Oral history interview with L. Raphael Geisler, 1976 June 10

Overview of the Collection

Interviewee
Geisler, L. Raphael (Louis Raphael), 1890-1982
Title
Oral history interview with L. Raphael Geisler
Dates
1976 June 10
Quantity
.1 cubic feet, (1 audiocassette (50 min., 22 sec.))
Collection Number
SR 9394
Summary
Oral history interview with L. Raphael Geisler conducted by Charles Digregorio on June 10, 1976. Geisler was a patent attorney and vice-consul to Cologne, Germany, and Zurich, Switzerland.
Repository
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English
Sponsor
This project is supported in whole or part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the State Library of Oregon. Digitization funded by the James F. Miller Endowment.

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Louis Raphael Geisler was born in 1890 in Portland, Oregon. He attended the University of Oregon and graduated in 1912, then taught high school for a few years. He then studied law at Columbia College (now Columbia University) in New York. During World War I, he served as U.S. vice consul to Cologne, Germany, from 1916 to 1917, and to Zurich, Switzerland, from 1917 to 1919. After the war ended, he returned to Columbia College and completed his law degree. He then worked in the foreign banking department of the Irving Bank and Trust Company, managing branches in London, England; Berlin, Germany; and Paris, France. In 1919, he and Gertrude Blackmar were married; they later had one child. When the Depression struck in 1929, the Irving Bank branches closed, and Geisler returned to the U.S. to become a patent lawyer. He returned to Portland around 1935. After Gertrude Blackmar's death in 1957, he and Florence Elton married in 1960. He died in 1982.

Other Descriptive InformationReturn to Top

Incomplete transcript (14 pages) is available for in-person use at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

This oral history interview with L. Raphael Geisler was conducted by Charles Digregorio at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Oregon, on June 10, 1976. In this interview, Geisler discusses his family background and early life in the Portland Heights neighborhood of Portland. He also briefly shares his memories of the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition.

Geisler discusses his experience as vice-consul to Cologne, Germany, and to Zurich, Switzerland, during World War I. He then speaks briefly about his career in banking after the war until the Depression, and then working as a patent lawyer in Portland. He discusses his involvement with Trinity Episcopal Church, including his memories of the 1902 fire that destroyed its original building on SW Sixth Avenue and SW Oak Street in downtown Portland. He closes the interview by speaking briefly about his parents.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Alternative Forms Available

Audio available online in OHS Digital Collections.

Preferred Citation

Oral history interview with L. Raphael Geisler, by Charles Digregorio, SR 9394, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Restrictions on Use

Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and the estate of L. Raphael Geisler. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-NC/1.0/

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Cassette
1 Oral history interview with L. Raphael Geisler 1976 June 10

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Diplomats--United States
  • Lawyers--Oregon--Portland
  • Neighborhoods--Oregon--Portland

Personal Names

  • Geisler, L. Raphael (Louis Raphael), 1890-1982

Corporate Names

  • Trinity Episcopal Church (Portland, Or.)

Form or Genre Terms

  • interviews

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Digregorio, Charles (interviewer)