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ALLEN  COUNTY  PUBLIC  UBRABY 

3  1833  00865  2890 


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SEATTLE 


De  Luxe  Supplement  to  the 
History  of  Seattle 


CHICAGO  —  SEATTLE 

THE  S.  J.  CLARKE  PUBLISHING  CO. 

1916 


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Clisfta  $.  Jfetrp 


jWICE  governor  of  the  territory  and  the  first  governor 

T™  *  of  the  state  of  Washington,  Elisha  P.  Ferry  was 
^  born  at  Monroe,  Michigan,  August  9,  1825.  He 
wa  studied  law  there  and  at  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1845,  at  the  age  of  twenty 
years.  In  1846  he  removed  to  Waukegan,  Illinois, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  was  the  first 
mayor  of  the  city  of  Waukegan  and  there  he  resided  until  July,  1869, 
when  he  removed  to  the  territory  of  Washington.  In  1852  and  in 
1856  he  was  presidential  elector  for  the  district  in  which  he  resided. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention  in  Illinois  in  1861 
and  from  1861  to  1863  he  was  a  bank  commissioner  in  that  state. 
During  these  years  he  was  a  member  of  Governor  Yates'  stafi^  as 
assistant  adjutant  general,  with  the  rank  of  colonel,  and  assisted  in 
organizing,  equipping  and  sending  into  the  field  a  large  number  of 
Illinois  regiments.  In  1869  he  was  appointed  surveyor  general  of 
Washington  territory  by  President  Grant,  and  in  1872  he  was 
appointed  governor  of  the  territory  under  the  same  administration 
and  was  reappointed  in  1876.  He  served  as  governor  until  Novem- 
ber, 1880,  when  he  moved  to  Seattle  and  resumed  the  practice  of 
his  profession  as  a  member  of  the  law  firm  of  McNaught,  Ferry, 
McNaught  &  Mitchell.  In  September,  1887,  he  retired  from 
the  practice  of  law  and  entered  the  Puget  Sound  National  Bank  as 
vice  president.  On  the  4th  of  September,  1889,  he  was  nominated  by 
the  republican  party  for  governor  of  the  state,  and  on  the  1st  day  of 
October  of  that  year  he  was  elected  by  more  than  eight  thousand 
majority. 

From  the  day  of  Mr.  Ferry's  arrival  in  the  territory  he  be- 
came one  of  the  foremost  men  in  Washington,  always  contribut- 
ing in  some  form  to  the  development  of  the  country  and  assisting 
those  who  needed  aid  in  the  securing  of  homes  and  farms.  He  had 
had  large  experience  in  public  affairs ;  he  was  a  man  of  unusual  abil- 
ity and  of  unblemished  integrity;  he  was  admirably  qualified  to  fill 
the  place  of  governor  of  both  territory  and  state,  not  only  as  a  man 
of  rare  capacity  for  business,  but  as  a  statesman  who  discharged  with 
intelligence  every  duty  connected  with  the  office;  he  was  one  of  the 
5 


6  (jgUgfja  p,  jfectg 

people  and  one  of  the  most  approachable  men  of  the  times;  he  did 
not  surround  himself  with  the  pomp  of  office,  nor  was  he  as  governor 
any  less  approachable  than  as  a  private  citizen.  He  unconsciously 
made  warm  friends  of  those  with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  and  did 
this  without  any  effort  or  attempt  on  his  part.  He  was  a  lifelong 
republican  in  politics  and  was  a  member  of  the  first  republican  con- 
vention ever  held  in  the  United  States,  but  in  all  his  official  and  per- 
sonal relations  with  his  fellowmen  he  so  conducted  himself  that  he 
merited  and  received  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  men  of  all  parties 
in  all  sections  of  the  territory  and  state.  On  the  4th  of  February, 
1849,  Mr.  Ferry  was  married  to  Sarah  B.  Kellogg,  a  daughter  of 
Dr.  David  Kellogg,  of  Waukegan,  Illinois.  He  died  at  Seattle  on  the 
14th  day  of  October,  1895,  regretted  and  mourned  by  the  entire 
state. 


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#eorge  Jfrebericfe  jFrpe 

¥|^^^EORGE  FREDERICK  FRYE  was  one  of  the  lead- 
er ^_  Cv>  ing  business  men  of  Seattle  and  erected  many  build- 
w    I  ^  ?     ^^S^  °^  importance,  including  the  Hotel  Frye,  which 

QJ  ^^J  vD  is  conceded  to  be  the  finest  hostelry  in  the  city.  A 
native  of  Germany,  he  was  born  near  Hanover,  on 
the  15th  of  June,  1833,  and  his  parents,  Otto  and 
Sophia  (Pranga)  Frye,  were  also  natives  of  the  fatherland.  Their 
religious  faith  was  that  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

In  1849,  when  sixteen  years  of  age,  George  F.  Frye  emigrated  to 
the  United  States  and  first  located  in  Lafayette,  Missouri,  where  he 
worked  as  a  farm  hand.  In  1852  he  A\orked  his  waj'  across  the  plains 
to  the  Pacific  coast  with  the  Hays  Company,  which  made  the  trip  with 
ox  teams.  He  spent  one  winter  at  Portland  and  was  for  some  time 
in  the  employ  of  Hillory  Butler,  for  whom  the  Hotel  Butler  was 
named.  In  1853  he  came  to  Seattle,  which  was  then  a  small  settlement 
on  the  Sound.  In  connection  with  Arthur  A.  Denny  and  H.  L.  Yes- 
ler,  Mr.  Frye  built  the  first  sawmill  and  the  first  grist  mill  in  Seattle 
and  for  about  ten  years  he  was  connected  with  milling  interests.  He 
established  the  first  meat  market  in  the  city  and  also  started  a  bakery. 
Later  he  turned  his  attention  to  steamboating  and  for  four  j^ears  was 
master  of  the  J.  B.  Libby,  one  of  the  early  Sound  steamers.  He  was 
also  mail  agent,  carrying  the  mail  from  Seattle  to  Whatcom  on  the 
Sameyami,  making  one  trip  a  week.  In  1884  he  erected  the  Frye 
Opera  House,  which  was  the  first  place  of  the  kind  erected  in  Seattle, 
and  as  manager  of  the  same  secured  good  theatrical  attractions  for 
the  city.  In  the  fire  of  1889  the  building  was  destroyed  and  Mr.  Frye 
later  erected  the  Stevens  Hotel  on  the  site  of  the  opera  house.  In 
connection  with  A.  A.  Dennj^  he  also  owned  the  Northern  Hotel,  and 
he  likewise  erected  the  Barker  Hotel.  He  also  built  the  Hotel  Frye, 
in  which  the  city  takes  justifiable  pride.  He  personally  supervised 
the  construction  of  this  eleven-story  building  and  spared  no  expense 
nor  effort  in  making  it  one  of  the  best  equipped  and  most  complete 
hostelries  of  the  northwest.  In  addition  to  his  other  activities  he 
dealt  extensively  in  real  estate  and  was  one  of  the  wealthy  men  of 
Seattle. 


10 


^eotgg  jFteDetiik  jFrpe 


On  the  25th  of  October,  1860,  Mr.  Frye  was  married  in  Seattle 
to  Miss  Louisa  C.  Denny,  a  daughter  of  A.  A.  Denny,  previously^ 
mentioned,  who  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Seattle  and  a  man  of 
great  influence  and  high  reputation.  He  was  rightfully  given  the 
title  of  "father  of  the  town."  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frye  were  born  six 
children:  James  Marion,  who  died  in  1905;  Mary  Louisa,  the  widow 
of  Captain  George  H.  Fortson;  Sophia  S.,  now  Mrs.  Daniel  W.  Bass; 
George  Arthur,  who  died  in  1892 ;  Roberta  G.,  now  Mrs.  P.  H.  Watt; 
and  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  Virgil  N.  Bogue. 

Mr.  Frye  cast  his  ballot  in  support  of  the  repubhcan  party  and 
served  acceptably  as  a  member  of  the  city  coimcil.  His  religious 
allegiance  was  given  to  the  Lutheran  church  and  its  teachings  formed 
the  guiding  principles  of  his  life.  He  was  a  man  of  great  vigor  and 
energy  and  was  very  active  in  business  affairs.  He  aided  in  the  de- 
velopment of  many  enterprises  and  among  other  things  he  founded 
the  first  brass  band  in  the  city.  He  was  one  of  the  leaders  among  the 
early  residents  of  the  city  and  as  Seattle  developed  his  gi-asp  of  affairs 
seemed  to  grow  accordingly,  and  he  continued  to  occupy  a  position  of 
importance  in  the  life  of  his  community.  He  almost  reached  the  age 
of  seventy-nine  years,  passing  away  on  the  2d  of  May,  1912. 


^t-^-t-^O..^ 


3[^eb-  Saniel  paglep 


iEV.  DANIEL  BAGLEY  was  born  September  7, 

1818,  in  Crawford  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  died 

RP^     in   Seattle,   April   26,   1905.     His   wife,    Susannah 
^m     Rogers  Whipple,  was  born  in  Massachusetts,  May  8, 

1819.  While  she  was  a  small  child  her  parents  moved 
into  western  Pennsylvania,  near  Meadville,  Craw- 
ford county.  This  was  then  a  rough  and  thinly  settled  region  and 
they  grew  up  amid  the  pi'ivations  and  hardships  of  pioneer  life.  Dan- 
iel helped  his  father  clear  the  original  forest  off  their  farm  and  shared 
in  the  toil  that  was  incident  to  cutting  a  home  out  of  lands  covered 
with  a  dense  growth  of  hickory,  chestnut,  birch,  maple,  etc. 

The  young  people  met  while  they  were  yet  in  their  teens  and 
acquaintance  soon  ripened  into  love,  and  August  15,  1840,  they  were 
made  husband  and  wife.  A  few  days  later  they  started  for  the  prai- 
ries of  Illinois,  and  there  settled  on  a  claim  near  Somanauk.  The 
husband  farmed  and  taught  school  for  two  years,  while  the  wife  per- 
formed the  household  duties  of  their  small  and  primitive  cabin. 

In  1842  Mr.  Bagley  was  admitted  into  the  ministry  of  the  Metho- 
dist Protestant  church,  and  for  ten  years  was  engaged  in  active  work, 
nominally  being  stationed  at  one  place  each  year,  but  in  reality  travel- 
ing summer  and  winter  from  the  south,  near  Springfield,  to  the  north- 
ern boundaries  of  the  state.  Buffalo  and  Indian  trails  then  gridironed 
the  broad  and  thinly  settled  prairies,  and  were  not  succeeded  bj^  the 
iron  rails  of  the  early  railroads  of  the  state  until  1850  and  the  decade 
succeeding.  At  Princeton,  Bureau  county,  the  first  home  of  the  still 
young  couple  was  established,  and  here  Mr.  Bagley  was  an  active 
worker  in  the  anti-slavery  agitation  then  beginning  to  arouse  the  atten- 
tion and  conscience  of  here  and  there  a  few  of  the  earnest  thinkers  of 
the  day.  Owen  Lovejoy's  and  Mr.  Bagley's  churches  stood  within  a 
few  yards  of  each  other,  and  their  pastors  united  in  religious  and 
philanthropical  work,  and  time  and  again  were  their  anti-slavery  meet- 
ings broken  up  by  the  pro-slavery  roughs  of  the  day. 

During  the  closing  years  of  the  '40s  and  early  in  the  '50s  California 
and  Oregon  attracted  a  great  deal  of  attention,  and  the  more  enter- 
prising of  the  younger  generation  began  the  westward  movement  that 
IP. 


14  laeti.  Daniel  IBagleg 

has  for  sixty  years  gone  on  in  an  ever  swelling  tide.  In  1852  Rev. 
Daniel  Bagley  was  chosen  by  the  board  of  missions  of  his  church  as 
missionary  to  Oregon,  which  then  included  the  present  states  of 
Washington  and  Idaho  and  parts  of  Montana  and  Wyoming. 

Their  wagon  train  left  Princeton,  Illinois,  April  20,  1852,  and  in 
it  were  Mr.  Bagley  and  family.  Dexter  Horton  and  family,  Thomas 
Mercer  and  family,  William  H.  Shoudy,  John  Pike  and  Aaron  Mercer 
and  wife.  The  wives  of  Thomas  and  Aaron  Mercer  never  reached 
here,  but  the  others  all  came  to  Seattle  at  some  period  to  make  their 
home. 

Those  moving  to  the  Pacific  coast  that  year  were  an  army  in  num- 
bers, so  that  the  danger  from  Indians  was  not  great,  but  the  hard- 
ships and  sufferings  of  the  emigrants  were  increased.  The  difficulties 
of  securing  water  and  feed  for  the  stock  were  great  and  cholera  became 
epidemic.  However,  the  fifteen  or  twenty  families  of  this  particular 
train,  after  nearly  five  months  of  almost  constant  travel,  arrived  at 
The  Dalles,  on  the  Columbia  river,  without  the  loss  of  one  of  their 
number  and  with  practically  all  their  wagons  and  stock.  Here  they 
separated,  only  two  or  three  families  accompanying  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Bagley  to  Salem,  Oregon,  where  they  ended  their  journey  September 
21, 1852. 

Mr.  Bagley  at  once  began  active  ministerial  and  missionary  work, 
and  labored  unremittingly  in  all  parts  of  the  Willamette  valley  the 
next  eight  years.  He  established  about  a  score  of  churches  and  prob- 
ably half  that  number  of  church  edifices  were  built  mainly  through  his 
instrumentality.  This  was  long  prior  to  the  advent  of  telegraphs  and 
railroads  and  the  conveniences  and  comforts  of  modern  travel.  His 
labors  extended  from  the  Umpqua  on  the  south  to  the  Columbia  river 
on  the  north,  and  it  was  rare  indeed  that  he  remained  at  home  twenty 
days  in  succession  and,  in  fact,  a  large  part  of  these  eight  years  was 
employed  in  itinerant  work,  traveling  through  heat  and  dust,  rain, 
snow,  mud  and  floods  by  day  and  night,  nearly  entirely  on  horseback, 
so  that  at  forty  years  of  age  his  constitution  was  greatly  impaired  by 
exposure  and  overwork. 

During  all  their  married  hfe  Mrs.  Bagley  had  been  an  invalid,  and 
in  October,  1860,  the  family  removed  from  near  Salem  to  this  place, 
hoping  the  change  of  climate  would  prove  beneficial  to  both  of  them. 
The  trip  was  made  entirely  overland  in  a  buggy — except  from  Port- 
land to  Monticello — and  the  trip  that  can  now  be  made  in  as  many 
hours  required  ten  days  to  accomplish.  They  made  the  list  of  families 
in  the  village  up  to  an  even  twenty. 

The  unbroken  forest  began  where  the  Colonial  building  on  Colmn- 


laeti,  Daniel  IBagleg  i5 

bia  street  now  stands,  and  at  no  point  was  it  more  than  250  yards  from 
the  waters  of  the  bay. 

Mr.  Bagley  was  the  pioneer  minister  of  his  church  on  Paget  Sound 
and  for  years,  covering  ahnost  the  entire  period  of  the  Civil  war,  was 
the  only  clergyman  stationed  in  Seattle. 

Rev.  David  E.  Blaine,  of  the  JMethodist  Episcopal  church,  had 
been  instrmnental  in  the  erection  of  a  church  building  about  1854  on 
the  present  site  of  the  Boston  block,  which  remained  unplastered  or 
unceiled  for  ten  years  or  more.  Here  Mr.  Bagley  and  a  small  band 
of  worshipers  gathered  weekly. 

Early  in  1865  the  historic  "Brown  church"  was  built  at  the  corner 
of  Second  and  Madison  streets  and  Mr.  Bagley's  manual  labor  and 
private  purse  contributed  largely  to  that  work. 

Besides  his  ministerial  duties  Mr.  Bagley  became  an  active  and 
prominent  worker  in  the  advancement  of  the  material  growth  and 
prosperity  of  Seattle  and  King  county.  Largely  through  the  efforts 
of  Hon.  Arthur  A.  Denny,  who  was  a  member  of  the  legislature  of 
1860-61,  the  university  was  located  here,  and  INIessrs.  Daniel  Bagley, 
John  Webster  and  Edmund  Carr  were  named  commissioners.  Selling 
of  lands  began  at  once,  and  in  March,  1861,  clearing  of  the  site  and 
work  on  the  university  buildings  began.  As  president  of  the  board  of 
commissioners  most  of  the  care  and  responsibility  of  the  sale  of  lands, 
erection  of  the  buildings,  and  establishing  of  scholastic  work  fell  upon 
Mr.  Bagley,  and  during  the  succeeding  three  years  much  of  his  time 
was  devoted  to  the  university  interests,  and  those  labors  have  borne 
abundant  fruits  for  Seattle  and  her  citizens.  Just  prior  to  and  follow- 
ing the  year  1870,  the  development  of  what  are  now  known  as  the  New- 
castle coal  mines  began.  Daniel  Bagley,  George  F.  Whitworth, 
Josiah  Settle  and  C.  B.  Bagley  took  up  the  burden  of  this  work,  which 
was  the  first  to  become  commercially  successful  in  the  territory.  Mr. 
Bagley  was  the  responsible  leader  and  superintendent,  and  although 
the  company  then  formed  was  succeeded  by  a  number  of  others,  the 
credit  of  the  opening  of  this  great  source  of  wealth  to  this  county 
belongs  to  him  and  his  associates. 

Until  1885  he  continued  as  pastor  of  the  church  here  and  after  the 
twentieth  year  in  charge  of  the  "Brown  church"  he  resigned  that  posi- 
tion. After  that  time  he  did  a  large  amount  of  ministerial  work  at 
Ballard,  Columbia,  Yesler,  South  Park,  etc.,  continuing  down  to 
M'ithin  a  few  years  of  his  death. 

Forty-five  years  he  was  prominent,  active  and  efficient  as  a  clergy- 
man and  private  citizen. 

Daniel  Bagley  was  a  life-long  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity. 


16  gUti«  Daniel  ^Igaglcg 

and  he  was  the  honored  chaplain  of  St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  9,  in  Seattle, 
many  years.  He  was  made  a  Master  Mason  in  Princeton,  Illinois,  in 
1851.  He  at  once  affiliated  with  the  lodge  hi  Salem,  Oregon,  on  his 
arrival  there  in  1852,  and  between  that  time  and  1856  became  a  Royal 
Arch  Mason.  On  making  his  home  in  Seattle  he  affiliated  with  St. 
John's  Lodge  and  remained  a  member  of  that  lodge  during  life.  He 
first  appeared  in  Grand  Lodge  in  1861,  and  his  merits  as  a  Mason  are 
attested  by  the  fact  that  his  brethren  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Washmg- 
ton  elected  him  their  most  worshipful  grand  master  at  the  annual 
commimication  of  that  year. 

During  their  later  years  Mr.  Bagley  and  his  wife  made  their 
home  with  their  son  Clarence  m  Seattle  and  there  Mrs.  Bagley  died 
October  11,  1913. 

They  repose  side  by  side  in  Mount  Pleasant  on  Queen  Anne  Hill. 


^.▼.▼.▼.▼.▼.•.▼.^.▼.▼.▼.▼.▼.▼.▼.^.▼.▼.▼.^.▼.▼.^.▼.▼.▼.▼.▼.▼.^.▼.▼.▼.▼.▼.▼.v 


£  f).  r3 


Clarence  p«  paglep 

ILARENCE  B.  BAGLEY  was  born  in  Troy  Grove, 
near  Dixon,  Illinois,  November  30,  1843.  His  father 
was  what  was  called  in  those  days  an  itinerant  minis- 
ter in  the  service  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  church 
and  stationed  but  a  year  at  a  time  in  a  place.  Clar- 
ence's early  memories  are  of  Abingdon,  La  Fayette, 
Princeton  and  Chicago. 

On  the  20th  of  April,  1852,  the  family  started  from  Princeton 
across  the  plains.  They  reached  the  Missouri  river  May  22d,  the  smn- 
mit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  July  4th,  The  Dalles,  Oregon,  Septem- 
ber 3d,  and  Salem,  Oregon,  September  21st  of  that  year.  They  lived 
in  and  near  Salem  for  eight  years.  In  November,  1852,  Clarence 
began  school  studies  in  the  Willamette  Institute,  later  called  Willa- 
mette University,  in  Salem  and  continued  in  school  all  the  time  in  the 
winters  and  part  of  the  summers  until  1860.  In  1856  the  family 
moved  out  from  Salem  to  a  farm  and  lived  there  for  four  j^ears.  Dur- 
ing that  time  Clarence  became  familiar  with  farming  operations, 
with  horses  and  cattle  and  the  farm  life  of  that  pioneer  period. 

In  October,  1860,  Rev.  Daniel  Bagley,  his  wife  and  Clarence 
started  in  a  buggy  to  make  the  overland  trip  from  Salem  to  Seattle, 
Washington,  arriving  at  the  latter  place  during  the  last  days  of  Octo- 
ber. That  winter  Rev.  Daniel  Bagley  taught  the  village  school  and 
during  his  absence  of  several  weeks  Clarence  officiated  in  his  place. 

In  1861  he  began  work  clearing  the  timber  from  the  site  of  the  uni- 
versity, which  had  during  that  winter  been  located  in  Seattle  by  the 
legislature.  During  the  remainder  of  the  year  1861  and  the  greater 
part  of  1862  he  worked  upon  and  about  the  university,  clearing,  paint- 
ing, carpentering,  making  fences  and  doing  other  odd  jobs  of  work. 
Late  in  1862  he  went  by  sailing  vessel  with  his  mother  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, returning  that  fall  also  on  a  sailing  vessel.  In  1863  he 
accompanied  his  father  and  mother  by  way  of  San  Francisco  and  the 
Isthmus  to  New  York  and  to  Meadville,  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
attended  Allegheny  College  that  winter.  In  April,  1864,  the  family 
started  on  their  return  by  way  of  the  Isthmus  to  Seattle,  reaching  the 
latter  place  about  the  1st  of  July.  The  rest  of  that  year  and  during 
1865  he  was  engaged  at  his  trade  as  a  painter  in  the  little  village. 
19 


20  Clarence  13,  IBagleg 

On  the  24th  of  December,  1865,  he  was  married  to  Alice  Mercer. 
In  1866  he  received  an  appointment  as  clerk  in  the  surveyor  general's 
office  under  Selucius  Garfielde,  in  Olympia,  and  he  and  his  young  bride 
removed  to  that  place,  where  he  was  employed  in  that  office  for  nearly 
three  years.  Late  in  1868  he  went  into  the  printing  office  of  Randall 
H.  Hewitt,  where  he  learned  the  printer's  trade,  being  employed  upon 
the  Territorial  Republican  and  the  Echo,  the  latter  a  temperance 
paper.  This  paper  he  bought  the  next  year  and  continued  to  publish 
until  1869,  when  he  disposed  of  his  interest  in  it.  In  1869  he  was 
employed  upon  the  Commercial  Age,  a  paper  recently  established  in 
Olympia,  and  in  October  was  elected  clerk  of  the  council  of  the  legisla- 
ture, serving  during  that  winter.  In  1870  the  Commercial  Age  was 
discontinued  and  he  and  his  wife  then  returned  to  Seattle  and  lived 
there  during  the  remainder  of  that  year  and  until  May,  1871. 

During  the  winter  of  1870  his  time  was  occupied  in  aiding  in  the 
development  of  the  Newcastle  coal  mines.  Much  of  the  time  he  had 
charge  of  the  company's  store  at  Newcastle  and  of  the  company's 
operations  above  ground.  In  JNIay,  1871,  he  received  appointment 
from  Samuel  Coulter  as  deputy  in  the  office  of  the  internal  revenue 
collector  of  Washington  at  Olympia  and  held  that  position  until  1873. 
In  November,  1872,  he  was  appointed  business  manager  and  city 
editor  of  the  Puget  Sound  Courier,  which  had  been  established  on 
January  1st  of  that  year  in  Olympia.  In  1873  he  and  Samuel  Coulter 
and  Thomas  M.  Reed  bought  that  newspaper  and  the  printing  office 
connected  with  it.  Later  in  that  year  he  bought  the  interest  of  his 
partners. 

In  the  fall  of  1873  he  was  appointed  by  Henry  G.  Struve,  secretary 
of  the  territory,  territorial  printer  and  he  held  that  position  under  dif- 
ferent secretaries  for  ten  j^ears,  during  which  period  he  also  continued 
to  edit  and  publish  the  Courier  and  to  carry  on  a  large  job  printing 
business  connected  with  it.  In  1884  he  disposed  of  his  interest  in  the 
newspaper  and  printing  office  and  for  several  months  had  charge  of 
the  office  of  the  collector  of  internal  revenue  in  Portland,  Oregon. 

In  1874  he  was  again  ajjpointed  deputy  collector  of  internal  reve- 
nue by  Edward  Giddings  with  full  charge  of  the  office.  Mr.  Giddings 
died  in  April,  1876,  and  Mr.  Bagley  remained  acting  collector  until 
July  1st,  when  Major  James  R.  Hayden  assumed  charge  as  collector 
and  Mr.  Bagley  retained  the  chief  deputyship.  They  served  together 
until  the  Washington  district  was  consolidated  with  Oregon,  and  then 
the  latter  retained  his  deputyship  under  Collector  John  C.  Cartwright 
until  President  Cleveland  appointed  a  democrat  early  in  1885. 

Soon   afterward  he   disposed  of  his   interests   in   Olympia  and 


eiatgnce  15,  15agleg  21 

returned  to  Seattle  to  live.  He  began  at  once  to  clear  the  site  for  his 
future  home  from  the  original  forest  in  the  northern  part  of  the  city, 
on  the  old  donation  claim  of  his  wife's  father,  Thomas  Mercer,  then  a 
long  way  from  the  settled  part  of  the  town,  and  in  1886  he  and  his  fam- 
ily established  themselves  in  their  new  home,  where  they  have  contin- 
ued to  reside  to  the  present  date.  That  year  he  and  several  other 
gentlemen  bought  the  Post-Intelligencer  daily  and  weekly  news- 
paper, and  during  the  next  year  he  was  its  business  manager,  until  it 
was  bought  by  L.  S.  J.  Hunt.  He  then  purchased  a  new  outfit  and 
started  in  his  old  business  of  job  printing. 

Soon  afterward  he  was  associated  with  Homer  M.  Hill  in  the  own- 
ership and  publication  of  the  Daily  Press.  In  1888  he  disposed  of  his 
interests  in  the  printing  office  and  newspaper  and  early  in  1889  joined 
with  a  party  of  gentlemen  in  the  establishment  of  a  bank  in  the  north 
part  of  the  city.  A  j^ear  later  he  sold  out  his  interest  in  that  institution. 
In  1890  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  house  of  delegates  of  the  city 
council  and  served  a  two-year  term. 

During  1890,  1891,  1892  and  1893  he  made  several  trips  to  Chi- 
cago, having  been  appointed  by  Governor  E.  P.  Ferry  an  alternate 
commissioner  of  the  Columbian  Exposition,  then  planning  to  be  held 
in  Chicago  in  1893.  He  was  one  of  those  who  voted  for  and  secured 
the  establishment  of  the  Exposition  on  the  site  at  Jackson  Park.  In 
1892  he  joined  in  the  establishment  of  another  bank  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  city  and  had  charge  of  that  institution  until  the  disastrous 
failures  of  so  many  institutions  in  1893  carried  that  institution  down 
in  the  general  crash. 

In  September,  1894,  he  received  an  appointment  from  Will  H. 
Parry  as  deputy  in  the  office  of  city  comptroller  and  served  in  that 
position  until  1900,  when  he  was  appointed  secretary  of  the  board  of 
public  works  of  the  city,  which  position  he  has  continued  to  occupy 
until  the  present  time,  having  already  completed  twenty-one  years  of 
continuous  service  in  the  employ  of  the  city. 

Early  in  his  business  career  he  began  the  preservation  of  the  news- 
papers of  the  territory  and  its  laws  and  journals,  and  during  the  lapse 
of  years  gathered  a  large  and  extremely  valuable  collection.  About 
1900  he  began  writing  sketches  and  articles  for  the  newspapers  and 
the  magazines  of  the  northwest  pertaining  to  the  early  history  of 
Western  Washington  and  particularly  of  Seattle.  This  revived  his 
interest  in  the  collecting  of  historical  material  and  he  began  assembling 
all  the  books,  pamphlets  and  publications  accessible  pertaining  to  the 
Pacific  Northwest,  chiefly  of  the  old  Oregon  territory.  At  the  present 
time  he  has  the  largest  and  best  selected  collection  of  that  character 


22  Clarence  13,  loagleg 

extant  excepting  that  of  the  Oregon  Historical  Association  at  Port- 
land and  the  hbrary  of  British  Columbia  at  Victoria. 

During  the  period  of  the  Civil  war  he  was  a  strong  believer  in  the 
justice  of  the  Union  cause  and  a  supporter  of  the  Union  party  in 
Seattle  and  immediately  after  the  close  of  the  war  attached  himself  to 
the  republican  party  and  has  been  a  member  of  that  organization  all 
the  later  years. 

Clarence  B.  Bagley  and  Alice  Mercer  were  married  by  Rev.  C.  G. 
Belknap,  in  Seattle,  December  24,  1865. 

Their  children  are :  Rena,  born  in  Seattle,  August  3, 1868 ;  Myrta, 
born  in  Olympia,  December  22,  1871;  Ethel  W.,  born  in  Olympia, 
June  16,  1877;  Alice  Claire,  born  in  Olympia,  November  4,  1879; 
Cecil  Clarence,  born  in  Seattle,  July  21,  1888. 

Rena  Bagley  and  Frank  S.  Griffith  were  married  in  Seattle,  Janu- 
ary 10,  1893.    Daughter,  Phyllis,  born  September  2,  1896. 

Myrta  Bagley  and  Earle  R.  Jenner  were  married  in  Seattle,  April 
21,  1897.  Sons:  Earle  B.,  born  July  28,  1900;  Lawrence  M.,  born 
July  2,  1909;  Frederick  C,  born  July  2,  1911. 

Ethel  W.  Bagley  and  H.  Eugene  Allen  were  married  in  Seattle, 
March  2,  1904.  Sons:  Richard  B.,  born  July  19,  1907;  Robert  M., 
born  May  23,  1911. 

Alice  Claire  Bagley  and  Frederick  Dent  Hammons  were  married 
in  Seattle,  June  24,  1900. 

Cecil  Clarence  Bagley  and  Myrtle  Park  were  married  November 
26,  1912.    Son:    Park  Daniel,  bom  May  20,  1914. 


Sfacot)  jFurtjj 

JHILE  a  city  owes  its  existence,  its  upbuilding  and  im- 
provement not  to  a  single  individual  but  to  the  united 
efforts  of  many,  there  are  always  those  who  are  leaders 
in  the  public  life  and  whose  efforts  constitute  the 
foundation  upon  which  is  builded  much  of  the  ma- 
terial prosperity  and  the  civic  advancement.  To  this 
cl'ass  belonged  Jacob  Furth,  who  was  long  prominently  known  in 
banking  circles  of  the  northwest  and  who  was  most  active  in  estab- 
lishing and  promoting  the  street  railway  system  of  Seattle  and  the 
interurban  systems  of  this  section  of  the  country.  The  extent  and 
residents  of  the  northwest  and  his  record  indicates  what  may  be  accom- 
plished by  the  young  man  of  foreign  birth  who  seeks  the  opportuni- 
ties of  the  new  world  and  has  the  energy  and  determination  to  improve 
them.  But  while  Jacob  Furth  was  masterful,  commanding  and  dyna- 
mic in  his  business  affairs,  he  regarded  business  as  but  one  phase  of 
existence,  and  he  was  not  less  the  public-spirited  citizen  and  the 
philanthropist  than  he  was  the  successful  financier.  Indeed,  there 
was  no  period  in  all  of  his  career  when  business  so  occupied  his  atten- 
tion that  he  would  not  turn  to  listen  to  some  plan  for  the  city's  better- 
ment or  some  tale  whereby  his  personal  aid  was  sought  for  an 
individual  or  an  organization.  He  is  therefore  entitled  to  three-fold 
prominence. 

Mr.  Furth  was  born  at  Schwihau,  Bohemia,  November  15,  1840, 
a  son  of  Lazar  and  Anna  (Popper)  Furth,  who  were  also  natives  of 
that  land.  After  attending  school  to  the  age  of  thirteen  years  Jacob 
Furth  began  learning  the  confectioner's  trade,  which  he  followed 
for  three  years.  The  tales  which  reached  him  concerning  the  oppor- 
tunities of  the  United  States  determined  him  to  try  his  fortune  in 
America  when  he  was  a  youth  of  sixteen,  and  with  California  as  his 
destination  he  bade  adieu  to  friends  and  native  land,  arriving  in  San 
Francisco  in  1856.  A  week  later  he  left  the  Cahfornia  metropolis 
for  Nevada  City,  using  his  last  ten  dollars  in  making  the  trip.  Finan- 
cial conditions  rendered  it  imperative  that  he  obtain  immediate 
employment  and  he  accepted  a  clerkship  in  a  clothing  store,  where 
he  was  employed  mornings  and  evenings,  while  the  daytime  was 
25 


26  3Iaco&  jTiirtf)- 

improved  bj'  attendance  at  the  public  schools  for  a  period  of  about  six 
months.  He  thereby  acquainted  himself  with  the  English  language, 
after  which  he  put  aside  his  textbooks  and  devoted  all  of  liis  atten- 
tion to  business.  His  salary  was  originally  onlj^  forty  dollars  per 
month,  but  he  proved  so  capable  and  faithful  that  promotion  came  to 
him  rapidly  and  at  the  end  of  three  years  he  was  receiving  three  hun- 
dred dollars  per  month.  The  cost  of  living  might  then,  as  now,  have 
received  wide  comment,  but,  notvwthstanding  this,  he  saved  from  his 
earnings  enough  to  enable  him  to  embark  in  business  on  his  own 
account  in  1862,  at  which  time  he  opened  a  clothing  and  dry-goods 
store,  which  he  conducted  for  eight  years.  In  1870  he  removed  to 
Colusa,  where  he  established  a  general  mercantile  store,  of  which  he 
remained  proprietor  until  1882.  On  account  of  impaired  health  he 
then  made  a  trip  to  the  Puget  Sound  country  and,  although  Seattle 
was  then  scarcely  more  than  a  village,  he  recognized  something  of 
its  opportunities  and  resolved  to  stai't  a  bank  in  the  growing  little 
town.  In  cooperation  with  San  Francisco  friends  he  organized  the 
Puget  Sound  National  Bank,  vdth  a  capital  of  fifty  thousand  dollars, 
and  took  charge  as  its  cashier.  In  the  first  few  months  of  its  existence 
he  also  acted  as  receiving  and  paying  teller  and  bookkeeper  and, 
indeed,  was  the  only  employe  of  the  bank  as  well  as  its  only  officer  in 
Seattle.  It  was  not  long,  however,  before  the  patronage  increased, 
making  it  necessary  for  Mr.  Furth  to  have  assistance,  and  within  a 
few  years  the  capital  was  doubled  and  has  since  been  increased  several 
times  without  calling  upon  the  stockholders  to  put  up  any  additional 
money,  the  earnings  of  the  bank  being  sufficient  to  increase  the  capital 
stock.  In  1893  Mr.  Furth  was  elected  to  the  presidency  and  so  con- 
tinued until  its  consolidation  with  the  Seattle  National  Bank,  after 
which  he  became  chairman  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  latter.  He 
became  recognized  as  one  of  the  foremost  factors  in  banking  circles 
in  the  northwest,  thoroughly  conversant  with  every  phase  of  the  busi- 
ness and  capable  of  solving  many  intricate  and  complex  financial 
problems. 

Extending  his  efforts  to  other  fields,  he  organized  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Snohomish  in  1896  and  remained  one  of  its  stock- 
holders and  directors  until  his  demise.  He  had  similar  connection 
with  several  other  banks  in  different  parts  of  the  state  and  his  efforts 
proved  a  stimulus  in  securing  success  for  other  business  interests.  In 
1884  he  organized  the  California  Land  &  Stock  Company,  owning  a 
farm  of  nearly  fourteen  thousand  acres  in  Lincoln  count j^ — one  pf 
the  largest  in  the  state — the  greater  part  of  it  being  devoted  to  wheat 
growing,  with  some  gi-azing  land  and  pasture  for  cattle  and  horses. 


3[aco6  Suttb  27 

Of  this  company  Mr.  Furth  continued  as  president  until  his  death. 
Even  that  added  to  his  financial  affairs  did  not  cover  the  scope  of  his 
activities.  He  was  not  only  a  student  of  conditions  affecting  his 
individual  interests,  but  also  of  those  conditions  affecting  the  city 
and  growing  out  of  its  developnaent  and  advancement.  When  Seat- 
tle's increasing  population  made  it  necessary  that  there  should  be 
street  railway  facilities  he  became  interested  in  the  subject  and  as 
appliances  for  the  operation  of  electric  railways  were  developed  and 
perfected  his  energies  were  more  and  more  largely  directed  to  the 
building  and  management  of  urban  and  interurban  electric  railway 
systems.  The  year  1900  witnessed  the  organization  of  the  Seattle 
Electric  Company,  of  which  he  became  president  and  which  now 
operates  more  than  one  hundred  miles  of  track.  He  aided  in  organiz- 
ing and  became  the  president  of  the  Puget  Sound  Electric  Railwaj'^ 
in  1902,  this  corporation  controlling  the  line  between  Seattle  and 
Tacoma  and  also  owning  the  street  railways  in  Tacoma  and  most  of 
the  other  cities  and  towns  of  the  Puget  Sound  country.  He  was  also 
president  of  the  Vulcan  Iron  Works.  Mr.  Furth  made  further  invest- 
ment in  property,  including  much  Seattle  real  estate  and  splendid 
timber  lands  throughout  the  northwest.  His  sound  business  judg- 
ment and  sagacity  were  shown  in  the  excellent  income  which  resulted 
from  his  investments,  making  him  one  of  the  foremost  men  in  wealth 
as  well  as  in  business  enterprise  in  the  northwest. 

Ere  leaving  California  Mr.  Furth  was  married  to  Miss  Lucy  A. 
Dunten,  a  native  of  Indiana,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  three 
daughters:  Jane  E.,  Anna  F.,  and  Sidonia,  the  second  daughter 
being  now  the  wife  of  Frederick  K.  Struve.  The  family  is  widely 
and  prominently  known  in  Seattle,  occupying  a  position  of  leader- 
ship in  social  circles. 

Mr.  Furth  was  a  valued  representative  of  the  Masonic  fraternity 
and  of  several  social  organizations.  He  became  a  Mason  in  Colusa 
county,  California,  in  1870,  and  while  there  residing  was  master  of 
his  lodge.  He  was  also  a  Royal  Arch  Mason  and  he  belonged  to  the 
Rainier  Club,  the  Golf  Club,  the  Commercial  Club  of  Seattle  and  the 
Seattle  Chamber  of  Commerce.  He  was  president  of  the  last  named 
for  two  terms  and  his  identification  therewith  indicated  his  interest 
in  the  city's  upbuilding  and  business  development.  He  voted  with  the 
republican  party  and  sought  its  success  without  desiring  official 
reward.  He  served,  however,  as  a  member  of  the  Seattle  city  coun- 
cil from  1885  vmtil  1891  and  in  that  connection,  as  in  private  life, 
labored  earnestly  for  the  benefit  and  upbuilding  of  the  municipalitJ^ 
Mr.  Furth  had  no  special  advantages  bej'^ond  those  which  others 


28  3[acoli  JFuttS 

enjoy,  but  he  worked  perhaps  a  little  harder  a  little  more  persistently, 
studied  business  situations  and  questions  more  thoroughly  and  thus 
was  able  to  make  more  judicious  investments  and  to  direct  his  labors 
more  intelligently,  with  the  result  that  he  won  place  among  the  most 
prosperous  citizens  of  the  northwest,  ranking,  too,  with  those  who, 
while  promoting  individual  prosperity,  advance  the  general  welfare. 
Indeed,  it  was  his  public  service  for  the  benefit  of  his  city  and  his 
kindliness  to  his  f ellowmen  that  gained  him  a  firm  hold  upon  the  affec- 
tion of  those  with  whom  he  was  brought  in  contact.  He  passed  away 
in  June,  1914,  and  the  Post-Intelligencer  wrote  of  him: 

"More  than  a  half  century  ago  a  Bohemian  boy  left  the  confec- 
tioner's shop  in  Buda-Pesth  where  he  was  employed  and  crossed  the 
great  ocean  to  seek  his  fortune  in  the  golden  west  of  America.  The 
boy  brought  with  him  a  heritage  of  virtues — sobriety,  thrift,  industry 
and  honesty.  He  set  himself  a  high  ideal,  and  throughout  a  long  life 
which  saw  the  poor  boy  transformed  into  the  man  of  riches  and 
power,  throughout  a  hfe  which  put  into  his  hands  the  means  of  work- 
ing great  good  or  great  evil,  Jacob  Furth  steadfastly  followed  that 
high  ideal,  practicing  in  private  as  in  public  the  simple  creed  of  honesty 
and  kindliness,  making  of  his  every  act  the  example  of  a  courageous, 
intelligent  gentleman  and  leader  of  men.  A  steadfastness  of  pur- 
pose, a  judgment  imbiased  by  prejudice,  a  devout  belief  in  the  good 
which  lies  in  all  human  kind,  a  faithful  adherence  to  the  old-fashioned 
virtues  which  are  the  foundation  of  our  civilization ;  these  traits  char- 
acterized Jacob  Furth,  molder  of  gi-eat  enterprises.  To  his  own 
family  Mr.  Furth  was  a  loving  husband  and  father.  To  his  business 
associates  and  subordinates  he  was  the  courteous  gentleman,  the  great 
leader,  quick  to  grasp  and  utilize  large  ideas,  the  fair-minded  judge 
and  the  liberal  employer.  His  charities  are  beyond  the  enumeration 
of  even  those  closest  to  him.  He  gave  publicly  on  every  worthy 
occasion,  but  always  without  ostentation.  He  gave  privately  beyond 
the  belief  of  even  his  closest  friends,  and  always  aimed  to  make  his 
giving  a  matter  of  substantial  aid  rather  than  charity  in  the  narrower 
sense  of  the  word. 

"In  the  community  which  he  served  so  many  years  Jacob  Furth 
was  a  leader.  His  counsel  served  time  and  again  to  guard  against 
hasty  and  hot-headed  action,  and  in  business  his  advice  was  regarded 
as  invaluable.  Jacob  Furth  served  Seattle  loyally  and  the  highest 
ideal  actuated  him  in  questions"  of  public  moment.  From  the  day  he 
chose  this  city  as  his  home  he  gave  liberally  of  time  and  influence  and 
energy  to  build  up  the  community  about  him.  Possessed  of  great 
power  throughout  his  maturity,  Mr.  Furth  strove  to  serve  honestly 


3laco&  jFutti)  29 

and  faithfully  those  who  put  their  faith  in  him  and  to  help  his  fellow- 
men  by  standing  for  the  things  his  judgment  told  him  were  best  for 
the  conmimiity.  The  figure  of  Jacob  Fm-th  has  been  familiar  to 
Seattle,  identified  with  great  affairs  of  tliis  city  for  the  past  thirty- 
one  years.  Of  mediimi  stature,  broad  of  shoulder  and  vigorous,  age 
seemed  to  encroach  little  upon  him.  His  rugged  face  spelled  power 
and  self-mastery,  and  the  eyes,  which  looked  upon  the  world  from 
behind  lenses,  were  a  fascinating  reflection  of  the  mind  of  the  man,  at 
times  kindly  and  smiling,  at  times  commanding,  often  sympathetic. 
Always  this  intelligent  gaze  was  leveled  on  whomever  Mr.  Fm-th 
addressed,  a  direct,  fearless  glance  which  appraised  and  judged  rap- 
idly and  accurately. 

"Calm  self-control  was  the  most  striking  characteristic  of  the 
banker.  When  he  spoke  it  was  in  low  tones,  clear  and  forceful,  and 
he  wasted  few  words.  He  listened  much,  weighing  and  judging, 
with  attention  riveted  on  the  matter  in  hand.  His  decisions  were 
given  rapidly,  but  without  haste.  Kindliness  was  a  great  ingredient 
of  Mr.  Furth's  character.  Throughout  his  life  he  displayed  a  ready 
sympathy  for  all  manner  and  conditions  of  people,  a  sympathy  which 
could  put  him  into  the  attitude  of  any  person  who  came  to  him  with 
a  problem  to  solve.  'Mr.  Furth  could  put  himself  in  the  place  of  a 
boy  of  ten  who  had  broken  his  skates  as  readily  as  he  could  under- 
stand the  feelings  of  a  man  or  woman  in  their  greatest  misfortune,' 
said  one  who  knew  him  intimately.  Members  of  his  family  never  hesi- 
tated to  consult  him  even  during  business  hours  on  the  most  com- 
monplace of  domestic  problems  and  always  found  him  ready  to  drop 
the  big  business  in  hand  to  understand  and  advise  in  their  perplexities. 
Strangers  of  any  degree  had  no  difficulty  in  gaining  an  audience  with 
the  banker  and  railway  president.  He  could  be  found  at  his  office 
in  the  Puget  Sound  National  Bank  (now  the  Seattle  National)  or  in 
the  Electric  Company  office,  in  the  Pioneer  building,  at  any  time 
from  eight  until  six  o'clock,  and  the  request  for  an  interview  was 
sufficient  to  gain  audience. 

"As  a  man  of  great  power,  Mr.  Furth  was  perpetually  sought  by 
men  with  schemes — good,  bad  and  indifferent.  The  great  strength 
of  the  man  who  deals  in  millions,  who  finances  and  manages  great 
enterprises  or  who  puts  his  capital  out  at  interest  is  his  judgment  of 
men.  Mr.  Furth  made  up  his  mind  promptly  and  from  his  own 
observation.  A  personal  interview  was  almost  invariably  the  manner 
by  which  the  banker  decided  on  a  course  of  action.  Once  he  had  satis- 
fied himself  of  a  man's  honesty  he  stood  ready  to  back  his  opinion 
with  all  the  money  that  reason  justified  employing.     The  reputation 


30  31aco&  jFutt^ 

of  a  man  who  practices  simple  honesty,  who  serves  faithfully  and  well 
those  who  trust  him  is  the  greatest  gain  he  can  hope  from  life.  Such 
a  reputation  Jacob  Furth  built  up  in  his  handling  of  large  affairs  in 
this  city,  and  as  the  affairs  grew  in  importance  the  name  and  repu- 
tation of  the  man  grew  with  them  until  his  was  a  figure  of  more  than 
local  fame.  The  crown  of  this  phase  of  a  busy  career  came  at  the 
time  of  the  great  earthquake  and  fire  which  in  three  brief  days 
devastated  the  city  of  San  Francisco.  When  the  appeal  of  the 
stricken  city  went  out  to  the  world,  hearts  were  touched  and  purses 
opened  in  every  state  of  the  Union.  There  was  a  tremendous  compe- 
tition to  get  into  the  stricken  city  those  things  most  needed  by  the 
homeless  thousands.  The  great  state  of  Massachusetts  raised  a  mil- 
lion dollars  by  public  subscription  and  sought  to  put  this  money  to 
its  best  use  for  the  benefit  of  the  fire  sufi'erers.  Far  distant  from  the 
disaster,  it  was  decided  to  employ  some  agent  whose  honesty  and 
judgment  would  best  serve  the  purpose  of  the  subscribers.  Jacob 
Furth,  the  banker,  thousands  of  miles  away  in  Seattle,  was  the  man 
chosen.  To  him  Massachusetts  handed  a  million  dollars  with  the 
simple  direction  that  it  be  spent  for  the  best  interests  of  the  people  of 
San  Francisco.  Here  was  a  task  to  try  the  greatest  man.  A  million 
dollars  is  a  tremendous  power  for  good  or  evil.  San  Francisco  was 
in  chaotic  state  and  it  was  difficult  indeed  to  learn  the  needs  of  the 
city  or  how  to  administer  to  them.  Mr.  Furth  undertook  the  trust 
with  characteristic  calmness  and  dispatch.  Relief  work  was  organized 
rapidly  and  carried  out  systematically.  Ways  were  devised  of  doing 
the  greatest  good  with  the  money  at  hand,  and  the  things  most  needed 
found  their  way  to  the  hands  of  those  most  in  want.  As  simply  as  he 
undertook  the  slightest  problem,  as  seriously  as  he  undertook  the  big- 
gest transaction,  Jacob  Furth  accepted  the  trust  of  Massachusetts 
and  did  its  errand  of  mercy. 

"Some  months  later  Mr.  Furth  journeyed  to  Boston  to  make  an 
account  of  the  funds  in  his  care.  On  this  occasion  he  was  the  guest 
of  honor  at  a  banquet  complimentary  to  his  work  and  his  honesty,  a 
banquet  at  which  the  governor  of  Massachusetts,  the  mayor  of  Bos- 
ton and  many  noted  men  were  present  to  thank  the  agent  of  a  state's 
charity.  The  thanks  given  on  this  occasion  by  speech  and  by  the 
press  made  a  profound  impression  upon  Mr.  Furth.  His  shrewd 
appraisement  of  values  placed  this  incident,  where  it  belongs, 
amongst  the  greatest  moments  of  his  busy  life.  No  man  could  seek 
greater  honor  than  this  mighty  faith  in  his  ability  and  his  integrity." 

When  Jacob  Furth  passed  away  expressions  of  the  deepest  regret 
were  heard  on  every  hand,  and  men  who  guided  the  destinies  of  Seat- 


3laco&  jFuttii  31 

tie  along  the  lines  of  its  greatest  activity,  professional,  commercial 
and  municipal,  bore  testimony  to  his  worth.  One  said:  "Seattle  has 
lost  its  greatest  friend.  There  was  never  a  man  in  this  city  who 
could  have  accomplished  for  the  transportation  of  Seattle  what  was 
brought  about  by  Mr.  Furth,  but  since  all  this  was  known  best  to 
those  who  have  lived  here  for  long,  the  later  generations  are  unaware 
of  it."  Another  said:  "Should  Mr.  Furth  in  his  lifetime  have  sud- 
denly withdrawn  the  energy  and  money  he  put  into  this  city,  there  are 
many  now  in  prosperous  business  life  who  would  not  be  here.  He 
was  a  strong  factor  in  commercial  and  transportation  Ufe,  such  as 
has  been  given  to  few  cities  on  the  continent  to  enjoy.  He  helped 
many  men  in  public  life  whose  stories  were  a  sealed  book  to  all  but 
the  great  benefactor  who  has  passed  away,  for  he  never  told  of  them. 
He  helped  others,  not  from  a  mercenary  motive,  but  because  he 
wanted  to  see  everybody  prosper."  Seattle's  mayor  expressed  his  opin- 
ion of  Mr.  Fiu-th  in  the  following  words:  "His  was  one  of  the  kind- 
liest personalities  I  ever  knew.  He  did  much  for  Seattle  and  the 
northwest  and  aided  immeasurably  in  its  material  upbuilding."  J. 
E.  ChUberg,  president  of  the  new  Chamber  of  Commerce,  spoke  of 
Mr.  Furth  as  follows:  "Mr.  Furth  was  one  of  the  oldest  and  most 
active  members  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce.  In  his  capacity  as 
trustee  he  rendered  invaluable  service.  As  one  of  the  oldest  bankers 
in  the  city  he  was  progressive  and  generous,  always  ready  with  help 
and  encouragement  to  advance  the  business  interests  of  Seattle.  He 
was  a  liberal  contributor  to  all  funds  requiring  the  expenditure  of 
money  for  the  benefit  of  the  communitJ^  Mr.  Furth  occupied  a 
position  unique  among  our  citizens.  As  a  public-spirited  citizen  he 
was  essentially  a  product  of  such  times,  and  the  early  history  of  Seat- 
tle, which  necessitated  cooperation  and  banded  business  men  together 
for  the  common  good.  He  was  one  of  a  class  of  citizens  now  passing 
from  us  that  no  future  condition  of  Seattle  will  or  need  develop. 
Hundreds  of  business  men  will  mourn  the  loss  of  their  best  business 
friend,  one  who  never  failed  them  in  their  hour  of  need."  Judge 
Thomas  Burke  wrote:  "Jacob  Furth  was  an  unusual  man.  To 
exceptional  ability  he  united  a  high  order  of  public  spirit  and  great 
kindness  of  heart.  It  would  be  difficult  to  overestimate  his  work  in 
the  upbuilding  of  Seattle.  His  time,  his  strength  and  his  money 
were  always  at  the  call  of  the  city.  In  his  many  years  of  residence 
here  I  doubt  if  he  was  ever  once  called  upon  for  help  or  leadership 
in  any  public  matter  in  which  he  failed  to  respond  and  respond  cheer- 
fully, liberally  and  with  genuine  public  spirit.  He  was  a  man  of 
sound  judgment  and  admirable  balance.     He  never  lost  liis  head  no 


32  3[acoft  JFuttt^ 

matter  how  great  the  excitement  or  agitation  around  him  was.  No 
one  could  hold  fifteen  minutes  conversation  with  him  without  feel- 
ing that  he  was  talking  with  a  man  of  great  reserve  power.  He  was 
a  man  of  courage  and  wonderful  self-control.  He  kept  his  own  coim- 
sel,  whether  it  related  to  the  transaction  of  his  large  and  varied  busi- 
ness affairs  or  to  the  numberless  acts  of  kindness  which  he  was 
constantly  doing  for  others.  It  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  few  bankers,  in 
this  or  any  other  community,  to  do  so  many  acts  of  substantial  kind- 
ness for  his  customers  and  for  others.  Many  a  man  in  this  community 
owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  Jacob  Furth  for  a  helping  hand  at  a  criti- 
cal junctm-e  in  his  affairs.  His  passing  from  the  scene  of  action  here 
is,  and  wiU  continue  to  be  for  many  years  to  come,  a  serious  loss  to 
Seattle." 

Love  of  family  was  one  of  the  most  marked  of  Jacob  Furth's 
traits.  He  enjoyed  having  his  immediate  kin  about  him  more  than 
any  form  of  social  entertainment.  Consulted  about  guest  lists 
he  would  name  his  children  and  consider  the  matter  closed.  So  cer- 
tain was  he  in  this  response  that  the  matter  became  an  affectionate 
joke  among  those  dear  to  him.  Not  even  Jacob  Furth's  family  have 
a  definite  idea  of  the  number  of  his  charitable  interests.  He  gave 
promptly  and  freely  wherever  his  judgment  justified  giving.  At 
times  he  was  imposed  upon,  but  he  bore  no  ill  will.  As  a  rule  his  inter- 
est in  the  needy  was  wisely  placed.  To  every  public  charity  of  worth 
Mr.  Furth  gave  with  equal  liberality.  His  name  has  headed  sub- 
scription lists  innumerable  and  his  influence  and  advice  have  solved 
many  a  problem  of  moment  to  institutions  designed  to  do  good.  But 
the  great  test  of  charity  is  its  application  to  private  life.  Charity 
that  gives  is  fine,  but  how  much  finer  the  charity  that  rules  everj'^  act ! 
Those  who  knew  Mr.  Furth  intimately  are  agreed  he  did  not  bear 
ill  will.  Men  who  deceived  him  he  refused  to  deal  with,  but  for  them 
he  could  always  find  extenuation.  His  faculty  of  placing  himself  in 
another's  situation  gave  him  insight  and  sympathy  which  placed 
values  in  their  true  light.  He  always  found  time  to  express  under- 
standing of  and  sympathy  for  the  motives  of  those  who  were  against 
him. 

Jacob  Furth  came  to  Seattle  a  successful  man  in  the  prime  of  his 
life.  He  brought  a  splendid  heritage — rugged  health,  honesty, 
sobriety,  thrift  and  a  keen  judgment.  He  guided  himself  by  a  sim- 
ple creed,  striving  to  do  right  as  he  saw  it,  to  understand  and  forgive 
those  who  were  against  him,  to  be  just  and  to  be  kind.  He  succeeded 
as  few  men  may  hope  to  succeed.  Though  the  immigrant  boy  rose  to 
a  position  of  tremendous  power  and  responsibility,  he  served  well  and 


3facoli  JFuttlJ 


33 


wisely,  and  in  his  success  he  gave  unsparingly  to  help  those  about  him 
and  the  community  of  which  he  was  proud.  The  passing  of  Jacob 
Furth  is  the  passing  of  a  figure  of  tremendous  interest,  it  marks  the 
close  of  a  career  which  embodied  those  virtues  that  may  well  serve  as 
a  pattern  for  men.  A  father  has  been  lost  to  his  family;  a  loved 
neighbor  has  been  taken  from  the  community;  a  leader  has  passed 
from  the  city,  and  a  kindly,  generous  gentleman  has  gone  to  his 
reward. 


1823103 


^^?^^ 


?|orace  CH.  ftentp 


jORACE  C.  HENRY,  a  capitalist  and  railroad 
builder,  was  bom  in  Bennington,  Vermont,  October 
6,  1844,  his  parents  being  Paul  Mandell  and  Aurelia 
(Squire)  Henry.  In  the  paternal  line  he  comes  of 
Scotch-Irish  ancestry.  His  great-grandfather,  leav- 
ing the  north  of  Ireland,  was  brought  to  America  in 
1730,  when  but  four  years  of  age.  Aurelia  Squire,  who  was  born  in 
New  Haven,  Vermont,  was  of  noted  New  England  ancestry,  being 
a  daughter  of  Wait  Sqviire  and  granddaughter  of  Lieutenant 
Andrew  Squire.  The  former  married  Hannah  Powell,  daughter  of 
Colonel  Miles  Powell.  One  of  the  sisters  of  Mrs.  Henry  was  Hul- 
dana  Squire,  who  became  the  mother  of  Mrs.  R.  A.  Alger,  wife  of 
General  R.  A.  Alger,  of  Detroit,  Michigan. 

After  attending  district  schools  Horace  C.  Henry  continued  his 
education  in  the  Norwich  Military  Academy  at  Norwich,  Vermont, 
an  institution  which  was  the  alma  mater  of  Admiral  Dewey  and 
many  other  distinguished  officers.  In  1862,  when  eighteen  years  of 
age,  he  put  aside  his  studies  to  enlist  in  the  army  and  for  one  year 
served  as  orderly  sergeant  of  Company  A,  Fourteenth  Vermont  Vol- 
unteers, with  which  he  participated  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg. 
Although  he  did  not  return  to  the  university  at  Norwich  after  his 
military  experience,  he  received  his  degree  in  regular  course  accord- 
ing to  the  usual  custom  of  educational  institutions  during  the  Civil 
war.  Following  his  service  in  the  army  he  was  elected  first  lieutenant 
in  the  Vermont  State  Militia  and  in  1864  he  entered  Williams  Col- 
lege as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1868,  but  in  1865,  became  a  student  in 
Hobart  College  at  Geneva,  New  York,  to  which  place  his  family  had 
removed.  On  account  of  ill  health  he  was  forced  to  give  up  his  col- 
legiate course  in  1866,  and,  hoping  that  a  change  of  climate  would 
prove  beneficial,  he  went  to  Minneapolis,  Minnesota,  where  he  obtained 
employment  with  R.  B.  Langdon,  who  had  gone  to  that  city  from  Ver- 
mont and  was  largely  interested  in  railway  contracting.  With  Mr. 
Langdon  he  served  successively  in  the  capacities  of  clerk,  paymaster 
and  finally  superintendent  of  construction.  He  remained  with  Mr. 
Langdon  for  ten  years,  thoroughly  familiarizing  himself  with  the 
37 


38  Rotate  C.  l^encg 

business,  in  which  he  was  destined  to  become  one  of  the  most  successful 
and  important  men  in  the  country, 

Mr.  Henry  took  his  first  large  contract  for  railway  construction 
in  1878,  it  being  with  the  Minneapolis  &  St.  Louis  Railway  Com- 
pany. He  was  afterward  accorded  contracts  by  the  MinneapoHs, 
St.  Paul  &  Sault  Ste.  Marie  Railway  Company  and  with  his  asso- 
ciates built  about  one  thousand  miles  of  road  for  those  two  companies. 
He  also  secured  and  executed  many  important  contracts  for  the 
Wisconsin  Central,  the  Duluth,  the  South  Shore  &  Atlantic,  the 
Milwaukee,  Lake  Shore  &  Western,  the  Diagonal,  the  Missouri, 
Kansas  &  Texas,  the  Great  Western  and  other  railroad  companies. 
He  built  two  of  the  great  iron  ore  docks  at  Ashland,  Wisconsin,  one 
at  Marquette  and  the  docks  at  Washburn. 

In  1890  Mr.  Henry  came  to  the  state  of  Washington  to  con- 
struct for  the  Northern  Pacific  Railway  the  original  belt  line  around 
Lake  Washington.  He  afterward  built  the  Everett  &  Monte  Cristo 
Railway,  sixty  miles  in  length.  In  association  with  D.  C.  Sheppard 
&  Company  of  St.  Paul,  he  built  the  Great  Northern  Railway  from 
Seattle  to  Bellingham  and  from  the  smnmit  of  the  Cascades  to  Ever- 
ett, as  well  as  the  cut-off  from  Bellingham  to  Bellevue  and  the  line 
from  Hamilton  to  Rockford  in  the  Skagit  valley.  For  the  North- 
ern Pacific  Railway  Company  he  constructed  the  lines  from  Auburn 
to  Palmer  and  from  Hoquiam  to  the  sea,  together  with  the  present 
belt  line  around  Lake  Washington.  In  1906,  when  the  Chicago, 
Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railroad  Company  decided  to  make  its  exten- 
sion to  the  Pacific  coast,  he  took  the  contract  for  nearly  five  hundred 
miles  of  the  route  across  the  states  of  Idaho  and  Montana,  a  contract 
amounting  to  more  than  fifteen  millions  of  dollars.  In  this  work  he 
employed  at  times  ten  thousand  men  and  the  total  cost  for  explo- 
sives alone  was  over  a  million  dollars.  He  also  built  about  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  of  branch  lines  for  the  Milwaukee,  the  most 
important  of  which  reach  to  Everett,  Spokane  and  Moses  Lake,  and 
the  line  connecting  the  Tacoma  Eastern  with  Gray's  Harbor.  Aside 
from  the  interests  already  mentioned  Mr.  Henry  is  president  of  the 
Pacific  Creosoting  Company  of  Seattle,  owning  one  of  the  largest 
plants  in  the  world  for  the  preservation  of  timber.  The  works  are  at 
Eagle  Harbor  and  have  a  yearly  consumption  of  two  and  one-half 
million  gallons  of  creosote,  all  of  which  is  imported  in  the  company's 
own  ships  from  Europe.  Mr.  Henry  is  likewise  president  of  the 
Northern  Life  Insurance  Company  of  Seattle.  This  company  was 
organized  with  the  primary  purpose  of  competing  for  the  seven  mil- 
lion dollars  worth  of  business  which  was  being  given  annually  by 


I^otace  €♦  l^encg  39 

the  people  of  the  state  to  outside  concerns  for  life,  accident  and 
health  insurance.  The  corporation  has  been  remarkably  successful 
and  is  now  writing  new  business  at  the  rate  of  four  million  dollars  per 
year.  Mr.  Henry  was  treasurer  of  the  National  Bank  of  Coimnerce 
for  seven  years  and  is  now  president  of  the  Metropolitan  Bank  of 
Seattle.  He  is  also  an  active  member  of  the  Metropohtan  Building 
Company,  which  has  erected  the  finest  group  of  office  and  business 
structures  in  the  northwest,  one  of  them  being  named  the  Henry 
building. 

In  Minneapolis,  Mimiesota,  in  December,  1876,  Mr.  Henry  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Susan  Elizabeth  Johnson,  of  St.  John, 
JVew  Brmiswick,  a  daughter  of  Captain  Johnson,  who  was  lost  at  sea 
in  1862.  There  were  four  children  born  of  this  marriage:  Langdon 
Chapin;  Paul  Mandell;  Walter  Horace,  who  died  March  31,  1910, 
at  the  age  of  twenty-six  years;  and  Florence  Aurelia,  who  died  in 
Morristown,  New  Jersey,  at  the  age  of  eighteen.  In  memory  of  his 
deceased  daughter  Mr.  Henry  has  erected  a  beautiful  chapel,  the 
Florence  Henry  Memorial,  at  the  Highlands,  and  in  memory  of  his 
son,  Walter  Horace,  he  has  given  substantial  help  in  erecting  the 
administration  building  of  the  Anti-Tuberculosis  League  on  the  land 
given  bj^  him  for  the  hospital  of  that  organization  north  of  the  city. 
The  Henry  mansion  is  on  Harvard  avenue  North,  and  is  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  residences  and  grounds  in  Seattle. 

As  a  citizen  Mr.  Henry  occupies  a  conspicuous  position  and  is 
widely  known  for  his  public  spirit  and  beneficence.  In  1910  he  was 
elected  president  of  the  King  County  Anti-Tuberculosis  League, 
one  of  the  most  important  organizations  of  the  country  in  the  special 
field  to  which  its  energies  are  devoted.  Commenting  on  the  choice  of 
Mr.  Henry  for  that  office,  the  Seattle  Post-Intelligencer  said  edi- 
torially. "Resourceful  and  methodic  in  his  habits  of  thought,  and 
possessed  of  quick  initiative  and  sound  judgment,  Mr.  Henry  will 
unquestionably  infuse  new  life  into  the  fight  earnest  citizens  of  this 
city  and  county  have  been  waging  against  tuberculosis,  and  will  bring 
to  the  support  of  energies  immediately  under  his  direction  the 
enlightened  sympathy  and  cooperation  of  the  community." 

In  1914  the  state  appropriated  a  sum  of  money  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  all  Civil  war  veterans  living  in  the  state  to  the  great 
reunion  at  Gettysburg.  When  the  time  to  make  the  trip  had  arrived, 
it  was  discovered  that  the  sum  appropriated  was  too  small  by  five 
thousand  dollars  and  that  lots  would  have  to  be  drawn  to  decide  who 
would  remain  behind.  Mr.  Henry  at  once  donated  the  sum  neces- 
sary, thereby  making  it  possible  for  every  veteran  who  took  part  in 


40  f^otact  C«  ^encg 

that  great  conflict  to  attend  the  reunion  if  he  so  desired.  Mr.  Henrjr 
is  himself  a  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  RepubHc  and  proudly 
wears  the  little  bronze  button  that  indicates  his  connection  with  the 
boys  in  blue.  He  is  a  Scottish  Rite  Mason  of  the  thirty-second  degree, 
is  a  life  member  of  the  Ai'ctic,  Athletic  and  Rainier  Clubs  and  served 
as  president  of  the  last  named  from  1894  until  1900.  He  is  also  a 
member  of  the  Seattle  Golf  and  Country  Club,  of  which  he  was  pres- 
ident for  seven  terms,  and  he  is  a  member  of  the  University  and 
Metropohtan  Clubs.  He  was  one  of  the  vice  presidents  of  the 
Alaska- Yukon-Pacific  Exposition. 

To  encourage  the  newsboys  of  Seattle  to  save  a  part  of  their 
earnings,  Mr.  Henry  sent  out  the  following  notice:  "Some  time  dvu*- 
ing  December,  1915,  I  will  pay  three  dollars  to  every  newsboy  who 
makes  twelve  deposits  of  not  less  than  twenty-five  cents  each  month 
during  the  year.  Each  of  the  twelve  monthly  deposits  must  be  made 
out  of  his  own  earnings.  Each  deposit  must  be  made  in  some  savings  - 
bank  in  the  city  and  will  be  noted  in  a  little  bank  book  which  must 
not  be  lost,  as  it  will  be  the  only  evidence  that  the  boy  has  carried  out 
the  contract  and  is  entitled  to  be  paid  the  three  dollars.  It  is  hoped 
that  much  more  than  three  dollars  will  be  deposited.  The  boy  is 
under  no  obligations  to  leave  the  money  in  the  bank  afterwards." 

His  interests  are  broad  and  varied  and  have  been  closely  connected 
with  the  general  welfare.  His  business  activities  have  been  of  a  char- 
acter that  have  contributed  in  notable  measure  to  the  upbuilding  and 
progress  of  the  west,  while  in  all  those  relations  which  have  their  root 
in  broad  humanitarianism,  which  seek  to  ameliorate  hard  conditions  of 
life  for  the  unfortunate  or  which  add  to  the  pleasure  and  happiness  of 
an  individual  or  commimity,  he  has  stood  for  that  which  is  most  worth 
while  and  has  given  thereto  generous  cooperation  in  time  and  mate- 
rial assistance. 


anbreto  Cfjiltiers 


;NDREW  CHILBERG,  president  of  the  Scandina- 
vian-American Bank,  has  a  record  which  stands  in 
incontrovertible  proof  of  the  fact  that  America  is  the 
land  of  opportunity  and  which  proves  in  equally  con- 
clusive manner  that  industry  and  enterprise  have  been 
the  crowning  pouits  in  his  career,  bringing  him  to  a 
most  creditable  and  honorable  position  in  the  financial  circles  of  the 
northwest. 

Although  a  native  of  Sweden,  born  March  29,  1845,  Mr.  Chilberg 
was  only  a  year  old  when  his  parents,  Charles  John  and  Hannah 
(Johnson)  Chilberg,  brought  their  family  to  the  new  world.  It  was 
in  1846  that  they  took  passage  on  a  westward  boimd  sailing  vessel, 
which,  after  eleven  weeks,  reached  the  American  coast.  Journeying 
into  the  interior  of  the  country  they  took  up  their  abode  upon  a  farm 
west  of  Ottumwa,  Iowa,  where  the  father  both  preempted  and  home- 
steaded  lands  and  there  successfully  engaged  in  tilling  the  soil  for 
many  years.  The  four  children  who  came  with  their  parents  to  the 
new  world  were  James  P.,  Nelson,  Isaac  and  Andrew,  and  after  com- 
ing to  the  United  States  four  other  children  were  born:  Benjamin 
A.,  Joseph,  Charles  F.  and  John  H.,  but  Charles  F.  died  at  the  age 
of  thirty-one  years.  James  P.  died  in  Seattle,  December  21,  1905, 
and  Isaac  died  at  Pleasant  Ridge,  near  La  Conner,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-one  years.  The  mother  passed  away  July  3,  1902,  when 
ninety  years  of  age,  and  the  father  died  when  he  was  ninety-two. 
They  lived  to  celebrate  their  golden  wedding  and  in  fact  traveled 
life's  journey  together  for  the  remarkable  period  of  nearly  seventy 
years.  In  1871  they  came  from  Iowa  to  Washington  territory  and 
located  at  Pleasant  Ridge,  near  La  Conner,  where  the  father  home- 
steaded  lands. 

Andrew  Chilberg  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  youthful  period 
near  Ottumwa,  Iowa,  where  he  attended  school.  In  1860,  when  a  lad 
of  fifteen  years,  he  accompanied  his  father  and  brother  Nelson  to 
Pike's  Peak,  attracted  thereto  by  the  gold  excitement  in  that  locality. 
The  father  and  brother  engaged  in  prospecting,  while  Andrew  Chil- 
berg worked  upon  a  farm.  In  the  winter  of  1862-3  they  returned  to 
Iowa  and  in  the  spring  of  1863  Andrew  Chilberg  crossed  the  plains 
43 


44  anPtehi  Cftil&etg 

to  California,  driving  horses  in  compensation  for  liis  meals  and  the 
privilege  of  traveling  with  the  party.  After  four  months  spent  upon 
the  road  between  Omaha  and  the  Pacific  coast,  Sacramento  was 
reached  and  from  that  point  Mr.  Chilberg  made  his  way  to  the  home 
of  his  brother  James  P.,  who  was  then  living  in  Yolo  county,  Cali- 
fornia. He  entered  the  employ  of  his  brother,  at  a  salary  of  twenty- 
five  dollars  per  month,  and  afterward  worked  for  other  farmers  of 
the  locality.  Still  later  he  went  to  Stockton,  where  he  was  employed 
for  some  time  in  a  large  nursery,  and  he  also  attended  school  there. 

Ill  health  finaUy  forced  Mr.  Chilberg  to  return  to  Iowa.  He  made 
the  journey  by  the  Nicaragua  route  to  New  York  city  and  later  he 
again  attended  school  in  Ottimiwa.  He  afterward  followed  the  pro- 
fession of  teaching  for  thi-ee  years  and  clerked  in  a  wholesale  and 
retail  diy-goods  house  in  Ottumwa  for  four  years.  While  there  re- 
siding he  was  married,  in  1874,  to  Miss  Mary  Nelson,  who  was  born 
at  Bishop  Hill,  Illinois,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Hannah  (Swenson) 
Nelson,  both  now  deceased.  The  year  following  their  marriage  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Chilberg  came  to  Seattle,  where  in  the  fall  of  1875  he  en- 
gaged in  the  grocery  business  with  his  brothers,  James  P.  and  Nelson. 
Together  they  conducted  the  store  until  1882,  when  Andrew  Chilberg 
sold  out  to  his  brothers  in  order  to  assume  the  duties  of  the  office  of 
assessor  of  King  county,  to  which  he  had  been  elected  as  the  democratic 
nominee,  serving  in  that  capacity  for  two  years. 

While  engaged  in  the  grocery  business  Mr.  Chilberg  was  appointed 
in  1879  by  the  Swedish  government  vice  consul  for  Sweden  and  Nor- 
way until  the  separation  of  Sweden  and  Norway,  since  which  time  he 
has  been  vice  consul  for  Sweden,  and  satisfactorily  filled  the  position. 
He  has  been  called  to  other  positions  of  public  honor  and  trust.  For 
two  years  he  was  one  of  Seattle's  aldermen  and  in  1884  was  called  to 
the  office  of  city  treasurer,  in  which  capacity  he  served  for  two  years. 
In  1885  he  was  appointed  city  passenger  and  ticket  agent  for  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railway  and  remained  in  that  position  until  1892, 
when  he  resigned  to  accept  the  presidency  of  the  Scandinavian- Amer- 
ican Bank,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  organizers.  The  bank  was 
established  in  the  spring  of  1892,  with  a  paid  up  capital  of  forty-five 
thousand  dollars,  which  was  increased  in  1901  to  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  and  since  to  five  himdred  thousand  dollars,  while  its  deposits 
now  amoimt  to  over  eleven  million  dollars.  In  the  years  that  have 
since  come  and  gone  its  growth  has  been  almost  unparalleled.  Its 
business  has  developed  almost  by  leaps  and  bounds  and  yet  its  interests 
have  been  conducted  along  safe  and  conservative  lines,  whereby  the 
interests  of  depositors  have  been  carefully  protected.    Mr.  Chilberg 


gnPteto  dLbilbttj  45 

has  contributed  in  large  measm-e  to  the  growth  and  success  of  this 
institution,  of  which  he  is  now  the  acting  head,  bending  his  energies 
to  constructive  effort,  administrative  direction  and  executive  control. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Chilberg  are  widely  and  favorably  known,  especially 
in  Seattle,  where  they  have  an  extensive  circle  of  friends.  They  have 
but  one  child,  Eugene,  who  was  born  October  29,  1875,  and  who  spent 
several  years  in  Nome,  Alaska,  becoming  secretary-treasurer  of  the 
Pioneer  Mining  Company  and  also  financially  interested  in  the  Hot 
Air  Mining  Company. 

Mr.  Chilberg  has  always  given  his  political  allegiance  to  the  demo- 
cratic party  since  age  conferred  upon  him  the  right  of  franchise  and 
he  is  alive  to  the  interests  and  issues  of  the  day  and  votes,  as  he  be- 
lieves, according  to  the  needs  and  demands  of  the  times.  Fraternally 
he  is  connected  with  Columbia  Lodge,  A.  O.  U.  W.,  of  which  he  is 
a  charter  member.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Yoimg  Men's  Christian  Association  and  the 
Arctic  Club.  He  is  a  charter  member  and  was  the  first  president  of 
the  Swedish  Club  and  also  belongs  to  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
and  the  Scandinavian  Brotherhood  of  America.  He  stands  for  prog- 
ress and  improvement  in  municipal  affairs  as  well  as  in  business  life 
and  has  cooperated  in  many  plans  and  projects  for  the  general  good. 
He  served  for  several  years  as  school  director  of  Seattle  and  for  one 
term  as  president  of  the  school  board.  Wherever  the  welfare  of  the 
city  is  involved  he  is  ready  to  lend  a  helping  hand  and  he  is  a  typical 
citizen  of  the  northwest,  alert  and  enterprising,  his  labors  at  all  times 
being  beneficially  resultant. 


0 

V 


lUDGE  HENRY  G.  STRUVE  was  for  years  a  very 

J,vw/j  prominent  figure  in  connection  with  the  political, 
M^  legal,  financial  and  social  history  of  the  state  of 
^  Washington  and  was  an  honored  resident  of  Seattle. 
Although  born  in  the  grand  duchy  of  Oldenburg, 
Germany,  on  the  17th  of  November,  1836,  of  Ger- 
man parentage,  he  came  to  America  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years  and 
was  an  intensely  patriotic  American  citizen.  He  received  a  thorough 
academic  education  in  his  native  city  and  after  reaching  the  new  world 
remained  in  the  east  for  a  few  weeks,  while  later  he  made  his  way 
westward  to  finish  his  education  and  take  up  his  life  work.  In  1853 
he  reached  California,  where  for  six  years  he  studied  law,  engaged  in 
newspaper  work  and  in  mining  near  Jackson,  Amador  county.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1859  and  the  following  year  removed  to 
Vancouver,  Washington,  where  he  purchased  the  Vancouver  Chron- 
icle, which  he  published  successfully  for  a  year.  On  the  expiration  of 
that  period  he  entered  upon  the  practice  of  law  and  his  ability  soon 
brought  him  to  the  front  in  his  profession.  He  was  also  an  ardent 
republican  and  in  a  short  time  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  leaders  of 
his  party  in  the  state.  In  1862  he  was  elected  district  attorney  for  the 
second  judicial  district  and  made  such  a  brilliant  success  that  he  was 
four  times  chosen  for  the  position.  During  his  fourth  term,  or  in 
1869,  he  resigned,  having  been  elected  probate  judge  of  Clarke  county. 
A  few  months  later  he  also  resigned  that  position.  While  acting  as 
prosecuting  attorney  he  was  also  elected,  in  1865,  a  member  of  the 
lower  house  of  the  state  legislative  assembly,  in  which  he  served  as 
chairman  of  the  judiciarj'^  committee.  In  1867  he  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  legislative  council  and  was  its  president  in  the  first  and  in 
subsequent  sessions  of  1869  and  1870.  He  acted  as  chairman  of  the 
ways  and  means  committee  and  in  1869  introduced  and  was  instru- 
mental in  securing  the  passage  of  the  community  law,  regulating  the 
rights  in  property  interests  of  married  persons,  an  important  law 
which  superseded  the  provisions  of  the  old  common  law  then  in  force 
in  Washington  territory.  The  law  is  with  slight  modification  still  in 
force.  Although  one  of  the  youngest  members  of  the  legislature. 
Judge  Struve  was  always  a  recognized  leader  on  the  floor  of  the  house. 
49 


50  3[uD0e  l^entg  <^,  ^ttutie 

In  1871,  in  which  year  he  removed  to  Olympia,  Judge  Struve  took 
charge  of  the  Puget  Sound  Daily  Courier,  a  leading  republican  organ. 
His  work  and  editorials  made  it  a  valuable  factor  in  promoting  party 
interests,  his  editorials  being  widely  copied  and  attracting  great  at- 
tention and  comment.  To  the  regret  of  all,  he  left  newspaper  work, 
in  which  he  had  manifested  such  capability,  in  1871,  when  President 
Grant,  as  a  token  of  appreciation,  appointed  him  secretary  of  Wash- 
ington territory.  The  following  year  he  was  selected  by  the  republican 
convention  as  a  delegate  to  the  national  convention,  which  once  more 
nominated  General  Grant  for  the  presidency  at  Phifadelphia.  Judge 
Struve  served  as  territorial  secretary  until  the  close  of  Grant's  ad- 
ministration, when  his  term  expired.  He  then  returned  to  Olympia 
and  practiced  law  again,  but  his  ability  again  and  again  led  to  his 
selection  for  public  duties  of  honor,  trust  and  responsibility.  He  was 
appointed  a  commissioner  to  codify  the  laws  of  Washington  territory 
in  1877  but  after  a  year  was  obliged  to  resign  because  his  law  practice 
required  his  undivided  attention. 

In  1879  Judge  Struve  removed  to  Seattle  and  with  John  Leary 
formed  the  firm  of  Struve  &  Leary.  In  1880  Colonel  J.  C.  Haines 
was  taken  into  the  firm  and  in  1884  Maurice  McMicken  was  added 
and  Mr.  Leary  withdrew.  Five  years  later  Colonel  Haines  withdrew 
and  the  firm  then  became  Struve  &  McMicken.  While  territorial 
secretary  Judge  Struve  was  sole  attorney  for  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad  Company  in  Washington  and  until  1883  conducted  person- 
ally all  important  litigation  for  the  railroad. 

From  the  beginning  of  his  residence  in  Seattle,  Judge  Struve  was 
a  recognized  leader  in  the  city  and  was  largely  instrumental  in  mold- 
ing public  thought  and  action.  In  1882  he  was  elected  mayor  and  was 
reelected  in  1883,  during  which  time  Seattle  took  its  first  steps  toward 
its  present  greatness,  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  being  spent  in 
public  improvements,  including  the  grading  of  the  streets.  The  popu- 
lation increased  from  three  thousand  to  ten  thousand  in  1883.  As 
mayor  of  the  city  Judge  Struve  received  the  Villard  party  when  the 
Northern  Pacific  was  completed.  His  activities  extended  to  almost 
every  field  which  has  had  to  do  with  the  upbuilding  of  city  and  state. 
In  1879  he  was  appointed  regent  of  Washington  University  and  con- 
tinued in  that  position  through  many  years,  serving  as  president  for 
four  consecutive  terms.  In  1884  he  was  elected  school  director  and 
held  the  office  for  three  years,  doing  efficient  work  in  connection  with 
the  cause  of  public  education  in  Seattle.  In  1886  he  was  appointed 
by  Governor  Squire  to  the  position  of  judge  advocate  general  of 
Washington  territory  and  took  a  prominent  part  in  directing  military 


3[uO0e  l^cnrg  (3,  Attune  51 

aiFairs  when  Seattle  was  under  martial  law  following  the  anti-Chinese 
riots  wliich  occurred  in  February,  1886.  In  the  following  year  he  was 
appointed  supreme  court  reporter  and  supervised  Volmne  III  of  the 
Washington  Territory  Reports.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
board  of  freeholders  which  prepared  the  charter  for  Seattle  and  he 
was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  judiciary  and  tide  lands.  He  soon 
had  to  refuse  many  honors  and  confined  his  attention  to  his  office, 
acting  solely  as  attorney  for  many  railway,  mill  and  coal  corporations. 
He  was  greatly  interested  in  historical  research  and  for  years  investi- 
gated Washington's  earlier  history  in  his  leisure  hours,  intending  to 
publish  the  results  of  his  investigations  in  book  form,  but  the  great  fire 
of  June  6,  1889,  destroyed  all  of  his  data.  However,  he  started  in 
again  on  the  work  at  a  later  period. 

Judge  Struve  played  an  important  part  in  the  material  develop- 
ment of  Washington  in  connection  with  its  mining  and  railroad  in- 
terests and  financial  institutions.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of 
the  cable  system  of  street  cars  in  Seattle,  became  a  large  stockholder 
in  the  company  and  was  president  of  the  Madison  street  line.  He  be- 
came one  of  the  promoters  of  and  a  director  in  the  Home  Insurance 
Company,  which  paid  a  hundred-thousand-dollar  fii'e  loss  June  6, 
1889.  He  was  one  of  the  incorporators,  directors  and  the  vice  presi- 
dent of  the  Boston  National  Bank  and  was  sole  agent  in  Washington 
for  the  German  Savings  &  Loan  Society  of  San  Francisco.  His 
connection  with  any  enterprise  or  project  assured  its  success  through 
his  individual  efforts,  for  in  his  vocabulary  there  was  no  such  word  as 
fail  and  he  carried  forward  to  completion  whatever  he  undertook. 
He  was  known  as  an  able  financier  and  a  conservative,  sagacious  man 
of  business  as  well  as  Washington's  most  distinguished  jurist. 

In  October,  1863,  Judge  Struve  was  married  to  Miss  Lascelle 
Knighton,  who  was  born  in  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  in  1846. 
When  she  was  but  a  year  old  her  father.  Captain  H.  M.  Knighton, 
made  his  way  across  the  plains  to  St.  Helen,  Oregon,  and  became  the 
owner  of  the  town  site.  He  was  the  first  marshal  of  the  provisional 
government  of  Oregon  and  was  prominently  identified  with  the  pioneer 
development  of  the  northwest.  He  afterward  removed  with  his 
family  to  Vancouver,  Washington,  and  Mrs.  Struve  was  educated 
there  in  the  Convent  of  the  Sacred  Heart.  She  became  the  wife  of 
Judge  Struve  in  Vancouver,  in  1863,  and  died  in  Seattle  in  1903,  after 
an  illness  of  three  years.  Hers  was  a  strongly  religious  nature.  She 
was  philanthropic,  charitable,  gracious,  generous,  unselfish  and  sincere. 
She  was  a  social  leader,  possessing  a  magnetic  personahtjs  and  as  a 
hostess  she  was  xinexcelled.     She  shared  her  husband's  prominence 


52  3[uO0g  ^encg  a«  ^trutie 

and  the  whole  state  sorrowed  when  she  passed  away.  Judge  Henry 
Struve  died  in  New  York  city  on  Tuesday  morning,  June  13,  1905, 
after  a  brief  illness.  His  death  was  very  unexpected,  his  daughter 
Mary  being  the  only  member  of  the  family  with  him  at  the  time. 
Judge  and  Mrs.  Struve  became  parents  of  four  children:  Captain 
Harry  K.  Struve,  Mrs.  H.  F.  Meserve,  Frederick  K.  and  Mary. 

Judge  Struve  was  known  prominently  in  many  fraternal  and 
benevolent  societies.  In  1874  he  was  elected  grand  master  of  the  grand 
lodge  of  Odd  Fellows  in  Oregon,  which  then  embraced  Washington 
and  Idaho.  In  1876  he  was  elected  representative  of  that  jurisdic- 
tion in  the  sovereign  grand  lodge  and  he  instituted  the  grand  lodge  of 
Washington.  Such  in  brief  is  the  history  of  one  who  left  the  impress 
of  his  individuality  upon  the  development  of  the  northwest  in  many 
ways.  He  saw  its  opportunities  and  utilized  them  and  in  the  develop- 
ment of  his  individual  fortunes  he  contributed  to  the  upbuilding  of  the 
empire  of  the  northwest.  He  stood  in  a  prominent  position  as  a 
journalist,  as  a  distinguished  lawyer  and  as  a  business  man,  his  life 
verifying  the  statement  that  power  grows  through  the  exercise  of 
effort.  As  he  progressed,  his  opportunities  and  his  advantages  in- 
creased and  he  gathered  to  himself  the  rewards  of  a  well  spent  life, 
but,  more  than  that,  he  upheld  the  political  and  legal  status  of  the 
community  and  contributed  to  its  intellectual  and  moral  stability. 


Jfretrerick  Earl  ^truhe 

)REDERICK  KARL  STRUVE,   president    of   the 

F.„i  Seattle  National  Bank,  has  at  every  point  in  his 
^3*  career  seemed  to  have  attained  the  utmost  success 
\9)  possible  at  that  point.  In  a  word,  he  has  readily- 
recognized  and  utilized  every  opportunity  and  by  suc- 
cessive stages  of  business  development  and  advance- 
ment he  has  reached  his  present  enviable  position  as  a  leading  financier 
of  the  northwest. 

Mr.  Struve  is  a  native  of  Washington,  his  birth  having  occurred  at 
"Vancouver,  June  17,  1871.  He  is  a  son  of  Judge  Henry  G.  Struve, 
whose  record  precedes  this.  His  education  was  acquired  in  the 
public  schools  and  in  the  University  of  Washington,  followed  by 
matriculation  in  the  literary  department  of  the  University  of  Michi- 
gan at  Ann  Arbor,  where  he  spent  two  years  in  study.  In  November, 
1889,  upon  the  organization  of  the  Boston  National  Bank,  he  was 
made  clerk  in  that  institution  and  later  became  assistant  cashier,  serv- 
ing until  April  1,  1898.  He  afterward  spent  some  time  with  the  First 
National  Bank.  In  1899,  he  formed  a  partnership  with  John  Davis 
in  the  real  estate,  loan  and  insurance  business  under  the  name  of 
John  Davis  &  Company.  This  firm  has  become  one  of  the  best  known 
in  the  city,  the  volume  of  business  transacted  by  them  annually  reach- 
ing extensive  proportions.  From  1896  until  his  election  as  president 
of  the  Seattle  National  Bank,  Mr.  Struve  was  the  Seattle  representa- 
tive of  the  German  Savings  &  Loan  Society  of  San  Francisco  which 
did  the  largest  loan  business  in  Wasliington.  The  firm  of  John 
Davis  &  Company  also  have  a  large  mortgage  loan  clientage  and 
their  operations  in  real  estate  annuallj^  reach  a  high  figure.  They  plat- 
ted the  Highland  addition  and  Mr.  Struve  individually  platted  the 
Pettit  addition,  while  the  firm  platted  the  Yesler  estate  addition  and 
built  thereon  residences  which  have  so  greatly  improved  and  beautified 
that  part  of  the  city.  The  general  business  of  the  firm,  however,  con- 
sists of  transactions  in  down  town  properties,  many  of  which  they 
have  handled,  negotiating  important  sales  and  also  attending  to  the 
rental  of  many  of  the  leading  business  blocks.  The  renting  depart- 
ment has  become  an  important  feature  of  their  business  and  its  con- 
duct requires  eighteen  employes  all  of  whom  are  engaged  at  stated 
55 


56  jFtePericb  marl  attune 

salaries.  Each  department  of  the  business  is  managed  by  a  competent 
superintendent  and  all  is  systematized  and  in  splendid  working  con- 
dition. Their  transactions  involve  the  handling  of  many  thousands 
of  dollars  within  the  course  of  a  month  and  the  business  is  hardly  sec- 
ond to  any  in  this  line  in  the  city.  Following  the  death  of  Jacob 
Furth,  president  of  the  Seattle  National  Bank,  Mr.  Struve,  who  had 
served  as  vice  president,  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy  becoming  presi- 
dent of  the  institution  on  the  1st  of  September,  1914.  He  has  since 
held  that  office  and  has  bent  his  energies  to  administrative  direction 
and  executive  control.  His  efforts  have  been  well  defined  and  his 
keen  perception  of  the  possibilities  of  the  situation  has  led  to  his 
steady  advancement  in  the  business  world. 

Mr.  Struve  was  married  November  17,  1897,  to  Miss  Anna 
Furth,  daughter  of  Jacob  Furth,  a  sketch  of  whom  appears  elsewhere 
in  this  work,  and,  presiding  with  graciousness  over  their  hospitable 
home,  she  has  made  it  one  of  the  attractive  social  centers  of  Seattle. 
She  belongs  to  the  ladies'  adjunct  of  the  Golf  Club,  to  some  of  the 
more  prominent  literary  organizations  of  the  city,  is  a  member  of  the 
executive  committee  of  the  Assembly  Club  and  also  a  member  of 
Trinity  parish  church. 

Mr.  Struve  has  membership  in  the  Assembly  Club,  of  which  he 
has  served  as  treasvuer.  He  belongs  to  the  Rainier  Club,  the  Firloch 
Club,  the  Usniversity  Club,  the  Seattle  Tennis  Club  and  the  Seattle 
Golf  and  Country  Club,  of  which  he  has  been  the  secretary,  all  of 
Seattle,  and  the  Union  Club  of  Tacoma.  He  became  one  of  the 
organizers  of  the  Seattle  Athletic  Club,  was  chosen  the  first  captain 
of  the  athletic  team  and  later  was  elected  the  vice  president  of  the 
society.  He  is  likewise  a  member  of  the  Chi  Psi  fraternity  and  he  is 
identified  with  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  giving  stalwart  support 
to  its  well  defined  plans  and  projects  for  the  upbuilding  and  improve- 
ment of  the  city.  Politically  his  allegiance  is  one  of  the  supporting 
features  of  the  republican  party  in  Seattle.  He  greatly  enjoys  travel 
and,  besides  extensive  visits  to  all  parts  of  America,  he  has  visited 
Cuba  and  Europe.  In  short  periods  of  recreation  he  turns  to  golf  and 
outdoor  sports.  Of  him  it  has  been  said:  "He  is  widely  known  as 
a  young  man  of  marked  executive  force.  Intricate  business  situations 
he  readily  comprehends,  he  forms  his  plans  quickly  and  is  prompt  and 
accurate  in  their  execution.  Thus  he  has  gained  a  wide  reputation 
as  a  capable  and  successful  man  of  business,  a  typical  representative 
of  the  enterprise  that  has  led  to  the  marvelous  development  of  the 
northwest." 


Joijn  Hearp 


50HN  LEARY  was  one  of  the  early  mayors  of  Seattle 

Jny j)  and  a  pioneer  lawyer  but  retired  from  his  profession 
y/^  to  enter  upon  business  pursuits  and  became  an  active 
y  (  factor  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  city.  He  was  closely 
associated  with  ever  increasing  activities  of  large 
scope  and  far-reaching  effect  and  Seattle  has  had  no 
more  enterprising  citizen,  so  that  no  history  of  the  city  would  be 
complete  without  extended  reference  to  him. 

Mr.  Leary  was  a  native  of  New  Brunswick,  his  birth  having 
occurred  at  St.  John,  November  1,  1837.  Early  in  life  he  started  in 
the  business  world  on  his  own  account  and  soon  developed  unusual 
aptitude  for  business  and  a  genius  for  the  successful  creation  and 
management  of  large  enterprises.  His  initial  efforts  were  along  the 
line  of  the  lumber  trade  and  he  became  an  extensive  manufacturer 
and  shipper  of  lumber,  to  which  business  he  devoted  his  energies 
between  the  years  1854  and  1867.  He  also  conducted  an  extensive 
general  mercantile  establishment  in  his  native  town  and  also  at  Wood- 
stock, New  Brunswick.  Prosperity  had  attended  his  efforts,  enab- 
ling him  to  win  a  modest  fortune,  but  the  repeal  of  the  reciprocity 
treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Canada  resulted  in  losses  for 
him.  Crossing  the  border  into  Maine,  he  conducted  a  lumber  busi- 
ness at  Houlton,  that  state,  for  some  time,  but  the  Puget  Sound 
country  was  fast  coming  to  the  front  as  a  great  lumber  center  and  he 
resolved  to  became  one  of  the  operators  in  the  new  field. 

Mr.  Leary  reached  Seattle  in  1869,  finding  a  little  frontier  village 
with  a  population  of  about  one  thousand.  Keen  sagacity  enabled  him 
to  recognize  the  prospect  for  future  business  conditions  and  from 
that  time  forward  until  his  death  he  was  a  co-operant  factor  in 
measures  and  movements  resulting  largely  to  the  benefit  and  up- 
building of  the  citj^  as  well  as  proving  a  source  of  substantial  profit 
for  himself.  In  1871  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  entered  upon 
active  practice  as  junior  partner  in  the  law  firm  of  McNaught  & 
Leary,  which  association  was  maintained  until  1878,  when  he  became 
a  member  of  the  firm  of  Struve,  Haines  &  Leary.  Four  years  later, 
however,  he  retired  from  active  law  practice  and  became  a  factor 
in  the  management  of  gigantic  commercial  and  public  enterprises 
59 


60  31oi>n  fitaty 

which  have  led  not  only  to  the  improvement  of  the  city  but  also  to 
the  development  of  the  suiTovmding  comitry.  In  the  meantime, 
however,  he  had  served  for  several  terms  as  a  member  of  the  city 
council  of  Seattle  and  in  1884  was  elected  mayor.  His  was  a  notable 
administration  during  the  formative  period  in  the  city's  history  and 
he  exercised  his  official  prerogatives  in  such  a  manner  that  the  public 
welfare  was  greatly  promoted  and  in  all  that  he  did  he  looked  beyond 
the  exigencies  of  the  present  to  the  opportunities  and  possibilities  of 
the  future.  The  position  of  mayor  was  not  a  salaried  one  at  that 
time,  but  he  gave  much  time  and  thought  to  the  direction  of  mvmicipal 
affairs  and  while  serving  was  instrumental  in  having  First  avenue, 
then  a  mud  hole,  improved  and  planked.  He  was  the  first  mayor 
to  keep  regular  office  hours  and  thoroughly  systematized  municipal 
interests.  Through  the  conduct  and  direction  of  important  business 
enterprises  his  work  was  perhaps  of  even  greater  value  to  Seattle. 
A  contemporary  historian  said  in  this  connection: 

"When  he  came  to  Seattle  none  of  the  important  enterprises  which 
have  made  possible  its  present  greatness  had  been  inaugurated.  The 
most  vital  period  of  the  city's  history  had  just  begun.  Only  men 
of  the  keenest  foresight  anticipated  and  prepared  for  a  struggle,  the 
issue  of  which  meant  the  very  existence  of  the  city  itself.  No  city 
so  richly  endowed  by  nature  ever  stood  in  such  need  of  strong,  brave 
and  sagacious  men.  Mr.  Leary  was  among  the  first  to  outline  a 
course  of  action  such  as  would  preserve  the  supremacy  of  Seattle, 
and  with  characteristic  energy  and  foresight  he  threw  himself  into 
the  work.  A  natural  leader,  he  was  soon  at  the  head  of  all  that 
was  going  on.  A  pioneer  among  pioneers,  it  fell  to  his  lot  to  blaze 
the  way  for  what  time  has  proven  to  have  been  a  wise  and  well  directed 
move.  When  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  Company  sought  to 
ignore  and  possibly  to  commercially  destroy  Seattle,  Mr.  Leaiy  be- 
came a  leader  of  resolute  men  who  heroically  undertook  to  build  up 
the  city  independently  of  the  opposition  of  this  powerful  corporation. 
To  this  end  the  Seattle  &  Walla  Walla  Railroad  was  built,  an  enter- 
prise which  at  that  time  served  a  most  useful  purpose  in  restoring 
confidence  in  the  business  future  of  the  city,  and  which  has  ever  since 
been  a  source  of  large  revenue  to  the  place.  Throughout  the  entire 
struggle,  which  involved  the  very  existence  of  Seattle,  Mr.  Leary  was 
most  actively  engaged,  and  to  his  labors,  his  counsel  and  his  means 
the  city  is  indeed  greatly  indebted." 

