Joseph K. Gill

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Joseph Kaye Gill
Joseph K. Gill.png
Gill circa 1911
BornAugust 13, 1841
Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England
DiedOctober 1, 1931(1931-10-01) (aged 90)
Portland, Oregon, United States
Alma mater
OccupationRetailer
Spouse(s)Frances A. Willson

Joseph Kaye Gill (J. K. Gill) (August 13, 1841 – October 1, 1931) was an American retailer and publisher in the state of Oregon. A native of England, he came to the United States with his parents and settled in Oregon where he managed a bookstore in Salem. Later he entered the business and became the owner of the now-defunct J. K. Gill Company that operated in the Pacific Northwest as a book and office supply store.

Early years[]

Joseph Gill was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1841 to Mark and Amelia Gill.[1][2][3] He was the oldest of their eleven children.[2] In 1854, he emigrated to the United States with his parents.[1] The family first settled in Massachusetts where he received his education in the schools of Worcester before enrolling at Wilbraham Wesleyan Academy in Wilbraham at the age of eighteen.[1]

In 1864, he sailed to Oregon where he enrolled at Willamette University in Salem in an effort to improve his eyesight by moving west.[1][2] He had boarded with the wife of Salem founder William H. Willson while attending Wesleyan.[2] Gill also taught at Willamette's preparatory department while he attended the college.[2] In 1865, he returned to Wesleyan Academy where he graduated in June 1866.[1]

Oregon[]

Cover, J. K. Gill Company's Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon, 13th Edition, 1891. Photographed at , Seattle, Washington.

Gill returned to Oregon in 1866 where he was married in August to Frances A. Willson.[2] She was the daughter of William H. and Chloe Willson, and Gill took over operating the bookstore formerly owned by Willson at 356 State Street.[1][2] The couple would have six children, five daughters and one son, Mark.[2][3] After a short time he purchased the business, but sold it in 1870.[1] Gill then moved to Portland where he opened a new bookstore with George A. Steel that same year.[1] He gained sole control of the business in 1878 when Steel retired, and then named it J. K. Gill Company, later taking in his brother John as a partner.[1] In 1884, he founded the Columbia River Paper company with William Lewthwaite and Henry Pittock, with Gill serving as president.[4] He also helped found Merchants National Bank and served on the boards of several local insurance companies.[2]

Later years[]

In Portland Gill lived in a mansion on the affluent northwest Nineteenth Street.[5] A Methodist, he was the president of his church's trustee's board .[2] In the 1890s he climbed Mount Hood.[6] The flagship Portland store of Gill's book business moved into a new ten-story building in 1921.[7] In civic affairs he was Republican and member of the Club Commercial Society.[3] Joseph Kaye Gill died on October 1, 1931, at the age of 90.[1] The company would grow to almost 40 stores in the mid-1980s, located in Oregon, Washington, California and Arizona[8][9] before a long decline due to increased competition from stores such as Office Depot.[10][11] In January 1999, the final seven stores of the office supply, book, stationery, and art supply retailer were closed.[12]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Corning, Howard M. Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1989. p. 99.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Scott, Harvey Whitefield (1890). History of Portland, Oregon, With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Prominent Citizens and Pioneers. D. Mason & Co. pp. 625–626. j.k. gill.
  3. ^ a b c Who's who in the Northwest, Western Press Association, 1911, v.1.
  4. ^ "Camas mill history 1883: The Lacamas Colony Co.", The Oregonian, August 28, 2001, p. E6.
  5. ^ Terry, John. "Close-Up – History; Take a walking tour through city's early social register", The Oregonian, p. D2.
  6. ^ Larabee, Mark. "Mazamas records come out in the wash", The Oregonian, April 19, 2006, p. B1.
  7. ^ Gultry, Margie. "Oregon life in the 1920s", The Oregonian, December 22, 1999, p. E6.
  8. ^ Sorensen, Donald J. (August 16, 1980). "J.K. Gill purchase predicted". The Oregonian. p. A21.
  9. ^ Tripp, Julie (January 21, 1984). "Pioneer J.K. Gill Co. to move to San Diego". The Oregonian. p. B4.
  10. ^ Baker, Dean. "J.K. Gill says good-bye, closes mall store and all other sites", The Columbian, December 27, 1998, p. B3.
  11. ^ Hill, Jim. "J.K. Gill will end operation", The Oregonian, December 25, 1998, D1.
  12. ^ Hill, Jim. "Portland, Ore., Office Supply Retailer to Shut Down", The Oregonian, December 25, 1998.
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