Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 3.djvu/219

Rh conduct and improvement of his farm he contributed much to the agricuhural development of the region. Moreover, he cooperated in many movements for the general upbuilding, for he came to Oregon in the early pioneer days, almost before Portland had an existence and when the now rich and populous farming districts were stretches of wild and undeveloped forest land. He performed the arduous task of developing a good farm and as the years went by he continued its cultivation until his fields became very rich and productive. His life was a busy and useful one and gained for him the respect of all who knew him. Mrs. Hovenden continued to reside upon the farm until 1905, when she took up her abode in Portland, where she now makes her home.

Edward Arthur McGrath is one of the real-estate men of Portland whose progressive methods of business are resulting in the substantial upbuilding and improvement of the city, and at the same time promoting individual success. He first came to this city in 1889, and later was in business elsewhere in the northwest, but returned in 1907. He was born upon a farm near Grand Rapids, Michigan, on the 20th of March, 1869, and was reared at Hastings, that state! pursuing his education in the common schools while spending his youthful days in the home of his parents, Thomas and Catherine (Horan) McGrath, both of whom are now deceased. He was twenty years of age when he left the middle west, and came to the coast, arriving in Portland, as previously stated, in 1889. Desirious of becoming a property holder in this section of the country, he took up a homestead in Cowlitz county in the southern part of the state of Washington and devoted three years to the development and improvement of that place. He also became interested in timber lands and engaged in timber cruising during that period. In 1894 he went to Alaska and followed mining at Forty Mile on the Yukon river. He had fair success in his venture there, and with the substantial returns of his labor, again came to Portland in the fall of 1896. At that time he purchased a stock of general merchandise in this city, also fifteen dogs, and with sledges freighted over the Chilcoot Pass in Alaska^ and upon scows which he built, sent his goods down the Yukon to Dawson City.There he opened a store, becoming one of the early merchants of the place in which he engaged in business until the fall of 1899. He then sold out and returned to Portland. Realizing the value of specific training for the conduct of business affairs, he then attended the commercial college for a time, after which he returned to Nome, Alaska, where he remained until the fall of 1900. During the following eighteen months he traveled in the United States and Canada, studying real-estate and realty values, after which he returned to the northwest, settling in Seattle, where he opened a real-estate office. He was engaged in that business there until 1907, when he once more came to Portland and here opened a real estate office, which he has since conducted, his efforts in this field proving remunerative. He was one of the organizers of and is the president of the Irvington Investment Company, which purchased the Irvington tract of approximately seven hundred lots in one of the fine residence districts on the east side. They secured all the improvements for that district, which is now rapidly developing, and is becoming the location of some of Portland's most beautiful homes. It is thoroughly modern in all its equipments, and none of the accessories regarded as essential to city building at the present time are lacking. _ They have found ready sale for their property, and from its inception, the business has enjoyed a substantial growth. Not only does the company handle real estate, but is also doing much speculative building.

On the 26th of November, 1901, Mr. McGrath was married to Miss Katharine Lucile Quinn, a daughter of James J. Quinn of Seattle. Mr. McGrath