In  1872  Mr.  Leary  tm-ned  his  attention  to  the  development  of  the 
coal  fields  of  this  locality,  opening  and  operating  the  Talbot  mine  in 
connection  with  John  Collins.     He  was  instrumental  in  organizing  a 


31oi)n  Leatp  ei 

company  for  supplying  the  city  with  gas  and  served  as  its  president 
until  1878,  thus  being  closely  identified  with  the  early  material  de- 
velopment of  his  community.  His  enterprise  also  resulted  in  the 
establishment  of  the  waterworks  system  and  along  these  and  many 
other  lines  his  efforts  were  so  directed  that  splendid  benefits  resulted 
to  the  city.  In  fact,  he  was  one  of  the  men  who  laid  the  fotindations 
for  the  future  growth  and  importance  of  Seattle.  It  was  he  who 
made  known  to  the  world  the  resources  of  the  city  in  iron  and  coal. 
Between  the  years  1878  and  1880  he  had  exploring  parties  out  all 
along  the  west  coast  to  Cape  Flattery  and  on  the  Skagit  and  Similki- 
nieen  rivers,  also  through  the  Mount  Baker  district  and  several  coxm- 
ties  in  eastern  Washington.  His  explorations  proved  conclusively 
that  western  Washington  was  rich  in  coal  and  iron,  while  here  and 
there  valuable  deposits  of  precious  metals  were  to  be  found.  The 
value  of  Mr.  Leary's  work  to  the  state  in  this  connection  cannot  be 
overestimated,  as  he  performed  a  work  the  expense  of  which  is  usually 
borne  by  the  commonwealths  themselves.  Another  phase  of  his 
activity  reached  into  the  field  of  journalism.  In  1882  he  became 
principal  owner  of  the  Seattle  Post,  now  consolidated  with  the  Intel- 
ligencer under  the  style  of  the  Post-Intelligencer.  He  brought  about 
the  amalgamation  of  the  morning  papers  and  erected  what  was  known 
as  the  Post  building,  one  of  the  best  of  the  early  business  blocks  of  the 
city.  In  1883  he  was  associated  with  Mr.  Yesler  in  the  erection  of 
the  Yesler-Leary  block  at  a  cost  of  more  than  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  but  this  building,  which  was  then  the  finest  in  the  city,  was 
destroyed  by  the  great  fire  of  June,  1889.  One  can  never  measure 
the  full  extent  of  Mr.  Leary's  efforts,  for  his  activity  touched  almost 
every  line  leading  to  public  progress.  He  was  active  in  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Alaska  Mail  service,  resulting  in  the  development  of 
important  trade  connections  between  that  country  and  Seattle.  He 
was  elected  to  the  presidency  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  which  he 
had  aided  in  organizing,  and  he  also  became  president  of  the  Seattle 
Land  &  Improvement  Company  and  of  the  West  Coast  Improvement 
Company  and  the  Seattle  Warehouse  &  Elevator  Company.  He  was 
on  the  directorate  of  the  Seattle,  Lake  Shore  &  Eastern  Railway  Com- 
pany, was  one  of  the  directors  of  the  West  Street  &  North  End  Elec- 
tric Railway  Company,  which  he  aided  in  organizing,  and  was  likewise 
a  promoter  and  director  of  the  James  Street  &  Broadway  Cable  & 
Electric  line.  In  financial  circles  he  figured  prominently  as  president 
of  the  Seattle  National  Bank  but  was  compelled  to  resign  that  position 
on  account  of  the  demands  of  other  business  interests.  In  February, 
1891,  he  organized  the  Columbia  River  &  Puget  Sound  Navigation 


62  3[oi)n  Learg 

Company,  capitalized  for  five  hiuidred  thousand  dollars,  in  which  he 
held  one-fifth  of  the  stock.  That  company  owned  the  steamers  Tele- 
phone, Fleetwood,  Bailey  Gatzert,  Floyd  and  other  vessels  operating 
between  Puget  Soiuid  and  Victoria.  Ere  his  death  a  biographer  wrote 
of  him: 

"It  is  a  characteristic  of  Mr.  Leary's  make-up  that  he  moves  on 
large  lines  and  is  never  so  happy  as  when  at  the  head  of  some  great 
business  enterprise.  His  very  presence  is  stimulating.  Buoyant  and 
hopeful  by  nature,  he  imparts  his  own  enthusiasm  to  those  around 
him.  He  has  not  overlooked  the  importance  of  manufacturing  inter- 
ests to  a  city  like  Seattle,  and  over  and  over  again  has  encouraged  and 
aided,  often  at  a  personal  loss,  in  the  establishment  of  manufacturing 
enterprises,  having  in  this  regard  probably  done  more  than  any  other 
citizen  of  Seattle.  He  has  ever  recognized  and  acted  on  the  principle 
that  property  has  its  duties  as  well  as  rights,  and  that  one  of  its  prime 
duties  is  to  aid  and  build  up  the  community  where  the  possessor  has 
made  his  wealth.  There  are  few  men  in  the  city,  therefore,  who,  in  the 
course  of  the  last  twenty  years,  have  aided  in  giving  emploj^ment  to 
a  larger  number  of  men  that  Mr.  Leary,  or  whose  individual  efforts 
have  contributed  more  of  good  to  the  general  prosperity  of  Seattle." 

On  the  21st  of  April,  1892,  Mr.  Leary  wedded  Eliza  P.  Ferry, 
a  daughter  of  the  late  Governor  Elisha  P.  Ferry.  Their  happy  mar- 
ried life  was  terminated  in  his  death  on  the  9th  of  February,  1905, 
at  which  time  he  left  an  estate  valued  at  about  two  million  dollars. 
He  practically  retired  from  active  business  about  1893.  After  his 
death  the  estate  built  upon  the  site  of  his  old  home  the  Leary-Ferry 
building. 

Mr.  Leary  was  a  man  of  most  generous  spirit,  giving  freely  in 
charity  to  worthy  individuals  and  to  important  public  enterprises.  He 
built  the  finest  residence  in  Seattle  just  before  his  death  and  took  great 
pleasure  in  planning  and  erecting  the  home,  but  did  not  live  to  occupy 
it.  He  might  be  termed  a  man  of  large  efficiency,  of  large  purpose  and 
larger  action.  He  looked  at  no  question  from  a  narrow  or  contracted 
standpoint,  but  had  a  broad  vision  of  conditions,  opportunities  and 
advantages.  His  life  was  never  self-centered  but  reached  out  along 
aU  those  lines  which  lead  to  municipal  progress  and  public  benefit. 
His  work  has  not  yet  reached  its  full  fruition  but,  like  the  constantly 
broadening  ripple  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  its  effect  is  still  felt 
in  the  upbuilding  and  improvement  of  the  city.  Mrs.  Leary  still 
makes  her  home  in  Seattle  and  is  very  active  in  charitable  work  and 
in  club  circles,  being  identified  with  many  women's  clubs.  Mr.  Leary 
was  also  president  of  the  Rainier  Club,  the  leading  social  organization 


3iol)n  ILeatp 


63 


of  Seattle,  and  those  who  came  in  contact  with  him  entertained  for  him 
the  warmest  friendship,  the  highest  admiration  and  the  greatest  esteem. 
His  was  a  life  in  which  merit  brought  him  to  the  front  and  made  him 
a  leader  of  men. 


^.P^-^w-^X^JU    G-^^^^uU.^^ 


Colonel  #ranbille  0\i}tn  Jlaller 

,HE  life  record  of  Colonel  Granville  Owen  Haller  was 
an  exposition  of  a  spirit  of  lofty  patriotism,  manifest 
as  strongly  in  his  efforts  for  the  development  and 
upbuilding  of  the  northwest  as  in  his  service  through 
so  many  years  as  a  member  of  the  army.  While  he 
wore  the  nation's  uniform  he  was  a  strict  disciplina- 
rian, prompt  in  executing  the  conmiands  of  a  superior  officer  and 
equally  alert  to  see  that  his  own  orders  were  faithfully  executed.  His 
nation's  honor  was  his  foremost  thought.  When  he  retired  to  private 
life  he  still  felt  that  he  owed  a  service  to  his  country  and  he  gave  it 
in  his  efforts  to  promote  progress  and  upbuilding  in  the  northwest 
and  Washington  came  to  know  him  as  one  of  its  most  honored  and 
valued  citizens.  He  was  serving  as  president  of  its  Old  Settlers 
Society  at  the  time  of  his  demise. 

Colonel  Haller  was  born  in  York,  Pennsylvania,  January  31, 
1819,  and  his  father,  George  Haller,  also  fii-st  opened  his  eyes  to  the 
light  of  day  in  York.  He  died  when  his  son  Granville  was  but  two 
years  of  age  and  the  mother  was  left  with  four  young  children  to  care 
for  and  support.  She  displayed  the  spirit  of  sacrifice  characteristic 
of  the  mother  and  so  managed  her  affairs  that  she  was  able  to  give 
her  children  good  educational  opportunities.  Granville  O.  Haller 
attended  school  in  his  native  town  and  early  in  life  determined  upon 
a  mihtary  career.  Following  examination  by  the  board  of  military 
officers  at  Washington,  D.  C,  in  1839,  he  was  commissioned  second 
lieutenant  in  the  Fourth  Regiment  in  the  United  States  Infantry, 
although  then  but  twenty  years  of  age.  In  1841-2  he  participated  in 
the  Florida  war,  taking  part  in  the  battle  of  Big  Cypress  Swamp 
and  the  engagement  which  resulted  in  the  capture  of  Halleck  Tush- 
nugger's  band,  which  brought  an  end  to  the  conflict.  From  the  1st  of 
January,  1843,  until  he  resigned,  on  the  10th  of  September,  1845,  he 
was  adjutant  of  the  Fourth  Infantry,  and  he  became  brigade  major 
of  the  Third  Brigade,  United  States  Regidars  under  General  Taylor, 
in  Texas,  in  1845.  During  the  war  with  Mexico  he  commanded  his 
company  from  the  time  of  the  siege  of  Vera  Cruz  until  the  city  of 
Mexico  was  captured,  participating  in  a  number  of  hotly  contested 
engagements  in  the  valley  of  Mexico,  including  the  attack  upon  the 
67 


68  Colonel  (^ranuUle  ff)teien  pallet 

fortifications  of  San  Antonio  and  the  storming  of  El  Molino  del  Rey. 
It  was  his  valor  and  gallantry  on  that  occasion  that  won  for  him  the 
brevet  of  major.  After  participating  in  the  capture  of  Mexico  city 
and  in  skirmisliing  witliin  its  walls  on  the  following  day,  the  officer's 
report  mentioned  his  gallantry  and  valuable  aid.  On  the  1st  of  Janu- 
ary, 1848,  he  was  advanced  to  the  rank  of  captain  in  the  Fourth 
Infantry  and  afterward  spent  some  time  on  recruiting  duty. 

In  1852  the  order  came  for  Majors  Sanders  and  Haller  to  join  the 
department  of  the  Pacific  with  their  respective  commands  and  they 
sailed  on  the  United  States  store  ship  Fredonia,  by  way  of  Cape 
Horn,  arriving  at  San  Francisco  in  June,  1853,  thus  completing  a 
vo3^age  of  seven  months.  Major  Haller  and  his  company  proceeded 
at  once  to  Fort  Vancouver,  Washington,  and  later  to  Fort  Dallas, 
Oregon,  after  which  he  was  engaged  in  active  military  duty  against 
the  Indians  when  military  force  was  of  necessity  employed  to  make 
them  understand  that  the  atrocities  and  murders  which  they  had 
inflicted  upon  the  settlers  must  be  stopped.  He  was  an  active  partici- 
pant all  through  the  Indian  war  of  the  northwest  and  rendered  val- 
uable aid  to  the  government  and  to  the  brave  pioneer  people  who 
were  attempting  to  reclaim  the  region  for  the  purposes  of  civilization. 
In  the  fall  of  1856  he  received  orders  to  establish  and  command  a 
fort  near  Port  TovtTisend  and  the  work,  notwithstanding  many  for- 
midable difficulties,  was  satisfactorily  accomplished,  and  for  many 
years  the  fort  was  garrisoned  and  known  as  Fort  Townsend. 

In  speaking  of  his  military  career  a  contemporary  biographer 
said:  "While  there  the  Major  and  his  men  were  a  most  efficient  force 
in  protecting  the  settlers,  and  well  does  Major  Haller  deserve  men- 
tion in  the  history  of  the  northwest,  for  his  efforts  contributed  in 
larger  measure  than  the  vast  majority  to  the  development  of  this 
region,  for  had  it  not  been  for  the  protection  which  he  gave  to  the 
settlers  the  Indians  would  have  rendered  impossible  the  labors  of  the 
pioneers  in  the  work  of  reclaiming  the  wild  land  for  purjjoses  of 
civilization  and  planting  the  industries  which  have  led  to  the  material 
ujibuilding  of  this  portion  of  the  country.  For  some  time  Major 
Haller  was  with  his  command  on  board  the  United  States  ship  pa- 
trolhng  the  waters  of  the  Sound  and  removed  all  foreign  Indians 
from  the  district.  While  thus  engaged  he  also  participated  in  the 
occupation  of  San  Juan  island  until  the  boundary  question  was  set- 
tled. In  1860  he  was  assigned  to  Fort  Mojave,  in  Arizona,  and  while 
stationed  there  he  treated  the  Indians  with  such  consideration  and 
justice  that  when  his  command  had  withdrawn  he  had  so  gained  the 
goodwill  of  the  red  race  that  the  miners  had  no  hesitation  about  con- 


Colonel  C&tantiiUc  flPtoen  trailer  69 

tinuing  their  operations  there  and  did  so  without  molestation.  In 
1861  came  orders  for  Major  Haller  to  proceed  with  his  command  to 
San  Diego,  California,  and  afterward  to  New  York  citj^  to  join  the 
army  then  being  organized  by  General  McClellan.  He  had  previ- 
ously been  brevet  major  but  on  the  25th  of  September,  1861,  was 
promoted  to  major  of  the  Seventh  Infantry  but  the  members  of  the 
regiment  were  being  held  as  prisoners  of  war  in  Texas  and  Major 
Haller  reported  to  General  McClellan  and  shortly  afterward  was 
appointed  conmiandant  general  at  the  general  headquarters  on  the 
staff  of  McClellan  and  the  Ninety-third  Regiment  of  New  York 
Volunteers  was  placed  under  his  command  as  guard  of  the  headquar- 
ters. Major  Haller  was  thus  employed  under  General  McClellan 
throughout  the  Virginia  and  Maryland  campaign  and  the  subsequent 
campaign  of  General  Burnside  and  also  for  a  short  time  under  Gen- 
eral Hooker.  He  was  then  designated  provost  marshal  general  of 
Maryland  and  later  was  detached  and  sent  to  York  and  Gettysburg 
to  muster  in  volunteers  and  to  get  all  the  information  possible  of  the 
movements  of  the  enemy,  also  to  order  the  citizens  to  remove  the  stock 
and  property  across  the  Susquehanna  out  of  the  way  of  the  rebel 
army.  While  thus  busily  engaged  in  the  service  of  his  country. 
Major  Haller  was  wrongfully  reported  for  disloyalty  to  the  govern- 
ment and  in  the  latter  part  of  July,  1863,  he  was  dismissed  from  the 
service  without  a  hearing.  Astonished  beyond  measure,  he  demanded 
a  hearing  and  was  refused.  Not  satisfied  to  submit  to  such  a  great 
wrong,  after  sixteen  years  of  waiting  he  secured  a  hearing  and  was 
fully  exonerated.  His  honor  was  fully  vindicated  and  he  was  rein- 
stated in  the  army  and  commissioned  colonel  of  infantiy  in  the  United 
States  Regulars.  His  command  was  the  Twenty-third  Infantry  and 
he  continued  as  its  colonel  from  December  11,  1879,  to  February  6, 
1882,  at  which  time  he  was  retired,  being  over  sixty-three  years  of 
age." 

During  the  period  in  which  he  was  not  connected  with  the  army 
Colonel  Haller  was  a  resident  of  Washington  territory  and  gave  his 
attention  to  the  development  of  a  fine  farm  on  Whidby  island.  His 
work  demonstrated  the  possibilities  of  Washington  for  the  produc- 
tion of  nearly  all  kinds  of  agricultural  and  horticultural  products  and 
the  example  which  he  set  in  this  direction  has  proven  of  immense  value 
to  the  state,  being  followed  by  others.  He  also  gave  attention  to  the 
manufacture  of  lumber  and  likewise  engaged  in  merchandising.  His 
business  interests  were  of  a  character  which  contributed  to  the  settle- 
ment, upbuilding  and  improvement  of  the  district  in  which  he  lived. 
He  was  very  liberal  in  giving  credit  to  the  settlers  who  wished  to  buy 


70  Colonel  (QxanMillt  Dtoen  l^allec 

provisions  and  implements  and  thus  enabled  many  to  gain  a  good 
start.  While  he  was  engaged  in  business  he  also  acquired  large  grants 
of  land  wliich  were  at  fii-st  of  little  value  but  with  the  settlement  of 
the  state  their  value  greatly  increased,  and  improvements  also  added 
to  their  selling  price,  so  that  eventually  the  property  became  a  source 
of  gratifying  income  to  Colonel  Haller  and  his  family.  Upon  his 
retirement  from  the  army  he  returned  to  Washington,  having  devel- 
oped a  great  fondness  for  the  state  during  the  years  of  his  former 
residence  here.  He  located  in  Seattle  in  1882  and  remained  continu- 
ously a  resident  of  this  city  until  his  life's  labors  were  ended  in  death. 

On  the  21st  of  June,  1849,  Colonel  Haller  was  married  to  Miss 
Henrietta  Maria  Cox,  who  belonged  to  a  prominent  Irish  family, 
descendants  of  Sir  Richard  Cox,  who  was  her  great-grandfather  and 
was  once  lord  chancellor  of  Ireland.  Coming  to  the  new  world  her 
people  located  in  Pennsylvania  and  in  that  state  Mrs.  Haller  was 
reared,  educated  and  married.  Five  children  were  born  to  this  union. 
Henry  died  at  an  early  age.  Morris  came  to  Seattle  prior  to  the  loca- 
tion of  his  parents  here  and  became  prominent  as  an  attorney.  He 
was  the  organizer  of  extensive  business  enterprises  which  have  proven 
of  the  greatest  value  and  benefit  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  material 
interests  of  the  state.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Seattle, 
Lake  Shore  &  Eastern  Railroad  Company  and  various  other  busi- 
ness interests  of  great  magnitude  which  contributed  not  alone  to  the 
success  of  the  owners  and  stockholders  but  as  well  to  general  pros- 
perity. In  1889,  while  on  a  hunting  and  fishing  trip  with  T.  T.  Minor 
and  E.  Louis  Cox,  he  was  accidentally  drowned.  This  was  a  distinct 
loss  to  the  community  in  which  he  lived  and  to  the  state  for  he  had 
gained  many  friends  and  his  standing  and  prominence  in  business 
circles  had  made  him  a  valued  factor  in  public  life.  Alice  Mai  Hal- 
ler, the  eldest  daughter,  became  the  wife  of  Lieutenant  (now  Colonel) 
William  A.  Nichols  and  died  leaving  two  children.  Charlotte  Elinor 
and  Theodore  N.  Haller,  the  latter  mentioned  on  another  page  of 
this  work,  are  the  two  surviving  members  of  the  family. 

The  family  circle  was  once  more  broken  by  the  hand  of  death, 
when  on  the  2d  of  May>  1897,  Colonel  Haller  passed  away,  his  demise 
being  the  occasion  of  deep  and  sincere  regret  to  all  who  knew  him. 
He  was  then  in  the  seventy-ninth  year  of  his  age,  and  he  was  the  presi- 
dent of  the  State  Pioneer  Society.  In  Masonry  he  occupied  a  promi- 
nent position,  having  been  grand  master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the 
territory.  He  took  the  degrees  both  of  the  York  and  the  Scottish 
Rites,  and  his  views  were  considered  authority  on  Masonic  usages, 
tenets  and  rites.    He  was  also  the  commander  of  the  Military  Order 


Colonel  (gtantijHe  ffl)toen  jailer  71 

of  the  Loyal  Legion  of  Wasliington.  That  he  possessed  business 
ability  of  high  order  is  indicated  in  the  fact  that  he  recognized  the 
opportunities  for  the  development  of  the  northwest  and  for  judicious 
investment  and  in  time  his  property  brought  to  him  and  his  family  a 
very  gratifying  income.  The  greater  part  of  liis  life,  however,  was 
devoted  to  his  country's  service  and  there  was  no  man  who  displayed 
a  more  loyal  or  devoted  patriotism.  He  loved  the  old  flag  and  regard- 
ed it  ever  as  the  symbol  of  the  highest  national  honor.  He  was  a 
man  of  fine  personal  appearance  and  of  military  bearing.  His  broad 
brow  indicated  a  strong  intellect,  his  eyes  shone  clear  and  bright,  and 
he  was  never  afraid  to  look  any  man  in  the  face.  He  had  the  courage 
of  his  convictions,  his  ideals  of  life  were  high,  and  he  ever  endeavored 
to  exemplify  them  in  his  daily  conduct.  Thus  he  left  to  his  family 
the  priceless  heritage  of  an  untarnished  name  and  an  example  which 
may  well  serve  as  a  source  of  inspiration  to  others. 


yUiAJL/X^ 


ilortial  ^.  latimer 


jPPORTUNITY  is  as  a  wiU-o'-the-wisp  before  the 
dreamer,  tauntingly  plays  before  the  sluggard,  but 
surrenders  to  the  man  of  determination  and  ambition 
and  yields  its  treasures  to  industry  and  perseverance. 
The  truth  of  this  statement  finds  verification  in  the 
life  record  of  Norval  H.  Latimer  who,  through  the 
steps  of  an  orderly  progression,  has  worked  his  way  steadily  upward 
in  the  business  world,  winning  the  prizes  therein  offered  and  standing 
today  as  one  of  the  prominent  financiers  of  Seattle,  being  now  presi- 
dent of  the  Dexter  Horton  National  Bank.  He  was  born  in  Mon- 
mouth, Illinois,  May  7,  1863,  a  son  of  William  G.  and  Martha  J. 
Latimer.  The  father's  birth  occurred  in  Abingdon,  Illinois,  June  3, 
1832,  and  he  was  there  educated  at  Hedding  College.  He  afterward 
engaged  in  farming  until  1850,  when  he  crossed  the  plains,  being  one 
of  the  first  white  men  upon  the  present  site  of  the  city  of  Seattle. 
The  following  year  he  returned  to  Abingdon  and  again  engaged  in 
general  agricultural  pursuits  until  after  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil 
war,  when,  in  the  opening  year  of  hostilities  he  became  first  lieutenant 
of  Companj^  I,  Eighty-third  Illinois  Volunteers,  with  which  command 
he  was  mustered  out  in  1863.  He  then  once  more  returned  to  the  farm 
and  devoted  his  attention  to  general  agricultural  pursuits  until  1882, 
when  he  came  to  Seattle  and  engaged  in  buying  and  selling  real  estate, 
remaining  actively  in  that  field  of  business  for  five  years.  In  1887 
a  recognition  of  his  public  spirit  and  ability  on  the  part  of  his  fellow 
townsmen  led  to  his  election  to  the  office  of  county  treasurer.  He  was 
at  one  time  commander  of  John  F.  Miller  Post  and  also  Stephen's 
Post,  G.  A.  R.,  and  was  an  exemplary  member  of  the  Masonic  fra- 
ternitj^  He  was  married  at  Berwick,  Illinois,  to  Miss  Martha  Pierce, 
and  they  became  the  parents  of  four  children. 

Norval  H.  Latimer,  who  attended  the  district  schools  near  Mon- 
mouth, Illinois,  until  fifteen  years  of  age,  afterward  worked  upon  his 
father's  farm  for  a  year  and  then  went  to  Kirkwood,  Illinois,  where 
he  accepted  a  position  as  messenger  in  the  first  National  Bank.  Still 
later  he  became  bookkeeper  in  that  institution  and  so  continued  until 
1882,  when  his  interests  became  allied  with  those  of  the  northwest. 
In  that  year  he  arrived  in  Seattle  and  secured  employment  with  the 
75 


76  jeortial  ^,  KLatimer 

Dexter  Horton  Company,  bankers,  as  messenger  and  janitor  at  a 
salary  of  fifty  dollars  per  month.  That  he  was  thoroughly  reliable 
and  capable  is  indicated  in  the  fact  that  when  a  half  year  had  passed 
his  salary  was  raised  to  eighty  dollars  per  month,  and  two  years  later 
he  was  made  assistant  cashier.  In  1889  he  became  manager  of  the 
bank  but  virtually  performed  the  duties  of  president  and  cashier, 
because  the  incumbents  of  those  offices  devoted  all  their  time  to  per- 
sonal interests.  In  July,  1910,  they  secured  a  new  charter,  changing 
the  name  to  the  Dexter  Horton  National  Bank,  at  which  time  Mr. 
Latimer  was  elected  president  and  director.  He  has  since  controlled 
the  policy  and  interests  of  this  institution,  which  is  one  of  the  strong 
and  reliable  moneyed  concerns  of  the  northwest,  having  an  extensive 
patronage  and  carrying  on  a  banking  business  of  large  proportions. 
Mr.  Latimer  is  also  a  director  and  member  of  the  executive  committee 
of  the  Dexter  Horton  Trust  &  Savings  Bank,  is  president  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Port  Townsend  and  president  of  the  Wauconda 
Investment  Company,  owners  of  Seattle  property  valued  at  one  and 
a  half  million  dollars.  Thus  important  are  the  interests  of  Mr. 
Latimer,  whose  sound  business  judgment  enables  him  to  gain  ready 
and  correct  solution  for  intricate  business  problems. 

Mr.  Latimer  was  married  in  Seattle,  May  22,  1890,  to  Miss  Mar- 
garet Moore,  and  this  union  has  been  blessed  with  eight  children. 
Arthur  G.,  twenty -three  years  of  age,  is  a  graduate  of  the  agricultm-al 
department  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  and  is  now  engaged  in 
farming  near  Medford,  Oregon.  Chester  M.,  who  is  twenty-two  years 
old,  graduated  from  Yale  and  is  now  connected  with  the  Dexter 
Horton  National  Bank.  Earl  H.,  twenty  years  of  age,  is  a  student  in 
the  University  of  Washington.  Allen  W.  and  Walter  B.,  aged 
respectively  sixteen  and  fourteen  years,  are  attending  high  school. 
Ray  N.  and  Vernon,  aged  respectively  twelve  and  ten  years,  are 
pupils  in  the  public  schools.  Margaret  is  attending  St.  Nichols 
School  for  Girls. 

Mr.  Latimer  is  a  Scottish  Rite  Mason  and  a  member  of  the 
Mystic  Shrine  and  upon  him  has  been  conferred  the  honorary  thirty- 
third  degree.  He  is  a  very  prominent  figure  in  club  circles  of  Seattle, 
being  a  life  member  of  the  Arctic,  Rainier  and  Seattle  Athletic  Clubs, 
and  also  a  member  of  the  Seattle  Golf  and  Coimtry  Club  and  the 
Seattle  Yacht  Club,  while  in  the  Tacoma  Club  of  Tacoma,  he  also 
holds  membership.  From  the  age  of  fifteen  years  he  has  been  depen- 
dent upon  his  own  resources,  at  which  period  he  made  his  initial  step 
in  business.  He  has  never  allowed  personal  interest  or  ambition  to 
dwarf  his  public  spirit  or  activity  and  yet  along  well  defined  lines  of 


j^otDal  ^.  Hatimet 


77 


labor  he  has  met  with  notable  success.  His  is  the  record  of  a  strenuous 
life — the  record  of  a  strong  individuality,  sure  of  itself,  stable  in 
purpose,  quick  in  perception,  swift  in  decision,  energetic  and  persistent 
in  action. 


/-C^)  -^^ C^C^-i-^C^UL^' 


CL^f^-K 


Ceorge  Hinnear 

I'l^^g^LI'i^  S  long  as  Seattle  stands,  the  name  of  Kinnear  will  be 
C^^^Cj)  an  honored  one  in  the  city.  It  is  perpetuated  in 
^^  /\  c5  Kinnear  Park  and  in  other  public  projects  which  owe 
r  ^  *•  *■  f  5  their  existence  to  his  efforts  and  are  the  result  of  his 
W<7'sC;y7>W  sagacity  and  his  public  spirit.  Dealing  in  real  estate, 
he  became  one  of  the  capitalists  of  Seattle  and  con- 
tributed in  most  substantial  measure  to  its  upbuilding  and  develop- 
ment. A  native  of  Ohio,  he  was  born  in  Pickaway  county  in  1836 
and  was  taken  by  his  parents  to  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  the 
family  home  being  established  on  the  banks  of  the  Wabash,  the  father 
there  building  the  first  log  cabin  at  La  Fayette.  He  was  three  years 
of  age  when  his  father  purchased  land  on  Flint  creek  and  there  erected 
a  brick  dwelling  from  brick  which  he  made  on  his  land,  while  the  floors, 
laths,  doors,  window  frames  and  casings  were 'of  black  walnut.  George 
Kinnear  had  reached  the  age  of  nine  years  when  the  father  started 
with  his  family  for  Woodford  county,  Illinois,  taking  with  him  his 
flock  and  herds.  They  had  advanced  but  one  hundred  yards,  how- 
ever, when  one  of  the  wagons  broke  and  little  nine-year-old,  bare- 
footed George  ran  back  to  the  house  and  cut  a  notch  in  the  window 
sill.  Sixty-four  years  later  he  rapped  at  the  door  of  this  same  house. 
An  old  lady  appeared,  to  whom  he  related  that  the  place  was  his 
former  home.  She  said  that  must  be  impossible,  for  she  had  lived 
there  sixty-four  years,  that  she  was  there  when  the  former  owner, 
Charles  Kinnear,  and  family  left  with  their  teams  for  Illinois,  that 
shortly  after  the  start  a  little  boy  came  running  back,  went  into  the 
next  room — Mr.  Kinnear  interrupted — "Let  me,  unaccompanied,  go 
into  the  next  room  and  see  what  that  litle  boy  did."  He  went  straight 
to  his  window  sill  and  there,  intact,  was  the  notch.  For  a  few  seconds 
he  was  again  a  barefooted,  nine-year-old  boy  making  that  notch.  It 
was  his  last  act  of  affection  for  the  Indiana  home  after  the  rest  of  the 
family  had  gone  from  the  house  perhaps  forever. 

George  Kinnear  spent  the  time  in  the  usual  manner  of  farm  lads 
at  the  old  home  on  Walnut  creek,  in  Woodford  county,  until  the 
outbreak  of  the  war.  Years  afterward  there  was  to  be  a  home  coming 
in  Woodford  county  and  Mr.  Kinnear  in  response  to  an  invitation 
to  be  present  on  that  occasion,  wrote  that  he  regretfully  declined  the 
81 


82  agotge  minneat 

invitation  but  gave  an  account  of  his  experiences  and  recollections  of 
the  early  times  in  that  locality.  From  this  we  quote,  not  only  because 
it  gives  an  excellent  picture  of  the  life  lived  there  in  that  day  but  also 
because  it  gives  a  splendid  idea  of  the  literary  talent  of  the  man  who 
in  the  intervening  years  had  advanced  from  poverty  to  affluence  and 
had  become  a  prominent  figure  in  the  community  in  which  he  lived. 
He  said:  "In  the  year  1851  when  I  was  a  boy,  we  settled  in  Walnut 
Grove.  Then  and  for  several  years  thereafter  our  postoffice  was  at 
Washington  and  there  is  where  we  did  most  of  our  trading.  Near 
by  where  we  built  our  house  was  the  old  camp  ground  of  the  Pottawot- 
tomies.  Their  camp  ground  was  str«wn  with  pieces  of  flint  and  arrow 
heads  and  their  old  trails  leading  oiF  in  diiFerent  directions  remained. 
Often  in  my  quiet  strolls  through  the  woods  in  my  imagination  I 
peopled  the  forest  again  with  Indians  and  almost  wished  I  were 
one.  Most  of  the  country  between  Walnut  Grove  and  Washington 
was  wet,  with  many  ponds  and  sloughs.  The  road  was  anywhere 
we  saw  fit  to  drive  (always  aiming,  however,  to  keep  on  the  top  of 
the  sod).  In  driving  across  sloughs,  we  would  drive  at  a  run  for 
fear  of  going  through,  but  if  we  got  into  a  rut  or  the  sod  broke,  we 
were  stuck.  During  the  summer  time  I  went  to  Washington  twice 
a  week  to  have  the  prairie  plows  sharpened  and  while  the  work  was 
being  done  I  would  stroll  about  and  peer  into  the  little  stores  and 
shops,  which  were  interesting  to  the  boy  raised  on  a  farm  and  not 
used  to  town  life.  I  remember  one  day  seeing  at  Washington  a 
bunch  of  little  girls  wading  about  barefoot  in  the  mud  like  a  lot  of 
little  ducks.  One  of  them  was  little  five-year-old  Angie  Simmons. 
When  I  was  seventeen  years  old,  I  went  to  work  in  A.  H.  Danforth's 
store,  where  I  remained  about  four  months,  beginning  at  the  bottom, 
sweeping,  moving  boxes,  etc.,  occasionally  selling  goods.  I  observed 
then  how  mean  some  men  could  be.  When  I  was  at  work  and  nobody 
else  around,  several  of  the  men  would  say,  'They  make  you  sweep. 
They  make  you  do  the  dirty  work.  I  wouldn't  stand  it,'  but  I 
had  sense  enough  to  know  my  place.  I  did  not  like  store  keeping  and 
remained  only  four  months. 

"In  1865  the  war  was  over  and  I  was  at  home  and  out  of  business. 
I  bought  a  brand  new  buggy  and  a  nice  team.  I  started  out  on  the 
morning  of  the  Fourth  of  July  to  see  what  I  might.  My  father, 
I  suppose,  to  plague  me,  said,  'Yes,  you  will  marry  the  first  girl  you 
get  into  that  buggy.'  I  struck  out  straight  for  Washington,  tied  up 
my  team  and  walked  over  to  where  the  speaking  would  be  held. 
Meeting  my  old  friend,  Diego  Ross,  he  at  once  introduced  me  to  a 
handsome  girl.     I  profFered  to  find  her  a  seat,  which  she  accepted. 


aeotgg  B>inncat  83 

Considering  the  circumstances  of  our  new  acquaintance  with  each 
other  and  the  courtesies  due  from  one  to  the  other,  we  paid  reasonably 
good  attention  to  the  reading  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and 
the  oration,  and  at  the  conclusion  of  the  same  I  drove  with  her  in  my 
buggy  to  her  home  and  there  engaged  her  company  for  that  evening 
to  view  the  fireworks.      (First  girl  in  buggy.) 

"The  Washington  people  had  a  great  celebration.  The  old  anvil 
roared  and  stirred  up  great  enthusiasm  and  the  fireworks  were  bril- 
liant. My  girl  and  I  were  seated  in  the  buggy  watching  the  fireworks 
and  some  girls  were  walking  by  in  the  weeds.  I  heard  my  girl  say, 
'Sally,  is  the  dog  fennel  wet?'  Was  that  a  joke  or  sarcasm?  The 
question  was  asked,  'Where  will  we  be  the  next  Fourth?'  The  answer 
was,  'Why  not  here?'  Now  we  made  an  appointment  one  year  ahead. 
An  appointment  one  year  ahead  seemed  a  long  way  off,  so  I  called 
occasionally  to  see  if  she  and  I  were  still  on  good  terms  or  if  she  had 
gone  off  with  another  fellow.  The  next  Fourth  came  around  and 
we  were  there  in  the  buggy  watching  the  fireworks.  (First  girl  still 
in  the  buggy.)  One  time  I  called  about  noon.  She  met  me  at  the 
door  with  her  sleeves  rolled  up.  She  asked  me  if  I  would  stay  for 
dinner  and  I  said  'Yes.'  She  was  beaten  for  once.  She  thought  I 
would  know  enough  to  say  'No.'  I  was  ahead  one  meal.  By  this  time 
we  were  getting  enthusiastic  on  the  Fourth  of  July  and  set  another 
date  a  year  ahead.  But  we  began  negotiations  now  in  earnest  and  on 
March  28,  1867,  we  were  married.  (First  girl  in  buggy.)  It  was 
hard  to  beat  old  father  at  a  guess.  The  first  girl  in  buggy  took  the 
buggy  and  from  that  time  on  ruled  the  roost.  The  first  girl  in  buggy 
and  the  little  five-year-old  Angie  Simmons  were  one  and  the  same. 

"But  take  me  back,  take  me  back  to  the  times  when  Nature  was 
clothed  in  her  natural  garments;  when  the  log  cabin  was  the  only 
dwelling  place  of  the  settler;  when  rough  logs  chinked  with  mud 
and  sticks,  a  rough  stone  chimney,  a  punchean  floor,  a  clapboard  roof, 
the  latch  string  hanging  out  were  both  hut  and  palace.  In  those 
times  the  forest  trees,  untouched  by  the  woodman's  axe,  stood  in  all 
their  native  beauty.  The  woods  were  full  of  wild  fruit — the  wild 
cherries,  wild  plums,  crabapples,  mulberries,  hackberries,  elderberries, 
gooseberries,  black  currants,  wild  grapes  and  May  apples,  red  haws, 
black  haws,  acorns,  chinkapins,  hickory  nuts  and  walnuts,  pawpaws 
and  persimmons  and  wild  honey  in  nearly  every  hollow  tree.  Of  the 
game  birds  there  were  droves  of  wild  turkeys,  pheasants,  quail,  doves, 
woodpeckers,  yellow  hammers,  plovers  and  sap  suckers.  Of  the  ani- 
mals, the  deer,  squirrel,  coon,  'possimi,  rabbit,  wolf  and  fox.  The 
streams  teemed  with  fish. 


84  (geocgg  Einneat 

"I  looked  up  into  the  sky  and  saw  the  myriads  upon  myriads  of 
wild  pigeons.  They  were  in  columns  extending  from  horizon  to 
horizon  and  to  the  north  and  south  as  far  as  eye  could  see;  at  times 
they  almost  darkened  the  sun,  and  out  on  the  prairie  I  saw  millions 
of  wild  geese,  ducks,  bi-ants  and  cranes  sporting  about  the  sloughs 
and  ponds,  their  quacking,  screaming,  chirping  and  whirring  of  wings 
sounding  like  distant  thunder.  Out  in  another  direction  on  the  dry 
ground  I  saw  the  prairie  chickens.  They  were  almost  as  numerous 
as  the  water  fowl.  They  were  crowing  and  cackling  and  chasing 
each  other  around  in  the  grass.  Among  the  birds  or  off  by  them- 
selves were  herds  of  deer  feeding  on  the  prairie  grass. 

"Here  was  the  sj)ortsman's  paradise.  He  would  never  consent 
to  be  transported  with  joy  to  another  land.  From  his  flocks  and 
herds  he  would  suj)ply  the  table  with  the  choicest  venison,  geese, 
ducks  and  prairie  hens  to  suit  the  guests  at  the  sumptuous  feast. 
This  was  the  joyful  place  for  the  rugged,  barefoot  boy,  bareheaded, 
on  a  bareback  horse,  with  a  gun  and  a  dog  by  his  side.  With  what 
joy,  after  following  the  deer  across  the  plain,  would  he  carry  home  to 
his  mother  the  trophj-^  of  the  chase !  This  was  the  place  for  the  rosy- 
cheeked  girl,  clad  in  her  linsey  dress,  in  a  bewildering  mass  of  wild. 
flowers,  trailing  vines  and  rustling  leaves,  as  happy  as  the  feathered 
songsters  that  surrounded  her  and  sang  with  her  their  dehght  at  the 
beautiful  scene.  What  a  treat  it  would  be  now  to  go  back  with  our 
baskets  into  those  woods  and  gather  the  nuts  as  they  fall  from  the 
trees,  to  pull  down  the  black  haw  bush  and  gather  the  richest  berry 
that  grows,  and  the  sweet  persimmons  we'd  gather,  too.  Farther 
down  the  wood  lies  the  pawpaw  patch,  and  from  among  its  leaves 
we'd  pick  the  ripe,  juicy  fruit  and  at  last  start  for  home,  our  baskets 
filled  to  the  brim.  Let  us  go  home,  to  our  old  home  again.  We  see 
the  large  fireplace,  the  wide  hearth,  the  old  Dutch  oven  in  which  mother 
baked  her  bread  and  boiled  the  mush  before  the  fire.  The  table  is 
spread  with  the  bread  mother  baked,  the  bowls  of  mush  and  milk,  the 
roasted  game  the  hunter  brought,  the  baked  potatoes  and  luscious  f  i-uit 
and  the  pumpkin  pie  mother  made  from  the  flat  pie  pumpkin.  A 
barefoot  boy  is  squatting  on  the  floor  and  with  the  mush  pot  between 
his  legs  is  scraping  the  kettle  for  the  crust.  Out  in  the  woods  we  hear 
the  wild  turkey  gobble ;  the  drunuiiing  of  the  pheasant  and  the  nuts 
dropping  from  the  trees ;  we  see  the  waving  of  the  treetops  and  hear 
the  rustling  of  the  leaves,  the  song  of  the  birds  and  the  barking  of 
the  squirrels  and  watch  them  leap  from  tree  to  tree.  They  are  all  our 
friends.  How  I  like  them!  Let  me  go  among  them  alone  at  night 
with  my  dog  and  there  I'll  follow  the  'possum  and  the  coon,  stroll 


g&cocge  l^inncat  85 

along  the  silent  creek  and  listen  to  the  songs  of  the  frogs,  the  hooting 
of  the  owl  and  the  whippoorwill.  This  is  Aug-ust  31,  1911.  How 
pleasant  now  to  remember  old  Washington  surrounded  by  broad 
prairies  and  beautiful  groves  and  inhabited  by  friends  and  associates 
of  the  early  days!  Here  from  the  Shore  of  the  Great  Pacific,  the 
Land  of  the  Sahnon  and  the  Big  Red  Apple,  to  you  of  the  Land  of 
the  Rustling  Corn  we  send  Greeting!" 

In  the  letter  from  which  the  above  quotation  was  taken  Mr.  Kin- 
near  referred  to  his  military  service.  With  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil 
war  he  joined  the  Forty-seventh  Illinois  Regiment,  with  which  he 
remained  mi  til  mustered  out  in  1864.  On  his  way  home  while  cross- 
ing the  Mississippi  he  said,  "I  have  chewed  tobacco  for  eleven  years. 
This  is  no  habit  for  a  young  man  to  start  out  in  life  with,"  and  threw 
into  the  water  a  silver  pocket  case  full  of  tobacco.  That  was  character- 
istic of  Mr.  Kinnear.  If  once  he  decided  that  a  course  was  wrong  or 
unwise  he  did  not  hesitate  to  turn  aside,  for  he  never  deviated  from  a 
path  which  he  beheved  to  be  right.  It  was  this  fidelity  to  all  that  he 
thought  to  be  worth  while  in  the  development  of  character  that  made 
him  the  splendid  specimen  of  manhood,  remembered  by  his  many 
friends  in  Seattle. 

Following  his  return  from  the  war  his  mother  handed  him  thirty- 
six  hundred  dollars^his  pay,  which  he  had  sent  her  while  at  the  front 
to  help  her  in  the  conduct  of  household  affairs.  With  the  mother's 
sacrifice  and  devotion,  however,  she  had  saved  it  all  for  him  and  with 
that  amount  he  invested  in  a  herd  of  cattle  which  he  fed  through  the 
winter  and  sold  at  an  advance  the  following  spring,  using  the  proceeds 
in  the  purchase  of  two  sections  of  Illinois  land.  He  not  only  became 
identified  with  farming  interests  but  from  1864  until  1869  held  the 
office  of  county  clerk  of  Woodford  county,  Illinois,  proving  a  most 
capable  and  trustworthy  official  in  that  position.  On  retiring  from 
the  office  he  concentrated  his  energies  upon  the  development  and  cul- 
tivation of  his  land  and  while  carrying  on  farming  he  would  purchase 
corn  in  the  fall  and  place  it  in  cribs,  selling  when  the  market  reached, 
as  he  believed,  its  best  point.  In  the  meantime  he  studied  conditions 
in  the  developing  northwest.  His  attention  was  first  called  to  the 
Puget  Sound  country  in  1864  and  thereafter  from  time  to  time  his 
mind  returned  to  that  district.  Knowing  that  the  waters  of  the  Sound 
were  navigable  he  believed  that  one  day  a  great  city  would  be  built 
there  and  after  ten  years,  in  which  he  pondered  the  question,  he  made 
a  trip  to  the  northwest  in  1874,  looking  over  the  different  locations. 
He  was  most  favorably  impressed  with  the  site  of  Seattle  and  before 
he  returned  to  Illinois  he  purchased  what  is  known  as  the  G.  Kinnear 


86  aeotge  jtinneac 

addition  on  the  south  side  of  Queen  Anne  Hill.  He  then  returned 
home  and  four  years  later,  or  in  1878,  he  brought  his  family  to  the 
northwest.  He  felt  that  investment  in  property  here  would  be  of 
immense  advantage  and  as  fast  as  he  could  sell  his  Illinois  land  at 
fifty  doUars  per  acre  he  converted  the  proceeds  into  Seattle  real  estate, 
much  of  which  rose  rapidly  in  value.  There  was  but  a  tiny  town  here 
at  the  time  of  his  arrival  and  from  the  beginning  of  his  residence  on 
the  Sound  he  did  everything  in  his  power  to  make  known  to  the  coun- 
try the  possibilities  and  opportunities  of  the  northwest  and  to  aid  in 
the  development  of  the  city  in  which  he  had  located.  He  favored  and 
fostered  every  measure  which  he  believed  would  prove  of  benefit  to 
the  town  and  coimtry.  In  1878-9  he  labored  strenuously  to  secure  the 
building  of  a  wagon  road  over  the  Snoqualmie  Pass  and  as  the  or- 
ganizer of  the  board  of  immigration  he  had  several  thousand  pamph- 
lets printed,  sent  advertisements  to  the  newspapers  throughout  the 
country  and  as  the  result  of  this  widespread  publicity,  letters  request- 
ing pamphlets  arrived  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  or  more  per  day  and 
for  several  years  after  the  printed  supply  had  been  exhausted  the 
requests  kept  coming  in.  Just  how  far  his  efforts  and  influence  ex- 
tended in  the  upbuilding  of  the  northwest  it  is  impossible  to  determine 
but  it  is  a  recognized  fact  that  Mr.  Kinnear's  work  in  behalf  of  Seattle 
has  been  far-reaching  and  most  beneficial. 

In  1886,  at  the  time  of  the  Chinese  riots,  he  was  captain  of  the 
Home  Guard  and  in  that  connection  did  important  service.  The  anti- 
Chinese  feeling  in  the  northwest  found  expression  in  action  in  the 
fall  of  1885,  when  the  Chinese  were  expelled  from  a  number  of  towns 
along  the  coast  by  mobs  and  an  Anti-Chinese  Congress  was  held  in 
Seattle  which  promulgated  a  manifesto  that  all  Chinese  must  leave 
the  localities  represented  in  the  congress  on  or  prior  to  the  first  day 
of  November,  The  authorities  in  Seattle  prepared  to  resist  the  law- 
less element  and  the  1st  of  November  came  without  the  Chinese  having 
been  driven  out  of  Seattle.  On  the  3d  of  November  the  Chinese  were 
expelled  from  Tacoma  and  the  spirit  of  hatred  against  the  Mon- 
golians grew  in  intensity  along  the  coast.  As  the  weeks  passed  the 
leaders  of  the  anti-Chinese  forces  continued  their  activity  and  it  be- 
came increasingljf  evident  that  there  was  serious  trouble  ahead.  One 
morning  ten  or  a  dozen  men  met  in  Seattle,  among  them  Mr.  Kinnear, 
and  he  proposed  that  a  force  of  citizens  be  organized  and  armed  for 
the  purpose  of  holding  the  mob  element  in  check.  All  present  agreed 
and  subsequently  a  company  of  eighty  men  armed  with  breech-loading 
guns  was  organized  and  given  the  name  of  the  Home  Guards.  Mr. 
Kinnear  was  made  captain  of  this  organization  and  arrangements 


(George  ffilinneac  s? 

were  made  for  signals  to  be  given  to  indicate  that  the  mob  had  actually 
begun  the  attack.  As  several  inaccm-ate  accounts  of  the  riot  have 
appeared,  Captain  Kinnear  published  a  small  book  giving  a  correct 
accoimt  of  the  whole  anti-Chinese  trouble  and  from  this  the  following 
quotation  is  taken: 

"On  Sunday  morning  (Feb.  7th),  about  eleven  o'clock,  the  old 
University  and  Methodist  Episcopal  chui-ch  bells  sounded  the  signals. 
At  a  meeting  the  previous  evening  a  committee  had  been  appointed 
to  take  charge  of  the  removal  of  the  Chinese.  They  proceeded  to  the 
Chinese  quarters  with  wagons,  ordered  the  Orientals  to  pack  up,  then, 
with  the  aid  of  the  rioters,  placed  them  and  their  baggage  onto 
wagons  and  drove  them  to  the  dock  at  the  foot  of  Main  Street,  the 
intention  being  to  load  them  onto  the  Steamer  Queen,  which  was  ex- 
pected from  San  Francisco  at  any  hour.  Upon  the  arrival  of  Captain 
Alexander  with  the  Queen  at  Port  Townsend,  he  first  learned  of  the 
situation  at  Seattle  and  when  he  arrived  at  the  Ocean  Dock  he  ran  out 
the  hot  water  hose,  declaring  he  would  scald  all  persons  attempting  to 
force  their  way  onto  the  ship.  They  willingly  kept  at  a  distance.  But 
the  city  was  completely  in  the  hands  of  the  mob.  The  acting  Chief- 
of-Police  Murphy  and  nearly  all  of  the  police  force  were  aiding  in 
the  lawless  acts.  Early  in  the  daj^  Governor  Watson  C.  Squire,  being 
in  the  city,  issued  his  proclamation  ordering  them  to  desist  from  vio- 
lence, to  disperse  and  return  to  their  homes.  Their  only  answer  was 
yells  and  howls  of  defiance.  He  ordered  out  two  military  companies 
stationed  in  the  city  to  report  to  the  sheriff  of  the  county  for  the  pur- 
pose of  enforcing  the  laws.  A  squad  of  eighteen  men  from  the  Home 
Guards  escorted  C.  K.  Henry,  United  States  Department  Marshall, 
to  the  front  of  Dexter  Horton's  Bank,  where  the  governor's  proc- 
lamation was  read  to  the  howling  mob.  They  were  furious  at  the 
presence  of  the  armed  men  and  would  have  attacked  had  the  Guards 
not  promptly  returned  to  their  quarters  at  the  engine  house.  The 
removal  of  the  Chinese  from  their  homes  continued  till  there  were 
about  three  hundred  and  fifty  herded  on  Ocean  Dock  awaiting  the 
transportation  by  rail  or  steamer  to  carry  them  away.  A  strong  guard 
of  rioters  was  placed  over  them.  Only  those  who  could  pay  their  fare 
were  permitted  to  board  the  ship.  The  citizens  subscribed  a  portion 
of  the  money  to  pay  the  fares  of  one  hundred,  being  all  that  could  be 
carried  on  the  boat.  In  the  meantime  a  writ  of  Hebeas  Corpus  was 
issued  by  Judge  Roger  S.  Greene,  detaining  the  vessel  and  requiring 
Captain  Alexander  to  produce  the  Chinese  then  on  his  vessel  at  the 
court  room  next  morning  at  eight  o'clock,  that  each  Chinaman  might 
be  informed  of  his  legal  rights  and  say  if  he  desired  to  go  or  remain ; 


88  (George  Mnmat 

that  if  he  wanted  to  remain  he  would  be  protected.  Early  in  the  morn- 
ing of  the  7th,  the  Home  Guards  were  ordered  placed  where  they 
could  best  guard  the  city.  The  entire  force  was  posted  at  the  corner 
of  Washington  Street  and  Second  Avenue  and  details  sent  out  from 
there  to  guard  a  portion  of  the  city.  That  night  a  portion  of  the 
Guards  and  the  Seattle  Rifles  took  up  their  quarters  at  the  Court 
House,  Company  D  remaining  at  their  armory.  The  authorities 
were  active  during  the  entire  night  in  doing  everj^thing  they  could^  to 
enforce  the  laws.  Governor  Squire  telegraphed  the  Secretary  of 
War,  also  General  Gibbon,  commanding  the  Department  of  the 
Columbia,  the  situation.  About  midnight  an  attempt  was  made  to 
move  the  Chinese  to  a  train  and  send  a  part  of  them  out  of  the  city 
that  way,  but  the  Seattle  Rifles  and  Company  D  were  sent  to  guard 
the  train  and  succeeded  in  getting  it  out  ahead  of  time.  While  most 
of  the  mob  that  had  not  yet  retired  was  down  at  the  train,  a  squad  of 
the  Home  Guards  was  detailed  to  take  possession  of  the  north  and 
south  wings  of  the  Ocean  Dock  upon  which  were  quartered  the  Chin- 
ese, watched  over  by  McMillan,  Kidd  and  others,  all  of  whom  were 
prevented  by  the  Home  Guards  from  leaving  the  dock.  By  daylight 
the  Seattle  Rifles  and  University  Cadets  with  a  squad  from  the  Home 
Guards  were  lined  up  across  the  two  wing  approaches  to  the  main  dock. 
In  the  early  morning  the  mob  was  gathering  again  and  soon  the  ad- 
joining wharves  and  streets  were  blocked  with  angry  men  who  saw 
they  were  defeated  in  keeping  charge  of  the  Chinese.  As  their  niun- 
bers  increased,  they  became  bolder  and  declared  their  purpose  to  kill 
or  drive  out  the  Guards.  Early  that  morning  after  warrant  was 
issued  by  George  G.  Lyon,  Justice  of  the  Peace,  the  leading  agitators 
were  arrested  and  locked  in  jail,  where  they  were  confined  at  the  time 
the  Home  Guards  escorted  the  Chinese  from  the  dock  to  the  court- 
house pursuant  to  the  writ  of  Habeas  Corpus  issued  by  Judge  Greene. 
Of  course  there  would  have  been  a  skirmish  somewhere  between  the 
dock  and  the  courthouse  if  the  anti-Chinese  forces  had  not  been  de- 
prived of  their  leaders.  At  the  conclusion  of  court  proceedings,  the 
Home  Guards  escorted  all  of  the  Chinese  back  so  that  those  who  were 
to  leave  on  the  Queen  might  do  so  and  the  others  went  to  the  dock  to 
reclaim  their  personal  eif ects  which  they  had  carried  from  their  houses 
or  which  were  carted  there  by  the  mob.  At  this  time  the  leaders  who 
had  been  arrested  had  been  released  from  jail  on  bail,  at  least  some  of 
them  had,  and  they  acted  as  a  committee  to  disburse  money  which 
had  been  raised  to  pay  the  passage  of  those  Chinese  who  wanted  to  go 
to  San  Francisco  on  the  Queen.  The  committee,  or  some  members 
of  it,  were  permitted  to  go  upon  the  dock,  but  the  mass  of  anti-Chinese 


(george  aiinneat  89 

forces  were  held  in  check  by  the  Home  Guards,  Seattle  Rifles  and 
University  Cadets,  who  maintained  a  line  across  the  docks  extending 
from  Main  Street  to  Washington  Street.  The  numbers  of  the  dis- 
orderly element  were  increasing  and  there  was  every  indication  of 
trouble  ahead.  President  Powell  of  the  University  had  been  mingling 
among  the  crowd  and  informed  us  that  they  were  planning  to  take  our 
guns  away  from  us.  The  Guards  had  been  expecting  this  and  were 
prepared  all  the  time  for  trouble.  After  the  Queen  left,  the  remain- 
ing Chinese  were  ordered  moved  back  to  their  quarters  where  they  had 
been  living  and  the  Chinese  were  formed  in  column  with  baskets  and 
bundles  of  all  sizes  which  made  them  a  clumsy  lot  to  handle.  In  front 
was  placed  the  Home  Guards — the  Seattle  Rifles  and  the  University 
Cadets  coming  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  in  the  rear.  The  march 
began  up  Main  Street.  The  Home  Guards  were  well  closed  up  as 
they  had  been  cautioned  to  march  that  way.  Crowds  of  men  were  on 
the  street,  but  they  gave  way.  But  on  our  left,  on  the  north  side  of 
the  street,  they  now  lined  up  in  better  order  and  as  the  head  of  the 
column  reached  Commercial  Street  and  alongside  the  New  England 
Hotel,  at  a  signal  the  rioters  sprang  at  the  Guards  and  seized  a  num- 
ber of  their  gims,  which  began  to  go  off".  The  rioters  instantly  let  go 
the  guns  and  crowded  back.  They  were  surprised  that  the  guns  were 
loaded.  One  man  was  killed  and  four  wounded.  This  seemed  to 
have  the  desired  eff'ect  on  them.  Immediately  the  Guards  were  formed 
across  Commercial  Street  looking  north.  The  Seattle  Rifles  and 
University  Cadets  formed  on  Main  Street  facing  the  docks,  where 
there  was  a  large  crowd,  a  few  men  were  faced  to  the  south  and  east, 
thus  forming  a  square  at  Commercial  and  Main  Streets.  The  dense 
mobs  were  in  the  streets  to  the  north  and  west.  To  the  north  as  far  as 
Yesler  Way  the  street  was  packed  full  of  raving,  howling,  angry 
men,  threatening  revenge  on  those  who  were  interfering  with  their 
lawlessness.  I  selected  Mr.  C.  H.  Hanford  and  Mr.  F.  H.  Whit- 
worth  and  directed  them  to  press  the  crowd  back  so  as  to  keep  an  open 
space  between  our  line  and  the  front  of  the  mob.  Many  of  the  mob 
were  seen  with  arms.  At  the  time  of  shooting,  several  shots  were 
fired  by  the  mob,  one  ball  passing  through  the  sheriff"s  coat,  but  none 
of  our  men  were  hurt.  Back  a  distance  a  number  of  the  leaders 
mounted  boxes  and  by  their  fierce  harangues  tried  to  stir  the  mob  to 
seek  revenge.  There  was  no  order  given  to  fire.  The  men  understood 
their  business  and  knew  when  to  shoot.  We  remained  in  this  position 
about  half  an  hour,  until  Captain  Haines,  with  Company  D,  appeared 
coming  down  the  street  from  the  north,  the  mob  cheering  with  great 
delight  and  opening  the  way  to  give  them  free  passage.     Shortly 


90  (george  g^inneat 

afterwards  the  mob  called  on  John  Keane  for  a  speech.  He  mounted 
a  box  in  front  of  the  New  England  Hotel  and  made  a  speech  in  the 
following  words:  'All  of  ye's  go  to  your  homes.  There  has  been 
trouble  enough  this  day.'  Then  the  Home  Guards,  Rifles,  and  Cadets 
conducted  the  Chinese  to  their  quarters  and  then  marched  to  the  court- 
house, wliich  from  that  time  on,  with  Company  D,  was  their  head- 
quarters." 

In  the  afternoon  of  that  day  Governor  Watson  C.  Squire  pro- 
claimed the  city  under  martial  law  and  the  Guards  and  militia  with 
the  assistance  of  the  Volunteers  were  able  to  maintain  order  in  the 
city.  In  the  meantime  the  president  of  the  United  States  ordered 
General  Gibbon,  who  was  stationed  at  Vancouver,  to  send  federal 
troops  to  the  aid  of  Seattle.  On  the  morning  of  the  10th  Colonel  de 
Russy  arrived  with  the  Fourteenth  Infantry  to  relieve  the  Guards 
and  militia,  who  had  been  on  constant  duty  for  three  days  and  nights 
without  sleep  or  rest.  With  the  arrival  of  the  regular  troops  the 
disorderly  element  quieted  down  but  the  leaders  of  the  Guards  and 
militia  feared  that  Avhen  the  federal  troops  were  withdrawn  the  rioters 
would  again  attempt  to  control  the  city.  Accordingly,  the  Home 
Guards,  the  Seattle  Rifles  and  Company  D  were  all  raised  to  one 
hundred  men  each  and  another  company  of  one  hundred  men  was 
raised.  These  troops,  which  represented  men  from  every  walk  of 
life,  drilled  constantly  and  it  was  well  that  they  did  so,  for  as  soon  as 
the  regular  troops  had  gone,  it  became  evident  that  the  mob  was  taking- 
steps  to  organize  an  armed  force.  Conditions  were  so  unsettled  for 
several  months  that  it  was  necessary  for  the  four  hundred  men  to 
continue  their  drilling  and  to  be  constantly  alert.  Eventually,  how- 
ever, the  excitement  died  out  and  quiet  was  restored  and  business  again 
went  on  as  usual.  Too  great  praise  cannot  be  given  Mr.  Kinnear  for 
the  course  which  he  pursued  in  connection  with  these  riots.  He 
recognized  at  once  that  the  greatest  public  enemies  are  those  who 
seek  to  establish  mob  rule  and  overturn  the  forces  of  order  and  good 
government  and  he  recognized  the  necessity  of  maintaining  the  rights 
of  all.  His  insight  was  equalled  by  his  public  spirit  and  courage  and 
he  deserves  the  lasting  gratitude  of  Seattle  for  what  he  did  at  that 
time  to  maintain  her  honor  and  good  faith. 

Mr.  Kinnear  at  all  times  manifested  a  deep  interest  in  the  welfare 
of  the  city  and  in  working  for  its  improvement  kept  in  mind  the  future 
as  well  as  the  present.  In  1887  he  gave  to  the  city  fourteen  acres  of 
land  which  overlooks  the  Sound  from  the  west  side  of  Queen  Anne 
Hill  and  which,  splendidly  improved,  now  constitutes  beautiful  Kin- 
near Park.     It  is  one  of  the  things  of  which  Seattle  is  proud  and  as 


(george  lainneat  9i 

the  city  grows  in  population  its  value  will  be  more  and  more  appre- 
ciated. In  many  other  ways  Mr.  Kinnear  manifested  his  foresight 
and  his  concern  for  the  public  good  and  he  was  a  potent  factor  in  the 
development  of  the  city  along  many  lines.  His  qualities  of  heart 
and  mind  were  such  as  combined  to  form  the  noblest  type  of  manhood 
and  in  all  relations  of  life  he  conformed  to  the  highest  moral  stand- 
ards. He  was  not  only  miiversally  conceded  to  be  a  man  of  unusual 
ability  and  one  of  the  foremost  citizens  of  Seattle,  but  he  was  per- 
sonally popular.  In  the  spring  and  summer  of  1910  he  and  his 
wife  toured  Europe  and  at  that  time  wrote  a  number  of  extremely 
interesting  articles  relative  to  the  diiFerent  countries  through  which 
they  traveled,  and  these  articles  are  still  in  the  possession  of  the 
family.  Of  Mr.  Kinnear  it  has  been  said:  "He  was  as  upright 
as  he  was  in  stature — honest,  energetic,  clear-headed  and  generous. 
He  met  his  responsibilities  fearlessly  and  lived  his  life  worthily.  He 
was  willing  to  be  persuaded  along  right  lines — but  he  was  not  to  be 
badgered.  He  was  as  kind  hearted  as  he  was  hearty  and  he  had  not 
been  sick  since  the  war."  During  the  later  years  of  his  life  Mr, 
Kinnear  traveled  extensivelj^  and  took  the  greatest  pleasure  in  being 
in  the  open,  near  to  nature's  heart.  On  the  21st  of  July,  1912,  he 
spent  a  day  on  Steilacoom  Plains,  returning  by  automobile  in  the 
evening.  On  the  following  morning  he  was  seen  watering  the  flowers 
on  the  front  porch  and  later  entered  the  house,  awaiting  the  call  for 
the  morning  meal,  but  when  it  came,  life  had  passed  and  he  had  gone 
on  as  he  wished,  without  a  period  of  wearisome  illness,  but  in  the  midst 
of  health  and  action  and  good  cheer.  His  going  calls  to  mind  the 
words  of  James  Whitcomb  Riley. 

"I  cannot  say,  and  I  will  not  say 
That  he  is  dead.     He  is  just  away! 
With  a  cheery  smile,  and  a  wave  of  the  hand, 
He  has  wandered  into  an  unknown  land. 
And  left  us  dreaming  how  very  fair 
It  needs  must  be,  since  he  lingers  there. 
And  you,  O  you,  who  the  wildest  yearn 
For  the  old-time  step  and  the  glad  return — 
Think  of  him  faring  on,  as  dear 
In  the  love  of  There  as  the  love  of  Here; 
Think  of  him  still  as  the  same,  I  say; 
He  is  not  dead — he  is  just  away!" 


CbtDtn  (iatbner  ^mesi 

5DWIN  GARDNER  AMES  has  been  a  resident  of 

Ey...  the  northwest  since  October,  1881,  in  which  year  he 
(W  came  to  Washington  as  an  employe  of  the  Puget  Mill 
12  (  Company.  He  has  continuously  been  connected  with 
that  corporation  through  all  the  intervening  years 
and  advancing  steadily  step  by  step  now  occupies  a 
position  of  exceptional  prominence  in  connection  with  the  lumber 
industry  of  this  part  of  the  country.  There  is  little  connected  with 
the  trade  with  which  he  is  not  familiar.  He  knows  the  business  in 
principle  and  detail  and  his  success  has  been  the  logical  sequence  of  his 
indefatigable  energy  and  intelligently  directed  activity.  He  came 
from  a  state  where  for  many  years  the  lumber  industry  of  the  country 
centered,  being  a  native  of  Maine.  His  birth  occurred  in  East  Machias, 
that  state,  on  the  2d  of  July,  1856,  his  parents  being  John  K.  and 
Sarah  (Sanborn)  Ames,  both  representatives  of  old  English  families, 
although  the  ancestors  have  lived  in  this  country  through  several  gen- 
erations. In  the  paternal  line  they  were  mostly  seafaring  men  but  the 
father  turned  his  attention  to  the  lumber  business  and  became  one  of 
the  prominent  representatives  of  the  trade  in  the  Pine  Tree  state. 

Edwin  Gardner  Ames  was  reared  in  his  native  town  and  in  Provi- 
dence, Rhode  Island,  pursuing  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of 
both  cities,  finishing  a  high-school  course  in  1875.  The  time  which  he 
spent  with  his  father  in  his  boyhood  and  the  active  assistance  which  he 
rendered  him  as  the  years  went  on  thoroughlj'-  acquainted  him  with  the 
lumber  trade  in  his  youth.  He  also  worked  for  some  time  in  a  general 
mercantile  establishment  at  Machias  but  his  eyes  turned  with  longing 
to  the  west  as  a  consequence  of  the  favorable  reports  which  he  had 
heard  concerning  business  opportunities  on  the  Pacific  coast.  In  1879, 
therefore,  he  made  his  way  to  San  Francisco,  where  he  spent  two  years 
as  collector  in  the  employ  of  the  firm  of  Pope  &  Talbot,  one  of  the  large 
lumber  firms  on  the  coast.  In  October,  1881,  he  arrived  in  Washing- 
ton in  response  to  a  call  from  the  Puget  Mill  Company.  He  was 
originally  employed  as  timekeeper  in  their  mill  at  Port  Gamble  but 
step  by  step  advanced  as  he  gave  proof  of  his  ability,  efficiency  and 
trustworthiness.  In  time  he  was  made  business  manager  and  in  that 
position  still  continues,  with  headquarters  in  the  general  offices  in 
95 


96  (gpteiin  (gatOnet  3meg 

Seattle.  The  Puget  Mill  Company  is  one  of  the  largest  concerns  of 
its  kind  operating  in  the  United  States,  and  as  business  manager 
Mr,  Ames  has  become  widely  known  as  a  prominent  figure  in  connec- 
tion with  the  lumber  industry  of  the  country,  for,  acquainted  with 
every  phase  of  the  business  and  adding  to  his  broad  knowledge,  admin- 
istrative ability  and  executive  force,  he  is  contributing  in  large  measure 
to  the  success  of  the  company  which  he  represents,  and  occupies  a  place 
of  weU  deserved  prominence  in  connection  with  the  lumber  trade  of  the 
northwest.  As  his  abihty  became  recognized,  his  cooperation  was 
sought  along  various  lines  and  he  is  now  a  director  and  vice  president 
of  the  Seattle  National  Bank,  a  du-ector  of  the  Metropolitan  Bank  of 
Seattle  and  a  trustee  of  the  Washington  Savings  &  Loan  Association. 
For  a  number  of  years  he  has  been  president  of  the  Pacific  Lumber 
Inspection  Bureau,  he  was  made  a  director  of  the  Pacific  Coast  Lvun- 
ber  Manufactiu-ers  Association  and  has  various  other  interests  of 
importance. 

On  the  17th  of  October,  1888,  Mr.  Ames  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Maud  Walker,  a  daughter  of  William  Walker,  of  Seattle  and 
Port  Gamble.  They  are  prominently  known  in  the  social  circles  of 
the  city  in  which  they  reside  and  Mr.  Ames  is  a  f  amiHar  figure  in  some 
of  the  leading  clubs  of  this  city,  holding  membership  in  the  Rainier, 
Arctic,  Seattle  Athletic,  the  Commercial  and  the  Metropolitan  Clubs. 
He  also  belongs  to  the  Union  Club  of  Tacoma,  while  fraternally  he  is 
a  prominent  Mason,  having  attained  the  Knights  Templar  degree  in 
the  York  Rite,  the  thirty-second  degree  in  the  Scottish  Rite,  and 
having  crossed  the  sands  of  the  desert  with  the  Nobles  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine.  Politically  he  is  a  republican  and  for  eleven  years  filled  the 
ofiice  of  county  commissioner  in  Kitsap  county.  Otherwise  he  has 
neither  sought  nor  held  public  office,  his  interest  in  public  aff'airs  being 
merely  that  of  a  good  citizen,  for  he  prefers  to  concentrate  his  energies 
upon  his  business  activities  and  his  close  application,  sound  judgment 
and  unremitting  energy  have  been  the  salient  features  in  a  most  suc- 
cessful and  commendable  career.  The  west  is  indeed  a  land  of  oppor- 
tunity and  when  men  bring  to  it  ambition  and  a  willingness  to  work, 
the  outcome  is  sure.  Mr.  Ames  stands  as  a  splendid  example  of  the 
fact  that  the  door  of  success  swings  wide  to  a  persistent,  honorable 
demand. 


iHautice  ifWcJUicfeen 

|ITH  the  practice  of  law  in  Seattle  Maurice  McMicken 
has  been  continuously  connected  since  1881  and 
gradually  has  advanced  to  a  position  of  leadership. 
For  a  number  of  years  he  has  been  accorded  a  place 
of  prominence  in  the  legal  profession,  his  ability 
being  attested  by  the  high  regard  of  his  colleagues 
and  contemporaries.  A  native  of  Minnesota,  he  was  born  in  Dodge 
county,  October  12,  1860,  his  parents  being  General  William  and 
Rowena  J.  (Ostrander)  McMicken.  The  father,  who  was  long  a 
resident  of  Olyjnpia,  Washington,  was  of  Scotch  lineage,  while  the 
mother  was  descended  from  ancestors  who  early  settled  in  New 
England  and  Pennsylvania.  The  parents  removed  to  the  north- 
west when  their  son  Maurice  was  a  lad  of  thirteen  years.  General 
McMicken  had  already  been  employed  for  a  year  or  more  on  the 
building  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  between  Kalama  and 
Tacoma  and  had  become  surveyor  general  of  the  territory,  with 
residence  in  Olympia.  He  was  joined  by  his  family,  and  the  son, 
who  had  begun  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Minnesota, 
continued  his  studies  in  Olympia.  In  1877  he  became  a  student 
in  the  Ujniversity  of  California  at  Berkeley  with  the  class  of  1881. 
A  review  of  the  broad  field  of  business,  with  its  countless  avenues 
and  opportunities,  led  him  to  the  decision  of  making  the  study  and 
practice  of  law  his  life  work  and  for  some  time  he  read  in  the  office 
of  Dolph,  Bronaugh,  Dolph  &  Simon  in  Portland,  Oregon. 

The  late  fall  of  1881  witnessed  the  arrival  of  Mr.  McMicken 
in  Seattle  and  at  that  time  he  became  a  law  clerk  in  the  office  of 
Struve  &  Haines,  prominent  attorneys,  the  firm  being  composed  of 
Judge  H.  G.  Struve  and  J.  C.  Haines.  Thorough  preliminary 
reading  prepared  Mr.  McMicken  for  admission  to  the  bar  in  July, 
1882,  and  that  he  had  won  the  regard  of  his  former  preceptors  is 
indicated  in  the  fact  that  he  was  admitted  to  partnership  on  the  1st 
of  July,  1883,  under  the  firm  name  of  Struve,  Haines  &  McMicken. 
That  relation  was  maintained  untU  1890,  when  Colonel  Haines  with- 
drew to  become  attorney  for  the  Oregon  Improvement  Company, 
and  the  firm  became  Struve  &  McMicken.  Up  to  that  time  Mr. 
99 


100  gjgaucice  d^c^^icUn 

Struve  had  been  employed  almost  exclusively  as  counsel  by  the 
firm's  clients,  while  Colonel  Haines  has  attended  to  the  work  of  the 
courts.  Mr.  McMicken  also  devoted  his  attention  to  office  practice, 
but  as  there  was  necessity  for  some  one  to  care  for  the  court  work 
of  the  firm  they  employed  other  lawyers  from  time  to  time,  one  of 
these  being  E.  C.  Hughes,  who  was  then  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Hughes,  Hastings  &  Stedman.  As  time  passed  a  constantly  in- 
creasing share  of  the  court  work  was  sent  to  him.  Senator  John 
B.  Allen,  after  failing  of  reelection  in  February,  1893,  decided  to 
remove  from  Walla  Walla  to  Seattle  and  on  the  1st  of  October 
of  that  year  there  was  a  new  partnership  formed  under  the  style 
of  Struve,  Allen,  Hughes  &  McMicken,  the  existence  of  the  firm 
continuing  uninterruptedly  until  the  death  of  Senator  Allen  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1905.  Soon  afterward  Judge  Struve  withdrew  and  with  the 
admission  of  two  new  members  the  fii'm  style  of  Hughes,  McMicken, 
Dovell  &  Ramsey  was  adopted.  In  all  these  different  partnership 
relations  Mr.  McMicken  has  enjoyed  a  large  clientage,  that  has  placed 
him  with  the  eminent  lawyers  of  the  state.  He  is  ready  and  resource- 
ful, thoroughly  knows  the  law  and  in  its  application  is  seldom,  if  ever, 
at  fault.  He  has  always  preferred  to  confine  his  attention  to  the 
work  of  the  counselor  and  in  that  connection  his  legal  advice  has  been 
continuously  sought. 

Into  other  fields  he  has  extended  his  efforts  and  various  enter- 
prises with  which  he  has  been  connected  have  proven  important 
features  in  the  upbuilding  and  prosperity  of  the  city.  He  aided  in 
incorporating  the  First  Avenue  and  the  Madison  Street  Cable  Com- 
panies, was  secretary  of  the  two  companies  for  some  time  and  aided 
in  building  both  lines.  He  also  became  interested  in  the  North 
Seattle  and  South  Seattle  Street  Railway  Companies,  which  extended 
the  First  Avenue  system  in  both  directions.  During  the  financial 
depression  following  the  panic  of  1893  it  was  with  difficulty  that  these 
enterprises  were  continued,  but,  owing  to  the  capable  and  wise  man- 
agement of  Mr.  McMicken  and  his  associates,  the  business  was  not 
suspended  and  finally  they  sold  to  the  Seattle  Electric  Company. 

On  the  11th  of  March,  1885,  was  celebrated  the  marriage  of  Mr. 
McMicken  and  Miss  Alice  F.  Smith.  Their  children  are  three  in 
number,  Hallidie,  William  Erie  and  Maurice  Rey.  The  family 
attend  the  Unitarian  church  and  Mr.  McMicken  is  well  known  in 
club  circles,  holding  membership  with  the  Rainier,  University,  Seattle 
Golf  and  Country,  Ai-ctic  and  Seattle  Yacht  Clubs.  He  is  always 
approachable,  always  genial  and  always  busy.  Advancement  has 
come  to  him  as  the  direct  result  of  his  close  application  and  thorough 


Qgautice  Q^cgjiickcn  loi 

preparation  for  his  profession  and  his  unfaltering  devotion  to  his 
clients'  interests.  At  the  same  time  he  has  found  opportmiity  to 
cooperate  in  measures  relative  to  the  general  good,  to  which  he  has 
manifested  a  public-spirited  devotion. 


J2U-^V 


^htxt  E,  Spencer 

[OBERT  R.  SPENCER  was  born  at  Worthington, 
Ohio,  August  19,  1854.  His  father,  Oliver  M.  Spen- 
cer, a  native  of  the  same  state,  was  prominently  con- 
nected with  educational  work,  first  in  Ohio  and 
afterwards  at  Iowa  City,  Iowa,  where  he  was  the  first 
president  of  the  State  University  of  Iowa.  Later 
he  served  for  twelve  years  as  United  States  consul  at  Genoa,  Italy. 
He  was  then  transferred  to  Melbourne,  Australia,  where  he  served 
for  several  years  as  United  States  consul  general. 

Robert  R.  Spencer  passed  his  boyhood  from  the  age  of  eleven  to 
the  age  of  seventeen  with  his  parents  at  Genoa,  where,  in  addition  to 
his  school  work,  he  assisted,  during  the  latter  part  of  that  period,  in 
the  work  of  the  consular  office.  He  then  returned  to  Iowa  City, 
entered  the  State  University  of  Iowa,  and  at  the  same  he  also  com- 
menced his  work  in  the  Johnson  County  Savings  Bank.  In  order 
to  give  exclusive  attention  to  business  he  gave  up  his  college  work 
about  one  year  before  the  time  for  graduation,  and  during  the  remain- 
ing forty  years  of  his  life  devoted  himself  to  the  banking  business. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-two,  in  the  absence  of  the  cashier,  he  discharged 
the  duties  of  that  office,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-three,  became  cashier 
of  the  bank,  which  position  he  held  untU  the  year  1889.  He  then  con- 
cluded to  come  to  Seattle,  and  among  friends,  for  the  most  part  resi- 
dents of  Iowa,  arranged  for  capital  to  start  a  bank  in  this  city.  He 
further  arranged  with  Mr.  Ritz,  a  prominent  business  man  of  Walla 
Walla,  to  join  in  establishing  the  new  bank  and  assist  him  in  making 
the  necessary  local  connections.  With  plans  fully  matured  he  left 
Iowa  City  and  arranged  with  Mr.  Ritz  to  meet  him  at  the  depot  in 
Walla  Walla.  At  Walla  Walla,  not  meeting  his  friend  at  the  train, 
he  made  inquiries  at  the  station  and  ascertained  that  Mr.  Ritz  had 
died  within  the  past  few  days.  Nevertheless  Mr.  Spencer  continued 
his  trip  to  Seattle,  and  although  a  complete  stranger  in  the  city, 
within  a  few  weeks  had  enlisted  the  requisite  support  of  local  capital- 
ists and  founded  the  new  bank,  which  was  organized  under  the  state 
law,  with  a  capital  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  bore  the 
name  of  The  Bank  of  Commerce.  He  arrived  in  this  city  February 
16,  1889,  and  opened  the  bank  for  business  on  the  15th  of  May  in 
105 


106  EoSert  R,  ^pencet 

one  side  of  a  storeroom  on  First  avenue,  the  other  side  being  occupied 
by  a  book  store  conducted  by  Griffith  Davies,  The  first  president  of 
the  bank  was  Richard  Holyoke  and  the  second,  M.  D.  Ballard.  In 
the  fire  of  June  6,  1889,  which  reduced  the  business  area  of  Seattle 
to  a  waste  of  ashes,  soon  to  be  covered  by  a  city  of  tents,  the  building 
in  which  the  bank  was  located  was  destroyed.  Mr.  Spencer  remained 
in  the  building  while  it  was  still  in  flames,  storing  the  money  and  books 
of  the  bank  in  the  safe,  and  was  only  induced  by  his  friends  to  leave 
shortly  before  the  building  collapsed.  The  same  afternoon  he  took 
the  steamer  to  Tacoma  and  secured  the  money  necessary  for  the 
resumption  of  business.  As  a  result  of  the  fire  there  were  only  two 
brick  buildings  left  standing  in  Seattle,  one  of  which  was  the  Boston 
block.  In  this  building  was  the  Haley-Glenn  Grocery;  and  the  day 
following  the  fii-e  the  Bank  of  Commerce  and  the  Merchants  National 
Bank  both  opened  for  business  in  the  front  windows  of  this  grocery 
store,  each  bank  being  located  in  a  window  space  about  six  by  eight 
feet  at  the  side  of  the  entrance.  Soon  afterwards  the  bank  secured 
quarters  in  a  small  storeroom  in  an  old  frame  building  at  the  corner 
of  Second  avenue  and  Cherry  street,  where  the  Alaska  building  now 
stands,  renting  it  from  a  dressmaking  establishment  which  had  occu- 
pied it  before  the  fire.  The  business  of  the  bank  was  conducted  in 
this  one  storeroom  and  the  furniture  consisted  of  a  small  counter, 
one  small  table  and  a  few  chairs.  The  Merchants  National  Bank 
was  located  in  similar  quarters  across  the  hall,  and  Dexter  Horton  & 
Company,  Bankers,  had  quarters  in  the  Kilgen  block,  a  partially 
completed  building  a  few  doors  south.  Shortly  after  the  close  of  bank- 
ing hours  upon  each  business  day,  the  officers  and  employes  of  the 
various  banks  could  be  seen,  each  with  a  loaded  revolver  in  his  pocket, 
with  the  gold  and  currency  of  the  bank  gathered  in  sacks,  carting  the 
same  to  the  safe  deposit  vaults,  then  located  at  the  foot  of  Cherry 
street.  As  a  consequence  of  the  numerous  removals  resulting  from 
the  rebuilding  of  the  city  and  the  change  of  business  locations,  the 
bank  was  later  located  from  time  to  time,  at  First  and  Yesler,  at 
Second  and  Cherry  in  what  is  now  known  as  the  Railway  Exchange 
building,  and  in  its  present  quarters  in  the  Leary  building. 

Soon  after  its  organization  the  bank  was  reorganized  under  the 
national  banking  laws,  with  its  present  name  of  The  National  Bank 
of  Commerce  of  Seattle,  with  a  capital  of  three  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  Of  this  institution,  like  its  predecessor,  Mr.  Spencer  acted 
as  cashier  and  the  chief  active  officer  until  the  year  1906.  Under  his 
management  the  bank  passed  safely  through  the  panic  of  1893. 

Early  in  the  nineties,  H.  C.  Henry,  following  the  path  of  his 


Robert  E«  ^pencet  io7 

railroad  construction,  came  to  Seattle,  and  soon  afterwards  became 
vice  president  of  the  National  Bank  of  Commerce.  Upon  the  retire- 
ment of  M.  D.  Ballard,  about  1898,  he  succeeded  to  the  presidency 
and  has  ever  since  been  connected  with  the  institution. 

After  1897  the  growth  of  the  bank,  like  that  of  the  community, 
was  rapid.  In  1906  there  was  merged  with  it  the  Washington 
National  Bank.  The  combined  institution  was  capitalized  at  one 
million  dollars,  and  at  once  became  one  of  the  leading  financial  institu- 
tions of  the  northwest,  its  resources  now  amounting  to  about  fourteen 
million  dollars.  Mr.  Spencer  became  first  vice  president,  continuing 
as  such  till  the  time  of  his  death.  The  panic  of  1907,  following  very 
closely  upon  the  merger  of  these  two  banks,  was  a  period  of  great 
anxiety  and  responsibility  for  those  engaged  in  the  banking  business 
in  Seattle.  Mr.  Spencer  was  the  head  executive  of  the  bank  present 
at  that  time,  and  one  of  the  bankers  of  longest  experience  then  doing- 
business  in  Seattle,  and  his  responsibilities  were  correspondingly 
heavj'.  It  is  largely  due  to  the  policies  which  he  supported  that  the 
banking  interests  of  this  city  passed  through  the  crisis  unscathed. 

Mr.  Spencer  was  one  of  the  original  incorporators  of  Seattle's 
fii'st  clearing  house  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  one  of  the  two 
surviving  signers  of  the  articles  of  incorporation  of  that  institution 
still  left  in  active  banking  business  in  this  city. 

From  the  time  of  the  formation  of  the  Bank  of  Commerce,  Mr. 
Spencer  was  not  only  identified  at  all  times  with  the  banking  busi- 
ness of  Seattle  but  also  was  actively  connected  with  various  other 
important  business  interests.  He  was  elected  a  director  of  the  Seattle 
Brewing  &  INIalting  Company  at  the  time  of  its  organization  and  was 
subsequently  made  its  vice  i^resident.  He  was  also  a  director  and 
vice  president  of  the  San  Juan  Fishing  &  Packing  Company,  a  direc- 
tor of  the  Denny- Renton,  Clay  &  Coal  Company  and  the  Mexican- 
Pacific  Company  and  president  of  the  IMonticello  Steamship  Com- 
pany, which  runs  a  line  of  steamers  between  San  Francisco  and 
Vallejo. 

Mr.  Silencer  was  married  at  Iowa  City,  Iowa,  August  30,  1876, 
to  Louise  E.  Lovelace,  a  daughter  of  Chauncey  F.  and  Sarah  L. 
Lovelace,  of  that  city.  Mrs.  Spencer  and  their  children,  Mary  S.  de 
Steiguer  and  Oliver  C.  Spencer,  now  vice  president  of  the  State  Bank 
of  Centralia,  survive  him. 

Mr.  Spencer  was  noted  for  his  restless  energy,  quick  decision, 
resourcefulness  and  disregard  of  nonessentials.  In  his  business  deal- 
ings he  was  remarkable  for  his  openness  and  candor.  He  played  the 
game  with  all  his  cards  on  the  table.     His  nature  was  preeminently 


108  Rotiett  n,  Spencer 

social,  and  he  was  a  well-known  member  of  the  Rainier,  Seattle  Ath- 
letic, Arctic,  Seattle  Yacht  and  Seattle  Golf  and  Comitry  Clubs.  He 
was  an  enthusiastic  sportsman  and  from  time  to  time  took  keen  interest 
in  hunting,  yachting,  cycling,  motoring  and  golf.  In  politics  he  was 
always  a  consistent,  and  in  early  life  an  active  and  enthusiastic, 
republican. 

Mr.  Spencer  died  on  the  4th  day  of  January,  1916.  Resolutions 
were  adopted  by  the  Seattle  Clearing  House,  the  National  Bank  of 
Commerce,  the  Seattle  Brewing  &  Malting  Company  and  various 
other  organizations.  As  showing  the  consideration  in  which  he  was 
held  by  his  associates,  we  quote  the  following  from  the  resolutions 
of  the  National  Bank  of  Commerce : 

"At  Seattle,  January  4,  1916,  Mr.  Spencer,  after  a  few  hours' 
illness,  passed  away.  He  had  for  nearly  thirty  years  been  a  high  and 
active  officer  of  this  bank,  and  his  long  experience,  sovmd  judgment 
and  thorough  knowledge  of  banking  in  every  branch  made  his  services 
as  an  executive  officer  invaluable  and  his  place  most  difficult  to  fill. 
Mr.  Spencer  always  took  a  deep  personal  interest  in  the  business  of 
the  bank's  patrons,  many  of  whom  have  often  expressed  their  deep 
appreciation  of  his  sound  and  kindly  advice  and  will  feel  with  us  that 
they  lose  in  him  a  true  and  loyal  friend  whose  experience,  ability  and 
deep  interest  make  his  loss  doubly  felt.  He  was  a  man  of  fine  ability 
and  unswerving  honor,  and  in  the  long  course  of  his  business  career 
his  integrity  was  never  doubted  nor  his  word  questioned.  He  was 
generous,  imselfish,  of  a  loyal  and  kindly  heart,  and  while  winning 
many  friends,  never  lost  one." 


)YRON  PHELPS,  of  Seattle,  filling  the  position  of 
county  auditor  in  King  county  for  the  second  term, 
has  passed  the  seventy-third  milestone  on  life's  jour- 
ney and  yet  in  spirit  and  interests  seems  still  in  his 
prime.  Because  he  has  never  abused  nature's  laws, 
because  his  life  has  been  intelligently  guided  and  his 
powers  developed  through  the  exercise  of  eifort,  he  today  possesses 
the  physical  and  intellectual  vigor  of  a  man  of  much  younger  years 
and  is  one  of  the  valued  citizens  of  the  Soimd  country. 

He  was  born  in  Forest,  Livingston  county,  Illinois,  March  4,  1842, 
a  son  of  Orin  and  Elizabeth  H.  (Jones)  Phelps.  The  father  was  a 
native  of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  born  September  30,  1811,  and  the 
mother's  birth  occurred  at  Bordentown,  New  Jersey,  December  26, 
1820.  Both  were  well  educated.  They  became  Illinois  pioneer  set- 
tlers, taking  up  their  abode  upon  a  farm  in  that  state  in  1838.  In 
the  early  times  they  met  many  of  the  hardships  and  privations  of 
frontier  life.  As  the  country  became  more  thickly  settled,  Mr. 
Phelps  not  only  carried  on  farming  and  stock-raising  but  also  engaged 
extensively  in  contracting  and  building  and  became  widely  known 
in  that  connection.  He  built  many  bridges  which  stood  the  test  of 
time  and  would  now  be  curiosities,  being  constructed  entirely  of  wood 
without  metal,  even  wooden  pins  being  used  instead  of  nails.  When 
counties  and  townships  were  organized  in  his  section  of  the  state  he 
was  called  to  serve  in  various  official  positions,  including  those  of 
school  director,  collector,  treasurer  and  surveyor.  He  died  in  1898, 
while  his  wife  passed  away  in  December,  1911. 

The  ancestors  of  the  Phelps  family  took  an  active  part  in  the 
Revolutionary  war,  both  on  land  and  sea,  and  one  of  them.  Captain 
John  Phelps,  commanded  a  company  in  the  colonial  wars  and  also 
served  as  a  captain  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  The  first  of  the  name 
in  America  was  Henry  Phelps,  who  came  from  London  to  the  new 
world  in  1634,  and  the  direct  line  of  descent  is  traced  down  through 
Henry,  John,  John,  Captain  John,  Dr.  Moses,  Sewall  and  Orin  to 
Byron  Phelph.  Dr.  Moses  Phelps  served  not  only  as  a  soldier  but 
also  as  a  surgeon  in  the  Revolutionary  war  and  was  with  Washing- 
ton's army  at  Valley  Forge.  It  wiU  thus  be  seen  that  Byron  Phelps 
111 


112  Iggron  Pt)elpg 

is  eligible  to  membership  with  the  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution. 
He  knows  little  concerning  his  maternal  ancestry  save  that  his  grand- 
father, Charles  Jones,  served  in  a  Pennsylvania  regiment  in  the 
War  of  1812. 

In  his  boyhood  days  Byron  Phelps  attended  the  subscription 
schools  throughout  tlie  three  winter  months  for  four  years,  and  this 
constituted  his  entire  educational  training,  his  broad  knowledge  hav- 
ing been  gained  through  wide  reading  and  in  the  school  of  experience. 
He  worked  upon  the  home  farm,  was  employed  in  a  general  store  and 
afterward  owned  and  successfully  conducted  a  retail  hardware  store. 
He  has  given  an  interesting  picture  of  the  condition  of  the  country 
in  which  he  lived  and  tells  of  the  influence  of  such  an  environment 
upon  Abraham  Lincoln,  who  often  tried  cases  at  Pontiac,  the  county 
seat  of  Livingston  county,  in  which  the  farm  of  the  Phelps  family 
was  situated.  His  father  once  sat  as  a  juror  on  a  case  which  Lincoln 
tried,  and  when  Byron  Phelps  became  clerk  of  the  county,  some  of  the 
papers  which  Lincoln  wrote  out  were  still  on  file.  Before  this,  Lin- 
coln had  been  attorney  for  an  aunt  of  Mr.  Phelps.  The  Lincoln 
home  was  not  far  distant  from  the  Phelps  home  and  the  environment 
and  conditions  were  practically  the  same. 

Speaking  of  this,  Mr.  Phelps  said:  "The  ordinary  and  generally 
accepted  opinion  is  that  Lincoln  came  up  in  poverty  and  had  a  hard 
struggle  for  existence.  I  mention  this  because  the  exact  opposite  are 
the  facts.  We  had  an  abundance,  profusely  so.  The  country  was  new, 
imsettled  and  in  a  state  of  nature,  the  soil  was  everywhere  fertile  and 
most  easy  of  cultivation.  Plenty  of  excellent  hard  timber,  good 
water  easily  obtained,  wild  flowers  and  wild  fruit  abounded,  with 
untold  thousands  of  game  and  fish  of  the  very  best  and  of  almost  end- 
less variety,  it  was  indeed  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey, 
obtainable  with  very  little  effort.  *  *  *  Under  these  conditions  Lin- 
coln grew  up  to  the  stature  of  six  feet,  four  inches,  without  warp  or 
twist  in  either  body  or  mind.  He  was  neither  homely,  awkward  nor 
ugly,  but  was  a  stately,  dignified,  gifted  man,  akin  to  all  that  was 
worthy  of  being  akin  to,  largely  due  to  the  environment  which  brought 
him  forth.  He,  in  fact,  was  so  well  poised,  so  well  balanced,  as  to 
appear  strange,  awkward  and  homely  to  us  not  so  gifted.  True,  he 
had  but  few  books  to  read,  but  he  set  the  whole  world  to  writing  books. 
According  to  the  nowadays  too  often  accepted  standard  of  success 
being  based  upon  money  or  property  accumulated,  Abraham  Lincoln 
was  a  decided  failure,  yet  he  had  a  thoroughly  correct  knowledge  of 
finance  and  wealth.  He  had  been  farmer,  merchant,  boatman,  sur- 
veyor, lawyer,  legislator,  soldier,  president,  always  frugal  and  never 


Hgpton  Pi)elp0  113 

in  debt,  yet  when  he  died  his  estate  was  worth  scarcely  twenty  thou- 
sand dollars." 

It  was  in  this  period  of  Illinois'  development,  when  the  land  made 
ready  returns  for  labor  and  ere  fierce  competition  was  introduced, 
that  Byron  Phelps  was  reared.  Possessing  natural  mechanical  inge- 
nuity and  inventive  genius,  much  of  his  attention  was  given  to  trans- 
forming his  ideas  into  practical,  tangible  form,  and  he  has  been 
granted  fifty  United  States  patents  on  various  inventions,  consisting 
of  improvements  on  farm  machinery,  in  locks  and  various  articles  of 
hardware.  He  has  also  received  sixteen  foreign  patents  and  many  of 
these  inventions  have  proven  successful,  some  of  them  being  now  used 
in  most  countries. 

Mr.  Phelps  was  a  youth  of  but  nineteen  years  when  in  response  to 
the  country's  call  for  aid  he  enlisted  as  a  private  soldier,  joining  the 
Third  Illinois  Cavalry  on  the  7th  of  August,  1861.  Promotion  fol- 
lowed in  recognition  of  his  ability  and  valor.  He  was  promoted  to 
sergeant  on  the  24th  of  August,  became  second  lieutenant  in  Janu- 
ary, 1864,  and  first  lieutenant  in  February,  1865,  and  in  the  same 
year  he  acted  as  regimental  adjutant  and  was  adjutant  of  the  brigade 
commanded  by  Colonel  B.  F.  Marsh.  Throughout  the  period  of  the 
war  he  was  engaged  in  active  duty  under  Generals  Fremont,  Curtis, 
Sherman,  Grant,  Schofield  and  Thomas,  participating  in  the  battles 
of  Pea  Ridge,  Yazoo  River,  Champion  Hills,  Black  River,  the  siege 
of  Vicksburg  and  the  battles  of  Franklin  and  Nashville,  Tennessee, 
besides  many  skirmishes  and  raids  incident  to  cavalry  service.  He 
was  once  wounded  and  for  three  years,  nine  months  and  thirteen  days 
he  remained  at  the  front. 

On  the  20th  of  March,  1866,  at  Fairbury,  Illinois,  Mr.  Phelps  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Henrietta  Skinner,  the  wedding  ceremony 
being  performed  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Hempstead,  a  Presbyterian 
clergyman.  She  was  born  in  Devonshire,  England,  February  13, 
1845,  a  daughter  of  Francis  and  Sarah  (Hill)  Skinner,  who  emi- 
grated to  the  United  States  in  1851,  settling  in  Illinois,  where  the 
father  successfully  followed  farming.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Phelps  have 
been  born  five  children,  namely :  Harriet  N.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Will 
H.  Parry;  Edwin  Harrington,  who  wedded  Miss  Margaret  Chis- 
holm;  Rolla  Carl,  who  married  Miss  Frances  Wilson;  Donna  Buck- 
ingham, who  gave  her  hand  in  marriage  to  David  H.  Cale;  and 
Charles  Rotheus,  who  died  June  27,  1872,  at  the  age  of  four  years, 
six  months  and  twenty-two  days. 

Mr.  Phelps  has  made  a  close  study  of  religion  and  holds  that  the 
beliefs  of  all  are  sacred  to  all  alike.    His  faith  is  generally  that  of 


114  ^gcon  pSelpg 

the  Unitarian  church.  In  1866  he  became  a  Mason  but  has  never 
taken  an  active  part  in  the  work  of  the  craft.  Since  1908  he  has 
affiliated  with  the  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution,  smce  1868  with 
the  Grand  Ai-my  of  the  Republic  and  since  1890  with  the  Military 
Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion,  acting  as  commander  of  the  Washing- 
ton State  Conmiandery  in  1913.  His  interest  in  commvmity  affairs 
is  indicated  in  the  fact  that  he  is  identified  with  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, the  Seattle  Commercial  Club  and  the  Municipal  League. 

