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

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. A native of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, he came to the United States with his parents and settled in Oregon where he managed a bookstore in

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada * Salem, Ontario, various places Germany * Salem, Baden-Württemberg, a municipality in the Bodensee district ** Salem Abbey (Reichskloster Salem), a monastery * Salem, Schleswig-Holstein Israel * Salem (B ...

. Later he entered the business and became the owner of the now-defunct J. K. Gill Company that operated in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (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 no official boundary exists, the most common ...

as a book and office supply store.

Early years

Joseph Kaye Gill was born in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, 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 ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

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, Engl ...

before enrolling at

Wilbraham Wesleyan Academy Wesleyan Academy was the first name of 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 W ...

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

Willamette University Willamette University is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with locations in Salem, Oregon, Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United ...

in Salem in an effort to improve his eyesight by moving west. He had boarded with the wife of Salem founder William H. Willson 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 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 most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

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 J. K. Gill Company, 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 (some sources cite 1836) – January 28, 1919) was an England, English-born American American pioneers, pioneer, publisher, newspaper editor, and wood and paper magnate. He was active in Republican Party (U.S.) ...

, 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 Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

, he was the president of his church's trustee's board . In the 1890s he climbed

Mount Hood Mount Hood, also known as Wy'east, is an active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range and is a member of the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast and rests in the Pacific N ...

. 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 retailer headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. The company operates 922 retail stores in the United States under the Office Depot and OfficeMax brands, as well as e-commerce sites and a business ...

. 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