Gaston, Joseph. "Portland, Oregon, Its History and Builders." Vol. 3. Chicago - Portland: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1911. p. 170. WILLIAM DAVID FENTON William David Fenton, one of the foremost corporation lawyers of the Pacific northwest, whose success and leadership not only at the bar but in other walks of life are due largely to his fearless expression of his honest conviction, which has ever been one of his strong and sterling characteristics, has been a resident of Oregon for forty-five years, arriving in Yamhill county when a youth of twelve. His birth occurred upon a farm in Scotland county, Missouri, June 29, 1853, his parents being James Davis and Margaret Ann (Pinkerton) Fenton. He comes of Welsh and English ancestry on the paternal side, the family having been established in America about 1790. The Pinkertons, however, trace their American ancestry back to 1746, when representatives of the name came from Scotland to the new world and settled in North Carolina. James Davis Fenton was a farmer by occupation and followed that pursuit in Scotland county, Missouri, until, attracted by the favorable reports which he heard concerning the northwest, he brought his family across the plains from Missouri to Oregon, traveling according to the primitive manner of the times and establishing his home in Yamhill county, in what was still a pioneer district, where the hardships and difficulties of frontier life must be encountered in the effort to develop a farm from land hitherto uncultivated. William David Fenton, then a lad of twelve summers, bore his part in the arduous tasks of the farm but was not deprived of educational privileges which fitted him for labors of a wider scope. He had the opportunity of attending the Baptist College at McMinnville and afterward continued his studies in the Christian College at Monmouth, Oregon, where he was graduated in 1872. He was then a youth of nineteen years. Directing his labors into those channels which demand strong intellectuality, close application and keen analysis, Mr. Fenton prepared for the bar as a law student in Salem, Oregon, and in December, 1875, was admitted to practice. It was not until two years had passed, however, that he opened an office in Lafayette, Yamhill county, and entered upon the active work of his profession as a member of the firm of McCain & Fenton. They enjoyed a successful practice for three years and the partnership was then dissolved, Mr. Fenton being joined by a younger brother, with whom he was associated until 1885, when he went to Portland, attracted by the opportunities of the growing city. The death of his father in the following year, however, occasioned his return to Lafayette, where he remained from 1886 until 1889. In the latter year he opened a law office in Seattle but in June, 1890, returned to Portland, where he has since continued in the practice of law, winning a place in the foremost ranks of the corporation lawyers of this city. In June, 1891, he became counsel for the Southern Pacific Railroad in Oregon and a member of the law twined until the death of the senior partner in 1897, at which time the firm of Fenton, Bronaugh & Muir was organized. The withdrawal of Mr. Bronaugh in 1900 left the firm Fenton & Muir and in 1901 Mr. Fenton entered upon an independent practice, in which connection a large clientage has been accorded him. While he continued in the general practice of law, he has largely concentrated his efforts upon corporation law, in which field he is largely regarded as an authority in the northwest. While acting as counsel for the Southern Pacific lines in Oregon, he also represents in legal capacity the American Steel & Wire Company, the Standard Oil Company, the Pacific Coast Biscuit Company, the Equitable Assurance Society of New York and various other corporations, all of which find him adequate in mastering the intricate problems of corporation law. While his law practice occupies the major portion of his attention, Mr. Fenton is nevertheless recognized as one of the political leaders of Portland, giving his allegiance to the democratic party until 1896, when his opposition to the silver plank in its platform led him to throw the weight of his influence in favor of the gold standard policy, since which time he has labored effectively in the interests of the republican party. He was elected as a democrat to the state legislature from Yamhill county in 1876 and was the nominee of his party for congress in 1882, in which year he was defeated by a small majority. Two years later he was made a Cleveland elector, but his ambition is not in the line of office holding, his practice being too extensive and of too important a character to permit of greater activity in political circles. On the 16th of October, 1879, Mr. Fenton was united in marriage to Miss Katherine Lucas, of Monmouth county, Oregon. Their family numbers four children, namely : Dr. Ralph Albert Fenton, of Portland, and Dr. Horace B. Fenton, also of Portland, both graduates of the University of Oregon, the former taking his medical course at North Western in Chicago, the latter, at Johns Hopkins; Kenneth L. Fenton, a graduate of Yale in 1910 and a member of his father's legal staff; and William David, Jr., a lad of fifteen years. The qualities which have gained Mr. Fenton's preeminence in the practice of law also make him a valued member of the different societies with which he is connected. In Masonry he has attained high rank, having taken the degrees of the consistory and the Mystic Shrine and one of the few thirty-third degree Masons in Oregon. He also belongs to the Arlington Club of Portland and is a member of the Oregon Bar Association. A man of wide reading, thoroughly versed concerning the significant and vital questions of the day, his comprehensive understanding and his strong and forceful personality have made his labors an effective factor in all those fields to which he has directed his activity, and especially in the solution of those intricate problems upon which careful analysis must be brought to bear. ******************* Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in March 2007 by Diana Smith. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.