In  politics  Mr.  Phelps  was  a  Douglas  democrat  at  the  beginning 
of  the  war,  but  ere  its  close  became  a  republican  and  so  continued  vmtil 
through  the  last  decade,  when  he  has  largely  followed  an  independent 
course.  In  1912  he  supported  the  progressive  party,  fully  beheving 
in  and  indorsing  the  platform  of  1912  and  therefore  giving  to  it  his 
earnest  support.  By  contributions  and  otherwise  he  has  aided  the 
cause  of  equal  suffrage.  He  is  a  believer  in  civil  service  laws  govern- 
ing the  appointment  of  all  public  employes,  county,  state  and 
national,  and  believes  absolutely  in  entire  non-partisanship  in  city, 
county  and  state  affairs.  Utterly  opposed  to  war,  he  does  not  think 
that  there  should  be  maintained  either  a  large  army  or  navy,  no  matter 
what  other  countries  may  do.  His  opinion  has  been  expressed  in 
these  words :  "I  beheve  in  properly  living  for  my  country  rather  than 
dying  for  it.  In  my  opinion,  the  highest  and  best  tj'^pe  of  courage 
and  patriotism  is  exemplified  in  the  men  and  women  who  are  good 
citizens,  meeting  day  by  day  the  trials  of  life  as  best  they  can."  Upon 
the  question  of  capital  and  labor  he  has  said :  "I  indorse  the  solution 
of  that  subject  by  Abraham  Lincoln  when  he  was  president  of  the 
United  States,  and  desire  to  act  accordingly."  Mr.  Phelps  has  fur- 
ther expressed  his  opinions  regarding  public  affairs  as  follows:  "I 
believe  in  governmental  control  and  management  of  all  public  utih- 
ties,  including  money  and  credits,  and  generally  in  the  public  owner- 
ship of  the  same,  but  am  not  inclined  to  hurry  in  these  matters,  because 
the  general  trend  of  public  necessity  and  public  opinion  all  points 
that  way.  With  the  many  thousands  who  honestly  oppose  these  views, 
I  have  faith  to  believe  they  Avill  see  their  errors,  and  abandon  them  as 
readily  as  I  will  mine.  In  general  we  all  strive  earnestly  for  the 
right." 

That  many  indorse  Mr.  Phelps'  belief  and  position  is  indicated  in 
the  fact  that  he  was  elected  mayor  of  Seattle  in  March,  1894,  at  which 
time  the  city  charter  prohibited  an  individual  from  serving  for  two 
consecutive  terms.  During  his  administration  business  and  industrial 
conditions  were  the  worst  that  the  city  has  ever  experienced  and  the 
times  most  discouraging,  yet  the  city  officials  under  his  guidance  and 


Igpton  pf)elps  115 

with  his  cooperation  accomplished  much  public  good.  The  Cedar 
river  water  ordinance,  No.  3990,  was  recommended  by  the  mayor, 
passed  by  the  council,  submitted  to  popular  vote  as  advocated  by  Mr. 
Phelps  and  ratified  by  a  large  majority  at  the  polls,  resulting  in  the 
inauguration  and  completion  of  the  present  Cedar  water  system. 
There  is  an  abundant  gravity  flow  of  pure  snow  water  the  year  round 
and  one  of  the  best  water  supplies  enjoyed  by  any  city,  the  same 
stream  serving  ample  water  power  for  the  city  light  and  power  plant 
since  put  in  operation.  Under  the  guidance  of  Mayor  Phelps  no 
office  rents  were  paid  by  the  city,  partitions  being  placed  in  the  rooms 
of  the  old  city  hall  and  all  of  the  various  city  offices  installed  therein. 
Many  unnecessary  official  positions  were  abolished.  Men  not  needed 
in  the  police  and  fire  departments  were  discharged  and  the  salaries 
of  all  city  employes  were  reduced  from  twenty  to  fifty  per  cent  to 
meet  the  exigencies  of  the  times.  The  cost  of  city  light  was  reduced 
one  half.  Many  vexatious  city  problems  were  solved,  such  as  the  rail- 
road right  of  way  on  the  water  front,  then  known  as  the  old  Ram's 
Horn  right  of  way;  the  completion  of  the  Lake  Union  and  Lake 
Washington  sewerage  tunnels,  etc.  The  city  accounting,  which  had 
always  before  been  in  a  state  of  chaos,  was  properly  systematized 
and  correct  methods  installed,  whereby  every  cost,  throughout  all  the 
departments,  could  be  instantly  arrived  at.  In  less  than  thirty  days 
after  the  administration  of  1894  to  1896  had  been  installed,  in  the 
public  works  of  the  city  one  hundred  dollars  of  money  accomplished 
as  much  as  three  hundred  dollars  previously  had.  The  city  finances 
for  the  first  time  in  years  were  placed  on  a  cash  basis,  and  the  warrant 
scalpers  went  out  of  business  as  never  before  in  the  city's  history. 
The  first  pavement  of  streets  was  inaugurated  against  great  and  per- 
sistent opposition.  The  brick  pavements  then  constructed  lasted  for 
more  than  nineteen  years  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  were  as  good 
as  most  cities  had  ever  enjoyed.  Notwithstanding  the  worts  financial 
depression  the  country  had  ever  experienced  (1892  to  1896),  the 
public  debt  of  the  city  was  reduced  many  thousands  of  dollars  in  gen- 
eral. The  public  appointees  were  of  the  best  and  retained  their  posi- 
tions longer  than  those  before  or  since.  In  fact,  many  yet  remain, 
rendering  eflUcient  public  service.  There  were  no  defalcations,  or 
shortages  in  any  of  the  departments,  or  no  accusations  of  any.  The 
city  council,  then  under  the  dual  system  of  a  board  of  aldermen  and 
house  of  delegates  each  of  nine  members,  was  one  of  the  most  able 
councils  in  the  city's  history,  and  with  it  all  departments  worked  for 
a  common  end.  Under  ordinance  passed  by  it,  a  charter  commission 
was  elected  which  formulated  the  present  city  charter,  which  has  been 


116  gggton  Piielpg 

amended  from  time  to  time  to  meet  the  requirements  of  a  rapidly 
growing  city.  The  administration  of  the  city's  affairs  was  clean, 
simple  and  straightforward,  and  for  economic  management  has  not 
been  surpassed  in  Seattle  before  or  since,  aU  of  which  is  attested  by 
the  public  records.  Mr.  Phelps'  economical  and  businesshke  adminis- 
tration naturally  aroused  opposition  and  he  received  severe  criticism 
from  those  who  wanted  office  but  were  not  appointed.  It  is  always 
an  unpleasant  and  an  unpopular  duty  to  abolish  offices,  discharge 
tmnecessary  officials  and  introduce  an  all-around  reduction  of  sal- 
aries, but  he  never  faltered  in  his  course  which  he  believed  to  be  right. 

Mr.  Phelps  has  filled  the  following  offices,  serving  as  town  clerk 
in  1868,  for  one  year;  as  county  clerk  of  Livingston  county,  Illinois, 
for  four  years,  beginning  in  1869;  as  deputy  county  treasurer  of 
King  county,  Washington,  being  appointed  in  1888;  elected  county 
treasurer  of  that  county  in  1890;  reelected  in  1892;  elected  mayor  of 
Seattle  in  1894;  elected  county  auditor  in  1912,  and  reelected  in  1914. 
As  wiU  be  seen,  he  has  served  two  terms  as  county  treasurer  of  King 
county  after  having  been  deputy  treasurer.  Under  the  laws  then  in 
force,  a  personal  bond  of  six  hundred  thousand  dollars  was  required, 
the  treasurer  being  the  sole  collector  and  disburser  of  every  species 
of  taxes — county,  state  and  mimicipal. 

Mr.  Phelps  has  ever  been  an  original  and  independent  thinker,  a 
student  of  past  history  and  of  present  conditions,  with  an  outlook 
into  the  future  that  is  clear  and  comprehensive,  being  based  upon  his 
knowledge  of  the  past  and  the  present.  He  has  never  measured  life 
from  a  money  standard,  but  rather  according  to  the  opportunities 
offered  for  intellectual  and  moral  progress.  He  has  made  his  efforts 
count  for  good  as  a  factor  in  the  world's  work,  contributing  to  the 
substantial  progress  of  the  community  in  which  he  lives. 


^mog  iiroton 


I T  is  not  difficult  to  speak  of  the  late  Amos  Brown,  for 
his  life  and  his  character  were  as  clear  as  the  sun- 
hght.  No  man  came  in  contact  with  him  but  speedily 
appreciated  him  at  his  true  worth  and  knew  he  was  a 
man  who  not  only  cherished  a  high  ideal  of  duty  but 
who  lived  up  to  it.  He  constantly  labored  for  the 
right  and  from  his  earliest  youth  he  devoted  a  large  portion  of  his 
time  to  the  service  of  others.  Since  his  passing  his  friends  have 
missed  him,  but  the  memory  of  his  upright  career  in  its  sincerity  and 
simplicity  will  not  be  forgotten,  and  they  rejoice  in  his  memory  as 
that  of  a  man  who  laid  down  his  task  in  the  twilight  of  the  day,  when 
all  that  he  had  to  do  had  been  nobly,  beautifully  and  fully  completed. 
He  was  a  native  son  of  New  England,  his  birth  having  occurred 
at  Bristol,  Grafton  county,  New  Hampshire,  July  29,  1833,  his 
parents  being  Joseph  and  Relief  (Orduray)  Brown.  The  family 
comes  of  Scotch  and  English  ancestry,  although  various  generations 
have  been  represented  in  the  old  Granite  state,  where  Joseph  Brown 
was  born  and  reared.  He  became  extensively  and  successfully 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  lumber  on  the  Merrimac  river,  where 
he  dealt  in  masts  and  spars  and  conducted  a  general  milling  business 
which  he  superintended  until  sixty  years  of  age,  when  he  turned  the 
business  over  to  his  sons. 

During  the  boyhood  days  of  Amos  Brown  educational  training 
was  not  accorded  the  essential  value  that  is  given  it  today,  it  being 
thought  much  more  necessary  that  the  boy  should  be  well  drilled  in 
some  useful  occupation.  At  the  early  age  of  ten  years,  therefore, 
Amos  Brown  began  work  in  the  lumber  camps  and  later  was  employed 
at  driving  the  logs  on  the  river.  This  Ufe  developed  in  him  an  inde- 
pendent spirit  and  undaunted  personal  courage.  He  became  a  dar- 
ing youth  in  his  work  and  because  of  the  excellence  of  his  labor  was 
enabled  to  command  the  highest  price  paid  for  such  service.  In  con- 
nection with  the  lumber  industry  he  made  rapid  advancement,  passing 
from  one  position  to  a  higher  one  until  he  was  made  superintendent 
of  the  mill.  He  left  home  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  but  con- 
tinued in  the  lumber  business  until  1858,  when  he  disposed  of  his  inter- 
119 


120  amos  ggtoton 

ests  in  the  east  and  made  his  way  to  the  gold  fields  along  the  Fraser 
river,  where  the  precious  metal  had  but  recently  been  discovered. 
From  New  York  he  saUed  as  a  steerage  passenger  for  Victoria,  Brit- 
ish Columbia,  the  trip  being  made  by  way  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama 
and  costing  him  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars.  He  eventually 
reached  his  destination  in  safety  but  found  that  the  reports  of  the  gold 
discoveries  had  been  much  exaggerated  and  there  were  hundreds  of 
men  without  employment,  facing  starvation.  Mr,  Brown  knew  that 
he  must  resort  to  some  other  expedient,  and  believing  that  he  might 
utilize  his  knowledge  of  the  lumber  trade,  he  at  once  sailed  for  Port 
Gamble,  where  he  found  ready  employment  at  seventy-five  dollars 
per  month  and  expenses.  During  the  first  year  he  had  charge  of  a 
logging  camp  and  then  purchased  an  interest  in  logging  teams,  tak- 
ing contracts  with  the  milling  companies  to  furnish  them  with  logs. 
For  two  years  he  continued  operations  in  that  way,  at  the  end  of 
which  time  he  sold  his  interest  and  returned  to  the  employ  of  the  com- 
pany with  which  he  had  previously  worked  on  a  salary.  He  occupied 
various  responsible  positions  until  1865,  when  he  resigned  and 
returned  to  New  Hampshire  to  visit  his  old  home. 

Mr.  Brown  first  saw  Seattle  in  1861,  although  two  years  before 
he  had  invested  in  property  on  Spring  street  between  Second  avenue 
and  the  water  front.  For  many  years  he  continued  an  active  factor 
in  the  development  and  progress  of  the  city.  In  1863,  in  partnership 
with  M.  R.  Maddocks  and  John  Condon,  he  built  the  old  Occidental 
Hotel,  on  the  present  site  of  the  Occidental  block.  For  two  years 
the  hotel  was  conducted  by  the  firm  of  Maddocks,  Brown  &  Com- 
pany but  at  the  end  of  that  time  Mr.  Brown  disposed  of  his  interest 
to  John  Collins.  After  visiting  New  Hampshire,  in  1867  he  returned 
to  Seattle  and  formed  a  partnership  with  I.  C.  Ellis,  of  Olympia,  for 
the  conduct  of  a  lumber  business  in  which  they  continued  with  most 
gratifying  success  until  1882.  The  partnership  was  then  dissolved 
and  Mr.  Brown  was  for  a  time  alone  in  business.  After  selling  out 
he  lived  retired  save  for  the  direction  which  he  gave  to  his  invested 
interests.  The  increase  in  property  values  led  him  to  invest  quite 
largely  in  real  estate  and  his  holdings  became  extensive  and  impor- 
tant. He  held  not  only  Seattle  property  but  also  had  extensive  tracts 
of  timber  land  in  several  counties  adjoining  the  Sound. 

Mr.  Brown  was  married  in  1867  to  Miss  Annie  M.  Peebles,  a 
native  of  New  York,  and  the  same  fall  they  erected  their  cottage  at 
the  corner  of  Front  and  Spring  streets,  in  what  was  then  an  almost 
unbroken  wilderness.  They  became  the  parents  of  five  children: 
Anson  L.,  now  a  Seattle  capitalist ;  Brownie,  the  wife  of  R.  M.  Kin- 


amos  Igtotun  121 

near,  associated  with  her  elder  brother  in  the  real-estate  business  as 
a  member  of  the  firm  of  Kinnear  &  Brown ;  Ora ;  Anna ;  and  Helen. 
Mr.  Brown  was  devoted  to  his  family  and  his  success  in  business  ena- 
bled him  to  leave  them  a  very  comfortable  fortune.  The  home  has 
ever  been  a  hospitable  one  and  the  family  now  occupy  a  large  and 
beautiful  residence  which  was  erected  hj  Mrs.  Brown. 

The  family  circle  was  broken  by  the  hand  of  death  when  on  the 
8th  of  April,  1899,  Amos  Brown  was  called  to  his  final  rest.  On  this 
occasion  it  was  said  of  him:  "In  the  passing  away  of  Amos  Brown 
the  Sound  country  loses  one  of  its  best  pioneer  citizens.  For  over 
forty  years  a  citizen  and  actively  identified  as  he  was  with  the  growth 
of  the  country,  his  death  cannot  be  considered  in  any  other  light  than 
as  a  loss  to  the  community.  He  was  public-spirited  and  interested 
in  any  movement  for  the  promotion  or  advancement  of  measures  for 
the  general  good  and  he  was  scrupulously  honest  and  upright  in  his 
dealings  with  his  fellowmen.  The  punctual  liquidation  of  a  debt  or 
obligation  was  one  of  the  cardinal  principles  of  his  character.  Liberal 
and  benevolent,  he  was  well  known  for  his  generosity,  yet  his  giving 
was  always  without  ostentation  or  display.  When  but  a  boy  he  exhib- 
ited this  same  generous  spirit  and  kindly  solicitude  for  others,  and 
often  when  wet,  cold  and  hungry  himself,  he  would  carry  wood  and 
food  to  a  poor  widow  who  lived  neighbor  to  his  parents,  before  provid- 
ing for  his  own  comfort.  He  always  took  a  lively  interest  in  young 
men  and  aided  many  in  securing  positions  where  they  could  advance 
their  own  interests  through  diligence  and  ability.  In  the  early  days 
of  his  residence  in  the  northwest  he  was  known  as  the  friend  of  the 
Indians,  and  as  he  never  took  advantage  of  them  or  betrayed  their 
confidence,  he  was  loved  and  trusted  by  them.  He  alwaj^s  had  a 
kindly  feeling  for  the  unfortunate  and  erring  and  often  when  men 
were  arrested  for  vagrancy  or  trifling  offences  he  secured  their  release, 
pledging  liimself  to  furnish  them  employment  and  become  responsi- 
ble for  them.  It  is  pleasing  to  know  that  his  kindness  was  appreci- 
ated and  seldom  abused." 

At  one  time  Mr.  Brown  was  a  member  of  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Worlmien  but  he  took  little  interest  in  fraternal  organizations 
or  in  club  life.  His  interest  centered  in  his  home  and  in  his  business, 
yet  he  found  ample  opportunity  to  do  good  in  the  community  and 
again  and  again  he  extended  a  helping  hand  where  aid  was  needed. 
He  was  very  good  to  the  Indians,  especially  to  Princess  Angeline, 
the  daughter  of  Chief  Seattle.  He  built  a  cottage  for  her  and  Mrs. 
Brown  and  family  ministered  to  her  wants  up  to  the  time  of  her 
demise.    Making  his  way  to  the  northwest,  Mr.  Brown  became  identi- 


amos  IBroton 


fied  with  its  interests  when  the  work  of  development  and  progress 
seemed  scarcely  begun.  The  efforts  required  to  live  in  those  imgen- 
erous  surroundings,  the  necessity  to  make  every  blow  tell  and  to  exer- 
cise every  inventive  faculty,  developed  powers  of  mind  and  habit 
which  have  established  distinguished  names  in  the  northwest.  Mr. 
Brown  was  prominent  as  a  man  whose  constantly  expanding  powers 
took  him  from  himible  surroundings  to  the  jSeld  of  large  enterprises 
and  continually  broadening  opportunities. 


F.  7-/5 


^^^^^-^t^ 


CHjert  Jf .  Plaine 

|s^HE  progress  of  a  city  depends  not  so  much  upon  its 

Tyj-n  machinery  of  government  or  even  upon  the  men 
IW  who  fill  its  public  offices  as  upon  the  loyal  support  of 
\si  all  of  its  citizens  and  their  recognition  and  utiliza- 
tion of  the  opportunities  which  come  for  the  upbuild- 
ing of  the  city.  Prominently  in  this  connection 
should  be  mentioned  Elbert  F.  Blaine,  for  thirty  years  a  resident  of 
Seattle,  during  which  period  he  has  done  much  to  further  its  welfare 
and  upbuilding.  He  has  devoted  much  of  his  life  to  the  practice  of 
law,  and  each  forward  step  he  has  made  has  brought  him  a  broader 
outlook  and  wider  opportunities. 

He  is  separated  by  the  width  of  the  continent  from  his  birthplace, 
being  a  native  of  Romulus,  Seneca  county,  New  York.  His  natal  day 
was  June  26,  1857,  and  he  is  descended  from  Scotch-Irish  ancestry, 
the  Blaine  family  having  been  founded  in  Pennsylvania  long  prior  to 
the  war  which  brought  independence  to  the  nation.  His  great-grand- 
father was  a  resident  of  Milton,  Pennsylvania,  and  it  was  there  that 
his  grandfather  and  his  father  were  born.  The  grandfather  removed 
with  his  family  to  New  York  when  the  father,  James  Blaine,  was  a 
little  lad  of  four  summers.  The  latter  became  a  farmer  and  in  the 
community  in  which  he  lived  his  sterling  worth  of  character  won  for 
him  high  regard.  His  fellow  townsmen,  appreciative  of  his  worth 
and  abihty,  called  him  frequently  to  offices  of  honor  and  trust.  He 
did  not  hold  membership  in  any  church,  yet  his  influence  was  on  the 
side  of  moral  progress  and  was  a  factor  in  the  substantial  develop- 
ment of  his  community.  He  wedded  Amanda  Depue,  a  native  of 
New  York,  and  imto  them  were  born  eleven  children.  Both  parents 
reached  a  ripe  old  age,  the  father  dying  in  1893,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
eight,  while  the  mother  passed  away  in  her  eighty-third  year. 

During  his  student  days  Elbert  F.  Blaine  attended  the  North- 
western Indiana  Normal  School  at  Valparaiso,  and,  having  deter- 
mined upon  the  practice  of  law  as  a  life  work,  began  studying  in  the 
Union  Law  School  at  Albany,  New  York,  being  graduated  there- 
from with  the  class  of  1882.  He  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the 
courts  of  the  Empire  state  and  afterward  removed  to  Huron,  South 
Dakota,  and  later  to  Minnesota.  He  remained  in  the  middle  west 
125 


126  mbttt  JF.  IBlaine 

until  1884,  when  he  took  up  his  abode  in  Tacoma,  Washington.  The 
following  year,  however,  he  arrived  in  Seattle  and  took  charge  of  the 
old  Michigan  sawmill  at  Belltown,  On  the  1st  of  January,  1886, 
however,  he  resumed  the  practice  of  law,  forming  a  partnership  with 
Hon.  John  J.  McGUvra,  one  of  the  distinguished  members  of  the 
Seattle  bar.  Their  partnership  association  continued  for  several 
years  and  their  clientage  became  extensive  and  important.  They 
admitted  a  third  partner,  Lee  DeVries,  and  when  some  time  after- 
ward Mr.  McGilvra  withdrew,  the  firm  name  was  changed  to  Blaine 
&  DeVries,  that  relation  continuing  until  1899. 

In  connection  with  his  professional  career  a  contemporary  writer 
has  said:  "During  Mr.  Blaine's  early  practice  of  law  no  case  was 
too  small  or  unimportant  for  his  consideration.  However  small  the 
case  he  never  neglected  it,  his  motto  being  that  whatever  one  under- 
takes to  do,  do  well.  When  he  had  determined  that  his  client  was  on 
the  side  of  right,  he  would  never  give  up  until  he  had  employed  every 
honorable  means  in  his  power  to  establish  his  position.  He  thus  won 
a  reputation  as  a  painstaking,  thorough  and  capable  lawyer,  and  by 
degrees  the  practice  of  the  firm  increased  until  the  time  and  energy 
of  its  members  were  taxed  to  the  utmost.  Through  the  influence  of 
the  late  Arthur  A.  Denny,  a  very  large  clientage  was  secured  from 
the  old  settlers  of  the  city  of  Seattle  and  it  fell  to  their  lot  to  adminis- 
ter many  of  their  estates.  In  the  practice  of  his  profession,  Mr. 
Blaine  says  he  was  successful  in  a  degree  greater  than  he  ever  dreamed 
he  would  be,  and  his  ability  as  a  lawyer  is  indicated  by  the  fact  of  the 
few  cases  lost  to  the  many  won  for  his  clients,  and  the  legal  business 
entrusted  to  his  care  for  many  years  has  been  of  the  most  important 
character." 

Aside  from  his  law  practice  Mr.  Blaine  became  actively  inter- 
ested in  real-estate  operations.  In  1899  he  joined  Charles  L.  Denny 
in  organizing  the  Denny-Blaine  Land  Company.  They  practically 
took  charge  of  the  large  interests  of  the  Hon.  Arthur  A.  Denny  and 
after  his  death  continued  to  manage  the  estate,  of  which  Mr.  Blaine 
became  the  attorney.  He  was  also  instrumental  in  reorganizing  the 
Yakima  Investment  Company,  the  property  being  acquired  by  the 
Washington  Irrigation  Company,  and  since  that  time  he  has  given 
much  of  his  attention  to  the  control  of  its  interests,  the  firm  operat- 
ing the  Grant  street  car  line  for  a  number  of  years.  The  Denny- 
Blaine  Company  has  purchased  and  improved  a  number  of  tracts  of 
land,  including  Denny-Blaine  Lake  Park,  one  of  the  finest  additions 
to  Seattle. 

In  1882  Mr.  Blaine  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Minerva 


mttn  JF,  iBIaine  127 

Stone,  who  was  born  in  Seneca  county.  New  York,  a  daughter  of 
John  R.  Stone  of  that  county  and  a  representative  of  one  of  the  old 
American  families.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blaine  now  have  a  son,  James 
Arthur.  Their  home  is  in  Denny-Blaine  Lake  Park  and  is  a  most 
commodious  and  attractive  residence,  justly  celebrated  for  its  warm- 
hearted hospitality  as  well  as  for  the  beauty  of  the  architecture  and 
its  tasteful  furnishings. 

Mrs.  Blaine  belongs  to  Epiphany  Episcopal  church  and  to  it  Mr. 
Blaine  is  a  generous  contributor.  He  has  been  the  champion  of  the 
Washington  State  University  and  has  done  much  for  its  upbuilding. 
As  president  of  the  board  of  park  commissioners  of  Seattle  he  has 
done  much  to  secure  from  the  city  council  large  appropriations  for  the 
development  of  the  magnificent  park  and  boulevard  system.  Impor- 
tant and  extensive  as  have  been  his  professional  and  business  activi- 
ties, he  has  ever  found  time  to  cooperate  in  measures  relating  to  the 
general  good.  The  perpetual  record  established  by  the  consensus  of 
opinion  on  the  part  of  his  fellowmen  is  that  Mr.  Blaine  has  been  a 
most  valued  resident  of  Seattle  and  throughout  the  city  he  is  spoken 
of  in  terms  of  admiration  and  respect.  His  life  has  been  so  varied  in 
its  activity,  so  honorable  in  its  purpose,  so  far-reaching  and  beneficial 
in  its  effects,  that  it  has  become  an  integral  part  of  the  history  of  the 
state.  He  has  exerted  an  immeasurable  influence  through  his  busi- 
ness enterprises  and  professional  interests;  in  social  circles  by  reason 
of  a  charming  personality  and  unfeigned  cordiality,  and  in  politics 
by  reason  of  his  public  spirit  and  devotion  to  the  general  good.  He 
is  a  representative  of  that  useful  and  helpful  type  of  men  whose  ambi- 
tions and  desires  are  centered  and  directed  in  those  channels  through 
which  flow  the  greatest  and  most  permanent  good  to  the  gi-eatest  num- 
ber, and  he  has  been  helpful  in  bringing  about  those  purifying  and 
wholesome  reforms  which  have  been  gradually  growing  in  the  polit- 
ical, mvmicipal  and  social  life  of  the  city. 


c^wC.  ^^.?  ,,^^:-^Ca^ 


|N  illustrious  name  on  the  pages  of  the  state's  history 

A'     is  that  of  Judge  John  J.  McGilvra  and  time  serves 
>W     but  to  heighten  his  fame  as  his  works  stand  out  in 
11     their  true  light  and  perspective  in  relation  to  other 

events  of  the  period  in  which  he  lived  and  labored. 

He  gathered  distinction  as  a  member  of  the  bar  and 
honors  were  accorded  him  along  other  lines,  his  entire  life  history 
indicating  what  may  be  accomplished  when  the  individual  is  prompted 
by  ambition  and  energy  in  a  land  of  opportunity.  From  his  twelfth 
year  he  was  dependent  upon  his  own  resources,  and  few  associates  of 
the  little  lad  who  at  the  age  of  twelve  was  working  as  a  chore  boy  for 
four  dollars  per  month,  would  have  predicted  that  he  would  become 
one  of  the  eminent  jurists  of  the  northwest. 

Judge  McGilvra  was  born  in  Livingston  county.  New  York,  July 
11,  1827,  and  was  descended  from  Scotch  ancestry,  from  whom  he 
inherited  many  sterling  traits.  The  family  was  founded  in  America 
by  one  of  the  name  who  in  1740  became  a  resident  of  Washington 
county,  New  York,  and  who  was  the  great-grandfather  of  Judge 
McGilvra.  The  grandfather  was  born  in  Washington  county  and 
lived  the  life  of  an  energetic,  enterprising  farmer  for  a  period  of 
seventy  years.  His  son,  John  McGilvra,  was  also  born  and  married 
there,  after  which  he  removed  to  Livingston  coimty.  New  York, 
where  he  secured  a  farm  which  he  developed  and  improved. 

Judge  McGilvra  was  one  of  a  family  of  seven  children  who  were 
reared  upon  the  old  homestead  in  Livingston  county.  New  York. 
The  public  school  system  of  that  portion  of  the  state  provided  him 
his  educational  privileges  until  he  reached  the  age  of  seventeen  years, 
when  he  went  with  his  parents  to  Illinois  and  became  a  student  in  an 
academy  at  Elgin,  that  state.  In  the  meantime,  however,  he  had 
begun  providing  for  his  own  support.  When  in  his  twelfth  year  he 
secured  a  position  as  chore  boy  at  a  salary  of  four  dollars  per  month 
and  at  other  times  he  worked  for  his  board  and  the  privilege  of  attend- 
ing school.  He  was  ambitious  to  advance,  however,  and  utilized  every 
means  that  enabled  him  to  progress.  He  afterward  took  up  the  pro- 
fession of  teaching,  but  regarded  it  merely  as  an  initial  step  to  other 
professional  labor  and  in  18.50  began  preparation  for  the  bar  as  a 
131 


132  l^on,  3lo[)n  %  QgcailUta 

law  student  in  the  office  of  Hon.  Edward  GifFord,  a  graduate  of  Yale 
College  and  of  the  Cambridge  Law  School.  He  afterward  read  law 
under  the  direction  of  Ebenezer  Peck,  a  prominent  Chicago  attorney 
who  was  later  one  of  the  judges  of  the  com-t  of  claims. 

In  1853  Judge  McGilvra  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  during  the 
period  of  his  residence  and  law  practice  in  Chicago  he  became  well 
acquainted  with  Abraham  Lincoln.  A  door  opened  between  their 
respective  offices  and  each  looked  after  both  offices  during  the  absence 
of  the  other.  The  friendship  and  high  regard  which  thus  grew  up 
between  them  continued,  and  when  Mr.  Lincoln  was  elected  president 
he  appointed  Mr.  McGilvra  to  the  position  of  United  States  attorney 
for  Washington  territory  in  1861.  It  was  during  his  residence  in 
Chicago  that  he  also  became  intimately  acquainted  with  Chief  Justice 
Fuller,  their  offices  being  not  only  in  the  same  building  but  upon  the 
same  floor. 

With  his  appointment  to  the  position  of  United  States  attorney 
for  Washington  tei-ritory.  Judge  McGilvra  removed  with  his  family 
to  the  northwest,  establishing  his  home  in  Olympia,  but  in  the  fall  of 
that  year  they  went  to  Vancouver,  where  they  resided  until  1864.  In 
the  meantime  Judge  McGilvra  had  been  studying  geographic  and 
other  conditions  bearing  upon  the  development  of  the  west  and  had 
become  convinced  that  Seattle  would  be  the  metropolis  of  the  territory. 
In  that  year,  therefore,  he  established  his  home  in  the  city  which  con- 
tinued to  be  the  place  of  his  residence  until  his  demise.  For  five  years 
he  continued  to  serve  as  United  States  attorney  and  then  declined 
reappointment  to  the  position  in  order  to  give  undivided  attention  to 
the  private  practice  of  law  and  to  active  effort  along  political  lines. 
He  was  not  only  a  student  of  legal  principles  but  of  the  signs  of  the 
times  and  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  him  to  continue  inactive 
in  relation  to  public  affairs  which  shaped  the  political  history  of  the 
territory.  He  was  a  natural  leader  of  men  and  he  did  much  to  mold 
public  opinion.  In  1866  he  became  the  republican  nominee  for  the 
office  of  member  of  the  territorial  legislature  and  following  his  elec- 
tion devoted  considerable  attention  to  procuring  the  passage  of  a  bill 
that  secured  an  appropriation  of  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  for  the 
opening  of  a  wagon  road  through  the  Snoqualmie  pass,  this  being 
the  first  line  of  connection  between  the  eastern  and  western  parts  of 
the  territory  save  that  afforded  by  the  Columbia  river.  No  other 
work  which  he  could  have  performed  would  have  been  so  beneficial 
to  the  territory  in  the  development  of  Seattle  and  of  this  portion  of 
the  northwest,  for  it  formed  the  only  highway  between  eastern  and 
western  Washington  north  of  the  Columbia  river  prior  to  the  time 


!^on«  3[oi)n  %  Qgc(gilt»ra  133 

the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  was  built.  His  views  in  this  matter 
seem  prophetic,  for  during  the  last  year  the  road  through  his  pass 
and  over  the  mountains  has  been  completed  and  is  known  as  the  Sunset 
route.  It  gives  an  automobile  route  second  to  none  in  America  for 
beautiful  scenery  and  the  pass  has  become  the  gateway  between  the 
east  and  southern  California.  The  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  Com- 
pany seemed  determined  to  suppress  Seattle  and  blight  its  future 
by  making  Tacoma  its  terminus,  after  the  people  of  this  city  had 
offered  many  inducements  for  the  extension  of  the  line  to  this  point. 
A  public  meeting  was  then  held,  in  which  Mr.  McGilvra  ably  advo- 
cated the  building  of  another  road.  This  resulted  in  the  organizing 
of  the  Seattle  &  Walla  Walla  Railroad  Company.  Mr.  McGilvra 
drew  up  the  articles  of  incorporation  and  the  by-laws,  and  for  several 
years  transacted  all  the  legal  business  of  the  company.  In  connec- 
tion with  Arthur  A.  Denny,  James  M.  Colman  and  others,  he  became 
a  most  potent  factor  in  raising  money  and  in  securing  the  construction 
of  the  new  line.  This  virtually  checkmated  the  efforts  of  the  North- 
ern Pacific  and  gave  to  Seattle  a  road  of  its  own.  In  the  effort  the 
people  of  the  city  became  very  enthusiastic,  and  some  two  miles  of 
the  road  was  graded  by  picnic  parties  composed  of  Seattle's  popula- 
tion, men,  women  and  children  participating  in  the  work.  Toward 
this  valuable  enterprise  Mr.  McGilvra  gave  sixty  acres  of  land  and 
his  services  for  three  years,  and  to  his  mental  and  physical  efforts 
the  success  of  the  road  was  largely  due. 

Seattle  called  Judge  McGilvra  to  the  office  of  city  attorney,  which 
position  he  filled  for  two  years.  He  afterward  went  to  Washington, 
D.  C,  where  he  spent  the  winter  of  1876-7  in  prosecuting  Seattle's 
claim  to  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land  within  the  city  limits 
under  the  town  site  law.  He  won  the  desired  victory  and  during 
the  same  time  he  kept  in  touch  with  events  in  the  west  and  gained 
knowledge  that  proved  of  great  value  at  a  later  period.  His  atten- 
tion was  called  to  the  fact  that  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  Com- 
pany was  attempting  to  change  its  branch  line  from  the  Skagit  to  the 
Natchez  pass  in  the  Cascade  mountains  and  in  order  to  do  so  had 
filed  an  amended  plan  or  plat  of  its  branch  line  with  the  commissioner 
of  the  general  land  office.  Judge  McGilvra  at  once  directed  the 
attention  of  Judge  Orange  Jacobs,  then  congressional  delegate  to 
Washington,  to  this  fact  and  they  both  entered  their  protest  against 
this  unless  the  withdrawn  lands  on  the  Skagit  line  were  restored  to 
settlement.  Later  Judge  McGilvra's  services  were  retained  by  the 
people  of  King  and  other  counties  to  assist  Judge  Jacobs  in  securing 
the  restoration  of  those  lands  and  after  a  prolonged  struggle  he  was 


134  ^on,  3Iol)n  %  Qgcigiltita 

successful  and  five  million  acres  were  thus  opened  to  the  people  for 
settlement,  although  the  Northern  Pacific  made  strong  opposition 
thereto.  The  speaker  of  the  house  of  representatives,  however, 
allowed  Judge  McGUvra  the  privileges  of  the  floor  and  Senator 
Mitchell  secured  for  him  practically  the  same  privilege  in  the  upper 
house  of  congress.  He  appeared  before  all  of  the  committees,  made 
oral  arguments  and  submitted  printed  briefs  with  the  result  as  above 
indicated.  History  shows  that  at  first  the  Northern  Pacific  seemed 
hostile  to  Seattle,  did  everything  in  its  power  to  prevent  its  growth 
and  crush  out  its  future  prospects,  but  Judge  McGilvra's  active  work 
and  that  of  his  associates  brought  the  railroad  company  to  terms  and 
the  corporation  was  soon  glad  to  ask  favors  of  the  growing  metropolis 
on  the  Sound.  Possibly  no  man  in  Seattle  did  more  to  secure  her 
great  waterworks  sj^stem  than  Judge  McGilvra,  who  at  first  strenu- 
ously opposed  the  plan,  suggested  by  City  Engineer  R.  H.  Thomson, 
of  bringing  water  from  Cedar  Mountain,  if  it  would  incur  a  greater 
indebtedness  to  the  city  than  they  should  be  called  upon  to  meet. 
After  the  plans  and  specifications  were  submitted  by  Mr.  Thomson 
to  the  Judge  personally,  he  gave  them  his  careful  consideration  for 
three  or  four  days  and,  finding  them  feasible,  gave  the  project  his 
most  hearty  and  unqualified  support.  Mr.  McGilvra  enjoyed  a  most 
enviable  reputation  as  an  able  and  learned  lawyer  and  was  connected 
with  much  of  the  most  important  litigation  heard  in  the  northwest. 
His  practice  proved  to  him  a  gratifying  source  of  income  and  he  began 
making  investments  in  real  estate,  the  rapid  rise  in  land  values  making 
him  in  time  one  of  the  wealthy  men  of  Washington.  He  purchased 
several  hundred  acres  of  land  on  the  city  side  of  Lake  Washington 
and  platted  several  additions  to  the  city.  At  his  own  expense,  in 
1864-5,  he  opened  Madison  street  its  whole  length  to  the  lake,  the 
project  costing  him  fifteen  himdred  dollars.  He  subsidized  the  Madi- 
son street  cable  railway  to  the  amount  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
During  the  last  ten  years  of  his  life  he  gave  little  attention  to  law 
practice,  living  retired  save  for  the  supervision  which  he  gave  to  his 
property  holdings.  He  spent  considerable  time  in  travel  both  in 
America  and  abroad  and  found  great  pleasure  in  visiting  scenes  of 
modern  and  historic  interest. 

Judge  McGilvra  was  married  February  8,  1855,  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
M.  Hills,  a  native  of  Oneida  county,  New  York,  as  was  her  father, 
H.  O.  Hills,  a  representative  of  one  of  the  leading  old  Connecticut 
families  of  colonial  days.  Judge  and  Mrs.  McGilvra  became  parents 
of  five  children,  of  whom  two  survive:  Carrie  E.,  now  the  wife  of 
Judge  Thomas  Burke,  who  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  lawyers 


!E)on.  3[oJ)n  %  ggceimta  135 

of  Seattle  but  is  now  living  retired;  and  Oliver  C,  who  for  a  con- 
siderable time  was  a  member  of  the  prominent  law  firm  of  Burke, 
Shepard  &  McGilvra.  Since  the  dissolution  of  that  firm  he  has 
engaged  in  practice  alone. 

The  death  of  Judge  McGilvra  occurred  at  his  home  on  the  shore 
of  Lake  Washington,  December  19,  1903,  when  he  was  seventy-six 
j'^ears  of  age.  There  are  few  men  whose  labors  have  been  more 
directly  beneficial  in  connection  with  the  material  development  of  the 
state,  in  upholding  its  legal  and  political  status  and  in  advancing  its 
social  and  moral  progress.  During  the  period  of  the  Civil  war  he 
was  a  member  of  the  Union  League  and  did  everything  in  his  power 
to  uphold  the  government  in  its  efforts  to  preserve  the  Union.  While 
conducting  law  cases  in  Washington,  D.  C,  in  1863-4  he  formed  the 
acquaintance  of  both  Secretary  Chase  and  Secretary  Stanton  and  he 
did  valuable  service  for  the  nation  in  connection  with  the  removal  of 
southern  sympathizers  from  public  offices  in  Washington,  Oregon 
and  California.  He  never  ceased  to  feel  the  deepest  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  his  adopted  city  or  state  and  his  cooperation  could  at  any 
time  be  counted  upon  to  further  public  progress.  At  one  time  he  was 
president  of  the  Pioneer  Society  of  Washington  and  to  it,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  annual  reunion  in  June,  1902,  he  presented  a  magni- 
ficent lot  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Washington,  at  the  foot  of  Madison 
street.  A  two-story  brick  house  has  been  constructed  thereon  and  in 
it  is  placed  a  suitable  tablet  bearing  expressions  of  gratitude  to  Judge 
and  Mrs.  McGilvra  for  the  donation  of  the  lot.  A  contemporary 
biographer  wrote  of  Judge  McGilvra:  "While  in  practice  he  was 
regarded  as  the  peer  of  the  ablest  members  of  the  bar,  and  his  ability 
won  him  distinction  in  legal  and  political  circles  at  the  capital.  It  is 
said  of  an  eminent  man  of  old  that  he  had  done  things  worthy  to  be 
written,  that  he  had  written  things  worthy  to  be  read,  and  by  his  life 
had  contributed  to  the  welfare  of  the  repubhc  and  the  happiness  of 
mankind.  This  eulogy  is  one  that  can  well  be  pronounced  on  Judge 
John  J.  McGilvra." 

At  his  passing  many  who  knew  him  well  and  had  been  long  asso- 
ciated with  him  breathed  the  sentiment  of  the  words: 
"Take  him  for  all  in  all, 
I  shaU  not  look  upon  his  like  again." 


^rL^  Aflt.^ 


jIGH  on  the  legal  arch  of  Washington  is  written  the 
name  of  John  Arthur,  who  was  the  first  president  of 
the  Washington  State  Bar  Association  and  who  for 
many  years  has  figured  prominently  in  active  practice 
in  the  courts  of  Seattle.  He  was  born  near  the  town 
of  Ennis,  County  Clare,  Ireland,  on  the  20th  of 
June,  1849,  and  is  descended  from  English  and  Irish  ancestry,  the 
paternal  line  being  traced  back  to  the  Franco-Norman  conquerors  of 
England.  The  family  removed  to  Ireland  and  held  extensive  tracts 
of  land  in  the  counties  of  Limerick  and  Clare.  They  went  to  the  Em- 
erald isle  with  the  ancestors  of  the  families  of  General  Wolfe,  the  hero 
of  Quebec ;  the  Whites,  MelviUes,  Stackpooles  and  Martins.  Chester 
A.  Arthur,  once  president  of  the  United  States,  was  a  scion  of  the 
family ;  his  Christian  name  was  given  him  in  honor  of  the  old  family 
home  in  England,  by  his  father,  who  was  a  student  of  antiquities  and 
the  author  of  a  valuable  book  on  Family  Names.  In  the  maternal  line 
Mr.  Arthur  is  descended  from  the  O'Connors  and  McMahons  of 
Clare.  A  relative.  Marshal  McMahon,  became  president  of  the 
French  republic. 

Mr.  Arthur's  family  removed  to  England  in  1861  and  to  America 
in  1863.  His  education  was  pursued  in  his  native  country  and  in  Eng- 
land and  America.  He  studied  law  in  Erie,  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar.  This  was  supplemented  by  a  four-year's 
course  in  Columbian  University  at  Washington,  D.  C.  When  he  had 
completed  his  second  year's  work  in  the  imiversity  the  Master  of  Laws 
degree  was  conferred  upon  him  and  he  was  awarded  the  first  prize  for 
the  best  essay  upon  a  legal  subject,  it  being  given  to  him  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  president  of  the  United  States,  the  members  of  the  cabinet 
and  the  judges  of  the  supreme  court ;  the  presentation  being  made,  in 
the  absence  of  the  attorney  general,  by  the  United  States  solicitor  gen- 
eral, who  spoke  of  the  essay  as  an  able  and  scholarly  production  and 
soon  thereafter  moved  Mr.  Arthur's  admission  to  practice  before  the 
supreme  court  of  the  United  States. 

President  Arthur  offered  him  the  United  States  attorneyship  for 
New  Mexico,  but  he  declined  the  position,  feeling  that  his  wise  course 
would  be  to  identify  his  interests  with  the  growing  northwest.    Accord- 
139 


140  3Ioi)n  attftut 

ingly,  in  March,  1883,  he  started  from  Washington  to  Puget  Sound, 
as  attorney  for  the  Tacoma  Land  Company,  with  headquarters  at 
Tacoma,  and  through  the  succeeding  four  years  spent  his  time  ahnost 
equally  between  that  city  and  Seattle  but  established  his  home  in 
Seattle  on  the  18th  of  April,  1887.  In  May,  1888,  he  was  elected  sec- 
retary of  the  King  County  Bar  Association,  in  which  position  he  has 
continued  since.  He  was  the  first  president  of  the  Washington  State 
Bar  Association.  The  address  which  he  delivered  as  president  in  1894 
was  reprinted  in  the  leading  law  journals  of  the  country  and  treated 
as  of  permanent  interest  and  value,  his  subject  being  "Lawyers  in 
their  Relations  with  the  State."  The  newspapers  made  it  the  theme 
of  editorial  discussion,  and  it  won  the  widespread  interest  and  atten- 
tion of  distinguished  members  of  the  bar  throughout  the  country. 

Mr.  Arthur  has  never  had  aspirations  for  office  outside  the  strict 
path  of  his  profession.  While  he  has  filled  some  positions  of  honor, 
he  accepted  them  with  reluctance,  having  preferred  not  to  withdraw 
his  attention  in  any  measure  from  his  professional  duties  and  respon- 
sibilities. He  served  as  president  of  the  Board  of  License  Commis- 
sioners of  Erie,  occupying  that  position  at  the  time  of  his  removal  to 
Washington,  D.  C.  He  also  became  president  of  the  State  Board  of 
University  Land  and  Building  Commissioners  in  Washington.  These 
are  the  only  public  offices  he  has  held,  with  the  exception  of  that  of  law 
assistant  to  the  first  comptroller  of  the  treasury  in  Washington. 

In  1880  Mr.  Arthur  was  united  in  marriage  in  Philadelphia  to 
Miss  Amy  A.  Lane,  and  they  reside  at  No.  1515  East  Madison  street 
in  Seattle.  In  his  political  views  he  has  always  been  a  republican  and 
has  served  as  chairman  of  the  King  county  republican  central  commit- 
tee. He  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  representatives  of  Masonry  in 
the  state  of  Washington,  and  since  1889  has  held  membership  in  St. 
John's  Lodge,  No.  9,  F.  &  A.  M.;  in  Seattle  Chapter,  No.  3,  R.  A. 
M. ;  and  Seattle  Commandery,  No.  2,  K.  T.  He  has  served  as  master 
of  St.  John's  Lodge.  In  1890  he  was  elected  a  member  of  Afifi  Tem- 
ple, A.  A.  O.  N.  M.  S.,  located  at  Tacoma,  of  which  he  became  poten- 
tate in  1900.  In  1892  he  attained  the  thirty-second  degree  of  the 
Scottish  Rite.  He  is  a  charter  member  of  Seattle  Council,  No.  6,  R.  & 
S.  M.  In  1902  he  became  grand  master  of  Masons  in  Washington.  His 
addresses  in  the  grand  lodge  were  copied  extensively  throughout  the 
world  in  the  Masonic  press. 

Mr.  Arthur's  wide  learning  and  his  gift  of  oratory  make  him  in 
frequent  demand  on  public  occasions,  and  his  speeches  attract  wide 
attention.  Two  years  after  he  had  delivered  an  impromptu  address  in 
Tacoma  a  New  England  journalist  wrote;  "I  have  heard  two  speeches 


3io|)n  act|)ur 


141 


in  my  lifetime  that  I  deemed  remarkable.  One  was  delivered  by  Wen- 
dell Phillips  in  old  Faneuil  Hall  on  the  occasion  of  a  welcome  by  the 
Garrison  abolitionists  to  George  Thompson,  the  British  emissary. 
Nobody  could  be  heard  on  that  occasion  but  Wendell  Phillips,  and  he 
scored  so  brilliant  a  trimnph  with  his  audience  that  they  hissed  and 
cheered  alternately.  The  other  speech  was  made  by  John  Arthur,  and 
the  audacity  of  that  brilliant  effort,  aimed  as  it  was,  will  not  soon  be 
forgotten."  Another  editor  printed  in  red  ink  an  entire  Fourth  of 
July  oration  by  Mr.  Arthur,  with  the  comment :  "Rarely  has  an  audi- 
ence had  spread  before  it  such  a  bouquet  of  excellence,  such  soul-stir- 
ring eloquence,  such  an  enthusing  presentation  of  historical  facts." 

Several  years  ago,  without  intimation  to  him  that  his  name  was 
imder  consideration,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  The  Authors'  Club, 
of  London,  in  recognition  of  his  contributions  to  literature. 


^Ui^U^^^-'-D^^^A^ 


angus(  JWacfeintosiii 

I  HE  late  Angus  Mackintosh  was  one  of  the  empire 
builders  in  the  state  of  Washington.  He  was  one 
of  Seattle's  pioneers,  coming  to  this  state  in  1870, 
and  here  for  many  years  was  active  in  real  estate 
deals,  the  milling  industry,  conmiercial  enterprises, 
banking,  railroad  promotion  and  other  matters,  all  of 
which  have  contributed  toward  the  greatness  of  the  state. 

Mr.  Mackintosh  was  a  Canadian  by  birth.  He  was  born  in  Cale- 
donia, Prescott  covmty,  Ontario,  June  23,  1839,  a  son  of  Norman  and 
Christy  (Morrison)  Mackintosh,  natives  of  Scotland.  He  made  use 
of  such  educational  facilities  as  were  provided  in  his  home  town  and 
when  but  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  of  age  began  teaching  in  order  to 
earn  the  money  which  he  needed  for  a  college  course.  The  serious 
purpose  to  succeed  in  life  showed  itself  early  in  his  youth  and  such 
successes  and  honors  as  came  to  him  resulted  entirely  from  his  own 
efforts.  After  having  acquired  the  means,  Mr.  Mackintosh  attended 
McGill  College  and  then  went  to  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  graduated  from  a  commercial  academy  in  1862.  Shortly  after- 
ward he  enlisted  for  service  in  the  Union  army,  being  attached  to  the 
commissary  department,  with  which  he  was  connected  until  sickness 
compelled  him  to  abandon  his  position  in  1863.  He  was  subsequently 
engaged  in  the  lumber  business  in  Michigan  for  a  few  years. 

The  year  1870  marks  the  advent  of  Mr.  Mackintosh  in  Seattle. 
The  prospects  and  opportunities  of  the  west  had  strongly  appealed 
to  him  and  induced  him  to  make  his  way  here.  He  engaged  in  real 
estate  dealing  and  also  gave  considerable  attention  to  abstract  work. 
Being  clear-headed  and  readily  making  himself  master  of  conditions 
as  they  existed,  he  was  successful.  He  was  instrimiental  in  forming 
a  number  of  commercial  companies  and  also  established  a  mill  on  the 
water  front,  which,  however,  with  considerable  other  property  that 
he  owned,  was  destroyed  by  fire.  Nothing  daunted,  Mr.  Mackintosh 
continually  extended  his  interests.  In  the  meantime  he  founded  the 
Merchants  National  Bank,  of  which  he  was  the  largest  stockholder 
and  president,  and  shortly  afterward  organized  the  Seattle  Lumber 
&  Commercial  Company,  with  a  capital  stock  of  ten  thousand  dollars. 
He  was  the  sole  directing  genius  of  this  enterprise,  which  by  its  re- 
145 


146  angus  agackintogtt 

turns  gave  evidence  of  his  great  ability  and  wise  foresight.  The 
Seattle  Lumber  &  Commercial  Company  under  his  management  paid 
dividends  of  ten  per  cent  monthly  for  five  years  and  after  passing- 
through  the  great  fire  had  a  surplus  capital  of  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  In  1884  Mr.  Mackintosh  was  instrumental  in  founding  the 
Safe  Deposit  &  Trust  Company,  of  which  he  was  the  president  and 
the  principal  stockholder  and  which  soon  became  one  of  the  leading 
banking  institutions  of  the  state.  They  owned  the  building  and  safe 
deposit  vaults,  which  were  equal  to  any  to  be  found  in  eastern  cities. 
Mr.  Mackintosh  readily  saw  the  necessity  of  such  an  institution  in 
Seattle  and  not  only  furnished  the  general  public  with  the  needed 
facilities  but  made  capital  of  his  foresight.  In  railroad  work  he  was 
equally  enterprising.  He  was  one  of  the  promoters  and  trustees  of 
the  Walla  Walla  Railroad  and  of  the  Seattle,  Lake  Shore  &  Eastern 
Railroad.  In  short,  his  various  enterprises  were  great  factors  in  the 
upbuilding  of  the  state  and  in  developing  its  resources  and  its  financial 
strength. 

In  1895,  as  the  result  of  default  of  payment  by  an  individual  to 
whom  a  large  loan  had  been  made  din-ing  the  absence  of  Mr.  Mackin- 
tosh and  without  his  consent  or  advice,  the  Merchants  National  Bank 
was  obliged  to  suspend  business.  With  the  other  stockholders  he  lost 
heavily  and  afterward  suflFered  still  further  from  incompetent  ad- 
ministration of  the  bank's  affairs  under  the  receivership.  In  the 
following  year  he  made  a  trip  to  Alaska  in  the  hope  of  recuperating 
some  of  his  financial  losses  but  the  expected  success  did  not  come  to 
him  in  the  far  north.  The  unfortunate  turn  of  affairs  in  the  Mer- 
chants National  Bank  weighed  heavily  upon  him,  although  there  was 
not  the  slightest  reason  for  self-reproach,  and  Mr.  Mackintosh  re- 
mained more  or  less  of  an  invalid  until  his  death,  in  July,  1904. 

In  December,  1871,  Mr.  Mackintosh  was  vmited  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Elizabeth  Peebles,  a  daughter  of  Hugh  and  Emeline  Peebles. 
She  was  born  in  Otsego  county.  New  York,  and  was  of  Scotch-Irish 
descent.  Her  mother  was  a  native  of  Vermont.  Mrs.  Mackintosh 
was  also  one  of  the  early  arrivals  in  Seattle,  coming  here  in  1866. 
She  taught  school  in  Chehalis  and  also  in  this  city  and  was  the  first 
woman  to  act  as  enrolling  and  engrossing  clerk  in  the  house  of  repre- 
sentatives at  Olympia.  She  performed  her  duties  so  well  that  she 
received  the  public  thanks  of  the  house  through  Speaker  George  H. 
Stewart,  December  2,  1869.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mackintosh  had  two 
children:  Kenneth,  now  judge  of  the  superior  court  of  King  county; 
and  Gertrude  E. 

Mr.  Mackintosh  was  one  of  the  thoroughly  public-spirited  and 


gngu0  Qjacbintogj) 


147 


patriotic  men  of  his  times.  He  was  liberal  in  his  views  and  although 
not  a  member  of  any  church,  supported  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
organization.  He  gave  his  adherence  to  the  republican  party,  val- 
iantly upholding  its  principles  and  candidates  and  contributing  gen- 
erously to  the  cause.  It  is  the  more  praiseworthy  that  he  never  sought 
public  office  for  himself.  He  was  a  Knights  Templar  Mason  and 
served  as  first  eminent  commander  of  Lodge  No.  2  of  Seattle.  He 
had  previously  been  a  member  of  the  order  in  Saginaw,  Michigan. 
He  also  belonged  to  the  Rainier  Club  and  was  a  member  of  the  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen.  Mr.  Mackintosh  was  one  of  those  hardy 
types  of  pioneers,  of  unflagging  industry  and  energy,  who  did  much 
toward  the  progress  of  civilization  in  this  state.  A  nxmiber  of  valu- 
able enterprises  were  the  children  of  his  creative  brain,  and  he  helped 
to  lay  the  cornerstone  upon  which  stands  today  the  magnificent  struc- 
ture of  this  great  commonwealth. 


.^0 


J 


JIarrp  ^.  pigelotu 


)ARRY  A.  BIGELOW  of  Seattle  had  a  wide  ac- 
quaintance throughout  the  northwest  and  his  demise, 
which  occurred  on  the  28th  of  July,  1907,  in  Karls- 
bad, Austria,  was  deeply  deplored  by  the  many  who 
had  learned  to  esteem  highly  his  business  ability  and 
to  honor  and  respect  him  for  his  sterling  worth  as  a 
man.  He  had  extensive  mining  interests,  was  for  a  number  of  years 
engaged  in  the  real  estate  and  brokerage  business  and  was  one  of  the 
incorporators  of  the  Queen  Oil  Company,  owning  valuable  lands  in 
Kern  county,  California.  He  was  also  a  leader  in  fraternal  circles 
and  in  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 

Mr.  Bigelow  was  a  native  of  Hillsdale  county,  Michigan,  his  birth 
occurring  on  the  1st  of  November,  1848.  His  parents  were  Townsend 
and  Diana  H.  Bigelow.  His  early  life  was  spent  in  a  rural  district 
and  his  educational  advantages  were  quite  limited.  Desiring  to  learn 
more  of  the  world,  at  the  age  of  sixteen  he  went  to  Illinois  and  there 
enlisted  in  Company  M,  Ninth  Illinois  Volunteer  Cavalry  for  service 
in  the  Civil  war.  His  command  was  a  part  of  the  Army  of  the  Ten- 
nessee commanded  by  General  Thomas,  and  Mr.  Bigelow  remained  at 
the  front  until  he  was  honorably  discharged  at  Montgomery,  Ala- 
bama. He  returned  to  Illinois  and  continued  his  education  but  his 
experience  in  the  south  had  made  him  restless  and  filled  him  with  the 
desire  to  go  to  the  far  west,  concerning  which  he  had  heard  many  favor- 
able reports. 

In  October,  1869,  in  company  with  a  sister,  Mrs.  Julius  Horton, 
and  her  family,  Mr.  Bigelow  went  to  San  Francisco  by  way  of  the 
Union  Pacific  Railroad  and  there  took  a  sailing  vessel  for  Seattle.  He 
was  employed  in  various  lines  of  business  until  1878,  when  he  entered 
the  employ  of  one  of  Seattle's  leading  mercantile  firms,  with  whom  he 
remained  for  several  years.  In  1890  he  was  appointed  deputy  United 
States  marshal  by  President  Harrison  and  for  three  years  was  chief 
deputy  of  the  state  of  Washington.  He  performed  the  duties  of  his 
important  office  in  an  efficient  manner,  making  a  record  highly  to  his 
credit.  Upon  retiring  from  that  office  he  engaged  in  the  real  estate 
and  brokerage  business,  to  which  he  devoted  his  time  and  attention 
until  July,  1897.  He  then  sailed  for  Dawson,  Alaska,  by  way  of  St. 
151 


152  ^actg  a.  Igjgeloto 

Michaels,  but  on  account  of  low  water  in  the  Yukon  river  was  unable 
to  reach  the  great  gold  metropohs  and  located  at  Rampart  City  on 
Manook  creek  in  American  territory.  During  the  year  which  he  de- 
voted to  prospecting  he  secured  an  interest  in  twenty-one  mining 
claims  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  resolved  to  return  to  Seattle.  In 
company  with  his  son  and  three  others  he  set  out  in  a  row  boat  and  by 
traveling  night  and  day  made  the  thousand  miles  to  St.  Michaels 
in  twelve  days.  At  that  port  the  party  took  steamer  for  Seattle.  In 
November,  1898,  he  again  embarked  in  the  real  estate  business,  in 
which  he  continued  until  March,  1901.  He  then  became  one  of  the 
incorporators  of  the  Queen  Oil  Company,  owning  valuable  lands  in 
Kern  county,  California,  and  continued  his  connection  with  that  com- 
pany during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  passed  away  at  Karlsbad, 
Austria,  on  the  28th  of  July,  1907. 

Mr.  Bigelow  was  married  in  September,  1873,  to  Miss  Emma  K. 
Hall,  a  daughter  of  W.  B.  Hall,  who  was  born  in  Indiana  in  1843. 
In  early  life  Mr.  Hall  went  to  Adair  county,  Iowa,  where  he  resided 
for  a  number  of  years.  He  was  quite  active  in  political  circles  there 
and  was  county  clerk  and  surveyor  for  twelve  years.  In  1870  he  came 
to  Seattle  and  under  General  McMicken  surveyed  all  of  the  townships 
in  King  county  and  also  did  surveying  work  in  other  sections.  His 
records  and  surveys  have  never  been  superseded,  as  he  was  very  accu- 
rate in  his  work.  About  thirty  years  ago  he  retired  from  active  life 
and  is  now  living  with  his  daughter  Mrs.  Bigelow.  He  was  married 
in  Indiana  to  Miss  Sarah  Crane,  who  died  in  February,  1907.  To 
them  were  born  three  children,  Mrs.  Bigelow;  Walter  A.,  of  Seattle; 
and  Fred  M.,  who  died  in  1887.  Mr.  Hall  is  a  republican  and  his 
religious  faith  is  that  of  the  Methodist  church.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Bigelow  were  born  three  children,  Lillian  Floy,  Clair  Vivian  and 
D.  Earl. 

Mr.  Bigelow  was  a  loyal  republican  but  was  not  bitterly  partisan, 
placing  the  public  welfare  above  partj'  interests.  Although  devoted 
to  his  city  and  section,  he  thought  in  terms  of  national  life  and  his 
sincere  and  practical  Americanism  was  one  of  his  most  dominant 
traits.  He  was  prominent  in  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  was 
a  charter  member  of  Stevens  Post,  No.  1,  the  first  post  formed  in  the 
state  of  Washington,  of  which  he  served  as  commander  for  three 
years,  and  in  June,  1901,  he  was  elected  commander  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Washington  and  Alaska.  His  connection  with  the  Masonic 
fraternity  dated  from  1872  and  he  belonged  to  St.  John's  Lodge,  No. 
9,  F.  &  A.  M.;  Seattle  Chapter,  No.  3,  R.  A.  M.;  Seattle  Coimcil,  No. 
6,  R.  &  S.  M.;  Seattle  Commandery,  No.  2,  K.  T.;  Lawson  Con- 


^artp  a.  IBigeloto 


153 


sistory,  No.  1,  and  Nile  Temple,  A.  A,  O.  N.  M.  S.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  also  belonged 
to  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  in  which  order  he  gained  distinction.  In 
1884  he  took  part  in  the  organization  of  the  grand  lodge  of  the  Knights 
of  Pythias  in  Washingon  and  he  was  elected  sitting  past  grand  chan- 
cellor. In  1885  he  was  chosen  supreme  representative  of  the  state  of 
Washington  to  the  supreme  lodge  and  attended  every  session  of  that 
body  from  that  time  until  about  four  years  prior  to  his  demise.  He 
organized  the  military  branch  of  that  order  in  this  state  and  for  eight 
years  served  as  brigadier  general.  He  was  very  successful  in  his 
business  enterprises  but  never  allowed  his  financial  interests  to  monop- 
olize his  time,  recognizing  that  there  are  other  things  in  life  which  are 
more  worth  while  than  the  mere  accumulation  of  a  fortune.  Aside 
from  the  important  work  which  he  did  in  fraternal  circles,  he  took  an 
active  part  in  many  movements  which  sought  the  public  welfare,  and 
his  cooperation  was  a  potent  factor  in  the  development  of  Seattle  and 
the  northwest  along  various  lines. 


jR.  RUFUS  H.  SMITH,  a  Seattle  capitalist,  whose 
business  interests  constituted  an  element  in  the  utili- 
zation and  development  of  the  natural  resources  of 
the  state  and  who  through  sound  business  judgment 
and  enterprise  gained  a  most  creditable  and  enviable 
measure  of  success,  passed  away  in  February,  1916. 
He  was  born  in  Union,  Monroe  county.  West  Virginia,  December 
6,  1851,  his  parents  being  Granville  G.  and  Caroline  A.  (Clark) 
Smith,  the  latter  a  great-granddaughter  of  the  famous  Major  John 
Clark. 

Rufus  H.  Smith  attended  the  public,  grammar  and  high  schools 
of  his  native  county  and,  having  determined  upon  the  practice  of 
medicine  as  a  life  work,  entered  the  College  of  Physicans  and  Sur- 
geons of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  from  which  he  was  graduated  with 
the  class  of  1877.  He  then  began  practice  in  Craig,  Missouri,  and 
was  not  long  in  winning  substantial  recognition  of  his  ability.  He 
continued  in  successful  practice  there  until  1889,  when  the  tales  of 
the  Queen  City  and  the  opportunities  in  this  section  of  the  coim- 
try  attracted  him  and  he  removed  to  Seattle,  arriving  in  the 
northwest  in  1889.  He  at  once  opened  an  office  and  continued  in 
practice  as  a  physician  and  sm-geon  for  six  years.  He  was  also  the 
chief  surgeon  for  the  Great  Northern  RaUroad  Companj^  and  for 
the  Puget  Sound  Railroad  Company  until  1895,  when  his  private 
business  interests  caused  him  to  retire  from  the  profession  to  concen- 
trate his  energies  upon  his  other  concerns.  He  had  in  the  meantime 
made  large  investments  in  real  estate,  timber  lands  and  other  prop- 
erty, and  his  holdings  became  extensive  and  returned  to  him  a  most 
gratifying  annual  income.  He  displayed  keen  insight  and  sagacity 
in  placing  his  investments  and  the  rise  in  property  values  due  to  the 
increased  population  of  the  coimtry  made  his  holdings  most  valuable. 
On  the  5th  of  September,  1889,  Dr.  Smith  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Frances  B.  Bilby,  a  daughter  of  John  S.  Bilby,  and  they  had 
one  child,  Margaret  B.,  now  the  wife  of  John  Davis.  Dr.  Smith 
belonged  to  the  Rainier  Club,  the  Seattle  Golf  and  Country  Club 
and  the  Seattle  Athletic  Club.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Amer- 
157 


158 


Eufug  \^.  ^mitb,  Qi«  D. 


ican  Medical  Association  and  of  the  Missouri  Medical  Society,  of 
which  he  was  once  president.  He  had  a  wide  acquaintance  in  this 
city,  where  he  resided  throughout  practically  the  entire  period  of  its 
upbuilding. 


I^bert  JBrooke  ^Itiertsion 

SAW  has  always  been  regarded  as  the  conservator  of 
the  rights,  the  liberties  and  the  privileges  of  the  peo- 
ple and  the  protector  of  Hfe,  and  thus  it  is  that  its 
representatives  who  are  loyal  to  the  high  standards 
of  the  profession  have  ever  been  accorded  high  place 
in  citizenship.  Judge  Robert  Brooke  Albertson 
entered  upon  practice  in  Seattle  in  1886  and  remained  active  in  the 
work  of  the  courts  as  an  advocate  until  February  14,  1903,  when  he 
was  appointed  to  the  bench,  whereon  he  has  since  served,  his  record 
reflecting  credit  and  honor  upon  the  judicial  history  of  King  county. 
Moreover,  he  has  been  active  in  other  public  service  and  none  has  ever 
questioned  his  devotion  to  the  general  good  and  his  close  adherence  to 
the  highest  standards  of  citizenship. 

Mr.  Albertson  is  far  separated  from  the  place  of  his  nativity,  for 
he  is  a  native  of  Hertford,  Perquimans  county,  North  Carolina.  He 
was  born  December  21,  1859,  and  traces  his  ancestry  back  to  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Quaker  colony  of  North  Carolina,  which,  headed  by  George 
Durant,  settled  there  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
Since  then  representatives  of  the  name  have  been  worthy  residents  of 
North  Carolina.  Elias  Albertson,  his  great-grandfather,  filled  the 
office  of  inspector  of  revenue  for  the  Albemarle  sound  district,  having 
been  appointed  to  that  office  in  1792,  his  commission  being  signed  by 
George  Washington,  president,  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  secretary  of 
state.  This  document  is  now  in  possession  of  Judge  Albertson — a 
most  cherished  and  valued  heirloom.  The  parents  of  Judge  Albert- 
son  were  Jonathan  White  and  Catherine  Fauntleroy  (Pescud)  Al- 
bertson. The  latter  belongs  to  an  old  Virginia  family  and  was  a 
granddaughter  of  Peter  Francisco,  who  was  a  valiant  soldier  of  the 
Revolutionary  war,  some  of  his  notable  achievements  being  recorded 
in  Lossing's  Field  Book  of  the  Revolution.  Jonathan  White  Albert- 
son  also  figured  in  public  connections  in  North  Carolina  both  prior 
and  subsequent  to  the  Civil  war.  He  was  a  member  of  the  bar  and 
filled  the  offices  of  prosecuting  attorney,  United  States  attorney  and 
judge  of  the  superior  court.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  state  legis- 
lature and  of  the  constitutional  convention  and  as  lawyer  and  law- 
161 


162  doSect  'Brooke  attiett0on 

maker  held  high  rank  among  the  eminent  representatives  of  the 
profession. 

Fortunate  is  the  man  who  has  back  of  him  an  ancestry  honorable 
and  distinguished,  and  happy  is  he  if  his  lines  of  Ufe  are  cast  in  har- 
mony therewith.  Judge  Robert  B.  Albertson  is  in  person,  in  talents 
and  in  achievements  a  worthy  scion  of  Ms  race.  Liberally  educated, 
he  is  numbered  among  the  alumni  of  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina of  the  class  of  1881.  For  a  year  following  his  graduation  he 
taught  school  and  thi-ough  that  period  devoted  the  hours  which  are 
usually  termed  leisure  to  reading  law.  Subsequently  he  became  a  law 
student  in  the  State  University  and  upon  examination  before  the 
supreme  court  of  North  Carolina  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1883. 
Already  his  attention  had  been  fastened  upon  the  northwest  with  its 
opportunities  and  in  August  of  that  year  he  came  to  Seattle,  where 
he  has  since  remained.  Recognizing  the  fact  that  it  would  be  impos- 
sible for  an  imknown  young  man  to  at  once  begin  practice  and  obtain 
a  clientage  which  would  enable  him  to  live,  Judge  Albertson  sought 
employment  along  other  lines  than  liis  profession  and  was  for  a  time 
in  the  lumber  yard  of  the  Seattle  Lumber  &  Commercial  Company, 
then  doing  business  at  the  foot  of  Columbia  street.  He  afterward  did 
reportorial  work  and  finally  became  assistant  editor  of  the  Seattle 
Morning  Chronicle,  and  six  months  later  accepted  the  position  of  law 
clerk  in  the  office  of  Burke  &  Rasin,  pending  the  arrival  of  L.  C.  Gil- 
man,  who  was  later  division  counsel  of  the  Great  Northern  Railway 
at  Seattle,  and  who  had  previously  arranged  to  take  that  position. 
Later  Mr.  Albertson  became  chief  clerk  in  the  law  office  of  Sti-uve, 
Haines  &  McMicken,  with  whom  he  remained  for  about  two  years, 
when,  feeling  that  his  acquaintance  was  now  broad  enough  to  justify 
him  to  embark  in  practice  on  his  own  account,  he  opened  an  office  in 
1886.  Advancement  at  the  bar  is  proverbially  slow  and  yet  it  was  not 
long  before  Judge  Albertson  had  gained  a  fair  practice,  that  grew 
with  the  passing  years,  connecting  him  more  and  more  largely  with 
the  important  litigation  heard  in  the  courts  of  the  district.  He  had 
long  enjoyed  a  large  and  distinctively  representative  clientage  when, 
on  the  14th  of  February,  1903,  he  was  appointed  to  the  bench  of  King 
county,  the  legislature  having  provided  for  a  fifth  judge.  On  the 
expiration  of  his  first  term  he  was  nominated  and  elected  and  by  re- 
election has  been  continued  upon  the  bench  to  the  present  time. 

To  speak  of  Judge  Albertson  only  as  lawyer  and  jurist  would  be 
to  give  a  one-sided  view  of  his  life  and  character,  for  there  have  been 
few  residents  of  the  northwest  who  have  entered  with  more  zeal  and 
enthusiasm,  intelligently  directed,  into  the  movements  and  plans  for 


Eoiiert  15cooke  aibect$on  i63 

the  city's  upbuilding  and  progress.  Whenever  liis  aid  has  been  needed 
it  has  been  freely  given.  In  the  early  years  of  his  residence  here  he 
joined  the  Home  Guard,  with  which  he  was  on  active  duty  during  the 
anti-Chinese  riots  of  February,  1886.  He  afterwards  served  for  the 
full  term  of  five  years  in  the  territorial  and  state  militia.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  volunteer  fire  department  up  to  the  time  of  the  great 
conflagration  in  1889.  Following  the  Civil  war  his  father  and  most 
of  his  Quaker  neighbors  in  North  Carolina  became  republicans  and 
he,  too,  indorses  the  party  and  has  taken  an  active  and  helpful  interest 
in  political  work,  usually  senang  as  a  delegate  to  the  county  and  state 
conventions  until  the  adoption  of  the  direct  primary  law.  In  1887  he 
was  chairman  of  the  republican  county  central  committee,  in  which 
year  King  county  was  carried  by  his  party  for  the  first  time  in  foui* 
years.  In  1889  he  was  elected  city  attorney  of  Seattle  and  his  record 
in  that  office  is  notable.  He  began  and  conducted  the  condemnation 
proceedings  under  which  many  of  the  streets  were  widened  after  the 
fire.  He  instituted  the  celebrated  Ram's  Horn  case  of  the  city  versus 
the  railroads  and  drew  the  contract  with  Benizette  Williams,  which  was 
the  beginning  of  the  city's  Cedar  river  gravity  water  supply  system.  In 
1894  he  was  sent  from  the  forty-second  district  to  the  state  legislature 
and  in  August,  1900,  while  in  Alaska,  was  again  nominated  and 
elected.  During  the  session  of  1901  he  was  speaker  of  the  house  and 
again  was  chosen  speaker  for  the  special  session,  receiving  a  unani- 
mous vote — a  most  unusual  yet  highly  deserved  compliment.  It  was 
recognized  that  his  rulings  were  strictly  fair,  unprejudiced  and  impar- 
tial and  tangible  appreciation  of  his  service  came  to  him  at  the  close 
of  the  term,  when  he  was  presented  by  the  members  of  the  house  with 
a  handsome  watch  and  chain  and  a  set  of  complimentary  resolutions. 
It  is  certainly  worthy  of  note  that  no  appeal  was  ever  taken  from  one 
of  his  rulings  during  his  entire  term. 

On  the  24th  of  August,  1892,  Judge  Albertson  was  married  to 
Miss  Nancy  de  Wolfe,  now  deceased,  a  daughter  of  Captain  F.  S.  de 
Wolfe,  at  one  time  mayor  of  Charlotte,  North  Carolina.  One  son, 
Robert  Brooke  Albertson,  who  was  born  December  1,  1907,  is  the 
only  child  of  this  marriage.  Judge  Albertson  is  a  member  of  the 
Rainier,  University,  Athletic  and  Golf  and  Countiy  Clubs.  He  like- 
wise belongs  to  the  Society  of  the  Sons  of  the  Revolution  and  has 
been  president  of  Washington  chapter.  When  not  upon  the  bench  he 
lays  aside  the  cares  and  dignities  of  the  office  and  is  a  most  genial, 
approachable  man,  appreciative  of  friendship  and  giving  true  friend- 
ship in  return.  He  is  loyal  to  the  northwest,  which  has  given  him  his 
opportunity — an  opportunity,  however,  which  is  only  of  value  as  it  is 


164 


Botiert  IBtookt  aibettson 


wisely  improved.  Industry,  energy  and  close  application  are  just  as 
essential  in  the  practice  of  law  as  in  the  trades  or  mechanical  arts  and, 
recognizing  this  fact  at  the  outset  of  his  career,  Judge  Albertson  put 
forth  that  earnest  effort  which  has  brought  him  to  a  position  of  dis- 
tinction among  the  lawyers  and  jurists  of  the  northwest. 


M 


3 

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III  i 

Fill 

III  7 

II 

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k  Ml              III 

Cprus;  OTalfeer 

jITH  the  history  of  pioneer  times  the  name  of  Cyrus 

W™^  Walker  became  associated,  for  he  was  one  of  the 
^  most  active  factors  in  instituting  and  developing  the 
(l^  great  lumber  interests  of  the  northwest.  He  never 
waited  Micawberlike  for  something  to  turn  up  but  in 
early  manhood  started  out  to  seek  his  fortune,  nor 
did  he  hold  to  the  dream  that  success  would  come  to  him  in  some 
unusual  way.  He  realized  from  the  beginning  that  indxistry  must  be 
the  basis  of  his  advancement  and  his  entire  career  was  characterized 
by  indefatigable  energy  and  unfaltering  enterprise,  which  brought 
him  in  tune  to  rank  with  the  most  notable  lumber  merchants  of  the 
northwest. 

He  came  from  a  state  of  pines,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  Madi- 
son, Maine,  October  6,  1827,  and  through  seven  generations  he  traced 
back  his  ancestry  to  the  Rev.  George  Walker,  who  passed  away  in 
1680  in  Londonderry,  Ireland,  where  he  had  long  made  his  home. 
He  was  the  father  of  Andrew  Walker,  the  progenitor  of  the  family 
in  the  new  world.  Crossing  the  Atlantic,  he  settled  at  Tewksbury, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  died  in  1739.  He  was  an  uncle  of  General 
John  Stark,  of  Revolutionary  war  fame,  who  entered  battle  with  the 
memorable  declaration,  "We  must  win  today,  boys,  or  Molly  Stark 
will  be  a  widow."  James  Walker,  the  direct  ancestor  in  the  third 
generation,  was  born  at  Goffstown,  New  Hampshire,  and  married  a 
daughter  of  Colonel  John  GofF,  for  whom  that  town  had  been  named. 
Their  son,  Silas  Walker,  also  a  native  of  Goifstown,  was  the  father 
of  William  Walker,  who  was  born  in  Manchester,  New  Hampshire, 
in  1770  and  served  his  country  in  the  War  of  1812.  His  son,  James 
Martin  Walker,  born  in  Goffstown  in  1798,  married  EUza  Heald,  a 
daughter  of  Colonel  Jonas  Heald,  of  Acton,  New  Hampshire. 

Thus  the  line  is  traced  down  to  Cyrus  Walker,  their  son,  who 
following  the  acquirement  of  his  education  in  the  village  schools  de- 
voted his  attention  for  a  tune  to  farm  work,  also  taught  school  and 
afterward  became  actively  identified  with  the  lumber  trade,  in  sawmill 
work  and  in  log  driving  on  the  Kennebec  river.  He  afterward  be- 
came manager  of  a  starch  factory  and  made  his  initial  step  toward  the 
167 


168  Cgcus  malket 

coast  when  as  a  surveyor  he  went  to  Wisconsin.  Not  long  afterward 
gold  was  discovered  in  California  and  in  Australia.  It  was  his  inten- 
tion to  go  to  the  latter  country  and  he  made  his  way  to  New  York, 
where  he  engaged  passage  on  a  sailing  vessel,  but  on  going  aboard  did 
not  like  the  looks  of  the  craft  and  sold  his  ticket.  He  then  returned 
to  the  hotel  at  which  he  was  stopping  and  there  formed  the  acquaint- 
ance of  E.  S.  Brown,  a  millwright  from  Bangor,  Maine,  who  had 
taken  a  contract  to  erect  a  mill  for  Pope,  Talbot,  Keller  &  Foster, 
formerly  of  Machias,  Maine.  Mr.  Brown  was  about  to  sail  to  Puget 
Soimd  and  Mr.  Walker  accompanied  him,  concluding  to  go  to  Aus- 
tralia by  way  of  California.  He  purchased  a  ticket  by  way  of  the 
Panama  route  and  arrived  in  San  Francisco  in  May.  His  plans 
changed,  however,  through  the  influence  of  his  companions  and  he 
agreed  to  go  with  the  Talbot  party  to  the  Sound.  On  the  Julius 
Pringle,  a  vessel  of  only  fifty  tons,  the  voyage  was  made  to  the  north- 
west with  Captain  Talbot  in  corqmand  and  David  Foster  as  second 
mate.  The  passengers  were  E.  S.  Brown,  Nathaniel  and  Hillman 
Harmon,  James  White,  a  machinist,  an  engineer  and  Cyrus  Walker. 
They  sailed  northward  until  they  reached  Port  Discovery,  where  they 
thought  to  locate  a  lumber  mill,  but  before  definitely  deciding  upon 
that  location  they  started  on  a  cruise  about  the  Lower  Sound,  Captain 
Talbot  commanding  a  plunger,  while  Mr.  Walker  had  charge  of  a 
canoe.  Thus  they  explored  Hoods  Canal  as  far  as  Seabeck  and  at 
length  reached  the  Indian  town  of  Teekalet,  now  known  as  Port 
Gamble.  They  continued  their  explorations  as  far  south  as  Com- 
mencement Bay  but  found  no  more  desirable  location  than  Port  Gam- 
ble. On  the  return  trip  they  visited  Seattle,  where  Captain  Talbot 
arranged  for  a  cargo  of  lumber  to  be  taken  by  the  Pringle  to  San 
Francisco,  this  being  purchased  at  Yesler's  mill.  It  was  probably  the 
first  lumber  cargo  shipped  from  Seattle  or  the  Lower  Sound.  The 
party  returned  to  Port  Discovery,  intending  to  locate  there,  but 
found  settlers  had  arrived  in  the  meantime  and  left  that  place  for 
Port  Gamble,  where  the  passengers  went  ashore  on  the  7th  day  of 
July,  1853.  At  once  they  began  to  discharge  their  cargo  of  lumber, 
mill  stuff  and  machinery  and  work  was  begun  in  earnest  in  the  build- 
ing of  the  mill  and  of  shacks  for  the  men.  The  district  now  known 
as  Jamison  Ranch,  at  the  head  of  the  bay,  supplied  the  large  firs  which 
were  hewn  into  timber,  the  trunks  constituting  the  frame  of  the  mill. 
From  the  beginning  of  operations  Mr.  Walker  was  a  most  active 
man,  having  charge  in  the  early  days  as  timekeeper,  accountant  and 
general  utility  man.  He  was  connected  with  the  company  from  the 
beginning  of  its  operations  in  the  northwest.     In  September  the 


Cgcug  g^alber  i69 

schooner  L.  T.  Foster  arrived,  bringing  boUer,  engine  and  mill  ma- 
chinery, and  as  soon  as  this  was  installed  the  mill  was  started,  having 
a  capacity  of  three  thousand  feet  of  lumber  per  day.  The  first  that 
was  manufactured  was  used  to  complete  the  mill  and  build  more  com- 
fortable homes  for  the  employes.  A  store  and  oiSce  building  was  also 
erected  and  Captain  Keller  acted  as  resident  superintendent  until  his 
demise  in  1861.  At  that  date  Cyrus  Walker  was  made  resident  man- 
ager and  for  a  half  century  remained  in  charge  of  the  mill  at  Port 
Gamble  and  of  other  mills  and  properties  owned  by  the  company.  A 
short  time  after  their  arrival  Captain  Keller  suggested  to  Mr.  Walker 
that  he  take  out  a  donation  claim,  as  the  time  would  soon  expire  when 
he  could  do  that  under  the  law.  Mr.  Walker  replied  that  he  "would 
not  live  on  a  claim  five  years,  as  the  law  required,  if  the  government 
would  give  him  the  whole  territory."  He  was  homesick  at  the  time 
but  his  opinions  soon  underwent  a  marked  change,  and  when  the 
commissioners  for  the  university  offered  for  sale  the  lands  which  the 
government  had  set  apart  for  the  school,  Mr.  Walker  purchased  a 
large  part  of  those  lands  for  the  company.  These  were  the  first  tim- 
ber lands  available  for  pin-chase  and  in  this  Mr.  Walker  displayed 
his  usual  notable  sagacity  and  keen  business  insight.  He  recognized 
the  fact  that  there  would  come  a  time  when  the  settlers  would  not  be 
glad  to  sell  their  logs  to  the  mills  at  the  price  of  putting  them  in  the 
water  but  that  the  value  of  timber  would  constantly  increase  in  the 
northwest  as  the  district  became  settled.  He  studied  every  phase  of 
the  business,  looking  beyond  the  exigencies  of  the  moment  to  the 
needs,  the  possibilities  and  the  opportunities  of  the  future.  In  1863 
he  acquired  an  interest  in  the  Washington  holdings  of  Pope  &  Talbot 
and  became  one  of  the  stockholders  when  the  business  was  incorporated 
under  the  name  of  the  Puget  Mill  Company  in  1874.  The  policy 
which  he  inaugurated  when  the  university  lands  were  fii-st  offered  for 
sale — the  policy  of  buying  timber  as  it  became  available — was  con- 
tinued by  him  and  the  company  became  one  of  the  largest  holders  of 
such  lands  in  the  northwest.  His  individual  interests  increased  as  the 
business  was  developed  and  he  also  bought  land  on  his  own  account, 
realizing  that  it  must  ultimately  become  of  great  worth  as  settlement 
in  the  northwest  was  extended.  When  Seattle  was  but  a  village  he 
began  buying  property  there  in  1868  and  some  of  that  which  he  pur- 
chased as  acreage  has  been  platted  and  sold  as  city  lots  and  is  now 
covered  by  beautiful  homes.  His  wonderful  foresight  was  manifest 
in  his  investment  in  this  realty.  The  development  of  the  Puget  Mill 
Company  has  constituted  one  of  the  most  important  features  of  the 
industrial  growth  of  the  northwest,  for  the  lumber  trade  has  ever  been 


170  Cgru$  malktt 

one  of  the  large  sources  of  the  wealth  and  prosperity  of  the  Sound 
country. 

On  the  30th  of  April,  1885,  was  celebrated  the  marriage  of  Cyrus 
Walker  and  Miss  Emily  Foster  Talbot,  a  daughter  of  Captain  Talbot, 
his  old  friend  and  business  associate,  and  they  had  one  son,  Talbot 
Cyrus  Walker.  Mr.  Walker  was  a  charter  member  of  Franklyn 
Lodge,  'No.  5,  F.  &  A.  M.,  in  the  jurisdiction  of  Washington,  which 
was  chartered  in  1859.  He  also  took  the  Scottish  Rite  degrees  and 
became  a  knight  commander  of  the  Court  of  Honor.  He  was  well 
known  as  a  member  of  the  Rainier  and  other  leading  clubs  of  Seattle 
and  a  cordial  greeting  was  ever  extended  to  him  whenever  he  appeared 
in  the  club  rooms.  He  never  allowed  private  interests  to  interfere 
with  the  performance  of  his  public  duties  and  his  cooperation  featured 
as  an  element  in  the  continued  growth  and  development  of  the  district 
in  which  he  lived.  When  the  state  was  admitted  to  the  Union  several 
members  of  the  legislature  representing  both  parties  offered  him  their 
votes  for  United  States  senator,  but  though  appreciative  of  the  honor, 
he  declined  to  become  a  candidate.  His  life  was  one  of  intense  activity. 
He  was  at  all  times  prompted  by  the  spirit  of  indefatigable  energy 
and  he  felt  that  he  had  not  accomplished  his  full  daily  duties  if  he  did 
not  go  home  at  night  weary  with  the  day's  labor.  With  him  a  recog- 
nition of  opportunity  was  equivalent  to  the  performance  of  a  task. 
He  had  the  fine  perception  and  sound  judgment  of  a  man  of  large 
affairs  and  his  record  is  a  matter  of  pride  to  the  citizens  of  Seattle, 
where  his  labors  have  contributed  so  much  to  the  development  of  the 
city  and  the  surrounding  country. 


t^^ 


ij^^j^ 


ki^^U^  ^' 


^/>c<. 


iHalcolm  iWcJf  ee 


HALCOLM  McFEE  has  devoted  his  entire  life  to  rail- 

M^, ..  road  construction,  and  as  a  contractor  in  that  indus- 
vM  trial  field  has  won  substantial  success.  Since  June, 
\s(  1890,  he  has  made  his  home  in  Seattle  and  is  now 
operating  under  the  name  of  Henry  &  McFee,  which 
was  organized  in  1905.  He  was  born  in  Russelltown, 
Canada,  November  1,  1852,  a  son  of  John  McFee,  whose  birth  oc- 
curred at  Lochiel,  Scotland.  In  early  life  he  became  a  resident  of 
Canada,  where  he  followed  the  occupation  of  farming,  and  in  local 
affairs  he  took  an  active  and  influential  part.  He  retained  his  resi- 
dence in  Canada  until  called  to  his  final  rest  in  1902,  at  the  remarka- 
ble old  age  of  ninety-five  years.  His  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name 
of  Elizabeth  Gordon,  was  born  in  Russelltown,  Canada,  a  daughter  of 
Daniel  Gordon,  who  was  a  pioneer  settler  and  a  neighbor  of  the 
McFee  family,  so  that  at  the  time  of  her  marriage  Mrs.  McFee  took 
up  her  abode  upon  the  farm  adjoining  her  father's  place  and  there 
spent  the  remainder  of  her  life.  She  was  born  in  1828  and  died  in 
1904,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years.  In  their  family  were  six 
children. 

Malcolm  McFee,  who  was  the  third  in  order  of  birth,  attended 
the  country  schools  to  the  age  of  sixteen  years  and  then  crossed  the 
threshold  of  business  life,  his  fu'st  employment  being  that  of  clerk  in 
a  store  in  Plattsburg,  New  York.  He  afterward  served  as  time- 
keeper for  a  contractor  engaged  in  international  railroad  work  and 
spent  several  years  in  that  way.  Before  he  attained  his  majority, 
however,  he  had  taken  a  subcontract  on  railroad  work,  since  which 
time  his  entire  life  has  been  devoted  to  railroad  construction  and  con- 
tracting, and  his  course  has  been  marked  by  a  steady  advancement, 
winning  him  substantial  success  and  gaining  for  him  a  creditable 
position  in  his  chosen  field  of  labor.  In  June,  1890,  he  arrived  in 
Seattle  and  in  1905  entered  upon  his  present  relations  as  a  partner 
in  the  firm  of  Henry  &  McFee,  railroad  contractors  and  builders. 
They  are  accorded  a  liberal  patronage  and  their  business  is  a  substan- 
tial and  growing  one.  Mr.  McFee  is  also  a  stockholder  in  several 
banks  in  the  northwest  and  also  in  the  White  Bluffs  Investment 
Company,  of  which  he  is  the  secretary  and  a  director.  He  is  like- 
173 


174  Qgalcolm  ggcjFee 

wise  a  trustee  of  the  Dominion  Contracting  Company  of  Vancouver 
and  in  all  things  keen  discernment  and  soxmd  judgment  have  charac- 
terized his  efforts  and  directed  his  success. 

On  the  16th  of  February,  1891,  in  St.  Croix  Falls,  Wisconsin, 
Mr.  McFee  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Louise  Nason,  a  native 
of  Wisconsin  and  a  representative  of  a  very  prominent  family  in  their 
section.  Her  father,  Joel  F.  Nason,  served  as  state  senator  for  a 
nimaber  of  terms  and  was  also  a  United  States  land  officer.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  McFee  have  four  living  children,  three  sons  and  a  daughter, 
namely.  John,  who  was  born  December  26,  1891;  Joel  N.,  whose 
natal  day  was  September  15,  1893;  Jean  H.,  born  June  8,  1895;  and 
Donald,  whose  birth  occurred  March  5,  1900. 

Mr.  McFee  exercises  his  right  of  franchise  in  support  of  the  men 
and  measures  of  the  republican  party  and  his  club  relationship  is  with 
the  Rainier  and  Earlington  Clubs.  He  attends  the  Bethany  Presby- 
terian church  and  guides  his  life  by  its  teachings.  Honorable  prin- 
ciple characterizes  him  at  every  point  in  his  career.  He  left  home  a 
poor  boy  and  since  that  time  has  based  his  advancement  upon  indus- 
try and  integrity,  winning  his  success  along  lines  that  neither  seek 
nor  require  disguise.  He  is  now  well  established  in  business  and  his 
course  indicates  that  the  field  of  opportunity  is  open  to  aU  that  have 
the  courage  to  persevere  therein. 


7^ 


X- 


B>ntdiiit  iBaxter 

jUTCLIFFE  BAXTER  was  born  at  Burnley,  Lan- 
cashire, England,  November  11,  1841,  and  was  one 
of  six  children,  three  sons  and  three  daughters, 
whose  parents  were  Benjamin  and  Alice  (Pollard) 
Baxter.  SutclifFe  Baxter  is  the  eldest.  His  two 
brothers  are  now  deceased.  One  of  them,  WiUiam 
Pollard  Baxter,  was  murdered  in  Utah  by  a  Mr.  Wilkerson,  who  was 
there  executed  by  being  shot  to  death,  having  the  choice,  according  to 
the  Utah  law,  of  hanging  or  shooting.  The  three  daughters  are  all 
living,  two  of  them  being  residents  of  King  county,  Washington, 
while  the  other  is  in  England. 

SutclifFe  Baxter  attended  the  national  schools  of  England  until 
about  fourteen  years  of  age  and  stood  at  the  head  of  three  of  his 
classes.  He  won  a  year's  tuition  in  TunniclifFe's  Boarding  School  or 
Academy  near  Foulridge,  Lancashire,  England.  When  he  was 
about  thirteen  years  of  age  his  father  obtained  a  twenty-one  year 
lease  on  the  Elslack  Hall  Farm  in  Yorkshire  of  about  four  hundred 
acres,  so  that  in  his  boyhood  days  SutclifFe  Baxter  had  to  arise  every 
morning  at  about  five  o'clock  and  assist  in  milking  the  cows  and  doing 
the  chores,  after  which  he  would  attend  school  and  return  in  the 
evening  for  the  usual  routine  of  farm  work.  He  tired  of  all  this,  how- 
ever, and  when  about  eighteen  or  nineteen  years  of  age  began  clerk- 
ing for  an  uncle  who  was  engaged  in  the  flour,  grain  and  feed  business 
at  Burnley,  with  whom  he  remained  for  about  a  year,  working  for 
two  dollars  and  a  half  per  week  and  board.  He  then  returned  home, 
where  he  remained  until  his  twenty-first  year,  but  still  farm  life  was 
distasteful  to  him  and  he  concluded  to  go  to  British  Columbia,  for  the 
Cariboo  gold  fields  were  extensively  advertised  in  England  and  the 
report  was  that  all  a  young  man  had  to  do  was  to  get  there,  after  which 
he  could  line  his  pockets  with  gold  as  rapidly  as  he  could  pick  it  up. 
In  June,  1862,  he  arrived  in  British  Columbia  and  immediately 
started  for  the  Cariboo.  At  Fort  Yale  he  purchased  a  horse  and 
saddle  for  one  hundred  dollars  and  thereafter  continued  his  journey 
on  horseback  until  he  reached  Lytton,  fifty-seven  miles  from  Fort 
Yale,  where  he  was  ofFered  one  hundred  and  forty  dollars  for  his  out- 
fit. This  he  accepted,  after  which  he  continued  his  journey  on  foot, 
177 


178  ^utcltffe  ggaitec 

walking  three  hundred  miles.  Finding  that  gold  was  not  as  easily 
acquired  as  he  had  been  led  to  believe,  he  retraced  his  steps  and  on 
arriving  at  Fort  Yale  secured  a  situation  with  the  sappers  and  miners 
who  were  building  the  wagon  road  from  Yale  to  Lytton.  His  wages 
were  sixty  dollars  a  month,  from  which  amount  he  had  to  pay  for  his 
own  board  and  lodging.  He  remained  there  for  a  month  and  then 
left  for  Victoria,  but  through  the  winter  suffered  from  ill  health 
caused  by  his  month's  work.  The  next  spring  he  entered  the  employ 
of  William  Hood,  a  California  capitalist,  as  foreman  on  his  contract 
with  the  government  to  build  a  section  of  the  wagon  road  from 
Spence's  Bridge  to  Clinton.  Mr.  Hood  was  the  owner  of  the  Los 
Guilliers  ranch  in  Sonoma  county,  California,  and  he  gave  Mr.  Bax- 
ter a  letter  of  introduction  to  his  family,  whom  Mr.  Baxter  visited 
in  the  winter  of  1863-4,  and  through  them  became  acquainted  with  the 
family  of  C.  J.  Hannath,  who  was  then  living  in  Santa  Rosa,  and 
whose  daughter,  Harriet,  he  married  in  San  Francisco  in  1869. 
Returning  to  British  Columbia  in  the  spring  of  1864,  he  entered  the 
employ  of  Barnard's  Express  Company,  engaged  in  carrying  mail 
from  Yale  to  Cariboo  on  horseback  through  the  early  summer  months 
and  later  by  a  two  horse  wagon,  or  stage,  as  it  was  called.  When  the 
storms  of  winter  came,  however,  he  had  to  make  the  trip  on  snow- 
shoes. 

In  the  spring  of  1865  Mr.  Baxter  engaged  with  Oppenheimer 
Brothers  &  Company,  then  the  leading  interior  merchants  of  British 
Cokunbia,  becoming  salesman  and  bookkeeper  at  their  Lytton  gen- 
eral merchandise  store.  In  early  October  he  joined  a  government 
exploring  party  organized  to  report  on  the  practicability  of  the  upper 
Columbia  river  for  steamboat  navigation.  The  trip  was  by  way  of 
Fort  Kamloops,  the  South  Thompson  river,  Shuswap  lake  and  across 
the  Selkirk  mountains  to  a  point  on  the  Columbia  some  miles  below 
Death  Rapids,  where  they  felled  a  cedar  tree  and  made  a  dugout 
canoe,  proceeding  up  the  river  some  distance  above  the  rapids  to  a 
creek  oh  which  they  located  gold  and  which  they  named  Gold  creek. 
By  that  time  winter  had  set  in  and  they  started  down  the  river  and 
through  the  Ai-row  lakes,  reaching  Fort  Shepherd,  a  trading  post  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  in  December.  For  two  or  three  weeks 
they  had  been  on  short  rations  of  dried  salmon,  but  at  the  fort  replen- 
ished their  supplies,  and,  buying  saddles  and  packhorses,  proceeded 
up  the  Kettle  River  valley  and  across  the  Okanogan  river  at  Osoyoos 
lake,  where  they  were  entertained  by  a  Mr.  Law,  collector  of  cus- 
toms. They  proceeded  up  the  Similkameen  valley  to  Princeton,  a 
trading  post  at  the  western  base  of  the  Cascade  mountains,  where 


^utcUtfe  baiter  i79 

they  traded  their  horses  to  the  Indians  for  snowshoes  and  then  started 
across  the  mountains,  on  which  the  snow  lay  to  a  depth  of  from  five 
to  ten  feet,  arriving  at  Fort  Hope  on  Christmas  Eve.  They  pro- 
ceeded as  best  they  could  over  ice  and  snow  and  reached  New  West- 
minster ten  or  fifteen  days  later,  where  they  made  report  of  the  trip 
to  the  government,  saying  that  the  upper  Columbia  was  navigable 
from  Fort  Shepherd  to  Death  Rapids. 

On  arriving  at  Victoria  David  Leneveu,  a  leading  merchant  there, 
sent  him  to  take  charge  of  his  Fort  Yale  business,  which  he  did  during 
1866  and  part  of  1867.  Later  in  the  latter  year  he  engaged  with 
two  importing  houses  at  Victoria  to  go  to  Fort  Dunvegan  on  Peace 
river  and  report  on  the  prospect  of  collecting  an  account  of  fifteen 
or  twenty  thousand  dollars  extended  by  them  to  a  band  of  outlaws 
doing  business  at  half  a  dozen  stations  along  Peace  river  in  opposition 
to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  On  arriving  at  Dunvegan  he  found 
a  well  stocked  larder  of  frozen  moose  meat  and  a  plentiful  supply 
of  vegetables  in  the  cellar  of  a  very  comfortable  log  house,  the  vege- 
tables having  been  grown  in  a  garden  immediately  adjacent  to  the 
house  and  directly  across  the  river  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  "Fort 
Dunvegan."  Peace  river  there  is  two  or  three  hundred  yards  wide, 
running  through  a  fine  grazing  country,  but  in  November  the  river 
freezes  over,  the  ice  in  midwinter  being  three  feet  thick,  and  remains 
frozen  until  May.  The  summers,  however,  are  delightful,  with  wild 
flowers  and  wild  berries,  wild  service  berries  being  gathered  by  the 
ton  by  the  Indians,  dried  in  the  sun  and  stored  away  for  winter  use. 
The  outlaw  traders  allowed  Mr.  Baxter  to  bring  out  about  enough 
furs  to  pay  for  the  goods  he  had  taken  in,  but  the  old  account  was 
not  and  never  has  been  settled.  On  his  return  to  Victoria  he  found 
that  the  two  importing  houses  had  failed. 

