company, of Seattle, Wash., in which Mr. Albers also owns a
controlling interest, has a capacity of two hundred barrels of rolled oats per
day.  These great concerns, all under the management of one man -- who, however,
has surrounded himself by capable and experienced lieutenants -- are the most
extensive producers of breakfast foods in the northwest.  The wonderful
development of the business under the direction of Mr. Albers is in itself a
sufficient indication of his capacity.  March 1, 1903, the concern of which he
is the head was re-incorporated under the name of Albers Brothers Milling
Company.
     In October, 1892, Mr. Albers was married to Hermine Sommer, who died in
June, 1899, leaving three children -- Agnes, Theresa and Hermine.  In April,
1902, he was united in marriage with Ida A. Washer, who was born in Freeport,
Ill.  Mr. Albers is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Manufacturers'
Association, and in the latter organization is a member of the board of
directors.  He and his family attend St. Joseph's Catholic Church.
     Bernard Albers is a representative of the best citizenship of Portland.  He
is a striking type of the thoroughly self-made man; and in the great and growing
northwest he has found opportunities for the display of his capabilities which
probably would not have come to him elsewhere.  Other men have had the same
opportunities, and have failed to make the best of them.  Mr. Albers, however,
has had the forethought and powers of discrimination to discern the
possibilities of the field into which he has thrown all his best effort, and the
result is the attainment of a splendid measure of success within a comparatively
short time, with very flattering prospects of future success still more
noteworthy.
 
 
Transcriber's additional notes:
 
"Men of Oregon"
Published by:  The Chamber of Commerce Bulletin
Portland, Oregon; 1911
 
ALBERS BROTHERS, Cereal Manufacturers.
Came to Oregon in October, 1891, started in business in 1893, and in the milling
business on June 1, 1895.  Now largest concern of its kind on the Pacific Coast.
Mills located at San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Tacoma.
 
Albers, Henry; Born at Lingen, Germany, April 13, 1866
Albers, William; Born at Lingen, Germany, December 29, 1869
Albers, George; Born at Lingen, Germany, March 12, 1872
Albers, Frank; Born at Lingen, Germany, December 15, 1874

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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in January 2006 by Diana Smith.  Submitter
has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.