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Henry Failing papers, 1802-1968

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Failing, Henry, 1834-1898
Title
Henry Failing papers
Dates
1802-1968 (inclusive)
Quantity
20 cubic feet, (13 document cases, 10 record cartons, 1 oversize folder)
Collection Number
Mss 650
Summary
Papers of a pioneer merchant, banker, mayor, civic leader, and philanthropist of Portland, Oregon. Includes business correspondence and other business papers; business ledgers; files on the Failing house; materials relating to a European tour of 1879-1880; files on business and civic interests, including the Tualatin Academy; land ownership records; and correspondence of other family members, including Henry Coalter Cabell and Henry Failing Cabell.
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

The collection is open to the public.

Languages
English.
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Biographical Note

Henry Failing (1834-1898), one of the first citizens of Portland, Oregon, is known for his political business and civic contributions to the city. He lived during a time when Portland transformed itself from a small settlement to one of the great metropolitan and trade centers in the northwest. He was born in New York City on January 17, 1834, the son of Josiah Failing and Henrietta Ellison Failing. His formal education ended at age 12, when he entered the counting house of L.F. Figanere & Co. as an office boy. His training there as well as at a later firm, Eno, Mahoney & Co., gave him a good background in business and accounting. His later successes can be largely attributed to this early training.

Failing left New York on April 15, 1851 in the company of his father Josiah and younger brother John W. They journeyed to Portland via Panama by ship and mule train, arriving by steamer on June 19, 1851. Henrietta and the rest of the family followed two years later in a clipper ship around the Horn. Later that year father and son opened J. Failing and Co., a wholesale hardware business in Portland, at the corner of Front and Oak Streets. At the time, Portland was a small community of approximately three or four hundred people and only two streets. Following a dispute with New York City merchandise supplier Stevens Company, the Failings turned to John A. Hatt of that city for goods. Hatt merged his business with the Failing brothers in 1859, creating Failing & Hatt. In 1864, Josiah Failing turned the business over to his son, Henry, who continued to run it until 1871, when he consolidated the business with that of Henry W. Corbett, his brother-in-law. That subsequent firm, Corbett, Failing, and Company, continued for 22 years.

Henry Failing had numerous business and civic interests. In 1869, he joined his father Josiah and Henry W. Corbett in purchasing a controlling interest in Portland's First National Bank. He served as president of the bank until his death, and during his tenure it became one of the strongest moneyed concerns in the northwest. Failing was also a principal in the Keystone Mining and Milling Company, the Oregon Iron Company of Oswego, and the Willamette Iron and Steel Works. He served three separate terms as mayor of Portland, and during his first term a city charter was established. Also during his tenure a sorely needed system for street improvement was conceived which brought sewer lines to the city.

Failing found many uses for his talents. Always civic-minded, he was one of the first to serve as a volunteer fireman. When a devastating conflagration destroyed much of the city during his last term as mayor, he encouraged its citizens not to accept donations from other cities, believing that Portland should retain its independence. He and other community members contributed money for the relief of fire victims, many of whom had lost homes or businesses. All claims were paid, and money was left over to create a fund for the future relief of disabled firemen.

Failing had a lifelong interest in education, although he was himself largely self-taught. He served as President of the Board of the University of Oregon as well as trustee and treasurer of Tualatin Academy and Pacific University. Many other institutions and causes benefited from his generosity, such as the construction of Skidmore Fountain in downtown Portland. When the Library Association of Portland was established in 1864, Failing joined its board, beginning a fund raising campaign that allowed the Association to find a permanent home. He ultimately served a term as the Library's president, from 1894 until his death in 1898, and he provided the art work which became the core of the Library's present art collecton.

Henry Failing married Emily Phelps Corbett (1836-1870) on October 21, 1858. They had four daughters, three of whom survived to adulthood. They were Henrietta Ellison Failing (1859-1931) and Mary Forbush Failing (1862-1947), who remained unmarried; and Emily Corbett Failing (1867-1922), who married Henry Coalter Cabell (1858-1930) on February 12, 1894. The fourth daughter, Martha Fox Failing, died in infancy.

The Failing home was located on the block bordered by Fifth and Sixth Avenues, and Taylor and Salmon Streets, across from the Corbett mansion. Constructed during 1873-1874, it was a large and elegant house built in the French "Mansard" style. Three years before its completion, Failing's wife Emily passed away, so his daughter Henrietta was then called to serve as the family hostess. In the years 1879 and 1880 Failing and his three daughters traveled throughout Europe, buying furniture and decorative items for the house.

Henry Failing suffered a heart attack in July of 1898. His health then began to decline rapidly, and he died on November 8 of that year. In honor of his importance, Mayor W. S. Mason ordered flags flown at half mast on all city-owned public buildings, and the closure of all the town's businesses. After Failing's death, his daughters Mary and Henrietta lived on in his mansion until 1922, when it was sold, demolished, and soon replaced by the Public Service Building. Some of the house's furnishings were eventually given to the Pittock Mansion and are displayed in what is now called the Failing Room.

