| Life Story |
Patrick McGee, an experienced textile professional from the East Coast, holds the distinction of being the first superintendent of TKWM not related to the Kay family. Recruited by Thomas Lister Kay, McGee’s expertise was instrumental in establishing new mills in Oregon and improving the performance of existing ones. His contributions were notably significant at mills in Oregon City, Brownsville, Albany, Bandon, and the Kay Woolen Mill in Salem. McGee assumed the superintendent role following Kay’s death in 1900 and held the position until 1915.
Patrick Francis McGee was born 14 March 1839 in Ireland to William and Elizabeth McGee. His family immigrated to the United States in 1843 and settled in North Attleborough, Massachusetts.
At age 21, Patrick worked as a weaver in a woolen mill in Blackstone, Massachusetts where he boarded with the John and Mary Gahery family. On 21 August 1865, he married Margaret Clarkin in Holyoke, Massachusetts. At the time, he was 25 and Margaret was 24; both originally from Ireland. Their first child, Henry was born in 1866 in Charlestown, Massachusetts, and died the following year from smallpox. The couple later moved to Providence, Rhode Island where they had four more children: Mary, Margaret, Isabella, and Anna Frances.
Margaret died on 28 June 1873 at the age of 23 and was buried in the Clarkin family plot in St. Paul’s Church Cemetery in Blackstone. Patrick remarried on 13 November 1876, to Honorah McCarthy. Together, they had eight more children. At the time of their marriage, Patrick was 36, Honora was 27, and he worked as a designer in a textile mill.
After the birth of their son John in 1877, the family moved to Connecticut in search of better opportunities in the textile industry. Their daughter Louise was born on 8 September 1879 in Putnam, Connecticut. By the 1880 census, Patrick was listed as mill superintendent with seven living children.
The family continued moving for work – first to Iowa, where son William was born, and then to Illinois, where son Francis was born. By 1887, they had relocated to the West Coast, and their last two children, Alex and Olive, were born in Oregon City.
By 1895, the family had settled in Salem, where the Marion County census listed Patrick as a 52-year-old Catholic, standing 5 ft. 5 in. tall and weighing 150 pounds. He was employed as a woolen mill superintendent. His household included wife Nora, daughters Isabella, Louise, and Olive, and Olive, and sons Charles, Willie, Frank and Alexander.
Patrick was next sent to Albany to oversee mill operations. The Albany Woolen Mill had survived the Panic of 1893 and secured successful orders from the Oregon National Guard and the U.S. Indian Service. However, in October, the mill’s financial directors declared bankruptcy after one of its largest creditors, J.M. Moyer Company of Chicago, called in an $8000 debt.
Patrick, along with P.A. Goodwin and Stephen L. Riley, pooled their resources to purchase the factory’s buildings, fixtures, and machinery for $17,500. McGee was appointed superintendent of the 65-man plant – which continued to produce cheviots, tweeds, flannels, and robes without using shoddy materials – and also served as one of the company’s directors.
In July 1898, Patrick left the Albany Mill, succeeded by James McDonald of Oregon City, and took a position at the Brownsville Woolen Mill. The 1900 census listed Patrick as superintendent there, living with wife Nora and six children ranging in age from 10 to 21. Following the death of Thomas Kay, McGee returned to Salem to accept the superintendent position at Kay Woolen Mills, offered by Kay’s son Thomas Benjamin.
By 1910, 70-year-old Patrick had established a home on Capital Street in Salem and continued working at the mill. His son Frank, then 27, served as assistant superintendent, and three of Patrick’s children – Frank, Isabella, and Olive – still lived at home. Patrick’s wife Nora died of stomach cancer on 28 November 1914, at age 63 and was laid to rest in the Catholic Cemetery in Salem.
In 1917, Patrick, along with son Frank and daughter Olive, relocated from Salem to Long Beach, California, where Frank had accepted a superintendent position at the Golden State Woolen Mill. By 1920, Frank had become a partner in the purchase of the Eureka Woolen Mill alongside Clarence and Chauncy Bishop and Claude Slade. Appointed general manager, McGee revitalized the operation and built a successful business. That same year, the census recorded the 80-year-old Patrick living with Frank and Olive at 1355 Linden Ave. in Long Beach.
Patrick died on 11 July 1921 at the age of 82, at the home of his daughter in Oakland, California. The details surrounding his burial remain uncertain. While his death certificate and cemetery records indicate interment at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Oakland, Salem newspapers reported a funeral in September with burial at St. Barbara Catholic Cemetery alongside his wife, Nora. Cemetery and monument records also support this latter account. |
| Salem City Directories |
1896 McGee Patrick F, res 542 State
1905 McGee Patrick F, sup[erintendent] TKWM Co, res 1433 Court
1907 McGee Patrick F, supt TKWM Co, res 161 N 13th
1908 McGee Patrick F, sup[erintendent] TKWM Co, res 382 N Capitol
1909 McGee Patrick F, sup[erintendent] TKWM Co, res 382 N Capitol
1911 McGee Patrick F, supt [superintendent] TKWM Co, res 1433 Court
1913 McGee Patrick F (Nora), supt [superintendent] TKWM Co, bds 1433 Court
1915 McGee Patrick F, supt [superintendent] TKWM Co, res 1433 Court |
| Census Records |
1850 Patric McGee. Age: 10. Birth Date: abt 1840 in Ireland. Home in 1850: Attleborough, Bristol, Massachusetts. Single, son to HOH. Additional household members: William McGee age 45 (father), Elizabeth McGee age 45 (mother), Arthur Magee age 20 (brother), Mary Magee age 17 (sister).