During  the  winter  of  1868-69,  having  tired  of  the  nomadic  life 
and  realizing  from  experience  that  "a  rolling  stone  gathers  no  moss," 
he  concluded  to  go  to  California.  In  San  Francisco  he  obtained 
employment  in  the  office  of  P.  B.  Cornwall,  president  of  the  Black 
Diamond  and  Belhngham  Bay  Coal  Companies  of  California  as  coal 
weigher.  In  a  few  weeks  he  was  made  bookkeeper  and  cashier  and 
after  two  years'  service  in  the  San  Francisco  office  was  sent  to  Se- 
home,  now  the  center  of  the  city  of  Bellingham,  as  manager  of  the 
company's  general  mercantile  store,  the  largest  north  of  Seattle  at 
that  time,  carrying  a  stock  worth  forty  thousand  dollars.  There  he 
remained  five  years,  receiving  a  liberal  salary  with  house  and  fuel 
furnished  free  and  anything  needed  by  the  family  supplied  at  whole- 
sale cost.    While  thus  engaged  Mr.  Baxter  accepted  an  appointment 


180  ^utcUCfe  ISattet 

from  the  board  of  county  commissioners  to  fill  out  the  unexpired  term 
of  C.  C.  Finkboner,  coimty  treasurer,  who  had  resigned.  Mr.  Baxter 
had  acquired  a  local  reputation  as  an  experienced  accountant  and  the 
financial  afi'airs  of  the  coimty  were  in  a  bad  condition,  bemg  run  on  a 
scrip  basis,  the  scrip  or  county  warrants  being  current  at  about  forty 
cents  on  the  dollar,  while  acceptable  under  the  law  at  par  in  payment 
of  the  county  portion  of  the  annual  taxes  by  surrender  of  any  piece 
of  scrip,  principal  and  interest,  amounting  to  less  or  at  least  not  more 
than  the  proportion  of  county  tax,  but  when  a  warrant  amounted  in 
principal  and  interest  to  a  smn  in  excess  of  said  county  proportion,  it 
then  became  the  duty  of  the  treasurer  to  indorse  on  the  back  of  such 
warrant  the  amount  of  said  county  portion  of  the  tax,  this  indorsement 
constituting  a  pajonent  on  the  amoimt  so  indorsed.  This  system,  duly 
authorized  by  the  statutes  of  Washington  territory,  was  in  Mr.  Bax- 
ter's judgment  a  barbarous  one  and  necessitated  the  introduction  of  a 
new  system  of  accounting  on  the  treasurer's  part,  wliich  at  the  earnest 
request  of  the  county  commissioners  he  undertook  to  do.  He  suc- 
ceeded in  the  undertaking  and  received  the  thanks  and  congratulations 
of  the  board.  The  course  won  the  strong  opposition  of  his  democratic 
opponents,  however,  who  caused  three  indictments  to  be  returned  by 
the  grand  jury  against  Mr.  Baxter,  one  for  holding  the  county  treas- 
urer's office  at  Sehome  instead  of  Whatcom,  where  they  had  some 
town  lots  for  sale,  and  two  for  buying  coimty  warrants  for  less  than 
their  face  value.  The  law  provided  a  penalty  for  any  county  officer 
who  indulged  in  speculating  in  county  warrants.  By  this  time,  owing 
to  the  improved  system  of  accounting,  county  warrants  had  become 
current  at  sixty-five  cents  on  the  dollar  instead  of  forty  cents  as  be- 
fore, so  that  the  virtuous  democrat  found  himself  in  the  position  of 
having  to  pay  sixty-five  cents  instead  of  forty  cents  for  such  warrants 
as  he  needed  for  the  payment  of  taxes.  This  of  course  aroused  his 
indignation,  so  he  induced  a  gentleman,  who  at  the  time  was  owing 
a  bill  to  the  Bellingham  Bay  Coal  Company,  to  offer  Mr.  Baxter  a 
county  warrant  to  be  applied  to  his  account,  which  he  accepted  at 
sixty-five  cents  on  the  dollar,  and  placed  the  value  of  it,  about  seven- 
teen dollars,  to  his  credit  on  the  company's  books.  He  also  accepted 
another  warrant  for  a  few  dollars  from  another  customer  on  the  com- 
pany's account  and  paid  him  for  it  in  merchandise  at  sixty-five  cents 
per  doUar.  His  attorney  at  Port  Townsend  wired  Mr.  Baxter  that 
he  was  indicted  and  advised  him  to  report  immediately.  He  hired  a 
canoe  and  Indian  crew  and  proceeded  to  Port  Townsend,  where  he 
insisted  on  prompt  trial,  which  was  ordered  by  Hon.  Orange  Jacobs, 
federal  judge.    He  was  tried  only  on  one  account  and  was  acquitted 


^utcHKc  IBanet  isi 

by  the  jury,  while  the  court,  after  completely  exonerating  him,  gave 
the  complainants  such  a  lecture  as  they  probably  never  forgot. 

At  San  Francisco,  California,  on  the  6th  of  October,  1869,  Mr. 
Baxter  married  Harriet  Hannath,  a  daughter  of  C.  J.  and  Eliza  Han- 
nath,  natives  of  Toronto,  Canada,  and  of  English  parentage.  Their 
children  are:  SutclifFe  Benjamin,  who  married  Pearl  Chamberlain; 
Laura  Emma,  who  died  in  1914;  Fred  Hudson,  who  married  Kate 
McGraw,  daughter  of  ex-Governor  J.  H.  McGraw;  and  Olive  Eliza, 
who  became  the  wife  of  RoUin  Sanford,  cashier  of  the  Union  Savings 
&  Trust  Company  of  Seattle. 

Mr.  Baxter  has  alwaj^s  been  a  republican  in  politics  from  the  time 
that  he  commenced  to  vote,  which,  under  the  territorial  law,  he  could 
do  on  taking  out  his  first  citizenship  papers,  which  were  acquired  in 
Seattle  in  1871,  while  the  final  papers  were  secured  in  the  third  judicial 
district  court  at  Port  Townsend  in  1873.  In  1874  Mr.  Baxter  joined 
the  Masonic  fraternity.  He  became  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Rainier  Club  of  Seattle  and  he  has  long  been  widely  and  prominently 
known  in  this  city.  His  history  is  connected  closely  with  the  develop- 
ment of  the  northwest  and  with  many  pioneer  events  in  British 
Columbia  and  in  the  state  of  Washington. 


^. 


.,,lJL.SI^ 


I^estnalb  |l|as;call  $ars(ons( 

;EGINALD  HASCALL  parsons,  a  prominent 
and  respected  citizen  of  Seattle,  is  at  the  head  of  the 
Northwestern  Fruit  Exchange,  having  been  chosen 
president  on  its  organization  in  1910.  His  birth  oc- 
curred at  Flushing,  Long  Island,  New  York,  on  the 
3d  of  October,  1873,  and  he  comes  of  an  ancestry 
honorable  and  distinguished,  among  his  ancestors  being  John  Brad- 
ford, the  first  governor  of  Massachusetts;  Governor  Winthrop,  of 
Connecticut ;  General  Absalom  Peters,  of  the  wars  of  the  Revolution 
and  1812;  John  Bowne,  one  of  the  first  Quakers,  whose  home,  built 
in  1661  at  Flushing,  Long  Island,  sheltered  George  Fox  and  is  still 
in  a  fine  state  of  preservation  and  has  always  remained  in  the  family ; 
and  Samuel  Parsons,  a  horticulturist  of  international  reputation  dur- 
ing the  '50s  and  '60s  of  the  last  century.  George  Rowland  Parsons, 
now  deceased,  father  of  Reginald  H.  Parsons,  was  president  of  the 
Colorado  Forestry  Association  and  one  of  the  first  in  the  country  to 
promote  intelligent  conservation  through  regulation  and  government 
control.  His  wife  is  the  daughter  of  a  well  known  New  York  judge. 
Reginald  H.  Parsons  obtained  his  education  at  Providence,  Rhode 
Island;  Colorado  Springs,  Colorado,  and  Berkeley,  California.  For 
two  years  he  attended  the  University  of  California  as  a  member  of 
the  class  of  1898,  belonging  to  the  Glee  Club  there.  He  also  took  a 
leading  part  in  athletic  activities  at  school  and  college.  His  first 
work  was  in  connection  with  railroading,  for  he  was  one  of  a  party  to 
run  the  reconnaissance  for  the  Rio  Grande  Western  Railway  in  1891-2 
across  the  Great  American  Desert  in  Utah  and  Nevada.  Later,  at 
the  age  of  eighteen  years,  he  was  connected  with  a  small  railroad  in 
southern  New  Mexico  as  station  agent.  Subsequently  he  returned  to 
college,  and  when  he  left  the  university  became  identified  with  real- 
estate  operations  in  connection  with  the  original  townsite  company 
which  started  Colorado  Springs,  Colorado,  residing  in  that  town  for 
twenty  years.  He  was  likewise  engaged  in  business  as  a  mining  stock 
broker  and  for  nine  years  was  connected  with  Bemis  Brother  Bag 
Company,  the  last  five  years  as  manager  of  their  Seattle  branch,  open- 
ing their  business  here  in  1904.  Mr.  Parsons  moreover  became  presi- 
dent and  manager  of  the  Hillcrest  Orchard  Company,  owning  two 
himdred  acres  of  bearing  pear  and  apple  trees  in  the  Rogue  river  val- 
185 


186  ReginalD  i^ascaU  pacson0 

ley  of  southern  Oregon.  This  is  considered  one  of  the  finest  pear 
orchards  in  the  world  and  in  1908-1910  estabhshed  the  world's  record 
for  prices  received  for  deciduous  fruit  in  car  lots  sold  in  London, 
England.  Mr.  Parsons  assisted  in  the  organization  of  the  Rogue 
River  Fruit  &  Produce  Association  and  became  president  of  the 
Northwestern  Finit  Exchange  at  the  time  of  its  organization  in  1910, 
this  being  a  quasi  public-service  corporation.  He  was  also  vice  presi- 
dent of  the  Orchard  &  Investment  Company,  organized  in  1913  to 
purchase  orchard  properties  in  various  parts  of  the  United  States; 
president  of  the  Methow  Valley  Live  Stock  Company,  operating  in 
the  Methow  valley  of  northern  Washington  and  also  near  Tolt,  Wash- 
ington; and  one  of  the  original  stockholders  in  the  Vindicator  Con- 
solidated Gold  Mining  Company  of  Cripple  Creek,  Colorado.  His 
interests  are  varied  and  important  and  his  activities  have  proven  profit- 
able to  the  commimity  as  well  as  to  himself. 

On  the  30th  of  January,  1901,  in  Colorado  Springs,  Colorado, 
Mr.  Parsons  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Maude  Bemis.  Her 
father,  Judson  M.  Bemis,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  is  the  head  and 
founder  of  the  firm  of  Bemis  Brother  Bag  Company,  which  was  or- 
ganized in  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  in  1858,  and  now  enjoys  the  distinction 
of  being  the  largest  importer  of  burlap  and  manufacturer  of  cotton 
and  burlap  bags  in  America.  He  built  the  town  of  Bemis,  Tennessee, 
and  there  established  cotton  mills  and  gins,  employing  three  thousand 
operatives  under  the  most  enlightened  and  sanitary  conditions.  To 
our  subject  and  his  wife  have  been  born  five  children,  those  living 
being:  Anne,  Reginald  Bemis,  George  Howland  and  Mary  Bowne. 
The  family  attend  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  church. 

Mr.  Parsons  is  a  republican  of  the  conservative  progressive  type 
but  has  not  participated  actively  in  politics.  While  actively  engaged 
in  business  in  Seattle  he  took  part  in  municipal  affairs,  serving  as 
chairman  of  the  first  "City  Beautiful"  and  being  one  of  the  citizens' 
committee  appointed  from  various  bodies  to  break  the  deadlock  in 
negotiations  incident  to  the  incoming  of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  & 
Puget  Sound  Railroad.  For  some  years  he  was  a  director  of  the  Title 
Trust  Company.  He  belongs  to  the  Beta  Theta  Pi,  a  college  fra- 
ternity, and  is  also  a  member  of  the  University,  Rainier  and  Arctic 
Clubs  of  Seattle,  the  Arlington  Club  of  Portland,  the  University  and 
Country  Clubs  of  Medford,  Oregon,  and  the  Rocky  Mountain  Club 
of  New  York  City.  Mr.  Parsons  is  a  broad-minded  and  liberal  man, 
interested  in  the  work  of  reform  and  improvement  along  lines  that  do 
not  hamper  the  free  and  independent  development  of  the  individual 
and  yet  contribute  to  the  world's  progress. 


i 


aifreb  Hee  palmer 

|LFRED  LEE  PALMER  was  for  a  third  of  a  cen- 
^2  4  ^2  *"^^  ^  resident  of  Seattle  and  was  recognized  as  one 
^ 2  /\  C ^  of  the  most  esteemed  and  honored  citizens  of  the  me- 
^^  "**•  C5  tropolis  of  the  northwest.  He  came  well  equipped 
Wf^^^g^w  by  college  training  and  broad  experience  for  pro- 
fessional activity  in  the  field  of  law  and  won  distinc- 
tion at  the  bar,  but  graduallj'-  his  investments  in  real  estate  claimed 
his  interests  and  in  the  later  years  of  his  life  his  attention  was  given 
to  the  management  and  control  of  his  property.  His  activities  in 
the  real  estate  field  constituted  an  important  factor  in  the  city's 
improvement,  and  his  genuine  personal  worth  gained  him  the  sin- 
cere and  unqualified  respect  of  all  who  came  in  contact  with  him. 

Mr.  Palmer  was  born  in  Mina,  Chautauqua  county,  New  York, 
June  11,  1835,  his  parents  being  Joseph  and  Mary  (Hill)  Palmer. 
The  ancestral  history  of  the  family  is  traced  back  to  England,  but 
reiJresentatives  of  the  name  settled  in  the  colony  of  New  York  prior 
to  the  Revolutionary  war  and  when  the  country  became  involved  in 
a  conflict  with  England,  David  Palmer,  grandfather  of  Alfred  Lee 
Palmer,  joined  the  army  and  rendered  valiant  aid  to  the  cause  of 
liberty.  At  one  time  he  was  the  oAvner  of  a  farm  that  is  now  embraced 
within  the  city  limits  of  Rochester,  New  York.  His  son,  Joseph 
Palmer,  was  born  on  the  old  family  homestead  there  and  continued 
a  resident  of  the  Empire  state  until  1840,  when  he  removed  with  his 
family  to  Andrew,  Iowa,  his  son,  Alfred  L.  Palmer  being  at  that 
time  a  httle  lad  of  five  years.  The  father,  who  was  a  man  of  influ- 
ence and  prominence  in  Iowa,  filled  the  ofl^ce  of  probate  judge  and 
was  also  elected  superintendent  of  public  instruction.  In  the  latter 
connection  particularly  he  left  the  impress  of  his  individuality  upon 
the  progress  of  the  state.  He  was  also  the  owner  of  considerable 
farm  land.  He  wedded  Mary  Hill,  who  was  born  in  Vermont,  her 
mother  being  a  member  of  the  celebrated  Lee  family  of  Virginia. 

Alfred  Lee  Palmer  acquired  his  early  education  in  the  district 
schools  of  Andrew,  Iowa,  and  pursued  his  more  advanced  studies  in 
the  Mount  Morris  (111.)  Academy  and  also  at  Oberhn  College,  Ober- 
lin,  Ohio.  Deciding  upon  the  practice  of  law  as  a  life  work,  he  then 
matriculated  in  the  Albany  Law  School  at  Albany,  New  York,  pur- 
189 


190  aifrcO  JLtt  l^atmet 

suing  a  complete  general  course  of  law  in  that  institution,  after  which 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  Returning  to  Iowa,  he  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession  in  Jackson  county,  but  in  the  fall  of  1861, 
soon  after  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war,  he  closed  his  office,  sold  his 
books  and  donned  the  blue  uniform  of  the  nation,  going  to  'the  front 
as  a  member  of  Company  I,  Twelfth  Iowa  Volunteer  Infantry. 
Though  sworn  in  as  a  private,  his  comrades  elected  him  to  the  posi- 
tion of  second  lieutenant.  He  was  afterward  detached  for  recruiting 
duty  and  enlisted  one  hundred  men  for  the  service.  In  the  meantime 
his  regiment  was  captured  by  the  Confederates  and  he  was  assigned 
to  the  Eighth  Iowa  Volunteer  Infantry,  in  which  he  was  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  first  lieutenant.  At  the  battle  of  Corinth  he  was  shot 
through  the  right  lung.  Being  incapacitated  by  this  wound,  which 
did  not  heal  for  twelve  years,  he  was  honorably  discharged  in  1863. 
He  then  returned  to  Jackson  county,  Iowa,  and  as  soon  as  his  health 
would  permit  resumed  his  law  practice,  which  he  prosecuted  with 
success,  advancing  steadily  in  his  chosen  calling,  his  ability  at  length 
leading  to  his  nomination  to  the  office  of  county  judge.  He  was 
elected  and  reelected,  sending  for  two  terms,  and  upon  the  bench  made 
an  excellent  record  as  a  faithful  and  impartial  jurist.  When  Lincoln 
was  made  the  capital  of  Nebraska  he  removed  to  that  city  and  made 
land  investments  which  resulted  profitably.  For  fourteen  years  he 
continued  his  residence  in  Lincoln,  devoting  his  attention  to  the  prac- 
tice of  law  and  to  the  management  of  his  real  estate  investments,  and 
during  that  period  he  also  occupied  the  office  of  county  judge  for 
two  terms. 

The  fall  of  1882  witnessed  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Palmer  in  Seattle. 
At  that  time  no  railroad  had  been  extended  to  the  city,  but  he  recog- 
nized its  favorable  geographic  position  and  felt  that  the  future  must 
hold  something  attractive  in  store  for  it.  His  enterprising  activity 
became  an  element  in  the  later  development  and  progress  of  the  city 
and  at  all  times  he  was  quick  to  foster  and  further  any  plan  or  meas- 
ure for  the  public  good.  For  a  number  of  years  he  was  occupied 
largely  with  professional  business  at  the  bar  but  was  quick  to  note 
and  take  advantage  of  favorable  opportunities  for  real  estate  invest- 
ment both  in  Seattle  and  Tacoma,  thus  acquiring  substantial  property 
interests.  The  growth  of  his  business  in  that  connection  at  length 
forced  him  to  discontinue  his  law  practice  and  give  his  undivided 
attention  and  energy  to  his  real  estate  business,  in  connection  with 
which  he  did  considerable  building  and  otherwise  improved  his  prop- 
erty. For  a  third  of  a  century  he  took  a  prominent  and  helpful  part 
in  Seattle's  development  and  progress,  giving  tangible  demonstration 


aifceo  Lee  palmer  i9i 

of  his  own  faith  in  the  city  which  led  others  to  follow  his  example.  The 
Palmer  House  sprang  into  existence  as  a  result  of  his  efforts  and  busi- 
ness enterprise  and  following  the  disastrous  fire  of  1889  he  erected  the 
fine  York  Hotel  on  First  avenue,  a  six  story  brick  structure,  which 
for  many  years  was  one  of  the  most  notable  buildings  of  the  north- 
west. Among  other  buildings  erected  by  him  in  recent  years  are  the 
three  story  building  at  the  corner  of  Fourth  and  Pine  streets;  the  six 
story  brick  structure  on  First  avenue  South,  now  occupied  by  the 
Western  Electric  Company;  the  two  story  brick  apartment  house  in 
Ballard;  and  various  residences.  He  also  erected  the  A.  L.  Palmer 
buildhig,  a  six  story  brick  structure  on  First  avenue  South,  now  used 
for  manufacturing  purposes.  He  also  owned  a  number  of  other  val- 
uable city  properties.  It  is  acknowledged  that  Seattle  has  had  no 
more  loyal  citizen  than  Mr.  Palmer.  His  faith  in  the  destiny  of  the 
city  was  unbounded  and  his  entire  business  career  was  a  practical 
demonstration  of  his  confidence  in  the  city's  resources  and  growth. 

In  1860  was  celebrated  the  marriage  of  Alfred  Lee  Palmer  and 
Lydia  Butterworth,  of  Andrew,  Iowa,  and  they  became  the  parents 
of  two  children :  Alice,  who  died  in  infancy ;  and  Carrie,  who  was  a 
graduate  of  the  University  of  Washington  and  studied  law  under 
her  father's  direction,  being  the  first  woman  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
this  state.  She  married  John  B.  Denny,  but  both  have  passed  away, 
leaving  two  children:  Harold;  and  Anna,  who  is  the  wife  of  C.  A. 
Gay,  by  whom  she  has  a  son  and  two  daughters.  On  the  27th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1870,  Mr.  Palmer  married  Miss  Rocelia  A.  Chase,  of  Maquo- 
keta,  Iowa,  a  daughter  of  Royal  B.  Chase,  a  capitalist  dealing  in 
farm  lands.  She  is  a  descendant  of  Ira  Chase,  who  was  a  member  of 
Washington's  army  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  Mrs.  Palmer  was 
educated  in  the  Rockford  (111.)  Female  Seminary,  now  Rockford 
College,  and  by  her  marriage  she  became  the  mother  of  seven  chil- 
dren. Frank  J.,  who  is  a  resident  of  Seattle,  was  married  in  1904  to 
Miss  Francis  Kaylor,  of  Iowa,  and  they  have  two  children,  Rogene 
and  Geraldine.  Hattie  P.  is  the  wife  of  Donald  B.  Olson,  who  is 
now  superintendent  of  the  Monroe  Reformatory  but  makes  his  home 
in  Seattle,  and  they  have  three  children,  Donald  B.,  Jr.,  Kenneth  B. 
and  Jeannette.  Don  H.,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the  University  of 
Washington  and  the  Rush  Medical  College  of  Chicago,  is  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  medicine  in  Seattle.  In  1914  he  held  the  office  of 
president  of  the  King  County  Medical  Society.  He  was  married 
September  3,  1902,  to  Miss  Maude  Gruwell,  and  they  have  two  chil- 
dren, Dorothy  and  Rex.  Leet  R.  was  a  student  of  the  Pullman 
Agricultural  College  and  the  Minnesota  Agricultural  College  and  is 


192  aifreP  ILee  palmer 

at  present  engaged  in  farming  in  Arlington,  this  state.  He  was  mar- 
ried at  Barry,  Illinois,  to  Miss  Alza  Smith,  of  that  place,  in  March, 
1904,  and  they  have  three  children,  Alfred  Lee,  Catherine  Roceha 
and  Richard.  The  next  member  of  the  family,  Lee  C.  Palmer,  is 
proud  of  the  fact  that  he  is  a  native  of  Seattle.  As  soon  as  he  com- 
pleted his  studies  he  associated  himself  with  his  father  in  the  real 
estate  business  and  is  so  engaged  at  the  present  time.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  Seattle,  June  14,  1910,  to  Miss  Olive  R.  Powles,  a  daughter 
of  J.  B.  Powles,  a  Seattle  commission  merchant,  and  they  have  two 
children,  Lee  C,  Jr.,  and  Marylee.  Ben  B,  Palmer  is  a  graduate  of 
the  University  of  Washington  and  continued  his  education  in  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania.  He  is  now  associated  with  the  uEtna 
Life  Insurance  Company.  Esther  Rocelia,  the  youngest  of  the 
family,  is  an  aliminus  of  the  University  of  Washington. 

The  family  is  prominently  known  socially  and  Mr.  Palmer  was 
recognized  as  one  of  the  most  prominent  members  of  the  Masonic 
fraternity  in  Seattle,  having  held  the  office  of  eminent  grand  com- 
mander of  the  Knights  Templar  for  the  state  of  Washington  and 
having  for  some  time  the  distinction  of  being  the  oldest  hving  past 
grand  commander  in  the  state.  Mrs.  Palmer  is  past  grand  matron 
of  the  state  of  Washington  in  the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star  and  she 
is  also  a  member  of  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution.  Mr. 
Palmer  was  also  a  member  of  the  Stevens  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  and  like- 
wise belonged  to  the  Military  Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion.  He  held 
membership  in  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Seattle  and  could  be 
depended  upon  to  cooperate  in  all  of  the  work  undertaken  by  that 
body  to  further  the  commercial,  industrial  and  civic  development  of 
his  city.  Dui'ing  the  period  of  his  residence  here  he  commanded  the 
respect  and  enjoyed  the  goodwill  of  his  fellow  citizens,  who  recog- 
nized his  public-spirited  devotion  to  the  general  good  and  his  hearty 
support  of  those  activities  which  had  featured  most  largely  in  the 
city's  upbuilding.  He  was  in  his  seventy-ninth  year  when  he  passed 
away  on  the  19th  of  August,  1914,  a  citizen  whom  Seattle  could  ill 
afford  to  lose.  His  demise  was  the  occasion  of  much  sincere  grief 
and  resolutions  were  passed  by  all  of  the  fraternities  and  clubs  to 
which  he  belonged.  His  memory  is  cherished  by  his  many  friends 
and  the  influence  of  his  life  is  still  potent. 


Softn  #orbon  iUcjFee 

^EENLY  alive  to  the  possibilities  of  every  new  avenue 
opened  in  the  natural  ramifications  of  trade,  John 
Gordon  McFee,  in  the  utiKzation  of  opportunities 
which  have  come  to  him,  has  entered  into  active  con- 
nection with  some  of  the  most  important  business 
enterprises  and  corporate  interests  of  Seattle  and 
the  northwest.  Well  defined  plans  and  purposes  have  carried  him 
steadily  forward  until  many  large  business  concerns  have  felt  the 
stimulus  of  his  cooperation  and  benefited  by  his  executive  force  and 
administrative  direction.  For  twenty  years  he  was  a  prominent  rail- 
road contractor  and  has  also  had  important  holdings  in  timber 
properties  and  farm  lands.  He  was  born  December  29,  1863,  at  Rus- 
selltown,  in  the  province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  his  parents  being  John 
and  Eliza  (Gordon)  McFee,  natives  of  Inverness,  Scotland,  and 
Russelltown,  Canada,  respectively.  The  father's  birth  occurred  in  the 
Highlands  of  Scotland,  where  he  remained  until  sixteen  years  of  age, 
when  he  accompanied  his  parents  and  their  family  to  Canada.  The 
Gordon  family,  descended  from  old  Puritan  stock,  removed  to  Canada 
from  Vermont. 

John  Gordon  McFee  acquired  a  common  school  education  in  his 
native  town  and  afterward  was  graduated  from  the  Montreal  Busi- 
ness College  with  the  class  of  1882.  When  twenty-one  years  of  age 
he  left  Canada  and  started  westward,  proceeding  as  far  as  Minne- 
apolis, where  he  remained  for  six  years,  removing  from  that  city  to 
Seattle  in  1890.  In  his  earlj'  career  he  engaged  in  bookkeeping  and 
was  also  employed  as  paymaster  in  connection  with  railroad  construc- 
tion. Later  he  took  up  railroad  contracting,  which  he  has  now  fol- 
lowed for  two  decades,  and  in  this  connection  has  built  up  a  business 
of  large  proportions  that  has  taken  him  into  Idaho,  Oregon  and 
British  Columbia.  He  has  expert  knowledge  and  experience  along 
that  line  and  has  executed  a  number  of  very  important  contracts. 
He  has  also  made  investments  in  timber  lands,  in  creosoting  timber 
and  in  farm  lands  and  he  has  an  interest  in  various  smaller  business 
undertakings  and  investments. 

His  activities  have  constantly  broadened  in  scope  and  in  impor- 
tance and  with  the  passing  of  the  years  his  business  interests  have 
195 


196  31oftn  (DorDon  Q^cjFee 

taken  on  organized  form  and  have  been  developed  into  some  of  the 
most  important  corporations  of  this  section  of  the  covmtry  with  Mr. 
McFee  as  one  of  the  chief  executive  officers.  He  is  now  president 
of  the  firm  of  G.  W.  Upper  &  Company,  of  the  Russelltown  Timber 
Company,  the  Philchuck  Ranch  Company  and  the  McFee,  Henry 
&  McDonald  Company  Limited  of  Canada.  He  is  also  the  vice 
president  of  the  Drummond  Lighterage  Company  and  of  the  Pacific 
Creosoting  Company  and  is  a  trustee  of  the  Northern  Life  Insur- 
ance Company.  In  his  undertakings  he  is  largely  associated  with 
H.  C.  Henry  and  Malcolm  McFee,  and  their  interests  are  a  most 
important  element  in  promoting  the  material  prosperity  and  business 
development  of  the  northwest. 

On  the  1st  of  September,  1891,  in  San  Francisco,  California,  Mr. 
McFee  was  imited  in  marriage  to  Miss  Christena  Louisa  Gordon,  a 
daughter  of  Charles  and  Ann  (Edwards)  Gordon.  To  them  have 
been  born  three  children,  namely:  Annie  Gordon,  Susan  Henry 
and  Louisa  Catherine.  The  religious  faith  of  Mr.  McFee  is  indi- 
cated by  his  membership  in  the  Bethany  Presbyterian  church.  His 
political  indorsement  is  given  to  the  republican  party  and  his  social 
nature  finds  expression  in  his  membership  in  the  Rainier,  Seattle 
Golf  and  Country  and  the  Seattle  Golf  Clubs.  These  associations 
also  indicate  much  of  the  nature  of  his  interests  and  recreation.  He 
is  a  man  of  pleasant,  genial  nature  and  his  affability  and  courtesy, 
combined  with  many  sterling  traits  of  character,  have  won  for  him 
the  warm  friendship  of  those  with  whom  he  has  been  associated.  It  is 
in  the  broader  field  of  business,  however,  that  he  is  most  widely  known, 
for  his  extensive  connections  have  gained  him  a  large  acquaintance, 
while  his  strong  powers,  his  forcefulness  and  resourcefulness  have 
established  his  position  in  the  front  rank  of  Seattle's  leading  business 
men.  He  has  passed  over  the  pitfalls  into  which  unrestricted  pro- 
gressiveness  is  so  frequently  led  and  has  focused  his  energies  in  direc- 
tions where  fruition  is  certain.  If  a  pen  picture  could  accurately 
delineate  his  business  characteristics  it  might  thus  be  drawn:  A 
progressive  spirit  ruled  by  more  than  ordinary  intelligence  and  good 
judgment;  a  deep  earnestness  impelled  and  fostered  by  indomitable 
perseverance;  a  native  justice  expressing  itself  in  correct  principle 
and  practice. 


"^TM. 


J 


0.  Jf.  OTegener 


jN  the  day  in  February,  1886,  when  martial  law  was 

O  declared   on   account   of   the    "anti-Chinese    riots," 

i^  O.  F.  Wegener  arrived  in  Seattle.  He  had  made 
\5l  his  way  to  the  Pacific  coast  in  search  of  a  chmate 
which  he  hoped  would  prove  beneficial  to  a  member  of 
his  family  suffering  from  tuberculosis  and  had  spent 
nine  years  at  different  points  in  California,  Oregon  and  eastern  and 
southwestern  Washington.  It  was  his  intention  then  to  try  British 
Columbia  but  while  en  route  thereto,  in  the  fall  of  1885,  he  spent  two 
days  in  Seattle,  which  determined  him  that  he  had  found  the  place  he 
was  seeking.  Not  only  was  its  climatic  condition  attractive,  but  he 
believed  that  its  geographic  situation  would  give  it  excellent  advan- 
tages as  a  city.  There  was  a  probability  that  Lake  Washington  would 
be  connected  with  the  bay  by  canal,  thus  giving  to  the  town  a  fresh- 
water harbor  not  possessed  by  any  other  seaport  on  the  Pacific  coast 
of  the  United  States  or  Canada.  He  felt  that  this  would  make  Seattle 
a  rival  of  San  Francisco.  Moreover,  the  expected  growth  of  the  town 
and  the  work  of  civil  engineering  necessitated  thereby  seemed  to  hold 
out  to  him  a  successful  future  in  business. 

Two  days  after  his  arrival  he  saw  fom-  hundred  United  States 
soldiers  quartered  in  the  Pacific  building,  transferred  hither  from 
Vancouver  in  response  to  the  governor's  call.  The  town  was  commer- 
cially dead  and  the  people  were  divided  into  two  classes,  the  pro  and 
the  anti-Chinese.  The  former  mostly  belonged  to  the  wealthy  families 
who  could  afford  to  keep  Chinese  servants  and  most  of  them  were 
members  of  the  orthodox  Protestant  churches,  while  the  opponents  of 
the  Chinese  were  mostly  working  men  and  women  and  the  class  of 
small  business  men.  Years  before,  in  California,  Mr.  Wegener  had 
had  opportunity  to  see  the  evil  consequences  of  unUmited  Asiatic  immi- 
gration. While  in  the  employ  of  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad  Com- 
pany he  often  had  hundreds  of  Chinamen  working  under  him  and  he 
had  become  thoroughly  acquainted  with  their  language  and  character. 
He  believed  that  unless  the  immigration  of  Chinese  workmen  was 
stopped,  the  Pacific  coast  would  become  a  Chinese  colony  in  which  the 
white  people  could  not  live. 

199 


200  ffl)«  JF.  mesenet 

Owing  to  the  stagnation  in  business,  Mr.  Wegener  accepted  tempo- 
rarily the  editorship  of  a  German  weekly  of  Seattle  and  in  its  columns 
expressed  his  views  on  the  Chinese  question,  thus  becoming  a  partisan 
in  the  contest  between  the  two  opposing  elements  and  bringing  upon 
himself  the  bitter  opposition  of  the  leading  men  and  organs  of  the  pro- 
Chinese  faction.  He  also  met  with  hostility  from  certain  members  of 
the  anti-Chinese  element  who  believed  that  there  was  a  scheme  secretly 
favored  by  the  big  corporations  to  replace  on  the  whole  Pacific  coast 
white  workingmen  and  women  by  Asiatics — a  scheme  which  could  only 
be  achieved  through  a  revolution.  But  the  maj  ority  of  the  anti-Chinese 
party  in  Seattle  were  law-abiding  citizens  and  had  no  desire  to  enter 
upon  a  revolution.  Mr.  Wegener  believed  that  legislation  would  be 
enacted  in  Washington,  D.  C,  against  flooding  the  land  with  Chinese 
labor  but  advised  the  anti-Chinese  people  of  Seattle  to  organize  a 
political  party  with  a  view  to  electing  men  of  their  number  to  office, 
which  would  prevent  the  employment  of  Chinese  on  public  work.  The 
plan  foimd  favor  with  many,  but  the  revolutionists  were  antagonistic 
and  prevented  the  pohtical  organization  from  becoming  a  successful 
project.  Every  Simday  forenoon  the  men  and  women  who  had  volim- 
teered  dm-ing  the  week  to  gather  subscribers  to  support  the  anti- 
Chinese  platform  and  who  would  vote  for  the  candidates  for  office, 
brought  in  many  names,  imtil  it  seemed  that  the  ticket  could  be  elected; 
but  the  opponents  were  also  busy  as  well,  politically  and  otherwise.  It 
became  known  that  they  organized  the  university  students,  clerks  and 
other  young  men  whom  they  could  control  in  military  companies  and 
gave  them  military  drill  with  arms.  To  these  young  men  were  turned 
over  the  guns  which  had  been  loaned  by  the  local  authorities  to  the 
Grand  Army  veterans  for  the  purpose  of  firing  volleys  over  the  graves 
of  buried  comrades  at  their  funerals.  It  also  happened  that  suddenly 
the  governor,  who  was  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  pro-Chinese  element, 
obtained  the  withdrawal  of  half  the  detachment  of  United  States 
soldiers.  This  peculiar  coincidence  stirred  up  the  hot-headed  men  of 
the  Knights  of  Labor  and  the  cry  "We  too  must  arm!"  was  raised. 
Mr.  Wegener  firmly  objected,  claiming  that  the  remaining  two  hvm- 
dred  United  States  soldiers  would  protect  the  party  at  the  coming 
election  against  any  mihtary  force,  but  he  did  not  know  that  there  were 
men  of  violent  character  in  the  ranks  of  the  pro-Chinese  faction  who 
planned  to  carry  the  election  at  any  price,  for  on  that  occasion  an  entire 
ticket  of  city  officials  was  to  be  elected. 

About  three  weeks  before  the  election,  when  returning  to  his  office 
from  a  trip  in  the  country,  Mr.  Wegener  found  a  number  of  the  lead- 
ing officials  of  the  Knights  of  Labor  waiting  for  him.    Greatly  excited. 


fl)»  JF.  Wegener  201 

they  told  him  that  all  the  United  States  soldiers  were  leaving  on  a  boat 
at  two  o'clock  the  next  morning  and  that  their  baggage  was  then  being 
loaded.  The  report  proved  correct,  and  it  was  seen  that  the  opponents 
meant  to  cai-ry  the  election  by  violence.  Only  the  United  States 
soldiers  had  a  right  to  keej)  order,  and  it  was  known  that  if  the  mihtary 
organization  of  young  men  were  at  the  polls  it  would  mean  fraud, 
disorder  and  violence.  Only  one  man  could  prevent  the  success  of 
this  scheme  of  the  pro-Chinese  party — the  president  of  the  United 
States,  to  whom  Mr.  Wegener  at  once  telegraphed,  explaining  the 
situation  and  asking  him  to  give  the  unarmed  citizens  protection  at 
the  coming  election  by  leaving  the  United  States  troops  in  Seattle, 
promising  at  the  same  time  to  send  in  a  few  days  a  petition  signed  by 
hundreds  of  citizens.  Half  an  hour  before  the  boat  was  to  leave  the 
next  morning,  by  telegraph  the  president  ordered  the  soldiers  to 
remain  in  Seattle.  Two  days  later  Mr.  Wegener  forwarded  a  petition 
signed  by  over  five  hundred  citizens,  and  three  weeks  later  there  was 
held  a  quiet  election  at  which  the  entire  anti-Chinese  ticket  was  elected. 
This  brought  intense  hatred  down  upon  Mr.  Wegener,  notwithstand- 
ing the  well  known  fact  that  his  telegram  had  prevented  a  disgraceful 
riot  on  election  day  and  probably  the  shedding  of  blood. 

After  this  election  Mr.  Wegener  would  gladl)^  have  withdrawn 
from  connection  with  the  troubles,  but  the  people's  party  believed  that 
there  would  be  no  political  peace  in  King  county  unless  the  pro- 
Chinese  party  was  expelled  as  well  from  the  county  offices,  there  being 
strong  indications  that  the  county  funds  were  not  honestly  handled  by 
the  most  prominent  county  officials.  Through  public  opinion,  there- 
fore, Mr.  Wegener  was  dragged  into  county  politics.  He  worked  hard 
to  secure  the  nomination  of  good  men,  which  was  more  difficult  than 
at  the  city  election,  for  following  the  success  of  the  people's  party 
there,  a  horde  of  office  seekers  had  joined  them  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
winning  office,  many  of  whom  were  either  morally  or  mentally  unfit 
for  the  positions  they  sought.  Nevertheless  Mr.  Wegener  and  his 
associates  secured  the  nomination  of  a  majority  of  good  men  and  the 
probability  that  they  would  be  elected  increased  from  day  to  day 
through  the  energetic  campaign  which  was  conducted.  What  ham- 
pered them  most  was  a  lack  of  funds  to  conduct  the  campaign.  As 
chairman  of  the  executive  committee  of  his  party  Mr.  Wegener  had  to 
pay  not  only  the  campaign  expenses  but  even  the  traveling  expenses 
of  some  of  the  candidates.  Beside  that,  he  had  to  keep  the  little  weekly 
newspaper  alive,  which  he  had  bought  for  campaign  purposes  and 
which  did  not  pay  for  itself.  Four  weeks  before  the  election  he  found 
that  he  was  unable  to  raise  any  more  money  for  the  general  campaign, 


202  m,  J7.  mcsenet 

because  the  few  rich  candidates  of  the  people's  party  were  notoriously- 
close  and  paid  only  their  own  personal  campaign  expenses.  Just  at 
that  time  a  well-to-do  man  who  had  retired  from  business  and  was 
related  to  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  prominent  families  of  Seattle, 
visited  Mr,  Wegener  and  counted  out  twelve  hundred  dollars  before 
him,  which  he  said  should  be  Mr.  Wegener's  if  the  latter  would  with- 
draw from  the  campaign.  He  said:  "We  must  elect  our  candidate 
for  sheriff,  and  we  can  do  so  if  you  quit  electioneering.  If  you  do, 
you'll  be  one  of  us.  Your  family  will  be  made  welcome  by  us  and  we 
will  support  you  in  any  political  aspirations  you  may  have."  The  offer 
convinced  Mr,  Wegener  that  there  was  corruption  in  the  courthouse 
which  to  cover  up,  the  sheriff,  who  had  it  in  his  power  to  fix  grand  and 
petit  jurors,  was  needed.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  Mr.  Wegener 
declined  the  offer  and  on  the  same  day  wrote  home  to  his  wife,  who 
lived  on  a  timber  ranch  in  Lewis  county,  and  from  money  she  had 
received  from  the  sale  of  her  property  in  Portland,  Oregon,  she  sent 
him  the  money  needed  for  the  successful  termination  of  the  campaign, 
which  resulted  in  the  election  of  the  entire  people's  party  ticket  save 
one  constable. 

On  refusing  to  be  bribed  Mr.  Wegener  was  made  the  subject  of  vile 
newspaper  attacks  which  culminated  on  the  day  before  the  election  in 
an  editorial  of  the  Post-Intelligencer,  in  which  he  was  called  "an  open 
and  avowed  enemy  of  the  United  States  government."  He  endeav- 
ored to  get  the  editor  of  the  paper  indicted  for  criminal  libel  but  failed 
to  get  the  necessary  twelve  votes  from  the  eighteen  members  of  the 
grand  jury.  Seven  of  them  evidently  thought  that  he  was  a  traitor  to 
the  United  States  government  because  he  had  helped  to  defeat  the 
corrupt  members  of  the  King  county  courthouse  ring,  two  of  whom 
were,  under  the  new  county  administration,  indicted  on  eleven  charges 
of  forgery  and  grand  larceny  for  having  stolen  from  the  county  treas- 
ury sixty-six  thousand  dollars,  of  which  amount  forty-five  thousand 
dollars  was  collected  from  the  wealthy  bondsman.  The  criminal 
charges  against  the  defaulters  were  not  pressed  and  the  prosecution 
dropped  the  cases,  but  for  years  Mr.  Wegener  was  persecuted  by  the 
Post-Intelligencer,  although  one  of  the  later  proprietors  apologized 
privately  to  him  and  the  same  editor  who  in  1886  had  termed  him 
"an  open  and  avowed  enemy  of  the  government"  wrote  him  eight  years 
later,  on  September  6,  1894,  a  letter  in  which,  while  thanking  Mr, 
Wegener  for  saving  him  from  a  public  exposure,  he  said:  "I  may 
add  that  I  have  long  regretted  the  utterances  of  the  paper  against  you 
during  the  campaign  of  1886.  I  regard  you  as  a  good  citizen.  I  have 
manj'^  reasons  for  feeling  kindly  toward  you,  and  some  of  them  I  know 


flD.  JF.  mesemt  203 

now  for  the  first  time.  I  am  sincerely  grateful  to  you  for  not  hav- 
ing resurrected  .  .  ."  Public  acknowledgment  of  the  wrong  done 
Mr.  Wegener  was  never  made,  however,  and  the  persecution  continued 
when  the  editor  of  1886  and  1894  was  dead. 

When  the  election  was  over  Mr.  Wegener  reviewed  his  situation. 
The  whole  pro-Chinese  faction  held  him  responsible  for  its  defeat,  and 
as  it  was  composed  of  the  wealthy  class  and  the  members  of  corpora- 
tions, the  verj^  people  who  would  mostly  need  the  services  of  a  civil 
engineer,  he  could  easily  see  that  if  he  opened  an  office  in  Seattle  that 
elemejit  would  boycott  him.  While  considering  the  possibility  of  over- 
coming that  antagonism,  he  met  one  of  the  officials  of  the  Vancouver 
United  States  land  office,  who  asked  if  Mr.  Wegener  could  assist  in 
having  their  district  enlarged  by  abolishing  the  Olympia  office  and 
opening  one  in  Seattle.  He  had  been  in  Olympia  on  land-office  busi- 
ness and  became  convinced  that  it  was  an  impractical  place  for  that 
purpose  because  the  town  had  the  least  possible  means  of  trans- 
portation and  the  cost  to  the  settler  of  going  there  to  file  on  land  was 
consequently  so  high  as  to  prevent  the  settlement  of  the  land  in  the 
northwestern  part  of  the  territory.  Mr.  Wegener  also  recognized  that 
Seattle  would  be  a  far  superior  location  for  the  United  States  land 
office  and  that  the  change  from  Olympia  to  Seattle  would  benefit  the 
entire  Puget  Sound  country  generally  and  Seattle  and  King  county 
especially.  He  thought,  too,  that  if  he  could  bring  about  that  change, 
Seattle's  population  would  owe  him  a  debt  of  gratitude  which  would 
Avipe  out  all  the  antagonism  of  his  former  political  opponents.  To 
carry  out  the  plan  he  made  use  of  his  appointment  as  representative 
of  the  coal  miners  of  King  county  at  the  industrial  convention  to  be 
held  in  Cincinnati,  went  to  the  convention  and  then  on  to  Washington, 
where  he  told  Mr.  Voorhees,  representative  from  the  district,  of  his 
mission.  He  was  informed  that  General  Lamar,  secretary  of  the 
interior,  and  also  the  commissioner  of  the  general  land  office,  were 
opposed  to  the  removal  of  the  Olympia  land  office.  Mr.  Wegener 
then  interviewed  General  Lamar,  who,  after  fifteen  minutes  discussion 
of  the  matter,  agreed  that  the  office  should  be  moved  to  Seattle,  but 
the  land  commissioner  opposed  the  change,  saying  that  Mr.  Voorhees 
opposed  it  and  that  Mr.  Wegener  was  nothing  but  a  private  citizen, 
having  no  legal  authority  to  represent  the  Puget  Sound  people.  The 
request  was  therefore  refused. 

While  in  Washington,  Mr.  Wegener  was  invited  by  the  labor 
unions  to  give  a  lecture  on  the  Chinese  immigration  question.  He  did 
so  and  embraced  the  opportunity  to  discuss  also  the  iniquities  of  the 
tariff.    At  that  time  congressional  investigations  regarding  the  cause 


204  iS>,  JF.  Wegener 

of  the  prevailing  hard  times  were  being  made  and  Mr.  Wegener's 
lecture  was  favorably  commented  upon  by  the  Washington  Post  and 
other  papers  and  he  was  invited  by  several  United  States  senators  to 
discuss  the  labor  question  with  them.  Finally,  at  an  audience  with  the 
president,  he  was  requested  by  him  to  prepare  a  written  statement 
about  the  cause  of  the  industrial  depressions  of  1884  to  1886.  On 
another  occasion  the  president  asked  particulars  regarding  the  martial 
law  period  of  Seattle,  and  when  Mr.  Wegener  thanked  him  for  grant- 
ing the  telegraphic  request  not  to  remove  the  troops  from  Seattle  until 
after  election,  he  heartily  laughed  and  said  there  was  a  joke  about  the 
matter  which  Mr.  Wegener  did  not  know.  While  he  and  the  leading 
Knights  of  Labor  had  asked  for  the  protection  of  the  soldiers  against 
the  pro-Chinese  faction,  who  had  first  called  for  the  soldiers  for  their 
own  protection,  the  Chinese  had  in  the  same  night  telegraphed  to  him, 
also  asking  that  the  soldiers  might  stay  in  Seattle  to  protect  the  Chinese 
against  any  possible  violence  on  the  part  of  the  Knights  of  Labor. 
It  seemed  to  be  the  desire  of  the  majority  of  the  people  to  keep  the 
soldiers,  consequently  they  were  ordered  to  remain,  although  the  presi- 
dent was  not  in  favor  of  martial  law.  A  few  days  later,  when  Mr. 
Wegener  called  upon  the  secretary  of  the  interior  again  to  get  his 
consent  to  the  change  of  the  United  States  land  office,  he  refused  to 
grant  this  in  face  of  the  open  opposition  of  the  general  land  com- 
missioner and  the  secret  objection  of  Mr.  Voorhees,  but  said  that 
Mr.  Wegener  could  have  the  office  of  governor  of  Washington  Terri- 
tory in  place  of  Governor  Squires,  who  was  to  be  removed — that 
the  president  was  willing  to  make  the  appointment.  Mr.  Wegener 
declined  for  three  reasons :  first,  he  had  promised  Mr.  Semple  to  sup- 
port his  candidacy;  second,  he  knew  that  the  pro-Chinese  faction  of 
Seattle  would  leave  nothing  undone  to  prevent  the  senate  from  con- 
firming the  appointment;  and  third,  because  he  thought  he  could  do 
more  good  to  Seattle  and  himself  by  getting  the  land  office  established 
there  than  if  he  was  made  governor.  At  another  meeting  with  General 
Lamar  he  was  again  offered  the  governorship,  which  he  said  the  presi- 
dent wished  to  bestow  upon  him  as  a  reward  for  telegraphing  to  him 
to  prevent  riot  and  bloodshed  at  the  election,  but  he  declined  in  favor 
of  Mr.  Semple  and  retiu'ned  to  Seattle. 

Arrived  in  Seattle,  Mr.  Wegener  immediately  interested  the 
county  commissioners  in  the  change  of  the  land  office  from  Olympia  to 
Seattle  and  they  passed  a  resolution  authorizing  him  to  bring  the  mat- 
ter before  the  president.  During  the  next  few  days  he  obtained  a 
nimiber  of  letters  to  prominent  men  in  Washington  who  were  to  speak 
to  the  president  about  the  necessity  of  estabUshing  the  land  office  in 


ffl)«  JF.  M^egenet  205 

Seattle.  He  then  retui-ned  to  the  capital  at  his  own  expense,  was 
granted  an  interview  with  the  president,  to  whom  he  explained  the 
whole  matter — the  opposition  of  Voorhees  and  the  land  coimnissioner, 
the  conditional  approval  of  the  secretary  of  the  interior  and  the  neces- 
sity of  the  change.  In  less  than  half  an  hour  the  president  agreed  to 
give  Seattle  the  land  office,  but  Mr.  Wegener  was  warned  by  men  in  a 
position  to  know  what  was  going  on  in  the  land  commissioner's  office 
that  extraordinary  efforts  were  made  to  influence  the  president  against 
him  and  the  proposed  change.  One  claim  was  that  there  was  no  money 
on  hand  to  make  the  change  and  Mr.  Wegener  settled  that  by  agreeing 
to  move  the  office  from  Olympia  to  Seattle  for  one  dollar  and  give 
bonds  for  the  proper  performance  of  the  contract.  After  having 
become  convinced  that  the  president  and  secretary  were  not  to  be 
influenced  against  the  establishment  of  the  land  office,  he  left  Wash- 
ington, where  he  had  remained  for  three  months.  He  had  to  remain 
in  the  east  for  several  months  more  on  private  business,  and  when  he 
returned  to  Seattle  the  land  office  was  estabhshed  and  in  full  operation. 
The  new  location  of  it  increased  the  number  of  applicants  for  land 
from  the  adjoining  and  also  from  the  northerly  counties  and  caused 
many  residents  of  Seattle  and  other  places  to  ta^e  up  homesteads, 
timber  and  coal  lands  who  would  never  have  gone  to  Olympia  for  the 
purpose,  while  the  money  brought  to  the  Seattle  lodging  houses,  hotels 
and  restaurants  by  the  strangers  who  visited  the  land  office,  increased 
business  in  Seattle  in  a  marked  degree.  Owing  to  the  factional  bitter- 
ness which  had  been  engendered  at  the  time  of  the  anti-Chinese  riots, 
Mr.  Wegener  never  received  credit  for  what  he  accomplished  in  con- 
nection with  the  land  office,  which  has  been  of  immense  benefit  to 
Seattle. 

Mr.  Wegener  was  connected  with  another  event  of  public  interest. 
In  1894  a  German  woman,  with  her  year  and  a  half  old  child,  was 
murdered  near  South  Seattle  and  several  hundred  dollars  stolen  from 
the  premises.  Her  husband,  Muller  by  name,  was  an  employe  of  the 
Hemrich  brewery,  having  been  engaged  to  take  the  place  of  Henry 
Craemer,  another  German  worker.  The  latter,  who  was  in  very 
straightened  circumstances,  was  arrested  on  suspicion  that  he  was  the 
murderer.  Three  weeks  later,  when  Mr.  Wegener  read  in  the  morning 
paper  that  the  accused  man  had  been  convicted  of  murder  in  the  first 
degree  and  would  be  hanged  and  that  he  had  three  little  children  and 
a  wife  who  could  not  speak  English,  he  determined  to  go  and  see  the 
family  and  help  them  if  they  needed  it.  He  met  the  woman  at  the 
house  where  they  lived  in  South  Seattle.  She  had  not  heard  of  her  hus- 
band's conviction  and  when  asked  if  she  were  in  need,  she  said  she  had  a 


206  m,  JF,  COegenet 

few  dollars  and  the  county  commissioners  had  promised  to  give  her  f our 
dollars'  worth  of  groceries  a  month.  Mr.  Wegener  saw  that  the  chil- 
dren were,  like  the  mother,  very  small  and  unable  to  work  yet  except 
to  sell  newspapers.  They  were  a  girl  of  twelve,  a  boy  of  ten  and  a  girl 
of  six.  The  small  size  of  the  children  aroused  Ms  pity  and  he  told  the 
woman  that  he  would  help  her  and  the  children  so  that  they  would  not 
suffer.  She  accepted  the  offer  but  asked  also  if  Mr.  Wegener  would 
see  that  her  husband  would  get  an  appeal  or  a  new  trial.  He  had  no 
intention  of  interfering  with  the  legal  proceedings,  believing  that  the 
accused  was  guilty,  but  out  of  pity  for  the  family  he  went  to  the  attor- 
ney for  the  defense  and  asked  what  the  cost  of  appeal  would  be.  The 
reply  was  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for  the  writing  out  of  the 
court  proceedings,  besides  the  lawyer's  fee.  He  was  also  told  that  in 
case  of  the  convicted  person  being  impecunious,  the  county  was  accus- 
tomed to  pay  the  cost  of  court  but  it  was  necessary  to  get  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  trial  judge,  which  was  always  given  in  cases  of  that 
kind  when  the  appellant's  life  was  at  stake.  After  an  absence  of 
several  days  from  town,  the  lawyer  informed  Mr.  Wegener  that  the 
judge  had  refused  to  let  the  county  pay  the  cost  of  the  court,  adding  in 
language  that  was  neither  choice  nor  elegant,  "Let  the  man  hang!" 
This  showed  prejudice  on  the  part  of  the  judge,  and  when  Mr. 
Wegener  informed  himself  about  his  previous  action  in  the  case  he 
found  that  Craemer  had  not  been  given  a  fair  trial  by  any  means,  as 
could  be  shown  from  the  court  records.  Thirteen  days  after  his  arrest 
he  was  arraigned  for  murder  in  the  superior  court  and  the  court 
appointed  a  lawyer  for  his  defense  and  gave  him  nine  days'  time,  which 
included  two  Sundays,  to  prepare  for  trial.  On  the  day  set  the  lawj^er 
said :  "As  I  had  neither  time  nor  money  to  prepare  my  defense  and 
roimd  up  my  witnesses,  I  ask  for  two  months'  time."  The  prosecuting 
attorney  replied  that  "the  lawyer  had  used  no  diligence  to  prepare 
himself  for  the  trial  and  asked  the  judge  not  to  give  the  defense  more 
time."  The  judge  consented  to  this  request  and  the  trial  was  com- 
menced at  once.  Craemer  had  no  witness  but  his  wife  and  was  found 
guilty  of  having  murdered  the  woman  and  robbed  her  of  something 
over  two  hundred  dollars.  The  whole  town  had  been  against  him  since 
the  third  day  after  his  arrest.  When  the  wife  visited  him  in  jail,  asking 
him  repeatedly  in  the  presence  of  several  witnesses  where  he  had  been 
on  the  evening  of  the  murder,  and  when  he  answered  in  a  low  voice, 
"Tacoma,"  she  told  him  if  he  had  committed  the  murder  he  should  hang 
for  it.  The  interview  was  reported  in  all  the  Seattle  papers.  On  the 
same  day  a  news  item  was  given  out  by  the  chief  of  police  stating  that  a 
man  by  the  name  of  Jack  Quincy  in  whose  company  Craemer  claimed 


ffl)«  Jf.  megenec  207 

to  have  been  in  Tacoma  on  the  afternoon  of  the  day  of  the  murder,  was 
not  known  there  according  to  a  thorough  search  made  by  a  Seattle 
pohce  officer.  This  news  item  was  also  published  in  the  Seattle  papers, 
read  by  every  juror,  the  judge  and  the  people  and,  not  being  proved 
to  be  false  by  the  defenseless  prisoner,  was  generally  believed. 
Craemer's  wife  testified  at  the  trial  that  she  had  known  for  two  weeks 
that  her  husband  would  go  to  Tacoma  on  the  day  on  which  later  he  was 
accused  of  having  murdered  Mrs.  Muller,  but  her  testimony  was  not 
believed  after  what  she  had  asked  and  told  Craemer  in  jail.  These  two 
news  items,  more  than  anything  else,  convicted  Craemer,  although 
there  was  also  evidence  given  by  him  about  his  visit  in  Tacoma  which 
was  flatly  contradicted  by  a  reputable  witness  and  which  leaves  a 
serious  doubt  to  this  day  whether  he  is  guilty  or  not.  But  in  a  case 
where  a  man's  life  is  at  stake,  the  court  should  give  the  accused  time 
for  a  defense  and  a  lawyer  who  will  "use  dihgence."  This  was  not 
done  because  the  two  news  items  mentioned  had  convinced  the  court 
and  the  jury  long  before  the  trial  that  he  was  giiilty.  jVIr.  Wegener 
thought  so,  too,  but  also  knew  that  Craemer  had  not  been  given  a 
chance  to  defend  himself.  He  had  neither  time  nor  money  to  do  so. 
Mr.  Wegener  considered  the  trial  an  iniquitous  farce  and  determined 
to  take  up  the  man's  defense.  He  paid  the  cost  of  court,  hired  lawyers 
to  appeal  the  case  and  supported  the  family,  which  required  every  cent 
that  he  and  all  the  members  of  his  family  earned  to  do  this.  He  tried 
to  get  the  assistance  of  the  Germans  but  failed.  For  Craemer's 
defense  he  received  thirteen  dollars  and  fifty  cents  and  for  his  family 
the  German  Ladies  Aid  Society  gave  five  dollars,  while  five  American 
women  each  gave  twenty-five  cents.  Craemer's  relatives  in  Germany 
refused  to  contribute  anything,  but  two  years  later,  after  Mr.  Wegener 
had  threatened  to  expose  them  and  had  carried  on  an  appeal  at  an 
expense  of  thousands  of  dollars,  they  sent  seventy-five  dollars,  although 
some  of  them  were  able  to  pay  ten  times  as  much. 

After  his  appeal  to  the  supreme  court  had  failed  to  give  Craemer 
a  new  trial,  Mr.  Wegener  would  have  abandoned  the  fight,  but  just  at 
that  time  he  obtained  evidence  from  Tacoma  which  showed  that  the 
news  item  published  by  the  chief  of  police  of  Seattle  in  all  the  city 
papers  regarding  the  non-existence  of  Jack  Quincy  was  false.  The 
assistant  postmaster  of  Tacoma  made  an  affidavit  stating  that  Jack 
Quincy  was  well  known  to  him,  that  he  had  got  his  mail  for  months  in 
the  Tacoma  postoffice  and  up  to  within  a  few  days  after  the  report  of 
the  murder  of  Mrs.  Muller  had  appeared  in  the  Tacoma  newspapers. 
He  furthermore  stated  in  his  affidavit  that  he  had  informed  the  Seattle 
police  officer  to  that  effect  a  few  days  after  Craemer's  arrest.     The 


208  £>♦  JF.  Wegener 

police  officer,  after  Craemer  had  been  sent  to  the  penitentiary, 
acknowledged  the  truth  of  the  i)ostmaster's  affidavit  and  stated  that 
he  had  given  the  chief  of  police,  Rogers,  the  information  obtained  in 
the  Tacoma  postoffice.  When  Mr.  Wegener  learned  this  in  1895,  a 
year  after  Craemer's  conviction,  he  was  convinced  that  while  the  sup- 
pressed information  about  Quincj^  did  not  prove  Craemer's  innocence, 
it  proved  that  the  chief  of  police  had  contributed  to  his  conviction  by 
suppressing  evidence  in  favor  of  Craemer  and  publishing  false  news 
in  the  Seattle  papers  about  the  latter  while  he  was  helpless  in  jail. 
Mr.  Wegener  discussed  the  matter  with  F.  W.  Duenkel  of  Tacoma, 
a  well-to-do  druggist,  and  with  A.  Weichbrodt,  owner  of  the  Tacoma 
German  newspaper,  and  they  decided  to  form  a  Craemer  defense  com- 
mittee and  to  endeavor  to  the  best  of  their  ability  to  obtain  a  new  trial 
or  secure  pardon  for  the  man.  As  times  were  hard  and  it  was  believed 
the  expenses  of  the  work  would  be  heavy,  they  wrote  out  a  statement 
of  the  case,  had  it  printed  in  German  and  sent  several  thousand  copies 
to  German  newspapers  and  societies  in  the  east  and  California,  many 
of  which  supported  their  work  by  financial  contributions.  When  the 
city  editor  of  the  Post-Intelligencer,  an  Australian  Englishman  and  a 
friend  of  the  Seattle  chief  of  police,  was  informed  concerning  their 
activities  in  favor  of  Craemer,  he  again  began  personal  attacks  upon 
Mr.  Wegener  which  continued  for  two  years,  until  the  latter  engaged 
the  chief  editor  of  the  paper  as  one  of  his  attorneys.  The  defense 
coinmittee,  of  which  Mr.  Duenkel  was  the  treasurer,  had  a  tremendous 
task.  They  appealed  first  to  the  United  States  supreme  court,  then 
brought  the  case  before  the  supei'ior  court  in  Seattle  again,  then 
appealed  to  the  United  States  circuit  court,  once  more  to  the  United 
States  supreme  court  and  finally  to  the  state  board  of  pardon,  before 
which  Mr.  Wegener,  although  ill  at  the  time,  made  a  seven-hours' 
argument  which  so  injured  his  throat  that  it  has  disabled  him  from 
further  public  speaking.  However,  he  convinced  the  board  that 
Craemer  had  not  had  a  fair  trial  and  should  not  be  hanged.  He  was 
pardoned  by  the  governor,  who  was  bitterly  hostile  to  Craemer,  to  a 
life  term  in  the  penitentiary.  The  committee  received  from  various 
sources  only  about  four  thousand  dollars  which  was  not  one-third  of 
the  cost  of  the  defense,  and  the  remainder  of  the  money  they  had  to 
make  up  in  one  way  or  another,  the  heaviest  of  the  burden  falling  upon 
Mr.  Wegener  because  he  had  also  undertaken  to  support  the  family, 
which  he  did  from  his  own  means  for  three  years,  by  which  time  the 
Craemer  children  had  become  self-supporting.  In  this  great  work  of 
benevolence  Mr.  Wegener  lost  his  own  and  his  wife's  property,  ruined 
his  health  so  that  he  was  imable  to  work  during  a  whole  year  and  his 


fl)«  JF«  mcgener  209 

business  was  consequently  injured.  His  friends  on  the  committee  also 
incurred  severe  losses,  but  all  had  the  satisfaction  of  having  saved  the 
life  of  a  man  whom  police  officers  endeavored  to  railroad  to  the  gallows 
without  a  fair  trial  and  with  a  view  of  obtaining  a  thousand  doUars 
reward.  When  Craemer  was  taken  away  from  Seattle,  Mr.  Wegener 
told  him  that  if  he  behaved  well  he  would  do  all  in  his  power  to  secure 
his  pardon,  demanding,  however,  that  if  he  was  freed  he  and  his  whole 
family  should  do  all  in  their  power  to  prove  his  innocence.  This  they 
promised  and  Mr.  Wegener  in  retm-n  assisted  the  family  to  get  along 
so  that  they  would  be  financially  able  to  take  up  and  carry  out  the  fight 
for  the  proof  of  their  father's  innocence.  He  watched  over  the  girls 
until  they  were  of  age,  let  the  boy  learn  the  machinist  trade  and  aided 
the  family  in  obtaining  valuable  property  on  easy  conditions.  In 
January,  1909,  Craemer  was  pardoned  on  evidence  obtained  by  the 
committee,  but  since  his  release  he  and  his  family  have  done  nothing  to 
establish  his  innocence. 

Concerning  liis  interest  in  religious  teaching  in  the  pubhc  schools, 
Mr.  Wegener  writes  as  follows:  "Unsatisfactorily  as  the  Craemer 
case  ended,  it  has  given  me  some  vital  information  on  one  of  the  gravest 
public  questions  needing  a  solution.  It  is  the  education  of  children. 
Craemer  was  an  atheist  who  did  not  send  his  children  to  church.  When 
I  heard  that  taunting  remarks  had  been  made  to  them  in  the  public 
school  about  their  convicted  father,  I  sent  them,  at  my  expense,  to  a 
Christian  day  school,  where  they  received  proper  religious  instruction. 
After  a  year  and  a  half  the  school  was  closed  for  want  of  proper  sup- 
port. The  Craemer  children  were  at  that  time  tnathful,  honest  and 
obedient,  in  fact  good  Christian  children.  Their  mother  then  sent 
them  again  to  the  public  school  with  the  result  that  their  character 
gradually  changed  and  became  the  reverse  of  what  it  had  been.  They 
still  went  to  church  for  some  time  but  finally  quit  and  ignored  all  their 
religious  teaching.  I  drew  the  natural  conclusion  that  in  the  Godless 
schools  the  children  become  Godless.  To  become  honest,  truthful  and 
law-abiding  citizens,  they  need  religious  moral  teaching,  and  not  only 
for  a  year  or  two  but  during  their  whole  school  time,  from  the  age  of 
six  to  fourteen,  for  virtue  and  vice  are  not  only  acquired  by  learning 
but  also  by  habit. 

"With  the  effect  of  the  Godless  school  upon  the  Craemer  children 
before  me,  I  could  understand  why  the  immortal  Washington  in  his 
'Farewell  Address'  so  emphatically  recommended  religious  moral 
teaching  to  the  American  people.  Said  he:  'Of  all  the  dispositions 
and  habits  which  lead  to  political  prosperity,  religion  and  morality  are 
indispensable  supports.    In  vain  would  that  man  claim  the  tribute  of 


210  m,  jF.  mtQtmt 

patriotism  who  would  labor  to  subvert  these  great  pillars  of  human 
happiness,  these  firmest  props  of  the  duties  of  men  and  citizens.  A 
volume  would  not  trace  all  their  connections  with  private  and  public 
felicity.  Let  it  simply  be  asked,  where  is  the  security  for  property, 
for  reputation,  for  Kfe,  if  the  sense  of  religious  obligation  desert  the 
oaths  which  are  the  instrvmients  of  the  investigations  in  courts  of 
justice?  And  let  us  with  caution  indulge  the  supposition  that  moral- 
ity can  be  maintained  without  religion.  Whatever  may  be  conceded  to 
the  influence  of  refined  education  on  minds  of  peculiar  structure, 
reason  and  experience,  both,  forbid  us  to  expect  that  national  morality 
can  prevail  in  the  exclusion  of  religious  principle.' 

"With  this  recommendation  of  religious  moral  teaching  by  the 
wisest  statesman  this  country  has  produced  before  me,  and  my  experi- 
ence with  the  Craemer  children,  I  commenced,  as  soon  as  the  Craemer 
case  had  come  to  an  end,  in  1909,  to  agitate  the  question  of  religious 
moral  teaching  in  the  public  schools  among  Christian  and  non-church- 
going  people.  As  the  creation  of  one  or  more  state  religions  is  forbid- 
den by  the  national  constitution,  I  proposed  that  the  Decalogue,  as  the 
divine  commandment  of  the  Creator  of  the  world,  should  be  taught  in 
every  public  school ;  because  I  am  convinced  that  the  existence  of  an  all- 
wise  and  all-loving  Creator  cannot  any  more  be  denied.  Natural  science 
furnishes  an  endless  amount  of  indirect  proof  on  the  subject.  And  I 
believe  the  great  majority  of  the  American  people  perceive  the  neces- 
sity of  such  religious  teaching,  the  absence  of  which  since  the  middle 
of  the  '60s  of  the  last  century  has  lowered  the  standard  of  morality 
and  honesty  of  our  people  to  such  a  degree  that  the  criminal  element 
is  steadily  increasing  faster  than  the  population,  and  that  the  criminals 
constantly  commence  their  lawless  career  at  an  earlier  age  of  life  than 
in  pre\aous  years. 

"While  I  was  writing,  and  at  different  churches  and  other  places 
speaking  on  this  all-important  subject,  I  made  a  business  trip  to  San 
Diego  along  the  Pacific  coast  of  Wasliington,  Oregon  and  California, 
and  seeing  how  utterly  unprepared  this  coast  is  against  any  invasion, 
I  concluded  to  drop  my  religious  school  work  and  in  my  seventy-fifth 
year  commenced  to  write  a  book  in  which,  under  the  title,  'The  Secrets 
of  the  Japanese  Government,'  I  showed  up  the  gigantic  political  fraud 
underlying  the  present  Japanese  government,  partly  from  my  own 
experiences  in  Japan  at  the  end  of  the  '60s  of  the  last  century  and 
partly  from  English,  but  principally  Japanese  sources.  The  book 
gives  a  perfectly  correct  and  truthful  pen  picture  of  Japan's  past  and 
present  civilization,  of  the  rule  of  the  Samurai  class,  the  absolute 
impossibility  of  any  member  of  the  weak-minded  imperial  family. 


SD,  JF,  Wegener 


211 


which  believes  in  its  own  divinity,  to  rule  the  people,  and  of  the  exist- 
ence of  a  war  and  conquest  policy  of  the  Japanese  government, 
adopted  in  1869,  which  is  particularly  intended  to  secure  for  the 
Japanese  a  foothold  on  the  North  American  continent,  including  the 
conquest  of  Alaska. 

"Although  every  statement  contained  in  the  book  is  absolutely 
true,  I  could  not  get  a  pubhsher  for  it  in  the  whole  United  States  and 
had  finally,  in  my  seventy-ninth  year,  to  publish  it  myself  and  try  to 
bring  it  as  best  I  could  before  the  American  people,  whose  childlike 
confidence  in  the  friendship  of  the  Japanese  government  has  allowed 
them  to  leave  their  whole  Pacific  coast  states,  territory  and  insular 
possessions  open  to  a  successful  Japanese  invasion.  As  soon  as  the 
Japanese  danger  has  passed,  as  I  hope  it  will,  I  intend  to  devote  all 
my  time  to  the  question  of  religious  teaching  in  our  public  schools,  with 
the  hope  that  my  initiatory  work  in  the  matter  may  be  rewarded  by  my 
seeing  the  high  standard  of  morality  and  honesty  existing  in  the 
United  States  at  my  first  landing  here,  in  1858,  reestablished,  never  to 
be  lost  again  through  Godless  schools." 


WtUtam  llarbep  Puttier 

jILLIAM  HARVEY  SURBER  of  Seattle  was  born 
on  a  farm  in  Madison  county,  Indiana,  some  eight 
miles  from  Andersontown,  November  7,  1834,  son  of 
John  and  Betsy  Surber.  His  father  was  of  German 
descent  and  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  removing  to 
Indiana  in  1822;  and  his  mother  also  came  from  Ger- 
man stock.  The  son  received  a  country  school  education  and  lived  on 
the  home  farm  until  the  age  of  twenty-two,  assisting  his  father  in 
clearing  out  timber  and  in  other  laborious  work  incidental  to  rural  life. 
During  his  early  period  he  acquired  a  reputation  as  a  skilful  marks- 
man and  himter.  In  the  winter  of  1856,  while  on  one  of  his  hunting 
excursions,  he  shot  a  deer  with  a  flint-lock  rifle,  and  twenty  years  later, 
upon  retm'ning  for  a  visit  to  the  scenes  of  his  boyhood,  learned  that  it 
was  the  last  deer  killed  in  Madison  county. 

In  the  early  part  of  1857,  having  heard  that  an  expedition,  headed 
by  Gallant  Raines,  was  in  process  of  organization  at  St.  Joseph  on  the 
Missouri  river,  with  the  intention  of  crossing  the  plains  to  California, 
young  Surber  left  home,  accompanied  by  a  neighbor,  Jack  Foster, 
proceeded  to  that  place  and  joined  the  party,  which,  as  finally  made 
up,  consisted  of  sixty-two  persons,  sixteen  of  whom  were  young 
women.  There  were  forty  wagons,  twenty-two  being  loaded  with 
provisions,  thirty-eight  yoke  of  oxen,  and  five  hundred  head  of  loose 
cattle.  The  start  was  made  from  St.  Joseph  on  the  7th  of  March. 
Throughout  the  journey,  which  was  made  without  untoward  incident, 
Surber  acted  as  official  hunter  for  the  company.  He  and  Foster  left 
the  train  at  Grizzty  Flat,  California,  and  went  to  Hangtown  (later 
known  as  Placerville),  and  then  to  Sacramento,  where  they  arrived  in 
October.  For  some  nine  months  he  was  employed  on  a  ranch  twelve 
miles  from  that  place.  In  July,  1858,  deciding  to  seek  his  fortune  in 
the  Eraser  river  gold  diggings,  he  sailed  from  San  Francisco  to  Victo- 
ria, British  Columbia,  and  there  took  the  steamer  Beaver  for  his  desti- 
nation. Arriving  at  the  diggings  he  took  a  claim  on  Emery's  Bar 
between  Fort  Yale  and  Fort  Hope,  and  after  working  industriously 
with  a  rocker  all  winter  found  himself  in  possession  of  six  hundred 
dollars.  This  did  not  seem  to  him  a  sufficient  reward  for  such  labor, 
and  in  the  spring  he  returned  to  Victoria  and  went  by  schooner  to  Port 
215 


216  muiiam  ^attieg  ^utSci 

Gamble,  Washington,  and  thence  by  trail  to  Port  Madison.  Being 
unable  to  obtain  employment  at  the  latter  place,  he  hired  two  Siwash 
Indians,  who  took  him  in  a  canoe  to  Seattle,  landing  him  on  Yesler's 
slab  pile  at  the  foot  of  what  was  then  Mill  street,  now  Yesler  avenue, 
on  the  12th  of  May,  1859.  The  same  day  he  was  employed  at  the 
carpenter's  trade  by  Tom  Russell  and  George  Barker  (at  that  time 
the  only  carpenters  in  Seattle) ,  and  he  continued  to  work  for  them 
ulitil  April  of  the  following  year.  His  employers,  not  thinking  it 
necessary  to  learn  his  name,  called  him  Joe,  and  he  has  ever  since  been 
familiarly  known  to  Seattle  people  as  Joe  Surber.  Afterward  he 
worked  for  Captain  Libby  in  driving  piles,  and  at  the  same  occupation 
for  J.  M.  Colman,  having  charge  of  the  driver  at  Utsaladdy;  and  for 
some  time  he  also  served  as  second  engineer  on  the  steamer  J.  B. 
Libby.  In  the  fall  of  1863  he  bored  the  logs  used  for  conveying  water 
to  the  old  university,  a  distance  of  about  seven  blocks. 

In  1861,  after  the  McGilvra  road  was  built  from  Seattle  to  Lake 
Washington,  Mr.  Surber  took  up  a  homestead  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  on  the  north  side  of  Union  Bay,  but  he  abandoned  the 
homestead  and  bought  the  same  acreage,  with  five  acres  more,  from 
the  government  at  a  dollar  and  a  quarter  an  acre.  He  still  retains 
about  forty  acres. 

Becoming  a  well  known  and  popular  citizen  of  Seattle,  he  was 
chosen  the  first  chief  of  police  of  the  city  in  1866  when  Henry  Yesler 
was  mayor  and  W.  R.  Maddox,  Charles  Bm-nett,  Charles  Terry,  and 
Frank  Matthias  were  members  of  the  council.  Although  he  has  not 
since  been  active  to  any  extent  in  politics  or  identified  with  official 
affairs,  he  has  at  all  times  enjoyed  a  high  personal  reputation  and  is 
today  known  and  esteemed  throughout  the  community  as  one  of  the 
representative  old  citizens. 

Much  interest  attaches  to  the  career  of  Mr.  Surber  in  connection 
with  his  reminiscences,  or  more  properly  the  historical  records,  of  the 
early  and  later  conditions  of  wild  game  in  the  Puget  Sound  country. 
We  have  already  alluded  to  his  youthful  expertness  as  a  marksman 
and  hunter,  and  after  coming  to  Washington  he  fuUj^  maintained  his 
reputation  in  those  respects.  It  is  asserted  by  competent  authorities 
that  he  has  killed  at  least  twice  as  many  deer,  cougars  and  wildcats  as 
any  man  who  has  ever  lived  in  the  state.  Cougars  he  invariably  slew 
whenever  opportunity  offered  as  a  matter  of  protection  to  the  deer. 
He  has  a  three  inch  scar  on  the  top  of  his  head  as  a  result  of  a  cougar 
hunt.  In  a  single  winter  he  disposed  of  five  of  these  animals.  It  was 
by  his  hand  that  the  last  cougar  slain  in  the  vicinity  of  Seattle  met  its 
death.    This  event  happened  on  his  place  on  Union  Bay  in  189.5.    The 


gailUam  ^attieg  ^uc&et  217 

dogs  forced  the  beast  to  mount  a  fence,  and  Mr.  Surber,  wishing  not 
to  mar  its  pelt  with  a  ball,  killed  it  with  a  picket. 

At  the  time  of  his  coming  to  Seattle  (May,  1859)  game  abounded, 
and  deer  were  especially  numerous.  The  meat  of  that  animal  was  in 
much  request  in  the  market,  as  beef  was  then  costly  and  often  difficult 
to  get  at  any  price.  He  accordingly  devoted  much  of  his  leisui-e  to 
hunting  and  with  very  substantial  advantage  in  those  days  of  narrow 
financial  means.  On  many  of  his  hunting  trips  he  shot  from  three  to 
five  deer  but  never  more  than  enough  to  satisfy  a  reasonable  demand ; 
no  old-timer  ever  regarded  Mr.  Surber  as  a  pothimter  or  other  than  a 
sportsman  of  the  highest  type.  He  made  his  first  hunt  about  four 
days  after  his  arrival.  Borrowing  from  Tommy  Mercer  a  Yager  rifle 
he  went  into  the  woods  after  dinner  and  at  what  is  now  Fourth  and 
Marion  streets  killed  a  three-pronged  buck,  which  he  dragged  single 
handed  through  the  brush  to  Yesler's  Mill.  By  hunting  evenings  he 
was  able  to  pay  his  board  and  lay  bj^  a  comfortable  sum.  In  1867  he 
devoted  four  months  exclusively  to  hunting,  and  in  that  period  secured 
one  hundred  and  fourteen  deer,  seven  bears  and  one  elk — this  elk  being 
the  last  killed  in  King  county  (September  12,  1867).  He  shot  it  in 
Frost's  meadow  at  Smith's  Cove.  He  had  previously  killed  five  elk, 
all  between  Lake  Union  and  Green  Lake.  His  first  elk  (shot  Sep- 
tember 1,  1859,  just  north  of  the  Latona  bridge)  he  sold  to  Arthur 
Denny,  who  was  then  rimning  a  meat  market  on  Commercial  street, 
and  the  two  hind  quarters  and  one  fore  quarter  brought  forty-seven 
dollars.  Aside  from  the  six  elk  bagged  by  Surber,  only  two  are  known 
to  have  been  killed  in  King  county — one  by  David  Denny  a  little 
north  of  Oak  Lake,  and  the  other  by  Indians  on  the  old  McGilvra 
road  at  what  is  now  Thirtj^-ninth  and  Madison  streets.  As  late  as 
June  12,  1906,  Mr.  Surber  saw  three  deer,  one  in  front  of  his  house 
on  Union  Bay  and  the  other  just  north  of  the  Golf  Club,  and  one 
of  these  (a  buck)  he  killed.  The  experiences  of  Mr.  Surber  as  a 
hunter  have  been  the  subject  of  various  publications  in  the  press,  and 
by  special  request  from  T.  S.  Palmer,  the  official  in  charge  of  game 
preservation  for  the  federal  department  of  agriculture,  he  has  recently 
furnished  some  exact  particulars  for  the  historical  records  of  the  de- 
partment. 


ELMER  E.CAIJSTE 


€lmer  €,  Came 

,HE  marked  natural  ability  and  business  enterprise  of 
Elmer  E.  Caine  were  constantly  shown  in  the  conduct 
of  his  interests  from  the  time  when  he  started  out  in 
life  on  his  own  account  until  he  became  the  head  of 
the  Alaska  &  Pacific  Steamship  Company  and  was 
prominently  identified  with  the  shipping  interests  of 
the  northwest.  He  readily  recognized  and  improved  his  opportuni- 
ties and  moreover  he  coordinated  seemingly  diverse  elements  into  a 
unified  and  harmonious  whole.  His  prominence  in  business  and  his 
personal  worth,  which  had  gained  for  him  many  friends,  caused  his 
loss  to  be  deeply  regretted  when  death  claimed  him  on  the  25th  of 
August,  1908.  He  was  born  at  White  Lake,  near  Muskegon,  Wiscon- 
sin, May  31,  1863,  his  father  being  Alfred  A.  Caine,  who  was  de- 
scended in  the  maternal  line  from  one  of  the  Harpers  connected  with 
the  distinguished  family  of  that  name  at  Harpersburg,  New  York. 

After  pursuing  his  education  in  his  native  state,  Elmer  E.  Caine 
went  to  Chicago,  Illinois,  where  for  four  years  he  was  employed  in 
a  notion  house.  Later  he  became  passenger  agent  for  the  Wisconsin 
Central  Railroad  Company  at  Minneapolis,  Minnesota,  where  he 
spent  three  years,  and  in  1889  he  became  a  resident  of  Seattle.  From 
that  time  forward  he  was  connected  with  the  steamboat  business,  his 
entrance  into  that  industry  being  made  as  the  senior  partner  in  the 
firm  of  E.  E.  Caine  &  Company,  operating  freight  and  tug  boats  on 
the  Sound.  He  was  thus  engaged  until  he  organized  the  Pacific  Clip- 
per Line  in  1898,  for  the  Alaska  trade,  in  which  connection  the 
company  operated  some  of  its  own  vessels  and  acted  as  agent  for 
others,  making  trips  to  Skagway,  Cape  Nome  and  other  Alaska  points. 
They  built  the  steamer  G.  W.  Dickinson,  with  a  capacity  of  sixteen 
hundred  tons,  which  was  later  sold  to  the  government  for  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  The  company  also  built  two  sailing  ves- 
sels, completed  in  1901,  each  valued  at  seventy-five  thousand  dollars, 
and  they  operated  altogether  ten  vessels  in  the  Alaska  trade.  Mr. 
Caine's  first  business  venture  was  to  operate  the  steam  schooner  J.  C. 
Brittain  and  later  he  obtained  control  of  the  Arlington  dock,  making 
his  first  start  to  fortune  by  bringing  stone  to  Seattle  after  the  big  fire 
of  1889.  He  purchased  the  steamer  Rapid  Transit  and  used  it  in  the 
221 


222  (gimet  (g.  Caine 

Alaska  trade  during  the  rush  of  1895  and  1896.  At  the  dissolution 
of  the  Pacific  Packing  &  Navigation  Company  he  purchased  the 
steamships  Jeanie,  Santa  Clara,  Santa  Ann,  Dora  and  Excelsior  and 
operated  them  under  the  name  of  the  Alaska  Pacific  Navigation  Com- 
pany, selling  out  to  the  Northwestern  Steamship  Company  in  1904. 
The  following  year  he  went  to  the  east  and  purchased  the  steamships 
Buckham  and  Watson,  which  he  brought  around  Cape  Horn.  They 
were  put  on  the  San  Francisco  run  by  the  Alaska  &  Pacific  Steam- 
ship Company,  and  the  Buckham,  sent  out  by  Captain  Caine,  was 
the  first  ship  to  sail  from  Seattle  with  relief  supphes  after  the  earth- 
quake and  fire  at  San  Francisco.  Later  he  built  the  Falcon  and  he 
organized  and  was  a  heavy  stockholder  in  the  Alaska  Pacific  Express 
Company,  now  operating  at  the  principal  ports  of  Alaska.  His  faith 
in  the  great  Alaska  country  was  responsible  for  his  prosperity  in  a 
great  measm-e.  In  addition  to  his  other  interests  he  became  the  head 
of  the  Superior  Portland  Cement  Company  at  Baker  and  with  James 
F.  McElroy,  A.  T.  Van  de  Vanter  and  George  W.  Dickinson  he 
organized  the  King  County  Fair  Association,  of  which  he  was  one  of 
the  stewards  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  also  built  the  Prudential 
building  on  Railroad  avenue. 

The  Captain  was  married  in  Minneapolis,  Minnesota,  to  Miss 
Minnie  A.  Roberts,  and  they  had  an  attractive  home  in  Seattle,  cele- 
brated for  its  gracious  hospitality.  Fraternally  he  was  connected  with 
the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks  as  one  of  its  life  members. 
He  likewise  belonged  to  the  Rainier  Club  and  in  these  organizations 
was  a  popular  member.  He  had  just  started  to  reahze  his  plans  for 
the  erection  of  a  fifty  thousand  dollar  home  at  Lake  Park,  on  Lake 
Washington,  but  died  before  his  plans  could  be  carried  to  completion. 
In  1906  he  pm-chased  a  large  game  preserve,  known  as  Protection 
Island,  in  the  Strait  of  Juan  de  Fuca.  It  seemed  that  life  had  for 
him  everj^  possibility  for  comfort  and  happiness.  He  had  conducted 
his  business  to  such  a  point  that  it  was  possible  to  have  leisure  for  the 
enjoyment  of  those  things  which  were  of  interest  to  him,  but  death 
frustrated  his  plans  and  he  passed  away  August  25,  1908,  at  the  com- 
paratively early  age  of  forty-five  years,  his  death  being  the  occasion 
of  deep  and  widespread  regret  among  his  many  friends.  He  pos- 
sessed sterling  qualities  that  had  gained  for  him  the  warm  regard  and 
goodwill  of  all  with  whom  he  had  come  in  contact  and  everywhere 
people  spoke  of  him  in  terms  of  the  highest  respect.  His  life  record 
indicated  the  possibilities  which  are  before  the  young,  demonstrating 
what  could  be  accomplished  when  ambition  points  out  the  way  and 
enterprise  and  diligence  continue  therein. 


IHARLES  HERBERT  BEBB,  a  weU  known  Seattle 
architect,  was  born  at  West  Hall,  Mortlake,  Surrey, 

C>3  England,  April  10,  1856,  a  son  of  Henry  Charles 
\9]  Lewis  and  Jessie  (Green)  Bebb,  the  former  of  Eng- 
lish and  the  latter  of  Irish  birth.  The  son  pursued 
his  early  education  in  private  schools  at  Kensington, 
afterward  attended  King's  College  in  London  and  a  preparatory  in- 
stitution at  Yverdon,  Switzerland.  He  was  also  a  student  in  the 
University  of  Lausanne  (Switzerland)  for  some  time,  after  which  he 
returned  to  London,  continuing  his  study  under  a  private  tutor.  He 
pursued  a  private  coiu-se  in  civil  engineering  in  the  School  of  Mines 
in  London  but  before  his  graduation,  however,  he  accepted  an  offer 
to  go  to  South  Africa,  where  for  five  years  he  was  connected  with  the 
engineering  department  of  the  Cape  government  railways  in  the 
western  division,  in  the  construction  work  of  the  Cape  Town-Kim- 
berley  Railway.  That  work  covered  the  period  between  the  years 
1877  and  1882.  In  the  latter  year,  work  being  suspended,  he  returned 
to  London  and  later  in  the  same  year  came  to  America.  It  was  his 
intention  to  secure  a  position  with  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  which 
was  then  building  its  line  to  Texas,  but  when  he  reached  Chicago  he 
found  that  there  were  excellent  business  opportunities  in  that  city 
and  decided  to  remain  there.  He  accepted  an  offer  from  the  Illinois 
Terra  Cotta  Lumber  Company  and  was  soon  appointed  its  construc- 
tion engineer  with  full  charge  of  all  of  its  work.  In  that  capacity  he 
devoted  special  attention  to  the  subject  of  fireproofing  as  related  to 
the  requirements  of  the  high  steel  buildings  which  were  then  in  process 
of  evolution,  and  he  soon  became  known  as  one  of  the  most  competent 
experts  in  that  important  line.  It  was  due  to  his  personal  efforts  that 
the  contract  for  the  fire-proofing  of  the  Chicago  Auditorium,  the 
largest  contract  of  its  kind  which  had  ever  been  awarded  at  that  time, 
was  given  to  his  company.  In  addition  to  the  work  on  that  structure, 
he  had  charge  of  the  fire-proofing  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  build- 
ing, the  Monon  block  and  many  others  of  importance.  After  five 
years,  however,  he  resigned  his  position  with  that  company  to  become 
superintending  architect  with  the  firm  of  Adler  &  Sullivan,  of  Chi- 
cago, remaining  with  them  for  four  years,  during  which  time  he  gained 
225 


226  Ci?atlgs  ^et&ctt  15e66 

new  laurels  in  his  profession  and  added  to  his  already  enviable  reputa- 
tion. While  still  with  that  firm,  in  1890,  he  came  to  Seattle  to  assume 
charge  of  the  erection  of  the  projected  Seattle  Theater  and  Hotel 
building  at  the  corner  of  Second  avenue  and  University  street,  but 
financial  complications  followed  the  failm-e  of  the  Baring  Brothers 
and  the  enterprise  was  abandoned,  after  which  Mr.  Bebb  retm-ned  to 
Chicago, 

A  little  later,  however,  he  once  more  came  to  Seattle  and  made 
permanent  settlement.  He  accepted  the  position  of  architectural  engi- 
neer for  the  Denny  Clay  Company,  with  which  he  was  connected  from 
1893  until  1898.  At  the  end  of  that  period  he  embarked  in  business 
for  himself  as  a  practicing  architect  and  has  met  with  conspicuous 
and  well  merited  success.  Under  his  direction  has  been  built  the  Frye 
Hotel,  the  Athletic  Club,  the  Stander  Hotel,  the  Cyrus  Walker 
building,  the  Hoge  building,  the  New  Seattle  Times  building  and 
other  public  buildings  and  many  private  residences,  the  latter  includ- 
ing the  homes  of  WUliam  E.  Boeing,  F.  S.  Stimson,  Harry  Whitney 
Treat,  A.  S.  Kerry,  H.  C.  Henry,  C.  F.  White,  E.  A.  Stuart,  C.  H. 
Cobb,  William  Walker  and  John  Campbell.  Mr.  Bebb  is  associated 
with  Carl  F.  Gould  and  his  firm  laid  out  the  accepted  grouping  plan 
for  the  University  of  Washington.  Moreover,  his  firm  has  designed 
the  first  two  buildings  on  the  Liberal  Arts  Quadrangle,  the  Home 
Economics  building  and  the  Political  Science  and  Commerce  building 
and  they  are  now  in  the  course  of  construction.  Mr.  Bebb  is  also 
the  architect  for  the  estate  of  Cyrus  Walker  and  the  Denny  estate. 
He  has  written  extensively  for  the  technical  press  on  engineering 
subjects  and  in  1901  he  was  elected  to  membership  in  the  American 
Institute  of  Architects,  a  fact  indicative  of  the  prominence  to  which 
he  has  attained  as  a  representative  of  the  profession.  He  was  also  a 
delegate  to  the  international  convention  of  architects  held  in  Vienna, 
Austria,  in  1907  and  he  was  elected  a  fellow  of  the  American  Institute 
of  Architects  in  1910,  while  the  same  year  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  Royal  Institute  of  Arts  of  London,  England,  and  the  Amer- 
ican Federation  of  Arts,  Washington  D.  C.  He  was  appointed  expert 
adviser  to  the  state  of  Washington  under  Governor  Hays'  adminis- 
tration and  conducted  the  Washington  state  capitol  competition.  In 
addition  to  the  buildings  previously  mentioned  that  he  has  erected, 
mention  should  be  made  of  the  First  Church  of  Christ,  Scientist,  and 
various  buildings  of  the  Alaska- Yukon-Pacific  Exposition,  including 
the  Washington  State  building,  the  Good  Roads,  Fisheries  and  King 
County  buildings,  beside  many  warehouses  and  factories.  He  is  also 
architect  for  the  park  board  of  the  city  of  Seattle.    He  likewise  has 


Ci)atle0  r^et&crt  15e66  227 

important  financial  interests  and  has  served  on  the  board  of  directors 
of  the  Union  Savings  &  Trust  Company,  occupying  that  position  for 
three  years. 

In  Chicago,  in  1882,  Mr.  Bebb  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Virginia  Rutter  Burnes,  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Ai'thur  Pue  Burnes,  of 
EUicott  City,  Maryland,  a  claimant  to  the  estate  of  the  earl  of  Der- 
wentwater,  who  was  the  ninth  earl  and  last  of  the  line.  Dr.  Burnes 
served  with  distinction  in  the  southern  army  and  was  surgeon-in-chief 
of  the  Jordan  White  Suljihur  Springs  Hospital  at  the  close  of  the 
Civil  war.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bebb  has  been  born  a  son,  Joseph  C, 
who  was  married  to  Aubrey  Lewis,  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Lewis,  chief 
surgeon  of  the  United  States  Pacific  Squadron,  now  deceased.  They 
have  one  daughter,  Virginia  A.  C.  Bebb,  born  in  1912. 

In  his  pohtical  views  Mr.  Bebb  has  always  been  a  stalwart  repub- 
lican since  age  conferred  upon  him  the  right  of  franchise  and,  while 
never  a  politician  in  the  sense  of  office  seeking,  he  became  the  first 
chairman  of  the  board  of  appeals  of  the  city  of  Seattle,  serving  for 
three  years,  after  which  he  resigned.  Fraternally  he  is  a  Mason  of 
the  Scottish  Rite,  in  which  he  has  attained  the  thirty-second  degree. 
He  belongs  to  the  University  Club,  the  Seattle  Golf  and  Country 
Club,  the  Rainier  Club,  the  Seattle  Athletic  Club,  the  Engineers  Club, 
the  Ranch  Gun  Club  and  the  Firloch  Club.  Official  honors  have  come 
to  him  in  connection  with  his  profession,  for  on  three  different  occa- 
sions he  has  been  elected  president  of  the  Washington  State  Chapter 
of  the  American  Institute  of  Architects.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Northwest  Society  of  Civil  Engineers  in  addition  to  the  organizations 
already  mentioned  which  are  of  a  strictly  professional  character.  He 
has  made  architecture  paramount  to  other  interests  of  his  life  that 
have  to  do  with  the  public  and  his  concentration  and  devotion  to  his 
profession  has  gained  him  notable  prominence  as  one  of  the  leading 
architects  of  the  northwest. 


€toin  lap  Proton,^®,  B,  g).,  1%.  P, 

)R.  EDWIN  J.  BROWN  stands  out  prominently,  a 
representative  of  that  sturdy,  able  and  efficient  class 
known  as  "self-made  men."  Denied  the  advantages 
under  which  most  men  enter  the  professions,  by  hard 
work,  untiring  energy  and  close  application,  he  fitted 
himself  for  the  practice  of  dentistry  and  later  the  law. 
Dr.  Brown  was  born  in  Oregon,  Ogle  county,  Illinois,  October  30, 
1864,  a  son  of  Steven  and  Margaret  ( Kittleton)  Brown.  The  father's 
people  were  residents  of  the  state  of  New  York  prior  to  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  owners  and  operators  of  a  chain  of  flour  mills,  and  strong 
sympathizers  with  the  British  crown.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  desiring 
to  live  as  British  subjects,  the  family  removed  to  Canada,  there  re- 
establishing itself  in  the  milling  business.  It  was  in  that  country  that 
Dr.  Brown's  father  was  born  in  the  year  1812.  In  1864,  however, 
Steven  Brown  crossed  the  border  with  his  family,  and  became  a  resi- 
dent and  citizen  of  the  United  States,  establishing  his  home  at  Oregon, 
Ilhnois,  where  Dr.  Brown  was  born. 

After  attending  a  countrj^  school  known  as  Dr.  Light's  school 
about  four  miles  from  Oregon  and  the  Ober  school,  two  miles  from 
Chaney  station,  Dr.  Brown  became  a  pupil  in  the  ward  primary  schools 
at  Grand  Haven,  Michigan.  He  left  those  schools  at  the  fourth  grade 
and  after  some  years  he  attended  the  Wells  Preparatory  School  at 
Oregon,  Illinois,  in  the  year  1882. 

His  attendance  at  this  school  and  further  education  were  very  soon 
thereafter  interrupted  by  his  being  thrown  entirely  upon  his  own 
resources.  When  at  the  age  of  nine  years  he  began  to  face  the  realities 
of  life  as  a  newsboy  and,  against  the  protest  of  the  entire  Brown 
family,  annexed  a  boot  blacking  department.  The  meager  education 
he  obtained  until  leaving  the  Wells  Preparatory  School  was  gained 
at  such  time  as  was  permitted  by  the  requirements  of  this  business. 
After  leaving  the  school  he  obtained  a  broader  experience  and  a 
broader  understanding  of  many  lines  of  business.  By  successive  em- 
ployment as  bellboy,  sailor,  shingle  packer,  barber  and  traveler,  he 
gained  a  personal  acquaintance  with,  and  a  close  insight  into  the  lives 
of  many  classes  of  people. 

231 


232  (gPtaiin  3Iap  15coton,  D,  D.  ^.,  JLL,  Ig, 

In  the  fall  of  1881  the  Doctor  exj)erienced  his  fii'st  call  to  the  west, 
and  with  a  school  boy  chum,  William  Axford,  started  for  Yellowstone 
Park  proceeding  as  far  as  MinneajDolis  and  St.  Paul,  but  the  climate 
was  not  suitable  for  their  light  weight  clothing  and  they  returned  to 
a  climate  more  in  harmony  with  their  wardrobe. 