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Content Description

The collection includes correspondence, bills, receipts, an incomplete diary (1851) of Failing's voyage from New York to Oregon, and notebooks (1879-1880) kept on a European tour. Also included are papers relating to: the First National Bank (Portland); investment interests, such as the Keystone Mining and Milling Company, the Oregon Iron Company (Oswego, Or.), the Willamette Iron and Steel Works; the construction of the Failing home; and Failing's interests in the University of Oregon, the Portland Fire Department, Portland Library Association, the First Baptist Church of Portland, Tualatin Academy, and Pacific University. Papers relating to the estates of Josiah Failing (Portland, Or.), John A. Hatt and his wife, Emma M. Hatt (New York City), and John B. Price (Walla Walla, Wash.) are also included. Correspondents include Jesse Applegate, Henry W. Corbett, Emily Corbett (Failing) Cabell, Edward Failing, Henrietta Ellison Failing, Mary Forbush Failing, Emma Hatt, John A. Hatt, and William S. Ladd. Of particular interest among the business correspondence are letters from railroad magnate Henry Villard regarding the building of the Northern Pacific Railroad and its terminus in Portland.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library prior to any use of reproductions. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use of reproductions may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright holders.

Preferred Citation

Henry Failing papers, Mss 650, Oregon Historical Society Research Library

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in the following series:

  • Series A: Business correspondence and other business papers, 1851-1920
  • Series B: Property records, 1852-1945
  • Series C: Failing house files, 1871-1885
  • Series D: Henry Failing personal files, 1841-1922
  • Series E: Family papers and general materials, 1802-1971
  • Series F: Ledgers and other bound volumes, 1857-1968

Processing Note

The unbound paper records in the collection were reorganized and re-boxed in September of 2006. Additional processing of bound volumes will take place at a later date.

Acquisition Information

Library Accessions 13029, 13109, 14021, and additional accessions from Henrietta C. Failing and purchase from Charles Apfelbaum.

Bibliography

“Bit of Portland’s Past Perpetuated in Failing Room.” Oregon Journal, 8 June 1966, p. 6.

“Henry Failing- Portland’s Great Financier is Dead.” Oregonian, 9 November 1898, p. 1.

“Historic Philanthropy: Henry and Mary Forbush Failing. A Daughter Continues her Father’s Legacy of Library Support,” Gateways Newsletter (The Library Foundation) No. 3.

“Old Portlander in Chips Bought Block, Built Showplace.” Oregon Journal, 23 October 1968, Section 2, p. 6.

“Pittock Mansion Boasts New Ceramics, 19th Century Room,” Oregonian, June 6, 1966, Section 2, p.1.

“Henry Failing,” in Portrait & Biographical Record of Portland & Vicinity. Chicago: Oregon Chapman 1930, p. 27.

“Still Ruthless, the Old Failing Home on Sixth between Salmon & Taylor to go.” Oregon Journal, 26 February 1924, p. 6.

Related Materials

A collection of photoraphs of the Henry Failing residence are housed in Org. Lot 785, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Bankers--Oregon--Portland--Correspondence
  • Banks and banking--Oregon--Portland
  • Businessmen--Oregon--Portland--Correspondence
  • Mayors--Oregon--Portland--Correspondence
  • Merchants--Oregon--Portland--Correspondence
  • Pioneers--Oregon--Portland--Correspondence
  • Voyages to the Pacific coast

Personal Names

  • Applegate, Jesse A., 1811-1888--Correspondence
  • Cabell, Emily Corbett, 1867-1922--Diaries
  • Cabell, Henry Coalter--Correspondence
  • Cabell, Henry Failing, 1895-1972--Correspondence
  • Corbett, Henry W. (Henry Winslow), 1827-1903--Correspondence
  • Failing, Emily Phelps, 1836-1870
  • Failing, Henrietta Ellison--Correspondence
  • Failing, Henry, 1834-1898--Correspondence (creator)
  • Failing, James, b. 1842--Correspondence
  • Failing, Josiah, 1806-1877--Correspondence
  • Failing, Mary Forbush--Correspondence
  • Hatt, John A.--Correspondence
  • Ladd, William Sargent, 1826-1893--Correspondence
  • Price, John B.
  • Sitton, Charles E.
  • Villard, Henry, 1835-1900--Correspondence

Corporate Names

  • Portland (Or.). Fire Dept.
  • First Baptist Church (Portland, Or.)
  • First National Bank of Portland (Or.)
  • Keystone Mining and Milling Company
  • Library Association (Portland, Or.)
  • Oregon Iron Company
  • Pacific University
  • University of Oregon
  • Willamette Iron and Steel Works

Geographical Names

  • Portland (Or.)--Economic conditions
  • Portland (Or.)--Politics and government

Form or Genre Terms

  • Articles of incorporation
  • Awards
  • Business letters
  • Cashbooks
  • Certificates
  • Deed registers
  • Diaries
  • Ephemera
  • Financial statements
  • Genealogies
  • Letter books
  • Personal correspondence

Other Creators

  • Personal Names

    • Failing, Edward, 1840-1900--Correspondence

Finding aid prepared by Geoffrey B. Wexler and Gaye Richardson
2006

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