CHARLES H. CAREY. – Among the younger generation of men of enterprise and push who have come to Oregon to develop with the rapid progress of the state, Charles H. Carey, of Portland, is a notable figure. He was born at Cincinnati, Ohio, October 27, 1857, and lived there with his parents until he came to Oregon in 1883. He had the advantages of thorough schooling in the public schools of his native city, and entered the sophomore year at Denison University, Granville, Ohio, in September, 1878. He graduated in June, 1881, with the degree of Ph. B. Having in the meantime determined upon the practice of law as his avocation in life, he at once began a course of study to fit himself for its exacting requirements. He matriculated at the law school of the Cincinnati College in the fall of 1881, and was appointed librarian. Having under his charge the large and well-selected law library of that college, he had peculiar facilities for indulging his taste for study and original investigation, a privilege which he by no means neglected. He contributed a number of articles to law magazines, and wrote extensively on various subjects for current newspapers and periodicals. He completed his course at the law school in 1883, receiving the degree of LL. B., and was also admitted to the bar of the supreme court of the state of Ohio.
Having determined to locate in the West, Mr. Carey spent several months visiting different Western cities; and on arriving at Portland in September, 1883, he at once determined to remain there, being impressed with the advantages and prospects as one of the great cities of the future. He connected himself with the then firm of Thayer & Williams, and subsequently entered a partnership with Honorable A.H. Tanner, under the firm name of Tanner & Carey.
At this period Mr. Carey began the compilation of his “Digest of Oregon and Washington Reports,” which was published in1888 by The Bancroft-Whitney Co., Law Publishers, San Francisco, California. It is a large volume of 656 pages, and was well and favorably received by the legal profession, and fills a place in every law office in the Northwest. Dissolving partnership in the spring of 1887, he returned East for a period, but, after a brief absence, again returned and resumed his practice at Portland, where he is highly esteemed by his many friends, and is recognized as one of the most able of the younger men at the bar.
In 1884 Mr. Carey married Miss May N. Bidwell of Springfield, Ohio. They have one daughter.