Henry Failing
Henry Failing | |
---|---|
In office 1873–1875 | |
Preceded by | Philip Wasserman |
Succeeded by | J. A. Chapman |
Personal details | |
Born | January 17, 1834 New York City |
Died | November 8, 1898 Portland, Oregon | (aged 64)
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Emily Phelps Corbett |
Henry Failing (January 17, 1834 – November 8, 1898) was a banker, and one of the leading businessmen of the
Early life
Henry Failing was born in New York City[1] on January 17, 1834,[2] to Josiah Failing and Henrietta (Ellison) Failing, one of eleven children.[3] His ancestors were considered, by one biographer, "substantial citizens of the east."[3] He was educated in New York's public schools until the age of 12. He began his business career in a French importing and shipping house, where he learned the French language and business accounting.[3] He then became the junior bookkeeper for Eno, Mahoney & Co., one of the largest wholesale dry goods houses in the city, a few years later. He was also in charge of their foreign business.[1] In April 1851 he accompanied his father and younger brother John in a move to Portland.[1][3] Mr. Eno, Failing's former boss, would later describe the loss of Henry Failing as a business contact as a mistake.[3]
Family business in Oregon
Henry Failing left New York on April 15, 1851, with his father and younger brother. They traveled via
At the time, Portland was merely a hamlet, with fewer than 500 residents.[1] He and his father established a general merchandising business, J. Failing & Co.,[1] on Front Street (now Naito Parkway), one door south of Oak Street.[3] The business grew rapidly in its first few years. In 1853, Josiah was elected as Portland's fourth mayor, serving until 1854.[4] Henry also became majority owner in the family business in that year.[5] Josiah retired in 1864, and Henry narrowed the business's focus to hardware and iron supplies in 1868.[1] He would remain associated with the business until January 1893.[3]
On October 21, 1858, Failing married Emily Phelps Corbett, sister of U.S. Senator-to-be Henry W. Corbett, who was a neighbor of the Failing family business. Emily died of tuberculosis[2] on July 8, 1870, leaving three daughters.[3]
Portland politician
Failing was elected to the first of his three terms as mayor of Portland in 1864. It was said he hadn't aspired to political office, but that the people of Portland admired his apparent immunity to typical partisan politics.
Failing was elected to a second 15-month[5] term in June 1865,[1] with only five votes cast against him out of 790, making it the nearest-unanimous mayoral election in Portland history (as of 2009[update]).[5] Though popular, Failing resigned in November 1866; no reason for his resignation was recorded.[5]
Failing was later elected to a third term as mayor in 1873, on the Citizens Ticket.[5] It was a narrow victory this time; the margin was 40 votes out of 2,036.[5] On August 2, a month after he took office, 22 blocks along Portland's waterfront, near SW Alder Street, burned in the largest fire in Portland history.[5] Failing was criticized for his response to the fire, but public opposition to several of his ordinances was considered the reason for his loss to J. A. Chapman in his final campaign for mayor in 1875.[5]
After retiring from professional politics,[1] Failing was appointed to Portland's water committee in 1886, and later served as its chairman. The committee purchased and enlarged the old water works, and developed plans for a new system of water supply.[1]
Expanded career in banking and business
Following his second term as mayor, Failing returned his attention to business. The
In 1871 Henry W. Corbett and Henry Failing amalgamated their hardware and machinery businesses as Corbett, Failing & Co.,[6] and two of Failing's younger brothers (Edward Failing, a partner in H.W. Corbett & Co., and James from the Failing business side) also became partners in the new business at the same time.[7] The new business Corbett, Failing & Co.[1] turned exclusively to wholesale merchandizing,[1] and became the largest of its kind in the northwest.[2]
In the 1880s, Failing was among the key early investors in Henry Villard's Portland Hotel.[8] Failing was elected a director of
Later life and legacy
Both houses of the
Failing served as a regent of the University of Oregon, a trustee and treasurer of Pacific University, president (and benefactor) of the Portland Library Association, treasurer of the Portland Children's Home, and a founder of River View Cemetery.[5] Henry Failing died on November 8, 1898. Failing Street in Northeast Portland carries the family's name.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Scott, Harvey (1890). History of Portland Oregon. D. Mason & Co., Syracuse. p. 522.
- ^ a b c d Bancroft, Hubert Howe (1888). The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft. Vol. v.30. San Francisco: The History Company. p. 765.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Lockley, Fred. "History of the Columbia River Valley, From The Dalles to the Sea." Vol. 2. Chicago, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1928. p. 18.
- ^ "Directory of Current and Past Elected Officials: Mayors of Portland". City of Portland, Oregon. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Chet Orloff. "Henry Failing". The Oregon Encyclopedia.
- ^ In addition to Corbett and Failing, the partners from Oregon were Marshall Millard and Henry's younger brother Edward Failing, who came into the partnership from H.W. Corbett & Co., where they were one-sixth partners. James F. Failing came into the new company from Henry Failing's business.
- ^ Corbett and Henry Failing merely remained investors, involved only in the direction of their amalgamated businesses, owing to their other business and banking responsibilities, as well as Corbett's US Senate responsibilities, and largely left the running of it to the other partners. The new partnership divisions were "Henry W. Corbett and Henry Failing four twentieths each. And John Hatt, Marshall Millard, Edward Failing and James Failing three twentieths each. Articles of Copartnership made and entered into by and between Henry W. Corbett, Henry Failing, Marshall Milliard, Edward Failing and James J. Failing. Feb/March 1871 (HWC archives, OHS Mss 1110).
- ^ Kantor, Gregg (1986). "Planning in Portland, Oregon: History of Planning: Pioneer Courthouse Square". Nohan A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University. Archived from the original on 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2008-05-15.
- ^ a b c "Henry Villard elected". The New York Times. June 19, 1888.
- ^ "Portland Terminal Railroad Company PTRC #649".
- ^ Journal of the House of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon for the Sixteenth Regular Session, 1891. Frank C. Baker, p. 391.
External links
- Media related to Henry Failing at Wikimedia Commons