Again  in  the  spring  of  1884  he  turned  to  the  far  west,  visiting 
California  and  proceeding  up  the  Pacific  coast  as  far  as  Portland, 
Oregon,  where  he  remained  until  February,  1885,  at  which  time  he 
returned  east  to  Kansas  City,  Missouri.  Still  a  boy  just  passing  his 
teens  he  opened  a  barber  shop  in  Kansas  City  in  which  business  he  was 
engaged  until  taking  up  the  study  of  dentistry  and  while  attending 
the  Western  Dental  College,  from  which  he  received  a  degree  in  1897. 
In  the  fall  of  1895  he  opened  a  dental  office  there  under  the  preceptor- 
ship  of  Dr.  W.  J.  Brady,  now  dean  of  the  Western  Dental  College. 
On  his  gi-aduation  from  that  institution  he  was  offered  a  position  of 
resident  demonstrator  and  professor  of  prosthetic  dentistry  and  dental 
technique  in  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  at  San  Francisco, 
California,  but  remained  in  Kansas  City  in  order  to  take  up  the  study 
of  law.  While  engaged  in  the  practice  of  dentistry  he  attended  the 
Kansas  City  School  of  Law  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  June, 
1899. 

It  had  always  been  his  intention  after  his  visit  to  the  Pacific  coast 
in  1884  to  make  that  section  of  the  country  his  future  home  as  soon  as 
circumstances  would  permit  and  in  Februarj^  1901,  he  arrived  in 
Seattle  and  in  association  with  Dr.  Fred  Steine  purchased  the  Brown 
Dental  Offices  from  Dr.  C.  P.  Brown.  Very  soon  thereafter  he 
acquired  his  partner's  interest  in  the  practice  and  has  devoted  the 
larger  part  of  his  time  to  his  practice  vmtil  the  present.  In  the  fall  of 
1903  he  organized  the  law  firm  of  Parker  &  Brown,  which  association, 
however,  was  discontinued  in  January,  1913.  His  interests  aside  from 
his  dental  offices  are  in  mining  properties  in  Oregon,  Washington  and 
Alaska,  and  in  the  development  of  orchard  and  farm  lands  in  Grant 
county,  Washington. 

In  Kansas  City  on  the  3d  day  of  May,  1886,  Dr.  Brown  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Lelia  Dell  McClelland,  a  daughter  of  Calvin  P.  McClel- 
land, of  Ottawa,  Kansas,  and  Fannie  (Logan)  McClelland,  a  cousin 
of  General  John  A.  Logan.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Brown  have  become  the 
parents  of  three  sons;  Edwin  James,  who  married  Miss  Frances 
Stevenson  of  Seattle  and  is  a  practicing  attorney  whose  biographical 
record  appears  on  other  pages  in  these  volumes ;  Kirk  Charles,  who  is 
now  studying  medicine  at  the  University  of  Colorado;  and  William 
Clyde,  who  married  Miss  Margery  Draham  of  Seattle,  and  who  is 


(gptoin  3lag  "Broton,  D.  D.  ^♦,  LL.  ^,  233 

now  devoting  his  time  to  agriculture  on  his  father's  ranches  in  Grant 
county,  Washington. 

In  politics  Dr.  Brown  holds  the  views  of  the  sociahst  party.  He 
is  active  in  many  charities,  he  takes  an  active  interest  in  all  questions 
of  municipal  and  public  welfare  and  has  been  active  and  prominent 
in  all  lines  of  political  endeavor.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Ancient 
Order  of  the  United  Workmen,  of  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America 
and  the  Woodmen  of  the  World.  He  also  is  a  member  of  the  Seattle 
Commercial  Club,  the  Washington  State  Art  Association  and  the 
Seattle  Athletic  Club,  being  an  enthusiast  in  all  forms  of  athletics 
and  out-of-door  sports,  particularly  automobiling. 


^d^'Ty^Jr-^ 


f  ofin  C.  igorton 

MONUMENT  to  the  business  ability  of  John  C. 
Norton  is  the  University  State  Bank  of  Seattle,  of 
which  he  was  the  builder  and  president,  remaining  at 
the  head  of  the  institution  until  his  demise.  Mr.  Nor- 
ton was  born  in  Maine  on  the  2d  of  February,  1846, 
and  in  early  manhood  he  took  up  the  profession  of 
teaching,  in  which  he  displayed  marked  ability  and  success,  imparting 
clearly  and  readily  to  others  the  knowledge  that  he  had  acquired.  He 
was  forty-three  years  of  age  when  he  came  to  Seattle  in  1889,  com- 
missioned by  the  Free  Methodist  church  to  assist  in  the  erection  of 
the  seminary  at  Ross,  having  been  ordained  a  minister  by  that  church 
previous  to  his  coming  here.  He  took  up  his  abode  upon  a  forty  acre 
tract  of  land  which  was  situated  in  what  is  now  the  University  View 
addition  and  which  was  the  property  of  Mrs.  Norton.  Upon  that 
farm  he  lived  for  fourteen  years  and  in  the  meantime  the  quick  growth 
of  the  city  advanced  the  value  of  this  property  rapidly,  making  it 
possible  for  him  to  sell  at  a  handsome  figure.  He  then  built  a  fine 
home  on  University  boulevard  and  turned  his  attention  to  financial 
interests  by  becoming  the  organizer  of  the  University  State  Bank. 
He  was  later  chosen  its  president  and  largely  formulated  its  business 
system,  in  which  progressiveness  was  tempered  by  a  safe  conservatism. 
He  continued  at  the  head  of  the  bank  until  his  demise  and  its  growth 
and  prosperity  are  largely  attributable  to  his  efforts  and  his  farsighted 
business  policy  and  sagacity. 

On  the  5th  of  May,  1892,  in  Seattle,  Mr.  Norton  was  joined  in 
wedlock  to  Miss  M.  A.  Widger,  who  was  born  in  the  state  of  New 
York  and  in  early  life  removed  westward  to  California,  but  several 
years  prior  to  the  great  fire  of  1889  she  became  a  resident  of  Seattle. 
She  is  a  portrait  painter  of  considerable  note  and  has  on  exhibition 
at  her  home  several  very  fine  paintings,  particularly  one  of  her  hus- 
band, from  which  the  accompanying  steel  engraving  was  made. 

Mr.  Norton  voted  with  the  repubhcan  party,  and,  while  not  an 

office  seeker,  kept  well  informed  concerning  the  political  situation  and 

the  attitude  of  the  two  great  parties  concerning  vital  questions  of  the 

day.    The  Masonic  fraternity  found  in  him  an  exemplary  representa- 

237 


238  3[oi)n  €♦  jQotton 

tive  and  his  fellow  townsmen  recognized  in  him  a  citizen  who  was 
always  active  for  Seattle's  growth  and  benefit.  Both  he  and  his  wife 
lived  to  witness  great  changes  in  the  city.  The  vestiges  of  villagehood 
were  wiped  out  with  the  great  fire  and  the  work  of  upbuilding  was 
continued  upon  a  larger,  broader  and  more  modern  scale,  Mr.  Norton 
was  among  those  who  had  wisdom  to  foresee  something  of  the  changes 
which  the  future  would  bring  and  therefore  made  investment  in  prop- 
erty which  ultimately  brought  to  him  a  most  gratifying  financial  return. 


I 


/jKju^-^i^Lxn^^^  cs4 .  ^yhn/LL>^^=i^ 


HJamesJ  p.  Mtttalit 

lAMES  B.  METCALFE  has  long  been  regarded  as 

J.,wi  a  distinguished  attorney  of  the  northwest.  A  con- 
^  temporary  biographer  has  said  of  him:  "Mr.  Met- 
^  ealfe  is  a  native  of  Mississippi,  his  birth  having 
occurred  near  Natchez,  in  Adams  county,  on  the  15th 
of  January,  1846.  He  is  of  Enghsh  and  Irish  Hneage. 
The  Metcalfes  arrived  in  Massachusetts  in  1620  and  were  numbered 
among  the  Puritan  settlers  of  New  England,  Michael  being  the  pro- 
genitor of  the  family  in  America.  Representatives  of  the  name  re- 
moved to  Connecticut  and  others  to  Ohio,  while  the  branch  of  the 
family  to  which  our  subject  belongs  was  founded  in  Mississippi  by 
his  father.  On  the  maternal  side  the  ancestry  can  be  traced  directly 
to  Deacon  Samuel  Chapin,  whose  bronze  statue  adorns  the  park  in 
Springfield,  Massachusetts.  Nathaniel  Chapin,  the  grandfather  of 
our  subject,  was  an  ensign  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  members  of 
the  Metcalfe  family  were  minute  men  at  Concord  and  Lexington,  so 
that  on  both  sides  Mr.  Metcalfe  of  this  review  has  inherited  the  right 
to  become  a  Son  of  the  American  Revolution.  He  has  availed  him- 
self of  the  opportunity  this  has  given  and  is  a  valued  member  of  the 
organization.  His  father,  Oren  Metcalfe,  was  born  in  Enfield,  Con- 
necticut, in  1810,  removed  thence  to  Ohio,  and  subsequently  became 
a  resident  of  Mississippi,  where  he  was  married  to  Miss  Zuleika  Rosalie 
Lyons,  a  native  of  Adams  county,  Mississippi.  The  Lyons  family 
had  emigrated  from  Ireland  to  this  country  at  a  verj^  early  day  in  its 
history  and  had  for  many  years  resided  in  the  south,  where  they  were 
people  of  very  high  repute  and  influence.  Oren  Metcalfe  was  the 
owner  of  an  extensive  plantation,  which  he  successfully  controlled 
and  operated,  at  the  same  time  taking  a  very  prominent  part  in  public 
affairs,  his  influence  there  being  on  the  side  of  progi-ess  and  improve- 
ment. For  fifteen  years  he  served  as  sheriff  of  his  county.  The  cause 
of  education  found  in  him  a  very  warm  friend ;  for  many  years  he  was 
treasurer  of  Jefferson  College,  and  his  wife  was  president  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  the  Presbyterian  Orphan  Asylum.  Both  held 
membership  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  he  being  an  elder  in  the  First 
Presbyterian  church  of  Natchez  for  forty  years.  His  life,  at  all  times 
honorable  and  upright,  was  an  example  well  worthy  of  emulation  and 
243 


244  31amgs  TB,  Qgctcalfe 

his  influence  and  eflforts  were  so  discerningly  directed  that  they  proved 
of  the  greatest  value  to  the  community  with  which  he  was  associated. 
He  was  subsequently  called  to  his  final  rest  at  the  age  of  eighty-six 
years  and  his  wife  passed  away  in  1869.  They  were  the  parents  of 
thirteen  children,  three  of  whom  are  yet  hving. 

"James  Bard  Metcalfe  pursued  his  education  under  the  direction 
of  private  tutors  and  in  the  schools  of  Natchez.  In  1863  the  need  of 
the  southern  states  to  replenish  the  army  with  additional  troops  caused 
him  to  off"er  his  services  to  the  Confederacy.  He  had  deep  sympathy 
for  the  people  of  the  south,  and  also  prompted  with  a  spirit  of  adven- 
ture, he  ran  away  from  home,  joining  the  army  as  a  member  of  the 
Tenth  Mississippi  Cavalry.  His  first  service  was  in  defense  of  Mobile, 
Alabama,  and  he  had  the  honor  of  being  a  commissioned  officer  of  his 
company.  For  some  tune  he  served  under  the  gallant  cavalry  leader, 
General  N.  B.  Forrest,  participating  in  many  of  the  memorable  en- 
gagements of  the  CivU  war.  He  remained  in  active  service  until  the 
close  of  hostilities  and  endured  all  the  hardships  and  privations  which 
befell  the  southern  army  during  the  last  two  years  of  the  great  strug- 
gle. He  was  paroled  at  Jackson,  Mississippi,  by  General  E.  R.  S. 
Canby.  He  had  many  narrow  escapes,  bullets  several  times  piercing 
his  clothing,  yet  he  was  never  wounded. 

"When  the  war  was  ended  Mr.  Metcalfe  returned  to  Natchez.  His 
family  had  suffered  much  through  the  loss  of  property  and  in  an  en- 
deavor to  retrieve  his  fortime  he  accepted  a  clerkship  in  a  mercantile 
house,  while  later  he  was  connected  with  a  banking  establishment.  He 
studied  law  at  night  under  the  direction  of  Judge  Ralph  North, 
spending  all  his  leisure  moments  outside  of  banking  hours  in  the  ac- 
quirement of  his  legal  knowledge.  Desiring  better  opportunities  for 
advancement,  in  1870  he  came  to  the  Pacific  coast,  locating  in  San 
Francisco,  where  he  accepted  a  position  in  the  Pacific  Bank,  continu- 
ing at  the  same  time  to  pursue  his  law  studies  for  a  year.  On  the 
expiration  of  that  period  he  entered  the  law  office  of  the  firm  of  Bart- 
lett  &  Pratt,  where  for  a  year  he  studied  most  assiduously  and  was 
then  admitted  to  the  bar  by  the  supreme  court  of  California.  At  that 
time  the  firm  of  Bartlett  &  Pratt  was  dissolved  and  the  fii-m  of  Pratt 
&  Metcalfe  was  formed.  He  soon  entered  upon  a  very  active  practice, 
meeting  with  highly  satisfactory  success.  His  abihty  as  a  lawj^er  was 
rapidly  winning  him  a  foremost  place  among  the  able  members  of  the 
bar  of  San  Francisco  when  in  1883  business  called  him  to  Seattle,  and 
he  became  so  deeply  impressed  with  the  bright  future  that  lay  before 
the  city  that  he  decided  to  link  his  interests  with  its  destiny. 

"In  accordance  with  that  determination,  in  May,  1884,  Mr.  Met- 


3lameg  13,  Qjetcalfe  245 

calf e  took  up  his  abode  in  Seattle  and  opened  an  office  for  the  practice 
of  his  profession,  which  he  continued  alone  for  some  tinie,  his  clientage 
steadily  growing  each  year.  After  three  or  four  years  he  entered  into 
partnership  with  Junius  Rochister  under  the  firm  name  of  Metcalfe 
&  Rochister.  The  business  relation  between  them  was  maintained  for 
about  two  years,  during  which  time  they  were  connected  with  some  of 
the  most  important  trials  in  the  territory.  It  was  during  that  period 
that  Mr.  Metcalfe  most  signally  distinguished  liimself  as  a  juiy  lawyer 
in  the  homicide  case  of  the  Washington  territory  versus  Miller,  which 
is  found  reported  in  volume  3  of  the  Washington  Territory  Reports. 
The  case  attracted  much  attention,  and  popular  prejudice  against  the 
accused  was  so  strong  that  it  was  difficult  to  obtain  a  fair  and  impar- 
tial trial.  For  two  and  one-half  years  this  case  was  before  the  courts, 
and  in  the  four  trials  which  were  heard  every  inch  of  the  ground  was 
fought  with  great  skill  by  able  lawyers  in  behalf  of  the  territory. 
Unremitting  zeal  and  almost  unrequited  toil — for  the  defendant  was 
poor — were  brought  to  bear  on  the  case  by  Mr.  Metcalfe  and  his  able 
partner,  and  the  final  acquittal  of  their  cUent  was  regarded  as  one  of 
the  most  brilliant  victories  in  the  history  of  criminal  cases  in  the  nortli- 
west.  Mr.  Metcalfe's  appeal  to  the  jury  was  a  most  masterful  effort, 
and  the  entire  management  of  the  defense  evinced  the  most  thorough 
knowledge  and  application  of  the  law.  Since  that  time  Mr.  Metcalfe's 
practice  has  been  largely  in  corporation  and  admiralty  law,  in  which 
it  may  be  said  he  stands  without  a  peer.  While  his  practice  has  been 
of  a  very  important  character  and  his  clientage  is  extensive,  he  has 
also  been  connected  with  other  interests.  He  was  one  of  the  orig- 
inators and  one  of  the  most  active  promoters  of  the  first  cable  line  in 
Seattle,  known  as  the  Yesler  Avenue  line,  running  from  a  point  near 
the  bay  to  Lake  Washington.  His  prominence  in  business  circles  of 
the  city  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  was  sent  as  a  delegate  from  the 
Seattle  Chamber  of  Commerce  to  the  Pacific  Board  of  Commerce 
which  met  in  San  Francisco  in  September,  1890,  and  well  did  he  rep- 
resent his  city's  organization. 

"In  his  political  views  Mr.  Metcalfe  is  a  stalwart  democrat,  and 
while  in  San  Francisco  he  attained  much  prominence  as  a  politician 
and  was  sent  as  a  delegate  of  his  party  to  represent  California  in  the 
democratic  national  convention  held  in  Cincinnati  in  1880,  at  which 
time  General  Winfield  Scott  Hancock  was  nominated  for  the  presi- 
dency. In  other  political  movements  Mr.  Metcalfe  was  also  very 
prominent  and  influential.  He  served  as  captain  of  a  company  com- 
posed of  Union  and  Confederate  veterans  during  the  Kearney  agita- 
tion in  San  Francisco,  and  in  1887  was  appointed  by  Governor  Semple 


246  3lameg  15«  Q^ctcalfe 

the  first  attorney  general  of  Washington  territory,  in  which  office  he 
served  with  honor  and  credit  until  the  admission  of  the  territory  into 
the  Union  and  in  which  he  continued  under  Governor  Moore  until  the 
adoption  of  the  constitution.  During  the  campaign  of  1886  Mr.  Met- 
calfe made  a  thorough  canvass  of  the  territory  in  behalf  of  the  nominee 
of  his  party  for  delegate  to  congress.  His  addresses  were  magnificent 
oratorical  efforts,  spoken  of  in  the  highest  praise  by  those  who  heard 
them.  One  journal  in  alluding  to  his  speeches  said,  'We  have  listened 
to  many  powerful  orators  but  never  heard  a  clearer  or  more  powerful 
argument,'  and  he  would  at  one  time  have  been  the  unanimous  choice 
of  his  party  for  delegate  to  congress,  but  decided  to  decline  the  honor, 
and  stood  with  unswerving  fealty  in  support  of  his  candidate,  the 
Hon.  C.  S.  Voorhees,  whom  he  placed  in  nomination  in  a  speech  which 
created  the  greatest  enthusiasm.  In  many  pubhc  addresses  outside 
the  line  of  his  profession  Mr.  Metcalfe  has  established  a  reputation  as 
an  orator  of  much  power,  force  and  grace,  and  while  he  possesses  in  a 
very  marked  degree  the  qualities  which  would  fit  him  for  any  position 
in  public  life,  he  desires  to  give  his  entire  attention  to  his  professional 
duties. 

"In  the  great  fire  which  occurred  in  Seattle  in  1889,  it  was  his 
misfortune  to  lose  his  law  library,  which  was  at  that  time  one  of  the 
most  valuable  private  collections  of  law  books  in  the  city.  Soon  after 
the  fire  he  built  a  three-story  business  block  and  in  this  building,  after 
the  formation  of  his  j)artnership  with  C.  W.  Turner  and  Andrew  J. 
Burleigh,  he  established  new  offices,  which  are  equipped  with  probably 
the  largest  and  most  complete  law  library  in  the  northwest.  After 
some  time  Mr.  Burleigh  retired  from  the  firm,  and  it  continued  as 
Metcalfe  &  Turner  until  the  present  firm  of  Metcalfe  &  Jure  was 
established.  They  now  occupy  spacious  offices  in  the  Pacific  block  and 
among  their  clients  are  numbered  some  of  the  largest  corporations  in 
the  state  of  Washington.  Mr.  Metcalfe  has  also  been  in  many  ways 
a  most  valued  resident  of  the  city  of  his  choice  and  has  ever  been  ready 
to  promote  the  welfare  of  Seattle.  During  the  anti-Chinese  agitation 
he  served  as  lieutenant  of  Company  D  of  the  National  Guards  and 
was  on  active  duty  throughout  this  crisis  in  the  city's  history.  Public 
excitement  ran  high,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which  the  riot 
occurred,  in  which  one  man  was  killed  and  several  wounded,  he  was 
detailed  to  post  the  guards,  the  city  being  then  under  martial  law. 
The  undertaking  was  one  of  much  danger,  as  the  streets  were  filled 
with  throngs  of  excited  men,  but  such  was  his  patience,  firmness  and 
loyalty  to  duty  that  he  accomplished  his  tasks  with  splendid  success 
and  continued  to  serve  with  his  company  from  the  time  martial  law 


3fames  15,  Qgetcalfe  247 

was  proclaimed  until  the  arrival  of  United  States  troops,  when  Mr. 
Metcalfe  and  his  men  were  relieved  from  fm-ther  military  duties. 
Mr.  Metcalfe  is  known  as  a  man  of  the  liighest  type  of  bravery,  having 
a  coiu-age  which  will  face  any  danger  if  necessary,  yet  never  taking 
needless  risks.  His  courage  was  strikingly  shown  on  a  cold  night  in 
February,  1887,  when  he  and  Hon.  D.  M.  Drumheller,  then  attending 
the  legislature  from  Spokane,  were  about  to  take  the  steamer  at  the 
Olympia  wharf.  The  deck  of  the  steamer  was  covered  with  ice,  which 
could  not  be  seen  in  the  darkness,  and  Mr.  Drumheller  slipped  and  fell 
into  the  water.  Without  a  moment's  hesitation  General  Metcalfe 
plunged  in  after  his  friend  and  saved  his  life  at  the  risk  of  his  own. 

"In  1877  Mr.  Metcalfe  was  happily  married  to  Miss  Louise  Boar- 
man,  a  native  daughter  of  California,  born  in  Sacramento,  her  par- 
ents being  Thomas  M.  and  Mary  Boarman,  of  that  city.  To  Mr.  Met- 
calfe and  his  wife  have  been  born  two  sons,  Thomas  Oren,  now  in 
business  in  New  Orleans,  and  James  Vernon.  Mr.  Metcalfe  is  a  gen- 
tleman of  strong  domestic  tastes,  devoted  to  his  family  and  their 
welfare,  and  gives  to  his  sons  every  opportunity  for  obtaining  a  thor- 
ough education.  He  takes  very  little  interest  in  fraternal  matters, 
but  was  at  one  time  colonel  of  the  first  regiment  of  the  Uniformed 
Rank  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  In  private  life  he  commands  high 
regard,  and  the  circle  of  his  friends  is  almost  coextensive  with  the  circle 
of  his  acquaintances.  As  long  as  the  history  of  jurisprudence  in 
Washington  shall  be  a  matter  of  record,  the  name  of  Mr.  Metcalfe 
will  figure  conspicuously  therein  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  his  career 
at  the  bar  has  been  one  of  distinguished  prominence,  and  that  his  was 
the  honor  of  serving  as  the  first  attorney  general  of  the  territory  of 
Washington." 

His  son,  J.  Vernon  Metcalfe,  is  practicing  at  the  bar  of  Seattle, 
where  the  name  of  Metcalfe  has  long  figured  in  a  prominent  connec- 
tfon.  He  is  now  identified  in  professional  activity  with  his  father. 
The  son,  as  most  boys  do,  largely  devoted  the  period  of  his  youth  to 
the  acquirement  of  an  education  and  following  his  graduation  from 
the  high  school  of  Seattle  with  the  class  of  1905  he  entered  the  Uni- 
versity of  Washington.  Anxious  to  follow  in  the  professional  foot- 
steps of  his  father,  he  enrolled  as  a  law  student,  pursued  the  regular 
course  and  was  graduated  in  1909  with  the  LL.  B.  degree.  Imme- 
diately afterward  he  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession  in 
connection  with  his  father,  but  while  he  has  the  benefit  of  the  senior 
Metcalfe's  experience  and  the  reputation  of  the  name,  he  recognizes 
that  advancement  at  the  bar  must  depend  upon  individual  merit  and 
ability,  as  is  the  case  in  every  line  of  work  which  has  as  its  basis  in- 


248 


3Iamc0  15.  Q^etcalfe 


tellectual  activity.  He  is  carefully  preparing  his  cases  and  his  work 
is  done  with  a  thoroughness  that  marks  his  devotion  to  his  clients' 
interests  and  he  has  especially  fitted  himself  for  the  practice  of  the 
admiralty  courts. 

J.  V.  Metcalfe  is  identified  with  two  college  fraternities,  the  Delta 
Tau  Delta  and  the  Phi  Delta  Phi.  He  belongs  to  the  Knights  of 
Columbus,  has  membership  in  the  Arctic  Brotherhood  and  gives  his 
political  allegiance  to  the  democratic  party.  All  other  interests,  how- 
ever, are  made  subservient  to  his  purpose  of  winning  a  creditable 
name  and  place  at  the  bar  and  already  he  is  accounted  one  of  the  fore- 
most of  the  yovmg  lawyers  of  the  northwest.  He  and  his  brother, 
Thomas  Oren,  are  representatives  of  the  type  of  fine,  stalwart  Amer- 
ican citizens  which  is  the  best  evidence  that  the  republic  shall  endure. 
They  have  proved  themselves  worthy  of  their  ancestry  and  are  adding 
to  the  honor  of  the  family  name. 


C^CUuUtM   (f3.    ^^KZ-^A^ 


\ 


futrge  Carroll  P,  (§rabes! 

^HE  title  which  prefaces  the  name  of  Carroll  B.  Graves 
has  been  well  earned  and  his  record  as  a  jurist  is  char- 
acterized by  strict  impartiality  and  a  masterful  grasp 
of  every  problem  presented  for  solution.  He  was 
born  at  St.  Mary's,  Hancock  county,  Illinois,  Novem- 
ber 9,  1861,  his  parents  being  John  Jay  and  OriHa 
Landon  (Berry)  Graves.  The  family  is  descended  from  Captain 
Thomas  Graves,  who  in  1607  emigrated  from  England  to  James- 
town, Virginia,  on  the  William  and  Mary,  the  second  ship  to  make 
that  voyage.  He  became  a  prominent  member  of  the  Virginia  colony, 
aiding  in  molding  its  destiny  during  its  formative  period.  He  sat  in 
the  house  of  burgesses  which  met  in  June,  1619,  and  which  was  the 
first  legislative  assembly  to  convene  in  America.  The  family  con- 
tinued to  reside  in  Virginia  until  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war, 
when  the  great-grandfather  of  Carroll  B.  Graves  removed  to  Ken- 
tucky. His  son.  Major  Reuben  Graves,  the  grandfather,  served  as  a 
soldier  in  the  War  of  1812  under  General  Harrison.  While  descended 
from  Virginia  ancestry  in  the  paternal  line,  on  the  maternal  side  Car- 
roll B.  Graves  comes  from  old  New  England  stock,  his  mother  having 
been  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Jonathan  Berry,  of  Grand  Isle,  Vermont,  who 
was  the  chief  surgeon  on  the  American  flagship  at  the  battle  of  Platts- 
burg  in  the  War  of  1812.  There  were  four  sons  in  the  family  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  J.  Graves,  three  of  whom  reside  in  Spokane.  One 
of  these,  Frank  H.  Graves,  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  bar  there 
and  was  one  of  the  first  owners  and  a  trustee  of  the  world  famous 
La  Roi  mine  of  British  Columbia.  He  was  also  associated  with  Sen- 
ator George  Turner  and  others  in  the  ownership  of  the  Seattle  Post- 
Intelligencer.  Jay  P.  Graves,  another  brother  of  Judge  Graves, 
founded  the  Granby  Consolidated  Mining  &  Smelting  Company,  the 
largest  mining  corporation  in  Canada,  of  which  he  has  been  con- 
tinuously vice  president  and  general  manager.  He  also  organized 
and  became  president  of  the  Spokane  Terminal  Company,  the  Spokane 
Inland  Railway  Company  and  the  Coeur  d'Alene  &  Spokane  Rail- 
way Company,  aU  of  which  he  merged  into  the  Spokane  &  Inland 
Empire  Railroad  Company.  Will  G.  Graves  is  associated  in  the 
practice  of  law  with  his  eldest  brother,  Frank  H.,  and  is  accounted  one 
251 


252  3I«0gg  Catcoll  15.  arai3Cg 

of  the  distinguished  members  of  the  Spokane  bar.  He  is  also  prom- 
inent as  a  factor  in  the  political  history  of  the  state,  having  been 
elected  for  several  terms  a  member  of  the  state  senate,  in  which  he 
became  a  most  influential  factor,  his  able  work  as  chairman  of  the 
conmiittee  on  constitutional  revision  and  amendments  and  as  a  member 
of  the  judiciary  committee  having  left  a  deep  impress  upon  the  laws 
of  the  state. 

Judge  Carroll  B.  Graves,  reared  in  his  native  county,  became  a 
student  in  Carthage  College,  Illinois,  and  for  a  year  prior  to  his  ad- 
mission to  the  bar  acted  as  principal  of  the  public  schools  of  Vermont, 
that  state,  and  was  also  city  attorney  there  during  the  same  period. 
His  identification  with  the  northwest  dates  from  1885,  in  which  year 
he  became  a  resident  of  North  Yakima,  Washington,  where  he  opened 
a  law  office  and  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession.  Not 
only  did  he  attain  professional  prominence  but  also  became  a  leader 
in  municipal  afl^airs.  He  was  associated  with  the  late  United  States 
District  Judge  Whitson  in  drawing  up  the  city  charter  for  North 
Yakima  and  as  the  first  city  attorney  prepared  a  complete  code  of 
ordinances.  He  afterward  became  a  resident  of  Ellensburg  and  while 
there  residing  was  elected  superior  judge  of  Kittitas,  Yakima  and 
Klickitat  counties  in  the  fall  of  1889.  His  course  upon  the  bench 
during  his  first  term  was  so  acceptable  that  he  was  reelected  for  a 
second  term  and  thus  served  for  eight  years.  He  then  again  took  up 
the  private  practice  of  law  and  for  some  years  was  identified  with 
practically  all  of  the  important  litigation  held  in  the  courts  of  central 
Washington.  He  became  a  resident  of  Seattle  in  1905  and  entered 
upon  the  general  practice  of  law  in  this  city,  where  for  five  years  he 
acted  as  coimsel  for  the  Northern  Pacific  Railway  Company.  He  is 
now  a  member  of  the  law  firm  of  Bogle,  Graves,  Merritt  &  Bogle, 
which  has  a  large  corporation  practice,  while  in  the  field  of  general 
practice  they  have  an  extensive  clientage  in  eastern  Washington. 
Judge  Graves  possesses  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  principles 
of  jurisprudence  and  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  best  informed  lawyers 
of  the  state.  He  has  given  much  study  and  attention  to  irrigation 
matters,  being  retained  by  many  of  the  largest  projects  of  that  char- 
acter in  Washington  and  he  has  aided  in  writing  all  the  late  acts  of 
the  state  relative  to  irrigation  and  water  rights.  In  a  word  his  opin- 
ions on  such  subjects  are  largely  accepted  as  authority  and  the  pro- 
fession as  well  as  the  public  entertains  the  highest  regard  for  his  abil- 
ity in  the  field  of  law  practice. 

Judge  Graves  has  been  married  twice.  In  January,  1888,  he 
wedded  Miss  Ivah  E.  Felt,  of  Keokuk,  Iowa,  and  they  became  parents 


i 


31uDgc  CactoU  1g«  (gtaues 


253 


of  two  daughters:  Marion  Kellogg,  now  the  wife  of  William  F. 
Finn;  and  Florence  Felt,  the  wife  of  John  D.  Thomas.  Both  are 
residents  of  Seattle.  In  June,  1898,  Judge  Graves  wedded  Catherine 
Osborn,  of  EUensburg,  Washington,  and  they  have  one  child,  Carolyn. 
The  Judge  is  an  Elk  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Rainier  Club  of 
Seattle. 


BENUAMIN   F-BRIGGS 


penjamin  JF,  Priggs; 

[ENJAMIN  F.  BRIGGS,  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers 
of  Seattle  and  well  known  in  business  circles,  acted 
as  confidential  agent  for  Dexter  Horton  for  many 
years  and  in  that  capacity  was  concerned  in  many 
important  transactions.  He  also  owned  considerable 
property  in  the  city.  A  native  of  Massachusetts,  his 
birth  occurred  in  Freetown  on  the  19th  of  July,  1832.  His  father, 
Franklin  Briggs,  was  also  born  in  the  Bay  state  and,  hke  so  many  of 
the  sons  of  Massachusetts,  was  a  seafaring  man.  During  the  War  of 
1812  he  was  mate  of  a  vessel  and  was  captured  by  the  British,  who 
held  him  in  the  Dartmouth  prison  for  several  months.  He  was  an 
able  navigator  and  was  master  of  several  vessels.  His  wife,  who  was 
in  her  maidenhood  Miss  Sarah  Hathaway,  was  also  a  native  of 
Massachusetts. 

Benjamin  F.  Briggs  attended  the  public  schools  in  his  boyhood 
and  later  was  a  student  in  an  academy  at  Middleboro,  devoting  the 
winters  to  study  and  the  simimers  to  work  on  various  vessels.  In 
1853  he  went  to  Cahfornia  by  way  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  and  for 
three  years  thereafter  was  identified  with  the  maritime  interests  on 
the  Pacific  coast.  He  then  entered  into  partnership  with  Captain 
Lamb  and  for  several  years  engaged  in  the  grain  and  general  com- 
mission business  in  San  Francisco.  Later  he  held  a  position  as  an 
accoimtant  in  that  city  but  in  1869  he  came  to  Seattle,  which  then 
gave  little  promise  of  developing  into  the  present  metropolis.  In 
Jime,  1870,  he  opened  the  first  banking  house  established  in  this  city 
and  became  cashier  of  the  institution,  which  was  a  private  bank  and 
was  conducted  by  the  firm  of  Dexter  Horton  &  Company.  He  re- 
mained in  that  connection  for  twenty-one  years  and  was  confidential 
agent  for  Mr.  Horton  before  and  after  that  gentleman  sold  his  interest 
in  the  bank  and  devoted  his  attention  to  his  other  important  interests. 
As  confidential  agent  Mr.  Briggs  was  given  a  gi-eat  deal  of  freedom 
in  the  management  of  his  employer's  business,  and  his  advice  and 
counsel  were  usually  acted  upon.  He  proved  thoroughly  efficient  in 
the  discharge  of  his  duties.  He  purchased  property  for  himself  and 
erected  five  substantial  buildings  upon  his  land  at  the  corner  of  Spring 
257 


258  IBen/amin  iF«  ^tiggg 

and  Seventh  streets  and  on  Madison  street.  His  investments  proved 
very  profitable  and  he  gained  financial  independence. 

Mr.  Briggs  was  married  in  1869  to  Miss  Rebecca  Horton,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Dexter  Horton,  and  to  this  union  were  bom  three  children, 
Ida,  Alfred  and  Laura  Mabel.  The  last  named  gave  her  hand  in 
marriage  to  Samuel  Trethewey,  who  was  born  on  Owen  Sound,  East- 
ern Canada,  but  who  for  several  years  has  been  engaged  in  the  real- 
estate  business  in  Seattle.  Their  children  are,  Lauren  and  Hazel. 
Mrs.  Rebecca  Briggs  passed  away  in  1875  and  Mr.  Briggs  later  mar- 
ried Miss  Sarah  Griffith,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  by  whom  he  had 
four  children,  Frank,  Clarence,  Clyde  and  Herbert. 

Mr.  Briggs  was  a  stalwart  republican  and  served  acceptably  on  the 
city  coimcil.  He  supported  the  Methodist  Protestant  church  and  his 
fraternal  affiliation  was  with  the  Masonic  order.  He  was  active  in 
business  until  his  demise,  which  occurred  on  the  17th  of  August,  1902, 
and  in  his  passing  Seattle  lost  a  man  who  could  always  be  depended 
upon  to  further  the  development  of  the  city  along  business  and  civic 
lines.  All  who  came  in  contact  with  him  held  him  in  the  highest  esteem 
and  there  were  many  who  felt  for  him  warm  personal  regard. 


i 


Jftank  aaijjitnep  pafeer 

|OR  a  quarter  of  a  century  a  resident  of  Seattle,  Frank 
Whitney  Baker  has  during  that  period  won  for  him- 
self a  position  in  the  foremost  ranks  of  the  city's 
business  men  and  at  the  same  time  his  public  spirit 
has  found  tangible  expression  in  the  stalwart  support 
of  many  movements  which  have  had  direct  bearing 
upon  the  welfare  and  upbuilding  of  the  metropohs  of  Washington. 
The  breadth  of  the  continent  separates  him  from  his  birth  place,  for 
he  is  a  native  of  Yoimgstown,  Niagara  coimty,  New  York.  He  was 
born  September  19,  1852,  of  the  marriage  of  David  C.  and  Adelia  H. 
(Cobb)  Baker,  and  is  descended  in  the  paternal  line  from  Dutch  and 
English  ancestry,  while  in  the  maternal  line  he  is  of  English  descent. 
Both  families,  however,  were  established  on  American  soil  during 
colonial  days  and  both  were  represented  by  valiant  soldiers  of  the 
Revolutionary  war  and  by  those  who  have  shown  equal  patriotism  in 
other  relations.  Through  maternal  connection  Mr.  Baker  is  a  grand- 
nephew  of  Dr.  Lyman  Cobb,  the  noted  educator  and  author  of  text- 
books. His  parents  became  residents  of  western  New  York  during 
its  pioneer  development  and  Mr.  Baker  figured  prominently  in  the 
upbuilding  and  progress  of  that  part  of  the  state. 

After  attending  the  local  schools  Frank  Whitney  Baker  con- 
tinued his  education  in  Genesee  Wesleyan  Seminary,  of  Lima,  New 
York,  in  Wyoming  Seminaiy  of  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  and  in 
Eastman's  Business  College,  of  Poughkeepsie,  New  York.  In  early 
life  he  engaged  in  teaching  for  a  brief  period  but  afterward  removed 
to  Greenville,  Michigan,  where  he  entered  into  active  connection  with 
the  line  of  trade  of  which  he  has  since  been  a  representative,  becom- 
ing an  employe  of  the  firm  of  Sprague  Brothers,  retail  hardware 
merchants.  He  afterward  went  to  Detroit  to  accept  the  position  of 
head  bookkeeper  with  the  firm  of  Black  &  Owen,  and  remained  with 
their  successor,  the  Black  Hardware  Company,  in  the  same  capacity. 
After  Seattle  was  largely  laid  waste  by  the  great  fire  of  1889  and 
new  business  enterprises  were  springing  up  to  meet  the  immediate 
demand,  the  Black  Hardware  Company  having  merged  its  interests 
with  the  Seattle  Hardware  Company,  removed  its  business  plant  to 
261 


262  jFranb  mbitnty  IBaket 

this  city,  and  in  March,  1890,  Mr,  Baker  took  up  his  abode  in  Seattle, 
and  from  that  time  forward  through  twenty  years  he  was  a  most 
active  factor  in  the  development  of  the  company's  business  and  the 
extension  of  its  trade  relations.  His  efforts  were  largely  seen  in  the 
result  which  made  this  one  of  the  most  important  and  extensive  con- 
cerns of  the  kind  on  the  Pacific  coast.  He  became  treasurer  of  the 
company  and  acted  in  that  capacity  until  April,  1910,  when  he  re- 
tired to  enjoy  a  well  earned  rest,  although  he  still  retains  financial 
interest  in  various  important  business  concerns  of  the  city.  He  was 
the  first  president  of  the  Title  Trust  Company,  and  is  still  a  member 
of  the  board  of  directors.  He  is  vice  president  and  director  of  the 
National  City  Bank  and  is  identified  with  various  other  interests. 

His  activity,  too,  extends  along  various  lines  of  a  semi-public 
character,  whereby  the  welfare  of  the  city  has  been  advanced.  He 
belongs  to  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Seattle,  of  which  he  has 
been  vice  president  and  trustee,  and  he  has  served  as  vice  president 
and  trustee  of  the  Charity  Organization  of  Seattle.  He  did  splendid 
work  in  connection  with  the  Alaska- Yukon-Pacific  Exposition  as  one 
of  its  trustees,  as  chairman  of  its  finance  committee,  and  as  a  member 
of  its  executive  committee.  One  of  the  features  of  his  citizenship  has 
been  his  recognition  of  opportunities  and  advantages  that  have  to  do 
with  the  public  welfare  and  full  utilization  of  these  to  the  extent  of 
his  power  and  his  time. 

On  the  26th  of  December,  1888,  Mr.  Baker  was  married  in 
Elmira,  New  York,  to  Miss  Jennie  Sibbelle  Godfrey.  He  is  well 
known  in  club  and  fraternal  circles,  holding  membership  in  the  Com- 
mercial Club,  Seattle  Golf  and  Covmtry  Club,  Arctic  Club,  Rainier 
Club  and  Seattle  Athletic  Club.  He  is  a  prominent  and  well  known 
Mason,  holding  membership  in  Arcana  Lodge,  No.  87,  F.  &  A.  M.; 
Oriental  Chapter,  No.  19,  R.  A.  M.;  Seattle  Commandery, 
No.  2,  K.  T.,  and  Lawson  Consistory,  No.  1,  A.  &  A. 
S.  R.,  and  is  past  wise  master  of  Rose  Croix  Chapter,  No.  1. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  Nile  Temple  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  and  upon 
him  has  been  conferred  the  highest  honor  of  the  Scottish  Rite,  as  he 
was  elected  to  the  thirty-third  degree  by  the  supreme  council  for  the 
southern  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States.  He  is  widely  known 
because  of  his  public  service,  which  has  been  of  a  most  helpful  charac- 
ter along  various  lines  affecting  the  general  welfare.  In  politics  he 
is  an  earnest  republican,  and  though  he  has  frequently  been  urged 
to  become  a  candidate  for  political  office  and  honors,  he  has  always 
declined,  although  he  has  been  frequently  spoken  of  in  connection 
with  the  mayoralty.    He  stands,  however,  for  good  government  in 


jFranb  mftttneg  ^aber  263 

city  and  state  and  his  influence  is  a  potent  factor  in  advancing  civic 
virtue,  in  upholding  the  best  interests  of  the  community  and  in  lend- 
ing dignity  to  the  term  citizenship. 


I 


^^j^[lij^jU<i^c<jTAj2^siR^ 


^R.  IRVIN  ARTHUR  WEICHBRODT,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  medical  fraternity  of  Seattle  specializing 
in  surgery  and  gynecology,  was  born  October  7, 
1878,  in  Seward,  Nebraska,  a  son  of  Arthur  L. 
Weichbrodt,  who  was  a  native  of  Berlin,  Germany, 
and  came  to  America  in  1873,  settling  at  Lincoln, 
Nebraska.  He  has  devoted  his  life  largely  to  journalism 
and  is  now  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  German  paper  "Die 
Wacht  Am  Sunda"  at  Tacoma.  He  came  to  Washington  in  1882, 
first  settling  at  Seattle  but  afterward  going  to  Tacoma  where  he 
established  the  paper  which  he  is  now  publishing.  He  married  Laura 
Ballard,  a  native  of  Indiana  and  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Ballard,  a 
descendant  of  an  old  Pennsylvania  family  represented  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary war.  Members  of  the  family  became  pioneer  settlers  of 
Indiana.  Mrs.  Weichbrodt  is  still  living  and  by  her  marriage  she 
became  the  mother  of  four  children. 

Dr.  Weichbrodt,  the  eldest  of  the  family,  accompanied  his  par- 
ents to  Tacoma  in  early  boyhood  and  there  attended  the  public 
schools  until  he  reached  the  age  of  thirteen  years,  when  he  became  a 
newsboy  of  that  city.  He  was  afterward  an  A.  D.  T.  messenger  and 
still  later  took  up  the  study  of  pharmacy.  His  first  position  in  con- 
nection with  the  drug  business  was  in  the  store  of  Virges  &  Company 
at  Tacoma,  with  whom  he  remained  for  three  years.  He  then  passed 
the  state  examination,  after  which  he  left  home  and  became  a  range 
rider  in  eastern  Washington  and  western  Montana,  spending  a  year 
in  that  connection.  With  his  earnings  on  the  range  he  paid  his  tuition 
in  the  University  of  St.  Louis  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  where  he  was  • 
graduated  in  1903  with  the  Bachelor  of  Science  degree,  while  the 
following  year  he  won  his  M.  D.  degree.  He  then  became  an  interne 
in  the  St.  Louis  City  Hospital  under  Dr.  Amichs  and  later  he  pur- 
sued post-graduate  work  in  the  Post  Graduate  Hospital  and  in  the 
BeUevue  Hospital  of  New  York  city,  thus  splendidly  qualifying  for 
the  onerous  and  responsible  duties  of  the  profession. 

Returning  to  Washington,  Dr.  Weichbrodt  passed  the  required 
state  examination  and  located  for  practice  at  Winlock,  where  he 
remained  for  five  years.    He  afterward  spent  a  year  in  post-graduate 
267 


work  in  New  York,  in  the  Johns  Hopkins  University  at  Baltimore, 
Maryland,  and  in  Berlin  and  Vienna.  Following  his  return  from 
abroad  he  practiced  for  a  year  at  Winlock  and  then  removed  to  Seat- 
tle. Later  he  again  entered  upon  post-graduate  courses,  spending  six 
months  in  post-graduate  work  in  New  York,  but  in  January,  1912, 
returned  and  resumed  active  practice.  In  1913  he  spent  two  months 
in  further  study  in  New  York,  specializing  in  surgery  and  gynecol- 
ogy, which  he  has  since  made  the  principal  features  of  his  practice. 
He  is  thoroughly  conversant  with  all  the  latest  scientific  researches  in 
those  fields  and  practices  according  to  the  most  scientific  methods. 

On  the  15th  of  September,  1903,  in  Seattle,  Washington,  Dr. 
Weichbrodt  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Eugenie  Levy,  a  native 
of  Denver,  Colorado,  and  a  daughter  of  Benjamin  C.  Levy.  Dr. 
Weichbrodt  figures  very  prominently  in  fraternal  circles.  He  has 
advanced  far  in  Masonry,  being  now  a  Mystic  Shriner,  and  he  also 
holds  membership  with  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks, 
the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, the  Woodmen  of  the  World,  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen,  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Owls  and  the  Moose.  He  is 
likewise  a  member  of  the  College  Club  of  Seattle  and  the  Seattle 
Automobile  Club  and  he  finds  his  chief  diversion  in  fishing,  hunting 
and  motoring.  He  gives  his  political  allegiance  to  the  republican 
party  and  both  he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Episcopal  church. 
Along  strictly  professional  hnes  he  has  connection  with  the  King 
County  Medical  Society,  the  State  Medical  Society,  the  American 
Medical  Association  and  the  American  Gynecological  Association. 
The  thoroughness  with  which  Dr.  Weichbrodt  masters  anything 
which  he  undertakes  is  shown  by  the  many  times  which  he  has  gone  to 
the  east  for  post-graduate  work,  thus  continually  broadening  his 
knowledge  and  promoting  his  efficiency.  He  is  now  recognized  as  a 
distinguished  member  of  the  medical  profession  in  Seattle  and  one  of 
marked  power  and  ability. 


xJAM E  S     M  .  FR-YE 


fames!  M*  Sm 


jURING  the  later  years  of  his  hfe  James  M.  Frye 

D™,^  occupied  the  responsible  position  of  superintendent 
^  with  the  firm  of  Bebb  &  Mendel,  architects,  of  Seat- 
mi  tie.  He  had  a  wide  acquaintance  in  Seattle,  in  which 
city  he  was  born  on  the  22d  of  August,  1861,  and 
there  spent  his  entire  life.  He  acquired  his  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools  and  in  the  State  University  and  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  after  leaving  school  attended  to  the  business  interests  of 
his  father,  looking  after  his  property.  In  1900,  however,  he  became 
associated  with  Bebb  &  Mendel,  architects,  and  was  superintendent 
of  all  their  large  building  operations  until  May,  1904,  when  failing 
health  compelled  him  to  resign. 

In  1887  Mr.  Frj^e  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Loretta  Rip- 
ley, a  daughter  of  J.  M.  Ripley,  who  came  to  Washington  in  1882 
from  Watsonville,  California.  Before  removing  to  the  coast  he  was 
a  resident  of  Galena,  Illinois,  and  after  coming  to  Seattle  he  con- 
ducted a  hotel  for  a  time  but  later  retired  from  active  business.  To 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frye  were  born  two  children,  Russell  Marion  and  Ruth 
Louise.  The  family  circle  was  broken  by  the  hand  of  death  on  the 
14th  of  February,  1905,  when  the  husband  and  father  was  called  to 
his  final  rest  at  the  comparatively  early  age  of  forty-three  years. 
He  had  a  wide  acquaintance  in  Seattle,  where  his  entire  life  had  been 
passed,  and  he  had  been  a  witness  of  the  growth  of  the  city  from  the 
days  of  its  villagehood.  Its  historj^  was  familiar  to  him  and  among 
its  residents  he  had  a  circle  of  friends  that  was  constantly  growing. 
He  displayed  many  sterling  traits  that  endeared  him  to  those  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact. 


271 


fcrhZtoQ      / 3-CLA/LTJiyr 


^ortus(  paxter 

)ORTUS   BAXTER,   sporting  editor  of  the   Post- 

Pwa?  Intelligencer  and  one  of  the  best  known  newspaper 
^  men  on  the  Pacific  coast,  prepared  for  his  present 
^^  position  in  the  school  of  experience  and  won  his 
reputation  by  his  own  efforts.  He  was  born  at 
Derby  Line,  Vermont,  October  7,  1867,  a  son  of 
Major  Henry  Baxter,  who  served  in  the  Civil  war  mider  Generals 
L.  A.  Grant  and  Sheridan.  He  was  advanced  to  the  rank  of  major 
in  recognition  of  his  bravery  at  the  battle  of  Cedar  Creek.  He  mar- 
ried Laura  White,  a  native  of  Bennington,  Vermont,  who  died  in  the 
year  1872,  while  Major  Baxter,  surviving  for  a  considerable  period, 
passed  away  in  Seattle  in  1890. 

Speaking  of  his  education,  Portus  Baxter  says  that  he  attended 
Goddard  Seminary  at  Barre,  Vermont,  that  he  entered  the  front 
door  of  Tufts  College,  passed  right  through  arid  came  west  to  Seattle, 
arriving  October  23,  1889,  being  then  a  young  man  of  twenty-two 
years.  He  has  devoted  almost  his  entire  life  to  newspaper  writing 
and  since  1890,  when  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Post-Intelligencer, 
has  been  continuously  connected  with  that  paper,  identified  with 
every  department.  For  many  years  he  has  now  occupied  the  posi- 
tion of  sporting  editor  and  for  some  time  was  also  editor  of  the  Sun- 
day magazine  section. 

He  claims  that  Clarence  B.  Bagley,  editor  of  this  History  of 
Seattle,  is  responsible  for  his  being  a  newspaper  man  instead  of  a 
banker,  for  when  a  boy  he  became  associated  with  a  bank  in  which 
Mr.  Bagley  was  cashier.  He  filled  the  position  of  errand  boy  and 
during  the  absence  of  one  of  the  head  officials  of  the  bank  Mr.  Bagley 
took  it  upon  himself  to  stand  sponsor  for  the  said  errand  boy  for  the 
munificent  sum  of  one  dollar  per  week  to  be  used  for  carfare,  thereby 
causing  a  general  disturbance  and  a  special  meeting  of  the  stock- 
holders on  account  of  such  extravagance.  The  head  official  of  the 
bank  refused  to  allow  this  exorbitant  sum  to  a  boy  who  had  nothing 
to  do  but  run  errands  and,  therefore,  leaving  his  position,  he  soon 
afterward  secured  employment  on  the  Seattle  Post-Intelhgencer, 
of  which  Will  H.  Parry  was  then  city  editor.  He  was  given  in 
charge  of  Larry  K.  Hodges,  who  now  holds  an  important  position 
275 


276  Poctu0  Igattec 

with  the  Oregonian  of  Portland.  His  training  was  most  thorough 
and  ofttimes  of  an  arduous  character.  It  would  not  be  unusual  for 
him  to  be  sent  to  Ballard  at  eleven  o'clock  at  night  to  get  the  details 
for  a  story  on  a  fire  and  perhaps,  upon  his  return,  he  would  be 
informed  that  the  information  for  which  he  had  been  sent  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  editor  before  he  left  the  office  and  that  he  had  been  sent 
simply  to  find  out  if  he  could  perform  that  duty.  During  the  time 
that  he  was  not  on  his  way  to  Ballard  or  engaged  in  performing  some 
similar  service,  he  was  being  instructed  by  W.  M.  Sheffield  in  police 
reporting  and  other  departments  of  reportorial  work.  The  first  big 
story  to  which  he  was  assigned  was  a  murder  case  known  as  the  Nord- 
strom case,  which  was  heard  in  1895  and  which  was  carried  to  the 
supreme  court  of  the  United  States,  where  it  was  defended  by  James 
Hamilton  Lewis,  now  United  States  senator  from  Illinois.  The 
murder  was  committed  at  the  top  of  Cedar  mountain  and  Mr.  Bax- 
ter left  Seattle  late  in  the  evening  to  go  to  the  scene  in  order  to  get 
the  details  for  his  paper.  In  company  with  Dr.  George  M.  Horton, 
who  was  then  coroner,  and  Deputy  Prosecuting  Attorney  Caldwell, 
he  drove  in  a  lumber  wagon  after  dark  up  the  dangerous  mountain 
road.  It  was  between  one  and  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  when  they 
returned  to  the  little  railroad  station  and  Mr.  Baxter  routed  the  agent 
out  of  bed  to  send  liis  message  to  the  paper  for  the  morning  publica- 
tion. After  the  agent  had  sent  part  of  the  message  his  wrist  gave 
out  and,  as  the  reporter  had  had  some  experience  when  a  lad  in  teleg- 
raphy, he  continued  the  message.  Speaking  of  this  occasion,  how- 
ever, he  said :  "If  men  could  be  arrested  for  their  thoughts  those  on 
the  Seattle  end  of  the  line  would  be  serving  a  life's  term  if  all  they 
thought  of  the  man  who  was  playing  that  machine  at  the  other  end 
could  be  brought  up  against  them." 

Gradually  Mr.  Baxter  was  advanced  and  all  who  know  aught  of 
the  Post-Intelligencer  are  familiar  with  his  writings.  Those  who 
read  between  the  lines  of  this  review  may  get  the  story  of  his  faith- 
fulness, fidelity,  resolute  purpose  and  determination,  for  it  was  by 
hard  work  that  he  won  his  advancement,  proving  his  worth  in  his  serv- 
ice. He  is  today  one  of  the  well  known  newspaper  men  of  the  Pacific 
coast,  and,  moreover,  he  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Union  Savings  &  Trust 
Company  Bank  of  Seattle,  in  the  National  Bank  of  Commerce  at  St. 
Louis  and  the  Metropolitan  National  Bank  of  Washington,  D.  C. 
He  is  likewise  a  stockholder  in  the  Canadian  Bank  of  Commerce  at 
Seattle  and  in  the  Bank  of  Nova  Scotia. 

Mr.  Baxter  was  united  in  marriage  to  Lora  Scott,  a  native  of  Big 
Rapids,  Michigan,  but  reared  in  Washington,  her  father  being  George 


Portus  Waiter  277 

Washington  Scott,  who  came  to  Seattle  in  the  early  '80s.  Mrs. 
Baxter  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  this  city  and  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Washington.  Mr.  Baxter  belongs  to  the  Elks  Lodge,  No. 
92,  of  Seattle,  to  the  Press  Club  and  to  the  Seattle  Athletic  Club  and 
usually  gives  his  political  allegiance  to  the  republican  party  but  feels 
that  he  is  not  bound  by  party  ties  and  often  follows  an  independent 
course.  He  and  his  wife  are  well  known  in  the  social  circles  of  the 
city  and  occupy  an  attractive  winter  home  at  No.  1611  Fifteenth 
avenue,  while  they  have  a  summer  home  at  beautiful  Three  Tree  Point. 


iilllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllli 


JOSEPH      BORST 


jEVERAL  years  before  the  great  rush  of  gold  seekers 
to  the  Pacific  coast  in  1849,  following  the  gold  dis- 
coveries in  California  the  preceding  year,  Joseph 
Borst  made  his  way  to  the  west  in  1845.  He  was 
born  in  Schoharie  county,  New  York,  in  1821,  but 
from  184.5  until  his  demise  was  identified  with  the 
golden  west.  After  a  brief  time  spent  in  Washington  he  went  to 
California,  but  in  1849  again  came  to  this  state,  settling  in  Lewis 
county,  where  he  took  up  a  homestead  claim,  also  preempted  more 
land  until  he  was  the  owner  of  more  than  six  hundred  acres.  He 
always  maintained  his  residence  in  Lewis  county  until  called  to  his 
final  rest  in  1885,  but  was  very  actively  engaged  in  the  livestock  busi- 
ness in  Seattle  and  at  other  points  along  the  western  coast.  He  like- 
wise sold  a  great  deal  of  stock  in  Victoria,  British  Columbia.  He 
raised  large  numbers  of  cattle  east  of  the  mountains  and  had  extensive 
land  holdings  in  that  part  of  the  state.  His  business  aifairs  were* 
most  systematically,  wisely  and  successfully  conducted  and  he  became 
known  as  one  of  the  foremost  cattle  dealers  of  this  section.  He  sold 
a  large  number  of  cattle  to  local  meat  dealers  and  also  bought  for 
local  men,  and  the  extent  and  importance  of  his  business  aflfairs 
brought  him  a  wide  acquaintance  in  Seattle.  He  was  always  ready 
to  give  his  aid  and  his  influence  on  the  side  of  the  city's  upbuilding 
and  of  the  advancement  of  the  state  and  his  cooperation  was  counted 
as  a  valued  factor  in  promoting  the  public  good. 

Mr.  Borst  was  imited  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Roundtree 
in  1854,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  four  children,  Eva  Estella, 
Ada,  Harbin  David  and  Allen  Turner,  the  two  latter  both  residents 
of  California.  The  eldest  daughter  married  S.  S.  McElfresh  and 
resides  in  Lewis  county.  The  daughter  Ada  became  the  wife  of  John 
C.  Blackwell  in  1891,  but  he  was  an  eastern  man  and  did  not  like  the 
west,  so  they  spent  much  of  their  time  in  the  east,  although  Mrs. 
Blackwell  has  always  maintained  a  home  in  Washington.  After  her 
husband's  death  she  returned  to  this  state  and  took  up  her  residence 
in  Seattle,  where  she  has  since  lived.  She  is  widely  known  socially 
here  and  has  an  extensive  circle  of  warm  friends.  She  is  a  member 
of  the  Congregational  church  and  of  the  Leschi  Improvement  Club 


282  3[ogepi)  IBotst 

and  the  Woman's  Century  Club,  and  it  is  to  her  that  we  are  indebted 
for  the  material  concerning  her  honored  father.  Her  mother  still 
maintains  a  home  on  the  old  homestead  but  spends  most  of  her  time  in 
California,  where  she  has  extensive  holdings. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Borst  was  a  democrat  and  kept  well 
informed  on  the  questions  and  issues  of  the  day,  but  the  honors  and 
emoluments  of  office  had  no  attraction  for  him.  He  deserves  men- 
tion in  this  history  as  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  the  west,  having 
arrived  here  at  a  time  when  the  Pacific  coast  country  was  cut  off  from 
the  east  by  the  long  stretches  of  prairie  and  of  the  desert  and  the  moun- 
tain ranges,  all  of  which  made  travel  almost  impossible  before  the 
building  of  the  railroads.  He  knew  California  before  it  entered  into 
the  wild  period  of  excitement  that  followed  the  discovery  of  gold 
there  and  he  was  identified  with  the  development  of  Washington 
from  a  period  when  the  most  farsighted  would  never  have  dreamed 
that  there  would  spring  up  within  its  borders  several  great  metropoli- 
tan centers  and  that  it  would  take  the  lead  in  various  productions 
among  the  great  states  of  the  Union. 


Jf rank  OTiUiam  g^jjiUegtab 

iRANK  WILLIAM  SHILLESTAD,  assistant  sec- 
retary and  assistant  treasurer  of  the  Denny-Renton 
Clay  &  Coal  Company  of  Seattle,  was  born  in  Chi- 
cago, Illinois,  on  the  31st  of  October,  1865,  a  son  of 
Ole  and  Regina  (Petersen)  Sliillestad.  He  was 
ten  years  of  age  when  he  left  his  native  city  and 
became  a  resident  of  Seattle  on  the  3d  of  July,  1875,  Here  he 
attended  the  public  schools  and  ultimately  was  graduated  from  the 
Seattle  high  school  with  the  class  of  June,  1881,  while  in  1888  he 
completed  a  course  in  the  Seattle  Business  College. 

Early  in  his  business  career  Mr.  Shillestad  was  actively  engaged 
as  a  stenographer  and  bookkeeper.  He  served  as  bookkeeper  in  the 
undertaking  establishment  of  Ole  Shillestad  from  1882  until  1886 
and  was  afterward  stenographer  for  the  firm  of  Jacobs  &  Jenner  from 
1890  until  1893  and  later  acted  as  bookkeeper  and  stenographer  for 
the  Sackman-Phillips  Investment  Company  from  1893  until  1895. 
During  the  four  succeeding  years  he  filled  the  position  of  bookkeeper 
with  R.  Marchant,  a  commission  merchant,  and  has  also  been  with 
E.  M.  Gordon,  a  commission  merchant.  From  1899  until  the  present 
time  he  has  been  with  the  Denny  Clay  Company  and  its  successor, 
the  Denny-Renton  Clay  &  Coal  Company,  acting  first  as  auditor, 
while  for  the  past  three  years  he  has  been  assistant  secretary  and 
assistant  treasurer.  He  has  thus  advanced  step  by  step  along  progres- 
sive business  lines  and  his  present  position  is  one  of  responsibility. 

On  the  21st  of  November,  1900,  in  Ballard,  Washington,  Mr. 
Shillestad  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Lillian  May  Draper,  a 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  Elisha  Draper,  and  to  them  have  been  born  two 
children,  Frank  William  and  June  Lillian. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shillestad  are  members  of  Trinity  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church  and  he  also  holds  membership  with  the  Amphion  Society, 
the  Municipal  League,  the  Seattle  Credit  Men's  Association,  the 
Commercial  Club  and  the  Rotary  Club — connections  which  show 
the  breadth  and  nature  of  his  interests  and  activities.  He  is  also  a 
member  of  the  Pioneer  Association  of  Seattle.  In  politics  he  is  a 
republican  but  is  independent  in  his  support  of  candidates,  seeking 
ever  to  put  the  best  man  in  office.  The  history  of  Seattle  is  largely 
285 


286  jFcank  milliam  ^^iUestap 

familiar  to  him,  for  at  the  time  of  his  arrival  here  it  was  a  village  of 
about  twelve  hundred  inhabitants.  He  has  therefore  watched  its 
growth  to  its  present  population  and  has  seen  it  become  one  of  the 
most  thriving  and  progressive  cities  of  the  northwest  with  a  splendid 
outlook  for  the  future. 


i 


J^L^AUr 


Migtjert  iHoeUer 

IIGBERT  MOELLER  has  been  prominently  con- 

W,,^,i  nected  with  the  industrial  growth  of  Seattle  and  is 
W)  recognized  as  one  of  the  men  of  wealth  of  the  city. 
^  He  has  done  much  important  work  along  lines  of 
public  improvement  and  has  been  especially  active 
in  securing  the  development  of  the  south  end  of  the 
city  and  the  improvement  of  the  Duwamish  river.  A  native  of  Hes- 
sen,  Germany,  he  was  born  in  the  village  of  Silges,  where  his  parents, 
Adam  Joseph  and  Josephine  ( Wilhelm)  Moeller,  continued  to  reside 
until  called  by  death.  The  region  in  which  he  was  bom  and  where 
his  boyhood  was  passed  is  the  section  of  country  in  which  St.  Boni- 
face, the  Apostle  to  the  Germans,  labored  centuries  ago  and  the 
prayer-book  which  he  was  holding  in  his  hands  when  struck  down  by 
the  saber  of  a  heathen  is  still  exhibited  in  the  town  of  Fulda,  as  is  one 
of  the  first  prayer-books  ever  printed.  The  first  forty-two  syllable 
Bible  was  printed  in  that  district  of  Germany. 

Mr.  Moeller  acquired  his  early  education  in  the  common  schools 
of  Silges,  and  after  joining  his  brother  in  Nebraska  City,  Nebraska, 
in  March,  1868,  attended  the  country  school  near  that  place  for  a 
short  time.  He  was  later  a  student  in  Talbot  Hall,  an  Episcopalian 
school,  near  Nebraska  City.  In  1870  he  went  to  Jefferson  county, 
Nebraska,  which  at  that  time  was  but  sparsely  settled.  There  was 
still  the  ever-present  danger  of  Indian  raids  and  in  the  previous  year 
thirty-seven  settlers  had  met  death  at  the  hands  of  the  hostile  red 
men.  Game  such  as  buffalo  and  antelopes  abounded  and  conditions 
were  in  general  those  of  the  western  frontier.  While  Uving  near 
Nebraska  City  Mr.  Moeller  was  employed  in  a  small  sawmill  owned 
by  his  uncle,  but  on  removing  to  southwestern  Nebraska  turned  his 
attention  to  farming.  The  grasshoppers  devastated  the  country  for 
three  years  in  succession,  and  in  1875  he  decided  to  try  his  fortune  in 
a  more  favorable  locality  and  went  to  San  Francisco,  California.  He 
remained  for  two  and  a  half  months  near  Redwood  but  not  finding 
that  section  to  his  liking  he  went  to  Portland,  Oregon,  arriving  there 
in  October,  1875.  He  farmed  near  McMinnviUe,  that  state,  for  a 
year  but  in  November,  1876,  came  to  the  Puget  Sound  country.  He 
landed  at  New  Tacoma,  which  then  consisted  of  but  fourteen  houses, 
289 


290  UiiQiitu  Qgoellet 

while  the  country  around  was  still  wild  as  but  little  clearing  had  been 
done.  He  only  remained  one  night  in  that  settlement  and  the  next 
day  came  to  Seattle  on  the  steamer  Messenger  (one  of  the  finest  boats 
of  that  time),  which  took  three  hours  to  make  the  trip  to  Seattle. 
At  that  time  saloons  and  dance  halls  were  much  in  evidence  in  the 
small  town  which  bore  the  name  of  Seattle  and  Mr.  Moeller  decided 
not  to  remain.  From  Seattle  he  went  partly  on  foot  and  partly  by 
narrow  gauge  railroad  to  Lake  Union  when  there  was  nothing  but 
woods  to  be  seen  in  that  district.  Even  then,  however,  there  were 
many  canoes  and  sailboats  of  all  kinds  on  the  Sound,  which  presaged 
the  great  shipping  interests  of  Seattle  today.  He  returned  to  Ta- 
coma  and  there  learned  of  some  German  families  hving  near  Puyal- 
lup.  He  walked  to  that  settlement,  finding  there  a  few  houses,  one 
store  and  the  Meeker  log  house,  in  which  was  located  the  postoffice. 
From  Puyallup  he  walked  to  the  present  site  of  McMillan  and  after 
staying  all  night  with  a  settler  went  as  directed  to  another  settler, 
who  pointed  out  to  him  some  vacant  government  land  one  and  a  half 
miles  southwest  of  Puyallup.  Mr.  Moeller  concluded  to  locate  there 
and  returned  to  Olympia,  going  the  entire  distance  on  foot,  and 
entered  eighty  acres  of  land  as  a  homestead.  He  purchased  an 
adjoining  eighty  acres  from  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad;  subse- 
quently entered  eighty  acres  more  from  the  government  and  bought 
another  eighty  acre  tract  from  the  railroad  company.  He  also  took 
a  timber  claim.  When  he  first  settled  upon  his  land  his  only  means 
of  reaching  civilization  was  bj^  an  Indian  trail  that  led  to  the  prairie, 
three  miles  distant.  He  soon  began  to  cut  a  good  wagon  road  to  the 
prairie  but  the  timber  was  so  heavy  that  this  task  occupied  a  whole 
winter.  The  following  winter  a  road  was  cut  through  to  Puyallup 
and  later  Mr.  Moeller  organized  a  road  district  and  a  school  district. 
The  county  aided  in  opening  up  the  district  and  in  making  roads. 
Mr.  Moeller  erected  a  schoolhouse,  having  built  a  portable  sawmill 
upon  his  land.  In  1878,  while  living  in  the  timber,  he  and  the  other 
settlers  of  the  locality  were  furnished  arms  by  the  federal  govern- 
ment as  it  was  feared  that  a  hostile  tribe  of  Yakima  Indians  east  of 
the  mountains  would  make  a  raid  upon  them,  but  there  was  no  attack. 
Mr.  Moeller  failed  to  find  a  market  for  the  limiber  manufactured  by 
his  mill  and  tiring  of  ranching,  he  decided  to  change  his  location. 
Accordingly  he  removed  his  mill  to  Bay  View,  in  the  vicinity  of  Ana- 
cortes,  Skagit  county,  and  was  the  first  man  to  erect  a  steam  sawmill 
in  that  county.  This  was  in  1885  and  two  years  later  he  started  a 
logging  camp  on  Guemes  island.  The  following  year  he  manufac- 
tured a  large  number  of  piles  but  was  unable  to  market  them  until 


a^igtiect  Qjocller  291 

June,  1889,  when  the  big  fii-e  in  Seattle  created  a  heavy  demand  for 
lumber  of  all  kinds.  A  few  days  after  the  fire  Mr.  Moeller  came  to 
Seattle  and  soon  disposed  of  his  piles,  which  were  used  at  the  foot  of 
Wasliington  street,  where  the  HefFernan  Engine  Works  are  now 
located.  About  this  time  he  moved  his  sawmill  to  Wooley  Junction 
and  manufactured  the  first  lumber  at  that  point.  He  shipped  many 
of  the  ties  used  in  the  construction  of  the  old  Seattle,  Lake  Shore  & 
Eastern  Railroad,  the  Anacortes  Northern  and  the  Great  Northern 
from  Momit  Vernon  to  Fairhaven.  In  1891  he  sold  out  and  returned 
to  Tacoma,  there  engaging  in  the  hay  and  gi-ain  business  for  a  year. 
Later  he  erected  a  mill  at  Silverton,  on  the  Everett  &  Monte  Cristo 
Railroad.  There  again  Mr.  Moeller  was  a  pioneer  as  his  mill  was  the 
first  one  erected  in  that  district.  During  the  panic  of  1893  practi- 
cally all  mining  operations  were  suspended  and  he  lost  almost  all 
that  he  had  accumulated  during  the  previous  years.  He  moved  the 
machinery  to  Everett  and  remained  there  for  one  and  one-half  years 
although  there  was  very  little  to  be  done  in  the  sawmill  business. 
However,  he  was  not  idle  as  he  aided  in  various  movements  seeking 
the  advancement  of  that  locality.  Among  other  things  he  labored 
effectively  to  secm-e  the  removal  of  the  county  seat  from  Snohomish 
to  Everett,  which  change  has  proved  beneficial  to  the  coimty  at  large. 
When  Mr.  Moeller  located  permanentl)^  in  Seattle  in  the  fall  of 
1895  he  was  in  very  limited  financial  circumstances  but  he  had  great 
faith  in  the  future  of  the  city  and  of  the  country  and  persevered  even 
though  at  first  his  efforts  seemed  to  bring  but  little  return.  He  began 
buying  and  selling  all  kinds  of  second-hand  machinery,  his  first  loca- 
tion being  in  the  basement  of  the  Starr-Boyd  block,  for  which  he  paid 
a  rental  of  fifteen  dollars  per  month.  A  year  or  so  later,  as  the  owners 
of  that  property  wished  to  raise  his  rent,  he  looked  for  other  quarters 
and  secured  rooms  at  the  corner  of  Weller  street  and  Occidental  ave- 
nue, where  he  got  more  space  for  ten  dollars  per  month  than  he  had 
previously  received  for  fifteen.  His  business  increased  rapidly  and 
in  order  to  meet  the  demands  he  soon  had  to  install  a  machine  shop 
and  dm'ing  the  Klondike  boom  his  trade  grew  so  fast  that  it  was  nec- 
essary for  him  to  seek  a  new  site  for  his  business.  In  1899  he  pur- 
chased property  in  Seattle  and  continued  to  engage  in  the  machinery 
business  until  1901,  when  he  sold  his  machinery  to  the  Starr  Machin- 
ery Company  and  his  shop  to  the  Marine  Iron  Works.  In  1902, 
following  his  return  from  a  trip  to  Europe,  he  built  a  sawmill  near 
Issaquah,  King  county.  In  1903  he  sold  that  propertj^  and  also  his 
timber  holdings  to  the  Robinson  Manufacturing  Company  of  Everett. 
He  erected  what  is  now  known  as  the  Elliott  Bay  sawmill,  which  he 


292  miQfittt  Qgoeller 

sold  to  the  Oregon-Washington  Railroad  Company  in  1906.  He  also 
put  up  the  first  building  on  Spokane  avenue  and  East  Waterway. 

About  1899  Mr.  Moeller  joined  the  Seattle  Manufacturing  Asso- 
ciation and  at  once  became  a  working  member  of  that  body.  Fore- 
seeing the  time  when  Seattle  would  need  a  manufacturing  district 
which  would  provide  facilities  for  connecting  steamboat  lines  and 
railroads  and  which  would  likewise  afford  sites  for  homes  for  the 
working  men  near  their  business,  he  started  the  first  movement  for 
the  improvement  of  the  Duwamish  river.  His  clearness  of  vision  has 
been  more  than  justified  and  it  is  evident  that  the  district  along  the 
river  is  to  be  one  of  the  most  important  sections  of  the  city  along  indus- 
trial and  commercial  lines.  In  1904  Mr.  Moeller  removed  to  Youngs- 
town,  buying  his  present  home  site,  and  soon  afterward  he  organized 
all  of  the  south  end  improvement  clubs  into  one  federated  club  with 
the  object  of  working  together  in  securing  needed  improvements  for 
that  district.  In  the  fall  of  1906  he  went  to  Washington,  D.  C,  to 
represent  the  Seattle  Manufacturing  Association  at  the  National 
Rivers  and  Harbors  Congress  and  was  honored  by  that  body  by  being 
made  first  vice  president  for  the  state  of  Washington.  While  in  the 
national  capital  he  sought  to  secure  government  aid  for  the  Duwamish 
river  improvement  project  and  takes  just  pride  in  the  fact  that  the 
greater  part  of  the  work  completed  along  that  line  is  due  directly  to 
his  untiring  labors.  He  is  still  fighting  aggressively  for  the  develop- 
ment of  manufacturing  and  commercial  interests  in  the  south  end  and 
on  the  tide  lands  and  is  certain  that  in  the  next  few  years  much  more 
will  have  been  achieved  than  has  been  done  up  to  the  present. 

In  addition  to  the  associations  already  mentioned  Mr.  Moeller 
belongs  to  several  improvement  clubs,  the  Commercial  Club  and  the 
Municipal  League.  He  is  a  man  of  imusual  energy  and  fearlessness 
and  these  qualities,  combined  with  his  naturally  sound  judgment  and 
his  long  business  experience,  fit  him  preeminently  for  his  work  in 
securing  public  improvements  and  commercial  progress.  Seattle  has 
gained  much  because  he  has  had  the  vision  to  see  the  lines  along  which 
the  industrial  development  of  the  city  vdll  proceed  and  the  public 
spirit  and  enterprise  to  direct  that  development  for  the  general  good. 


::^J=TA.IN  UAMES   CARROLL 


Captain  Jameg  CatroU 

)APTAIN  JAMES  CARROLL  had  no  small  part  in 
developing  commerce  in  northern  Pacific  waters, 
especially  in  Alaska,  and  for  forty-five  years  was 
closely  identified  with  shipping  interests  on  the  coast. 
He  commanded  the  first  large  steamer  to  enter  Alas- 
kan waters  and  there  was  no  phase  of  the  shipping 
industry  of  this  section  of  the  country  with  which  he  was  not  thor- 
oughly acquainted.  He  became  also  a  representative  of  commercial 
activity  in  Alaska  and  his  efforts  were  ever  of  far-reaching  and  bene- 
ficial effect.  A  native  of  Ireland,  he  was  born  November  1,  1840,  but 
when  only  six  months  old  was  brought  to  the  United  States  by  his 
father,  Lawrence  Carroll,  who  established  the  family  home  in  Ken- 
dall county,  lUinois,  where  he  spent  his  remaining  days,  his  death 
there  occui'ring  when  he  had  reached  the  age  of  seventy  years. 

The  youthful  experiences  of  the  farm  boy  were  those  of  Captain 
James  Carroll  to  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  after  which  he  went  to  Chi- 
cago, where  he  took  up  the  life  of  a  sailor.  He  spent  two  years  on 
the  Great  Lakes  and  then  went  to  New  York,  after  which  he  sailed 
the  high  seas.  He  became  connected  with  the  merchant  marine  serv- 
ice in  trips  made  largely  to  Japan  and  China  and  was  in  the  latter 
country  during  the  Chinese  war  of  1861.  Later  Captain  Carroll  went 
to  California  and  thence  sailed  to  the  Sandwich  and  South  Sea  islands 
and  later  into  Atlantic  waters,  visiting  many  Evu'opean  ports.  In 
1863  he  received  his  first  promotion  and  afterward  filled  all  of  the 
higher  offices  in  the  service  and  visited  almost  every  foreign  land.  In 
1865  he  once  more  reached  San  Francisco  and  for  many  years  was  on 
Pacific  waters.  In  the  early  days  he  was  connected  with  the  National 
Steamsliip  Companj^  and  in  1866  he  was  the  second  officer  on  the  brig, 
Swallow,  which  had  as  a  passenger,  Mr.  Burlingame,  envoy  to  China, 
whose  mission  was  to  effect  a  treaty  with  that  country.  He  com- 
manded the  Colorado  on  the  China  run  and  was  master  of  other  ves- 
sels for  the  same  company.  Later  he  commanded  the  Pelican,  the 
Great  Republic,  the  California,  afterward  known  as  the  Eureka,  the 
Idaho,  the  Ancon  and  a  large  fleet.  In  1878  Captain  Carroll  became 
an  employe  in  the  Alaska  service,  sailing  from  Portland  and  Seattle 
295 


296  Captain  3lameg  Carroll 

and  carrying  the  fii'st  tourists  to  that  country.  This  was  at  a  period 
antedating  the  development  of  mining  interests  in  Alaska.  He  after- 
ward became  connected  with  E.  C.  Hughes,  N.  A.  Fuller  and  George 
E.  Piltz  in  equipping  the  two  vessels,  Juneau  and  Harris,  and  made 
a  trip  to  Alaska  in  the  fall  of  1880.  It  was  in  the  early  '80s  that  he 
took  the  California,  the  fii-st  large  steamer  to  enter  Alaskan  waters, 
to  Sitka  and  Wrangell  and  for  years  he  continued  in  the  Alaska 
service.  For  a  quarter  of  a  century  he  was  with  the  Pacific  Coast 
Steamship  Company  and  every  new  vessel  buUt  and  launched  by  the 
company  was  intrusted  to  his  care.  While  running  to  Alaska  he  made 
the  acquaintance  of  many  prominent  and  wealthy  men  from  the  east 
and  in  1891  appeared  before  congress,  representing  a  syndicate  of 
moneyed  men,  with  an  offer  of  fourteen  million  dollars  to  buy  Alaska. 
He  was  convinced  of  the  injustice  done  by  congress  in  withholding 
reasonable  laws  from  the  territory  and  he  was  most  earnest  in  his 
endeavor  to  cooperate  with  the  capitalists  in  their  effort  to  make  the 
purchase  of  the  country.  He  was  the  first  master  of  the  Queen,  a 
well  known  vessel,  and  was  the  first  to  take  her  through  the  Wran- 
gell Narrows. 

On  the  4th  of  January,  1898,  Captain  Carroll  abandoned  seafar- 
ing life  and  afterward  became  agent  for  the  Alaska  Commercial 
Company,  for  the  Rodman  mines  and  for  the  Northern  Lakes  & 
Rivers  Navigation  Company  and  also  became  a  general  merchant 
and  outfitter  in  Alaska.  Several  j^ears  later  he  returned  to  the 
Pacific  Coast  Company  to  command  the  new  steamer,  Spokane,  but 
retired  again  about  1906  and  later  was  prominently  identified  with 
business  interests  in  Seattle.  He  was  a  representative  of  the  Rod- 
man mines  located  on  Baranof  island,  where  the  company  operated 
a  sixty  stamp  mill  and  seven  miles  of  railroad.  He  was  also  inter- 
ested in  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company,  owning  three  ships  run- 
ning from  Seattle  to  Alaska,  and  they  also  owned  nearly  all  of  the 
boats  on  the  lower  Yukon  with  the  exception  of  those  belonging  to 
the  North  American  Lading  &  Transportation  Company,  The 
same  company  owned  and  conducted  nearly  all  of  the  larger  stores 
on  the  Yukon.  Captain  Carroll  removed  his  outfitting  business  from 
Seattle  to  Skagway,  where  he  operated  extensively  as  a  grocery  mer- 
chant, carrying  a  stock  amounting  to  twelve  thousand  dollars,  while 
at  Nome,  Alaska,  his  outfitting  business  was  capitalized  at  fifteen 
thousand  dollars. 

At  San  Francisco,  California,  Captain  Carroll  was  married  to 
Miss  Dorothy  Bowington,  and  of  their  children  only  one  survives, 
John,  now  agent  of  the   Grand   Tnmk  at   Seattle.    Mrs.   Carroll 


Captain  3[ames  Carroll 


297 


passed  away  in  1900  and  at  San  Francisco  in  1903  Captain  Carroll 
wedded  Elizabeth  A.  Reid,  a  native  of  Victoria,  British  Columbia. 

Captain  Carroll  was  largely  independent  in  politics.  He  was 
prominent  in  Masonic  circles,  holding  membership  in  Port  Townsend 
Lodge,  No.  6,  F.  &  A.  M.;  Victoria  Chapter,  No.  120,  R.  A.  M.; 
California  Commandery,  No.  1,  K.  T.;  and  Lawson  Consistory,  No. 
1,  S.  P.  R.  S.  He  was  also  long  identified  with  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  the  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Elks  and  he  belonged  to  the  Mas- 
ter Marines  Association  and  to  the  Masters  and  Pilots  Association 
of  San  Francisco.  He  was  the  first  delegate  from  Alaska  to  con- 
gress and  he  did  much  to  influence  and  promote  the  welfare  of  that 
country.  Of  him  it  has  been  written:  "In  the  history  of  the  Pacific 
coast  shipping  his  superior  as  a  shipmaster  has  not  been  known,  while 
few  men  have  been  his  equal."  He  passed  away  May  17,  1912,  at 
Seattle. 


^^^^^z::^^^ 


Sarrp  Matsion 

)T  is  doubtful  if  any  Seattle  citizen  ever  passed  from 
this  life  who  left  behind  more  warm  personal  friends 
or  whose  death  was  more  sincerely  regretted  than 
that  of  Harry  Watson.  He  possessed  those  sterling 
qualities  of  manhood  which  in  every  land  and  clime 
awaken  confidence  and  respect  and  his  death  occa- 
sioned loss  both  to  business  circles  and  to  the  social  community.  He 
became  a  resident  of  Seattle  in  1891  and  for  a  considerable  period  was 
a  partner  in  the  Bonney- Watson  Company,  funeral  directors.  He 
died  November  1,  1915,  at  the  age  of  forty-four  years.  He  was  born 
in  Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania,  February  6,  1871,  and  his  identi- 
tication  with  the  western  country  dated  from  1890,  when  he  became  a 
resident  of  California.  A  year  later  he  removed  to  Seattle  and  in 
1892  entered  the  employ  of  Bonney  &  Stewart,  undertakers,  with 
whom  he  remained  for  two  years  and  then  accepted  the  position  of 
superintendent  of  the  Lakeview  cemetery.  In  1897,  when  his  former 
employer,  George  M.  Stewart,  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Seattle 
and  Mr.  Bonney  was  absent  in  Mexico,  Mr.  Watson  was  made  man- 
ager of  their  business  and  in  1903  their  interests  were  incorporated 
under  the  name  of  the  Bonney-Watson  Company,  Mr.  Watson  having 
become  a  partner  in  the  enterprise.  The  firm  ranked  first  among  those 
engaged  in  this  line  of  business.  They  developed  a  large  establish- 
ment, carrying  all  that  was  finest  in  the  line  of  undertaking  goods,  and 
their  faithfulness  and  reliability  brought  to  them  a  constantly  growing 
patronage.  Mr.  Watson  could  truly  be  called  a  self-made  man,  for  the 
success  which  he  achieved  was  attributable  entirely  to  his  own  labors, 
his  business  integrity  and  his  commendable  determination  and  am- 
bition. In  1904  Mr.  Watson  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Meldrum  Potter,  a  native  of  San  Francisco,  California,  and  a  daugh- 
ter of  Charles  and  Alice  Potter.  The  father  is  deceased  but  the 
mother  resides  with  her  widowed  daughter  in  Seattle.  Mr.  Watson 
had  one  child,  Hugh  Watson,  a  son  by  a  former  marriage. 

In  Masonry  Mr.  Watson  occupied  a  prominent  position,  holding 

membership  in  St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  9,  F.  &  A.  M. ;  Seattle  Com- 

mandery.  No.  2,  K.  T.;  and  Nile  Temple,  A.  A.  O.  N.  M.  S.    His 

life  was  an  expression  of  the  beneficent  spirit  upon  which  the  Masonic 

301 


302  ^attg  matson 

order  rests.  He  was  also  a  devoted  mesiiiber  of  Seattle  Lodge,  No.  92, 
B.  P.  O.  E.,  and  he  became  a  life  member  of  the  new  Chamber  of 
Commerce  and  also  of  the  Cormnerical  Club.  His  interest  in  those 
organizations  was  deep  and  sincere,  for  he  recognized  their  purpose 
of  furthering  the  welfare  of  the  city  along  all  those  lines  which 
work  for  material  development,  improvement  and  civic  righteousness. 
When  death  called  Mr.  Watson,  the  Argus  said:  "It  is  doubtful  if 
there  is  a  man  in  Seattle  who  has  as  many  warm  personal  friends  as 
were  numbered  by  Mr.  Watson.  His  charities  were  luiusually  large 
and  the  world  is  better  for  his  having  lived."  Mr.  Watson  was  al- 
ways considerate  of  the  feelings  of  others,  kindly  in  purpose,  generous 
and  manly  in  deed.  He  believed  in  and  appreciated  the  good  in 
those  with  whom  he  came  in  contact  and  he  had  the  faculty  of  drawing 
out  the  best  that  was  in  those  with  whom  he  was  associated.  He  held 
to  high  ideals  himself,  and  such  was  the  force  of  his  character  that 
others  delighted  to  be  associated  with  him  in  all  that  he  undertook 
for  the  benefit  of  the  individual  and  the  community. 

"He  leaves  behind  a  patriot's  name  to  after  times. 
Linked  with  a  thousand  virtues  and  no  crimes."  ' 


Cljarleg  P,  PuggeU 

^HARLES  B.  BUSSELL  is  a  capitalist  of  Seattle, 
with  offices  at  410  American  Bank  building.  His 
investments  are  largely  represented  by  fruit  lands, 
real  estate  and  canneries  and  are  the  visible  evidence 
of  a  life  of  well  directed  energy  and  keen  business 
sagacity.  He  was  born  in  New  York  city,  January 
8,  1864,  a  son  of  Francis  F.  Bussell,  whose  father  came  from  Corn- 
wall, England,  early  in  the  nineteenth  century.  Francis  F.  Bussell 
was  born  in  New  York  city,  in  1827,  and  devoted  many  years  of  his 
life  to  the  lumber  business.  He  married  Virginia  Alwaise,  who  traces 
her  ancestry  in  America  back  to  1640  through  English  and  Dutch 
lineage,  one  of  the  early  representatives  of  the  family  being  the 
famous  Anneke  Jans.  Following  Charles  B.  Bussell's  removal  to 
Seattle  his  parents  also  came  here.  Francis  B.  Bussell  died  while  on 
a  visit  to  New  York  in  1888,  and  is  survived  by  his  widow,  who  still 
lives  in  this  city. 

Charles  B.  Bussell  attended  the  schools  of  the  American  metrop- 
olis, graduating  from  No.  60  grammar  school  when  he  was  sixteen 
years  of  age.  He  afterward  spent  a  year  as  a  student  in  the  College 
of  the  City  of  New  York  but  because  of  his  father's  illness  was  obliged 
to  discontinue  the  course  in  order  to  assist  in  the  care  of  his  father's 
business  interests.  He  gained  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  lum- 
ber and  shipping  business  in  its  practical  phases  and  actual  conditions, 
learned  of  the  water  front  aspects,  the  best  methods  of  receiving  car- 
goes and  of  supervising  shipnients.  All  this  knowledge  and  experi- 
ence proved  of  great  service  and  benefit  to  him  when  he  entered  the 
business  field  of  Seattle.  He  arrived  in  this  city  on  the  5th  of  May, 
1884,  and  his  first  position  was  that  of  cashier,  bookkeeper  and  store- 
keeper for  the  Snoqualmie  Hop  Growers'  Association  on  its  King 
county  ranch.  In  the  spring  of  1886  he  entered  into  partnership  with 
R.  M.  Hopkins  of  the  Seattle  Soap  Company  and  a  year  later  pur- 
chased Mr.  Hopkins'  interest  in  the  business;  but  the  great  compe- 
tition of  eastern  firms  and  the  low  prices  which  prevailed  forced 
him  to  sell  out  and  he  lost  his  entire  capital. 

Discouragement  has  no  part  in  the  make-up  of  Mr.  Bussell  and, 
undeterred  by  his  losses,  he  set  to  work  to  gain  again  a  firm  footing 
305 


306  C&arles  15,  1gug0ell 

in  the  business  world.  In  1889  he  embarked  in  the  real  estate  business 
and,  owing  to  his  foresight  and  his  intimate  and  accurate  knowledge 
of  the  value  of  water  front  lands,  he  has  won  brilliant  success,  acquir- 
ing an  immense  fortune.  In  1890  he  first  made  purchase  of  tide 
lands  and  has  continually  kept  on  purchasing  such  property  until  he 
is  now  one  of  the  largest  individual  holders  of  that  class  of  land  in 
Seattle.  He  continued  to  buy  tide  lands  against  the  advice  of  almost 
ever5'one,  who  felt  that  the  invesliment  would  be  lost,  but  after  five 
years  these  lands  began  to  increase  in  value  and  in  1906,  when  railroad 
terminals  were  in  demand,  he  sold  within  a  short  space  of  time  tide 
lands  to  the  value  of  over  one  million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
His  judgment  thus  found  its  justification  and  those  who  once  criticised 
his  course  were  forced  to  congratulate  him.  His  operations  in  real 
estate  have  been  very  extensive  through  a  period  of  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century  but  he  is  now  connected  with  only  two  companies, 
the  Bussell  Land  Company  and  the  Weber-Bussell  Canning  Com- 
pany, which  were  organized  by  him  and  of  both  of  which  he  is  the 
president.  The  land  company  has  owned  valuable  tracts  of  fruit  lands 
and  the  latter  company  owned  and  operated  a  large  number  of  can- 
neries at  Sumner,  North  Yakima,  Washington,  two  in  Freewater  and 
in  Newberg,  Oregon.  Recently,  however,  Mr.  Bussell  has  been  dis- 
posing of  his  canneries  and  confines  his  attention  mostly  to  handling 
real  estate. 

In  1885  Mr.  Bussell  was  united  in  marriage  in  the  city  of  Mexico 
to  Miss  Elizabeth  V.  Adam,  daughter  of  Francis  Adam,  and  they 
have  one  son,  Wallace  A.,  who  was  born  in  Seattle,  April  19,  1886. 
Mr.  Bussell  was  married  in  1914  to  Miss  Emma  Louise  Korthals. 
Mr.  Bussell  has  been  a  witness  of  Seattle's  growth  and  development 
from  the  days  of  villagehood  and  has  contributed  to  the  results  that 
have  made  it  a  city  of  metropolitan  proportions,  advantages  and  op- 
portunities. He  has  met  conditions  which  would  have  utterly  dis- 
couraged many  a  man  of  less  resolute  spirit,  but  in  his  vocabulary 
there  is  no  such  word  as  fail.  He  has  ever  recognized  the  fact  that 
each  day  and  hour  has  its  opportunity  and  that  effort  intelligently 
put  forth  piust  ultimately  win  its  reward.  In  Seattle  he  took  ad- 
vantage of  opportunities  which  others  passed  heedlessly  by.  He 
noted  the  indications  of  growth  and  the  signs  of  the  times,  laid  his 
plans  accordingly  and  in  the  fullness  of  time  has  reaped  the  rewards 
of  sound  judgment,  of  indefatigable  industry  and  of  judicious  in- 
vestment. 


(a^/^iyp-ayicZ/L 


Cbtoarb  JBrabp 


)DWARD  BRADY,  a  prominent  attorney  of  Seattle, 

E'?  was  born  at  Rio,  Columbia  county,  Wisconsin,  May 
^  10,  1859,  and  was  one  of  a  family  of  seven  children. 
2m  His  parents,  John  and  Rosa  (Nugent)  Brady,  were 
born  near  the  town  of  BallydufF  in  County  Cavan, 
Ireland.  The  father  came  to  America  in  1833,  and 
the  mother  a  few  years  later.  His  father,  John  Brady,  served  as  a 
soldier  of  the  Mexican  war  and  after  returning  from  that  conflict 
removed  with  his  family  to  Wisconsin  in  1848,  settling  on  a  farm 
about  a  mUe  fro^  the  village  of  Rio.  He  and  his  wife  were  very 
desirous  that  all  of  their  children  should  be  well  educated  and  made 
many  personal  sacrifices  to  that  end. 

Edward  Brady  spent  his  early  life  upon  the  farm  and  attended 
the  village  school.  In  the  fall  of  1875,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  he 
entered  the  University  of  Wisconsin  and  graduated  from  that  in- 
stitution in  the  classical  department  in  1881.  He  was  able  to  attend 
the  university  and  complete  his  course  by  reason  of  financial  assist- 
ance given  to  him  by  one  of  his  older  brothers,  John  Brady,  to  whom 
he  always  feels  grateful  and  whom  he  considers  his  greatest  bene- 
factor. For  seven  years  following  his  graduation  he  devoted  his  time 
to  teaching  and  to  the  study  of  law  and  during  that  period  he  availed 
himself  of  the  opportunitj^  of  broadening  his  education  and  laying 
the  foundation  for  higher  scholarship.  In  1888  he  came  to  Seattle  and 
located  here  in  the  practice  of  law.  During  the  twenty-seven  years 
in  this  city  his  business  has  been  in  the  nature  of  a  general  law  practice. 
He  and  his  associates  have  transacted  a  large  volume  of  legal  busi- 
ness covering  cases  of  nearly  all  kinds  and  descriptions.  His  first 
association  in  the  law  business  was  with  Henry  C.  Schaefer,  a  friend 
of  his,  a  young  graduate  of  the  Wisconsin  State  University.  Mr. 
Schaefer  unfortunately  had  an  attack  of  typhoid  fever  and  died  in 
the  sunvner  of  1893. 

On  the  6th  of  Jvme,  1894,  the  anniversary  of  the  Seattle  fire, 
Edward  Brady  and  Wilson  R.  Gay  formed  a  law  partnership  under 
the  firm  name  of  Brady  &  Gay  and  had  offices  in  the  Roxwell  building, 
on  First  avenue  and  Columbia  street,  occupying  practically  the  entire 
front  part  of  the  second  floor  of  that  building.    Upon  the  completion 


310  (gPtoatP  "Brapp 

of  the  Alaska  building,  the  first  constructed  of  Seattle's  new  and 
modern  office  buildings,  they  moved  into  it.  The  partnership  of 
Brady  &  Gay  continued  for  about  twelve  years  and  was  one  of  the 
best  known  law  firms  in  the  state.  In  1908,  Edward  Brady  formed 
a  law  partnership  with  George  H.  Rummens,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Brady  &  Rim^mens,  with  offices  in  the  Alaska  building,  where 
they  now  conduct  their  business,  having  the  confidence  of  the  entire 
communitj^  for  faithfulness  and  efficiency  in  their  professional  work. 
Mr.  Brady  has  always  taken  great  interest  in  the  growth  and 
development  of  Seattle.  Immediately  upon  his  arrival  in  Seattle 
he  and  Charles  M.  Morris,  a  friend  of  his  from  his  native  town,  Rio, 
Wisconsin,  purchased  a  tract  of  land,  then  a  forest,  on  the  ridge 
overlooking  Lake  Washington,  which  they  cleared,  improved  and 
platted  into  lots  under  the  name  of  Prospect  Terrace  Addition. 
Many  nice  homes  are  now  located  in  this  addition.  They  afterward 
purchased  a  tract  of  land  on  the  ridge  north  of  Lake  Union  which 
they  cleared,  improved  and  platted  in  the  addition  known  as  Edge- 
water's  Second  Addition.  Upon  the  revival  of  the  city's  growth  in 
1902,  Edward  Brady,  in  association  with  Dr.  A.  P.  Mitten,  one  of 
Seattle's  prominent  citizens,  now  deceased,  built  the  Summit  building 
on  the  first  hill  at  the  corner  of  Madison  street  and  Minor  avenue, 
which  for  a  long  time  was  one  of  the  best  faonily  hotels  in  the  city. 
They  later  disposed  of  this  property.  At  the  time  of  the  erection 
of  this  building  it  was  considered  a  very  great  advancement  in  the 
way  of  aff'ording  high-class  living  accommodations  for  the  public. 
In  1909,  in  association  with  J.  H.  Raymond,  a  contractor  and  builder 
of  this  city,  he  built  the  Monmouth  apartments,  a  large  brick  building 
covering  the  entire  block  fronting  on  Yesler  Way  from  Twentieth 
avenue  to  Twenty-fijst  avenue;  they  also  built  the  Raymond  apart- 
ments, a  fine  four-story  brick  building  on  First  avenue  and  Warren 
avenue ;  both  of  these  apartment  houses  are  among  the  best  in  the  city 
and  the  company  composed  of  Edward  Brady  and  J.  H.  Raymond 
still  own  them.  Edward  Brady  owns  a  number  of  pieces  of  good 
real  estate  in  the  city  of  Seattle,  and  a  number  of  fine  tracts  lying 
north  of  the  city.  His  investments  and  enterprises  have  not  been 
confined  entirely  to  Seattle.  In  1902,  in  association  with  his  brother, 
James  Brady,  he  formed  a  corporation  known  as  the  Brady  Shingle 
Company  which  for  over  ten  years  operated  a  mill  at  Edmonds, 
Washington,  which  was  one  of  the  leading  industries  of  that  town. 
At  the  death  of  his  brother  in  1912,  he  disposed  of  this  property.  In 
1902,  in  association  with  A.  H.  Ruelle,  a  prominent  lumberman  of 
this  city,  he  invested  in  a  shingle  and  timber  business  and  purchased 


(gPtoacD  ^capg  311 

a  large  tract  of  land  and  timber  north  of  Lake  Washington,  around 
and  about  Summit  Lake  in  King  county,  which  a  few  years  after- 
ward they  sold  to  the  Campbell  Limiber  Company,  reserving  to  them- 
selves the  eighty  acres  of  land,  upon  which  is  situated  the  beautiful 
little  lake,  and  through  which  the  new  brick  road  from  Seattle  is  now 
projected  to  be  built.  In  his  investments  that  requu-ed  personal  atten- 
tion he  has  always  endeavored  to  associate  himself  with  a  faithful, 
competent  man  to  manage  carefully  the  details  and  in  this  way  he 
avoided  diverting  his  attention  from  his  profession.  His  enterprises 
have  been  quite  uniformly  successful. 

