Hawkins, J. W. real estate agent – Portland – born
in Grebo parish, Östergötland, on April 6, 1862. He moved to America at the age
of 23, and for the first five years stayed in Ishpeming, Michigan. In 1895,
after four years in Las Animas, Colorado, where he had a grocery store, he moved
to Portland, Oregon. For many years he was the manager of the fruit department
of a large store. In 1905, he started in the real estate business. For more than
a year he was employed by the real estate agent Gustaf Swenson from Moline,
Illinois, after which he set up his own real estate agency. In March of 1909 he
founded the Southern Oregon Orchard Co., with $25,000 in starting capital. He
was the manager of this company until March 1910, and then, in the beginning of
1911, he became their general agent. In August 1910 he founded the Melrose
Orchard Land Co., with $35,000 in starting capital, and worked both as manager
and director. This and the above-mentioned company own a large, 6,000 acre
contiguous piece of land west of Roseburg. Mr. Hawkins is a member of Linnea,
Artisans, the Scandinavian Brotherhood, the Swedish Health and Burial society.
He married Augusta W. Anderson from Åtvidaberg on November 1, 1885, and they
have five sons and one daughter. The oldest son is a pharmacist.