William S. Ladd
| William Sargent Ladd | |
|---|---|
Ladd circa 1870
|
|
| 5th Mayor of Portland, Oregon | |
|
In office 1854–1855 |
|
| Preceded by | Josiah Failing |
| Succeeded by | George W. Vaughn |
| 8th Mayor of Portland, Oregon | |
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In office 1857–1858 |
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| Preceded by | James O'Neill |
| Succeeded by | A. M. Starr |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 10, 1826 Holland, Vermont |
| Died | January 6, 1893 (aged 66) Portland, Oregon |
| Political party |
Democratic (1853–1864) Republican (1864–1893) |
| Spouse(s) |
Caroline Ames Elliott 18 March 1827 - 23 October 1909 |
| Religion | Presbyterian |
Caroline Ames Elliott
William Sargent Ladd (October 10, 1826 – January 6, 1893) was an American politician and businessman in Oregon. He twice served as Portland, Oregon’s mayor in the 1850s. A native of Vermont, he was a prominent figure in the early development of Portland, and co-founded the first bank in the state in 1859. Ladd also built the first brick building in Portland and was a noted philanthropist. Part of his former estate, the Ladd Carriage House, is on the National Register of Historic Places.
William Ladd was born to Nathaniel Gould Ladd and Abigail Kelley Mead on October 10, 1826, in Holland, Vermont. Nathaniel was of English heritage and received his education at Dartmouth College, becoming a physician, while Abigail was from New Hampshire. When William was seven years old, the family moved to Sanborton Bridge, New Hampshire, where he was educated in the local public schools and an academy. During the summers, he worked and at age 15 his father got him a job on a farm. William later worked on the family’s 58-acre (230,000 m2) farm before at age 19 beginning to work as a teacher in area schools.
His father had earned his way through school, but was successful enough to pay for William to attend college. However, William decided to pay for his own way in life and did not attend college. He then began working for the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad at a freight house in Sanborton Bridge. Ladd received several promotions and was briefly in charge of the company’s freight department before being returned to Sanborton Bridge. Disillusioned with the demotion, and spurred by reports from Samuel R. Thurston and a local shopkeeper who had returned with a large fortune, he decided to move west to work with Charles E. Tilton, a former classmate, who was involved in a mercantile business in San Francisco.
Ladd left from New York City on February 27, 1851, and sailed to San Francisco, traveling over the Isthmus of Panama. Upon arriving in San Francisco and finding the San Francisco market was overstocked, he attempted to get Tilton to become partners in a venture to import goods to what was then the Oregon Territory. Tilton refused due to the risk involved, so Ladd traveled north to Oregon on his own.
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