In  1897  he  made  a  location  on  some  coal  lands  at  Issaquah,  King 
county,  and  afterward  acquired  title  to  the  property  from  the  United 
States  goverimient.  This  property  was  held  for  a  number  of  years 
by  the  law  firm  of  Brady  &  Gay  and  recently  has  been  disposed  of 
to  the  Issaquah  &  Superior  Coal  Company  and  forms  one  of  its 
most  valuable  holdings.  The  success  of  this  venture  in  the  location 
of  coal  lands  has  led  him  to  invest  in  other  coal  lands  and  at  the 
present  time  he  owns  a  large  tract  of  coal  land  adjoining  the  New- 
castle coal  mine  in  King  county.  He  owns  a  number  of  small  tracts 
of  timber  in  western  Washington,  and  a  number  of  large  tracts  of 
irrigable  lands  in  eastern  Washington. 

In  1903,  at  Monmouth,  Illinois,  he  married  Miss  Leota  Douglas, 
the  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  S.  Douglas,  both  natives  of  Illinois, 
being  each  the  representative  of  a  prominent  pioneer  family  of  that 
state.  Her  grandfather,  Samuel  Douglas,  served  with  honor  and 
distinction  as  an  officer  in  the  Eighty-third  Illinois  Cavalry  Regi- 
ment during  the  Civil  war.  Her  mother's  maiden  name  was  Louisa 
RejTiolds,  and  her  father,  Samuel  Reynolds,  was  one  of  the  first 
settlers  in  Knox  county,  Illinois,  where  he  and  his  wife  lived  to  a 
ripe  old  age  and  were  honored  and  beloved  by  all.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Brady  have  two  children:  Edward  Douglas  Brady,  a  boy  of  ten 
years ;  and  Anna  Louise  Brady,  a  little  girl  of  six  years.  They  have 
their  comfortable  and  hospitable  home  in  the  beautiful  Capitol  Hill 
district  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Thirteenth  avenue  North  and 
Aloha  street.  Mrs.  Brady  takes  great  interest  in  her  home  and  in 
her  children.  They  lead  a  quiet  home  life  and  are  kind  and  generous 
to  all  they  meet  without  the  least  pretension  of  any  kind.  It  may  be 
truly  said  of  them  that  success  and  wealth  have  not  spoiled  them 
but  on  the  contrary  have  enabled  them  to  be  kinder,  more  sympathetic 
and  more  useful  to  their  fellowman. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  classify  Mr.  Brady  in  his  political  affilia- 
tions.    He  belongs  to  that  large  and  independent  element  that  be- 


312 


(CDtoatD  'BtaDp 


lieves  that  each  new  question  is  to  be  solved  by  itself  independent  of 
any  party  organization.  In  social  organizations  he  is  a  life  member 
of  the  Seattle  Athletic  Club,  a  life  member  of  the  Arctic  Club  and  a 
member  of  the  Commercial  Club.  In  the  fraternal  orders  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Elks,  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  Woodmen 
of  the  World  and  Knights  of  the  Maccabees. 


Qiy'i  en.  ^. 


OTiUarb  C,  ftatutljorne 

(ILLARD  C.  HAWTHORNE  is  a  well  known  pio- 

W.^^  neer  of  the  northwest,  taking  up  his  permanent  abode 
^  in  Seattle  in  the  fall  of  1865.  He  is  a  native  of 
m)  ]\Iaine,  his  birth  having  occurred  at  Woolwich,  Au- 
gust 28,  1840.  At  the  time  of  the  Civil  war  he 
responded  to  the  country's  call  for  troops,  enlisting 
in  defense  of  the  Union  cause  as  a  member  of  the  Twenty-eighth 
Maine  Volunteer  Regiment,  with  which  he  participated  in  a  number 
of  hotly  contested  engagements.  After  the  war  he  made  his  way  to 
the  northwest,  settling  near  Seattle,  and  there  engaged  in  the  milling 
business.  He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade  but  following  his  removal  to 
the  Sound  country  became  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  lumber. 
In  late  years  he  has  not  engaged  in  any  active  business  but  has  directed 
his  business  investments  and  has  spent  his  days  in  the  enjoyment  of 
the  fruits  of  his  former  toil. 

On  the  17th  of  August,  1876,  in  Seattle,  Mr.  Hawthorne  was 
united  in  marriage  at  Trinity  church,  by  the  Rev.  Bonnell,  to  Mrs. 
Mary  A.  (Jones)  Phelps,  a  daughter  of  Hiram  and  Mary  M. 
(Thompson)  Jones,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  Maine.  The 
father,  who  was  born  in  Bangor,  died  in  the  Pine  Tree  state  in  1864. 
Mrs.  Hawthorne  has  witnessed  practically  all  the  growth  and  develop- 
ment of  this  city  and  can  relate  many  an  interesting  tale  concerning 
its  transformation  from  a  village  into  the  present  modern  metropolis. 
She  was  first  married  to  Edward  F.  Phelps,  who  was  born  in  Oneida 
countj^  New  York,  in  1833,  a  son  of  Sidney  S.  Phelps,  a  native  of 
Connecticut,  who  was  married  in  New  York  to  Miss  Shew.  They 
afterward  became  residents  of  Wisconsin,  where  Mr.  Phelps  followed 
the  occupation  of  farming.  His  son,  Edward  F.  Phelps,  was  one  of 
the  family  of  seven  children  and  in  his  early  boyhood  accompanied 
his  parents  to  Wisconsin,  pursuing  his  education  in  the  schools  at 
Stevens  Point.  He  took  up  the  study  of  law  under  the  direction  of  a 
well  known  judge  of  that  state  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Wis- 
consin. Removing  to  the  west,  he  practiced  his  profession  in  Mon- 
tana and  also  served  as  a  member  of  the  legislature  there  from  1863 
until  1866.  He  was  married  in  Montana,  in  1867,  to  Mary  A.  Jones 
and  in  1870  they  removed  to  Seattle,  where  the  death  of  Mr.  Phelps 
315 


316 


mniaxti  C  ^atoti)orne 


occurred  in  June  of  that  year.  To  him  and  his  wife  was  born  a 
daughter,  Lilhan  M.  He  was  a  man  of  many  splendid  traits  of 
character.  He  held  membership  in  the  Masonic  fraternity,  gave 
his  political  allegiance  to  the  republican  party  and  was  a  consistent 
and  faithfvil  member  of  Trinity  church.  Some  time  following  the 
death  of  her  first  husband  Mrs.  Phelps  became  the  wife  of  Willard 
C.  Hawthorne,  by  whom  she  has  two  children,  namely:  Clara  A., 
who  gave  her  hand  in  marriage  to  Philip  M.  O'Malley;  and  Charles 
Edgar,  a  resident  of  Seattle.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hawthorne  are  highly 
esteemed  residents  of  Seattle,  where  both  have  lived  from  an  early 
day.  Mr.  Hawthorne  is  a  Baptist  in  religious  faith.  He  has  always 
been  a  loyal  advocate  of  Seattle  and  her  best  interests  and  has  ever 
had  great  faith  in  the  city  and  its  future. 


^elben  ^.  jFluljatt 

)ELDEN  S.  FLUHART,  a  mining  engineer,  inter- 
ested in  various  copper  and  gold  mining  properties 
and  reduction  plants,  displays  the  spirit  of  enterprise 
that  never  fears  to  venture  where  favoring  oppor- 
tunity leads  the  way  and  with  his  expanding  powers 
has  taken  on  larger  business  responsibilities  and 
duties,  winning  for  himself  a  place  among  the  representative  business 
men  of  his  city.  Aside  from  his  other  interests  he  is  actively  engaged 
in  the  exploration  and  development  of  the  oil  fields  of  Washington 
and  the  northwest. 

Mr.  Fluhart  was  born  in  Kirksville,  Missouri,  March  18,  1876,  a 
son  of  Charles  E.  Fluhart,  who  died  in  Woodland,  Cahfornia,  in 
1887.  He  practically  devoted  his  life  to  the  music  business  and  at 
the  time  of  his  death  was  with  the  firm  of  Kohler  &  Chase,  of  San 
Francisco,  manufacturers  of  musical  instruments.  He  was  a  grad- 
uate of  the  State  Normal  School  at  Kirksville,  Missouri,  the  founder 
of  which  institution  was  his  brother-in-law,  Professor  Baldwin,  whose 
wife,  Mrs.  Sophronia  BaldAvin,  was  a  sister  of  Mr.  Fluhart.  Pro- 
fessor Baldwin  was  one  of  the  first  men  in  the  United  States  to  estab- 
lish the  system  of  state  normal  schools  and  all  others  have  patterned 
after  his  school  and  system. 

Charles  E.  Fluhart  was  a  man  of  wide  acquaintance,  prominent 
and  popular,  and  his  musical  talent  gave  him  high  standing  among 
lovers  of  the  art.  He  married  Frances  Shahan,  a  daughter  of  James 
Shahan.  She  was  left  an  orphan  during  her  infancy  and  was  reared 
by  a  Mr.  Ford  in  Illinois,  whose  name  she  afterward  bore.  She  be- 
came the  wife  of  Mr.  Fluhart  in  Kirksville,  Missouri,  and  is  now  a 
resident  of  Seattle.  In  1890  she  was  married  again,  becoming  the 
wife  of  Charles  G.  Thrasher,  of  Seattle,  a  thorough  and  experienced 
mining  man.  Mr.  Thrasher  was  the  original  discoverer  of  the  great 
Le  Roy  mine,  and  from  him  Selden  S.  Fluhart  has  received  much 
knowledge  of  a  practical  nature  concerning  mines  and  mining  opera- 
tions. By  her  first  marriage  Mrs.  Thrasher  became  the  mother  of 
three  sons,  William  H.,  Selden  S.  and  Bert  E.,  and  one  daughter, 
Gracie,  and  by  her  second  marriage,  of  one  son,  James  K.  The 
daughter  died  in  infancy;  the  four  sons  are  now  residents  of  Seattle. 
319 


320  %elDcn  ^»  jFIuftart 

Selden  S,  Fluhart  attended  the  public  schools  of  Redding  and 
San  Francisco,  California,  and  at  EUensburg,  Washington,  to  the 
age  of  twelve  years,  the  fajmily  having  removed  from  California  to 
EUensburg  in  1887.  There  he  continued  his  studies  for  a  time  but 
afterward  became  a  pupil  in  the  schools  of  Everett,  Washington, 
where  he  completed  his  course  in  1892.  His  first  business  position 
was  with  the  Everett  Shingle  Mill  Company  and  during  the  five 
years  that  he  remained  with  that  firm  he  acquainted  himself  with 
every  phase  of  the  business  from  filing  of  the  saws  to  the  manage- 
ment of  the  plant.  In  1897  he  removed  to  Ballard,  Washington,  and 
took  up  the  study  of  mining  engineering,  which  he  has  mastered  with 
a  thoroughness  that  has  characterized  his  activities  in  every  relation. 

In  1899  Mr.  Fluhart  made  his  first  trip  as  mining  engineer,  being 
engaged  in  the  inspection  and  location  of  mines  in  Washington.  In 
1900  he  became  actively  engaged  in  mining  and  now  has  extensive  min- 
ing proj)erties  in  Oregon,  Washington  and  Alaska.  He  was  one  of  the 
organizers  of  the  United  Oil  &  Land  Company,  which  was  incorpo- 
rated in  1912  and  of  which  he  is  president.  He  is  also  a  prominent 
stockholder  in  other  business  properties,  including  the  California 
Lakeview  Oil  Company  and  the  United  Copper  Company. 

He  was  associated  with  his  brothers,  Charles  G.  Thrasher  and 
James  B.  Adair  in  prospecting  for  oil  in  Washington  and  made  the 
first  organized  efforts  in  the  state  in  this  direction.  Their  well  was 
the  first  to  produce  oil  in  the  state,  as  shown  by  government  reports. 
Their  discovery  started  the  people  of  Washington  not  only  to  reflect 
upon  the  subject  but  to  begin  active  prospect  work  for  oil,  followed 
by  a  general  movement  throughout  the  western  part  of  the  state. 

In  their  prospecting  Selden  S.  Fluhart  and  Charles  G.  Thrasher 
discovered  on  the  Skagit  river,  Skagit  county,  Washington,  what  is 
now  known  as  the  greatest  deposit  of  talc  in  the  United  States.  They 
were  joined  by  the  former's  brothers  and  began  developing  their  mine 
under  the  naone  of  the  Washington  Talc  Company.  There  are  now 
over  three  million  tons  of  the  material  available  and  it  is  an  excep- 
tionally fine  product.  Talc  is  used  not  only  as  face  powder  but  for 
other  toilet  and  medicinal  articles  and  in  the  manufacture  of  the 
finer  grades  of  stationery. 

In  April,  1911,  Mr.  Fluhart  was  married  to  Miss  Myrtez  S.  Banks, 
a  native  of  Monroe,  Wisconsin,  and  a  daughter  of  George  E.  Banks, 
proprietor  of  Banks  Pharmacy  of  Seattle.  To  them  have  been  born 
two  sons:  Selden  B.,  Jr.,  whose  natal  day  was  March  18,  1914;  and 
Charles,  born  January  20,  1916.  By  a  former  marriage  Mr.  Fluhart 
has  two  children,  Roland  C.  and  Doratha. 


%eI0en  ^.  iFIuiiatt 


321 


In  politics  Mr.  Fluhart  is  independent,  voting  according  to  the 
dictates  of  his  judgment  without  regard  to  party  ties.  He  was  a 
charter  member  of  the  Arctic  Club ;  was  secretary  of  the  Washington 
State  Mining  Association  for  three  years;  is  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mercial Club  and  the  Order  of  the  Golden  West;  and  in  a  large 
measure  is  interested  in  the  welfare  and  upbuilding  of  his  community. 
In  his  early  manhood  he  aided  in  the  support  of  his  widowed  mother, 
and  he  has  made  his  own  way  in  the  world,  winning  success  through 
his  industry  and  perseverance. 


Eotiert  Crnesit  ?|af)n 


)T  the  period  which  witnessed  the  arrival  of  Robert 

A.„4  Ernest  Hahn  in  the  northwest  the  most  farsighted 
j3<  could  not  have  di-eamed  of  the  prominence  and  pros- 
\")  perity  Seattle  would  attain.  For  many  years  there- 
after he  was  actively  engaged  in  the  painting  and 
decorating  business,  having  one  of  the  pioneer  estab- 
lishments of  this  kind  in  the  city.  A  native  of  Germany,  he  was  born 
in  Saxony,  March  13,  1841,  and  on  emigrating  to  America  when 
sixteen  years  of  age  made  his  way  to  Chicago.  He  had  previously 
acquainted  himself  with  the  trade  of  weaving  but  after  reaching 
Chicago  there  learned  the  business  of  painting  and  paper  hanging. 
He  spent  two  years  in  that  city  and  then  made  his  way  westward  to 
California,  attracted  by  the  gold  mining  interests  of  that  state.  He 
came  to  Washington  in  1868  and  located  at  the  corner  of  First  avenue 
and  Pike  street,  this  city.  There  he  established  himself  in  business 
as  a  painter  and  decorator  and  continued  in  business  for  a  mmiber  of 
years.  He  afterward  settled  upon  a  farm  at  Newsack,  Washington, 
where  he  resided  until  1902,  when  he  returned  to  Seattle  and  erected 
a  fine  residence  on  Beacon  Hill,  after  which  he  lived  retired,  enjoying 
in  well  earned  rest  the  fruits  of  his  former  toil.  Such  was  his  condi- 
tion that  he  was  enabled  to  enjoy  all  of  the  comforts  and  many  of  the 
luxuries  of  life  ajmid  most  pleasant  surroundings.  One  is  reminded 
of  the  words  of  the  poet : 

"How  blest  is  he 
Who  crowns  in  shades  like  these 
A  youth  of  labor 
With  an  age  of  ease." 

Mr.  Hahn  was  married  in  Newsack  on  the  22d  of  December,  1891, 
to  Miss  Amelia  Schneider,  who  was  born  in  Bristol,  Rhode  Island,  and 
came  to  Washington  in  1890.  Five  children  were  born  to  this  mar- 
riage: Ernest,  now  living  in  Vancouver,  British  Columbia;  Flora, 
August,  Helen  and  Elsie,  all  at  home.  The  family  still  own  the 
property  at  First  and  Pike  streets,  which  Mr.  Hahn  held  for  thirty 
years.  As  time  passed  on  he  owned  considerable  property  in  Seattle, 
325 


326 


iSo&ett  ggrncgt  i^ain 


making  additional  purchases  as  opportunity  offered,  for  he  had  great 
faith  in  the  future  of  the  city  and  believed  that  it  would  grow  rapidly 
— a  belief  that  found  justification  with  the  passing  of  time.  Mr. 
Hahn  had  attained  the  age  of  seventy-four  years  when  death  called 
him  and  for  almost  forty-three  years  had  lived  in  Seattle,  so  that 
every  phase  of  the  city's  development  and  growth  was  familiar  to 
him.  He  was  well  known  not  only  to  the  German- American  residents 
but  to  many  others  in  Seattle  and  wherever  known  his  sterling  worth 
gained  him  high  regard. 


fY" 


3fubse  OTilsion  3^iltv  #a|> 

;iLSON  RILEY  GAY,  formerly  judge  of  the  su- 
perior court  for  King  countj%  retired  from  the  bench 
in  1912  to  enter  upon  the  private  practice  of  law,  to 
which  he  is  now  devoting  his  energies.  He  had  been 
for  four  years  actively  connected  with  the  judiciary 
and  his  record  for  just  and  equitable  decisions  based 
upon  a  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  law  is  unassailable.  His 
decisions  indicated  strong  mentality,  careful  analysis  and  an  unbiased 
judgment.  He  possesses  that  broad-mindedness  which  not  only  com- 
prehends the  details  of  a  situation  quickly  but  which  insures  a  com- 
plete self-control  under  even  the  inost  exasperating  conditions.  He 
is  now  accorded  a  large  and  distinctively  representative  clientage,  for 
he  is  one  of  the  foremost  lawyers  of  the  northwest  and  he  is  also 
equally  well  known  as  a  public  speaker. 

Judge  Gay  was  born  January  10,  1959,  on  a  farm  on  French 
creek,  in  the  extreme  eastern  part  of  Erie  county,  Pennsylvania, 
near  Mill  Village.  He  acquired  a  common-school  education,  supple- 
mented by  study  in  the  Edinboro  State  Normal  School  of  Edinboro, 
Pennsylvania,  and  as  a  young  man  he  took  up  the  profession  of 
teaching  in  Erie  county,  being  thus  engaged  for  a  year.  At  the  age 
of  eighteen  he  severed  home  ties  in  the  east  and  removed  to  Maryville, 
Nodaway  county,  Missouri,  where  he  taught  school  for  a  year  and 
studied  law  in  the  office  and  under  the  direction  of  Judge  Scribner 
R.  Beech,  being  admitted  to  the  bar  in  November,  1879,  when  twenty 
years  of  age.  He  lived  in  Missouri,  much  of  the  time  in  Rock  Port, 
Atchison  county,  until  the  fall  of  1888. 

It  was  at  that  time  that  Judge  Gay  re!moved  to  the  northwest, 
settling  first  at  Portland,  Oregon,  where  he  lived  for  a  year,  engaged 
in  the  real  estate  business  as  a  temporary  makeshift.  In  the  fall  of 
1889  he  removed  to  Port  Angeles,  where  he  resided  and  engaged  in 
the  practice  of  law  until  1893.  During  all  that  period  he  was  United 
States  circuit  court  commissioner  and  the  principal  officer  before 
whom  settlers  proved  title  to  lots  on  that  government  townsite.  In 
1893  he  came  to  Seattle  to  engage  in  the  practice  of  law,  forming  a 
partnership  with  Edward  Brady,  under  the  firm  name  of  Brady  & 
Gay.  Here  a  liberal  clientage  of  an  important  character  was  ac- 
329 


330  3IuOgg  Wilson  Rileg  <gag 

corded  him  and  his  abihty  brought  him  prominently  to  the  front. 
In  1897  he  was  appointed  United  States  attorney  for  the  district  of 
Washington,  which  then  comprised  the  entire  state,  and  in  that  posi- 
tion he  remained  until  July,  1902.  In  the  fall  of  1909  he  was  elected 
judge  of  the  superior  court  for  King  county,  which  position  he  held 
until  May,  1912,  when  he  resigned  to  re-enter  practice.  Judge  Gay 
is  a  stockholder  and  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Post-Intelligencer 
Publishing  Company  and  has  other  important  financial  and  property 
interests,  but  he  regards  the  practice  of  law  as  his  real  life  work.  He 
has  in  an  eminent  degree  that  rare  ability  of  saying  in  a  convincing 
way  the  right  thing  at  the  right  time.  His  mind  is  analytical,  logical 
and  inductive.  With  a  thorough  and  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the 
fundamental  principles  of  law  he  combines  a  familiarity  with  statutory 
law  and  a  sober,  clear  judgment  which  makes  him  not  only  a  formid- 
able adversary  in  legal  combat  but  gave  him  the  distinction,  while  on 
the  bench,  of  having  few  of  his  decisions  revised  or  reversed.  He  is 
a  well  known  writer  on  legal  subjects  and  his  articles  on  automobile 
law  are  now  being  published  in  the  Post-Intelligencer. 

Judge  Gay  was  married  in  1890  to  Miss  Lillian  B.  Rudd  and 
they  have  a  daughter.  Hazel,  now  the  wife  of  Rollin  R.  Humber,  of 
Deer  Lodge,  Montana.  Judge  Gaj^  is  a  member  of  various  secret 
societies  and  is  also  popular  in  club  circles.  He  is  a  republican,  active 
in  the  party,  and  since  the  admission  of  Washington  to  statehood  he 
has  been  a  delegate  to  all  coimty  and  state  conventions.  His  services 
are  always  in  demand  as  a  public  speaker  and  his  addresses  are  listened 
to  with  interest  and  are  characterized  by  the  strictest  logic.  Always 
courteous  and  pleasant,  he  represents  the  type  of  "old  school"  chivalry 
and  courtesy,  having  the  faculty  of  placing  anyone  at  ease  in  his 
presence,  so  that  it  is  a  pleasure  to  meet  and  converse  with  him. 
The  circle  of  his  friends  is  almost  coextensive  with  the  circle  of  his 
acquaintance. 


^^^.  c^^^.^^^ 


Captain  laiiUiam  Cftaloner  tIDaltjot 

jHE  romantic  tales  of  Europe,  covering  the  period  of 
knighthood  and  chivalry,  are  not  more  interesting  and 
thrilling  than  the  story  of  the  conquest  of  the  west, 
the  development  of  its  natural  resources  and  the 
utilization  of  its  opportunities  by  brave  men  who 
have  faced  the  loneliness  of  isolation  and  performed 
the  strenuous  task  of  subduing  the  wilderness  and  who  have  been 
forced  to  be  constantly  alert  lest  Indian  attack  should  deprive  them 
and  their  loved  ones  of  life.  It  required  strong  purpose,  indefati- 
gable energy  and  a  wonderful  dream  of  the  future  to  bring  men  from 
the  comforts  of  the  older  civilization  of  the  east  to  found  and  pro- 
mote a  great  western  empire.  To  this  class  belonged  Captain  William 
Chaloner  Talbot,  who  was  one  of  the  pioneers  in  the  development 
of  the  lumber  industry  in  the  Sound  country,  and  the  influence 
of  his  work  in  those  pioneer  times  and  of  his  extensive  operations  in 
later  years  cannot  be  overestimated. 

Of  the  old  Pine  Tree  state  of  the  Atlantic  coast  he  was  a  native, 
his  birth  having  occurred  in  East  Machias,  Maine,  on  the  28th  of 
February,  1816.  He  came  of  a  family  which  in  its  direct  and  col- 
lateral lines  has  been  distinctively  American  through  many  genera- 
tions. The  founder  of  the  family  in  the  new  world  was  Peter  Talbot, 
who  came  from  Lancashire,  England,  and  settled  at  Plymouth, 
Massachusetts,  at  an  early  period  in  the  colonization  of  America. 
His  son,  George  Talbot,  who  lived  at  Scarborough  and  at  Stoughton, 
Massachusetts,  was  the  father  of  Peter  Talbot,  of  Stoughton,  and 
the  grandfather  of  Peter  Talbot,  who,  born  in  Stoughton,  became  a 
resident  of  Maine.  In  the  latter  state  occurred  the  birth  of  Peter 
Talbot,  who  married  Eliza  Chaloner  and  thus  became  the  father 
of  William  Chaloner  Talbot. 

Under  the  parental  roof  the  last  named  spent  his  boyhood  days. 
His  father  was  a  lumbei-lnan  and  the  son  was  therefore,  as  it  were, 
"to  the  manner  born."  His  early  business  experiences  were  in  the 
line  of  the  lumber  trade  in  connection  with  his  father's  business  and 
when  he  was  still  under  twenty-one  years  of  age  built  and  com- 
manded a  brig,  which  was  used  in  connection  with  the  West  India 
and  European  trade.  Several  years  had  been  spent  in  that  way 
when  the  gold  discoveries  in  California  attracted  him  and  as  com- 
333 


334  Captain  muiium  Cftaloner  Calliot 

mander  of  the  Oriental  he  sailed  around  Cape  Horn  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, where  he  arrived  in  1850.  The  rapid  growth  of  the  city  and 
marvelous  development  of  California,  into  which  state  flocked  thou- 
sands and  thousands  of  gold  seekers,  led  to  a  great  demand  for 
heavy  timber  and  all  kinds  of  lumber,  and  Captain  Talbot's  previous 
experience  in  the  lumber  trade  led  hfm  to  re-enter  that  field  of  busi- 
ness and  he  turned  to  the  Puget  Sound  country  as  the  most  available 
source  of  supply.  Perfecting  his  arrangements  to  engage  in  the 
lumber  trade,  he  returned  to  the  east,  purchased  the  necessary  ma- 
chinery, which  he  shipped  around  the  Horn,  and  then  by  way  of 
the  Isthmus  route  again  went  to  San  Francisco.  From  the  Golden 
Gate  he  sailed  up  the  coast  to  the  Sound,  commanding  the  little 
schooner  Julius  Pringle,  a  fifty-ton  craft,  aboard  which  were  several 
of  his  business  associates  and  employes.  Business  was  to  be  con- 
ducted imder  the  name  of  William  C.  Talbot  &  Company,  Captain 
Talbot's  business  associates  being  A.  J.  Pope,  of  San  Francisco, 
and  Charles  Foster  and  Captain  J.  P.  Keller,  of  East  Machias, 
Maine,  Among  the  passengers  was  also  Cyrus  Walker,  who  a  few 
years  later  became  manager  of  the  business  and  so  continued  for 
half  a  century.  The  party  brought  with  them  lumber,  tools  and 
supplies  necessary  for  beginning  the  proposed  enterprise.  They  first 
cast  anchor  in  Port  Discovery  Bay  and  thence  made  explorations 
around  the  Lower  Sound,  going  as  far  south  as  Commencement 
Bay.  They  returned  to  Port  Discovery,  thinking  to  establish  their 
mill  there,  but  found  settlers  had  already  taken  up  the  land,  after 
which  they  returned  to  Port  Gamble,  where  they  had  already  touched. 
It  was  the  site  of  a  little  Indian  village  called  Teekalet,  by  which 
name  it  was  known  for  some  years  thereafter.  They  cut  down  trees 
to  be  converted  into  lumber,  using  the  great  trunks  as  the  main 
supports  of  the  mill.  Work  was  instituted  at  once  and  when  in 
September  the  boiler  and  other  mill  machinery  arrived,  having  been 
shipped  from  the  Atlantic  coast,  the  mill  was  at  once  put  in  opera- 
tion. There  was  a  good  market  for  the  product  and  it  was  foimd 
necessary  soon  to  increase  the  original  capacity  of  three  thousand 
feet  of  lumber  per  day.  In  fact  the  business  grew  steadily  and 
after  a  few  years  miUs  were  established  at  Utsaladdy  and  Port  Lud- 
low. The  business  proved  a  profitable  undertaking  from  the  be- 
ginning and  was  conducted  under  the  firm  style  of  W.  C.  Talbot 
&  Company  for  a  time  and  later  under  the  name  of  Pope  &  Talbot 
until  1874,  when  the  Washington  interests  were  incorporated  under 
the  name  of  the  Puget  Mill  Company,  with  Pope  &  Talbot  as  the 
San  Francisco  agents.     Cyrus  Walker  acquired  an  interest  in  1863 


Captain  satlUam  Cijalonct  CaI6ot  335 

and  continued  to  manage  the  mill  and  the  purchase  of  timber.  One 
of  the  important  elements  of  Captain  Talbot's  success  was  his  ability 
to  recognize  much  of  what  the  future  had  in  store  for  this  great  and 
growing  western  country  and  he  garnered  in  the  fullness  of  time  the 
results  of  his  faith  and  judgment. 

While  a  resident  of  New  England,  Captain  Talbot  was  imited  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Sophia  Gleason  Foster,  a  daughter  of  General 
Foster,  of  Maine,  and  at  his  death,  which  occurred  in  Astoria,  Ore- 
gon, August  6,  1881,  he  was  survived  by  the  widow,  two  sons  and 
three  daughters.  More  than  a  third  of  a  centm-y  has  come  and  gone 
since  Captain  Talbot  was  called  from  life's  activities  and  his  memory 
is  yet  honored  by  all  who  knew  him  and  history  wiU  ever  record  the 
important  part  which  he  played  in  shaping  the  development  of  the 
northwest.  One  of  the  historians  of  the  Puget  Sound  country  has 
said:  "This  trio  of  noble  pioneers,  Pope,  Talbot  and  Keller,  being 
now  dead,  I  may  with  propriety  speak  of  their  high  character  for 
business  integrity  and  enterprise.  They  belonged  to  that  class  of 
men  who  do  not  idly  wait  for  something  to  tm-n  up,  but  were  full  of 
energy  and  push,  and  not  only  helped  themselves,  but  were  ever  ready 
to  extend  a  helping  hand  to  the  needy  and  unfortunate."  Another 
historian,  writing  of  Captain  Talbot,  said:  "His  activities  and 
achievements  are  to  be  regarded  as  of  the  first  importance  in  the  cre- 
ation and  development  of  the  representative  industry  of  the  Puget 
Soimd,  which  afforded  the  foundations  for  all  its  subsequent  progress. 
Personally  he  was  known  and  universally  esteemed  for  the  highest 
traits  of  character,  integrity  and  fidelity  in  all  his  relations  being 
especially  marked  qualities."  Time  gives  the  perspective  which  places 
everything  in  its  true  relation  and  time  has  served  to  heighten  the 
labors,  the  achievements  and  the  character  of  Captain  Talbot,  for  in 
the  light  of  history  his  deeds  are  measured  at  their  true  value.  He 
stood  in  the  front  rank  of  the  columns  which  have  advanced  the  civil- 
ization of  Washington,  have  led  the  way  to  its  substantial  develop- 
ment, progress  and  upbuilding. 


2^co-t^ 


'WAN  LEWIS,  deceased,  was  a  well  known  hotel 
proprietor  of  Seattle,  having  come  to  this  city  in 
1878  from  Portland,  where  he  had  previously  been 
connected  with  the  hotel  business.  He  was  born  in 
Sweden  in  1862  but  was  brought  to  America  when 
only  five  years  of  age.  His  father,  Nels  Lewis, 
removing  to  the  northwest,  was  engaged  in  the  hotel  business  but  died 
when  his  son  Swan  was  seventeen  years  of  age.  His  wife  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Nellie  Allison. 

Swan  Lewis  was  reared  to  the  hotel  business  and  became  his 
father's  successor.  For  some  time  he  was  proprietor  of  the  St. 
Charles  Hotel,  afterward  conducted  the  Central  Hotel  and  stiU  later 
the  New  Western  Hotel,  devoting  his  entire  life  to  that  business. 
He  was  a  popular  host,  studying  closely  the  wishes  of  his  patrons 
and  putting  forth  every  effort  to  satisfy  those  who  were  his  guests. 
He  buUt  the  New  Western  Hotel  and  residence  property  and  during 
his  connection  with  Seattle  bought  and  sold  much  real  estate,  making 
judicious  and  profitable  investments. 

In  1889  Mr.  Lewis  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Hannah  John- 
son, who  was  born  in  Sweden  and  in  1884  came  to  the  northwest  with 
her  father,  John  Johnson,  who  engaged  for  a  time  in  farming  in 
Pierce  county,  Washington,  but  is  now  living  in  Oregon.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lewis  have  two  living  children,  Laron  and  Madina,  both  of 
whom  are  residents  of  Seattle.  Tillie  died  at  the  age  of  twelve  years. 
In  his  fraternal  relations  Mr.  Lewis  was  a  Mason,  always  active 
in  the  order  and  he  belonged  also  to  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the 
Woodmen  of  the  World.  He  also  held  office  in  the  Swedish  Society 
but  belonged  to  no  other  clubs.  In  politics  he  was  a  democrat  from 
the  time  that  age  conferred  upon  him  the  right  of  franchise  and 
though  he  was  an  active  and  earnest  supporter  of  the  principles  of 
the  party  he  never  sought  nor  desired  office,  preferring  to  concentrate 
his  energies  upon  his  business  affairs.  He  was,  however,  a  public- 
spirited  citizen  and  manifested  many  sterling  traits  of  character  as 
was  indicated  by  the  goodwill,  confidence  and  high  regard  entertained 
for  him,  when  in  1908  he  passed  away  at  the  age  of  forty-six  years. 
His  memory  is  yet  enshrined  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  knew  him, 
for  he  was  a  devoted  friend  and  a  loving  husband  and  father. 


Ctiomas;  ^.  Jones; 

iHOMAS  A.  JONES,  who  figured  in  business  circles 
in  Seattle  in  connection  with  contracting  and  also  as 
a  representative  of  agrictoltural  interests  in  this  part 
of  the  state,  passed  away  in  October,  1895,  leaving 
to  his  family  a  goodly  inheritance.  He  had  won 
substantial  success  in  business  by  well  directed 
energy  and  effort  and  as  the  years  went  on  added  to  his  income  until 
he  was  the  possessor  of  a  very  substantial  competence.  He  was  a 
native  of  New  Jersey  and  in  the  middle  period  of  his  life  was  one  of 
the  prominent  citizens  of  Fairbury,  Illinois,  where  he  was  extensively 
engaged  in  farming,  coal  mining  and  in  merchandising.  He  there 
carried  on  business  until  1883,  when  he  disposed  of  his  interests  in 
Illinois  and  came  to  Seattle.  He  purchased  three  tracts  of  land  near 
the  city  and  at  once  engaged  in  farming  and  also  in  the  contracting 
business  in  connection  with  his  son,  Thomas  E.,  under  the  firm  style 
of  T.  A.  Jones  &  Son.  They  developed  a  business  of  large  and  grat- 
ifying proportions,  receiving  many  important  contracts,  and  Mr. 
Jones  was  thus  actively  engaged  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  October,  1895. 

It  was  in  the  year  1846  that  Mr.  Jones  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Minerva  Dai*nall,  a  native  of  Kentucky.  She  was  a  lady  of 
remarkable  force  of  character  and  ability  and  was  numbered  among 
the  highly  esteemed  pioneer  women  of  this  section  of  the  state.  She 
was  born  in  Boone  county,  Kentucky,  August  31,  1828,  and  was 
two  years  of  age  when  her  parents  removed  to  Livingston  county, 
Illinois,  being  among  the  pioneer  residents  of  that  district.  Her 
father,  M.  V.  Darnall,  was  among  the  organizers  of  Livingston 
county  and  its  townships  and  held  manj^  positions  of  honor  and  trust 
there.  Following  her  marriage  Mrs.  Jones  became  a  most  able  assist- 
ant to  her  husband,  her  sound  judgment  and  valuable  advice  proving 
an  important  element  in  his  growing  success.  After  his  death  she 
gave  personal  supervision  to  the  farm  north  of  Green  Lake,  which 
she  and  her  husband  had  hewed  out  of  the  forest  and  brought  to  a 
high  state  of  cultivation.  She  always  took  great  pride  and  satisfac- 
tion in  that  place  and  continued  active  in  its  management  until  the 
last  five  years  of  her  life.  During  her  later  years  she  lived  with  her 
343 


344 


Ci>oma0  a.  31ones 


son,  T.  E.  Jones,  and  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Fuller,  both  of  Seattle, 
and  passed  away  at  the  home  of  her  daughter  on  the  11th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1902,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four  years,  two  months  and  nine  days. 
She  was  survived  by  four  children:  Mrs.  Rachel  Fuller,  Mrs.  Olive 
De  Wolfe  and  T.  E.  Jones,  all  of  Seattle;  and  Mrs.  Iva  Kendrick, 
of  San  Francisco.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jones  were  widely  and  favor- 
ably known  and  during  the  twelve  years  of  his  residence  in  Seattle 
he  became  well  established  in  business  circles  and  enjoyed  the  confi- 
dence, respect  and  goodwill  of  colleagues  and  contemporaries. 


6{/zZ^a^-i^^      ^^^at.c^^    /^di^^^.?-^^  ^  ^<>\ 


OTiUiam  ^bamg  ^lasigoto,  M*  ®. 

jR.  WILLIAM  ADAMS  GLASGOW,  a  well 
known  homeopathic  practitioner  of  Seattle,  early 
displayed  the  elemental  strength  of  his  character 
inasmuch  as  he  secured  the  funds  that  made  possible 
his  college  and  university  training.  The  same  per- 
sistency of  purpose  has  figured  throughout  his  later 
life  and  has  enabled  him  to  overcome  many  obstacles  and  difficulties 
in  his  path.  He  was  born  in  Ontario,  Canada,  November  11,  1879, 
being  the  eldest  in  a  family  of  four  children,  whose  parents  were 
George  and  Susan  (Bingham)  Glasgow.  The  father  is  now  a  retired 
farmer  living  in  Spokane  and  through  the  years  of  his  active  business 
career  conducted  his  interests  most  successfully.  His  wife,  a  native 
of  Canada,  also  lives  in  Spokane. 

Reared  in  Ontario,  Dr.  Glasgow  attended  the  grammar  schools 
and  the  high  school  there  and  later  prepared  for  his  profession  in  the 
Dunham  Medical  College  of  Chicago,  from  which  he  was  graduated 
in  1901.  He  entered  upon  professional  activities  as  assistant  to  Dr. 
Howard  Crutcher,  chief  surgeon  of  the  Chicago  &  Alton  Railroad, 
with  headquarters  in  Chicago,  and  was  associated  with  him  in  the 
railway  service  for  several  years.  For  some  time  he  practiced  in  Mon- 
tana but  in  the  fall  of  1905  came  to  Seattle,  where  he  has  since  been 
in  continuous  practice.  While  in  Montana  he  was  a  member  of  the 
state  board  of  homeopathic  examiners.  He  belongs  to  the  Homeo- 
pathic Medical  Society  of  Washington,  the  Seattle  Homeopathic 
Medical  Society  and  the  American  Institute  of  Homeopathy  and  his 
study  and  reading  have  gained  him  a  wide  knowledge  of  the  scien- 
tific principles  that  underlie  professional  work  in  the  treatment  of 
disease. 

At  Camden,  New  Jersey,  on  the  6th  of  October,  1902,  Dr.  Glas- 
gow was  married  to  Miss  Maud  Ironside,  a  daughter  of  John  Iron- 
side, a  native  of  Ontario,  Canada,  and  they  now  have  one  child.  Beryl 
Dee,  who  was  bom  in  Seattle  in  1908. 

The  parents  are  members  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church  and 

Dr.  Glasgow  holds  membership  in  the  Masonic  fraternity,  being  now 

connected  with  Seattle  Commandery  of  the  Knights  Templar  and 

with  the  Mystic  Shrine.     He  votes  with  the  republican  party  on 

347 


miiliam  anams  (glaggoto,  a^,  D. 


national  questions  and  issues  but  casts  an  independent  local  ballot, 
supporting  the  candidate  who  in  his  judgment  is  best  qualified  to  dis- 
charge the  duties  of  the  office,  regardless  of  party  affiliation.  His 
life  has  been  quietly  and  uneventfully  passed,  characterized  by  the 
faithful  performance  of  duty,  and  he  performs  all  professional 
duties  with  a  sense  of  conscientious  obligation  that  makes  his  eff'orts 
of  the  utmost  worth  to  his  patients. 


)^a.i^Zt^_Q<^U-^-^^. 


JHartin  J.  ftenefian  , 

JARTIN  J.  HENEHAN  is  successfully  engaged  in 

M.^.j  business  in  Seattle  as  a  manufacturer  of  railway 
W)  supplies,  having  in  this  connection  built  up  an  ex- 
^  tensive  trade.  His  birth  occui-red  on  the  8th  of 
May,  1857,  his  parents  being  Michael  and  Sara 
(McNally)  Henehan.  He  is  descended  from  the 
O  H-Aonachain's  princes  of  Tyrawly,  whose  posterity  have  con- 
tributed materially  to  Irish  history,  many  being  prominent  in  church 
affairs  and  several  being  numbered  among  the  bishops,  archbishops 
and  cardinals. 

Martin  J.  Henehan  acquired  his  early  education  in  the  national 
and  Franciscan  schools  of  Ireland  and  subsequently  pursued  a  course 
of  study  in  the  University  of  Notre  Dame  at  Notre  Dame,  Indiana. 
He  later  became  a  traveling  salesman  for  iron  and  steel  and  thus  spent 
several  years  in  the  middle,  eastern  and  New  England  states.  Prior 
to  embarking  in  business  on  his  own  account  he  likewise  acted  as 
manager  of  iron  and  steel  departments  in  New  York  city  and  Port- 
land, Oregon.  He  is  now  well  known  in  Seattle  as  the  organizer, 
president  and  sole  owner  of  The  Seattle  Frog  &  Switch  Co.,  a 
manufacturer  of  railway  supplies  and  satisfies  a  big  demand  for 
crossings,  frogs,  switches,  manganese  steel  track  specialties,  which 
is  the  highest  class  of  material  in  this  line,  track  tools  and  equipment. 
It  might  be  said  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  travel  anjTvhere  in 
Seattle  or  out  of  the  city  in  any  direction  without  passing  over  his 
work.  Mr.  Henehan  also  serves  as  director  of  the  German  American 
Mercantile  Bank  and  is  widely  recognized  as  a  prosperous,  enterpris- 
ing and  representative  business  man  of  the  city. 

On  the  3d  of  November,  1891,  in  Galveston,  Texas,  Mr.  Hene- 
han was  joined  in  wedlock  to  Miss  Mary  Alice  Gormly,  a  daughter 
of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Cuffe)  Gormly.  Her  father  is  a  descendant 
of  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  Irish  rebellion  and  a  man  who  was 
identified  with  national  affairs  in  Ireland.  Our  subject  and  his 
wife  have  the  following  children:  Bess,  who  is  the  wife  of  R.  M. 
Evans;  Martina;  Vincent;  Ulic;  and  Kevin. 

Mr.  Henehan  exercises  his  right  of  franchise  in  support  of  the 
men  and  measures  of  the  republican  party,  believing  firmly  in  its 
351 


aiattin  31.  l^enejjan 


principles.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Arctic  Club,  the  Rotary  Club, 
the  National  Geographic  Society,  the  Lincoln  Ulniversity  Endow- 
ment Association  and  the  Catholic  Social  Betterment  League.  A 
man  of  exceptional  executive  talent,  of  great  activity  and  energy 
and  with  ability  to  make  and  keep  friends,  his  name  is  inseparably 
associated  with  business  and  social  life  as  one  of  the  valued  citizens 
of  Seattle. 


^Kreb  Erisitofersion 

^s?^MONG  those  who  contributed  to  the  business  develop- 

Aflji  ment  of  Seattle  but  whose  life's  labors  are  now 
W^  ended  was  Alfred  Kristoferson,  who  developed  from 
\s  I  a  small  beginning  the  most  extensive  dairy  enter- 
prise of  the  city.  He  was  a  native  of  Glanshammar, 
Sweden,  born  December  30,  1857,  and  his  life  record 
was  closed  March  18,  1914.  He  attended  the  schools  of  Sweden 
and  on  crossing  the  Atlantic  to  America  made  his  way  to  Momence, 
Illinois,  when  twenty-four  years  of  age.  In  1890  he  came  to  Seattle 
but  first  engaged  in  the  dry-goods  business  at  Mount  Vernon  for 
a  short  time.  He  next  turned  his  attention  to  general  farming  near 
Stanwood,  devoting  about  five  years  of  his  life  to  that  pursuit. 
Later  he  took  up  his  abode  in  the  vicinity  of  Seattle  and  established 
a  dairy  business,  beginning  on  a  small  scale.  Gradually  he  increased 
his  interests  and  from  the  outset  he  made  it  his  purpose  to  supply 
his  patrons  with  pure  milk  cared  for  according  to  the  most  sanitary 
methods.  When  he  started  out  he  made  personal  visits  to  his  cus- 
tomers, supplying  milk  day  by  day,  but  the  gradual  increase  in  his 
patronage  made  his  enterprise  in  time  the  largest  in  the  city.  More- 
over, the  methods  which  he  followed  set  the  standard  for  other 
dairymen,  who  were  forced  to  adopt  his  plans  if  they  would  compete 
with  him  in  the  business.  His  plant  was  established  at  its  present 
location  in  1910  and  he  was  always  willing  to  have  the  closest  inspec- 
tion of  the  plant,  knowing  that  it  would  serve  not  as  a  detriment 
but  would  act  rather  as  an  advertisement,  for  none  could  fail  to  be 
pleased  with  the  orderly,  systematic  manner  in  which  business  was 
conducted  and  the  thorough  care  which  was  manifest  in  every  de- 
partment. 

In  Illinois,  in  1886,  Mr.  Kristoferson  was  married  to  Miss  Alberta 
Clarke,  and  they  became  parents  of  four  children:  Alfred,  August, 
Charlotte  and  Sten.  The  religious  faith  of  the  family  is  that  of 
the  Christian  Science  church.  Mr.  Kristoferson  belonged  to  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the  Commercial  Club  and  also  to  the 
Swedish  Business  Men's  Club.  He  was  a  very  public-spirited  citi- 
zen, optimistic  in  all  things,  and  had  great  faith  in  the  city  and  its 
355 


356 


aifreD  l^tistofcr0on 


future  development.  He  worked  along  lines  that  contributed  to  its 
upbuilding  and  in  his  particular  field  of  labor  he  established  standards 
which  are  today  accepted  as  the  exponent  of  the  most  modern  and 
scientific  methods  of  handling  dairy  products. 


1 


o 


Cimotl)j>  l^pan 

5IM0THY   RYAN,    who   died   February   10,    1916, 

TyA  was  a  prominent  contractor  of  Seattle,  an  extensive 
(w  business  making  heavy  demands  upon  his  time  and 
\5(  energies.  He  was  a  native  of  County  Limerick, 
Ireland,  and  a  son  of  Malachy  and  Johanna  (Ryan) 
Ryan,  both  of  whom  are  now  deceased.  The  father, 
who  was  a  farmer  and  contractor  and  made  a  specialty  of  road 
building,  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-six  years,  while  his  wife  passed 
away  at  the  age  of  seventy-six. 

The  son  attended  the  national  schools  of  Ireland  and  in  1873  came 
to  America.  In  the  early  period  of  his  residence  on  this  continent 
he  engaged  in  farming  in  California  and  in  1884  he  came  to  Seattle, 
where  he  was  afterward  engaged  in  contracting.  His  patronage  grew 
continually  in  volume  and  importance  and  after  the  fire  he  built  the 
New  England  Hotel,  the  Crane  Company's  building,  the  Hambach 
building,  the  building  of  the  Armour  Packing  Company,  the  boat 
shop  at  the  navy  yard  for  the  United  States  and  other  buildings  at 
the  navy  yard.  He  did  considerable  important  road  building  and 
executed  contracts  for  other  public  improvements.  He  built  the 
first  brick  highway  in  the  state  between  Tacoma  and  Kent,  also  paved 
Second  avenue  from  Pike  street  to  Yesler  Way,  completing  that 
work  about  a  year  ago,  and  paved  Sixth  and  Eighth  avenues  in  the 
Westlake  district.  His  contracts  kept  him  extremely  busy  and  he 
employed  a  large  force  of  workmen. 

On  the  27th  of  February,  1889,  in  Seattle,  Mr.  Ryan  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Catherine  Gleeson,  a  daughter  of  Michael 
Gleeson,  who  was  born  in  Ireland  and  came  to  Seattle  twenty-seven 
years  ago.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ryan  were  born  six  children :  Josephine, 
the  wife  of  J.  W.  Pettinger,  who  was  a  full  partner  of  Mr.  Ryan  in 
the  contracting  business;  Nora  Catherine,  Frances  Margaret  and 
Alice  Julia,  at  home;  and  James  Timothy  and  Thomas  George,  who 
are  students. 

The  religious  faith  of  the  family  is  that  of  the  Catholic  church 

and  Mr.  Ryan  held  membership  with  the  Knights  of  Columbus. 

He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Woodmen  of  the  World,  the  Ancient 

Order  of  United  Workmen  and  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order 

359 


360  Cimotitg  mym 

of  Elks,  and  his  political  faith  was  that  of  the  democratic  party. 
He  served  as  councihnan  in  1893-4,  was  superintendent  of  streets 
in  1894  and  was  county  commissioner  in  1897,  serving  for  a  two 
years'  term.  He  did  very  important  work  in  the  reconstruction  of 
the  city  following  the  fire  of  1889  and  through  that  period  was  asso- 
ciated with  Matt  Bramigan  in  his  extensive  building  operations.  He 
continued  as  a  leading  contractor  of  the  city  until  his  death,  enjoying 
a  business  of  large  and  gratifying  proportions. 


Ux 


(RTHUR  L.  KEMPSTER,  manager  of  the  Seattle 

A.^  division  of  the  Puget  Sound  Traction,  Light  &  Power 
^  Company,  was  born  in  Canfield,  Illinois,  in  1872,  a 
\9J  son  of  Thomas  L.  and  Martha  M.  (Hopkins)  Kemp- 
ster,  both  of  whom  passed  away  in  1898.  The  father 
was  a  native  of  London,  England,  and  the  mother  of 
Oswego,  New  York.  Mr.  Kempster  was  an  architect  by  profession 
and  became  identified  with  building  interests  in  the  northwest  on 
bringing  his  family  to  the  coast  in  1885. 

Arthur  L.  Kempster,  who  was  then  a  lad  of  thirteen  years,  lived 
in  British  Columbia  vmtil  1887  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years  came  to 
King  county,  Washington,  where  he  has  since  resided.  His  educa- 
tion was  acquired  in  the  public  schools  of  Chicago,  Illinois,  and  of 
Victoria.  In  1891  he  entered  the  service  of  one  of  the  early  street  car 
systems  in  the  capacity  of  office  boy  and  since  that  time  has  remained 
in  active  connection  with  transportation  work.  He  was  advanced 
to  the  position  of  cashier  and  later  to  bookkeeper.  In  189.5  he  was 
appointed  auditor  and  secretary,  acting  in  that  dual  capacity  until 
1900.  During  that  period  the  Seattle  Consolidated  Street  Railway 
Company  passed  out  of  existence,  being  succeeded  by  the  Seattle 
Traction  Company,  which  afterward  became  a  part  of  the  Seattle 
Electric  Company.  Mr.  Kempster  remained  with  the  new  corpora- 
tion as  superintendent  of  transportation  until  1911,  when  he  was 
advanced  to  the  position  of  general  superintendent.  A  year  later  he 
became  manager  and  is  now  occupying  that  position  of  marked  re- 
sponsibility and  trust.  His  management  includes  supei-vision  over 
the  street  railways,  the  hght  and  the  power  furnished  by  the  company 
in  Seattle  and  the  water  power  plants  at  Electron,  White  River  and 
Snoqualmie,  the  coal  mine  at  Renton  and  also  the  Diamond  Ice  & 
Storage  Company  of  Seattle. 

In  1903,  at  Seattle,  Mr.  Kempster  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Anna  M.  Church,  a  daughter  of  E.  M.  Church,  a  pioneer  settler  of 
King  county,  who  is  now  living  retired  at  his  country  home  at  Orcas 
Island,  Mrs.  Kempster  was  born  at  lola,  Kansas,  and  by  her  mar- 
riage has  become  the  mother  of  a  daughter,  Elizabeth  Church. 
363 


364 


9«6urJLJKempstet 


Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kempster  are  prominently  known  in  the  social 
circles  of  the  city.  Mr.  Kempster  has  membership  with  the  Benevo- 
lent Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  is  well  known  in  club  circles,  be- 
longing to  the  Rainier,  the  Earlington  Golf,  the  Seattle  Golf,  the 
Seattle  Yacht  and  the  Arctic  Clubs.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Commercial  Club  and  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  is  imbued 
with  that  public  spirit  which  seeks  the  welfare  and  improvement  of 
the  city  along  civic  lines. 


1Letois(  Solomon  l^toe 

[HEN  Seattle  was  a  small  town  Lewis  Solomon  Rowe 

W.-^  became  identified  with  its  business  interests.  At 
^  that  time  all  trade  interests  centered  around  Front 
iW  street  and  the  most  farsighted  would  scarcely  have 
dreamed  that  the  city  would  extend  out  upon  and 
over  the  hills  bordering  the  lake  and  that  it  would 
become  a  great  metropolitan  center,  with  its  ramifying  trade  interests 
reaching  not  only  to  all  sections  of  this  country  but  to  many  foreign 
lands  as  well.  For  a  number  of  years  Mr.  Rowe  has  engaged  in  no 
active  business,  for  his  former  success  was  sufficient  to  enable  him 
to  live  retired.  He  was  born  in  Madison,  Maine,  August  31,  1831, 
and  came  of  English  and  Scotch  lineage,  earlier  representatives  of 
the  name  having  lived  in  New  Hampshire.  His  father,  Solomon 
Rowe,  was  born  in  that  state  and  married  Miss  Betsey  Richardson, 
of  Maine,  whose  ancestors  were  represented  in  the  Revolutionary 
war.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rowe  became  parents  of  ten  children  and  the 
father  provided  for  their  support  by  carrying  on  general  agricul- 
tural pursuits.  He  had  large  tracts  of  land  which  in  time  were 
operated  by  his  sons,  while  he  devoted  his  attention  to  the  work  of 
the  ministry  as  a  preacher  of  the  Baptist  denomination.  His  life 
and  example  were  a  permeating  influence  for  good  wherever  he  was 
known  and  wherever  he  went  he  gained  many  friends  who  deeply 
deplored  his  death  when  at  the  age  of  sixty  years  he  passed  away. 
His  wife  was  sixty-seven  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  her  demise. 

Lewis  S.  Rowe  was  the  youngest  of  their  ten  children  and  at 
the  age  of  fourteen  years  he  put  aside  his  textbooks  and  left  the 
public  schools  in  order  to  provide  for  his  own  support.  After  walk- 
ing a  distance  of  fifty  miles  from  his  home  to  Bangor,  Manie,  he 
entered  upon  an  apprenticeship  to  the  carriage  maker's  trade  under 
John  Wingate,  his  pecuniary  compensation  being  thirty  dollars  for 
the  first  year  and  sixty  for  the  second.  He  did  not  complete  his 
apprenticeship,  however,  for  feeling  that  he  was  not  receiving  fair 
treatment,  he  left  his  employer  and  secured  a  situation  in  a  locomotive 
factory,  where  he  received  a  dollar  and  a  half  per  day.  Two  years 
later  he  heard  and  heeded  the  call  of  the  west,  for  he  embarked  on 
the  Orizaba,  an  outward  bound  sailing  vessel  from  New  York,  the 
367 


368  Letojg  Solomon  Rotoe 

destination  of  which  was  San  Francisco.  He  had  gone  aboard  as  a 
stowaway,  intending  to  work  his  passage,  and  during  the  voyage 
he  washed  dishes.  Immediately  after  arriving  in  San  Francisco  he 
engaged  in  blacking  boots,  for  which  he  was  sometimes  paid  a  dollar, 
but  he  soon  secured  employment  that  offered  better  opportunities. 
He  was  ambitious  and  made  good  use  of  the  advantages  which  came 
to  him,  so  that  he  steadily  worked  his  way  upward. 

After  returning  to  New  Hampshire,  in  1856,  Mr.  Rowe  entered 
the  emplojr  of  Abbott  &  Downing,  carriage  manufacturers,  with 
whom  he  remained  for  five  years  but  in  April,  1861,  he  was  again 
in  California,  having  landed  from  the  steamer.  North  Star,  which 
sailed  from  New  York.  While  en  route  a  severe  storm  was  encoun- 
tered and,  losing  its  mast,  the  vessel  was  obliged  to  put  into  port 
for  repairs.  Mr.  Rowe  entered  the  employ  of  Kilbourne  &  Bent, 
who  were  conducting  a  carriage  manufacturing  business  at  the  corner 
of  Third  and  Market  streets  in  San  Francisco.  His  wage  was 
originally  five  dollars  per  day  but  a  little  later  he  was  given  piece 
work  and  put  in  charge  of  the  shop,  so  that  his  wages  amounted  to 
from  sixty  to  seventy  dollars  per  week.  In  1862  he  went  to  Honolulu 
to  take  charge  of  a  carriage  shop,  but  not  liking  the  island,  he  returned 
to  San  Francisco  after  three  months.  StUl  later  he  went  to  Topeka, 
Kansas,  and  a  year  afterward  to  Newton,  Kansas,  establishing  the 
first  store  in  that  town,  for  which  he  hauled  the  lumber  a  distance  of 
thirty  miles.  He  built  up  an  extensive  business  there  and  when  the 
Santa  Fe  Railroad  was  built  he  shipped  his  goods  by  the  carload. 
Conditions  became  such,  however,  that  he  desired  no  longer  to  live 
in  Newton.  Drunken  Texas  cowboys  and  railroad  men,  engaged  in 
building  the  Santa  Fe,  were  continually  fighting  and  during  Mr. 
Rowe's  residence  in  Newton  thirty-seven  men  and  one  woman  were 
killed.  Closing  out  his  business,  he  removed  to  Pueblo,  Colorado, 
where  he  remained  for  two  years  and  then  again  went  to  California. 

In  1875  Mr.  Rowe  arrived  in  Seattle  and  opened  a  small  store 
on  Front  avenue,  at  the  foot  of  Cherry  street,  his  stock  of  groceries 
having  cost  him  two  hundred  and  thirty  dollars.  Mr.  Yesler  erected 
a  store  building  for  him  and  for  nine  years  he  continued  successfully 
in  the  grocery  trade,  winning  a  large  patronage.  When  city  realty 
sold  at  a  very  low  figure  he  made  investment  in  property  and  after 
an  illness  of  two  years,  in  which  he  was  unable  to  do  active  work, 
he  turned  his  attention  to  his  real  estate.  There  was  a  timber  tract 
where  the  fine  family  residence  now  stands.  He  obtained  five  acres 
for  four  hundred  dollars  and  this  property  at  Denny  Way  and  Sum- 
mit street  is  very  valuable.     On  Front  street  he  erected  six  stores, 


Lctan'0  Solomon  Kotoe  369 

which  returned  to  him  a  good  rental,  and  he  likewise  engaged  in  the 
carriage  business,  having  a  large  repository  and  selling  many  car- 
riages. He  became  a  partner  of  Hon.  C.  P.  Stone  in  this  enterprise 
and  success  attended  their  efforts  in  large  measure,  for  they  pur- 
chased their  carriages  by  the  car  lot.  They  controlled  the  output  of 
several  eastern  factories  and  at  length  Mr.  Rowe  purchased  his  pai-t- 
ner's  interest  and  remained  in  the  business  alone  for  several  years 
but  finally  retired  from  that  field.  He  otherwise  contributed  to  the 
upbuilding  of  the  city  by  erecting  fifteen  flats  on  Union  street  at  a 
cost  of  over  twenty  thousand  dollars.  Mr.  Rowe  has  lived  to  see 
a  remarkable  rise  in  property  values,  some  of  his  holdings  increasing 
in  Morth  a  hundredfold.  He  laid  out  and  platted  the  Veneta  addition 
to  Port  Orchard  and  found  a  ready  sale  for  the  property  and  in  1893 
he  went  to  the  Colville  reservation  and  located  the  Veneta  gold  mine, 
capitalized  for  seven  hundred  thousand  dollars.  His  investments 
have  been  carefully  placed.  He  seems  to  readily  recognize  not  only 
present  but  futiu-e  values  and  his  business  affairs  have  been  so 
conducted  that  excellent  results  have  attended  his  efforts,  making 
him  one  of  the  prosperous  residents  of  the  northwest. 

In  1856  Mr.  Rowe  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Cynthia 
Clifford  and  they  had  a  daughter,  Lizzie  Ella,  now  the  wife  of  C.  F. 
Dean.  For  his  second  wife  Mr.  Rowe  chose  Miss  Miranda  F.  Hum- 
mell,  and  Vena,  the  daughter  of  this  marriage,  has  become  the  wife 
of  Edwin  Maxwell.  Out  of  humble  surroundings  Mr.  Rowe  has 
risen  to  a  position  of  prominence,  entering  into  important  and  exten- 
sive business  relations.  In  his  business  life  he  has  been  a  persistent, 
resolute  and  energetic  worker,  possessing  strong  executive  powers, 
keeping  his  hand  steadily  upon  the  helm  of  his  business,  and  he  has 
been  strictly  conscientious  in  his  dealings  with  debtor  and  creditor 
alike.  If  a  pen  picture  could  accurately  delineate  his  business  char- 
acteristics, it  might  be  given  in  these  words :  a  progressive  spirit  ruled 
by  more  than  ordinary  intelligence  and  good  judgment;  a  deep 
earnestness  impelled  and  fostered  by  indomitable  perseverance;  a 
native  justice  expressing  itself  in  correct  principle  and  practice. 


v^ 


Cfjarleg  1,  ?|itil>arb 


iHARLES  L.  HIBBARD  is  interested  in  a  number 
of  important  mining  and  commercial  enterprises  in 
Seattle  and  is  recognized  as  a  man  of  unusual  energy, 
foresight  and  business  acumen.  In  fact,  his  business 
qualifications  are  such  as  have  won  for  him  world 
leadership  in  his  special  lines.  He  deals  in  wool, 
hides  and  pelts,  furs,  ivory,  whalebone  and  other  foreign  products, 
and  also  does  wool  pulling  as  a  member  of  the  Hibbard  Stewart 
Company,  and  their  trade  radius  is  greater  than  that  of  any  other 
Seattle  house. 

Mr.  Hibbard  belongs  to  that  class  of  men  who  have  had  the 
prescience  to  recognize  the  possibilities  and  opportunities  of  the  great 
west  and  in  utilizing  the  advantages  offered  on  the  coast  has  attained 
to  his  present  notable  and  enviable  position.  He  was  born  on  the 
2d  of  March,  1861,  in  Davenport,  Iowa,  a  son  of  Edwin  and  Mary 
Ann  Hibbard,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  Sheffield,  England, 
but  in  1848  emigrated  to  America.  They  became  residents  of  Daven- 
port, Iowa,  where  they  lived  for  many  j^ears,  the  father  passing  away 
in  1884,  while  the  death  of  the  mother  occurred  in  1886. 

Charles  L.  Hibbard  received  his  general  education  in  the  schools 
of  Davenport  and  after  completing  the  high-school  course  there 
attended  a  business  college  in  that  city  and  also  took  a  two  years' 
law  course.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  came  to  Seattle  and  in  1887 
here  established  the  first  wool-pulling  plant  in  Washington.  He  was 
also  the  first  person  to  divert  furs  and  skins  from  Alaska  to  Seattle 
and  operated  sealing  vessels,  taking  fur  seal  during  the  late  '80s. 
About  that  time  he  also  purchased  several  important  business  prop- 
erties in  the  city,  believing  firmly  in  the  possibilities  of  development 
in  Seattle,  a  faith  which  has  been  more  than  justified.  In  1897 
he  went  to  Alaska  during  the  gold  rush  and  was  fairly  successful. 
In  1885  he  took  advantage  of  the  demand  for  food  in  Alaska  and 
sent  the  first  beef  cattle  to  Dawson,  which  sold  for  as  high  as  two 
dollars  per  pound.  Since  coming  to  Seattle  he  has  been  connected 
with  its  development  along  industrial  and  commercial  lines  and  is 
now  identified  with  a  number  of  local  enterprises  of  that  character 
and  also  has  important  mining  interests.  He  is  today  active  in  the 
373 


374  Cftatleg  £♦  I|)i6&at0 

management  of  gigantic  business  interests  as  a  member  of  the  Hib- 
bard  Stewart  Company,  dealers  in  hides  and  wool.  They  buy  and 
sell  goods  at  nearly  every  port  in  the  world.  They  are  the  largest 
buyers  of  walrus  ivory  in  the  world  and  they  handle  more  fine  furs 
than  any  other  house  on  the  face  of  the  globe  and  merchandise  and 
provisions  to  the  amount  of  thousands  of  dollars  annually  are  taken 
from  Seattle  and  traded  by  them  for  furs  in  other  countries.  Mr. 
Hibbard  is  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  markets  of  the  world  in 
the  lines  in  which  he  deals  and  such  has  been  the  development  of  his 
business  connections  that  the  volume  of  his  trade  is  now  very  large. 

In  1881,  at  Rock  Island,  Illinois,  Mr.  Hibbard  was  married  to 
Delia  R.  Ballon,  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Hirley  Ballou.  To  this  union 
has  been  born  a  son,  Henry  C,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Seattle,  Sep- 
tember 22,  1885,  and  who  married  Frances  P.  Joyce,  of  Ogden,  Utah, 
a  daughter  of  Dr.  R.  S.  Joyce,  a  man  of  great  ability,  who  is  very 
prominent  in  his  city. 

Mr.  Hibbard  was  formerly  a  republican  but  recently  has  sup- 
ported the  democratic  party.  He  is  a  popular  member  of  the  Rainier 
and  Arctic  Clubs  and  of  the  Elks  lodge.  One  element  of  his  success 
has  been  his  ability  to  recognize  opportunities  which  others  fail  to 
see  and  the  spirit  of  initiative,  which  has  led  him  to  take  advantage 
of  those  opportunities  and  to  do  pioneer  work  in  developing  various 
industries  in  this  region.  His  close  attention  to  his  business  interests 
has  not  prevented  him  from  taking  part  in  various  movements  seeking 
the  advancement  of  his  commimity  along  moral  and  civic  lines  and 
those  who  have  been  brought  into  contact  with  him  esteem  him  as  a 
public-spirited  citizen. 


lARSHALL  W.  PETERSON,  of  Seattle,  who  owns 

MKwj  a  fine  fruit  ranch  in  Okanogan  county,  was  born 
W)  at  Columbia  Falls,  Maine,  May  4,  1868,  a  son  of 
^  Marshall  and  Margaret  Peterson.  The  father  was 
also  a  native  of  Columbia  Falls,  born  in  May,  1840, 
and  following  the  acquirement  of  his  education  in 
the  public  schools  there  he  engaged  in  shipbuilding  until  1864,  when 
he  made  his  way  to  the  Pacific  coast  by  way  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama, 
with  Portland,  Oregon,  as  his  destination.  He  then  engaged  in  the 
contracting  business  for  two  years  and  while  there  took  a  trip  to 
Idaho  on  a  pack  mule.  Later  he  returned  to  Columbia  Falls,  Maine, 
by  way  of  Nicaragua  and  engaged  in  the  contracting  business  until 
1873.  But  the  lure  of  the  west  was  upon  him  and  he  once  more 
made  his  way  to  Portland,  where  he  continued  in  business  as  a  con- 
tractor until  his  death  in  1895. 

Marshall  W.  Peterson  was  a  little  lad  of  five  summers  at  the  time 
the  family  went  to  Portland  in  1873,  and  there  he  enjoyed  the  educa- 
tional privileges  offered  by  the  public  and  high  schools  until  the  year 
1882,  when  he  started  out  in  the  business  world,  entering  the  employ 
of  McCraken  &  Mason,  wholesale  grocers,  in  the  capacity  of  oflice 
boy.  He  was  faithful  and  trustworthy  and  his  good  qualities  won 
him  promotion  to  the  position  of  assistant  bookkeeper,  in  which 
capacity  he  served  until  1886.  He  then  entered  the  employ  of  the 
Oregon  Railway  &  Navigation  Company  as  assistant  secretary  and 
treasurer  and  a  year  later  he  became  connected  with  the  banking 
firm  of  Ladd  &  Tilton,  having  charge  of  the  railway  interests  of  the 
bank.  He  was  afterward  employed  in  the  different  branches  of 
the  institution  and  when  he  severed  his  connection  with  the  fu-m  he 
was  paying  teller.  It  was  in  1898  that  he  left  Portland  and  came 
to  Seattle  as  cashier  and  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Dexter  Horton 
National  Bank,  which  connection  he  retained  imtil  November  1, 
1915,  when  he  resigned  the  position  on  account  of  ill  health.  He 
was  a  popular  official,  always  courteous  and  obliging  to  the  patrons 
of  the  bank  and  at  the  same  time  carefully  safeguarding  the  interests 
of  depositors.  His  efforts  have  extended  into  various  other  fields 
377 


378  QgatsljaU  m,  petetgon 

and  his  activity  and  cooperation  are  a  stimulating  influence  in  the 
various  concerns  with  which  he  is  associated.  He  is  now  a  director 
of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Port  Townsend,  and  of  the  American 
Savings  Bank  &  Trust  Company  of  Seattle,  is  treasurer  of  the  Wau- 
conda  Investment  Company,  treasurer  of  the  Kitsap  Coimty  Trans- 
portation Company  and  secretary  of  the  Port  Orchard  Dock  & 
Transportation  Company.  He  is  ever  watchful  of  opportunities 
pointing  to  success  and  his  ability  has  carried  him  into  important 
relations.  He  owns  a  fruit  ranch  in  Okanogan  county,  Washington, 
which  is  one  of  the  show  places  of  the  state.  In  1914  five  thousand 
boxes  of  apples  were  gathered  from  thirty  acres  of  six  year  old  trees, 
"six  years  from  the  sagebrush  to  the  fruit." 

His  political  allegiance  is  given  to  the  republican  party,  while 
fraternally  he  is  connected  with  the  Masons,  having  taken  the  degrees 
of  the  Scottish  Rite  and  the  Mystic  Shrine.  In  club  circles  he  is 
prominent  and  popular,  is  a  life  member  of  the  Arctic  Club  and 
belongs  to  the  Rainier  Club,  the  Seattle  Athletic  Club,  the  Union 
Club  of  Tacoma  and  the  Multnomah  Amateur  Athletic  Club  of 
Portland,  Oregon,  of  which  he  was  secretary  until  his  removal  from 
that  city  in  1898.  His  life  has  been  well  spent  in  its  various  connec- 
tions and  high  regard  is  entertained  for  him  by  an  ever  increasing 
circle  of  friends  and  acquaintances. 


Clt.Q.c^yu^^^^^ 


[N  a  history  of  Seattle  it  is  imperative  that  mention  be 
made  of  U.  R.  Niesz.  He  came  here  in  pioneer  times 
and  following  the  conflagration  of  1889  took  a  most 
active  and  helpful  part  in  a  readjustment  and  shap- 
ing of  conditions  which  have  led  to  the  development 
of  the  city  along  modern  lines  with  the  opportunity 
to  meet  modern  conditions  and  bring  about  the  present  development 
and  improvement.  He  was  born  February  17,  1849,  in  Canton,  Ohio. 
His  father,  William  Niesz,  also  a  native  of  Canton,  died  in  the  year 
1913,  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-one.  He  was  a  farmer  living  on 
the  outskirts  of  Canton  and  was  prominently  identified  with  the  in- 
terests of  the  community  in  which  he  lived.  He  served  as  school 
director  for  many  years,  giving  stalwart  support  to  the  cause  of  edu- 
cation, and  he  also  served  as  assessor  of  his  district  a  number  of  terms. 
At  the  time  of  the  Civil  war  he  served  as  captain  in  the  Home  Guards. 
He  was  a  representative  of  an  old  Permsylvania  family,  as  was  his 
wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Delilah  Roush.  She  was  born  at 
Richville,  Ohio,  and  passed  away  in  1853. 

U.  R.  Niesz  acquired  his  early  education  in  the  school  of  hard 
work  on  his  father's  farm  and  in  the  public  school,  attending  the  old 
Niesz  school,  which  was  also  known  as  Prairie  College,  for  three  or 
four  months  during  the  winter  seasons.  The  farm  consisted  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres,  and  as  only  about  forty  acres  had  been 
cleared  and  planted  to  crops  when  Mr.  Niesz  appeared  upon  the  scene, 
it  afforded  ample  opportunity  for  hard  work  from  early  morning  until 
late  at  night,  year  in  and  year  out,  for  when  not  working  on  crops, 
the  order  of  the  day  was  preparing  more  land  for  tillage.  This  thor- 
oughly closed  the  safety  valve  against  any  loss  of  time,  as  a  moment 
wasted  was  forever  gone  and  could  not  be  recalled. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen  years  Mr.  Niesz  had  completed  the  com- 
mon branches  at  school,  including  algebra  and  physical  geography, 
and  had  read  the  entire  school  library  at  Prairie  College.  From  that 
time  on  his  winters  as  well  as  his  summers  were  spent  in  clearing  land, 
but  during  the  evenings  he  devoted  his  time  to  reading  the  books  of 
his  father's  library  and  other  volumes  that  he  could  borrow.  Arriving 
at  young  manhood  and  with  a  strong  yearning  for  more  useful  knowl- 
381 


382  B,  E.  BieS5 

edge,  he  entered  Mount  Union  College  at  Mount  Union,  Ohio,  and 
after  a  term's  study  there  determined  to  work  his  way  through  college, 
taking  an  elective  course.  Pursuant  to  this  end,  he  was  willing  to 
turn  his  hand  to  any  honorable  calling  which  would  yield  the  means 
to  enable  him  to  continue  his  studies.  In  retrospect  he  can  now  see 
himself  between  that  time  and  the  time  of  his  graduation,  on  the  road 
with  horse  and  buggy,  going  from  town  to  town  with  a  stencil  outfit, 
cutting  name  plates  and  stamping  key  checks ;  then  by  railroad  on  the 
same  mission.  Again  he  can  see  himself  selling  books  and  later  estab- 
lishing agencies  and  drilling  agents.  He  can  also  see  himself  selling 
nursery  stock  and  for  one  season  serving  as  superintendent  of  a  nurs- 
ery near  Hastings,  Michigan. 

During  this  period  Mr.  Niesz  also  taught  two  terms  of  mixed 
schools,  the  first  a  six  months'  term  near  Genoa,  Ohio,  about  midway 
between  Canton  and  Massillon,  in  which  he  had  one  hundred  and  five 
pupils  enrolled,  with  an  average  daily  attendance  of  seventy-five.  At 
the  close  of  the  six  months  the  school  board  insisted  he  should  continue 
the  school  for  two  months  more,  but  he  had  made  arrangements  to  be 
at  Mount  Union  for  the  spring  term  at  college.  The  school  board 
then  exacted  the  promise  that  in  case  he  should  teach  the  next  wnter 
he  would  give  their  school  the  preference;  but  after  pvu-suing  the 
spring  and  summer  terms  at  Mount  Union  and  helping  his  father  on 
the  farm  through  harvest  time,  urgent  request  was  made  that  he  should 
attend  the  Northwestern  Ohio  Normal  School,  which  later  became  the 
Ohio  Northern  University.  Hence  he  notified  the  school  board  at 
Genoa  that  he  would  not  accept  a  school  for  the  coming  winter,  but 
fate  intervened.  He  had  taken  a  position  against  corporal  punish- 
ment in  schools,  about  which  time  an  application  was  received  at  the 
normal  school  for  a  teacher  who  could  handle  a  school  near  Kenton, 
Ohio,  which  had  been  broken  up  by  tmruly  members  for  three  suc- 
cessive years.  On  a  dare  Mr.  Niesz  took  the  school  and  came  out 
triumphant  at  the  end  of  his  four  months'  contract,  saying  that  he 
had  spent  a  most  delightful  four  months  with  that  school.  He  then 
returned  to  the  normal  for  the  spring  term.  Before  he  was  graduated 
he  also  served  for  two  years  of  ten  months  each  as  superintendent  of 
the  schools  of  Remington,  Indiana,  and  one  year  at  Kentland,  In- 
diana, in  which  school  George  Ade,  the  noted  humorist,  was  a  pupil. 
During  that  period  he  blandly  says  he  was  known  by  the  appellation 
of  Professor  Niesz. 

His  coUege  career  was  necessarily  an  intermittent  one  and  was 
divided  between  two  institutions  of  learning,  but  taking  an  elective 
course,  he  pursued  such  studies  as  appealed  to  him  most  for  usefulness 


O,  E.  JI3ic$5  383 

in  the  future.  He  was  partial  to  commercial  and  scientific  studies, 
though  in  the  languages  he  gave  attention  to  Latin,  German  and 
French  and  as  teacher  carried  a  class  in  German  through  a  two  years' 
high-school  course,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  says  they  knew  a  great 
deal  more  about  German  than  he  did.  Closely  applying  himself  to  his 
work,  however,  he  had  by  1876  graduated  from  both  Mount  Union 
College  and  the  Ohio  Northern  University.  While  pursuing  his  col- 
lege course  his  travels  took  liim  through  some  thirty-three  of  the  states 
and  territories  of  the  Union  and  most  of  the  provinces  of  Canada, 
during  which  he  visited  practically  all  of  the  large  cities  of  both  coun- 
tries, thus  gaining  much  valuable  information  and  experience.  In  the 
year  of  his  graduation  he  took  a  trip  of  seven  thousand  miles,  visiting 
the  Centennial  Exposition  at  Pliiladelphia  and  ending  with  a  trip  up 
the  Hudson  river  and  then  around  the  Great  Lakes  to  Chicago,  whence 
he  went  to  Sheldon,  Illinois,  in  time  to  assist  in  conducting  a  Teachers' 
Normal  Institute.  He  afterward  became  superintendent  of  the  Shel- 
don schools  for  the  ensuing  year  and  at  the  end  of  the  ten  months' 
term  conducted  a  six  weeks'  normal  institute  and  lecture  course  at  the 
Sheldon  school,  at  which  about  one  hmidred  teachers  were  in  attend- 
ance. Among  the  lecturers  secured  were  the  Illinois  state  superin- 
tendent of  public  instruction  and  other  eminent  educators. 

With  but  one  week's  vacation  after  the  institute,  Mr.  Niesz  com- 
menced another  year  of  ten  months  as  superintendent  at  Sheldon,  but 
while  he  enjoyed  the  work,  he  had  arranged  to  enter  upon  mercantile 
pursuits  and  when  the  year  M^as  about  half  over  notified  his  school 
board  in  order  that  they  might  look  for  his  successor.  The  board, 
however,  persisted  in  reelecting  him  notwithstanding  his  fully  matured 
plans  to  enter  the  field  of  merchandising.  He  still  cherishes  the  recom- 
mendation they  insisted  on  presenting  him  to  show  their  goodwill  in 
case  he  should  again  wish  to  enter  school  work.  He  still  takes  great 
delight  in  his  experiences  leading  up  to  and  during  his  college  days 
and  also  in  his  former  school  and  teachers'  institute  work,  and  is 
especially  glad  that  he  never  faUed  to  help  his  father  at  harvest  time 
after  leaving  the  farm  until  he  graduated  save  for  the  one  year  when 
he  was  a  nurseryman  in  Michigan.  The  only  school  for  which  he  ever 
apphed  was  his  first  one,  as  after  that  he  was  always  solicited  to  accept 
schools.  In  taking  the  examination  for  a  teacher's  license  at  Kent- 
land,  Indiana,  answering  questions  prepared  by  the  state  board,  he 
made  one  hvmdred  per  cent  on  every  branch,  which  was  the  only 
teachers'  certificate  of  that  percentage  that  he  has  ever  seen  or  heard  of. 

In  1878  Mr.  Niesz  went  to  Denver,  Colorado,  and  formed  a  part- 
nership with  his  uncle,  B.  F.  Niesz,  in  the  boot  and  shoe  business 


384  d.  K.  mes^ 

under  the  firm  name  of  Niesz  &  Company.  Neither  had  any  previous 
experience  in  mercantile  hnes  but  commenced  in  a  small  way.  Two 
years  later  they  were  shown  a  report  which  appeared  in  a  commercial 
agency  in  Boston,  reading  about  as  follows:  "Weak  firm,  in  poor 
location.  No  experience  in  the  business.  Not  likely  to  last  more 
than  six  months."  Yet  within  two  years'  time  the  largest  boot  and 
shoe  establishment  in  Denver  had  failed,  throwing  a  sixty  thousand 
dollar  stock  of  boots  and  shoes  on  the  market  at  bankrupt  sale,  with 
Niesz  &  Company  as  its  nearest  competitor,  and  in  three  years  this 
firm  had  built  up  the  largest  boot  and  shoe  business  in  Denver.  In 
September,  1882,  U.  R.  Niesz,  with  a  view  to  locating  in  the  north- 
west, sold  his  interests  in  Denver,  took  a  trip  back  to  Canton,  Ohio, 
and  on  the  19th  of  October,  1882,  was  married  to  Miss  Ada  Branner, 
daughter  of  John  Branner,  president  of  the  Farmers  Bank  of  Canton 
and  a  representative  of  an  old  Pennsylvania  family  of  Holland  Dutch 
descent.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Niesz  became  the  parents  of  five  sons,  two  of 
whom  have  passed  away,  the  others  being:  Paul  B.,  twenty-three 
years  of  age,  who  was  a  law  student  in  the  University  of  Washington 
and  is  now  associated  with  his  father  in  the  real-estate  business ;  Adrian 
Raynor,  eighteen  years  of  age,  a  senior  in  the  high  school  of  Seattle; 
and  Penn  Earl,  a  youth  of  fourteen  years,  a  sophomore  in  the  high 
school. 

Following  his  marriage  Mr.  Niesz  with  his  wife  visited  relatives  in 
Pennsylvania  and  after  spending  some  weeks  in  the  larger  cities  of 
the  east,  on  the  20th  of  January  took  a  steamer  at  New  York  for  the 
territory  of  Washington  by  way  of  the  Panama  and  Colon  route,  arriv- 
ing in  Seattle,  March  15,  1883.  Until  December  Mr.  Niesz  spent  his 
time  in  looking  over  British  Columbia,  Washington  and  Oregon  on 
the  general  theory  that  there  would  be  a  great  city  somewhere  in  the 
northwest  and  finally  concluded  that  with  all  its  natural  advantages 
and  the  spirit  of  its  people  Seattle  must  become  that  city.  In  Decem- 
ber, therefore,  he  became  associated  with  W.  H.  Whittlesey,  men- 
tioned elsewhere  in  this  work,  in  organizing  an  abstract  company  and 
later  they  admitted  Charles  F.  Whittlesey  to  a  partnership  under  the 
firm  name  of  Niesz,  Whittlesey  &  Company.  They  classified  and 
indexed  the  county  real-estate  and  court  records  of  King,  Pierce, 
Whatcom  and  Skagit  counties,  continuing  in  the  abstract  business  for 
about  four  years.  In  July,  1887,  Mr.  Niesz  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  city  council  and  in  the  following  year  sold  his  abstract  business. 
In  the  meantime  he  had  backed  his  faith  in  the  future  greatness  of 
Seattle  by  purchasing  one  of  the  best  view  lots  in  the  city  and  erecting 
thereon  one  of  the  finest  homes  then  in  Seattle.    He  also  purchased 


U,  la.  jQies?  385 

eight  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  land  in  West  Seattle,  where  he  kept 
adding  to  his  holdings  until  his  property  interests  there  aggregated 
about  fifteen  hundred  acres.  When  he  disposed  of  his  abstract  busi- 
ness he  also  had  extensive  property  interests  in  Fairhaven,  Belling- 
ham,  Sehonie  and  Whatcom,  much  of  which  has  since  become  very 
valuable.  He  also  purchased  two  hundred  acres  of  land  at  Eagle 
Harbor  and  erected  there  what  was  then  the  largest  brick  plant  in  the 
northwest  but  lost  that  during  the  financial  panic  of  1893.  He  suf- 
fered much  in  the  panic  but  accepted  liis  losses  philosophically  and 
Avith  determined  purpose  and  courage  set  to  work  to  regain  the  posi- 
tion which  he  had  previously  held  as  a  successful  business  man.  He 
did  not  accept  the  old  adage  that  opportunity  knocks  but  once,  real- 
izing that  each  day  holds  its  opportunity  and  that  the  accomplishment 
of  the  work  of  one  day  gives  power  and  adaptability  for  the  labors  of 
the  succeeding  day. 

Against  his  wishes  Mr.  Niesz  was  reelected  a  member  of  the  city 
council  in  July,  1889,  and  served  during  the  reconstruction  period 
following  the  great  fii'e  of  that  year,  taking  a  prominent  part  in  the 
replatting  and  upbuilding  of  the  city.  He  with  other  members  of  the 
council  had  mapped  out  the  whole  plan  some  time  previous  to  the  fire, 
which  made  it  possible  to  accompUsh  their  pm'pose.  Theirs  was  a 
farsighted  policy  and  has  done  more  to  advance  the  interests  of  the 
city  than  anything  else  that  was  ever  undertaken.  Owing  to  inade- 
quate wharf  facilities  outside  communities  could  do  no  business  with 
Seattle.  As  a  member  of  the  council  Mr.  Niesz  was  made  chairman 
of  the  judiciary,  finance  and  harbor  and  wharves  committees  and  the 
last  named  took  up  the  whole  burden  of  replatting  the  business  and 
shipping  section  of  the  city.  This  committee  directed  the  replatting 
of  the  downtown  district,  establishing  Railroad  avenue,  Western 
avenue  and  Post  street,  where  the  old  "Ramshorn  Railroad"  formerly 
wound  its  sinuous  course  between  First  avenue  and  the  water  front 
from  the  southern  limits  of  the  city  to  Pike  street;  ^videning  First 
and  Second  avenues ;  continuing  and  widening  Commercial  street  and 
cutting  it  into  First,  making  it  First  avenue.  South,  thereby  creating 
the  triangular  park  upon  which  the  famous  totem  pole  now  stands. 
They  also  widened  what  was  then  Second  avenue,  South,  and  named  it 
Occidental  avenue  and  widened  what  was  then  Third  avenue,  South, 
and  cut  it  into  Second  avenue,  naming  it  Second  avenue.  South,  thus 
creating  the  square  at  the  intersection  of  Yesler  Way. 

Herculean  as  was  the  task  of  this  committee  in  bringing  order  out 
of  chaos  in  this  part  of  the  city;  in  opening  the  way  for  land  and 
water  traffic  to  meet  at  a  minimum  cost  of  transshipment ;  in  provid- 


386  g.  R.  Ji3iegf 

ing  facilities  for  a  marvelous  growth  in  the  business  of  a  future  great 
city ;  in  short  in  giving  the  city  a  new  birth,  yet  this  great  task  paled 
into  insignificance  compared  with  the  responsibilities  resting  upon  the 
finance  committee,  of  which  Mr.  Niesz  was  also  chairman.  The  con- 
ditions confronting  this  committee  were  a  thoroughly  devastated  busi- 
ness district — everj^  wharf  gone;  every  approach  to  the  water  front 
gone ;  streets  in  the  business  district,  which  were  mostly  built  on  trestle 
work,  all  consumed  by  the  fire ;  practically  everj^  stock  of  goods,  every 
store,  every  hotel,  every  fire  engine  house  and  the  city  hall  all  gone 
up  in  smoke,  and  the  fire-fighting  apparatus  all  destroyed,  with  the 
water  service  in  the  business  district  all  out  of  commission.  With 
many  of  the  best  citizens  ruined  by  their  losses  in  the  fire,  estimating 
that  the  city  had  been  set  back  at  least  ten  years,  if  indeed  it  would 
ever  recover  its  former  prestige  or  position  as  chief  commercial  city 
of  the  great  northwest,  some,  discouraged  Avith  their  losses  and  the 
glimmering  prospects  for  the  future  of  the  city,  left  to  seek  their  for- 
tunes elsewhere,  while  others  estimated  that  to  rehabilitate  the  streets 
and  approaches  to  the  water  front  alone  would  cost  half  a  million 
dollars ;  that  in  providing  a  new  fu-e  department  at  least  five  new  sites 
should  be  secured,  which  with  buildings  and  equipment  would  cost 
about  one  hundred  thousand  dollars;  that  a  fire  boat  should  be  pro- 
vided which  would  cost  about  another  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
These,  together  with  all  the  other  estimates  and  costs,  totaled  quite  a 
formidable  amount  of  money,  which,  with  the  city  charter  fixing  an 
arbitrary  debt  limit  of  sixty  thousand  dollars,  rendered  the  situation, 
to  say  the  least,  quite  appalling  to  those  who  were  informed  on  the 
subject  and  especially  to  one  who  had  to  approve  and  sign  all  vouchers 
before  warrants  could  be  issued.  But  the  people  had  previously  voted 
bonds  for  twenty  thousand  of  this  and  the  proceeds  had  been  used  for 
building  the  Grant  Street  bridge,  thus  leaving  but  forty  thousand 
dollars  of  credit  upon  which  to  start  the  city  on  a  new  lease  of  life. 
Here  again  Mr.  Niesz  proved  his  mettle  and  demonstrated  that  he 
was  the  right  man  in  the  right  place.  With  the  same  splendid  courage 
with  which  he  approached  the  replatting  problem,  armed  with  the 
shibboleth  that  with  the  city,  as  with  an  individual,  self-preservation  is 
the  first  law  of  nature  and  that  necessity  knows  no  law,  he  met  the 
situation  as  he  found  it.  Street  planking  had  always  been  done  from 
the  general  fund,  but  this  was  a  time  for  everybody  to  help  everybody 
else,  so  property  owners  were  induced  to  rebuild  the  streets,  the  city 
to  pay  for  them  when  its  legal  disability  was  removed.  Five  sites  were 
secured  for  fire  engine  houses  and  buildings  were  erected  thereon, 
partly  on  a  similar  basis.    An  electric  fire  alarm  system  was  installed 


a,  R.  Jl3ie0f  387 

on  the  basis  of  a  lease,  paying  but  little  more  than  interest  on  the  cost 
until  such  time  as  the  city  was  in  position  to  pay  for  same,  of  course 
providing  for  the  right  to  purchase  same  when  in  financial  condition 
to  do  so.  Fire  apparatus  was  secured  in  similar  manner  and  thus  all 
along  the  line  careful  study,  good  judgment  and  strategy  were  re- 
quired to  get  the  city  again  started  on  the  upward  path,  to  brace  up 
the  courage  of  the  people  and,  as  Mr.  Niesz  expresses  it,  "to  keep  out 
of  the  penitentiary." 

Perhaps  the  most  embarrassing  condition  existing  at  the  time  of 
the  fire  and  immediately  thereafter  was  brought  about  by  the  water 
problem.  When  the  fire  came  there  was  no  water  to  quench  it  and 
afterward  there  was  none  to  prevent  a  recurrence  of  same  should  the 
property  owners  again  erect  structures  to  feed  the  flames.  This  con- 
dition was  aggravated  by  measures  taken  some  time  before  the  fire, 
when  the  privately  owned  water  company  had,  as  the  council  viewed 
it,  by  artful  deception  secured  an  amendment  to  its  franchise  which 
would  greatly  increase  its  revenues  as  well  as  its  power  over  the  city 
and  its  citizens,  which  in  turn  compelled  the  city  in  self-defense  to 
take  the  necessary  steps  to  install  a  water  plant  for  and  by  the  city. 
Surveys  and  estimates  of  cost  had  been  made  for  ten  million  gallons 
per  day  to  be  brought  by  gravity  from  Rock  Creek,  together  with  the 
distribution  of  same  throughout  the  city.  One  million  dollars  of  bonds 
for  this  purpose  had  been  voted  by  the  people,  but  to  install  such  a 
plant  would  take  time,  and  time  was  now  a  great  desideratum.  With 
the  business  district  destroyed  and  its  best  customers  out  of  commis- 
sion, the  company  did  not  feel  justified  in  going  to  the  expense  of 
reconstructing  and  extending  its  plant  if  the  city  was  going  to  enter 
the  field,  so  they  wanted  the  city  to  renounce  its  determination  to  in- 
stall a  plant  of  its  own  and  to  guarantee  them  exclusive  privileges  for 
a  longer  period.  But  the  fire  had  so  thoroughly  demonstrated  the 
inefficiency  of  their  plant  and  its  management  that  such  a  course  lacked 
all  the  elements  which  would  inspire  courage  to  rebuild.  After  much 
discussion  and  many  delays  the  water  company  finally  offered  to  sell 
its  plant  to  the  city,  with  representations  that  no  private  individual  nor 
private  corporation  could  buy  it,  for  one  million  dollars ;  that,  though 
yet  in  its  infancy,  it  was  worth  a  great  deal  more  than  that.  Yet  they 
recognized  that  this  was  the  city  of  Seattle,  hence  they  would  accept 
the  million  dollars  of  bonds  voted  by  the  people  in  payment  for  their 
plant.  The  whole  matter  was  finally  referred  to  a  special  committee 
of  the  council  to  negotiate  with  the  water  company  for  its  plant  or 
take  other  steps  which  might  relieve  the  situation.  Mr.  Niesz  was 
made  the  chairman  of  this  committee  and  here  again  he  found  the  city 


388  O,  K.  J13ieg? 

charter  blocking  the  way.  While  it  provided  unlimited  credit  for 
erecting  and  maintaining  a  water  plant,  yet  it  made  no  provision  for 
purchasing  a  plant  already  erected,  hence  it  was  again  a  case  of  the  ne- 
cessity which  knows  no  law  and  the  council  must  be  a  law  unto  itself. 
It  was  an  exigency  that  was  unforeseen  and  the  council  must  meet  ex- 
isting conditions  and  in  so  doing  must  work  for  the  future  as  well  as  the 
present.  After  much  negotiation  the  company  made  a  new  proposi- 
tion to  take  eight  hundred  and  forty  thousand  dollars,  the  amount 
they  claimed  the  net  revenues  would  carry  at  six  per  cent,  and  finally 
came  down  to  six  hundred  thousand  dollars  if  prompt  action  could  be 
taken;  but  with  the  city  it  was  not  a  question  of  what  revenue  the 
plant  would  yield  but  what  it  could  be  duplicated  for  or  what  amount 
would  build  a  better  or  more  suitable  plant.  Hence  the  committee 
had  the  council  authorize  the  employment  of  some  eminent  hydraulic 
engineer  of  national  repute  to  appraise  the  physical  plant  and  to 
elaborate  the  plans  for  the  gravity  system  to  dovetail  into  it  so  far  as 
possible  for  permanent  use  in  case  of  purchase.  To  this  end  Mr. 
Benizette  Williams  was  employed.  He  appraised  the  physical  plant 
and  prepared  the  plans  upon  which  the  present  gravity  system,  of 
which  the  people  are  now  so  justly  proud,  was  finally  founded,  the 
committee  appraising  the  company's  real  estate  and  equities  in  the 
matter,  and  finally  submitted  their  proposition  to  the  company.  This 
proposition  with  few  minor  changes  was  accepted  by  the  company  and 
a  contract  entered  into  for  the  purchase  of  the  plant,  which  finally 
cleared  the  way  for  improvement.  The  contract  called  for  the  city  to 
pay  three  hundred  and  fifty-two  thousand  and  odd  dollars  for  the 
plant,  issuing  a  warrant  for  the  two  thousand  and  odd  dollars  to  bind 
the  company,  the  balance  to  be  paid  when  legal  disabilities  could  be 
removed,  at  any  time  before  January  1,  1892.  In  the  meantime  ex- 
tensions to  the  plant  were  to  be  made  according  to  the  city's  plans  and 
under  city  supervision. 

Fortunately  the  constitutional  convention  was  in  session  during 
Seattle's  most  critical  times  and  three  important  cities  of  the  territory 
having  but  recently  been  devastated  by  fire  made  it  far  more  tractable 
to  the  possible  needs  of  a  municipality.  When  their  committee  had 
decided  to  fix  the  debt  limit  of  the  municipalities  of  the  coming  state 
to  conform  with  the  congressional  act  for  the  municipalities  of  the 
territories  of  the  United  States,  namely  at  four  per  cent  of  the  assessed 
value  of  the  property  of  such  municipality  according  to  the  last  pre- 
vious assessment  roll,  a  wire  to  the  mayor  asking  if  Seattle  could  get 
through  on  that  amount  quickly  prompted  his  appointment  of  Mr. 
Niesz  to  appear  before  that  committee,  where  by  a  showing  of  the 


O.  la,  f3lCgf  389 

estimated  cost  of  rehabilitating  the  burned  district,  of  Seattle's  situa- 
tion as  to  water  and  possible  light  works  for  the  comfort,  convenience 
and  health  of  the  community,  which  are  in  the  nature  of  an  investment 
and  yield  revenues,  and  of  a  possible  condition  as  to  sewers  for  the 
preservation  of  health,  wliich  at  times  become  almost  a  military  neces- 
sity, by  the  method  of  gradual  approach  he  readily  demonstrated  that 
a  municipality  should  have  a  little  leeway,  so  the  properly  constituted 
authorities  could  in  case  of  emergency  extend  its  credit  without  a  vote 
of  the  people  to  the  extent  of  say  one  and  one-half  per  cent  of  its 
assessed  valuation ;  that  an  additional  amount,  say  up  to  five  per  cent, 
might  be  extended  for  general  municipal  purposes  by  a  vote  of  three- 
fifths  of  the  voters,  voting  at  an  election  for  that  purpose ;  and  that  an 
additional  amount  of  say  five  per  cent  might  be  extended  by  a  similar 
vote  of  the  people  for  water  works,  hght  works  or  for  sewers — and 
such  were  the  provisions  finally  adopted  by  the  convention  and  the 
people. 

