George Washington Shaver (March 2, 1832 – October 26, 1900) was an Oregon pioneer, and, with his sons, a founder of
Shaver Transportation Company The Shaver Transportation Company is an inland water freight transportation company based in Portland, Oregon, Portland, Oregon, United States. The company was founded in 1880 and played a major role in the development of freight transport in the Po ...
. He is typically referred to as George W. Shaver or G.W. Shaver.
Early life
George Washington Shaver was born in Campbell County, Kentucky on March 2, 1832.
George W. Shaver arrived in Oregon 1850.
Shaver had first gone overland to California for the 1849 gold rush.
[ Shaver settled briefly in Waldo, Oregon, in ]Josephine County
Josephine County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 88,090. The county seat is Grants Pass. The county is probably named after a stream in the area called Josephine Creek, which in ...
, where he tried gold mining again.[ This did not prove successful, so he relocated to Portland, Oregon, arriving there on February 2, 1854.][
About this time he was married to Sarah Dixon (1836–1910), whose parents, James and Susan Dixon, were residents of Roseburg.][ The Dixons had originally come from Kentucky.][ They had four children together when they lived on the farm.][ After relocating to Portland in 1860 they had six more children.][ They lived in what is now known as the Irvington addition in Portland.][
The Shaver residence in Portland was located between Crosby and Larrabee Streets and Cherry and Broadway.][ It was still in existence in 1910.][
]
Business career
Shaver entered the business of supplying wood to steamers for use as fuel, including both riverine and ocean-going vessels.[ This resulted in the clearing of large timber tracts.][
In 1880, Shaver, with his son Capt. James W. Shaver, H.L. Corbett (later a U.S. Senator), and Capt. Charles Bureau, became a partner in the People's Freighting Company and also in the small stern-wheel river steamer ''Manzanillo'', which ran on the ]Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
between Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
and Clatskanie, Oregon
Clatskanie is a city in Columbia County, Oregon, United States. It was named for the Tlatskanai Native American tribe, and the Clatskanie River which flows through the town and empties into the Columbia River about four miles to the north. The p ...
.[
In 1884 the Shaver family bought out all the non-family shareholders in the firm.][ They built two new steamboats. First was the ''G.W. Shaver'', named after George Washington Shaver, and the ''Sarah Dixon'', named after his wife.][
Shaver Transportation Company was incorporated in 1893 and took over all the assets of the People's Freighting Company.][ The stockholders were George W. Shaver and his sons, Captains James W. "Jim" Shaver (1859–1922) and George McClellan Shaver (d. January 11, 1950).][ Shaver had another son, Capt. Lincoln "Link" Shaver (d.1922).][ Capt. Delmer "Del" Shaver was another son.
George Washington Shaver was the president of Shaver Transportation Company, while his son James M. Shaver was secretary and treasurer.][
Jim and Lincoln Shaver were killed in 1922, in a collision between an automobile and an electric train.][
In May 1886, the Democratic Party of ]Multnomah County, Oregon
Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland–Vancouver– Hillsboro, OR–WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Thou ...
nominated George W. Shaver for the position of county commissioner.
Children
Children of George W. Shaver and Sarah Dixon included:
* John Riley Shaver (1854–1906), married to Martha J. King (1856–1923).
* James W. "Jim" Shaver.[
* George McClellan Shaver (1865–1950), married to Maude Keenan (1872–1855).][
* Delmar "Dell" Shaver.][
* Lincoln "Link" Shaver (1861–1922), married to Bertha Kettler (1867–1946).][
* Mary Alice Shaver, married to H. Wittenberg.][
* Susan Elizabeth Shaver (1869–1957), married to Albert Heintz.][
* Pearl M. Shaver, married to George W. Hoyt.][
]
Death
George Washington Shaver died on October 26, 1900.[ His body was buried in Riverview Cemetery.
]
Notes
References
Printed sources
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On-line newspaper collections
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaver, George W.
1832 births
1900 deaths
People from Oregon Territory
People from Campbell County, Kentucky
Businesspeople from Portland, Oregon
19th-century American businesspeople