Oral history interview with Abbot L. Mills, Jr.

Oral history interview with Abbot L. Mills, Jr., 1977 July 15

Overview of the Collection

Interviewee: Mills, Abbot Low, 1898-1986
Title: Oral history interview with Abbot L. Mills, Jr.
Dates: 1977 July 15
1977-07-151977-07-15
Quantity: 0.1 cubic feet, (1 audiocassette (1 hr., 4 min., 46 sec.))
Collection Number: SR 9566
Summary: Oral history interview with Abbot L. Mills, Jr., conducted by Charles Digregorio on July 15, 1977. Mills discusses his banking career and that of his father, Abbot Low Mills.
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: Digitization funded by the James F. Miller Endowment.

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Abbot Low Mills, Jr., was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1898. In 1921, he earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University. The next year, he began working as a messenger for the First National Bank of Portland, where his father was president. In 1924, he and Katherine Ainsworth were married; they later had four children. In 1933, he became assistant president, and later vice president, of the United States National Bank of Portland, which later became U.S. National Bank of Oregon. In 1952, President Harry S. Truman appointed him to the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System. He served on the board until 1968, then returned to Oregon. He died in 1986.

Sources: Vital records on Ancestry.com.

Other Descriptive InformationReturn to Top

An incomplete transcript (16 pages) is available for in-person use at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

This oral history interview with Abbot L. Mills, Jr., was conducted by Charles Digregorio at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Oregon, on July 15, 1977, as part of the oral history program at the society's research library.

In this interview, Mills discusses his family background and speaks at length about the life and banking career of his father, Abbot Low Mills, who later became the president of the First National Bank of Portland. He discusses his early life in the Couch Addition area of Portland, which is now part of the Nob Hill neighborhood, and talks about families who lived in the neighborhood. He also talks about the Ainsworth family background of his wife, Katherine Mills. He describes how he came to work at the First National Bank of Portland in 1922, and talks about his career in banking there and at the United States National Bank of Portland.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Alternative Forms Available

Audio available online in OHS Digital Collections.

Preferred Citation

Oral history interview with Abbot L. Mills, Jr., by Charles Digregorio, SR 9566, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Restrictions on Use

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

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Related Materials

Abbot Low Mills and Evelyn S. Mills financial papers, Coll 728, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

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