397 Church St. 

350 Capitol St. 

Royal was born 8 April 1881 in Crawfordsville, OR to Charles Pleasant (C.P.) and Martha Ann (Fannie) Kay. His mother was the eldest daughter of Thomas Kay, founder of the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill in Salem, OR. His father, the oldest son of Rev. William R. Bishop, Cumberland Presbyterian minister and schoolteacher. Royal was the middle child of three boys born to the couple.  

In 1884, the Bishop family moved from the Brownsville area to McMinnville and opened a store in partnership with Fanny’s brother Thomas B. Kay. Then in 1889, the family moved to Salem for a joint business venture with Fannie’s family, the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill. 

Each Bishop and extended Kay family member brought their skills and labor to the wool business. C.P. focused his efforts on the marketing and sale of TKWM products such as fabric and blankets. When his first attempt at opening a wholesale store in Portland was short-lived, he found success closer to home, by purchasing the Salem Woolen Mill store in 1891. Fannie was her father’s assistant in the day-to-day management of the mill. The Bishop boys also worked, first as bobbin boys, then on rotation through each mill department as they learned the manufacturing process. 

Roy attended Salem public schools, and then Willamette University. Like his brothers, Roy showed an aptitude and interest in the wool manufacturing business. To this end, he continued his education and training at the Philadelphia Textile School, where he graduated in 1903.  Then spent time at large manufacturing mill centers on the East Coast where he gained experience and made business connections. 

He returned to Oregon in 1908 when the Bishop family began negotiations for the purchase and revitalization of a mill in Pendleton. After the transaction was completed on 16 February 1909 and the mill incorporated under Bishop family ownership, Roy and brother Clarence moved to Eastern Oregon to manage the project and oversee day-to-day operations. First came a new 3-story concrete structure to house mill operations, then machinery upgrades with a switch to Jacquard looms. Both brothers were involved in every step, from construction and equipment upgrades to the sale and marketing of their product, and often worked alongside their employees in the mill. Within three years, the mill began to turn a profit under their management; once again it produced high-quality blankets and robes based on Native American designs. Roy also became involved in the organization of the Pendleton Round-up and served for ten years as coordinator for the Native American pageant and village. 

June 4, 1913, Roy married Wilma Burmester in Pendleton, Oregon. It was a small, intimate wedding which surprised their friends. According to newspaper accounts at the time, Wilma had been born and raised in Salt Lake City. She was a legal secretary and newspaper correspondent to the Oregonian. Three children would be born to the couple, Elizabeth Jane, Thomas Burmester, and William Henry.  

The extended Bishop family continued to expand their wool manufacturing interests with the purchase of a woolen mill in Washougal in 1912, and later the Eureka Woolen Mills in California. Roy and brother Clarence carried the majority of responsibility in the day-to-day oversight of mill renovation, equipment upgrades, management and product decisions. Their parents remained investors with Father C.P.’s retail stores (Salem and Portland), an outlet for wool clothing and products.  

In 1919 Roy purchased the Oregon Worsted Company, a Portland area company. He replaced outdated equipment with new, worsted woolen machinery and took over management. The mill manufactured worsted wool yarns and fabrics that were in high demand following the shortages during WWI. Roy soon had his spinning and weaving machines up and running, with over 300 people working three shifts around the clock.  

Roy moved his family to Portland and began to take a role in many of the area’s civic activities. He was a member of the Portland Rotary Club for over 30 years, a director of the Portland and later, Oregon State Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Arlington Club. He served as member of the school board from 1925-1928 and as director of the Merrykana parade of the Rose Festival from 1924-1927. 

On 16 Jan 1927, Roy’s brother Chauncey died in Pendleton, the victim of a gun accident. The remaining brothers continued to manage the family wool mill interests, Clarence primarily acting as general manager of Pendleton, Washougal, and Eureka, Roy as owner and general manager of Oregon Worsted Co. while remaining vice-president of Pendleton.  

Through the 1930s and 40s, products from Oregon Worsted Co. were in high demand. Many of Carl Jantzen’s early knitted bathing suits were made with their worsted yarn. During WWII, the company supplied the U.S. Armed Forces with worsted wool blankets and at one point in its history the company was the largest manufacturer of necktie lining in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Portland.  

The Bishop family lost their patriarch on 18 Nov 1941 when father C.P. died from severe burns after a bathtub accident. Mother Fannie’s death was three years later. Then with the end of the war the demand for wool products decreased as polyester and other man-made fibers became popular Oregon Worsted Co. began to outsource the various steps of its yarn production to cut down on costs.  

Roy died rather suddenly of a heart attack 24 June 1950 in Portland. He was buried in the Bishop family plot in City View Cemetery, Salem, Oregon. He was 69 years old. Wife Wilma survived him by 19 years, and died 2 Dec 1969 in Portland, OR. She was buried in River View Cemetery in Portland. 

