Gaston, Joseph.  "Portland, Oregon, Its History and Builders."  Vol. 2.  Chicago
- Portland: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1911. p. 22.
 
HON. HENRY W. CORBETT

	Born on the Atlantic coast, Henry W. Corbett came to the Pacific seaboard in
early manhood and from that time aided in shaping and formulating the policy of
the great western country, leaving the impress of his individuality upon its
material development, its political advancement and less directly, but none the
less effectively, upon its intellectual and moral progress. His natal day was
February 18, 1827, and the place of his nativity Westboro, Massachusetts. He
traced his ancestry back to Roger Corbett, a military chieftain who won fame and
name by service under William the Conqueror. Roger Corbett's eldest son, William
Corbett, was the owner of a country seat at Wattesborough, England, while the
second son, Sir Roger Corbett, had for his inheritance the castle and estate of
Caus. He was the father of Robert Corbett, Sr., who participated in the siege of
Acre under Richard I. bearing for his arms in the campaign two ravens, which
have since been used by the family for a crest. A branch of the family was
planted upon New England soil in early colonial days when a settlement was made
at Milford, Massachusetts. Elijah Corbett, son of Elijah Corbett, Sr., and a
native of Massachusetts, engaged in the manufacture of edged tools in that state
and afterward at White Creek, Washington county, New York, where his death
occurred. His wife, Melinda Forbush, was also a native of Massachusetts and a
representative of one of the pioneer families of that state, whose history is
also traced back to England. Her death occurred in New York. There were eight
children in the family, of whom three sons and two daughters attained adult age,
including Elijah Corbett, who came to Portland in 1864 and remained here until
his death. Another son, Hamilton, died in New York in early manhood. The
daughters were Mrs. Thomas Robertson, who came to Portland in 1856, and Mrs.
Henry Failing, who became a resident of this city in 1858, but both are now
deceased.
	The youngest member of the family was the Hon. Henry W. Corbett of this
review, who was only four years of age when his parents removed with their
family to White Creek, New York. Following their removal to Cambridge, New York,
he completed a course in the Cambridge Academy when thirteen years of age.
Entering business life as a clerk in a village store, after three years he
sought the broader opportunities of the city and went to New York, carrying with
him his entire cash capital, consisting of but twenty-two dollars. Soon he
secured a position in a dry-goods store on Catherine and East Broadway and a
year later he accepted a clerkship in the wholesale dry-goods house of Bradford
& Birdsell on Cedar street, there remaining for three years. He was afterward
with Williams, Bradford & Company, wholesale dry-goods merchants, but with
notable prescience determined to seek a home on the Pacific coast and in 1850
arrived at Portland. The tide of emigration was at that time all toward
California, attracted by the gold discoveries, and few realized what a source of
wealth there was in the northwest, with its splendid forests, its rich
agricultural lands and many other natural resources which might be utilized in
the attainment of wealth. Mr. Corbett recognized the fact that products raised
in Oregon would be sold in California, where almost the entire population were
engaged in mining gold, that payments would be made with gold dust and thus
Portland would become an excellent trading point. That his reasoning was sound
time has proven.
	On the 20th of January, 1851, he embarked as a passenger on the Empire City,
which sailed from New York to Panama. He crossed the isthmus on a mule and then
sailed on the Columbia, a steamer which had been built by Howland Aspinwall of
New York for the trade between San Francisco and Portland. After a few years
spent in the former city, Mr. Corbett continued northward to Astoria, where he
arrived on the 4th of March, and the following day he reached his destination.
Large forests of pine and spruce covered nearly the entire site of what is now
one of America's most beautiful cities, although a few business houses had been
settled on Front street, around which were seen the homes of a few settlers.
The territory of Oregon at that time embraced Washington, Idaho and a part of
Montana. The goods which he had shipped on the bark Francis and Louisa by way of
Cape Horn some months before he started reached Portland in May, 1851, and in a
little building on Front and Oak streets he opened a general mercantile store,
over which he had personal supervision until June, 1852, when he placed his
store in charge of a manager and by way of the Panama route returned to the
east. For almost a year he remained in New York, during which time he made
shipments to the Portland store. In 1853 he resumed personal charge of the
business and after the completion of the Union Pacific Railroad merchandise was
shipped in that way to San Francisco and thence by boat to Portland. In 1868 he
made his first trip by rail from the east to San Francisco, previous to which
time he had crossed the isthmus thirteen times on trips between the east and the
west. From the earliest period of his residence in Portland he was recognized as
a prominent factor in its commercial circles. He instituted many progressive
methods and also reformed measures in the conduct of his business.  When he
closed his store on Sunday it was regarded as a startling innovation, for
previous to that time every business house was open on the first day of the
week.  With the growth of the city his enterprise expanded, the original house
of H. W. Corbett becoming in time the property of the firm of H. W. Corbett &
Company, predecessors of Corbett, Failing & Company, who in turn were succeeded
by Corbett, Failing & Robertson.  The line of general merchandise was
discontinued and the trade centered in wholesale hardware, the business in this
line exceeding every other similar enterprise in the northwest since 1867.
The labors of Mr. Corbett became an integral part of the history of Portland and
this section of the country. Strong in his ability to plan and perform, strong
in his honor and name, Mr. Corbett not only promoted many business projects but
largely set the standard for commercial and financial integrity and enterprise.
In 1868 he purchased a controlling interest in the First National Bank, of which
Mr. Failing was made president and so continued until his death in 1898, when
Mr. Corbett became the executive head of the institution. This was the first
national bank organized on the coast and during his lifetime the capital stock
was increased from one to seven hundred thousand dollars, while its deposits
