Gaston, Joseph.  "Portland, Oregon Its History and Builders."  Vol. 2. 
Chicago and Portland, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1911. p. 274.
 
WILLIAM EDWARD FINZER

     For more than a third of a century the American people looked to the
veterans of the Civil war as the type of military heroes, recognizing the great
debt which the country owes to those who preserved the Union. Then there came
another call to arms and it was found that the spirit of bravery and loyalty was
as dominant among the later generation as it had been among those who several
decades before had rallied to the defense of the old flag and the cause it
represented. Among the number who enlisted from the northwest was William E.
Finzer, and since that time he has advanced in military circles until since 1903
he has served as adjutant general of the Oregon National Guard, with the rank of
brigadier general. He was born in Shanesville, Ohio, September 25, 1867, but
since he reached the age of twenty years has been identified with the Pacific
coast country. His father, Benjamin B. Finzer, was born in Switzerland in 1835
and was ten years of age when, in 1845, he became a resident of Ohio, having
come to America with his father, Benjamin Finzer, who settled on a farm in
Tuscarawas county, that state. Benjamin Finzer lived to the age of eighty-nine
years. Benjamin B. Finzer learned the cabinet maker's trade and followed that
pursuit in connection with farming. He wedded Miss Elizabeth Hoschtetter, who
was descended from one of the pioneer families of Berks county, Pennsylvania,
there established in 1736. Of the original family a mother, son and daughter
were killed by the Indians and two sons were taken prisoners. They afterward
made their escape and from them are descended the branches of the family with
which William E. Finzer is connected. Isaac Hoschtetter, his grandfather,
removed from Pennsylvania to Ohio at an early period in the development of the
latter state and there became the owner of a large tract of land. It was there
that his daughter Elizabeth became the wife of Benjamin B. Finzer and they
resided in the Buckeye state until their removal to Oregon, where Mr. Finzer
passed away in 1889, while his wife died in 1890.
     At the usual age William E. Finzer entered the public schools of Ohio,
wherein he pursued the common branches to the year 1888. He prepared to teach
school but before taking the examination for a certificate a situation was
offered him in a hardware store, which he accepted. During his school days he
had been employed at farm labor during the summer months and had also assisted
in driving cattle. He was very fond of reading when a boy and thus greatly
supplemented the educational privileges which he enjoyed as a public school
student. After clerking for two years he came west to Oregon in October, 1880,
and, settling in Woodburn, again secured a clerkship in a hardware store,
filling that position until 1891, when he was appointed postmaster of Woodburn
by President Benjamin Harrison. In 1893 he was reappointed by President Grover
Cleveland and continued in charge of the office until 1806, when he embarked in
business on his own account, opening a general mercantile store, which he
conducted with success for a number of years, or until 1908, when he sold out.
He gave his time in almost undivided manner to the business save for the period
of his service in the Spanish-American war.
     General Finzer had enlisted in the National Guard in 1895, becoming a
member of Company H, Second Oregon Regiment. The same year he was appointed
first lieutenant and when the war with Spain was declared he was appointed by
Governor William P. Lord first lieutenant of Company M, Second Volunteer Oregon
Infantry. He served during the Spanish-American war and the Philippine
insurrection and took part in a large number of engagements. Going with his
command to the Philippines he was the first officer that was detailed with a
detachment of troops to guard Bilibib prison in Manila which contained over
fourteen hundred prisoners. He was also in command of scouts during the advance
on Polo, March 26, 1899. He commanded Company M, Second Oregon Volunteer
Infantry, in the Philippine Islands from the 10th of September, 1898, until the
23d of January, 1899, and returned from the war in August of the latter year. In
1900 he was promoted to the rank of captain in the Fourth Infantry, Oregon
National Guard, and afterward his company became Company I, of the Third Oregon
Infantry. On the 1st of September, 1903, he was appointed adjutant general of
this state with the rank of brigadier general by Governor George E. Chamberlain,
and in 1909 the legislature made his position permanent until retired for age
under the law.
     General Finzer was married in Portland, June 21, 1892, to Miss Louise
Roberts, a daughter of Robert Roberts, a pioneer of Clackamas county, Oregon
living on a farm near the Willamette river. General and Mrs. Finzer have one
son, Marvin Edward, born July 23, 1900.
     In his political views General Finzer has always been a democrat and has
served in several local offices, including that of school clerk, city treasurer
and mayor of Woodburn, his promptness and loyalty in the discharge of public
duties being recognized as among his most salient characteristics. He is
affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, in which he has taken the thirty-second
degree of the Scottish Rite, is a past chancellor of the Knights of Pythias and
past consul commander of the Woodmen of the World. He is likewise a member of
Portland Lodge, No. 142, B. P. 0. E., and of the United Artisans, and he hold
membership in the Portland Commercial Club, the wealthiest social club in the
northwest. His deep interest in local affairs has been manifest in many tangible
and helpful ways, while in his present office he is a splendid representative of
the military interests of Oregon, holding to high ideals in the service and
seeking continually to bring the troops up to the advanced standard which he has
set up.
 

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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in December 2008 by Diana Smith. Submitter
has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.