Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Robertson, Burns, and Failing families papers
Date(s)
- 1786-1988 (Creation)
Extent
9.46 cubic feet, (13 legal size document cases, 5 oversize boxes)
Name of creator
Biographical history
The Robertson family arrived in the Portland area in 1856, when Thomas Robertson (1817-1900) and his wife, Mary Freeland (Corbett)Robertson moved from New York to the area. Joining Mary Freeland's brother Henry Winslow Corbett, Thomas Robertson formed Robertson Heavy Hardware. The Robertson family remained influential in the Portland area through multiple generations, forming business partnerships with the Corbett and Failing families.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
Many of Portland's early settling families created long-lasting ties with one another through marriage and business relationships. Often leaving areas such as New England and San Francisco, the first generation of transplants found Portland to be a small town of new opportunities for trade and business from 1840-1855. Family relationships, such as those seen between the Robertson, Corbett, and Failing families beginning in the 1850s, often lasted for generations. Starting with the joint venture between Henry Winslow Corbett and brother-in-law Thomas Robertson (1817-1900), multiple other partnerships were later formed, including Robertson Heavy Hardware, Corbett, Failing and Company, Foster and Robertson and Corbett, Failing, and Robertson.
The Robertson family represented a crossroads of Portland familial relationships. Beginning with the arrival of Thomas Robertson and his wife Mary Freeland (Corbett) Robertson, from New York, multiple generations of the Robertson family went on to marry into different branches of other old Portland families, such Couch, Lewis, and Reed. Through these relationships, they also gained ties with several family lineages from the East Coast. Individuals in these families later attended elite schools, traveled widely and participated in family businesses to great success. They also contributed to Portland's civic life, becoming city or state officials, and serving as early supporters for institutions such as the Portland Art Museum and Reed College.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
General note
Online collection contains a selection of items from the full collection. More information about the full collection can be found here: http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv396422
Specialized notes
- Citation: Robertson, Burns, and Failing family papers, Coll 784, Oregon Historical Society Research Library