aggregated about seven million dollars. It became the largest bank of the
northwest and its success was due in no small measure to the conservative policy
and progressive methods of Mr. Corbett. He was also prominent in organizing the
Security Savings & Trust Company of Portland and became its president and one of
its directors and figured prominently in the financial circles. He was,
moreover, president of the Willamette Steel & Iron Works and president of the
Portland Hotel Company, which erected at Portland one of the finest hotels on
the coast. He was a promoter of city and suburban railway building and, serving
as a member of the board of directors of the Street Railway Companies, added
much to the development of the lines. Long before this, however, he was
connected with transportation facilities. In 1865 he was awarded the contract
for transporting the mails to California and four years later became owner of
the California stage line, which he extended to carry out the contract for
running the four-horse stage coach with the mail between Portland and
California. On his election to the United States senate in 1866 he relinquished
the contract but for many years thereafter was identified with transportation
interests as one of the directors of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company and of
its successor, the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company.
	He was a cooperant factor in establishing and promoting many manufacturing
interests of Portland whereby the industrial activity of the city has been
greatly promoted and while in the United States senate he was a stanch champion
of the cause of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Portland's upbuilding has been
greatly promoted by him, for he was largely instrumental in erecting the First
National Bank building; the Worcester block on Third and Oak streets; the
Cambridge block on Third and Morrison; the Neustadter building on Stark and
Fifth; the Corbett, Hamilton and Marquam buildings, etc. At all times
recognizing the signs of the times, he labored to meet existing conditions and
to anticipate the needs of a growing community and while he promoted his
individual interests he contributed as well to the general prosperity.  The
activity of today becomes the history of tomorrow and thus Mr. Corbett was
closely associated with events which are regarded as important features in the
city's annals.
	He had close connection with many interests and events which bore no
relation to commercial, industrial or financial activity. He stood as the
promoter of many municipal projects and his prominence and public spirit made
him logically the candidate for the United States senate in 1866, when he was
elected over Governor Gibbs and John H. Mitchell, becoming a member of the upper
house, of the national legislature on the 4th of March, 1867. His service there
was attended with tangible and beneficial results. He secured the appropriation
for the Portland postoffice, also the custom house at Astoria and succeeded in
having Portland made the port of entry for the Willamette customs district. He
introduced a bill providing for the return of the government to specie payment,
which, though not passed at the time, was eventually adopted. In the senate he
was especially effective in securing much needed financial legislation. After
his retirement on the 4th of March, 1873, he spent seven months in travel
abroad. He again became an active factor in politics when, in 1896, the St.
Louis platform declared for the gold standard. He was among those that held the
party to this standard in Oregon, when many of its advocates became supporters
of the free silver platform. The labors of Mr. Corbett and his associates,
however, won a republican victory in Oregon when all of the other western states
gave their support to the democracy. In 1900 he was again the candidate of his
party for the United States senate and had the majority of republican
legislators but was defeated by John H. Mitchell through a combination of
democrats and some of the republicans. When the Oregon legislature failed to
elect a United States senator in 1899 Governor Geer appointed him to the office
but he was not seated on account of the senate ruling that an appointed senator
was not entitled to a seat caused by the failure of a state legislature to elect
when they had the opportunity. He was several times chosen as a delegate to the
republican national conventions and was recognized as one of the Oregon leaders.
Among Mr. Corbett's more recent public work was his splendid service in
connection with the Lewis and Clark Exposition. He served as president of the
board of directors and bent every energy toward making the exposition the
success which history records. Ideally situated on the bank of an inland lake,
the exposition grounds were laid out in most attractive form and the exhibits
were of a most interesting character.  Mr. Corbett gave much time and thought to
plans and in substantial measure to its success up to the day prior to his
death, when, realizing that his strength was failing, he resigned the
presidency.
	Pleasantly situated in his home life, Mr. Corbett was married in Albany, New
York, to Miss Caroline E. Jagger, who was born in that city and there passed
away in 1865, leaving two sons, Henry J. and Hamilton F., both of whom died in
Portland in early manhood. It was in Worcester, Massachusetts, that Mr. Corbett
wedded Miss Emma L. Ruggles, a native of that state.
Few men have more fully realized the obligations of wealth or met their
responsibilities in a more creditable manner. He was deeply interested in and a
generous supporter of the Boys and Girls Aid Society, which endeavored to secure
arrangements whereby children guilty of a first crime should not be thrown among
hardened criminals. The home was built especially for such first offenders and
its influence has been most beneficial.  Mr. Corbett's private benevolences were
many and, in fact, no good work done in the name of charity or religion sought
his aid in vain. He never allowed the acquirement of wealth to warp his kindly
nature, but remained throughout life a genial, courteous gentleman, appreciative
of social amenities and generously bestowing warm regard in recognition of true
personal worth. Many enterprises of Portland today stand as monuments to his
life work but a more fitting and even more lasting tribute to him is the
cherished memory which his friends entertain for him.

Transcriber's additional notes

This same biography also appears in the following book:
"The Centennial History of Oregon, 1811-1912."
Author:  Joseph Gaston
S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago-Portland, 1912
Vol. 2, page 8

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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in January 2007 by Diana Smith.
Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned
above.