Mr.  Niesz  was  also  largely  instrumental  in  securing  provision  in 
the  state  constitution  for  the  larger  cities  of  the  state  to  have  the  right 
to  prepare  their  own  charters.  He  was  also  appoined  as  special  repre- 
sentative of  the  city  on  this  subject.  His  object  was:  first,  to  secure 
local  self-government  for  the  larger  cities ;  second,  to  secui-e  charters 
adaptable  to  local  conditions;  and  third,  to  have  the  larger  cities  vie 
with  each  other  in  promoting  progress.  The  population  was  fixed  at 
twenty  thousand  for  cities  of  the  first  class,  which  were  permitted  to 
prepare  their  own  charters,  in  order  to  secure  the  votes  of  King, 
Pierce  and  Spokane  counties,  Seattle  then  having  about  thirty  thou- 
sand, with  Tacoma  and  Spokane  near  the  twenty  thousand  mark. 
While  the  committee  of  the  constitution  builders  was  at  work  on  har- 
bor and  tide  land  provisions,  Mr.  Niesz  was  again  sent  to  Olympia 
to  present  the  city's  case.  In  replatting  the  business  and  shipping 
section  of  the  city,  all  streets  ending  on  the  water  front  were  by  ordi- 
nance projected  out  to  deep  water,  and  Mr.  Niesz  had  ideas  on  harbors 
and  tide  lands.  He  was  in  favor  of  the  state  doing  with  the  harbor 
cities  as  the  United  States  does  with  the  state,  i.  e.,  conserve  them  for 
the  future  city  to  be  turned  over  to  it  when  it  prepares  and  adopts  its 
charter,  the  harbor  area  to  be  inalienable  in  the  interest  of  commerce, 
under  control  of  a  local  commission,  and  the  tide  lands  to  be  handled 
by  the  same  or  another  local  commission  for  the  benefit  of  the  port ; 
and  had  this  course  been  pursued  Seattle  and  Tacoma  might  today 
both  have  had  permanent  sea  wall  and  concrete  docks  with  ample 
means  to  make  them  free  ports. 

During  the  session  of  the  first  state  legislature  Mr.  Niesz  was  again 


390  d,  E.  l^iesf 

selected  as  special  representative  of  the  city  and  had  much  to  do  with 
framing  legislation  to  provide  for  the  city's  needs.  He  was  associated 
with  Judge  Parsons,  who  was  employed  by  the  committee  of  one  hun- 
dred at  Tacoma,  preparing  the  enabling  act  for  cities  of  the  fii'st  class 
to  prepare  their  own  charters.  They  were  to  prepare  the  bill  and  to 
submit  it  to  the  cities  before  its  mtroduction  in  the  legislature.  Mr. 
Niesz,  through  experience  in  municipal  work,  sensed  the  situation  and 
aimed  to  give  to  cities  all  the  power  which  the  legislature  could  grant 
without  directly  delegating  its  power  to  the  cities,  while  Judge  Par- 
sons was  trying  to  prepare  a  charter  with  limitations  on  nearly  every 
subject  and  in  nearly  every  section.  They  were  known  as  the  short 
bill  and  the  long  bill,  Judge  Parsons  preparing  the  latter  and  Mr. 
Niesz  the  former.  The  short  bill  was  adopted  and  enacted  into  law 
and  had  not  the  one  short  clause,  "subject  to  the  general  laws  of  the 
state,"  been  injected  into  the  law,  Washington's  first-class  cities  might 
now  enjoy  local  self-government  and  work  out  their  own  destiny, 
bearing  the  same  relation  to  the  state  as  the  state  does  to  the  nation. 
It  may  be  truly  said  the  beneficial  results  accomplished  for  the  city  by 
Mr.  Niesz  have  stamped  their  impress  deeply  upon  its  growth  and  have 
had  far-reaching  effect,  yet  since  leaving  the  city  council  there  has 
never  been  a  time  when  he  could  be  induced  to  accept  another  pubUc 
office,  though  always  interested  in  public  aff'airs  and  willing  to  lend  a 
helping  hand  and  do  his  part  in  public  undertakings.  Mr.  Niesz  has 
served  three  terms  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce  and  has  been  a  member  of  the  Commercial  Club  and 
of  many  improvement  clubs.  He  has  cleared  more  than  four  hundred 
acres  of  land  in  and  near  Seattle  and  in  platting  land  into  city  lots 
has  always  been  mindful  of  the  future  needs  of  a  great  city  as  well  as 
the  comfort  and  convenience  of  those  who  would  eventually  use  the 
property  by  providing  liberally  for  public  places,  wide  avenues,  etc. 
He  donated  to  the  city  the  site  for  the  West  Seattle  Carnegie  Public 
Libraiy  and  off'ered  to  donate  the  choice  of  several  valuable  sites  for 
the  Art  Museum.  He  built  several  business  blocks  in  the  city  as  well 
as  several  homes  for  himself  and  family  and  some  houses  for  sale.  He 
took  a  leading  part  in  the  annexation  of  Seattle's  various  suburbs  and 
in  the  annexation  of  West  Seattle  he  insisted  on  including  all  of  the 
tide  lands  and  the  Duwamish  valley,  contending  that  all  this  with  the 
greatest  possible  amount  of  the  drainage  district  to  the  south,  placed 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  city,  would  soon  lead  to  the  straightening 
of  the  Duwamish  river  by  building  a  waterway  through  the  valley, 
which  with  an  avenue  paralleling  it  at  a  proper  distance  on  each  side, 
of  sufficient  width  to  accommodate  wagon,  street  car  and  railroad 


g,  H.  Ji3ieg? 


391 


traffic,  would  solve  the  manufacturing  site  problem  and  greatly  benefit 
the  commercial  interests  of  the  city — and  these  things  are  now  all 
under  way. 

Mr.  Niesz  has  always  been  an  ardent  advocate  of  good  roads,  giv- 
ing special  attention  to  arterial  highways.  At  the  present  time  he  is 
much  interested  in  the  arterial  highways  for  West  Seattle.  In  politics 
he  has  always  been  a  republican.  At  the  present  time  he  is  devoting 
his  attention  largely  to  the  supervision  of  improvements  on  his  various 
property  interests,  his  holdings  being  now  mostly  in  Seattle,  West 
Seattle  and  between  Seattle  and  Tacoma,  though  he  still  holds  his 
interest  in  the  old  homestead  at  Canton,  Ohio,  On  the  whole  it  can 
be  said  that  Mr.  Niesz  has  been  a  useful  citizen  for  Seattle  and  the 
state  of  Washington,  that  his  efforts  have  been  constructive  rather 
than  speculative,  that  he  has  done  his  part  well  in  the  upbuilding  of 
the  city  and  state  and  that  he  deserves  all  the  good  fortune  that  has 
come  to  him. 


-^r-n.^^^^/  C^^S>^^^ 


Crnesit  Carsiten? 

iRNEST  CARSTENS,  president  of  the  German- 
American  Mercantile  Bank  of  Seattle,  occupies  a 
most  enviable  position  in  the  business  and  financial 
circles  of  the  city,  not  alone  by  reason  of  the  success 
which  he  has  attained,  although  he  is  now  numbered 
among  the  capitahsts  of  Washington,  but  also  by 
reason  of  the  straightforward  business  policy  he  has  followed  and 
the  enterprising  methods  he  has  employed.  He  was  born  February 
3,  1867,  in  the  small  seaport  and  commercial  city  of  Husum  in 
Germany,  a  son  of  Peter  and  Doris  Carstens.  He  attended  the 
public  schools  of  the  fatherland  to  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  when 
he  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  America  and  was  afterward  a  student  in 
the  business  college  in  Fond  du  Lac.  He  was  engaged  in  the  meat 
business  on  his  own  account,  when  nineteen  years  of  age,  in  Wis- 
consin, and  since  the  fall  of  1887  has  been  identified  with  the  business 
interests  of  Seattle,  arriving  in  this  city  when  but  twenty  years  of 
age.  He  was  employed  by  the  old  firm  of  Rice  &  Gardner,  at  the 
corner  of  Cherry  and  what  was  then  called  Front  street,  but  after  a 
brief  period  went  to  California  because  of  illness  on  the  2d  of  Decem- 
ber, 1887,  and  worked  at  the  butcher's  trade  in  Los  Angeles  and  in 
Pasadena  until  April,  1890. 

His  sojourn  in  the  south  proved  beneficial  to  his  health  and  he 
returned  to  Seattle,  where  on  the  4th  of  July,  1890,  in  partnership 
with  his  brother,  Thomas  Carstens,  he  established  a  retail  meat  busi- 
ness under  the  firm  style  of  Carstens  Brothers.  The  new  undertaking 
prospered  from  the  beginning  as  the  result  of  the  hard  work,  un- 
faltering industry  and  close  attention  of  the  partners.  They  soon 
branched  out  in  the  jobbing  and  wholesale  trades  and  later  extended 
the  scope  of  their  business  to  include  a  packing-house  business,  at 
which  time  the  firm  name  was  changed  to  the  Carstens  Packing 
Business.  Prosperity  attended  their  efforts  as  the  years  went  on, 
theirs  becoming  one  of  the  most  important  industries  of  the  kind 
in  the  city.  Ernest  Carstens  continued  his  connection  therewith 
until  1903,  when  he  sold  his  interest,  after  which  he  spent  about  a 
year  in  travel,  accompanied  by  his  wife.  He  afterward  handled  some 
real-estate  deals  and  in  January,  1910,  was  elected  to  the  presidency 
395 


396  (grncgt  Catgten0 

of  the  newly  organized  German- American  Bank  of  Seattle  and  has 
since  remained  at  the  head  of  that  institution.  He  has  been  the 
owner  of  property  in  Seattle  since  1889  and  now  has  extensive  and 
important  realty  holdings  from  which  he  derives  a  substantial  annual 
income.  His  business  affairs  have  been  wisely  directed  and  have 
brought  him  up  from  a  humble  position  in  the  business  world  to  a 
place  of  prominence  as  an  important  factor  in  the  financial  circles 
of  Seattle. 

In  September,  1892,  in  Seattle,  Washington,  Mr.  Carstens  was 
tmited  in  marriage  to  Miss  Ida  L.  Weiss,  a  daughter  of  Max  and 
Hattie  Weiss  and  a  representative  of  an  old  pioneer  family  of  West 
Bend,  Wisconsin.  They  have  no  children  of  their  own,  but  in  1909 
adopted  a  little  orphan  girl  named  Esther  Irene. 

During  the  period  of  his  residence  in  California,  Mr.  Carstens 
was  for  eight  (months  a  member  of  the  National  Guard  of  that  state 
but  resigned  upon  his  return  to  Seattle  in  1890.  In  politics  he  is  a 
republican  where  national  questions  and  issues  are  involved,  but  at 
local  and  state  elections  casts  an  independent  ballot.  He  belongs 
to  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  is  identified  with  the  Order  of  the  Golden 
West  and  has  been  president  and  chairman  of  the  board  of  trustees 
of  the  Seattle  Turnverein  through  the  past  six  years.  He  has  also 
been  treasurer  of  the  Arion  Singing  Society  for  two  years  and  has 
membership  with  the  Arctic  Club,  the  Deutscher  Club,  the  Seattle 
Commercial  Club  and  the  Seattle  New  Chamber  of  Commerce.  He 
is  first  vice  president  and  treasvu-er  of  the  Seattle  Commercial  Club 
and  his  interests  and  activities  have  been  of  a  character  that  have 
contributed  to  the  furtherance  of  its  projects  and  to  the  upbuilding 
and  development  of  the  city  in  various  ways.  His  own  struggle 
for  ascendency  has  made  him  sympathetic  with  others  who  are  trying 
to  gain  a  foothold  in  the  business  world  and  he  is  ever  ready  to  aid 
one  who  is  willing  to  help  himself.  His  life  of  activity  has  brought 
him  into  prominence  and  gained  for  him  success,  and  throughout  his 
entire  life  history  there  is  not  one  single  esoteric  chapter. 


^''''''^^ 


Cljarles;  3.  €ricfes;on 

(HARLES  J.  ERICKSON,  a  prominent  and  success- 

C.^  ful  contractor,  has  been  engaged  in  business  continu- 
es ously  in  Seattle  throughout  the  past  quarter  of  a 
\9J  century.  He  is  prominent  as  a  man  whose  constantly 
expanding  powers  have  taken  him  from  humble 
surrounding  to  the  field  of  large  enterprises  and 
continually  broadening  opportunities.  His  breadth  of  view  has  not 
only  recognized  possibilities  for  his  own  advancement  but  for  the 
city's  development  as  well,  and  his  lofty  patriotism  has  prompted 
him  to  utilize  the  latter  as  quickly  and  as  effectively  as  the  former. 
His  residence  in  Seattle  dates  from  1889  and  followed  nine  years 
spent  in  Minneapolis. 

His  birth  occurred  in  the  province  of  Westergotland,  Sweden, 
on  the  22d  of  June,  1852,  his  parents  being  Jonas  and  Kajsa  (Bengt- 
son)  Erickson.  The  father  remained  a  peasant  of  that  country 
until  1862,  when  he  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  the  United  States  and 
two  years  later  enlisted  for  service  in  the  Civil  war  as  a  soldier  of 
the  Union  army,  joining  the  Eleventh  Infantry  of  Minnesota.  He 
continued  a  resident  of  Minnesota,  engaging  in  contracting  and  rail- 
road construction  until  1900,  when  he  came  to  Seattle  and  here  spent 
the  remainder  of  his  life  with  our  subject,  passing  away  in  1910  at 
the  age  of  eighty-six  years.  The  mother  never  desired  to  come  to 
America,  preferring  to  remain  at  her  old  country  place,  where  her 
demise  occurred  when  she  had  attained  the  age  of  eighty-two,  in 
1909. 

Charles  J.  Erickson  attended  the  common  schools  in  the  acquire- 
ment of  an  education  and  spent  the  first  twenty-eight  years  of  his 
life  in  the  land  of  his  nativity.  In  1880  he  emigrated  to  the  United 
States  and  took  up  his  abode  in  Minneapolis,  Minnesota,  where  he 
followed  contracting  until  1889.  In  that  year  he  came  to  Seattle 
and  has  here  remained  in  business  as  a  contractor  to  the  present  time. 
He  started  in  a  very  small  way  with  but  one  or  two  helpers,  but  his 
business  has  steadily  grown  in  volume  and  importance  until  it  is  now 
quite  extensive.  Some  of  the  larger  contracts  which  he  has  executed 
include  the  Second,  Third  and  Fourth  avenue  regrades,  the  Pike 
street  regrade,  the  Twelfth  avenue  regrade,  the  Lake  Union  and 
399 


400  Cftatleg  %  (gtick0on 

Lake  Washington  sections  of  the  trunk  sewer  and  the  Puget  Sound 
dry  dock  No.  2  at  Bremerton.  He  has  been  awarded  and  is  now 
executing  a  contract  for  the  construction  of  a  railroad  in  the  Olympic 
Peninsula  from  Puget  Sound  west  to  Lake  Crescent.  Mr.  Erickson 
is  president  and  principal  stockholder  of  the  Preston  Mill  Company, 
president  of  the  National  Fishing  Company,  president  of  the  Erick- 
son Construction  Company,  director  of  the  Scandinavian- American 
Bank  and  the  State  Bank,  a  director  of  the  Norwegian  American 
Steamship  Line,  director  of  the  Seattle  &  Port  Angeles  Western 
Railroad  and  president  of  the  Port  Townsend  Puget  Sound  Railroad. 
What  a  man  does  and  what  he  attains  depends  largely  upon  his 
opportimities,  but  the  well  balanced  man  mentally  and  physically  is 
possessed  of  sufficient  courage  to  venture  where  favoring  opportunity 
is  presented  and  his  judgment  and  even-paced  energy  generally  carry 
him  forward  to  the  goal  of  success.  Mr.  Erickson  has  never  hesitated 
to  take  a  forward  step  when  the  way  was  open.  Though  content  with 
what  he  has  attained  as  he  has  gone  along,  he  has  always  been  ready  to 
make  an  advance.  Fortunate  in  possessing  ability  and  character  that 
inspire  confidence  in  others,  the  simple  weight  of  his  character  and 
abihty  has  carried  him  into  important  relations,  while  his  keen  dis- 
cernment and  carefully  managed  affairs  have  placed  him  in  a  most 
comfortable  financial  position. 

In  1877,  in  Sweden,  Mr.  Erickson  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Anna  E.  Larson,  a  daughter  of  Lars  Anderson.  Her  parents  were 
also  peasants  in  the  province  of  Westergotland,  the  mother  reaching 
the  age  of  sixty,  while  the  father  lived  to  be  eighty-six  years  old.  To 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Erickson  have  been  born  nine  children,  three  of  whom 
survive:  Charles  Edward,  Hilda  Katherine  and  George  Leonard, 
who  are  yet  under  the  parental  roof.  They  also  have  one  grandson, 
whose  mother  is  deceased. 

On  the  6th  of  October,  1911,  the  king  of  Sweden  conferred  upon 
Mr.  Erickson  the  knighthood  of  the  Royal  Order  of  Wasa  of  the  first 
class.  Mr.  Erickson  belongs  to  the  Arctic  Club  and  the  Swedish 
Business  Men's  Club,  and  his  religious  faith  is  indicated  by  his  mem- 
bership in  the  First  Baptist  church.  Pohtically  he  is  a  republican, 
earnest  in  support  of  the  party,  yet  without  ambition  for  office,  his 
interest  being  that  of  a  public- spirited  citizen.  He  is  chairman  of  the 
board  of  directors  of  Adelphia  College  and  this  is  but  one  evidence  of 
his  interest  in  aiFairs  relating  to  the  public  good.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the  United  States  and  also  a  member 
of  the  Seattle  Chamber  of  Commerce.  He  has  studied  pubhc  condi- 
tions, nor  has  he  ever  neglected  his  obligations  in  relation  to  public 


Cftacles  %  (gncbgon  401 

affairs  but  has  stood  loyally  in  support  of  plans  and  measures  which 
have  had  for  their  object  the  welfare  of  the  community  and  have  been 
far-reaching  and  beneficial  in  effect.  Moreover,  in  his  business  career 
he  has  made  steady  advancement.  Coming  to  the  new  world  as  a 
young  man,  he  availed  himself  of  the  opportunities  afforded  in  a  land 
imhampered  by  caste  or  class  and  lias  won  both  prosperity  and  an 
honored  name.  His  is  the  record  of  a  strenuous  hfe — the  record  of 
a  strong  individuality,  sure  of  itself,  stable  in  purpose,  quick  in  per- 
ception, swift  in  decision,  energetic  and  persistent  in  action. 


jDWARD  JOHN  O'DEA,  bishop  of  Seattle,  was 
born  November  23,  1856,  in  Boston,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  attended  private  school  for  a  short  time  be- 
fore he  departed  with  his  mother  and  younger  brother 
for  California  by  way  of  the  Isthmus  route.  At  San 
Francisco  he  entered  St.  Ignatius  College  on  Market 
street,  remaining  a  student  there  for  several  years.  In  1866,  however, 
his  parents  removed  to  Portland,  Oregon,  where  they  still  reside. 

After  a  few  years  spent  in  the  public  schools  Bishop  O'Dea  en- 
tered the  school  conducted  by  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Names  in  Port- 
land and  afterward  completed  his  classical  course  of  six  years  in  St. 
Michael's  College  in  the  same  city.  Following  his  graduation  from 
that  institution  he  entered  the  Grand  Seminary  in  Montreal,  Canada, 
where  he  studied  for  six  years  longer,  pursuing  courses  in  philosophy 
and  theology  and  thus  preparing  for  the  priesthood,  to  which  he  was 
ordained  December  23,  1882,  holy  orders  being  conferred  upon  him 
by  Archbishop  Fabre. 

Immediately  after  his  ordination  he  returned  to  Portland,  Oregon. 
He  was  the  first  resident  of  that  state  to  become  a  member  of  the 
priesthood.  Being  assigned  to  duty  at  the  cathedral,  he  served  there 
under  the  pioneer  Archbishop  Blanchet  and  the  martyred  Archbishop 
Charles  J.  Seghers.  Upon  the  arrival  of  Archbishop  William  H. 
Gross  from  Savannah,  Georgia,  he  was  appointed  his  secretary,  which 
position  he  occupied  for  ten  years,  when  he  was  made  pastor  of  St. 
Patrick's  church  in  Portland.  On  the  13th  of  June,  1896,  he  was 
created  a  bishop  and  was  consecrated  the  third  bishop  of  Nisqually  by 
Archbishop  Gross  in  Vancouver,  Washington,  September  8,  1896, 
succeeding  the  Right  Rev.  Aegidius  Junger,  whose  residence  was  at 
Vancouver,  Washington.  In  March,  1903,  Bishop  O'Dea  removed 
his  residence  temporarily  from  Vancouver  to  Seattle,  having  acquired 
a  home  on  Terry  avenue  near  Cherry  street,  just  a  block  from  the 
new  cathedral  on  Ninth  avenue.  Realizing  the  importance  that  Seat- 
tle would  soon  assume  as  the  great  trade  emporium  of  the  Pacific 
coast,  the  Bishop  petitioned  the  Pope  to  officially  transfer  his  resi- 
dence to  Seattle  and  received  a  favorable  answer  September  11,  1907, 
creating  the  diocese  of  Seattle.  St.  James  cathedral  was  dedicated 
405 


406  (gotoaco  31ot)n  ffl)'Dea 

December  22,  1907,  when  the  letter  of  Pope  Pius  X,  changing  the 
title  of  the  diocese  from  NisquaUy  to  Seattle,  was  read  before  a  great 
concourse  of  people.  The  diocese  of  NisquaUy  was  established  May 
31,  1850,  and  was  so  called  for  the  ancient  village  which  now  exists 
but  in  name  near  the  city  of  Olympia,  but  which  in  earlj'  times  was 
the  headquarters  of  the  powerful  NisquaUy  tribe  of  Indians,  among 
whom  the  pioneer  Catholic  missionaries  lived  and  labored  for  many 
years. 

The  progress  of  the  diocese  dm-ing  the  administration  of  Bishop 
O'Dea  may  be  estimated  by  the  f oUowing  facts :  When  he  took  charge 
in  1896  the  diocese  contained  only  thirty -nine  secular  priests;  twenty- 
foiu"  priests  of  religious  orders;  forty-one  chm-ches  with  resident 
priests;  forty-eight  missions  with  churches;  fovu-  coUeges  and  acade- 
mies for  boys;  fourteen  academies  for  yotmg  ladies;  five  orphan 
asylums;  eleven  hospitals;  and  a  Catholic  population  of  forty-two 
thousand.  In  the  year  1910  there  were  eighty-one  secular  priests; 
sixty-two  priests  of  religious  orders ;  seventy-eight  chiu-ches  with  resi- 
dent priests ;  one  hundred  and  two  missions  with  churches ;  six  colleges 
and  academies  for  boys;  nineteen  academies  for  young  ladies;  six 
orphan  asylimas;  thirteen  hospitals;  and  a  Catholic  population  of 
ninety  thousand. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1914  there  were  in  the  diocese  of 
Seattle,  one  himdred  and  two  diocesan  priests  and  seventy-two  priests 
of  religious  orders,  a  total  of  one  hundred  and  seventy- four  priests ; 
there  were  ninety-five  churches  with  resident  pastors  and  in  aU  two 
hundred  churches  in  the  diocese.  The  Cathohc  population  had  reached 
at  that  time  approximately  one  hundred  thousand.  Dvu-ing  the  resi- 
dence of  Bishop  O'Dea  in  Seattle,  the  nvmiber  of  churches  in  that 
city  has  increased  from  three  to  sixteen. 

Owing  to  the  growth  and  increasing  importance  of  the  state  of 
Washington,  the  establishment  of  a  new  diocese  east  of  the  Columbia 
river  had  become  of  paramovmt  necessity.  The  greater  good  of  the 
advancing  church  in  those  parts  and  the  spiritual  needs  of  the  faithful 
impelled  Bishop  O'Dea  to  lay  the  matter  before  the  Holy  See,  and 
accordingly  a  decree  was  issued  from  Rome,  bearing  date  of  Decem- 
ber 17,  1913,  by  which  the  diocese  of  Seattle  was  canonicaUy  dis- 
membered into  the  two  dioceses  of  Seattle  and  Spokane.  The  line  of 
division,  which  is  by  coimties,  runs  north  and  south,  and  happens  to 
be  very  nearly  coincident  with  the  120th  meridian.  In  the  same  de- 
cree, pending  the  election  of  a  bishop.  Bishop  O'Dea  was  appointed 
administrator  of  the  new  diocese,  a  position  which  he  retained  until 
June  18,  1914,  when  Right  Reverend  Augustine  F.  Schinner,  pre- 


(gPtoatP  3[of)n  ffl)'Dea  407 

viously  bishop  of  Superior,  was  solemnly  installed  as  the  first  bishop 
of  Spokane. 

Thus  from  the  old  diocese  of  Nisqually  under  the  administration 
of  Bishop  O'Dea  have  sprung  in  a  comparatively  few  years,  two  well 
organized  and  flourishing  dioceses.  That  of  Seattle,  over  which  Bishop 
O'Dea  continues  to  rule,  though  now  reduced  to  about  one-half  its 
former  territory,  with  about  two-thirds  of  the  Catholic  population  it 
embraced  when  it  covered  the  entire  state  of  Washington,  is  yet,  in 
point  of  the  number  of  its  priests  and  people,  its  chvu-ches  and  religious 
institutions,  in  the  foremost  rank  among  the  ecclesiastical  divisions 
of  the  great  northwest. 


'/[yV^-U^^ 


Captain  g>imon  ^eter  l^antiolpf) 

)APTAIN  SIMON  PETER  RANDOLPH  was  one 

of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  the  northwest  and  related 
many  interesting  incidents  of  the  early  days.  Now 
that  he  is  no  longer  able  to  tell  the  story,  for  death 
has  called  him,  it  is  fitting  that  his  memory  should  be 
perpetuated  as  one  who  contributed  to  early  progress 
and  improvement  here.  At  the  same  time  it  is  meet  that  mention.be 
made  of  his  widow,  who  is  now  Uving  in  Seattle  and  who  was  his  com- 
panion and  helpmate  through  all  the  days  when  the  hardships  and  trials 
of  frontier  hfe  were  to  be  met  as  well  as  through  the  later  days  of 
prosperity  when  kindlier  circumstances  made  life  easier.  Captain 
Randolph  was  born  in  Logan  county,  Illinois,  January  10,  1835,  a 
son  of  Brooks  Randolph,  who  was  a  farmer  and  "circuit  rider" 
Methodist  Episcopal  minister.  He  belonged  to  a  well  known  old 
Virginia  family  but  in  pioneer  times  removed  westward  to  Illinois, 
settling  in  Logan  county  about  the  time  of  the  Black  Hawk  war,  the 
family  experiencing  all  of  the  hardships,  privations  and  trials  of 
pioneer  life. 

Amid  such  conditions  and  surroundings  Captain  Randolph  was 
reared  and  on  the  30th  of  January,  1856,  he  married  Catherine  Breck- 
enridge,  of  Springfield,  Illinois,  a  daughter  of  Hon.  Preston  Breck- 
enridge.  He  was  a  Kentuckian  and  was  related  to  the  Breckenridge 
family  prominent  in  that  state.  In  1834  he  and  his  wife,  Catherine, 
and  four  sons — Alexander,  Hugh,  Cornelius  and  Joseph  Brecken- 
ridge— removed  to  Illinois,  establishing  their  home  in  Sangamon 
county,  and  there  he  brought  up  his  family  of  eight  sons  and  five 
daughters.  His  homestead  was  situated  near  the  south  fork  of  the 
Sangamon  river.  He  became  a  very  prominent  man  in  his  com- 
munity and  was  chosen  to  represent  his  district  in  the  state  legislature. 
It  is  a  matter  of  history  that  he  defeated  Abraham  Lincoln  in  the 
convention  for  the  nomination  to  the  general  assembly.  Not  only  did 
he  engage  in  farming  but  also  operated  a  lumber  and  flour  mill  with 
water  power  from  the  south  fork  of  the  Sangamon. 

It  was  his  daughter  Catherine  who  became  the  wife  of  Captain 
Simon  P.  Randolph.    She  has  the  distinction  of  being  one  of  the  chil- 
411 


412  Captain  ^imon  peter  KanPolpj} 

dren  who  in  1847  signed  the  pledge  prepared  by  Abraham  Lincohi, 
which  reads  as  follows:  "Whereas,  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors  as 
a  beverage  is  productive  of  pauperism,  degredation  and  crime,  and 
believing  it  is  our  duty  to  discourage  that  which  produces  more  evil 
than  good,  we  therefore  pledge  ovu-selves  to  abstain  from  the  use  of 
intoxicating  liquors  as  a  beverage."  Although  she  is  seventy-seven 
years  of  age,  she  clearly  recalls  incidents  of  her  girlhood  when  she 
pursued  her  education  in  one  of  the  httle  old  time  log  schoolhouses 
near  her  father's  farm  in  Sangamon  county,  Illinois.  She  was  but 
nine  years  of  age  when  she  signed  the  Lincoln  pledge  on  a  Simday 
afternoon  at  a  meeting  which  was  held  in  the  schoolhouse  yard  and 
which  was  addressed  by  the  young  Illinois  lawyer  who  afterward  be- 
came the  president  of  the  United  States. 

For  a  few  months  after  their  marriage  Captain  and  Mrs.  Ran- 
dolph remained  residents  of  Illinois  but  in  1856  removed  to  Council 
Bluffs,  Iowa,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  took  up  a  preemption  claim 
in  Sarpy  county,  Nebraska,  in  the  Platte  river  valley,  about  twenty- 
five  mUes  from  Omaha.  Following  the  discovery  of  gold  near  Pike's 
Peak,  Colorado,  in  1859  Captain  Randolph  went  to  Denver  and  then 
proceeded  to  the  moimtains  and  followed  mining.  In  the  spring  his 
wife  went  out  with  a  brother's  family  and  joined  him.  They  went  to 
the  valley  for  the  winter,  fifty-two  mQes  below  Denver,  where  they 
kept  the  station  for  the  overland  express  company,  rimning  between 
Leavenworth  and  Denver.  In  the  spring  they  returned  to  Pleasant 
Valley,  Russels  Gulch,  near  Gregory,  and  there  remained  for  about 
two  years,  during  which  period  their  son  Brooks  was  born.  Captain 
Randolph  was  there  engaged  in  placer  mining  and  afterward  removed 
to  Twin  Lakes,  near  Leadville,  where  he  erected  and  conducted  a 
storage  and  commission  house,  that  being  as  far  as  teams  could  go, 
the  next  range  of  moimtains  being  very  steep  and  difficult  to  cross. 
X.  Beedler  carried  the  freight  from  there  on  with  his  pack  train  of 
JNIexican  donkeys.  About  two  years  were  also  spent  bj'^  the  family 
at  that  place.  During  her  experience  upon  the  western  frontier  Mrs. 
Randolph  many  tunes  furnished  meals  for  prospectors  who  had  lost 
their  way  or  were  bhnded  by  the  snow  of  the  mountains.  They  dwelt 
in  the  mountains  of  Colorado  xmtil  1862,  when,  on  account  of  the 
Indian  outbreaks,  they  returned  to  Nebraska,  where  Captain  Ran- 
dolph enlisted  in  Company  D  of  the  Second  Nebraska  Cavalry.  He 
served  the  time  of  his  enlistment,  received  an  honorable  discharge  and 
was  receiving  a  pension  at  the  tune  of  his  death.  In  1864,  following 
the  excitement  attendant  upon  gold  discoveries  in  Idaho,  they  went 
to  that  district  and  again  lived  among  the  mountams,  while  Captain 


(Zc^^JJLeU\A^^-^^  k  (lij^yy/\<dj^-j^ 


Captain  ^imon  petet  EanDolpi)  4i5 

Randolph  followed  quartz  mining  as  a  business.  In  the  winter  of 
1864-5,  when  the  deep  snow  cut  off  communication  with  the  valley, 
the  mining  camp  became  nearly  destitute  for  want  of  provisions.  Mrs. 
Randolph  divided  their  last  four  pounds  of  flour  with  a  neighbor.  At 
last,  no  help  coming,  at  night  when  the  crust  of  the  snow  froze  suffi- 
ciently to  bear  a  man's  weight,  Captain  Randolph,  who  was  the  only 
man  wilhng  to  take  the  venture,  went  on  snowshoes,  drawing  a  little 
sled,  in  search  of  needed  supplies,  traveling  twenty-five  or  thirty  miles. 
The  trip  was  a  difficult  and  arduous  one  but  he  returned  in  safety,  the 
sled  laden  with  provisions. 

In  1865  Captain  and  Mrs.  Randolph  with  their  family  went  to 
Umatilla,  Oregon,  where  they  remained  until  the  fall  of  1868,  and 
while  there  Captain  Randolph  assisted  in  the  construction  of  a  steamer 
and  took  it  down  the  Columbia  river  to  Portland  over  the  Dalles  Falls, 
a  very  dangerous  undertaking,  as  there  had  been  but  one  steamer 
taken  over  The  Dalles  before.  Rrnnors  that  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad  terminus  would  be  located  at  Seattle  decided  Captain  Ran- 
dolph to  come  to  this  city,  it  being  his  behef  that  it  would  be  a  better 
place  to  locate.  He  arrived  in  the  fall  of  1868  and  was  joined  by 
Mrs.  Randolph  and  the  children  in  the  spring  of  1869.  At  first  he 
was  engaged  in  transporting  coal  for  the  Lake  Washington  Coal 
Company  from  Newcastle  to  Seattle  on  the  scow  Good  Templar, 
which  was  propelled  by  poles.  He  later  built  the  steamer  Fannie, 
finding  the  Good  Templar  too  heavy  for  the  trade,  and  afterwards 
used  barges  for  carrying  coal.  In  1870  he  owned  and  navigated  the 
first  steamer  on  Lake  Washington,  which  was  named  Fannie  and 
which  he  used  in  transporting  coal  from  Newcastle  to  the  portage  on 
the  lake,  and  he  was  proud  of  the  fact  that  he  blew  the  first  steamboat 
whistle  heard  on  Lake  Washington.  He  afterward  built  the  steamer 
Comet,  which  his  wife  named.  He  always  superintended  and  assisted 
in  building  his  boats.  He  ran  the  Comet  on  the  Duwamish  and 
White  rivers  for  several  years,  carrying  passengers  and  freight  to  and 
from  Seattle,  and  many  of  the  old  farmers  Avill  remember  Captain 
Randolph  and  the  Comet.  His  business,  however,  required  a  larger 
steamer  and  he  built  the  Edith  R.,  with  which  he  navigated  the  Snoho-^ 
mish  and  Nooksack  rivers,  carrying  freight  and  passengers  between 
Whatcom  and  Lynden.  After  practically  retiring  he  was  engaged 
by  Ehsha  Alvord,  one  of  the  White  River  farmers,  now  engaged  in 
mining  talc  on  the  Upper  Skagit,  in  carrying  talc  from  the  mines  to 
Rockport,  where  he  connected  with  the  railroads.  He  built  the  boat 
Tolo  for  Mr.  Alvord  and  took  it  up  to  the  mines  about  1905,  Mrs. 
Randolph  accompanying  him  on  the  trip.    Owing  to  the  lateness  of 


416  Captam  ^imon  petct  BanDolpi> 

the  season,  they  encountered  many  obstacles  on  account  of  low  water 
but  finally  reached  their  destination. 

To  Captain  and  Mrs.  Randolph  were  born  seven  children,  four  of 
whom  died  in  infancy  or  early  childhood.  Of  those  who  reached  adult 
age,  Preston  Brooks  was  born  in  Gilpin  county,  Colorado,  in  1860  and 
is  a  resident  of  Seattle.  He  married  Agnes  Delphine  Monroe  and 
they  have  five  children,  namely :  Ethel  Agnes,  Kendall  Brooks,  Elsie 
May,  Arthur  Monroe  and  Preston  Breckenridge ;  and  one  grandchild, 
Louise  Higbee.  The  daughter  May,  born  in  Umatilla,  Oregon,  in 
1866,  became  the  wife  of  A.  Robinson,  a  real  estate  dealer  of  Seattle. 
She  has  since  passed  away,  leaving  a  son,  Walter  Randolph.  The 
other  daughter,  Edith,  born  in  Seattle  in  1870,  is  the  wife  of  A.  C. 
Warner,  of  Seattle,  and  they  have  three  children :  Alice,  Edith  Ruth 
and  William  Randolph. 

There  is  no  phase  of  pioneer  life  west  of  the  Mississippi  with 
which  Captain  and  Mrs.  Randolph  did  not  become  familiar  and  her 
stories  of  the  Indians  and  her  experiences  of  the  frontier  while  living 
in  the  different  places  of  the  west  and  northwest  would  fill  a  volume 
and  prove  a  most  interesting  tale.  Captain  Randolph  was  a  very  fine 
shot  with  the  rifle  and  with  the  revolver  and  because  of  his  skill  in  this 
direction  he  could  at  almost  any  time  supply  his  table  with  game,  it 
being  no  unusual  thing  for  him  to  bring  down  an  antelope  or  a  deer. 
Mrs.  Randolph  belongs  to  Stevens  Relief  Corps,  and  for  forty  years 
has  been  a  devoted  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  In  early 
days  she  was  an  enthusiastic  worker  in  the  church,  when  such  workers 
were  scarce.  Her  home,  her  children,  her  church  were  her  chief  objects 
in  life,  not  caring  for  society.  Captain  Randolph  also  held  member- 
ship in  the  Presbyterian  church,  his  life  conforming  to  its  teachings. 
He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Pioneer  Association,  with  which  Mrs. 
Randolph  is  still  identified.  His  political  allegiance  was  given  to  the 
republican  party  and  he  was  ever  a  stalwart  champion  of  its  principles. 
He  passed  away  in  Seattle  January  15, 1909,  after  passing  the  seventy- 
fourth  milestone  on  life's  journey.  There  was  no  feature  of  the  city's 
growth  and  development  with  which  he  was  not  acquainted,  for  he 
came  here  in  the  period  of  Seattle's  villagehood  and  lived  to  see  the 
hills  which  border  the  lake  and  sound  covered  by  comfortable,  at- 
tractive homes,  connected  by  wide  streets  and  broad  boulevards,  while 
the  business  section  has  also  expanded,  covering  a  wide  area.  It  is 
long  since  he  blew  the  fiirst  steamboat  whistle  on  Lake  Washington, 
and  conditions  have  greatly  changed.  Mrs.  Randolph  in  recounting 
reminiscences  of  pioneer  times  in  Seattle  says,  "There  is  one  thing 
that  I  think  of  with  pleasure  and  I  am  glad  I  had  a  part  in  it.    It  is 


Captain  ^imon  petct  KanDoIplj 


417 


the  building  of  the  first  raikoad  into  the  city.  But  that  is  a  story  of 
some  length."  The  memory  of  these  worthy  pioneers  should  be  per- 
petuated and  the  story  of  the  part  which  they  took  in  developing  the 
civilization  of  the  northwest  should  be  told  again  and  again  by  a  pubhc 
gratefid  to  them  for  their  efforts. 


C  -  Cf-^-t^-^^^^o-iiu^-t^x^,^^ 


Cornelius  #s;gettiartr 

(ORNELIUS  OSSEWARD  is  conducting  an  exten- 
sive and  profitable  drug  business  under  the  name  of 
Osseward's  Pharmacy.  This  was  the  first  exclusive 
prescription  pharmacy  on  the  Pacific  coast  and  has 
always  set  the  standard  for  business  activity  of  this 
character.  Mr.  Osseward  was  born  December  12, 
1866,  at  Wissenkerke,  in  the  province  of  Zeeland  in  the  Netherlands. 
His  father,  P.  Osseward,  also  a  native  of  that  country,  came  to  Amer- 
ica with  his  family  in  1881  and  settled  in  the  east.  He  was  a  carpenter 
and  builder  by  trade  and  continued  in  business  along  those  lines  until 
his  death.  His  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Anna  De  Smit,  is 
also  a  native  of  Holland  and  now  resides  in  Kalamazoo,  Michigan. 
In  their  family  were  three  daughters  and  two  sons. 

Cornelius  Osseward,  the  second  in  order  of  birth,  was  educated  in 
the  district  schools  of  his  native  country  and  in  Northwestern  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago,  where  he  completed  a  course  and  was  graduated 
with  the  Ph.  C.  degree  as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1896.  Coming  to 
the  northwest  he  was  first  employed  by  the  firm  of  Stewart  &  Holmes, 
of  Seattle,  for  a  period  of  four  years.  He  arrived  in  this  city  in  1899 
and  after  his  period  of  clerkship,  established  his  present  business, 
having  the  first  exclusive  prescription  pharmacy  on  the  Pacific  coast. 
He  now  has  an  extensive  establishment  well  appointed  and  containing 
all  lines  of  drugs  for  prescription  work.  His  patronage  is  now  very 
extensive  and  his  success  is  the  legitimate  outcome  of  well  defined 
plans,  carefully  executed,  and  of  thoroughly  reliable  dealing.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  State  Pharmaceutical  Association  and  has  served 
as  president  and  as  a  member  of  various  committees.  He  also  belongs 
to  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Association  and  has  just  completed 
a  term  as  chairman  of  section  on  practical  pharmacy  and  dispension. 
He  also  lectures  on  practical  pharmacy  at  the  University  of  Wash- 
ington. He  has  been  a  member  of  the  state  board  of  pharmacy  for 
six  years,  now  serving  under  the  appointment  of  the  governor  for  a 
second  term  of  five  years. 

On  the  19th  of  May,  1903,  Mr.  Osseward  was  married  in  Seattle, 
to  Miss  Lena  Shank,  a  native  of  Washington  and  a  daughter  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Charles  H.  Shank.    They  have  become  the  parents  of  four 
421 


422 


Cotneliu0  iSDsdetoatD 


children.  John,  born  in  Seattle,  June  12,  1904;  Adriana,  born 
December  20,  1906;  Peter,  August  13,  1908;  and  James,  February, 
12, 1911.  Mr.  Osseward  holds  membership  with  the  Benevolent  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks.  He  has  led  a  busy  life  characterized  by  an 
unfaltering  purpose  and  actuated  by  laudable  ambition.  The  strength 
of  his  character  is  shown  in  the  fact  that  he  made  his  own  way  through 
the  university  and  that  his  success  has  been  gained  entirely  through 
his  own  efforts.  As  the  years  have  come  and  gone  he  has  held  to  a 
fixed  purpose  and  in  all  his  career  has  never  deviated  from  the  highest 
standard  of  commercial  ethics,  conducting  his  business  along  modern 
lines  and  winning  an  honorable  and  gratifying  success. 


Patrick  Jf  ramig  JPurcell 

ATRICK  FRANCIS  PURCELL,  founder  of  the 
W'  y-^  SS  Pui'cell  Safe  Company  of  Seattle  and  president  of 
C  2  \-^  C  9  the  business  since  its  inception,  belongs  to  that  class 
^  ?  ^5     of  men  who  have  recognized  the  opportunities  of  the 

li^S3^m  ^°^"th^^^t  and,  utilizing  those  opportunities  to  good 
advantage,  have  reached  a  j)osition  of  leadership  in 
business  and  financial  circles.  Various  corporations  have  felt  the 
stimulus  of  the  efforts  and  enterprise  of  Mr.  Purcell,  who  is  an  officer 
in  a  number  of  important  companies. 

A  native  of  Ireland,  he  was  born  at  Breanermore,  in  County 
Tipperary,  August  7,  1869,  a  son  of  Martin  and  Katherine  (Ahem) 
Purcell,  the  former  of  English  lineage,  while  the  latter  was  of  pure 
Irish  descent.  Six  generations  of  the  family  lived  on  the  old  family 
homestead  at  Breanermore  where  Patrick  F.  Purcell  was  born.  He 
was  educated  under  private  tutors  until  the  spring  of  1885,  when,  at 
the  age  of  fifteen  years,  he  came  to  the  United  States.  He  then  went 
west  and  for  two  years  rode  the  range  in  Kansas  and  Nebraska  for 
the  American  Cattle  Company,  but  he  was  ambitious  to  engage  in 
business  on  his  own  account  and  began  dealing  in  horses  and  cattle  at 
Benkleman,  Nebraska.  After  a  year  he  left  that  place  and  engaged 
in  prospecting  in  the  mountains  of  Colorado  for  two  years.  Later  he 
went  to  New  York,  where  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  well  known 
safe  manufacturers,  Marvin  &  Company.  Since  then  he  has  devoted 
his  entire  time  to  that  line  of  business  and  excellent  success  has 
attended  his  efforts.  After  many  years  with  that  company  and  with 
the  E.  C.  Morris  Company  he  came  to  Seattle  in  December,  1902,  and 
he  organized  the  Purcell  Safe  Company,  of  which  he  has  since  been 
the  president.  He  is  also  president  of  the  Malto  Brau  Distributing 
Company.  His  interests  are  broad  and  important  and  his  business 
activity  has  been  of  a  character  that  has  carried  him  steadily  forward 
and  won  for  him  a  prominent  position  among  the  strong,  resourceful 
and  capable  men  of  the  northwest. 

On  the  7th  of  January,  1908,  Mr.  Purcell  was  united  in  marriage 

to  Mrs.  Martha  May  (Triplett)  Van  De  Vanter,  a  daughter  of  Silas 

D.  and  Rebecca  M.  Triplett.     Mr.  Purcell  holds  hfe  membership  in 

the  Arctic  Club,  the  Seattle  Athletic  Club,  the  Commercial  Club  and 

425 


426  patticb  jFtancis  putcell 

the  Chamber  of  Commerce — associations  which  indicate  the  nature  of 
his  interests  outside  the  strict  path  of  business.  He  has  quahties  which 
have  gained  him  personal  popularity  and  he  has  appreciation  for  the 
social  amenities  of  life,  yet  he  never  allows  outside  interests  to  inter- 
fere with  the  capable  conduct  of  his  business  aifairs,  and  today  the 
PurceE  Safe  Company  is  widely  known  in  the  northwest  and  other 
business  interests  with  which  he  is  associated  have  become  prominent 
factors  in  commercial  circles  of  this  section  of  the  country. 


■•"^fe-H.     ""-"-^-•Sfc    - 


c::7^''';a-z— 1^-   '<J,  <7  /-■^--T/^-)'T_^-'-u-<' 


fofjn  ®.  ^ijomass 


)OHN  D.  THOMAS  spent  the  latter  years  of  his  hfe 

J.^.  m  Seattle.  He  was  born  in  Wales  in  1831,  a  son  of 
j3i  John  and  Ann  (Davis)  Thomas,  who  were  likewise 
w/  natives  of  that  country,  the  father's  birth  having 
occurred  in  1799,  while  the  mother  was  born  in  1803. 
John  D.  Thomas  spent  the  years  of  his  boyhood  and 
youth  in  Wales  and  acquired  his  education  in  its  schools.  On  the  15th 
of  April,  1882,  he  was  imited  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mattie  A.  Doe, 
their  wedding  being  celebrated  in  California.  They  became  the  par- 
ents of  three  children.  Ethel  M.  married  R.  C.  Ross  and  died  in  1911, 
leaving  one  child,  Kathleen.  The  second  member  of  the  family,  John 
D.,  is  a  resident  of  Seattle,  but  the  eldest,  Anna,  died  in  infancy. 

After  coming  to  this  country  Mr.  Thomas  traveled  to  a  considera- 
ble extent,  visiting  various  places,  remaining  for  a  longer  or  shorter 
period  as  he  deemed  it  wise  and  expedient.  Finally  he  settled  in 
Butte,  Montana,  where  he  engaged  in  the  wholesale  and  retail  grocery 
business,  becoming  one  of  the  early  and  successful  merchants  of  that 
place.  He  built  one  of  the  first  brick  blocks  in  Butte  and  later  when 
he  wished  to  leave  that  place  he  reorganized  the  business  with  a  stock 
company.  The  enterprise  proved  a  marked  success,  being  carefully 
directed  and  managed  by  Mr.  Thomas.  In  1890,  however,  he  left 
Montana  and  came  to  Seattle,  where  he  continued  to  reside  until  called 
to  his  final  rest  April  16,  1898.  He  had  been  to  this  state  previous  to 
that  time  and  had  purchased  property  on  Fourth  and  Pike  streets. 
His  brother  Lewis  also  came  to  Seattle  and  Mr.  Thomas  erected  a 
store  building  and  ordered  a  stock  of  goods  in  order  to  establish  liis 
brother  in  the  grocery  business.  But  Lewis  Thomas  died  before  the 
opening  of  the  store,  so  that  John  D.  Thomas  disposed  of  the  stock  of 
goods,  not  caring  himself  to  assume  the  burdens  and  responsibilities 
of  merchandising.  He  did  not  wish  to  engage  in  business  here  but 
dealt  to  some  extent  in  real  estate.  He  went  to  Victoria,  British 
Columbia,  and  purchased  one  acre  of  land  on  what  is  now  Dallas  road 
but  did  not  find  that  as  attractive  a  place  of  residence  as  Seattle,  so  he 
returned  to  this  city.  His  widow,  however,  still  owns  some  property 
on  Dallas  road.    Mr.  Thomas  believed  in  Seattle  and  its  possibilities 


430 


3Ioi)n  D.  Ci)oma0 


of  development  and  in  fact  was  a  most  public-spirited  man,  always 
doing  what  he  could  to  further  the  welfare  of  his  adopted  city. 

In  religious  belief  Mr.  Thomas  was  an  Episcopalian,  holding 
membership  in  St.  Mark's  church.  In  Masonry  he  attained  high  rank, 
having  reached  the  thirty-second  degree  of  the  Scottish  Rite.  Every- 
where he  was  spoken  of  in  terms  of  kindness  and  respect.  His  life 
proved  the  truth  of  the  Emersonian  philosophy  that  the  way  to  win 
a  friend  is  to  be  one.  He  had  many  sterling  traits  of  character,  was 
a  devoted  husband  and  father  and  held  friendship  inviolable.  He 
neglected  none  of  the  duties  of  life  and  improved  his  opportimities 
and  at  all  times  manifested  those  traits  of  kindliness,  goodwill  and 
helpfulness  which  are  considered  the  graces  of  character. 


UUtIhi^m^^ 


^j<*>''»^Ji-i>     l5'^^^^^;t-<^^-t,-M;v*^^.'^ 


3f antes!  ^jjannon,  ill.B» 

jR.  JAMES  SHANNON,  a  medical  practitioner  of 
Seattle,  was  born  in  Marmora,  Ontario,  Canada,  on 
the  6th  of  April,  1859,  a  son  of  Daniel  and  Margaret 
Shannon,  After  attending  the  public  schools  of  his 
native  province  he  continued  his  education  in  St. 
Catherine's  (Ont.)  Collegiate  Institute  and  in  the 
Ottawa  Normal  School.  Crossing  the  border  into  the  United  States 
to  become  a  resident  of  the  republic,  he  later  attended  the  University 
of  California  as  a  medical  student  and  was  graduated  on  the  loth  of 
November,  1887.  Thus  equipped  for  practice,  he  opened  an  office  in 
Seattle  in  1887  and  has  since  remained,  devoting  liis  entire  attention 
to  his  professional  duties,  which  have  grown  in  volume  and  impor- 
tance as  he  has  become  more  and  more  widely  known  and  as  his  ability 
has  been  recognized  by  the  general  public.  He  has  financial  interests 
of  importance,  being  a  director  in  the  Bank  for  Savings  and  in  the 
Washington  Building  &  Savings  Bank,  both  of  Seattle. 

On  the  21st  of  May,  1891,  in  the  city  where  he  yet  makes  his  home, 
Dr.  Shannon  was  married  to  Miss  Monica  Crookall,  a  daughter  of 
Charles  Crookall,  of  Berlin,  Ontario.  They  are  now  the  parents  of 
three  sons  and  a  daughter:  Charles  D.,  Ai-thur  A.,  Edward  and 
Mary  Monica. 

Dr.  Shannon  is  a  Roman  Catholic  in  religious  faith  and  is  identi- 
fied with  the  Knights  of  Columbus.  He  also  belongs  to  the  Benevo- 
lent Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  to  the  University  Club,  and  he  finds 
pleasant  association  with  men  of  learning,  his  tastes  being  along  the 
lines  of  higher  culture. 


M^<fUu^ 


)ONCENTRATION  of  purpose,  well  defined  and 
carefully  executed  plans  and  a  creditable  ambition 
have  brought  Morris  A.  Arnold  to  a  central  place  on 
the  stage  of  banking  activity  in  the  northwest.  Prac- 
tically throughout  his  entire  life  he  has  been  con- 
nected with  the  banking  institutions  and  inherited 
tendency  and  early  environment  as  well  as  natural  predilection  may 
have  had  something  to  do  with  his  choice  of  a  life  work,  for  his  father, 
R.  R.  Arnold,  was  for  forty  years  president  of  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Mexico,  Missom-i,  so  that  the  son  was  "to  the  manner  born." 
His  mother  in  her  maidenhood  was  Ophelia  Elizabeth  Morris.  The 
maternal  grandfather.  Judge  John  Bingle  Morris,  settled  in  Mexico, 
Missouri,  in  1832,  and  built  the  first  residence  and  store  building  in 
that  town.  He  conducted  the  fii-st  mercantile  enterprise  there,  was 
the  first  postmaster,  and  the  first  judge  of  the  county  court.  He  was 
a  personal  friend  of  Judge  Moss,  father  of  Mrs.  Morris  A.  Arnold, 
and  they  practiced  in  adjoining  counties.  Judge  Moss  was  circuit 
attorney  and  on  horseback  made  the  trips  to  the  courts  in  surrounding 
counties.  Becoming  a  resident  of  Mexico,  Judge  John  B.  Morris 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  days  there.  He  had  a  large  family,  many 
of  whom  are  still  living  in  Mexico  and  its  vicinity.  An  old  illustration 
in  possession  of  Mr.  Arnold  shows  a  monument  erected  to  the  mem- 
ory of  Judge  Morris  which  bears  the  inscription :  "This  unique  monu- 
ment in  memory  of  John  B.  Morris,  former  district  judge,  postmaster 
and  county  clerk,  who  built  the  first  residence  and  business  building 
in  Mexico  in  1836." 

Morris  A.  Arnold  was  born  at  Mexico,  Missouri,  May  1,  1866, 
and  supplemented  the  public  school  education  acquired  in  his  native 
city  by  a  course  in  the  Missouri  State  University.  He  then  made  his 
initial  step  in  the  business  world  in  1888  as  an  employe  in  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Mexico,  after  which  he  went  to  St.  Louis  and 
accepted  the  position  of  bookkeeper  in  the  Third  National  Bank  of 
that  city.  He  started  upon  an  independent  career  by  establishing 
the  Farmers  &  Merchants  Bank  at  Centralia,  Missouri,  of  which  he 
was  cashier  until  April,  1897,  when  he  resigned  to  accept  the  proffered 
439 


440  Qgoctig  21,  3tnolD 

office  of  state  bank  examiner  of  Missouri.  During  his  occupancy  of 
that  office  he  made  examination  of  all  the  trust  companies,  which  were 
at  that  time  the  largest  institutions  of  the  character  in  the  state.  He 
retired  from  the  position  of  bank  examiner  after  a  four  years'  incum- 
bency and  removed  to  Montana,  where  he  was  largely  interested  in 
banking,  land,  cattle  and  other  business  enterprises. 

Mr.  Ai-nold's  identification  with  Seattle  dates  from  July  1,  1907, 
when  he  became  president  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  this  city 
and  his  high  standing  in  banking  circles  is  indicated  in  the  fact  that  in 
August,  1908,  he  was  elected  to  the  presidency  of  the  Clearing  House 
Association.  He  is  a  director  of  the  Fisher  Flouring  Mills  Company 
of  Seattle,  a  director  and  vice  president  of  the  Hofius  Steel  & 
Equipment  Company  and  executor  of  the  W.  D.  Hofius  estate. 

On  the  11th  of  October,  1893,  Mr.  Arnold  was  married  to  Miss 
Georgie  Moss,  of  Paris,  Missouri,  a  daughter  of  Judge  David  Hick- 
man and  Melville  E.  (Hollingsworth)  Moss,  the  former  the  president 
of  the  National  Bank  of  Paris,  Missouri,  and  both  now  deceased. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arnold  became  the  parents  of  one  son,  Lawrence  M., 
who  was  born  November  29,  1894,  and  is  now  a  student  in  Cornell 
University  at  Ithaca,  New  York.  In  club  circles  Mr.  Arnold  is  well 
known,  holding  membership  with  the  Rainier,  Seattle  Golf  and  Uni- 
versity Clubs.  While  in  Montana  he  was  actively  connected  with  St. 
Luke's  Episcopal  church  at  Billings,  being  senior  warden  at  one  time. 
He  is  a  man  of  well  balanced  capacities  and  powers  and  has  made 
steady  advancement  since  his  initial  effort  was  made  in  the  field  of 
business,  his  labors  having  found  culmination  in  the  development  of 
important  banking  interests  and  in  the  promotion  of  large  commer- 
cial enterprises. 


|N  the  history  of  the  bar  of  Seattle  the  name  of  Zepha- 
niah  B.  Rawson  appears  in  prominent  connections, 
for  he  has  long  practiced  at  the  bar  of  this  city  and 
his  ability  has  placed  him  in  rank  among  the  fore- 
most representatives  of  the  legal  fraternity  in  the 
northwest.  The  width  of  the  continent  separates 
him  from  his  birthplace.  He  was  born  in  Paris,  Maine,  in  1858,  and 
is  a  representative  of  one  of  the  old  colonial  families,  the  line  being 
traced  back  to  Edward  Rawson,  a  native  of  England,  who  made  the 
voyage  across  the  Atlantic  in  one  of  the  old-time  saihng  vessels  in 
the  year  1636.  He  was  a  man  of  prominence  and  influence  in  his  com- 
munity and  for  thirty-six  years,  from  1650  until  1686,  was  secretary 
of  the  Massachusetts  colony.  He  was  also  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Old  South  church  of  Boston  and  bore  an  important  part  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  policy  of  the  colony  in  the  early  days.  The  family 
is  one  well  known  and  honored  in  England  to  this  day  and  its  mem- 
bers yet  hold  high  offices  in  the  navy,  while  one  is  a  member  of  the 
house  of  lords.  At  the  time  of  the  Revolutionary  war  the  branch  of 
the  family  that  had  been  founded  in  this  country  was  represented  by 
soldiers  who  loyally  defended  the  interests  of  the  colonists  and  won 
independence  for  the  nation.  Since  then  the  name  has  become  insep- 
arably interwoven  with  important  events  in  the  history  of  both  New 
England  and  the  central  states.  On  the  military  record,  too,  the 
name  of  Rawson  figures  prominently  and  honorably  and  it  has  become 
a  synonym  for  progressive  citizenship. 

Frank  M.  Rawson,  the  father  of  Z.  B.  Rawson,  was  born  in  Paris, 
Maine,  and  devoted  his  life  to  general  farming,  thus  providing  for  the 
support  of  his  family.  He  held  membership  in  the  Methodist  church 
and  guided  his  actions  by  its  teachings,  his  course  at  all  times  meas- 
uring up  to  the  high  standards  of  the  church.  He  passed  away  when 
his  son  was  six  years  of  age.  His  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name 
of  Vesta  A.  Whitman,  is  still  living  and  resides  with  her  son, 
Zephaniah  B. 

Zephaniah  B.  Rawson  remained  at  home  until  he  reached  the  age 
of  twelve  years  and  supplemented  his  early  educational  training  by 
a  preparatory  course  in  the  Maine  Wesleyan  Seminary  at  Kent's 
443 


444  ^epbaniab  "B^  Eatogon 

Hill.  He  was  ambitious  to  acquire  a  good  education  and  earned  his 
own  way  through  school  from  the  time  that  he  reached  the  age  of 
thirteen.  He  made  the  most  excellent  use  of  his  opportimities  and 
his  talents  and  in  his  studies  advanced  rapidly,  recognizing,  as  few 
boys  do,  the  value  of  education  as  a  preparation  for  life's  practical 
and  responsible  duties.  In  the  face  of  conditions  which  would  have 
utterly  discouraged  a  youth  of  less  resolute  purpose  and  lofty  ideals 
he  pushed  forward  and  after  acquiring  a  good  classical  education 
entered  upon  the  study  of  law  with  Judge  Enoch  Foster,  of  the 
supreme  court  of  Maine,  as  his  preceptor.  Later  he  supplemented 
his  prehminary  reading  by  study  in  the  Columbian  University  at 
Washington,  D.  C,  and  was  graduated  therefrom  as  a  member  of 
the  class  of  1888. 

Mr.  Rawson  located  for  practice  in  Maine,  but,  wishing  to  try 
the  opportunities  which  he  believed  existed  in  the  far  west,  he  left  the 
Pine  Tree  state  in  1889  and  started  for  Washington.  He  had  heard 
very  favorable  reports  concerning  Tacoma  and  visited  that  city  as 
well  as  Seattle,  but,  beheving  that  the  latter  had  better  chances,  he 
decided  to  locate  here  and  has  never  had  occasion  to  regret  the  step 
which  he  thus  took.  He  was  not  long  in  winning  for  himself  a  most 
creditable  position  at  the  bar.  He  entered  into  practice  as  a  member 
of  the  fii-m  of  Love  joy  &  Rawson  and  after  a  year  withdrew  from 
that  connection  and  for  two  years  practiced  as  a  partner  of  Mr. 
Waller.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  alone  and,  speaking  of  his  pro- 
fessional career,  a  contemporary  writer  has  said:  "He  has  engaged 
in  the  general  practice  of  law,  though  to  some  extent  he  has  made  a 
specialty  of  real-estate  litigations.  He  has  had  a  large  volume  of  pro- 
bate practice,  but  he  does  not  desire  to  make  a  specialty  of  any  one 
line  and  has  a  broad  and  comprehensive  knowledge  of  jurisprudence 
in  all  its  departments.  He  practices  before  all  the  courts,  and  in 
1896-97  was  city  attorney  of  Seattle.  He  is  quick  to  master  all  the 
intricacies  in  a  case  and  grasp  all  the  details,  at  the  same  time  losing 
sight  of  none  of  the  essential  points  upon  which  the  decision  of  ever}'' 
case  finally  turns.  He  has  a  ready  flow  of  language  and  as  a  speaker 
is  fluent,  forcible,  earnest  and  logical,  as  well  as  convincing  in  argu- 
ment. His  knowledge  of  the  law,  it  must  be  conceded,  is  hardly  sec- 
ond to  that  of  any  other  member  of  the  bar  of  Washington.  A  man 
of  sound  judgment,  he  manages  his  cases  with  masterly  skill  and  tact, 
is  a  logical  reasoner  and  has  a  ready  command  of  English.  His  pow- 
ers as  an  advocate  have  been  demonstrated  by  his  success  on  many 
occasions,  and  he  is  an  able  lawyer  of  large  and  varied  experience  in 
all  the  courts.    Thoroughness  characterizes  all  his  efforts  and  he  con- 


3epi)anial)  15.  Katogon  445 

ducts  all  his  business  Avith  a  strict  regard  to  a  high  standard  of  pro- 
fessional ethics." 

Mr.  Rawson  has  ever  been  attractively  situated  in  his  home  life. 
He  was  married  in  January,  1884,  to  Miss  Nellie  F.  French,  a  native 
of  Maine  and  a  daughter  of  Edwin  R.  French,  who  was  twice  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Maine  senate.  Four  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Rawson:  Ralph  F.,  Erroll  ^V.,  Charlotte  Stevens  and  Edward 
Chase. 

The  family  are  Unitarians  in  rehgious  belief  and  Mr.  Rawson  was 
a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  First  Unitarian  church  of 
Seattle  for  fifteen  years,  was  president  of  the  board  for  eleven  years 
and  chairman  of  the  building  committee  during  the  erection  of  the 
church  on  Boylston  avenue.  He  also  holds  membership  with  the 
Modern  Woodmen  of  America  and  the  Woodmen  of  the  World.  His 
activities  aside  from  his  profession  have  been  directed  along  military 
and  political  lines.  He  became  identified  with  the  National  Guard 
in  1893,  joining  Company  D,  and  was  soon  afterward  appointed  to 
the  position  of  sergeant  major  of  the  First  Washington  Regiment. 
As  that  office  was  in  the  line  of  staff  duty  and  he  desired  active  work, 
he  resigned  just  prior  to  the  Spanish-American  war  and  reenlisted  in 
Company  D.  His  regiment  was  mustered  into  the  United  States 
service  and  he  had  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  enlisted  man  sworn 
into  service  from  the  state  of  Wasliington.  While  acting  as  first  ser- 
geant in  the  Philippines  he  received  honorable  mention  for  distin- 
guished and  meritorious  service  on  five  different  occasions.  He  was 
later  promoted  to  the  second  lieutenancy  for  his  commendable  gal- 
lantry and  capable  Avork.  With  one  exception,  he  participated  in 
every  engagement  in  which  his  company  took  part  and  he  was  also 
in  many  of  the  scouting  expeditions.  While  engaged  in  duty  of  that 
character  he  was  forced  to  remain  away  from  his  company  for  so 
long  a  time  on  two  different  occasions  that  he  was  reported  dead 
among  liis  comrades.  He  took  part  in  eighteen  different  engage- 
ments aside  from  his  scouting  work  and  remained  continuously  on 
active  duty  with  his  regiment  until  mustered  out  at  San  Francisco, 
November  1,  1899,  with  the  rank  of  second  lieutenant.  Soon  after 
his  return  to  Washington  he  was  appointed  brigade  inspector  with 
the  rank  of  lieutenant  colonel  and  held  that  position  until  he  became 
a  member  of  the  legislature. 

The  name  of  Colonel  Rawson  is  equally  well  known  in  political 
circles.  Since  age  conferred  upon  him  the  right  of  franchise  he  has 
voted  with  the  republican  party  and  has  become  a  recognized  leader 
in  its  ranks.    In  the  fall  of  1900  he  was  made  his  party's  nominee  for 


446  ^gpfjaniab  15,  Ratoson 

the  office  of  representative  of  the  forty-first  district.  His  opposition 
to  the  bill  increasing  the  salary  of  adjutant  generals  and  decreasing 
that  of  the  enlisted  men  won  him  considerable  publicity.  While  a 
member  of  the  house  he  was  also  active  in  bringing  about  the  defeat  of 
the  administration  bill.  He  has  ever  stood  fearlessly  for  what  he 
believes  to  be  right,  whether  as  champion  or  opponent  of  a  measure. 
He  was  a  strong  advocate  of  a  bill  providing  for  the  return  of  the 
penalty  on  city  taxes  to  the  city  instead  of  to  the  county,  his  efforts 
contributing  largely  to  the  passage  of  the  measure.  He  was  made 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  military  affairs  and  a  member  of  the 
committee  on  appropriations,  and  while  acting  in  the  latter  capacity 
was  instrumental  in  wrecking  some  of  the  unjust  bills.  He  served 
also  on  the  judiciary  and  horticultural  committees  and  was  identified 
with  much  constructive  legislation  looking  to  the  development  of  the 
state  and  to  the  upholding  of  its  high  standards.  His  entire  record 
has  been  one  which  commands  confidence  and  goodwill,  for  he  has 
been  faultless  in  honor,  fearless  in  conduct  and  stainless  in  reputation. 
His  clear  insight  has  made  him  master  of  many  situations  in  which 
he  has  become  a  manager  or  leader.  He  never  deviates  from  a  course 
which  he  believes  to  be  right  between  himself  and  his  fellowmen,  and 
the  integrity  of  his  purpose  and  his  action  is  imquestioned  even  by  his 
strongest  enemies.  Life  has  been  to  him  purposeful  and  resultant  and 
the  success  and  honor  to  which  he  has  attained  are  well  merited. 


'-^^^-^"T-y^ 


OTiUiam  ^oigt 

)ILLIAM  VOIGT  became  a  permanent  resident  of 

W^.\  Seattle  in  1876,  and  with  the  upbuilding  and  develop- 
Wj  ment  of  the  city  has  been  closely  associated.  He 
W^  has  watched  its  progress  from  practical  villagehood 
to  its  present  metropolitan  proportions  and  has  ever 
been  loyal  to  its  interests.  Mr.  Voigt  is  a  native  of 
Prussia,  his  birth  having  occurred  on  the  4th  of  November,  1838,  at 
Custrin,  in  the  province  of  Brandenburg,  which  town  has  always 
been  one  of  the  strongly  fortified  places  of  Pmssia.  His  parents 
were  Christian  and  Anna  Sophie  (Muske)  Voigt.  His  father  was 
for  a  year  military  inspector  for  the  government  institutions  for 
raising  horses  for  military  purposes  and  in  the  later  years  of  his  hfe 
he  owned  an  estate  near  Custrin. 

William  Voight  acquired  his  preparatory  education  at  the  gym- 
nasium at  Frankfort-on-the-Oder  and  was  graduated  from  the  col- 
lege there  in  the  fall  of  1856,  after  which  he  entered  the  University 
of  Berlin  to  study  medicine.  He  pursued  his  course  there  for  six 
months  and  then,  through  family  influence,  because  there  was  already 
a  physician  in  the  family,  was  induced  to  take  up  the  study  of  theol- 
ogy. Accordingly  he  entered  the  University  of  Halle,  which  was  at 
that  time  the  principal  thelogical  school  of  the  country,  and  was 
graduated  therefrom  in  the  fall  of  18.59.  For  two  j^ears  he  engaged 
in  teaching  in  high  schools  and  in  the  meantime  he  joined  a  political 
society  called  the  National  Verein,  the  object  of  which  was  to  form  a 
united  Germany.  He  took  an  active  part  in  furthering  its  work  by 
making  speeches  setting  forth  the  value  and  worth  of  such  move- 
ments, but  the  Prussian  government  notified  him  that  he  could  not 
be  a  member  of  this  society  nor  make  political  speeches,  for  the  Prus- 
sians were  opposed  to  the  movement  not  because  they  were  against 
the  idea  of  a  united  Germany  but  because  they  did  not  wish  to  offend 
Austria,  whose  emperor  had  been  the  nominal  German  emperor, 
merely  a  figurehead,  however,  with  the  government  seat  at  Frank- 
fort-on-the-Main.  Not  agreeing  with  the  Prussian  government,  Mr. 
Voigt  went  to  England,  where  he  taught  in  a  private  school,  but  not 
wishing  to  become  an  English  subject,  he  decided  to  take  up  his  abode 
449 


450  mUliam  Igoigt 

in  the  land  which  he  regarded  as  having  the  greatest  future  and  pos- 
sibihties.  Accordingly  he  made  his  waj^  to  America,  arriving  in  New- 
York  in  the  fall  of  1863,  after  which  he  engaged  in  teaching  there  for 
about  two  years.  In  1864  Mr.  Voigt  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Mina  Wengel,  a  daughter  of  Herbert  Wengel,  a  major  in  the  army 
of  Wurtemberg.  In  the  fall  of  1865  he  made  his  way  to  San  Fran- 
cisco and  after  a  trip  through  Arizona  decided  to  open  a  private  school 
at  Stockton,  Cahfornia.  While  a  resident  of  that  place  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Order  of  Druids  and  held  the  position  of  secretary.  In 
1868  he  made  a  trip  to  Puget  Sound  and  was  so  pleased  with  the 
country  that  he  returned  to  California,  disposed  of  his  holdings  there 
and  returned  to  the  northwest  in  1870.  From  1871  until  1874  he 
conducted  a  hotel  at  Steilacoom. 

On  his  first  visit  to  Seattle,  in  1870,  Mr.  Voigt  was  greatly  im- 
pressed with  its  natural  advantages  as  a  great  shipping  and  manufac- 
turing center  and  recognized  the  fact  that  the  lakes  could  easily  be 
connected  with  the  harbor  and  especially  the  tide  flats,  which  should 
have  furnished  the  money  for  all  the  harbor  improvements  for  a  gi'eat 
world  seaport.  He  always  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  project  of 
building  the  Lake  Washington  canal.  He  returned  to  Seattle  to  take 
up  his  permanent  abode,  has  always  been  interested  in  everything 
pertaining  to  its  welfare  and  was  earnest  in  his  efforts  to  bring  about 
the  connection  of  the  lakes  with  the  salt  water.  While  a  member  of 
the  city  council  from  1894  until  1896  he  used  all  of  his  time  and  influ- 
ence to  advance  the  building  of  the  Lake  Washington  canal  and  the 
replatting  of  the  water  front  from  Washington  street  to  Smith  Cove. 
He  agitated  the  building  of  a  sea  wall,  if  not  of  concrete  at  least  a 
brush  wall,  and  supported  the  plan  of  making  a  solid  water  front 
by  filling  in  from  the  Denny  hill,  which  would  have  made  the  water 
front  sanitary  and  would  have  saved  the  city  thousands  of  dollars,  but 
the  earth  carried  away  from  Denny  hill  went  into  deep  water  and 
unsanitary  conditions  still  exist  along  the  lake  front.  Mr.  Voigt 
was  also  a  most  earnest  worker  in  the  movement  to  secure  the  Cedar 
river  water  and  labored  untiringly  with  his  friends  to  carry  the  elec- 
tion with  a  three-fifths  majority  in  order  that  the  city  might  have  the 
legal  right  to  carry  out  the  Cedar  river  project.  None  questions  his 
public  spirit  or  his  devotion  to  those  plans  which  he  beheves  will  be 
of  the  greatest  benefit  to  the  city.  In  his  private  business  affairs  he 
has  been  active  in  real  estate  and  building  operations  and  in  1889  he 
erected  a  business  block  on  First  avenue  between  Vine  and  Cedar 
streets,  where  he  has  since  lived.  Mrs.  Voigt  passed  away  on  the 
23d  of  August,  1904.    Mr.  Voigt  is  a  member  of  the  Pioneer  Society. 


i<f<^'-t:<_y 


y^^^r 


©ailliam  ^oigt 


453 


His  life  has  been  an  active  and  useful  one,  far-reaching  in  its 
eflfects  and  honorable  in  its  purposes.  His  political  allegiance  has 
ever  been  given  to  the  republican  party,  which  he  has  represented  in 
various  county  and  state  conventions.  Throughout  all  the  years  of 
his  residence  in  the  northwest  Mr.  Voigt  has  been  an  active  factor  in 
the  upbuilding  of  the  country,  the  development  of  its  resources  and 
the  utilization  of  its  natural  advantages,  and  his  worth  as  a  citizen  is 
widely  acknowledged. 


ClisJfja  Senrp  aiborb 

[EATTLE  may  justly  feel  proud  of  Elisha  Henry 
Alvord,  who,  after  six  years  of  constant  study  and 
experimentation,  has  succeeded  in  inventing  a  multi- 
ple compartment  pulp-press,  which  is  destined  to 
revolutionize  the  paper-pulp  industry  and  which  is 
regarded  by  mechanical  engineers  as  the  most  notable 
achievement  m  the  field  of  industrial  invention  m  the  last  three  dec- 
ades. Mr.  Alvord  is  a  native  son  of  Washington,  born  near  Kent 
on  the  24th  of  December,  1863.  His  father,  Thomas  Moody  Alvord, 
is  still  hving  at  the  age  of  eighty- four  years.  He  mined  in  California 
from  1853  to  1858  and  spent  one  year  on  the  Eraser  river.  In  1859  he 
located  one  mile  south  of  Kent,  where  he  remained  until  1897,  when 
he  joined  the  rush  of  miners  to  Alaska.  After  spending  a  year  there 
he  returned  to  Seattle,  where  he  has  since  lived. 

Elisha  Henry  Alvord  attended  the  coimtry  schools  until  1880  and 
then  entered  the  Territorial  University  of  Washington,  where  he 
remained  for  six  years,  being  graduated  with  the  class  of  1886  as 
valedictorian.  He  first  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business  and  con- 
tracting, but  for  many  years  he  has  given  his  attention  to  the  study 
of  mechanical  problems.  At  the  Alaska- Yukon-Pacific  Exposition, 
held  in  Seattle  in  1909,  his  single  compartment  press  was  awarded 
first  prize,  but  he  was  not  satisfied  with  his  achievement  in  inventing 
this  machine  and  continued  at  the  task  of  constructing  a  multiple 
compartment  machine  that  would  be  efficient,  for  he  recognized  the 
incalculable  value  of  such  an  invention  to  the  paper-pulp  industry. 
Manufacturers  and  others  actively  interested  in  that  business  have 
for  years  been  seeking  just  such  a  machine,  and  many  other  inventors 
have  given  much  time  and  study  to  the  problem  of  constructing  a 
working  machine  of  that  character  but  their  efforts  have  been  un- 
successful. Mr.  Alvord  worked  along  lines  radically  different  from 
those  followed  by  other  inventors,  and  has  been  successful  where  they 
met  with  failure.  His  machine  has  been  subjected  to  the  most  rigid 
tests  by  master  mechanics  and  mechanical  engineers  and  has  won 
their  tmanimous  praise,  as  it  has  proved  eminently  practical  and  effi- 
cient. Those  best  informed  in  regard  to  the  paper-pulp  industrj^  say 
that  one  such  machine  will  save  the  manufacturer  five  to  ten  thou- 
457 


458  (glisfta  ^cntg  aitiotP 

sand  dollars  a  year.  The  fact  that  it  is  automatic,  requiring  no 
attention  whatever  after  being  once  started,  is  an  important  point  in 
its  favor.  It  is  said  that  it  can  turn  out  from  five  to  ten  times  as  much 
work  as  any  other  machine  on  the  market  and  do  so  with  a  great  sav- 
ing of  cost  and  labor.  It  may  safely  be  predicted  that  its  general  use 
will  be  an  important  factor  in  keeping  down  the  constantly  rising  cost 
of  white  paper.  Aside  from  its  paramoimt  importance  to  the  paper- 
pulp  industry,  it  has  many  other  uses.  It  is  so  constructed  that  it  can 
automatically  briquette  coal,  minerals,  mineral  products  and  com- 
pounds. This  has  hitherto  been  impossible  when  great  pressure  is 
required  together  with  large  output,  and  it  means  a  marked  saving 
of  time,  labor  and  material.  The  machine  is  also  adapted  to  extract 
oils  and  fluids,  and  it  is  expected  that  it  will  be  used  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  cottonseed  oil,  linseed  oil,  olive  oil,  glucose,  beet  and  cane 
sugar,  mineral  paints,  wine,  pharmaceutical  compounds  and  fertiliz- 
ers. It  is  so  constructed  that  it  can  be  used  in  drying  such  materials 
as  floated  starch,  talc,  paint  pigments,  brewery  grains,  etc. 

Not  only  is  Mr.  Alvord  a  native  of  the  state  and  a  resident  of 
Seattle  for  many  years,  but  the  machine  is  constructed  of  Washing- 
ton materials  and  built  in  Seattle.  Capitalists  of  Tacoma  were  so 
favorably  impressed  by  the  trials  of  the  machine  that  they  offered  to 
finance  the  erection  of  a  factory  to  make  the  press,  but  financiers  of 
Seattle  informed  Mr.  Alvord  that  he  could  secure  the  necessary  capital 
in  this  city.  He  began  the  construction  of  the  machine  with  a  bor- 
rowed capital  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  the  repayment  of 
which  was  secured  by  his  personal  property.  From  this  beginning  he 
has  not  only  completed  the  machine  but  has  also  fully  protected  his 
invention  by  patents,  and  he  owns  nearly  a  two-thirds  interest  in  the 
Alvord  Automatic  Machines  Company,  of  which  he  is  president. 

Mr.  Alvord  takes  the  interest  of  a  good  citizen  in  public  afi'airs 
but  has  been  too  much  absorbed  in  his  work  to  participate  actively  in 
politics.  He  is  characterized  by  sterling  integrity,  by  remarkable 
powers  of  concentration,  and  by  a  determination  that  refuses  to  be 
deterred  by  obstacles.  Personally  he  is  most  agreeable  and  has  won 
the  warm  friendship  of  many.  It  is  generally  recognized  that  his 
wonderful  invention  will  add  to  the  fame  of  Seattle. 


Jf ribolin  Wilfjelm 

^MERICA  has  aptly  been  termed  the  land  of  oppor- 
tunity, for  in  no  other  country  is  there  chance  for 
such  direct  progress  as  the  result  of  individual 
effort  and  merit  as  in  the  United  States.  This  is 
evidenced  in  the  careers  of  many  notable  men  and 
finds  exemplification  in  the  history  of  Fridolin  Wil- 
helm,  now  a  capitahst  of  Seattle.  He  vi^as  born  in  Germany,  Septem- 
ber 14,  1841,  and  came  of  good  German-Catholic  parentage.  His 
father  was  Nathan  Wilhelm,  who  made  farming  his  life  work  and 
lived  to  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-four  years,  having  for  a  decade 
survived  his  wife.  They  reared  a  family  of  three  sons  and  one 
daughter. 

Fridolin  Wilhelm  was  educated  in  the  school  of  Germany  and 
there  learned  the  cabinetmaker's  trade.  In  1858  he  sailed  for  New 
Orleans,  his  father  furnishing  him  the  money  for  the  passage,  and 
after  reaching  the  new  world  he  spent  one  winter  in  school  in  Cincin- 
nati. He  landed,  however,  at  New  Orleans  and  proceeded  thence  to 
Kentucky,  where  he  was  employed  at  cabinetmaking,  a  trade  which 
he  had  learned  in  his  native  land.  It  was  after  this  that  he  had  the 
benefit  of  a  winter's  instruction  in  Cincinnati,  and  on  the  1st  of  July, 
1863,  he  responded  to  the  call  of  his  adopted  country  for  aid  and 
enlisted  as  a  volunteer  of  Battery  E  of  the  United  States  army,  which 
was  attached  to  the  Ninth  Army  Corps.  He  was  in  the  battle  of  the 
Wilderness  and  various  other  engagements,  including  the  assault  on 
Fort  Sanders  and  the  battle  of  Campbell's  Station  in  eastern  Ten- 
nessee. Following  the  surrender  of  General  Lee  he  went  with  his 
command  to  Washington,  where  he  participated  in  the  Grand  Review, 
the  most  remarkable  military  pageant  ever  seen  on  the  western  con- 
tinent. For  a  part  of  the  time  he  had  served  as  a  wagoner  in  the 
quartermaster's  department,  and  although  he  was  never  wounded,  he 
suffered  from  yellow  fever.  With  the  close  of  the  war  his  command 
was  ordered  to  the  Pacific  coast  in  1865,  and  the  following  year  was 
ordered  to  Washington  territory.  He  continued  on  active  duty  with 
the  regular  army  until  honorably  discharged  at  San  Juan  island. 

It  was  at  that  time  that  Mr.  Wilhelm  came  to  Seattle,  where  he 
engaged  in  carpentering  and  building.    He  thus  became  closely  con- 


462  jFtiPQlin  muttelm 

nected  with  the  improvement  of  the  city  and  began  making  invest- 
ments in  real  estate,  which  in  the  course  of  years  has  brought 
splendid  returns  and  now  places  him  among  the  capitalists  of  the  city. 
In  1876  he  built  his  first  home  in  Seattle  on  the  lot  now  occupied  by  his 
present  commodious  and  attractive  residence. 

It  was  in  that  year  that  Mr.  Willielm  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Regina  Bolhert,  a  native  of  Germany,  and  to  them  have  been 
born  three  sons  and  a  daughter :  John  H.,  Frank  Joseph,  Fritz  A.  and 
Anna  Regina,  now  the  wife  of  Fred  Kroeger,  of  Los  Angeles,  Cali- 
fornia. Mr.  Wilhelm  belongs  to  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Work- 
men and  to  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  thus  maintaining 
pleasant  relations  with  the  boys  in  blue.  His  political  allegiance  is 
given  to  the  repubhcan  party,  but  the  honors  and  emoluments  of  office 
have  no  attraction  for  him.  He  has  remained  an  active  business  man  of 
the  city  since  his  arrival  in  1868  and  recently,  in  connection  with  W.  G. 
Norris,  who  is  mentioned  elsewhere  in  this  work,  he  has  established  a 
new  city  market  at  Third  and  Washington  streets.  His  business  inter- 
ests have  been  carefully  conducted  and  success  in  substantial  measvu-e 
is  now  his. 


OTalter  WUmton  MiUiamsi 

SALTER    WINSTON    WILLIAMS,    who    passed 

W^  away  in  Seattle  on  the  1st  of  March,  1915,  had  been 
w  a  resident  of  the  city  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
*^'  century.  He  was  well  known  as  a  leader  in  musical 
circles  here  and  his  business  connection  was  that  of 
secretary  of  the  Hofius  Steel  &  Equipment  Com- 
pany. His  birth  occurred  in  Swansea,  Wales,  on  the  29th  of  April, 
1850,  and  when  nineteen  years  of  age  he  removed  to  Workington, 
England.  The  following  is  an  excerpt  from  an  English  paper  pvib- 
lished  at  the  time  of  his  demise.  "Old  Workingtonians  and  musi- 
cians throughout  West  Cumberland  will  learn  with  regret  that  Mr. 
Walter  Winston  Williams,  the  renowned  conductor  of  the  defunct 
Workington  Vocal  Union,  is  dead.  .  .  .  The  deceased  came  to 
Workington  with  the  late  Ivander  Griffiths,  who  was  at  the  head  of  the 
Barepot  contingent,  and  rendered  great  service  to  Mr.  Griffiths  in  the 
furtherance  of  the  Eisteddfod  cause.  As  time  wore  on  and  the  excep- 
tional musical  knowledge  and  technique  of  Mr.  Williams  revealed 
itself  he  attracted  towards  him  the  whole  of  the  singing  talent  in 
Workington  and  district.  He  was  also  a  notable  bass  singer  himself. 
When  the  Workington  Vocal  Union  was  formed  the  deceased  with 
their  common  accord,  was  elected  conductor.  The  Union  soon  leaped 
into  local  fame  and  jjopularity  by  the  inspiration  of  his  leadership  and 
among  their  triumphs  were  the  rendering  of  'The  Messiah,'  'Judas 
Maccabeus,'  'Elijah'  and  'Israel  in  Egypt.'  As  a  musical  town  which 
then  reached  its  zenith  Mr.  Walter  Williams  was  the  pivot  on  which 
all  revolved.  He  combined  all  the  choirs  and  musicians  of  the  town 
and  district  irrespective  of  denomination,  and  his  departure  to  the 
United  States  with  Mr.  Peter  Kirk  proved  to  all  an  irreparable  loss. 
They  could  not  unite  on  any  successor  then  and  no  one  has  since  worn 
his  musical  mantle.  The  deceased  at  the  period  he  left  Workington 
was  the  secretary  of  the  Moss  Bay  Company.  He  was  an  excellent 
business  man  and  popular  amongst  all  classes  of  the  community.  The 
wife  of  the  deceased  was  the  sister  of  Mr.  Herbert  Swinburne  and 
a  daughter  of  a  well  known  Workingtonian." 

In  1888  Mr.  Williams  emigrated  to  the  United  States  and  came 
direct  to  Seattle,  here  spending  the  remainder  of  his  life.    In  associa- 


466  maltet  mimton  mnuamfi 

tion  with  Leigh  Hunt  and  Peter  Kirk,  he  founded  the  town  of  Kirk- 
land  on  Lake  Washington.  For  a  number  of  years  he  was  engaged 
in  commercial  pursuits  and  later  became  connected  with  the  Hofius 
Steel  &  Equipment  Company,  serving  as  its  secretary  until  his  death. 
He  was  also  director  of  the  Pacific  Warehouse  Company,  which 
erected  the  Maritime  building  and  the  Produce  building.  It  was  in 
musical  circles,  however,  that  he  gained  his  greatest  prominence, 
organizing  a  brass  band  in  England  that  played  in  various  cities  and 
won  numerous  prizes.  He  also  organized  a  male  chou-  and  a  mixed 
choir  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  voices  in  England  and  conducted  the 
Seattle  Male  Voice  Choir,  whdch  he  had  organized. 

Mr.  WUliams  was  joined  in  wedlock  in  Workington,  England,  to 
Miss  Mary  Swinburne,  a  native  of  that  country,  by  whom  he  had  nine 
children,  who  still  survive  him,  as  follows :  W.  Mervyn,  a  resident  of 
Olympia;  Mrs.  Douglas  Ross,  of  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania;  and 
Aubrey  S.,  Eldred  V.,  Marian  S.,  Eleanor  A.,  Stanley  E.,  Juanita  C. 
and  Herbert  W.  Williams,  aU  of  Seattle. 

Mr.  Williams  died  at  his  home  at  No.  1427  Thirty-fifth  avenue, 
Seattle,  March  1,  1915,  from  an  attack  of  heart  failm-e,  following  his 
attendance  at  the  Welsh  concert  held  at  Douglas  Hall,  Tenth  avenue 
and  Pine  street.  His  demise  was  the  occasion  of  deep  and  widespread 
regret,  for  he  had  gained  an  extensive  circle  of  warm  friends  in  the 
city  and  especially  among  the  Welsh.  In  early  manhood  Mr.  Wil- 
liams was  a  member  of  the  Welsh  chm-ch  but  after  his  marriage  joined 
the  Episcopal  church.  He  gave  his  poUtical  allegiance  to  the  repub- 
lican party  and  was  a  worthy  exemplar  of  the  Masonic  fraternity. 
Mrs.  Williams,  who  svuT^ives  him,  is  well  known  and  highly  esteemed 
in  the  city  where  she  has  now  resided  for  a  period  of  twenty-seven 
years. 


f  ofjn  ^.  Cage? 


JOHN  T.  CASEY,  a  member  of  the  Seattle  bar,  was 
born  in  Pierce  county,  Wisconsin.  His  parents  were 
Bernard  J.  and  Ellen  Elizabeth  (Murphy)  Casey, 
both  of  whom  came  from  Ireland  in  the  '50s,  when 
still  quite  young.  They  were  married  in  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  on  the  6th  of  October,  1863,  and 
})ecame  the  parents  of  sixteen  children,  of  whom  ten  sons  and  four 
daughters  are  still  living.  They  celebrated  their  golden  wedding  in 
Seattle,  October  6,  1913,  when  a  solemn  nuptial  high  mass  at  the 
Immaculate  Conception  church  was  said  by  three  of  their  own  sons, 
who  are  Catholic  priests  and  brothers  of  John  T.  Casey. 

John  T.  Casey  attended  the  common  schools  and  the  law  depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  winning  the  LL.  B.  degree  on 
the  24th  of  June,  1896.  In  early  manhood  he  engaged  in  bookkeep- 
ing and  school  teaching  but  since  preparing  for  the  bar  has  concen- 
trated his  energies  upon  his  professional  activities.  Removing  to  the 
west,  he  served  in  the  prosecuting  attorney's  office  in  Deer  Lodge 
county,  Montana,  from  1899  until  1901,  when  he  removed  to  Seattle 
and  has  won  a  creditable  position  in  professional  circles.  He  was 
nominated  for  superior  court  judge  in  the  direct  primaries  in  1910 
and  again  in  1912  but  being  a  democrat  was  not  elected.  He  is 
strongly  imbued  with  the  idea  of  curbing  the  encroachment  of  monop- 
oly on  the  rights  of  the  people  in  whatever  form  it  may  appear  and 
believes  every  effort  must  be  made  to  banish  the  evil  influences  of 
special  privilege  from  legislation  and  especially  from  the  courts,  where 
poor  people  having  rights  to  be  adjudicated  should  receive  equally 
fair  treatment  with  the  strong  and  powerful.  In  a  word,  he  holds  to 
high  standards  of  citizenship  and  of  civic  honor  and  has  made  his  own 
life  conform  with  his  high  ideals. 

Mr.  Casey  is  a  widower,  having  lost  his  young  wife  in  1908.  He 
has  a  little  daughter,  Mary  Helena,  now  ten  years  of  age.  He  was 
chief  ranger  in  the  Immaculate  Conception  Court,  Catholic  Order  of 
Foresters,  in  1911  and  1912  and  was  deputy  grand  knight  of  Seattle 
Council  676,  Knights  of  Columbus,  in  1907.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians  and  the  Seattle  Commercial  Club, 
and  his  interest  in  citizenship  is  such  as  to  insure  his  active  coopera- 
tion in  many  well  defined  plans  and  measures  for  the  public  welfare. 


"^^^ 


c^-ty^^-i^ 


Clpbe  1,  Movvi^ 

|LYDE  L.  MORRIS,  a  well  known  contractor  and  the 
president  of  the  Washington  State  Good  Roads 
Association,  belongs  to  that  public-spirited,  useful 
and  helpful  type  of  men  whose  ambitions  and  desires 
are  centered  and  directed  in  those  channels  through 
which  flows  the  greatest  and  most  permanent  good 
to  the  greatest  number.  While  his  chief  life  work  has  been  that  of 
contracting,  and  he  has  won  substantial  success  along  that  line,  the 
range  of  his  activities  and  the  scope  of  his  influence  have  nevertheless 
reached  far  beyond  that  special  field.  He  is  a  native  son  of  the  north- 
west and  possesses  the  spirit  of  determination  and  enterprise  which 
has  been  the  dominant  factor  in  the  upbuilding  of  this  section  of  the 
country. 

His  birth  occurred  at  Pomeroy,  Washington,  September  2,  1876, 
and  he  accompanied  his  parents  on  their  removals  to  San  Francisco, 
to  Port  Townsend  and  to  Seattle.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of 
the  first  two  mentioned  cities  and  later  removed  to  Seattle,  where  he 
became  a  pupil  in  a  commercial  school.  As  a  boy,  when  not  attend- 
ing school,  he  sold  newspapers  and  worked  as  errand  and  delivery  boy 
in  various  lines  of  business.  In  early  life  his  attention  was  directed 
to  farming  and  later  he  took  up  mining,  while  subsequently  he  entered 
the  field  of  general  contracting.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  '90s,  while 
employed  as  bookkeeper  for  a  British  Columbia  mining  company,  by 
doing  his  accounting  work  nights,  he  worked  his  way  through  every 
department  of  the  mine  from  "mucker"  to  "miner,"  and  thus  earned 
promotion  to  the  management  of  the  company,  which  position  he  held 
until  he  went  to  Nome,  Alaska,  at  the  time  of  the  great  gold  excite- 
ment, in  the  spring  of  1900.  He  has  since  had  important  business 
interests  in  that  country.  He  engaged  in  mining  and  contracting  in 
Alaska  for  four  consecutive  years.  In  1901,  on  May  24,  when  the 
steamer  "Jeannie"  arrived  at  Nome  and  dropped  her  anchor  at  the 
edge  of  the  ice  two  miles  from  land,  Mr.  Morris  took  the  contract  and 
successfully  landed  the  thousand  tons  of  freight  over  the  sea  ice  to  the 
people  of  Nome.  In  spite  of  the  almost  impassable  "tundra"  in  the 
summer  and  the  snows  and  blizzards  of  winter,  in  the  operation  of 
473 


474  ClgPe  £.  Qgotng 

freight  and  stage  Knes  he  delivered  thousands  of  tons  of  freight  and 
supplies  to  the  interior  of  Seward  peninsula. 

He  built  the  farthest  north  railroad  in  the  world  and  installed 
hydi-aulic  systems  to  the  value  of  several  milhon  dollars.  He  has  also 
done  considerable  contract  work  in  Washington  and  British  Colum- 
bia. As  a  contractor  in  Alaska  he  at  one  time  maintained  an  outfit  of 
two  hundred  and  twenty-five  horses  and  one  thousand  men  and  his 
daily  pay  roll  amounted  to  seven  thousand  dollars.  This  was  con- 
ceded to  be  the  largest  and  best  equipment  in  the  north  for  railroad 
and  ditch  construction.  He  built  some  three  hundred  miles  of  ditches 
and  hydraulic  systems,  one  hundred  miles  of  railroad,  and  some  gov- 
ermnent  highways.  Since  the  period  of  his  continuous  sojourn  in 
Alaska  he  has  maintained  offices  in  the  Pioneer  and  Arcade  buildings 
in  Seattle  and  from  this  point  has  directed  large  operations  in  Wash- 
ington, British  Columbia  and  Alaska.  His  contract  work  has  ever 
been  of  a  most  important  character  and  has  contributed  much  to  the 
development  of  the  districts  in  which  he  has  operated.  Aside  from  his 
interests  along  that  line  he  is  a  director  of  the  National  City  Bank  and 
has  agricultural  interests  in  both  eastern  and  western  Washington. 

Mr.  Morris  was  married  at  Seattle,  May  1,  1906,  and  has  one 
daughter,  Clydene.  In  his  political  views  Mr.  Morris  has  long  been 
a  republican  and  has  been  a  delegate  to  various  county  conventions 
and  two  state  conventions.  He  prefers,  however,  that  his  public  serv- 
ice shall  be  done  in  other  connections  rather  than  as  an  office  holder 
and  his  work  has  indeed  been  of  great  benefit  to  the  public  along 
various  lines.  He  is  a  life  member  of  the  Arctic  Club  and  the  Tilli- 
kums  of  Elttaes  and  he  also  has  membership  in  the  Rainier  Club,  the 
Automobile  Club,  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the  Municipal 
League.  He  served  for  two  terms  as  a  trustee  and  two  terms  as  presi- 
dent of  the  Arctic  Club  and  contributed  in  no  small  degi-ee  toward  the 
successful  completion  of  the  project  for  the  erection  of  the  luxurious 
home  of  the  Arctic  Club.  During  his  presidency  of  the  Ai-ctic  Club 
and  since  that  time  he  has  been  a  tireless  worker  in  the  interests  of 
securing  beneficial  legislation  for  Alaska  and  has  been  one  of  the  fac- 
tors in  securing  the  opening  of  the  resources  of  that  territory.  In  the 
Automobile  Club  he  is  a  past  president  and  is  now  serving  as  a  trus- 
tee. In  the  Municipal  League  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  road  and 
bridge  committee.  He  likewise  belongs  to  the  Washington  State  Art 
Association  and  the  Press  Association.  In  November,  1913,  at  the 
fourteenth  annual  convention  of  the  Washington  State  Good  Roads 
Association  held  at  North  Yakima,  he  was  elected  without  opposition 
to  the  office  of  president,  having  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  native 


ClpDc  L«  Qgortig  475 

son  of  Washington  chosen  to  that  position.  His  business  has  been  of 
a  nature  that  has  contributed  to  public  progress,  and  his  activities  out- 
side of  business  have  largely  been  directed  along  those  lines  which 
have  for  their  object  public  improvement  and  the  advancement  of  the 
general  welfare.  His  course  at  all  times  has  marked  him  as  a  citizen 
of  worth,  and  high  regard  is  entertained  for  his  business  ability,  his 
executive  force  and  his  devotion  to  Seattle,  the  state  of  Washington 
and  Alaska. 


