Hines, H. K. "An Illustrated History of the State of Oregon." Chicago: Lewis
Pub. Co. 1893.  p. 873.
 
WILLIAM K. SMITH

     Is a well-known and highly respected capitalist of Portland, Oregon.  He
came to the coast in 1853, and is a native of Brownsville, Pennsylvania, born on
the 3d of August, 1826.  His father, Peter Smith, was a native of the State of
New Jersey.  His ancestors, however, were English and settled in the State of
New Jersey long before the Revolution.  He married Miss Barbara Showalter, a
native of Pennsylvania, and of German ancestry.  They had eight children, three
of whom are living.
     William K. was their fourth child.  In 1833, with his parents, he removed
to Clermont county, Ohio, and for three years resided near Cincinnati.  In 1836
they removed to Indiana, and from there to Madison county, Illinois.  In 1844
they changed their residence to Texas.  W. K. Smith went from there to Alabama,
where he remained four years and then returned to Texas, and from there to St.
Louis.  He then took a course at the Shurtleff College.  In 1853, at St. Louis,
he fitted out an expedition to cross the plains to California.  They traveled
with ox teams and wagons.  On the Humboldt river they took a new mountain road
through the mountains, a distance of 125 miles.  While on this route the
Humboldt Indians discovered them, and they became aware that they were in danger
of an attack.  The last night that they camped in this mountain one of their
cattle strayed, and one of their number went back for it.  Early in the morning
they started on their journey, and were on their guard with their guns ready.
As soon as they had entered a narrow pass the Indians rose up in front of them,
gave a warhoop and fired at them.  Just then their man, who had rode behind to
get their steer, came up over the brow of the hill.  The Indians seeing him
supposed that more were coming, and they fled before the first volley of the
emigrants, and they were permitted to go on their journey without further
interruption.  They arrived at Fiddletown and Mr. Smith went to the mines on the
Mokelumne river, and also to those on the Calaveras.  One of their company had
been in California previously, and had discovered gold on a gulch near San
Andreas.  By his direction they went there and found good diggings.  They sent
to the valley for sixteen Chinamen to work for them, and they took out the
entire gold deposit, and stuck another claim near it ever richer than the first,
which they mined until the water failed.  Mr. Smith then went to San Francisco
and had had his gold coined at the mint.  When he go it seemed like a nice pile
of money, and so it was.  From San Francisco he went to Washington Territory and
visited his brother, J. S. Smith, who had come to the coast in 1845.  After a
short stay there he went to Salem in 1854, and engaged in the drug and book
business.  this he continued fourteen years and then sold out and engaged with
the Willamette Woolen Manufacturing Company.  They built the first woolen mill
in the State.  Mr. Smith, his brother, ex-Governor Grover, Mr. Waldo and Mr. J.
F. Miller, purchased the controlling interest in the stock.  They also built the
Salem flour mills and brought the water to the mills.  In 1868 Mr. Smith came to
Portland and embarked in the sawmill business.  The firm became Smith, Grover,
Hayden & Smith.  Mr. Smith has continued in this business ever since, and has
lost two sawmills by fire.  When he began the business was small, but it has
grown to one of the largest mills in Portland.  He has now with him his brother
and two nephews, under the name of Smith Bros. & Company.  They have a very
extensive home market for lumber, but ship some to other places.  Mr. Smith was
a part owner of the Hattie C. Bessie, a Chinese ship, on which they shipped on
their own account the first cargo of lumber ever sent from this port to China.
Mr. Smith has invested considerable in city property, and has done a great deal
of building.  He has platted a valuable piece of property on the east side.
With his brother he built the first large brick block in the city, on Ash street
between Front and First streets.  Mr. Smith was one of the organizers of the
Cable Road Company, and is one of the directors and is vice-president of it.  He
has been a director of the Portland Savings Bank, and helped to organized the
Ainsworth National Bank and is its vice-president.  He has also been interested
in the Commercial Bank, and is a director  in it.  He is a Democrat, though he
takes no active part in politics.
     He was married in 1864, to Miss Debbie Harker, a native of New Jersey, and
their union has been blessed with five sons and a daughter.  The latter, Eugenia
S., is the wife of Mr. T. H. Bartlett.  The sons are, William K., Jr., Victor
H., J. Harker and Sumner.
     Mr. Smith has had a long and successful life and business history in
Oregon, and he has been a far-seeing, capable business man.  His success if the
result of earnest and intelligent effort, combined with high business
principles, and merits the esteem in which he is held by the business men of the
State of Oregon.
     
*******************

Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in November 2005 by Diana Smith.
Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned
above.