1860 Patrick McGee. Age: 21. Birth Year: abt 1839 in Ireland. Home in 1860: Blackstone, Worcester, Massachusetts. Single, unknown relationship to HOH [possibly his sister Mary and husband]. Occupation: Weaver. Additional household members: John Gahery age 30, Mary Gahery age 27, Owen Gahery age 9 months.
1870 Patrick Magee. Age: 30. Birth Date: abt 1850 in Ireland. Home in 1870: Providence Ward 5, Providence, Rhode Island. Married, HOH. Occupation: Loom Fixer. Additional household members: Margaret Magee age 29 (wife), Mary L. Magee age 4 (daughter), Margaret Magee age 2 (daughter), Isabella Magee age 2 months (daughter).
1880 Patrick F. McGee. Age: 40. Birth Date: abt 1840 in Ireland. Home in 1880: Sprague, New London, Connecticut. Married, HOH. Occupation: Mill Superintendent. Additional household members: Honora McGee age 30 (wife), Mary McGee age 14 (daughter), Maggie McGee age 13 (daughter), Isabella McGee age 11 (daughter), Ann McGee age 9 (daughter), John J. McGee age 2 (son), Charles H. McGee age 1 (son), Louisa McGee age 9 months (daughter).
1895 Marion County Census
McGee, P.S. – b RI, 5’5”, 150#, light, W.M. supt., Catholic, voter, m, 52.
Additional household members: Nora age 42 (wife), Isabell age 24 (daughter), Charles age 16 (son) MILL EMPLOYEE, Louise age 15 (daughter), Willie, age 14 (son), Frank age 11 (son), Alexander age 7 (son), Olive age 5 (daughter).
1900 Patrick F. McGee. Age: 61. Birth Date: Mar 1839 in Rhode Island [incorrect]. Home in 1900: North Brownsville, Linn, Oregon. Married, HOH. Occupation: Superintendent. Additional household members: Nora McGee age 50 (wife), Louise McGee age 21 (daughter), Charley McGee age 21 (son), William McGee age 19 (son), Francis E. McGee age 17 (son), Alexander McGee age 12 (son), Grace O. McGee age 10 (daughter).
1905 Marion County Census
McGee P.F. – age: 55, job: Supt Wool Mill. Additional household members: Nora age 54, Bella age 33, Frank, age 22, Olive, age 16, Alen [Alex], age 17. Salem Precinct 2.
1910 Patrick McGee. Age: 70. Birth Date: 1840 in Rhode Island [incorrect]. Home in 1910: Salem Ward 1, Marion, Oregon. Married, HOH. Occupation: Superintendent, Woolen Mills. Additional household members: Norah McGee age 58 (wife), Frank E. McGee age 27 (son), Isabella McGee age 40 (daughter), Olive A. McGee age 20 (daughter).
1920 Patrick McGee. Age: 80. Birth year: abt 1840 in Rhode Island [incorrect]. Home in 1920: 1355 Linden Ave. Long Beach, Los Angeles, California. Widowed, HOH. Additional household members: Frank E. McGee age 36 (son), Olive McGee age 30 (daughter), Amy D. Cole age 49 (lodger). |
| Digital Newspapers |
Capital Journal 13 Aug 1896, p. 3 – Superintendent, Albany Woolen Mills
Oregon Statesman 11 Feb 1898, p. 5 – Incorporator, Albany Woolen Mills
Oregonian 2 Mar 1898, p. 3 – City of Factories, Albany Woolen Mill
The Plaindealer (Roseburg, OR) 31 Oct 1898, p. 3 – Sent to take charge of Bandon Woolen Mills
Albany Democrat 2 Nov 1900, p. 4 – of Brownsville Woolen Mill, accepted position in Salem mills
Oregon Statesman 2 July 1902, p. 5 – 356 Capital St. [property description, prior to McGee purchase]
Oregon Statesman 1 Jan 1905, p. 15 – P.F. McGee Residence [pictorial edition of the newspaper]
Capital Journal 28 Nov 1914, p. 5 – Obituary, Nora
Oakland Tribune 12 July 1921, p. 6 – Death Notice, Patrick
Capital Journal 13 July 1921, p. 5 – Death Notice, Patrick
Oregon Statesman 1 Sep 1921, p. 5 – Funeral Notice, Patrick |