(unless otherwise noted) 

1910  Bishop Roy T. sec-treas Pendleton Woolen Mills, bds 825 Main Pendleton, OR 

1914  Bishop, Roy T. secretary-treasurer, Pendleton Woolen Mills, 315 W Jackson. Pendleton, OR 

1917  Bishop, Roy T. (Wilma B) sec-treas Pendleton Woolen Mills, res 1101 Raley Pendleton, OR 

1923  Bishop, Roy T. vice-president manager, Oregon Worsted Co., 533 E 16th N. Portland, OR. 

1925  Bishop, Roy T. president-manager, Oregon Worsted Co., 533 E 16th N. Portland, OR. 

1929  Bishop, Roy T. president, Oregon Worsted Co., vice-president, Oregon State Chamber of Commerce, 542 E 15th N. Portland, OR. 

1930  Bishop, Roy T. president, Oregon Worsted Co., vice-president, Oregon State Chamber of Commerce, 542 E 15th N. Portland, OR. 

1932  Bishop, Roy T. secretary-treasurer, Pendleton Woolen Mills, Portland OR. 

1900  Royal T. Bishop. Age: 19. Birth: Apr 1881 in Oregon. Single, son to HOH. Home in 1900: Capitol St. Salem Ward 2, Marion, OR. Occupation: Weaver Woolen Mill. Additional household members: Charles P. Bishop, age 45 (head), Fannie E. Bishop, age 42 (mother), Chauncy Bishop, age 17 (brother), Carrie Munson, age 20 (servant) 

1905  Marion County, OR Census. Roy Bishop. Age: 24. Birthplace: Oregon. Residence: Salem, Marion, OR. Occupation: Woolen Mill. Living in his father’s household. 

1910  Roy T. Bishop. Age: 29. Birth: abt 1881 in Oregon. Single, son to HOH. Home in 1910: Main St. Pendleton Ward 2, Umatilla, OR. Occupation: Manufacturer of Woolen Goods. Additional household members: Charles P. Bishop, age 55 (father), Fannie Bishop, age 52 (mother), Clarence M. Bishop, age 32 (brother), Ethel M. Horn, age 14 (servant). 

1920  Roy T. Bishop. Age: 38. Birth: abt 1882 in Oregon. Married, HOH. Home in 1920: 435 Wasco St. Portland, Multnomah, OR. Occupation: Manufacturer of Woolen Goods. Additional household members: Wilma B. Bishop, age 32 (wife), Elisabeth Jane Bishop, age 5 (daughter), Thomas B. Bishop, age 4 (son).  

1930  Roy T. Bishop. Age: 48. Birth: abt 1882 in Oregon. Married, HOH. Home in 1930: 542 E. 15 N. Portland, Multnomah, OR. Occupation: President of Worsted Mill. Additional household members: Wilma B. Bishop, age 42 (wife), Elizabeth J. Bishop, age 15 (daughter), Thomas B. Bishop, age 14 (son), William H. Bishop, age 8 (son), Rose Baller, age 53 (servant). 

1940  Roy J. Beshop [Bishop]. Age: 58. Birth: abt 1882 in Oregon. Married, HOH. Home in 1940: 2612 N E 15 Avenue. Portland, Multnomah, OR. Occupation: President Textile Manufacture. Additional household members: Wilma B. Beshop, age 52 (wife), William H. Beshop, age 18 (son), Mary J. Balderree, age 44 (servant). 

1950  Roy T. Bishop. Age: 68. Birth Year: abt 1882 in Oregon. Married, HOH. Home in 1950: 2612 NE 15 Ave. Portland, Multnomah, OR. Occupation: Proprietor, Textile Manufacturing Co. Additional household members: Wilma B. age 62 (wife), William H. age 28 (son). 

Complexion: Ruddy. No physical disqualifications listed. Date of Registration: 25 Apr 1942. 

Wilma Burmester Bishop. Birth: 24 Jun 1887 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, UT. Death: 2 Dec 1969 (aged 82) in Portland, Multnomah County, OR. Burial: River View Cemetery in Portland, Multnomah County, OR. Memorial ID: 104689315. 

Oregonian 9 Jun 1913 p. 5 – Bishop-Burmester Wedding 

Capital Journal 18 Jun 1928 p. 7 – $3,000,000 Bishop’s Wool Manufacturing Organization (separate section of newspaper) 

Capital Journal 2 Jan 1928 p. 5 – Bishops Control 3 Woolen Mills  

Oregon Statesman 24 May 1936 p. 2 – Three Bishop Brothers Woolen Mill History 

Capital Journal 26 Jun 1950 p. 5 – Obituary (Roy) 

Oregonian 25 Jun 1950 p. 25   Obituary (Roy) 

Oregonian 5 Dec 1969 p. 79 – Obituary (Wilma) 

M3 1992-105-0013  Photo 

M3 1993-027-0054  Photo 

M3 1989-027-0001  Photo 

M3 2007-010-0012  Photo 

M3 1989-027-0002  Philadelphia Textile School notebook 

M3 1993-006-0001  Scarf 

Later Woolen Mills in Oregon, Alfred L. Lomax, Portland, Binfords & Mort, 1974. P. 103-139, 273-301. 

The History of Mill End Store, https://millendstore.wordpress.com/the-history-of-mill-end-store/