John J. Read was born 22 Oct 1865 in Ohio to Orville and Sarah Reed. By 1896, John had come west to the Willamette Valley, in Oregon. He married Jessie Beardsley in Salem on 22 Mar 1896. From a newspaper account of their marriage, we learn of his position working for the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill. It reads, the groom, “holds the responsible position of traveling salesman for the Salem woolen mills and has charge of pushing their extensive business into all the Pacific coast states.”  

His position with the woolen mill ended by 1900, when the couple moved to Portland, where John worked as a hotel clerk and later real estate agent. Daughter Anne Ophelia was born in 1908. By 1920, the couple had moved to Pasadena, California where John worked as a floor maker.   

John J. Read died suddenly in 1922 at the age of 56. His wife Jessie had the body brought to Salem for burial in the Pioneer Cemetery. Jessie survived him until 1960, at which time she was interred in the same cemetery.  

John’s obituary gives a few additional clues to his life with the following text. John “was a resident of Portland for 25 years. He was of Puritan stock, being a descendant of John Read, who came to America with Winthrop in 1630, also of Robert Taft, who settled in Massachusetts in 1678. Deceased was a member of Washington lodge No. 46, A.F. & A.M. and Perfection lodge No. 1, Scottish Rite Masons of Portland, and was a son of the American Revolution. Mr. Read, being for a long time with some of the prominent hotels of Oregon, was known to many people throughout the whole northwest.” 

1896  Read John J, clerk, The Willamette 

Portland 

1901  Read John J, clerk, Hotel Perkins, rms Abington Bldg 

1902  Read John J, clerk, Hotel Perkins, rms same 

1903  Read John J, clerk, Hotel Perkins, res 406 E Madison 

1904  Read John J, clerk, Hotel Perkins, res 608 E Madison 

1905  Read John J, clerk, Hotel Perkins, res 608 E Madison 

1908  Read John J, clerk, Hotel Perkins, res 608 E Madison 

1910  Read John J (Rand Read & Co) h 261 E 16th 

1911  Read John J (Rand Read & Co) h 261 E 16th 

1914  Read John J (Jessie B) broker, h 261 E 16th 

1915  Read Jno J (Jessie B) h 261 E 16th 

1916  Read Jno J (Jessie B) h 261 E 16th 

1917  Read Jno J (Jessie B) (Arleta Land Co) h 261 E 16th 

1880  John J. Reed [Read] Age: 14. Birth Date: abt 1866 in Ohio. Single, son to HOH. Home in 1880: Elizabeth, Miami, Ohio. Attended School: Yes. Additional household members: Orville Reed, age 50 (father), Sarah A. Reed, age 47 (mother), Henry K. Reed, age 21 (brother), George A. Reed, age 19 (brother), Mary S. Reed, age 17 (sister), Sarah A. Reed, age 12 (sister), Peter C. Reed, age 10 (brother).  

1900  John J. Read  Age: 34. Birth Date: Oct 1865 in Ohio. Married, HOH. Home in 1900: 106 Third St. Portland Ward 3, Multnomah, Oregon. Years married: 4. Occupation: Clerk. Additional household member: Jessie Read, age 25 (wife).  

1910  John J. Read  Age: 44. Birth Date: 1866 in Ohio. Married, HOH. Home in 1910: 210 E. 16th Portland Ward 8, Multnomah, Oregon. Occupation: Real Estate. Additional household members: Jessie B. Read, age 35 (wife), Anne O. Read, age 2 (daughter), O.J. Beardsley, age70 (mother-in-law).  

1920  John J. Read  Age: 54. Birth Year: abt 1866 in Ohio. Married, HOH. Home in 1920: 11 E. Villa, Pasadena, Los Angeles, California. Occupation: Floor Maker, in Dry Goods. Additional household members: Jessie Read, age 44 (wife), Anne O. Read, age 11 (daughter). 

Jessie B. Beardsley Read  Birth: 6 Feb 1875 in Oregon. Death: 29 Dec 1960 (aged 85) Los Angeles County, California. Burial: Salem Pioneer Cemetery, Salem, Marion County, Oregon. Plot: 190. Memorial ID: 24659759 

Oregon Statesman 26 Nov 1922, p. 1 – Obituary, John