Joseph Kaye Gill (J. K. Gill) (August 13, 1841 – October 1, 1931) was an American retailer and publisher in the state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. A native of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, he came to the United States with his parents and settled in Oregon where he managed a bookstore in Salem. Later he entered the business and became the owner of the now-defunct

J. K. Gill Company The J.K. Gill Company, also known as J.K. Gill and Gill's, was an office supply company specializing in books and school supplies, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. The company existed for about 130 years. Operating mainly in the Pacific ...

that operated in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

as a book and office supply store.

Early years

Joseph Gill was born in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, in 1841 to Mark and Amelia Gill.Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1989. p. 99.''Who's who in the Northwest''
Western Press Association, 1911, v.1. He was the oldest of their eleven children. In 1854, he emigrated to the United States with his parents. The family first settled in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

where he received his education in the schools of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

before enrolling at

Wilbraham Wesleyan Academy Wilbraham Wesleyan Academy was one of the oldest educational institutions of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was established by Methodist clergy of New England in 1818. Originally located in New Market, New Hampshire, before moving to Wilbraham, ...

in Wilbraham at the age of eighteen. In 1864, he sailed to Oregon where he enrolled at

Willamette University Willamette University is a private liberal arts college with locations in Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United States. Originally named the Oregon Institute, the school was an unaffiliated ...

in Salem in an effort to improve his eyesight by moving west. He had boarded with the wife of Salem founder

William H. Willson William Holden Willson (April 14, 1805 – April 17, 1856) was a pioneer of the U.S. state of Oregon and the founder of its capital city, Salem. A native of New Hampshire, he immigrated to the Oregon Country in 1837 to work at the Methodist ...

while attending Wesleyan. Gill also taught at Willamette's preparatory department while he attended the college. In 1865, he returned to Wesleyan Academy where he graduated in June 1866.

Oregon

Gill's Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon 01

Gill returned to Oregon in 1866 where he was married in August to Frances A. Willson. She was the daughter of William H. and Chloe Willson, and Gill took over operating the bookstore formerly owned by Willson at 356 State Street. The couple would have six children, five daughters and one son, Mark. After a short time he purchased the business, but sold it in 1870. Gill then moved to

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 ...

where he opened a new bookstore with George A. Steel that same year. He gained sole control of the business in 1878 when Steel retired, and then named it

, later taking in his brother John as a partner. In 1884, he founded the Columbia River Paper company with William Lewthwaite and

Henry Pittock Henry Lewis Pittock (March 1, 1835 – January 28, 1919) was an English-born American pioneer, publisher, newspaper editor, and wood and paper magnate. He was active in Republican politics and Portland, Oregon civic affairs, a Freemason and an a ...

, with Gill serving as president. He also helped found Merchants National Bank and served on the boards of several local insurance companies.

Later years

In Portland Gill lived in a mansion on the affluent northwest Nineteenth Street. A Methodist, he was the president of his church's trustee's board . In the 1890s he climbed

Mount Hood Mount Hood is a potentially active stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the Pacific coast and rests in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located about east-southeast of Portlan ...

. The flagship Portland store of Gill's book business moved into a new ten-story building in 1921. In civic affairs he was Republican and member of the Club Commercial Society. Joseph Kaye Gill died on October 1, 1931, at the age of 90. The company would grow to almost 40 stores in the mid-1980s, located in Oregon, Washington, California and Arizona before a long decline due to increased competition from stores such as

Office Depot The ODP Corporation is an American office supply holding company headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. The company has combined annual sales of approximately $11 billion, and employs about 38,000 associates with businesses in the United States. ...

. In January 1999, the final seven stores of the office supply, book, stationery, and art supply retailer were closed.Hill, Jim. "Portland, Ore., Office Supply Retailer to Shut Down", ''The Oregonian'', December 25, 1998.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gill, Joseph K. 1931 deaths 1841 births English emigrants to the United States Businesspeople from Portland, Oregon People from Salem, Oregon People from Huddersfield Willamette University alumni