Oral history interview with Ellen B. Berry

Collection

Identifier: SR 9544

Staff Only

Oral history interview with Ellen B. Berry

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Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Ellen B. Berry was conducted by Charles Digregorio at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Oregon, on March 28, 1977, as part of the oral history program at the society’s research library. Berry’s daughter, Ellen Bowman Martin, and son-in-law, Samuel H. Martin, were also present.

In this interview, Berry discusses the life of her first husband, John Linden Bowman, including their marriage, their family, and his death in 1928. She talks about Bowman’s clothing business, which she later ran. She closes the interview by sharing memories of the area around the Arrah Wanna Hotel in Wemme, Oregon, which Bowman owned in the early 20th century.

Dates

Creation: 1977 March 28

Creator

Berry, Ellen B. (Ellen Bowman), 1888-1980 (Interviewee, Person)
Digregorio, Charles (Interviewer, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

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

Biographical note

Ellen Bowman Berry, nee Ellen E. Bates, was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1888. She later worked as a music teacher in Grand Rapids. In 1913, she and John Linden Bowman were married. They moved to Portland, Oregon, and later had two children. After John Linden Bowman died in 1928, Ellen Bowman became the manager of his clothing business. In 1936, she remarried, to Frank J. Berry. The Berrys lived in Seattle, Washington, and St. Paul, Minnesota, before returning to Portland in 1956. Ellen B. Berry died in 1980.

Sources: Vital records in Ancestry.com; information provided by Berry in her interview; Berry’s obituary in the Oregonian, December 28, 1980.

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (1 audiocassette (30 min., 1 sec.) + transcript (14 pages))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with Ellen B. Berry conducted by Charles Digregorio on March 28, 1977. Berry discusses the life of her first husband, John Linden Bowman.