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Oral history interview with Amy R. Gill

 Collection
Identifier: SR 9620

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Amy R. Gill was conducted by Gail H. Evans at Gill’s home in Portland, Oregon, in two sessions, on December 7 and December 14, 1978, as part of the Portland Neighborhood History Project. The project was conducted by Portland Parks and Recreation in the late 1970s, and consisted of interviews with people who moved to or lived in the Portland metropolitan area from the early to mid-1900s. A transcript of the interview is available.

In the first interview session, Gill discusses her early life in the King’s Hill and Portland Heights neighborhoods of Portland. She describes her childhood recreational activities, talks about people who lived in the neighborhood, and discusses daily life in the early 20th century. She shares her school experiences at Portland Academy and at St. Helen's Hall. She describes landmarks, houses, and businesses in the neighborhoods.

In the second interview session, Gill continues to discuss her early life in the King’s Hill and Portland Heights neighborhoods. She continues to describe houses, businesses, and landmarks in the neighborhoods, and to talk about the people who lived in the area. She also talks about her family’s British and Welsh background and shares her memories of the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition. She discusses her family’s involvement with the Episcopal Church and with the British Benevolent Society. She closes the interview by looking at a historical map of Portland and identifying the locations of the places she talked about.

Dates

  • Creation: 1978 December 7-14

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following statement: Creative Commons - BY-NC-SA, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Biographical note

Amy Robinson Gill, nee Amy Georgiana Robinson, was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1898. In 1918, she and Harold Dekum Gill were married; they later had one child. She died in 1995.

Sources: Vital records on Ancestry.com; information provided by Gill in her oral history interview, as well as an additional oral history, SR 9441, also held at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (3 audiocassettes (3 hr., 10 min., 57 sec.) + transcript (108 pages))

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Oral history interview with Amy R. Gill conducted by Gail H. Evans from December 7-14, 1978, as part of the Portland Neighborhood History Project. Gill discusses her early life in the King's Hill and Portland Heights neighborhoods of Portland, Oregon, in the early 20th century.

Related Materials

An additional interview with Amy R. Gill, SR 9441, is also held by the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

General

A handwritten index (2 pages) is available for in-person use at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Title
Guide to the oral history interview with Amy R. Gill
Status
Completed
Author
Sarah Stroman
Date
2022
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library Repository

Contact:
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240