CB^^^t^-^^^-i^  * 


<§otttoertj)  lebrecftt  Cancer 

OTTWERTH  LEBRECHT  TANZER  is  the  cen- 

G^j^  tral  figure  on  the  state  of  mining  activity  in  the  north- 
C  1  west,  being  now  the  president  and  general  manager 
u5  of  the  Western  Smelting  &  Power  Company,  and  the 
owner  of  a  controlling  interest  in  the  Manhattan 
Edee  Mining  Company  of  Nevada.  Individual  abil- 
ity has  brought  him  to  his  present  position  of  prominence,  liberal 
education  and  scientific  training  qualifying  him  to  assume  the  im- 
portant responsibilities  which  devolve  upon  him.  He  was  born  at 
Troebnitz,  Sachs,  Altenburg,  Germany,  June  14,  1863.  His  father, 
Wilhelm  Franz  Tanzer,  who  died  in  1887,  was  considered  one  of  the 
greatest  architects.  He  built  several  fine  churches,  schools,  monu- 
ments and  solid  stone  bridges  over  rivers  and  time  has  not  been  able 
to  weaken  or  destroy  these.  He  married  Wilhehnine  Koerner,  a 
daughter  of  Grottfried  Koerner,  of  Rausdorf,  near  Roda,  Germany, 
who  was  a  wealthy  landowner. 

In  the  schools  of  Altenburg  and  Breslau  Gottwerth  L.  Tanzer 
pursued  his  education,  liberal  advantages  being  afforded  him,  and 
after  coming  to  America  in  1885  he  passed  the  examination  for  phar- 
macist and  chemist  before  the  Illinois  state  board  of  pharmacy  in  1898, 
Later  he  engaged  in  the  drug  business  and  analytical  laboratory  work 
until  May,  1902,  and  in  1903  was  appointed  city  chemist  of  Seattle 
and  special  state  chemist  for  the  state  of  Washington,  the  city  labora- 
tory of  Seattle  being  established  through  his  efforts.  Comprehensive 
scientific  knowledge  has  enabled  him  to  assume  heavy  and  important 
responsibilities  along  those  lines  and  his  recognized  ability  has  led  to 
his  cooperation  being  sought  in  the  conduct  of  various  corporations. 
In  1908  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Northern  Texada  Mines,  Ltd., 
which  shipped  over  sixteen  thousand  tons  of  ore  to  the  smelters  during 
his  management.  He  was  also  elected  president  and  general  manager 
of  the  Western  Smelting  &  Power  Company,  which  has  very  valuable 
holdings  near  Yellowstone  National  Park  in  Montana.  In  these  he 
owns  a  controlling  interest  as  he  also  does  in  the  Manhattan  Edee 
Mining  Company  of  Nevada,  and  he  likewise  has  valuable  holdings 
of  improved  real  estate  in  Seattle  and  a  large  acreage  in  adjoining 
counties.  His  investments  have  been  wisely  and  judiciously  made 
479 


480  (gotttoertb  JLe&ceci)t  Catifer 

and  both  his  property  and  business  holdings  return  to  him  a  most 
gratifying  annual  income.  In  the  field  of  chemistry  he  has  passed  far 
beyond  the  point  of  mediocrity  and  stands  among  the  able  and  emi- 
nent few  and  he  is  well  known  as  the  author  of  "The  Analysis  of  the 
Electric  Current,  Heat,  Light  and  Sound," 

In  1886,  in  Chicago,  Illinois,  Mr,  Tanzer  was  married  to  Miss 
Lina  Trenne,  a  daughter  of  August  and  Justine  Trenne,  Their  liv- 
ing children  are:  WiUiam,  twenty-one  years  of  age,  who  was  a  twin; 
Alice,  twenty  years  of  age ;  Freda,  aged  eighteen ;  Ruth,  who  was  also 
a  twin  and  who  is  f oiu-teen  years  of  age ;  and  Max,  eleven.  AU  are 
still  single  and  attending  school.  Seven  children  of  the  family  died 
in  Chicago. 

Mr.  Tanzer  served  in  the  German  army  in  the  Jaeger  Batl.,  No. 
4  (Sharpshooters),  from  1881  until  1883,  which  covers  his  military 
experience.  His  political  allegiance  is  given  to  the  republican  party 
where  national  issues  are  involved,  but  he  casts  a  nonpartisan  ballot  in 
mimicipal,  coimty  and  state  elections.  He  is  a  prominent  Mason,  hav- 
ing attained  the  Knights  Templar  degree  and  the  thirty-second  degree 
in  the  Scottish  Rite,  while  the  honorary  thirty-third  degree  has  also 
been  conferred  upon  him.  He  is  likewise  a  Noble  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine.  He  belongs  to  the  Arctic  Club  of  Seattle  and  is  president 
of  several  German  societies.  He  is  a  typical  son  of  the  fatherland 
with  the  love  of  scientific  research  and  investigation  characteristic  of 
his  fellow  countrymen.  At  the  same  time  he  is  thoroughly  American 
in  spirit  and  interests,  manifesting  unfaltering  loyalty  to  his  adopted 
covmtry  and  being  especially  interested  and  active  in  support  of  well 
defined  and  practical  measures  for  the  upbuilding  and  development  of 
Seattle, 


4c:cA^^^^  C 


iSicljoto  C.  ftealp 

^ORTY-THREE  years  have  been  added  to  the  cycle  of 
the  centuries  since  Nicholas  C.  Healy  became  a  fac- 
tor in  the  development  of  the  lumber  industry  of  the 
northwest.  He  knows  every  phase  of  the  business 
and  is  competent  to  speak  authoritatively  upon  the 
subject,  for  he  has  not  only  watched  its  development 
but  has  been  an  active  factor  therein  through  more  than  four  decades. 
Today  he  holds  extensive  timber  producing  properties  both  in  Wash- 
ington and  British  Columbia. 

Mr.  Healy  is  a  Canadian  by  birth,  having  first  opened  his  eyes  to 
the  light  of  day  on  a  farm  at  Goderich  in  the  province  of  Ontario, 
October  8,  1852,  his  parents  being  Michael  and  Julia  Ann  (McArty) 
Healy.  To  the  age  of  sixteen  he  remained  upon  the  home  farm  and 
alternated  the  work  of  the  fields  with  attendance  at  the  district  schools. 
He  then  went  to  Michigan  and  entered  upon  active  connection  with 
the  business  in  which  he  has  since  been  engaged,  being  employed  in  the 
pine  woods  near  Alpena.  He  soon  became  an  expert  workman  at  the 
task  known  as  "swamping"  in  Michigan  and  as  "tending  hook"  in 
Washington.  After  three  years  devoted  to  that  work,  the  winter 
months  being  spent  in  the  woods  and  the  summer  seasons  in  the  saw- 
mill, he  came  to  the  northwest,  attracted  by  the  accounts  of  the  big 
timber  of  the  Pacific  northwest.  This  was  in  the  year  1872  and  Olym- 
pia  was  liis  destination.  He  spent  some  time  at  the  Port  Madison 
mill,  where  he  worked  on  a  "boom,"  and  then  went  to  Kalama,  where 
he  was  employed  in  clearing  the  right  of  way  for  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railway.  He  passed  his  first  Christmas  Day  in  Washington  in  build- 
ing a  log  camp  for  the  railway  company  on  the  present  site  of  Kalama. 
When  the  news  of  the  gold  discoverey  on  the  Peace  river  in  British 
Columbia  reached  him,  he  decided  to  seek  his  fortune  in  the  mines  and 
left  Washington  on  the  1st  day  of  May,  1873,  devoting  the  succeeding 
two  years  to  prospecting.  In  the  fall  of  1875,  however,  he  again 
engaged  in  the  lumber  business,  entering  the  employ  of  Jerrj^  Rogers, 
a  well  known  Canadian  lumberman,  at  Bird's  Inlet,  British  Columbia. 
He  worked  as  a  hook  tender  on  False  Creek,  on  the  site  now  occupied 
by  the  city  of  Vancouver,  but  after  three  years  he  returned  to  Wash- 
ington and  as  hook  tender  entered  the  employ  of  Blackman  Brothers 
483 


484  JOicftolag  €♦  l^calg 

at  Snohomish,  where  he  spent  two  years.  He  afterward  spent  four 
years  as  foreman  of  the  camp,  having  charge  at  that  time  of  a  crew  of 
twenty-five  men,  which  was  considered  a  large  number  in  those  days. 
While  working  in  the  woods  Mr,  Healy  was  noted  for  his  skill  as  a 
hook  tender,  possessing  superior  skill  in  getting  logs  out  of  the  dense 
undergrowth.  On  one  occasion  he  brought  out  a  "stick"  one  hundred 
and  fifty-four  feet  long,  which  was  sent  to  the  Midwinter  Exposition 
at  San  Francisco. 

While  for  some  years  Mr.  Healy  remained  in  the  employ  of  others, 
his  laudable  ambition  prompted  him  to  utilize  his  opportunities  to  the 
best  advantage  and  in  due  course  of  time,  when  his  financial  resources 
were  adequate,  he  organized  the  logging  firm  of  Healy  &  Siseo  in  1895 
and  began  operations  on  the  Ebey  slough.  For  eight  years  they  were 
engaged  in  furnishing  logs  to  the  Port  Blakeley  Mill  and  to  smaller 
concerns.  In  1897  Mr.  Healy  became  connected  with  Chai'les  H. 
Cobb,  E.  S.  Kerry,  M.  F.  Backus  and  Mr.  Sisco  in  establishing  the 
Port  Susan  Logging  Company,  an  enterprise  that  through  the  suc- 
ceeding decade  operated  very  extensively  in  Snohomish  county.  Mr. 
Healy  was  vice  president  and  general  manager  of  the  company  and 
also  became  a  trustee  and  general  manager  of  the  International  Tim- 
ber Company  of  British  Columbia.  He  was  also  chosen  vice  president 
and  general  manager  of  the  Marysville  and  Arlington  Railway  Com- 
pany and  secretary  of  the  Cobb-Healy  Investment  Company  of 
Seattle. 

On  the  12th  of  January,  1888,  Mr.  Healy  wedded  Miss  Estella 
Comford,  a  daughter  of  James  and  Maria  Comford.  She  passed 
away  in  1898,  leaving  six  children,  namely:  Eugene,  Maria,  John, 
lUoyne,  Nicholas  and  Estella.  Mr.  Healy  is  prominent  in  the  Ma- 
sonic and  Odd  Fellows  fraternities,  and  also  belongs  to  the  Benevolent 
Protective  Order  of  Elks.  He  is  likewise  a  member  of  the  Rainier 
Club  of  Seattle  and  the  Cascade  Club  of  Everett.  Such  in  brief  is  the 
history  of  one  of  the  prominent  lumbermen  of  the  northwest.  The 
steps  in  his  orderly  progression  are  easily  discernible  and  indicate  how 
closely  he  has  applied  himself  to  the  work  in  hand  and  how  strenu- 
ously he  has  labored  to  achieve  success.  Perseverance  and  determina- 
tion have  enabled  him  to  overcome  many  obstacles  and  step  by  step 
he  has  neared  the  goal  of  prosperity.  He  derives  genuine  pleasure 
from  the  solution  of  difl^cult  business  problems  and  the  actual  practi- 
cal experience  of  his  early  years  now  proves  a  most  potent  factor  in 
the  successful  conduct  of  his  extensive  and  important  interests. 


IRS.  E.  ARLITA  ADAMS  has  entered  a  field  in  which 

M^\  few  women  have  taken  part,  but  her  ability  and  re- 
^  sourcefulness  have  brought  her  to  a  prominent  posi- 
^  tion,  making  her  one  of  the  foremost  patent  attorneys 
of  the  northwest.  She  has  won  distinction  and  honor 
along  more  than  one  line  in  Seattle  and  certainly 
deserves  mention  as  one  of  the  representative  residents  of  the  metrop- 
olis of  the  northwest.  She  was  born  in  Minneapolis,  Minnesota,  June 
18, 1874,  a  daughter  of  Ira  B.  and  Arlita  (Yates)  Hewitt,  the  latter 
a  descendant  of  Governor  Yates  of  Illinois.  In  the  paternal  line  she 
comes  of  Scotch  ancestry,  the  family  in  America,  however,  antedating 
the  Revolutionary  war  period.  On  the  mother's  side  she  comes  of 
Revolutionary  stock  of  Scotch-Spanish  descent.  Her  grandfather 
had  the  distinction  of  having  fired  the  last  shot  in  the  Mexican  war, 
which  came  about  by  accident,  however.  He  was  deaf  and  failed  to 
hear  the  order  to  stop  firing  when  the  officers  discovered  that  the  white 
flag  had  been  raised.  The  last  shot  was  the  subject  of  investigation, 
but  the  offender  was  exonerated  when  it  was  discovered  that  he  could 
not  hear.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Adams,  Ira  B.  Hewitt,  was  a  soldier 
of  the  Civil  war,  serving  as  a  member  of  Company  I,  Mounted  Rang- 
ers of  Minnesota,  fighting  the  Indians  on  the  frontier,  being  stationed 
at  Fort  Snelling. 

Mrs.  Adams  attended  the  Minneapolis  public  schools,  passing 
through  consecutive  grades  to  the  high  school,  and  afterward  spent 
three  years  as  a  student  in  the  University  of  Washington.  On  the 
27th  of  October,  1889,  she  gave  her  hand  in  marriage  to  Frank  E. 
Adams,  a  registered  patent  attorney  and  mechanical  engineer,  who 
was  the  oldest  representative  of  his  branch  of  the  profession  in  Seattle. 
He  was  born  in  Bristol,  England,  in  1870  and  was  but  two  years  of 
age  when  brought  by  his  parents,  Isaac  and  Sarah  (Bryant)  Adams, 
to  America.  The  family  resided  for  a  time  in  Duluth  and  afterward 
in  Brainerd,  Minnesota,  before  removing  to  Minneapolis,  where  the 
father  continued  practice  as  a  mining  engineer.  Both  he  and  his  wife 
died  when  about  seventy  years  of  age. 

Frank  E.  Adams  was  one  of  a  family  of  six  children.  He  attended 
the  public  schools  of  Minneapolis  and  afterward  the  State  University 


488  Qits«  (g.  atlita  apamg 

of  Minnesota  and  his  practical  training  was  received  as  an  apprentice 
in  the  machine  shops  and  drafting  department  of  the  North  Star  Iron 
Works  at  Minneapohs.  Subsequently  he  was  employed  as  draftsman 
and  mechanical  designer  by  various  firms  in  many  of  the  largest  cities 
of  the  United  States,  thus  adding  constantly  to  his  experience,  his 
knowledge  and  his  efficiency.  The  year  1890  witnessed  his  arrival  in 
Seattle,  where  he  entered  the  city  engineer's  office.  Some  time  after- 
ward he  opened  an  office  for  the  private  practice  of  his  profession  and 
for  a  time  he  devoted  his  earnings  to  the  study  of  patent  law,  becom- 
ing capable  of  designing  all  classes  of  machinery  and  skillfully  prepar- 
ing and  prosecuting  applications  for  patents.  He  was  a  registered 
patent  attorney  in  both  the  United  States  and  Canada  and  also  con- 
ducted the  prosecution  of  patents  in  foreign  lands.  He  was  one  of 
the  first  to  engage  in  practice  as  a  patent  attorney  in  Seattle  and  his 
abihty  in  that  direction  brought  him  prominently  before  the  public. 

Mr.  Adams  was  also  widely  known  as  a  leader  in  the  ranks  of  the 
republican  party  in  the  northwest.  He  was  frequently  a  delegate  to 
city  and  county  conventions  and  in  1895,  when  a  candidate  for  fire 
commissioner,  received  the  largest  majority  given  to  any  man  on  the 
republican  ticket.  He  had  an  interesting  military  experience,  for  in 
1891  he  became  a  member  of  the  Washington  National  Guard,  enter- 
ing Company  D,  which  was  soon  called  out  for  active  duty  in  quelling 
the  Franklin  and  Gilman  coal  riots.  He  was  advanced  to  the  rank  of 
fii-st  sergeant  of  his  company  and  in  that  capacity  took  part  in  the 
Northern  Pacific  strike  in  1894.  From  the  rank  of  first  sergeant  he 
rose  at  one  step  to  that  of  captain  and  thus  commanded  a  detachment 
on  the  Columbia  river  during  the  fishing  strike,  in  which  he  was  out  for 
ninety  days,  and  he  received  the  highest  praise  for  his  service  from  the 
adjutant  general  of  the  state  in  his  biennial  report  covering  that 
period.  At  the  first  call  for  troops  for  the  Spanish- American  war  he 
volunteered  and  his  company  was  the  first  mustered  in  from  Washing- 
ton, becoming  known  as  Company  D,  First  Washington  Infantry. 
The  command  was  sent  immediately  to  San  Francisco  and  after  spend- 
ing several  months  at  the  Presidio  sailed  for  the  Philippines  in 
October.  Captain  Adams  served  diu-ing  the  greater  part  of  the  time 
with  the  rank  of  major  and  received  mention  for  distinguished  service 
in  battle.  One  month  before  his  regiment  left  for  the  Philippines  he 
was  ordered  to  San  Francisco  because  of  ill  health  and  later  was  dis- 
charged with  the  others  of  his  regiment,  returning  to  Seattle. 

Mrs.  Adams  accompanied  her  husband  on  his  trip  to  the  Philip- 
pines and  upon  their  return  they  engaged  in  practice  as  patent  attor- 
neys at  Seattle  until  the  death  of  Captain  Adams,  which  occurred 


90ts,  (g,  atUta  aoamg  489 

September  8,  1912,  as  the  result  of  an  operation  brought  about  by- 
illness  contracted  dui-ing  his  residence  in  the  Philippines  thirteen  years 
before.  They  became  the  parents  of  a  daughter,  Viviaime  Ai'Uta,  who 
was  born  in  Seattle  and  is  now  twenty-three  years  old. 

Captain  Adams  had  an  extensive  circle  of  warm  friends  in  Seat- 
tle, where  much  of  his  life  was  passed.  He  had  started  in  business 
there  with  Fred  Ames,  comity  sm-veyor,  and  dm'ing  their  year's  con- 
nection they  engaged  in  civil  and  mechanical  engineering  and  did  such 
patent  work  as  was  to  be  secured,  in  which  connection  Captain  Adams 
was  frequently  sent  to  Washington,  D.  C,  to  give  expert  testimony. 

Mrs.  Adams  joined  her  husband  in  active  practice  in  1901,  after 
having  previously  been  in  his  office  for  two  years.  In  1906  they  formed 
a  partnership  with  Stephen  A.  Brooks,  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  which 
connection  existed  imtil  the  death  of  Mr.  Brooks,  December  18,  1914. 
On  January  1,  1915,  Mrs.  Adams  formed  a  partnership  with  Henry 
L.  Reynolds,  formerly  examiner  in  the  United  States  patent  office, 
the  name  of  the  firm  being  Adams  &  Reynolds.  She  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  as  a  patent  attorney  in  1901  and  has  since  made  a  specialty  of 
patent  cases.  She  was  one  of  the  first  women  in  the  United  States 
admitted  to  practice  patent  law  and  is  the  only  woman  patent  attorney 
west  of  Chicago.  She  was  also  the  first  woman  on  the  firing  line  in  the 
Phihppine  islands,  arriving  at  Manila  five  days  before  the  outbreak 
of  hostilities.  Mrs.  Adams  is  a  member  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
and  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  only  woman  member  of  the  Com- 
mercial Club.  She  votes  with  the  republican  party  but  is  not  active  in 
politics,  and  her  religious  faith  is  that  of  the  Episcopal  church.  She 
maintains  her  residence  in  winter  at  the  Washington  Hotel  and  has  a 
summer  home  on  Mercer  island.  Pronoimced  ability  has  brought  her 
prominently  to  the  front  and  she  occupies  a  distinguished  if  unique 
position  in  connection  with  professional  circles. 


fogep!)  iWalcolm  Clapp 

JOSEPH  MALCOLM  CLAPP,  who  has  been  iden- 
tified with  many  important  civil  engineering  projects, 
devoting  his  entire  life  to  professional  duties  since 
his  graduation  from  the  Royal  Military  College  at 
Kingston,  Canada,  as  civil  and  military  engineer, 
was  born  at  Milford,  Prince  Edward  county,  Ontario, 
November  2,  1866.  He  is  a  descendant  in  the  eleventh  generation  of 
an  ancestor  whose  name  is  unknown  but  who  was  a  resident  of  Devon 
county,  England,  and  was  the  father  of  Richard  Clapp,  whose  son, 
George  Gilson,  and  his  four  brothers,  Thomas,  Nicholas,  Rodger  and 
Edward,  came  to  America  between  the  years  1630  and  1640.  During 
the  same  decade  his  wife  crossed  the  Atlantic  and  their  marriage  was 
blessed  by  one  child,  born  in  South  Carolina.  George  Gilson  was  the 
direct  ancestor  of  Joseph  Malcolm  Clapp  in  the  third  generation,  from 
whom  the  line  is  traced  down  through  John,  John,  Elias  and  Joseph. 
The  last  named  wedded  Mercy  Carpenter  and  they  had  six  children, 
Elias,  Nathaniel,  Joseph,  Benjamin,  James  and  Henry.  Of  this 
family,  Joseph  Clapp,  the  direct  ancestor  in  the  eighth  generation,  had 
eight  children,  Sarah,  Phillip,  Catherine,  Patience,  James,  George, 
Samuel  and  Joseph.  Of  these  James  married  Jane  Sproule  and  they 
were  the  grandparents  of  Joseph  Malcolm  Clapp.  In  their  family 
were  the  following  children:  Joseph,  John,  Robert,  William  H., 
Jane  and  Samuel.  The  third  of  these,  Robert  Clapp,  married  Nancy 
Fegan  and  their  children  were  Philena,  Annie  Jane,  John,  Eliza, 
Joseph  Malcolm,  Harry  and  Robert  M.  The  father  was  United 
States  consular  agent  at  Picton,  Ontario,  from  1866  until  1888. 
Counselor  at  law,  he  also  served  as  warden  of  the  county  and  was 
county  leader  of  the  conservative  party  for  many  years.  He  proved 
a  capable  public  official,  one  who  enjoyed  the  highest  regard  and 
esteem  of  those  who  lived  in  his  locality.  Two  families  of  the  Clapps 
came  to  America  in  the  seventeenth  century  and  all  settled  in  New 
England  save  Dr.  George  Gilson  Clapp,  who  first  took  up  his  abode 
in  North  or  South  Carolina  and  afterward  settled  in  Dutchess  county, 
New  York. 

Joseph  Malcolm  Clapp,  pursuing  his  education  in  the  Royal  Mili- 
tary College  at  Kingston,  Canada,  completed  a  course  in  civil  and 
493 


494  3IOiggpi)  Qgalcolm  Clapp 

military  engineering  by  graduation  with  the  class  of  June  27,  1887. 
He  refused  a  commission  in  the  Royal  Artillery  Infantry  and  Cav- 
alry and  accepted  a  position  as  rodman  in  the  location  and  construc- 
tion of  the  San  Gabriel  Rapid  Transit  Railway  in  Los  Angeles, 
California,  being  thus  employed  from  November,  1887,  until  Feb- 
ruary, 1888.  From  the  latter  date  until  May,  1889,  he  was  engaged 
as  topographer,  leveler,  transit  man  and  chainman  with  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railway  Company  in  California,  working  xmder  William 
Hood,  and  also  on  the  central  irrigation  district  in  the  Sacramento 
valley.  In  May,  1889,  he  was  appointed  an  instrulnent  man  in  con- 
nection with  the  United  States  engineering  department  and  assisted 
in  the  survey  of  the  Oregon  coast  harbors.  In  August  of  that  year 
he  received  the  appointment  of  United  States  assistant  engineer  and 
was  the  principal  assistant  engineer  of  the  Seattle  district  from  May, 
1896,  imtil  February,  1911,  when  he  resigned  to  go  into  business  on 
his  own  accoimt.  He  assisted  in  making  the  designs  in  the  constrvic- 
tion  work  of  the  jetties  at  Gray's  Harbor,  Washington,  in  the  design 
and  improvement  of  Willapa  Harbor,  Everett  Harbor,  Bellingham 
Harbor,  harbors  in  Montana  and  Idaho,  including  those  on  the 
Upper  Columbia,  Snake  and  Clear  Water  rivers.  He  had  charge 
of  the  survey  for  the  wagon  road  between  the  Gulf  of  Alaska  and 
the  Yukon  river  for  the  United  States  government  and  designed 
the  harbor  for  Katalla,  Alaska.  His  work  has  ever  been  of  a  most 
important  character  involving  a  clear  understanding  of  broad  scien- 
tific principles  as  well  as  all  of  the  phases  of  practical  workmanship. 
He  promoted,  located  and  sold  to  the  Union  Pacific  Railway  the 
Gray's  Harbor  &  Puget  Sound  Railway  from  Hoquiam,  Washington, 
to  Centralia,  and  the  line  now  carries  the  cars  of  the  Oregon- 
Washington  Railway  &  Navigation  Company  and  the  Chicago,  Mil- 
waukee &  St.  Paul  Railway  Company  to  Gray's  Harbor.  For  about 
twenty-one  years  he  served  as  assistant  to  the  United  States  engineer 
at  either  Portland,  Oregon,  or  Seattle,  Washington,  while  the  de- 
fenses of  Puget  Sound  were  being  surveyed  and  constructed.  He 
was  chief  engineer  of  waterway  district  No.  1  of  King  coimty,  during 
which  time  he  had  charge  of  all  surveys,  design  and  location  of  the 
ship  canal  up  the  Duwamish  valley  at  Seattle.  He  has  been  prac- 
ticing as  a  consulting  and  contracting  civil  engineer  since  1911  and 
his  business  has  become  most  extensive  and  of  a  most  important 
character. 

On  the  27th  of  December,  1892,  Mr.  Clapp  was  married  at  Pen- 
dleton, Oregon,  to  Miss  Helen  A.  Simith,  a  daughter  of  S.  A.  and 
Sarah   (Grubbe)    Smith,  and  to  them  was  born  one  child,  Helen 


31oscpt)  Qgalcolm  Clapp  495 

Cameron,  whose  natal  day  was  June  16,  1897.  Mr.  Clapp  was  mar- 
ried again  at  Picton,  Ontario,  January  27,  1913,  to  Miss  Alice  M. 
Phillips,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Mary  (Walker)  Phillips. 

Their  religious  faith  is  that  of  the  Episcopal  chm-ch  and  in  poli- 
tics Mr.  Clapp  is  a  consistent  republican,  believing  in  tariflf  for  pro- 
tection to  American  manufacturers  and  labor  against  foreign  made 
goods  by  cheap  foreign  labor  and  has  lent  his  efforts  to  that  end  by 
voting  the  straight  republican  ticket.  Fraternally  he  is  connected 
with  the  Masons,  is  a  member  of  the  blue  lodge,  the  Scottish  Rite  and 
the  Mystic  Shrine,  and  he  is  also  connected  with  the  Woodmen  of 
the  World  and  the  Brotherhood  of  American  Yeomen,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution.  In  club  circles,  too,  he 
is  well  known,  holding  membership  with  the  Arctic,  Commercial, 
Canadian  and  Republican  Clubs  of  Seattle.  He  finds  time  for  social 
interests  and  recreation  which  maintain  the  even  balance  of  life  and 
is  as  well  a  most  busy  man  in  his  profession,  in  which  he  has  made 
steady  advancement,  working  his  way  upward  through  his  own  pow- 
ers and  ability,  his  experience  and  study  continually  bringing  him 
wider  knowledge  and  greater  efficiency.  The  natm-e  of  the  projects 
with  which  he  has  been  identified  indicate  most  clearly  his  high  pro- 
fessional standing. 


1 


(Wt/y-^^^^-e^^^ 


aaotjert  ^,  ftultjert 

>HE  ancestry  of  the  Hulbert  family  is  traced  back  to 
Scotland,  the  name  Hulbert  being  derived  from 
Whirlbot.  In  the  early  days  the  highland  Scotch 
chiefs  fought  with  a  weapon  called  the  whil  hot,  a  hot 
which  was  whirled  when  thrown  at  the  enemy.  His 
ancestors  became  so  proficient  and  their  skill  so  great 
with  that  weapon  that  they  were  called  the  whirl  hots,  and  in  the  later 
centuries  the  name  has  been  corrupted  and  changed  until  it  is  the 
Hulbert  of  today.  Representatives  of  the  name  in  remote  genera- 
tions came  to  America  during  colonial  days  and  at  the  time  of  the 
Revolutionary  war  members  of  the  family  served  in  the  war  for 
independence,  so  that  Robert  A.  Hvdbert  is  eligible  to  membership 
in  the  Sons  of  the  Revolution.  His  parents  were  Ansel  and  Lucinda 
(Cottle)  Hulbert,  who  crossed  the  plains  with  an  emigrant  train  and 
were  forced  to  fight  the  Indians  when  en  route.  They  were  among 
the  earliest  settlers  of  Seattle  and  the  Sound  country,  the  father  hav- 
ing been  one  of  the  pioneer  lumbemien  of  the  northwest. 

Their  son,  Robert  A.  Hulbert,  born  in  Seattle,  March  10,  1864, 
pursued  his  education  in  the  public  and  private  schools  and  in  Wash- 
ington University.  Starting  in  the  business  world  he  was  first  as- 
sociated with  his  father  in  the  lumber  trade  and  is  still  interested  in 
lumber.  He  gained  a  wide  business  experience  with  his  father  and 
learned  to  deal  with  all  classes  of  men,  this  giving  him  a  broad  out- 
look of  life  and  a  comprehensive  understanding  of  men  and  their 
motives.  He  turned  from  the  lumber  trade,  however,  to  the  pro- 
fession of  law  and  after  preparing  for  the  bar  began  practice  in 
Everett.  His  clientage,  however,  steadily  extended  over  the  state 
and  grew  to  such  proportions  in  Seattle  that  he  returned  to  his  native 
city,  where  he  is  now  practicing  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Ballinger, 
Battle,  Hulbert  &  Shorts.  They  engage  in  general  law  practice  and 
represent  some  of  the  largest  corporations  of  the  northwest,  their 
clientage  being  very  extensive  and  of  a  most  important  character. 
Mr.  Hulbert  is  still  interested  in  real  estate  and  in  the  lumber  in- 
dustry, having  holdings  in  both  throughout  Washington  but  he  is  first 
and  last  a  lawyer,  enamored  of  his  profession  and  giving  to  his  clients 
the  benefit  of  great  talent,  unwearied  industry  and  rare  learning. 


500  Uobett  ^,  ^uldett 

Nevertheless,  he  does  not  forget  that  there  are  certain  things  due  to 
the  court,  to  his  own  self  respect  and  above  all,  to  justice  and  a 
righteous  administration  of  the  law  which  neither  the  zeal  of  an 
advocate  nor  the  pleasm-e  of  success  permits  him  to  disregard. 

On  the  30th  of  June,  1906,  Mr.  Hulbert  was  married  to  Miss 
Margaret  Gooch,  who  is  of  English  parentage.  He  has  two  daugh- 
ters by  a  former  marriage :  Mrs.  Vivian  Wayne  Murray,  of  Ellens- 
bm-g;  and  Mildred,  at  home.  In  politics  he  is  a  republican  but  is 
interested  in  politics  only  as  it  affects  city,  state  and  country,  having 
no  ambition  for  public  office.  The  only  political  position  that  he  has 
ever  filled  was  that  of  county  clerk  of  Snohomish  county,  in  which 
capacity  he  served  for  two  terms.  Fraternally  he  is  an  Elk,  a  Knight 
of  Pythias  and  an  Odd  Fellow  and  he  is  prominent  in  various  rela- 
tionships, holding  membership  in  the  Rainier  and  Seattle  Golf  and 
Country  Clubs,  the  Cascade  Club  of  Everett,  the  Automobile  Club 
and  the  Native  Sons  of  Washington.  He  is  likewise  a  member  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  and  in  sympathy  with  its  purposes  and  plans 
for  the  improvement  and  upbuilding  of  the  city,  while  along  strictly 
professional  lines  his  connection  is  with  the  Bar  Association  of  Seat- 
tle, the  Bar  Association  of  Washington  and  the  National  Bar 
Association.  Thoroughness  has  characterized  his  activities  in  every 
connection  and  wisely  using  the  talents  and  intellectual  force  with 
which  nature  endowed  him,  he  has  come  to  rank  with  the  distinguished 
lawyers  of  the  northwest. 


mtUtam  Walker 

jXTENSIVE  and  important  are  the  business  interests 
which  claim  the  attention  and  which  profit  by  the 
direction  of  William  Walker,  a  capitalist,  largely  in- 
terested in  the  Puget  Mill  Company  and  the  Puget 
Sound  Commercial  Company,  his  identification  with 
the  latter  being  that  of  vice  president.  Ready  dis- 
cernment of  advantages  of  a  situation,  a  quickness  in  discriminating 
between  the  essential  and  the  nonessential  features  of  business,  a 
notable  power  in  combining  unrelated  and  ofttimes  seemingly  diverse 
elements  into  a  unified  and  harmonious  whole  have  been  salient  fea- 
tures in  his  career.  He  made  his  start  in  the  business  world  at  the 
age  of  fifteen  years,  previous  to  which  time  his  training  had  been  that 
of  farm  life  with  the  further  advantages  of  a  public  school  and  acade- 
mic education,  the  latter  acquired  in  Skowhegan,  Maine. 

A  native  of  the  Pine  Tree  state,  William  Walker  was  born  in 
Solon,  November  1,  1840,  a  son  of  James  Martin  and  Eliza  (Heald) 
Walker.  The  family  is  of  ancient  Scotch  lineage,  removing  to  the 
north  of  Ireland  in  the  reign  of  James  I.  The  line  of  descent  of 
William  Walker  is  as  follows:  I.  Rev.  George  Walker  lived  in  Lon- 
donderry, Ireland,  and  died  there  in  1689.  II.  Andrew  Walker 
settled  at  Tewksberry,  Massachusetts,  and  died  there  in  1739.  He 
was  an  uncle  of  General  John  Stark,  of  Revolutionary  fame.  III. 
James  Walker,  of  Goffstown,  New  Hampshire,  married  a  daughter 
of  Colonel  John  GofF,  for  whom  that  town  was  named.  IV.  Silas 
Walker,  of  Goffstown.  V.  William  Walker  was  born  in  Manchester, 
New  Hampshire,  in  1770  and  served  in  the  War  of  1812.  VI.  James 
Martin  Walker,  born  in  Goffstown  in  1798,  married  Eliza  Heald,  a 
daughter  of  Colonel  Jonas  Heald,  of  Acton,  New  Hampshire.  VII. 
Cyrus  Walker.    VIII.  William  Walker. 

Leaving  the  farm  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  William  Walker  was 
employed  for  a  brief  period  in  a  carriage  factory  and  for  some  time 
in  a  machine  shop  in  Skowhegan,  Maine,  and  he  became  the  owner  of 
a  one-fourth  interest  in  a  chisel  and  skate  factory  in  Skowhegan.  The 
year  1868  witnessed  his  arrival  in  Washington,  whither  he  came  for 
the  purpose  of  visiting  his  brother  Cyrus,  making  the  journey  by  way 
503 


504  mnuam  maim 

of  Panama  and  Aspinwall.  Here  he  remained  until  the  overland 
railway  to  California  was  completed  and  by  that  road  he  returned  to 
his  home  in  New  England.  But  the  west  had  taken  firm  hold  upon 
him  and  he  immediately  disposed  of  his  interests  in  the  chisel  and  skate 
factory  at  a  loss  and  with  his  family  returned  to  this  state  in  1870. 
Settling  at  Port  Gamble,  he  became  master  mechanic  with  the  Puget 
Mill  Company  and  was  advanced  to  the  position  of  engineer  in  chief, 
his  time  being  thus  spent  for  seven  years.  In  1877  he  purchased  stock 
in  the  Puget  Mill  Company,  which  has  always  been  a  close  corpora- 
tion, Mr.  Walker  being  the  only  man  outside  of  the  original  owners 
and  their  heirs  to  become  a  stockholder  in  the  business.  The  same 
year  the  Puget  Sound  Commercial  Company  was  organized  as  an 
accessory  enterprise  to  the  Puget  Mill  Company,  for  the  purpose  of 
owning  and  operating  vessels  to  carry  the  mill  product  and  conduct  a 
general  carrying  trade  to  foreign  ports.  The  Puget  Mill  Company 
is  a  California  corporation,  while  the  Puget  Sound  Commercial  Com- 
pany is  a  strictly  Wasliington  corporation,  of  which  Cyrus  Walker 
has  been  president  and  William  Walker  the  vice  president  from  the 
beginning.  Various  subsidiary  companies  have  been  instituted  from 
time  to  time  and  many  investments  have  been  made  in  timber  lands, 
which  have  largely  increased  in  value.  The  Puget  Mill  Company 
has  developed  many  tracts  in  Seattle  and  laid  out  many  desirable  city 
additions.  William  Walker  is  especially  efficient  in  the  indispensable 
technical  details  of  manufacturing.  He  has  done  much  to  adopt  east- 
ern models  in  order  to  handle  the  timber  of  this  coast.  He  made  a 
number  of  important  innovations  which  he  did  not  patent  that  are 
now  in  general  and  unrestricted  use  and  he  is  regarded  as  the  main 
factor  in  the  evolution  of  mill  machinery  in  the  northwest  and  in  the 
development  of  technical  milling  operations.  To  him  work  of  that 
kind  is  a  genuine  pleasure  and  he  has  been  an  ardent  student  in  that 
field,  making  improvements  continually. 

On  the  24th  of  January,  1864,  in  Skowhegan,  Maine,  Mr.  Walker 
was  married  to  Miss  Emma  Jane  Williams,  who  was  a  daughter  of 
C.  A.  Williams,  and  who  passed  away  July  6,  1910,  leaving  one  child, 
Maud,  now  the  wife  of  Edwin  G.  Ames,  of  Seattle. 

Mr.  Walker  is  an  active  and  prominent  Mason,  holding  member- 
ship in  Franklin  Lodge,  No.  5,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  Fort  Gamble,  which 
was  the  second  Masonic  lodge  instituted  in  the  state.  He  is  also  a 
Knight  Templar  Mason  and  has  attained  the  thirty-second  degree  in 
Lawson  Consistory.  He  belongs  to  the  Rainier  Club  and  is  a  life 
member  of  both  the  Arctic  and  the  Seattle  Athletic  Clubs.  In  a 
history  of  commercial  development  having  to  do  with  the  utilization 


mniiam  mmet 


505 


of  the  natural  resources  of  the  northwest  his  name  figures  promi- 
nently, his  labors  having  constituted  a  dynamic  force.  He  early  had 
the  prescience  to  discern  something  of  what  the  future  had  in  store 
for  this  great  and  growing  western  country  and,  acting  according  to 
the  dictates  of  his  faith  and  judgment,  he  has  reaped  in  the  fullness 
of  time  the  rich  harvests  of  his  labors  and  also  the  aftermath. 


i 


-^&. 


aUretr  emersion  i^nott 

III^^^LFRED  EMERSON  KNOFF  was  born  in  Chey- 
enne, Wyoming,  May  2,  1882,  and  is  the  eldest  son 
of  John  J.  and  Nelhe  M.  KnofF.  With  his  parents 
he  came  to  Seattle  in  the  fail  of  1883,  when  the  North- 
ern Pacific  Railway  Company  extended  their  railroad 
to  the  Pacific  northwest.  He  attended  the  Seattle 
public  schools,  and  by  carrying  newspapers  after  school  he  earned 
enough  money  at  the  age  of  thirteen  to  enter  the  Acme  Business  Col- 
lege. Three  days  after  finishing  his  course  and  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Seattle  Hardware  Company,  as  office 
boy.  After  three  years  spent  in  the  hardware  business  he  was  hired  as 
clerk  by  O.  D.  Colvin,  then  sales  agent  for  the  Washburn-Moen 
department  of  the  American  Steel  &  Wire  Company,  the  latter  con- 
cern having  just  been  formed  by  John  W.  Gates.  This  was  in  the  year 
1900.  In  April,  1904,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  he  had  worked 
his  way  up  to  manager  of  the  Seattle  office  of  the  above  company, 
which  enjoys  a  very  large  business  in  this  territory  and  Alaska.  The 
American  Steel  &  Wire  Company  is  a  subsidiary  of  the  United  States 
Steel  Corporation,  whose  selling  organization  on  the  Pacific  coast  is 
under  the  name  of  the  United  States  Steel  Products  Company.  Mr. 
Knoff 's  present  official  title  is  sales  agent,  and  he  controls,  through  his 
high  reputation,  fair  dealings  and  enviable  popularity,  a  large  and 
growing  business. 

On  June  9,  1903,  in  Seattle,  Mr.  KnoiF  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Ethel  Filkins,  a  daughter  of  the  late  Dr.  John  W.  Filkins  and 
Mrs.  Clarinda  E.  Filkins,  residing  in  this  city,  both  early  residents  of 
Seattle.  They  now  have  one  son  and  two  daughters,  namely,  John 
Filkins,  Dorothy  and  Margaret,  who  are  eleven,  six  and  three  years 
of  age  respectively. 

Mr.  Knoff  and  his  family  reside,  when  in  the  city,  at  their  home  on 
Queen  Anne  Hill,  the  district  where  in  the  early  days  he  made  enough 
money  carrying  newspapers  after  school  to  go  to  business  college,  and 
in  the  summer  he  spends  his  time  outside  of  business  hours  with  his 
family  at  his  country  home  at  Three  Tree  Point. 

While  very  modest  in  his  ways,  Mr.  Knoif  takes  a  keen  interest  in 
civic  and  club  life.    He  is  a  member  of  long  standing  in  the  Seattle 
509 


510  aifteP  (gmetson  l&mtt 

Chamber  of  Commerce  and  has  just  completed  a  three  year  term  as 
trustee.  He  is  very  popular  in  club  life  and  is  a  member  of  the  Rainier 
Club,  Arctic  Club,  Seattle  Athletic  Club,  Seattle  Golf  Club  and  Ear- 
lington  Golf  and  Country  Club.  He  is  a  Mason  of  high  degree,  be- 
longing to  both  the  York  and  Scottish  Rites,  and  also  belongs  to  the 
Mystic  Shrine.  He  possesses  the  characteristic  enterprise  of  the  west 
and  in  all  that  he  undertakes,  whether  of  a  business  or  public  nature, 
wins  success. 


OTatgon  C.  Squire 


IHERE  are  few  pages  of  the  history  of  the  develop- 

T^,  J  ment  of  the  northwest  upon  which  the  name  of  Wat- 
yM  son  C.  Squire  is  not  found.  As  governor  and  senator 
\i  1  he  guided  the  political  history  of  the  state  and  as  a 
business  man  he  aided  in  utilizing  the  natural  re- 
sources of  the  west  and  in  bringing  about  the  era  of 
empire  building  which  has  made  Seattle  a  great  center  of  domestic 
and  foreign  trade.  His  activities  were  so  important  and  so  far-reach- 
ing in  their  effect  that  he  became  known  as  one  of  the  representative 
American  citizens  with  wide  acquaintance  throughout  the  nation. 

It  was  at  Cape  Vincent,  Jefferson  county,  New  York,  that  Wat- 
son C.  Squire  first  opened  his  eyes  to  the  light  of  day  on  the  18th  day 
of  May,  1838.  His  father  was  the  Rev.  Orra  Squire,  a  minister  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  who  married  Eretta  Wheeler.  Both 
were  natives  of  New  York  and  were  descended  from  English  families 
established  on  American  soil  during  the  colonial  epoch  in  the  history 
of  this  country.  The  maternal  grandfather,  Ebenezer  Wheejer, 
served  as  an  American  officer  in  the  War  of  1812. 

In  the  acquirement  of  his  education  Watson  C.  Squire  attended 
the  public  schools  of  Oswego  county.  New  York,  until  he  reached  the 
age  of  more  than  eleven  years  and  then  became  a  student  in  Falley 
Seminary  at  Fulton,  New  York,  which  he  attended  at  intervals  for 
five  years  and  still  later  spent  a  year  in  Fairfield  Seminary  in  Herki- 
mer county.  He  had  the  advantage  of  the  usual  academic  training 
and  became  well  grounded  in  Latin,  Greek,  Spanish  and  mathematics. 
He  later  entered  Wesleyan  University  at  Middletown,  Connecticut, 
and  was  graduated  from  that  institution  with  the  class  of  1859.  He 
has  always  felt  a  deep  interest  in  the  university  and  for  thirty-eight 
consecutive  years  has  been  one  of  its  trustees.  Following  the  comple- 
tion of  his  college  course,  he  began  reading  law  in  Herkimer,  New 
York,  and  later  was  made  principal  of  the  Moravia  Institute  at 
Moravia,  New  York. 

In  the  meantime  the  feeling  between  the  north  and  the  south  was 
becoming  more  and  more  strained  over  the  question  of  slavery  and 
the  right  of  the  states  to  settle  such  questions  for  themselves.  Even- 
tually war  was  declared  and  Mr.  Squire  was  the  first  man  in  his  home 
513 


514  matsoti  €♦  Squire 

town  to  enlist,  becoming  a  member  of  Company  F,  Nineteenth  Regi- 
ment of  New  York  Volunteer  Infantry,  He  was  elected  to  the  cap- 
taincy of  his  company  but  refused  to  serve,  urging  the  selection  of  an 
older  man,  while  he  accepted  the  position  of  first  lieutenant.  In  the 
conflict  which  occurred  in  Maryland  and  Virginia  during  the  first  six 
months  of  the  war,  he  took  an  active  part  and  was  also  in  Washington, 
D.  C.  He  then  received  an  honorable  discharge  and  returned  to 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  for  the  purpose  of  becoming  a  lawyer,  believing,  as 
did  the  great  majority  of  the  people  of  the  north  at  the  time,  that  the 
war  was  practically  at  an  end.  He  had  just  been  admitted  to  the  bar 
at  Cleveland  in  1862  when  there  was  issued  another  call  for  troops 
and  again  Mr.  Squire  responded  without  delay.  He  organized  an 
independent  company  of  sharpshooters,  was  elected  captain  and  joined 
General  W.  S.  Rosecrans,  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  in  Ten- 
nessee. The  company  remained  in  active  duty  until  the  close  of 
hostihties  and  because  of  exceptional  meritorious  service  in  the  field 
was  selected  and  acted  as  headquarters'  guard  with  General  Sherman 
on  his  march  to  the  sea.  Captain  Squire,  after  commanding  his  com- 
pany and  later  serving  at  the  head  of  the  battalion  of  sharpshooters, 
was  made  trial  judge  advocate  of  the  department  court  under  General 
Thomas.  Later  he  became  judge  advocate  of  the  district  of  Nashville, 
middle  Tennessee  and  northern  Georgia  and  Alabama  on  the  staff  of 
General  Rousseau.  He  was  the  reviewing  officer  of  all  military  courts 
in  the  district,  passing  upon  all  findings  and  sentences  and  supervising 
the  work  of  twenty-one  separate  courts,  twenty-seven  hundred  cases 
coming  under  his  attention,  a  record  which  received  special  mention 
from  the  judge  advocate  general.  He  was  also  on  active  duty  on 
several  of  the  most  hotly  contested  battlefields,  being  present  at  the 
engagements  of  Chickamauga,  Missionary  Ridge,  Resaca  and  Nashr 
ville,  and  was  mustered  out  of  the  service  after  the  close  of  the  war, 
on  the  10th  day  of  August,  1865.  He  was  brevetted  colonel  by  Sec- 
retary of  War  Stanton  in  recognition  of  his  gallantry. 

His  company  of  Ohio  Sharpshooters  were  remembered  by  General 
Sherman,  who  in  a  complimentary  order  addressed  to  each  officer  and 
private  soldier  in  this  command,  attributed  to  them  his  own  personal 
safety  in  the  long  and  arduous  campaigns.  Colonel  Squire's  name 
appears  on  the  battle  monuments  at  Chickamauga  and  Missionary 
Ridge. 

When  Colonel  Squire  returned  to  the  north  he  settled  at  Ilion, 
New  York,  where  he  accepted  a  position  with  the  Remington  Arms 
Company  and  eventually  in  that  connection  worked  his  way  upward 
until  he  became  secretary,  treasurer  and  manager.     His  work  there 


COatgon  C  Squire  515 

brought  him  in  contact  with  the  representatives  of  many  foreign  pow- 
ers and  he  became  recognized  as  an  authority  on  firearms.  He  made 
sales  to  France,  Spain,  Denmark,  Sweden,  Egypt,  Mexico  and  other 
foreign  governments  and  his  efforts  were  a  vital  force  in  winning  the 
world-wide  reputation  for  American-made  arms.  It  was  also  during 
the  period  of  his  connection  with  the  Remington  Company  that  the 
first  typewriter  was  invented  and  Colonel  Squire  signed  the  fijst  con- 
tract ever  made  for  the  manufacture  of  these  machines,  thus  being  one 
of  the  original  promoters  of  the  new  industry. 

The  pleasures  of  home  life  also  came  to  him  about  this  period.  He 
was  married  December  23,  1868,  to  Miss  Ida  Remington,  grand- 
daughter of  the  founder  of  the  Remington  Arms  Company  and  they 
became  the  parents  of  four  children,  of  whom  the  two  sons.  Reming- 
ton and  Shirley  now  reside  in  Seattle.  The  younger  daughter,  Mar- 
jorie,  is  now  the  wife  of  John  F.  Jeimings,  an  attorney  of  Springfield, 
Massachusetts,  and  the  elder  daughter,  Aidine,  is  the  wife  of  A.  V. 
White,  of  Toronto,  Ontario. 

During  the  Franco-Prussian  war  in  1870  the  Remington  Arms 
Company  supplied  the  French  government  with  arms  and  ammunition 
and  in  eight  months  dispatched  twenty  shiploads  of  war  material. 
Colonel  Squire  had  charge  of  the  immense  business  in  New  York  and 
received,  principally  through  the  Rothschilds  and  Morgan  &  Com- 
pany, of  London,  about  fourteen  million  dollars  in  gold.  In  company 
^^ath  Mr.  Remington  he  went  to  Paris  to  meet  the  grand  committee 
on  contracts  at  Versailles  and  was  tendered  the  thanks  of  France  by 
the  Duke  d'Audifret  Pasquier,  president  of  the  grand  committee  of 
sixty  members.  He  was  also  received  with  marked  favor  by  M.  Leon 
Gambetta,  then  the  leading  statesman  of  the  French  republic.  After- 
ward Colonel  Squire  again  went  abroad,  spending  nearly  two  years  in 
England,  Germany,  Switzerland,  Russia,  Sweden,  France,  Italy, 
Spain,  Turkey  and  Greece.  Colonel  Squire  improved  his  time  to  good 
advantage,  not  only  winning  many  friends  during  his  residence  abroad 
but  also  gaining  wide  and  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  life  of  the 
European  capitals,  with  the  works  of  art  and  with  international  poli- 
tics. He  studied  the  military  situation  of  the  different  countries  and 
while  he  was  in  Europe  he  commenced  to  study  the  plans  of  coast 
defense,  which  he  was  later  instrumental  in  embodying  in  the  laws  of 
this  country.  After  returning  to  America  Colonel  Squire  spent  the 
winter  in  the  City  of  Mexico,  where  he  lived  on  terms  of  business  and 
personal  friendship  with  President  Porfirio  Diaz  and  members  of  his 
cabinet. 

The  northwest  marks  the  month  of  May,  1879,  as  the  moment  in 


516  gaatgon  C.  ^quite 

its  history  at  which  Colonel  Squire  made  his  first  trip  to  the  Sound 
country,  proceeding  from  San  Francisco  whither  he  had  gone  on  busi- 
ness, to  Washington  territory.  Three  years  before,  he  had  made  some 
investment  in  property  in  the  Sound  country  and  when  he  visited  this 
region  in  1879  he  saw  the  possibilities  for  the  development  of  its 
natural  resources  and  decided  to  become  a  factor  in  its  development. 
His  wide  training  and  experience  as  a  business  man  and  as  a  student 
of  national  and  international  affairs  led  him  to  the  belief  that  there 
would  be  a  great  empire  builded  in  this  section  of  the  country  and  he 
resolved  to  make  his  home  here.  In  1880  Henry  Villard,  who  had 
obtained  an  option  on  the  property  of  the  Oregon  Steamship  Naviga- 
tion Company  and  had  made  plans  for  the  building  of  the  Oregon 
Railroad  &  Navigation  Company  lines  along  the  south  bank  of  the 
Columbia  from  Portland  to  Wallula,  brought  to  the  country  eastern 
capitalists,  hoping  to  secure  their  cooperation  in  his  plans.  Colonel 
Squire  was  invited  to  join  the  party.  The  result  of  this  trip  was  that 
the  Oregon  Railroad  &  Navigation  Company  line  was  constructed  and 
Colonel  Squire  induced  Mr.  Villard  to  purchase  the  narrow  gauge 
line  from  Seattle  to  Newcastle,  now  the  Columbia  &  Puget  Sound 
and  the  coal  mines  at  Newcastle.  From  these  purchases  the  Oregon 
Improvement  Company  was  formed,  afterward  changed  to  the  Pacific 
Coast  Company,  controlling  coal  lines,  railroads  and  ocean  vessels,  all 
of  which  became  important  elements  in  the  early  development  and 
improvement  of  the  nortliwest.  The  railroad  line  to  the  coal  mines 
was  known  as  the  Seattle  &  Walla  Walla  Railroad  and  it  was  expected 
at  that  time  to  extend  the  railroad  across  the  mountains  to  connect 
with  the  Northern  Pacific,  which,  however,  did  not  cross  the  Cascades 
until  eight  years  later.  It  was  not  until  1883  that  Portland  was  con- 
nected with  the  east  by  rail,  joining  the  Northern  Pacific,  at  which 
time  Villard  extended  the  line  to  Wallula  to  connect  with  the  Oregon 
Railroad  &  Navigation.  This  move  seemed  to  leave  Seattle  hopelessly 
out  of  competition  with  Portland.  Then  followed  the  dearth  in  the 
activity  of  Seattle's  upbuilding  but  Colonel  Squire  never  lost  faith 
in  the  country  and  its  future  and  concentrated  his  energies  upon  build- 
ing operations  in  the  city  and  the  improvement  of  farm  lands,  which 
he  acquired  in  the  White  river  and  Black  river  valleys.  His  wise 
investment  in  real  estate  made  him  in  1890  the  largest  taxpayer  in 
King  county. 

Colonel  Squire  was  especially  interested  in  public  affairs  and  be- 
fore removing  from  the  east  had  served  in  New  York  on  the  state 
central  committee.  He  also  attended  many  conventions  and  had  a 
wide  acquaintance  with  the  foremost  statesmen  of  that  section  of  the 


giOatson  €♦  Squire  517 

country,  including  Grant,  Conkling,  Garfield,  Arthur,  while  Theodore 
Roosevelt  was  just  coming  into  prominence.  Colonel  Squire  made 
frequent  trips  to  the  east  and  has  maintained  his  acquaintance  and 
friendship  with  the  leaders  of  that  section  of  the  country.  He  was 
also  active  in  affairs  relating  to  the  territory  and  in  1884  President 
Arthur  appointed  him  governor  of  the  territory,  which  position  he 
filled  under  President  Cleveland  for  two  years  after  tendering  his 
resignation,  because  his  successor  was  not  appointed  by  the  democratic 
administration.  History  was  at  that  time  in  the  making  in  the  great 
northwest  and  many  and  arduous  were  the  duties  which  devolved  upon 
the  chief  executive :  as  there  came  up  to  him  questions  for  settlement 
relative  not  only  to  the  welfare  of  the  territory  at  the  moment  but  also 
affecting  its  later  destiny.  His  published  reports  to  the  secretary  of 
the  interior  reflect  clearly  the  conditions  which  he  met;  and  his  lucid 
and  systematic  reports  of  the  great  opportunities  of  Washington  had 
large  influence  in  bringing  home  makers  westward.  His  earlier  ex- 
periences enabled  him  to  establish  many  branches  of  the  territorial 
government  on  a  practical  basis,  new  buildings  were  erected  for  public 
institutions,  such  as  the  penitentiary  at  Walla  Walla,  the  insane  hos- 
pital at  Steilacoom  and  the  school  for  defective  youth  at  Vancouver, 

Under  his  direction  great  imjirovements  were  made  in  the  terri- 
torial university,  the  militia  of  the  state  was  put  upon  a  sound  footing 
and  the  system  of  coal  mine  inspection  was  inaugurated.  Colonel 
Squire  recommended  to  the  administration  at  the  national  capital  that 
Washington  be  made  a  state  at  the  earliest  opportunity  but  this  was 
not  done  until  1889.  Because  of  his  thorough  understanding  of  con- 
ditions Colonel  Squire's  advice  and  recommendations  proved  of  the 
utmost  value  when  substantial  laws  were  drafted  for  the  territory — 
laws  which  would  be  adequate  to  the  needs  of  the  territory  in  later 
years,  with  its  increasing  wealth  and  population.  Much  of  the  legis- 
lation enacted  during  his  term  has  since  remained  in  force  on  the 
statute  books  of  the  state. 

Among  the  most  memorable  occurrences  of  Colonel  Squire's  term 
was  the  anti-Chinese  riots  in  the  fall  of  1885  and  in  February,  1886. 
Already  large  numbers  of  Chinese  had  become  residents  of  Seattle 
and  their  number  was  constantly  augmented  through  the  operation 
of  smugglers  in  defiance  of  the  somewhat  loosely  drawn  exclusion  acts. 
The  white  population  resented  the  entrance  of  the  yellow  race  and 
feeling  ran  very  high,  so  that  a  movement  was  started  to  forcibly  drive 
the  Chinese  from  the  territory.  Many  of  their  number  voluntarily 
left  for  Portland  and  San  Francisco,  Tacoma,  with  its  race  war, 
drove  all  the  Chinese  out  of  the  town  on  the  3rd  day  of  November, 


518  matson  €♦  Squire 

1885,  and  riots  occurred  at  the  mines  in  King  county,  where  several 
Chinese  were  killed.  Sheriffs  in  the  two  counties  whom  Governor 
Squire  had  ordered  to  swear  in  a  sufficient  number  of  deputies  to  main- 
tain the  peace,  declared  that  they  could  handle  the  situation. 

In  February,  1886,  Governor  Squire  issued  two  proclamations, 
called  out  the  national  guard  and  eventually  decided  to  proclaim  mar- 
tial law,  which  act  was  at  once  approved  by  President  Cleveland  and 
was  followed  by  the  arrest  of  numerous  rioters.  His  firm  stand  soon 
put  an  end  to  the  delicate  situation  that  had  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  nation.  His  later  reports  to  the  government  embodying  a  com- 
plete list  of  the  losses  of  the  Chinese,  prepared  at  the  request  of  the 
state  department,  won  for  him  the  thanks  of  the  government  and  of 
the  Chinese  authorities.  Governor  Squire's  last  recommendations  in 
his  final  report  to  the  secretary  of  the  interior  were  for :  ( 1 )  the  ad- 
mission of  Washington  into  the  Union;  (2)  the  forfeiture  of  unearned 
railway  landgrants;  (3)  the  enforcement  of  the  Chinese  restriction 
act;  (4)  the  transfer  to  Washington  territory  of  the  northern  counties 
of  Idaho;  (5)  the  improvement  of  the  Columbia  river  and  other  navi- 
gable waters;  (6)  readjustment  of  Indian  reservations;  (7)  speedy 
settlement  of  all  questions  relating  to  public  lands.  The  last  named 
problem  is  still  in  course  of  settlement  today.  The  improvement  of 
the  Columbia  river  is  still  going  on.  The  readjustment  of  the  Indian 
reservations  has  not  been  entirely  perfected.  The  closing  recom- 
mendations of  Governor  Squire's  administration  illustrate  clearly  his 
keen  insight  into  the  future  needs  of  Washington. 

When  Governor  Squire  put  aside  the  duties  of  chief  executive  in 
1887  and  took  up  the  more  active  management  of  his  private  interests, 
he  did  not  relinquish  his  activity  in  public  affairs  but  sought  still  fur- 
ther to  advance  the  interests  of  the  northwest.  It  was  the  great  desire 
of  the  people  to  acquire  statehood  and  Governor  Squire  was  chosen 
to  preside  over  the  convention  of  delegates  which  was  called  to  meet 
at  EUensburg  and  which  by  its  urgent  memorials  and  resolutions  and 
the  convincing  argimients  advanced  hastened  the  action  taken  by  con- 
gress in  1889,  admitting  Washington  to  the  Union  at  the  same  time 
that  North  and  South  Dakota  became  states.  Immediately  after  the 
bill  was  signed  by  the  president,  elections  were  called  and  at  the  first 
session  of  the  legislature.  Governor  Squire  was  chosen  to  represent 
Washington  in  the  United  States  senate. 

Six  senators  were  elected  from  the  three  new  states  and  it  became 
necessary  to  decide  by  lot,  which  should  serve  for  six  years,  which  for 
four  and  which  for  two.  Senator  Squire  drew  a  two  years'  term  but 
at  its  expiration  was  reelected  for  another  full  term,  so  that  he  was 


gaatson  C  Squire  519 

for  eight  years  a  member  of  the  upper  house  of  the  national  legislature 
and  until  the  year  1914  was  the  only  United  States  senator  from 
Washington  to  be  reelected.  The  arrival  of  six  new  senators  at 
Washington  did  not  cause  any  particular  comment.  In  fact  old 
members  have  always  regarded  new  arrivals  as  of  little  importance  but 
Senator  Squire  had  gone  to  Washington  for  the  purpose  of  serving 
his  constituents  and  aiding  them  in  meeting  the  needs  of  the  rapidly 
growing  state.  He  was  very  successful  in  securing  valuable  legisla- 
tion and,  moreover,  he  took  an  active  part  in  all  matters  relating  to  the 
national  welfare:  the  Isthmian  canal  at  Nicaragua  or  Panama;  the 
national  defenses ;  the  tariff  and  currency  question ;  the  Chinese  prob- 
lem; the  Alaskan  boundary;  the  investigation  of  the  coal  and  gold 
resources  in  Alaska ;  and  other  leading  questions  of  the  day.  He  was 
a  most  tireless  member  on  committees,  delivered  effective  impromptu 
addresses  and  displayed  marked  oratory  when  discussing  questions  on 
which  he  had  especially  prepared.  He  and  his  colleague,  Senator 
John  B.  Allen,  agreed  that  each  would  work  for  all  needed  improve- 
ments in  the  state  and  that  each  would  take  special  care  of  the  details 
of  affairs  in  his  own  section  of  the  state.  Among  the  first  benefits 
that  Senator  Squire  was  able  to  obtain  for  his  state  was  the  appropria- 
tion for  building  the  naval  station  and  drydock  at  Bremerton,  the 
location  of  which  had  already  been  recommended  by  two  separate 
boards  of  naval  officers,  but  this  project  had  not  been  acted  upon  by 
congress.  In  fact,  it  was  Senator  Squire  who  first  obtained  recog- 
nition of  Puget  Sound  as  one  of  the  great  harbors  of  the  United 
States,  entitled  to  just  as  much  attention  in  respect  to  lighthouses, 
coast  defenses,  revenue  cutter  and  customs  service,  life-saving  pro- 
tection and  aids  to  navigation  as  any  of  the  great  seaports  which  the 
government  had  been  improving  for  years.  In  one  session  he  secured 
an  increase  of  the  rivers  and  harbors  appropriations  for  the  state  from 
one  hundred  and  three  thousand,  three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  to 
one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  thousand,  four  hundred  and  seventy  dol- 
lars and  ninety-two  cents,  and  at  the  following  session  of  congress 
increased  the  amount  to  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  dollars. 

Nor  was  all  this  spent  on  Puget  Sound.  Senator  Squire  was  a 
strong  friend  of  improvements,  especially  river  improvements  and  the 
Columbia,  Snake,  Okanogan,  Chehalis  and  Cowlitz  rivers  secured 
shares  of  the  appropriations.  Other  funds  were  used  to  improve  the 
harbors  of  Everett  and  Olympia,  as  well  as  Gray's  Harbor  and 
Willapa  Harbor,  in  southwestern  Washington. 

At  the  same  time  the  project  of  building  a  ship  canal  from  Puget 
Sound  into  Lake  Washington  at  Seattle  was  being  urged  by  the  busi- 


520  a^atgon  €♦  Squire 

ness  interests  of  Puget  Sound.  Senator  Squire  lent  his  earnest  aid 
to  this  project  and  secured  two  preliminary  appropriations  of  ten 
thousand  and  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  and  later,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars  with  which  actual  construction  was  begun.  These 
were  the  only  appropriations  secured  for  construction  on  the  canal 
until  1910.  Had  Senator  Squire  remained  longer  in  the  public  serv- 
ice many  friends  of  the  canal  believe  it  might  have  been  an  accom- 
plished fact  years  ago.  It  was  vitally  important  to  obtain  the  right 
of  way  for  the  canal  at  that  time.    Senator  Squire  worked  for  this. 

Among  other  measures  of  great  importance  to  the  state,  first 
brought  to  the  attention  of  congress  by  Senator  Squire  were  these :  to 
provide  for  tests  of  American  timbers  with  a  view  particularly  to 
establish  the  superior  qualities  of  the  timber  of  his  own  state ;  for  the 
creation  of  a  national  park  and  forest  reserve,  including  Mount  Rai- 
nier; for  a  relief  light  vessel  for  the  Pacific  coast;  to  regulate  the  time 
and  place  of  holding  United  States  courts  in  the  state  of  Washington; 
to  grant  jurisdiction  in  cases  relating  to  land  entries;  to  ratify  agree- 
ments with  certain  Indian  tribes ;  for  the  relief  of  purchasers  of  lands 
in  railroad  land  grants ;  for  the  erection  of  a  statue  to  General  U.  S. 
Grant ;  for  public  buildings  at  Seattle,  Tacoma,  Spokane  and  Walla 
Walla;  granting  five  per  cent  of  public  land  sales  to  the  state  of 
Washington. 

When  the  free  silver  plank  was  instituted  by  the  republican  party 
in  the  northwest,  Washington  lost  a  most  effective  public  servant  with 
the  retirement  of  Senator  Squire.  No  other  representative  in  the 
upper  house  at  Washington  had  secured  so  much  valuable  legislation 
for  the  state.  Moreover,  he  did  not  have  the  assistance  of  a  colleague 
in  the  senate  from  his  state  much  of  the  time,  from  the  fact  that  a 
three  years'  deadlock  in  the  state  legislature  prevented  an  election  of 
another  United  States  Senator  from  the  state  of  Washington. 

Washington  has  reason,  indeed,  to  remember  him  gratefully  and 
honor  him  for  what  he  has  done  for  the  state  and  yet  his  efforts  were 
by  no  means  confined  to  legislation  beneficial  to  the  northwest.  In 
fact,  he  furthered  various  projects  for  the  good  of  the  nation  at  large 
and  he  is  especially  well  known  in  connection  with  the  bill  for  the  coast 
defense  of  the  country.  His  foreign  travel  and  military  training  and 
experience  in  handling  arms  and  ammunition  made  him,  probably,  the 
best  informed  man  in  the  senate  during  his  services  there  on  the  sub- 
ject of  national  defense.  Upon  entering  the  senate  he  found  the 
coast  defense  plan  in  a  chaotic  state,  with  a  few  military  men  urging 
much  needed  work  but  gaining  very  little  sympathy.  Members  of 
congress  as  a  rule  were  unfamiliar  with  the  entire  coast  defense  plan. 


gOatson  C.  Squire  521 

Little  had  been  done  and  it  seemed  impossible  to  gain  miited  action 
on  any  comprehensive  plan.  In  the  fifty-second  congress  Senator 
Squire  was  made  chairman  of  the  committee  on  coast  defenses,  having 
been  a  member  of  the  committee  at  his  first  session.  He  promptly 
took  hold  of  the  recommendations  of  army  engineers  which  had  pre- 
viously attracted  little  attention  and  began  planning  the  legislation 
which  resulted  in  the  present  system  of  defenses  of  the  great  harbors 
of  the  nation.  In  the  fifty-third  congress  the  republicans  were  in  a 
minority  and  Senator  Squire  was  removed  from  his  chairmanship  but 
was  retained  on  the  coast  defense  committee.  Again  in  the  fifty- 
fourth  congress  he  was  made  chairman  and  there  continued  his  great 
work  for  the  national  defense.  At  a  single  session  he  increased  the 
coast  defense  appropriation  and  authorizations  of  contracts  from  six 
hundred  thousand  dollars  to  eleven  milhon  five  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars and  thereafter  laid  the  foundation  for  yearly  appropriations  which 
will  amount  in  the  aggregate  to  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
million  dollars  or  more.  At  the  conclusion  of  his  term  in  the  work  of 
building  great  fortifications  for  the  harbors  of  both  coasts  he  had 
become  so  well  understood  and  appreciated  and  the  work  was  so  far 
under  way  that  there  never  has  been  any  question  as  to  the  value  and 
necessity  of  the  vast  projects  which  Senator  Squire  first  pressed  upon 
the  congressional  attention.  Puget  Sound  shared  in  the  benefits  of 
the  work  and  from  a  totally  unfortified  harbor  has  become  one  of  the 
best  protected  in  the  nation. 

Not  alone  in  coast  defenses  was  Senator  Squire  interested,  but  in 
every  phase  of  mihtary  and  naval  legislation.  He  initiated  the  legis- 
lation for  the  rating  of  naval  engineers  as  officers  of  rank  and  his  work 
for  the  engineers  of  the  merchant  marine  resulted  in  his  election  to 
honorary  membership  in  the  Society  of  Marine  Engineers.  His  ef- 
forts were  largely  instrumental  in  increasing  the  revenue  cutter  service 
and  putting  it  on  a  useful  basis,  especially  in  western  and  northern 
waters,  and  he  secured  for  the  Moran  Company  of  Seattle  the  first 
contract  for  construction  of  torpedo  boats  ever  let  in  the  northwest. 
Among  his  favorite  projects  was  the  establishment  of  a  gun  factory 
on  the  Pacific  coast,  for  which  he  put  forth  numerous  eff'orts.  He 
likewise  initiated  the  legislation  that  resulted  in  the  establishment  of 
Fort  Lawton  at  Seattle. 

Senator  Squire  was  also  greatly  interested  in  Alaska.  He  was 
among  the  first  to  realize  the  immense  undeveloped  wealth  of  that 
country  and  was  instrumental  in  securing  the  survey  of  the  Alaskan 
boundary  and  the  settlement  of  the  dispute  with  Canada  on  that  sub- 
ject, securing  an  appropriation  in  1896  for  that  purpose.    Before  that 


522  COatson  QL,  ^qutre 

time,  however,  he  had  laid  the  foundation  for  the  work  of  the  United 
States  geographical  survey  in  Alaska  by  securing  an  appropriation 
for  an  investigation  and  report  on  the  mineral  resources  of  the  coun- 
try. The  famous  Alaska  goldfields  which  of  recent  years  have  at- 
tracted such  wide-spread  attention,  had  come  to  his  notice  and  he  had 
reahzed  that  they  would  some  day  become  a  valuable  asset  to  the 
nation.  He  probably  had  this  in  mind  when  he  was  raising  strenuous 
objections  to  the  purchase  of  foreign  coal  for  the  navy,  and  laying  a 
precedent  for  using  only  the  product  of  domestic  mines.  His  fore- 
sight in  this  particular  has  already  found  justification. 

Another  question  of  national  importance  which  came  up  during 
Senator  Squire's  connection  with  legislative  affairs  in  Washington 
was  that  of  free  silver,  involving,  as  it  did,  unending  discussion  of  the 
national  coinage  and  finally  becoming  the  issue  of  a  national  election. 
A  lifelong  republican  he  saw  with  apprehension  the  entire  west,  in- 
cluding his  own  state,  swing  into  the  free  silver  column.  Notwith- 
standing his  love  for  the  west  he  realized  the  lack  of  wisdom  and  for 
several  sessions  he  firmly  opposed  any  compromise  in  favor  of  the  sil- 
ver standard.  In  December,  1895,  the  year  before  the  national  cam- 
paign which  settled  for  all  time  the  mooted  question,  Senator  Squire 
prepared  a  coinage  measure  which  he  introduced  into  the  senate  and 
which  came  within  a  vote  of  passing  after  long  debate.  His  bill  pro- 
vided for  an  increased  coinage  of  silver,  in  fact  for  what  might  be 
deemed  the  free  coinage  of  silver  to  the  extent  of  its  production,  but 
on  a  basis  which  would  preserve  a  parity  of  value  of  the  various  kinds 
of  coined  money.  The  plan  included  the  withdrawal  of  greenbacks 
and  substitution  of  silver  currency  backed  by  a  gold  reserve.  Senator 
Squire  believed,  as  did  many  other  statesmen  of  the  day,  that  his 
measure  would  be  entirely  equitable  to  the  so-called  silver  states  and 
would  not  inflate  the  currency  or  injure  the  national  credit.  Probably 
only  the  irreconcilable  breach  between  the  free  silver  advocates  and 
the  adherents  of  the  straight  gold  standard  prevented  the  bill  from 
becoming  a  law.  His  interest  in  the  Isthmian  canal  project  (then  by 
the  Nicaragua  route,  probably  the  best  one)  was  an  early  influence 
along  the  line  which  has  led  to  the  development  of  the  Panama  canal. 

Senator  Squire  secured  benefits  for  all  parts  of  the  Pacific  coast 
and  every  section  of  his  own  state  realized  that  it  had  an  active  and 
leading  statesman  working  for  the  northwest  at  the  capital.  One 
prophesying  of  his  senatorial  career  would  have  said  it  would  have 
been  impossible  for  him  to  accomplish  what  he  did,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  he  was  a  new  senator  from  a  new  state,  but  his  broad  experience, 
his  grasp  of  affairs,  his  knowledge  of  conditions  in  his  own  land  and 


gfllatson  €«  ^quice  523 

abroad,  his  public  spirit  and  his  determination  were  elements  along 
the  line  of  success  in  his  legislative  efforts.  It  was  soon  recognized 
that  his  knowledge  was  comprehensive,  his  judgment  sound  and  his 
determination  keen  and  that  the  results  of  his  investigation  found 
embodiment  in  practical  eiFort  for  the  good  of  the  country  at  large. 
His  extensive  travel,  his  interest  in  national  and  international  art  and 
his  personality,  all  entered  into  this  feature  of  his  success.  Among  the 
senators  from  the  south  he  numbered  a  host  of  warm  friends  and  he 
held  their  support  in  congress  as  no  other  northerner  did.  Time  and 
again  he  enlisted  their  aid  with  that  of  the  men  from  the  far  west  to 
force  upon  congress  a  realization  of  the  needs  of  the  Pacific  coast. 
Without  indulging  in  any  petty  scheming  Senator  Squire  was  known 
as  a  consummate  politician  and  his  influence  was  felt  in  every  section 
of  the  country.  He  did  not  hesitate  to  work  for  needed  improvements 
in  other  states  than  his  own  and  often  introduced  bills  for  public  build- 
ings or  other  improvements  in  eastern  or  southern  cities  where  he  be- 
lieved they  were  needed.  So  wide  was  his  personal  popularity  that  at 
the  close  of  one  session  Senator  Allison  asserted  that  Senator  Squire's 
had  been  the  greatest  personal  success  of  any  man  in  that  congress. 
Among  his  friends  and  colleagues  in  the  senate  were  men  from  all 
sections:  Aldrich,  Hoar,  Hawley,  Piatt,  Chandler,  Morrill  and  Hale, 
of  New  England ;  the  senators  from  his  native  state.  New  York,  and 
of  Ohio,  whose  troops  he  led  in  war.  In  the  middle  west  he  was  inti- 
mate with  men  like  Cullom,  Allison,  Warren,  Davis,  Spooner  and 
Nelson  and  natural  ties  of  mutual  interest  bound  him  closely  to  the 
men  from  the  Pacific  coast.  In  his  committee  on  coast  defenses  were 
two  former  secretaries  of  war.  Proctor  and  Elkins,  besides  Senator 
Hawley,  for  years  chairman  of  the  committee  on  military  affairs. 
Senator  Stephen  M.  White,  of  California,  and  Senator  John  B.  Gor- 
don, of  Georgia,  a  brilliant  Confederate  commander.  When  the 
Oregon  senators  were  opposing  the  Bremerton  naval  station  bill  at 
its  first  inception,  at  the  end  of  the  roll  call,  ten  southern  senators  who 
had  just  entered  the  senate  chamber  rose  and,  addressing  the  chair, 
voted  in  favor  of  Senator  Squire's  bill. 

It  was  in  connection  with  the  bills  appropriating  funds  for  the 
completion  of  the  dry  dock  and  navy  yard  at  Bremerton  that  Senator 
Squire  accomplished  one  of  the  remarkable  feats  of  his  career  at 
Washington,  March  2, 1895,  during  the  closing  hours  of  the  fifty- third 
congress.  The  naval  appropriation  bill  came  back  from  committee 
with  a  totally  inadequate  appropriation  for  the  work  needed  at  Puget 
Sound,  despite  all  of  Senator  Squire's  efforts  before  the  committee. 
Rising  on  the  floor  of  the  senate  during  the  closing  hours,  when  there 


524  mntson  €♦  Squire 

was  much  business  to  be  finished,  when  the  galleries  were  packed  to 
watch  the  closing  scenes  of  congress,  Senator  Squire  hurled  in  the 
face  of  the  assembled  senators  his  demand  for  a  proper  recognition 
of  the  Puget  Sound  navy  yard  and  proceeded  to  argue  convincingly 
every  point  that  he  made.  The  procedure  was  astonishing  but  effect- 
ive. Amid  great  applause  the  senator  from  Washington  finished  his 
speech  and  the  senate  unanimously  voted  nearly  the  full  appropriation 
asked  for. 

Among  the  southern  men  who  were  personal  friends  of  Senator 
Squire  were  Gorman  of  Maryland,  Daniel  of  Virginia,  with  whom  he 
paired  in  the  senate.  Vest  and  Cockrill  of  Missouri,  Blackburn  of 
Kentucky,  Ransom,  Vance  and  Butler  of  North  Carolina,  Butler  of 
South  Carolina,  Morgan  of  Alabama,  Bate  of  Tennessee,  Gordon  of 
Georgia,  Gray  of  Delaware,  Kenna  of  West  Virginia,  Gibson  and 
White  of  Louisiana,  and  Berry  of  Arkansas.  J.  C.  S.  Blackburn,  on 
the  committee  of  naval  affairs,  gave  hearty  support  to  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Puget  Sovmd  navy  yard,  while  John  Kenna  on  the  com- 
mittee of  commerce  was  instrumental  in  passing  appropriations  for 
the  Lake  Washington  canal.  Senator  Teller,  who  had  been  secretary 
of  the  interior  under  President  Arthur  when  Squire  was  governor  of 
Washington,  was  a  friendly  supporter.  In  the  house  of  representa- 
tives the  western  senator  had  numerous  friends,  among  others,  McKin- 
ley,  Reed,  Henderson,  Hepburn,  Cannon,  Thomas  H.  Catchings  of 
Mississippi,  and  William  H.  Crane  of  Texas. 

His  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  gi-eat  newspaper  publishers  of 
the  day  was  of  inestimable  value  to  Senator  Squire,  for  they  assisted 
greatly  to  help  him  mold  public  opinion  in  favor  of  such  great  projects 
as  the  plan  of  coast  defenses,  which  was  almost  an  unknown  quantity 
outside  of  army  circles  at  the  time  that  Senator  Squire  entered  the 
senate.  Whitelaw  Reid  and  Isaac  H.  Bromley  of  the  New  York 
Tribune  were  his  close  friends,  as  was  Colonel  Henry  Watterson  of 
the  Louisville  Courier-Journal,  Frank  Hatton  of  the  Washington 
Post,  afterward  postmaster  general,  Melville  E.  Stone  of  the  Asso- 
ciated Press,  and  St.  Clair  McKelway  of  the  Brooklyn  Eagle.  The 
famous  Saturday  Night  Club  of  New  York  gave  Senator  Squire  a 
banquet,  at  which  such  men  as  Depew,  Carnegie  and  Clark  Bell, 
founder  of  the  club,  were  present. 

It  will  hardly  be  questioned  that  the  state  of  Washington  has 
never  had  in  either  hall  of  congress  or  in  any  other  field  of  public 
activity  a  man  who  so  thoroughly  merited  the  name  of  statesman  in 
its  largest  sense  as  Watson  C.  Squire.  Never  sensational,  he  was  a 
leader  of  men  in  large  affairs,  calm  and  firm  in  judgment,  unflinching 


C(3at0on  C.  Squire 


in  matters  where  his  mind  was  set,  and  yet  a  man  of  consummate  tact 
in  winning  friends  and  support  where  to  court  opposition  would  be 
fatal.  To  mention  his  high  principles  of  personal  honor  is  unneces- 
sary. Without  them  no  man  can  attain  such  success.  Senator  Squire's 
personal  and  private  life  has  always  been  one  worthj^  of  a  man  who 
naturally  has  been  an  example  to  thousands.  The  state  of  Washing- 
ton owes  no  greater  gratitude  to  any  of  her  citizens  who  have  helped 
her  to  develop  into  a  leading  commonwealth.  Since  his  retirement  to 
private  life,  Senator  Squire  has  lived  quietly  in  Seattle,  still  making 
his  influence  felt  in  affairs  of  public  interest,  where  the  welfare  of  the 
city  or  state  is  at  stake,  and  freely  lending  the  value  of  his  assistance 
and  advice  to  his  successors  in  public  office. 


$aul  $age  IKjjitjjam 

[HERE  is  perhaps  no  resident  of  Seattle  who  has 
studied  more  closelj'  public  conditions  bearing  upon 
the  welfare,  upbuilding  and  progress  of  the  city  than 
Paul  Page  Whitham,  Recognizing  the  value  of  the 
splendid  natural  resources  of  the  northwest  and  of 
this  city,  with  its  harbor  facilities,  in  particular,  he  be- 
lieves that  there  is  a  wonderful  future  before  Seattle  and  his  eiforts 
are  proving  a  practical  and  eiFective  force  in  bringing  about  general 
development.  He  has  here  resided  since  the  summer  of  1902,  coming 
to  the  northwest  in  early  manhood.  He  was  born  in  Champaign, 
Illinois,  May  30,  1878,  and  comes  of  a  family  originally  from  Eng- 
land, although  settlement  was  made  by  representatives  of  the  family 
in  Virginia  in  1775.  His  father,  Robert  F.  Whitham,  a  native  of 
Ohio,  was  a  civil  engineer  by  profession  and  in  the  year  1880  drove 
with  a  team  and  wagon  from  Salt  Lake  City  to  Olympia  prior  to  the 
advent  of  the  railroads  in  the  northwest.  He  left  behind  him  his  wife 
and  children.  Mrs.  Whitham  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Martha  E. 
Page  and  was  a  representative  of  the  Page  family  that  was  established 
in  Massachusetts  in  1630.  In  the  spring  of  1881  Mrs.  Whitham,  with 
her  two  children,  Paul,  three  years  of  age,  and  John,  aged  six  months, 
traveled  from  Omaha,  Nebraska,  to  Olympia  by  way  of  the  Southern 
Pacific  to  San  Francisco,  thence  on  the  old  side-wheel  steamer  Idaho 
to  Seattle  and  on  the  historic  Soimd  steamer  Willie  from  Seattle  to 
Olympia,  the  trip  requiring  in  all  sixteen  days.  Several  years  later 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robert  F.  Whitham  went  to  live  on  the  old  Wiley 
donation  claim,  at  Gull  Harbor,  about  four  miles  north  of  Olympia, 
and  Mr.  Whitham  still  occupies  his  farm  at  South  Bay.  His  wife, 
however,  passed  away  in  April,  1915,  survived  by  her  husband,  her 
sons,  Paul,  Carl  and  Lynn,  and  a  daughter,  Ruth. 

Paul  P.  Whitham  has  spent  practicallj^  his  entire  life  in  the  north- 
west. He  completed  his  public-school  studies  in  the  Olympia  high 
school,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1898,  after  which  he  studied 
engineering  in  the  University  of  Ilhnois,  leaving  that  school  in  1901. 
He  entered  upon  active  work  in  the  field  of  surveying  and  engineering 
and  after  spending  a  year  in  surveying  and  mining  work  in  eastern 
Washington  and  British  Columbia  came  to  Seattle  in  the  summer  of 
529 


530  Paul  j^UQt  mbitbam 

1902  and  obtained  the  position  of  draftsman  in  the  city  engineer's 
office.  He  passed  through  various  grades  of  work  in  that  office,  finally- 
becoming  assistant  franchise  inspector,  which  position  he  filled  until 
the  formation  of  the  department  of  pubhc  utilities,  when  he  became 
field  assistant  superintendent  of  pubhc  utilities,  having  charge  of 
engineering,  inspection  and  construction  work,  this  department  being 
organized  in  1908.  The  position  was  later  designated  as  that  of  chief 
engineer  of  the  department  of  pubhc  utilities.  During  1911,  while 
still  acting  in  that  capacity,  he  spent  some  time  with  Virgil  G.  Bogue 
in  the  preparation  of  the  Plan  of  Seattle,  having  particular  charge 
of  the  transportation  and  water  front  features  of  the  plan.  He  also 
obtained  a  short  leave  of  absence  in  1911-12  and  worked  as  principal 
assistant  to  Mr.  Bogue  in  the  preparation  of  the  harbor  plans  for 
Tacoma. 

Early  in  1912  Mr.  Whitham  resigned  as  chief  engineer  of  the 
public  utilities  department  and  became  principal  assistant  engineer 
under  R.  H.  Thompson,  chief  engineer  of  the  port  of  Seattle.  Dur- 
ing 1912  he  obtained  leave  of  absence  for  a  short  time  and  prepared  a 
report  and  harbor  plan  for  the  port  of  Astoria.  Upon  the  resignation 
of  Mr.  Thompson,  chief  engineer  of  the  port  of  Seattle,  in  May,  1912, 
Mr.  Whitham  was  appointed  acting  and  later  chief  engineer,  which 
position  he  held  until  October  1,  1914,  when  he  retired,  associating 
himself  with  George  Watkin  Evans,  a  noted  mining  engineer  and  coal 
expert,  with  whom  he  entered  upon  private  practice  as  consulting 
civil  engineers.  Since  that  time  he  has  made  investigations  and  pre- 
pared reports  for  various  important  enterprises  in  Alaska  and  the 
northwest  and  most  recently,  in  connection  with  other  work,  made  a 
trip  thi'oughout  the  east  and  middle  west,  studying  industrial  develop- 
ment matters  for  the  Industrial  Bureau  of  the  Seattle  Chamber  of 
Conmierce.  The  Seattle  Times  in  an  editorial  under  the  caption  "A 
Wonderful  'Vision'  "  wrote :  "Announced  by  the  speaker  as  a  Vision,' 
but  deserving  classification  as  a  constructive  suggestion  of  great  worth, 
Paul  P.  Whitham  presented  to  the  Industrial  Bureau  of  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  yesterday  a  comprehensive  plan  for  industrial  expan- 
sion that  deserves  every  consideration.  He  urges  not  Seattle  alone 
but  all  of  western  Washington  to  'take  stock,'  to  simimarize  the  ad- 
vantages that  can  be  offered  factories,  the  opportunities  for  investment 
and  the  trade  field  that  will  be  open  to  exploitation.  His  suggestion 
that  the  'industrial  district'  of  Seattle  includes  practically  the  entire 
Puget  Sound  basin  is  attractive.  His  demonstration  that  a  benefit  to 
one  section  is  a  certain  benefit  to  all  the  others  is  convincing.  As  a 
basis  of  a  campaign  for  more  factories,  his  plan  is  comprehensive,  far- 


Paul  page  COftitftam  531 

reaching  and  based  on  the  experience  of  other  cities,  which  have  con- 
fronted the  same  problems  and  met  them,  in  part,  at  least.  Seattle 
cannot  do  better  than  take  advantage  of  their  labors  and  achievements. 
There  is  no  question  that  the  time  to  plan  for  new  work  along  this 
hne  is  now.  The  conclusion  of  war  should  see  for  this  city  and  sec- 
tion, in  company  with  the  whole  world,  an  onward  movement  toward 
prosperity.  Preparations  made  at  this  tune  will  enable  Seattle  and 
adjacent  territory  to  take  the  fullest  advantage  of  every  opportunity 
offered  for  expansion  industrially." 

Mr.  Whitham  has  visited  twenty-one  of  the  leading  cities  of  the 
east  and  upon  his  return  took  as  his  text  for  his  speech  before  the 
Industrial  Bureau,  "Seattle  Needs  More  Factories,"  and  offered  sug- 
gestions as  to  how  they  might  be  obtained.  He  said:  "This  work 
includes  seeing  that  the  industries  are  provided  with  proper  transpor- 
tation and  shipping  facilities,  that  the  rates  which  they  must  pay  on 
incoming  and  outgoing  shipments  are  equitable  and  that  new  and 
growing  enterprises,  when  investigation  warrants  such  aid,  are  given 
needed  financial  backing  and  encouragement.  They  are  also  helped 
to  extend  their  markets.  The  slogan,  'More  Factories  for  Seattle,' 
sounds  good  to  everybody,  but  many  are  not  very  hopeful.  I  believe, 
however,  that  during  the  next  period  of  general  prosperity,  Seattle 
will  have  an  opportunity  for  industrial  expansion  greater  than  we  can 
now  appreciate.  If  that  is  the  case,  now  is  the  time  to  lay  a  foundation 
that  will  insure  our  ability  to  grasp  the  opportunities  as  they  come 
along.  Activity  in  the  search  for  new  factories  is  an  important  feature 
in  any  campaign  for  industrial  development."  He  declared  that  the 
big  problem  in  this  work  is  the  preparation  of  an  attractive  field  for 
industrial  enterprises;  that  the  matters  of  organization,  labor,  power 
and  financing  are  important  but  in  a  sense  are  only  details.  He 
pointed  out  that  in  order  to  prepare  the  field  it  must  first  be  known 
what  Seattle  has  to  offer  locally  and  in  foreign  market  possibihties, 
and  that  these  advantages  must  be  pressed  home  to  the  prospective 
industries.  In  speaking  of  the  foreign  market  he  declared  that  Seat- 
tle may  sell  to  the  entire  world  such  primary  products  as  timber,  grain, 
fish  and  fruit,  and  advocated  that  the  new  fields  in  the  Orient  and 
Russia  be  visited  by  advance  industrial  agents  of  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  in  an  effort  to  develop  the  trade  with  that  territory. 

On  the  29th  of  June,  1905,  Mr.  Whitham  married  Miss  Blanche 
Marie  Evans,  a  daughter  of  J.  J.  Evans,  of  Tacoma,  Washington, 
who  was  of  Welsh  descent  and  as  a  young  man  served  with  distinction 
in  the  Civil  war.  For  many  years  he  was  a  successful  contractor  and 
builder  of  Minneapolis  and  later  of  Tacoma.     He  died  May  11, 


532  Paul  page  Mlbit^am 

1911,  being  survived  by  his  wife,  Mrs.  Virginia  Evans,  now  residing 
in  Seattle, 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Whitham  are  members  of  the  West  Seattle  Con- 
gregational church  and  he  is  a  Mason,  holding  membership  in  Eureka 
Lodge  at  Seattle  and  in  the  Lodge  of  Perfection  of  the  Scottish  Rite 
Temple  of  Seattle.  He  belongs  to  the  Arctic  Club  and  the  College 
Club  and  has  important  membership  relations  with  fellow  representa- 
tives of  the  profession  with  which  he  is  connected,  for  he  is  a  member 
of  the  Northwest  Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  an  associate  member 
of  the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers  and  of  the  Engineers' 
Club  of  Seattle.  There  have  been  no  unusual  chapters  in  his  life 
record  and  no  esoteric  phases.  Ability  and  industry  have  brought 
him  to  his  present  position  of  professional  prominence,  while  public 
spirit  has  prompted  him  to  put  forth  the  earnest  and  strenuous  effort 
that  has  gained  him  place  with  the  leading  residents  of  his  city.  His 
insight  is  keen  and  whUe  he  has  a  vision  he  has  based  it  upon  practical 
knowledge  and  a  thorough  understanding  of  situations  and  conditions. 


(^.  J.c^c 


fofjn  ^anforb  Wapiox 


jPON  the  history  of  Seattle's  moral  progress  as  well  as 

U™^  of  her  material  development  the  name  of  John  San- 
^  ford  Taylor  is  deeply  impressed.  He  stood  for  all 
vl>!2  those  things  which  count  most  in  city  upbuilding  and 
never  lost  sight  of  the  high  principles  which  should 
govern  man  in  his  varied  relations  of  life.  He  thus 
came  to  an  honored  old  age  and  when  he  had  passed  the  eighty-fifth 
milestone  on  life's  journey  passed  to  the  home  beyond. 

Mr.  Taylor  was  a  sturdy  Scotsman  and  had  many  of  the  sterling 
characteristics  of  the  sons  of  the  land  of  hills  and  heather.  He  was 
there  born  February  18,  1830,  and  during  his  infancy  was  brought 
by  his  parents  to  the  new  world,  the  family  home  being  established  in 
Montreal,  Canada,  where  the  father  and  mother  passed  away  about 
1839. 

John  S.  Taylor  was  thus  left  an  orphan  at  the  age  of  nine  years 
and  was  placed  in  the  Ladies  Benevolent  Institute,  where  he  remained 
vmtil  he  reached  the  age  of  ten  years,,  when  he  went  to  live  in  the 
home  of  Allen  McDermit,  with  whom  he  continued  until  he  reached 
his  majority,  residing  much  of  that  time  in  Canada.  His  wages  for 
the  ten  and  one-half  years  of  hard  labor  which  he  put  in  with  Mr. 
McDermit  were  only  forty-two  dollars.  He  had  very  little  oppor- 
tunity to  attend  school,  but  through  reading  and  experience  and 
contact  with  his  fellowmen  he  added  continually  to  the  simi  total  of 
his  knowledge  and  gained  broad  general  information.  He  made  his 
initial  step  in  the  business  world  as  a  chopper  in  the  lumber  woods 
and  his  industry  and  fidelity  gained  him  promotion  until  at  the  age 
of  twenty-six  years  he  was  superintendent  of  a  sawmill.  He  next 
embarked  in  the  manufacture  of  lumber  on  his  own  account  at  Sagi- 
naw, Michigan,  and  was  thus  engaged  for  many  years.  He  went 
from  Saginaw  to  Duluth,  Minnesota,  where  he  built  a  large  sawmill 
and  continued  in  the  manufacture  of  lumber  for  eight  years. 

At  the  end  of  that  time  Mr.  Taylor  made  a  pleasure  trip  to  Seattle 
and  immediatelj^  felt  the  lure  of  the  west,  for  he  recognized  the  natural 
resources  and  advantages  of  the  country  and  felt  that  ultimately  a 
great  empire  would  be  builded  upon  the  Sound.  Returning  to  his 
former  home,  he  disposed  of  his  property  and  immediately  after 
535 


536  31oftn  ^anfotP  Caplor 

again  came  to  this  city,  where  he  arrived  on  the  13th  of  February, 
1889.  Soon  Seattle  benefited  by  his  investment  of  sixty  thousand 
dollars  in  business  and  property  here.  He  built  a  sawmill  and  a 
planing  mill  and  also  purchased  a  portable  sawmill,  together  with 
the  other  necessary  buildings,  securing  all  the  equipment  needed  for 
the  conduct  of  a  large  Imnber  business.  His  enterprise  was  success- 
fully conducted  for  a  number  of  years,  but  in  1895  there  came  a 
landslide  in  which  seventy-five  acres  of  land  moved  down  into  the 
lake,  washing  away  his  large  plant  and  destroying  sixteen  dwelling 
houses.  His  losses  were  thus  heavy,  yet  he  still  retained  the  owner- 
ship of  considerable  other  property.  He  afterward  built  a  sawmill 
at  Rainier  Beach,  with  a  capacity  of  forty  thousand  feet  of  lumber 
per  day,  it  being  fully  equipped  for  the  manufactm-e  of  lath  and 
shingles.  Around  the  mill  grew  up  a  little  settlement  to  which  was 
given  the  name  of  Taylor's  Mill,  and  it  was  there  that  Mr.  Taylor 
was  living  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  a  very  prominent  figure 
in  the  development  of  Rainier  Valley  and  his  life  work  was  an  element 
in  the  growing  industrial  enterprise  of  Seattle. 

On  the  20th  of  June,  1853,  in  Glengarry  county,  Canada,  Mr. 
Taylor  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Jeanette  Louthian,  who  was 
born  in  that  county,  March  4,  1833,  and  is  of  Scotch  lineage.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Taylor  became  the  parents  of  four  children:  William  D., 
now  a  resident  of  Seattle;  David  P.,  of  Seattle;  Margaret,  the  wife 
of  M.  R.  Metcalf,  of  St.  Paul,  Minnesota;  and  John  S.,  living  in 
Seattle. 

For  many  years  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor  were  leading  and  influential 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in  which  he  served  as 
trustee  and  for  a  third  of  a  century  was  superintendent  of  the  Sunday 
school.  They  had  not  long  been  residents  of  Seattle  when  there 
was  talk  of  building  a  new  church.  At  that  time  they  resided  not 
far  from  the  present  site  of  the  Grace  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
and  Mr.  Taylor  furnished  the  lumber  to  be  used  in  the  erection  of  the 
new  house  of  worship.  He  has  largely  been  the  builder  of  five 
different  churches,  including  one  mission,  aiding  generously  toward 
the  work  of  building  two  churches  and  a  mission  in  Michigan,  the 
Grace  Methodist  church  at  Duluth  and  the  Grace  Methodist  church 
in  Seattle.  Until  1907  the  last  named  church  had  no  pews,  using 
chairs,  but  in  1907  Mr.  Taylor  equipped  the  church  with  pews.  It 
was  from  that  church  that  Mr.  Taylor  was  buried  when  on  the  25th 
of  June,  1915,  he  passed  away.  He  had  reached  the  age  of  eighty- 
five  years  and  it  was  only  in  the  last  few  months  of  his  life  that  he 
was   unable  to  leave  home.     In   fact  he  was  an   ardent  base-ball 


3fol)n  ^anfotP  Caglot  537 

enthusiast  and  until  his  last  illness,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Taylor, 
eighty-two  years  of  age,  he  was  a  daily  attendant  of  the  games. 
Seattle  recognized  in  him  a  public-spirited  citizen  and  one  who  had 
great  faith  in  the  city,  seeking  at  all  times  to  further  its  progress  along 
substantial  lines.  His  work  was  manifestly  resultant  and  among 
those  with  whom  business  or  social  relations  brought  him  in  contact 
he  was  held  in  the  highest  regard.  As  the  day  with  its  morning  of 
hope  and  promise,  its  noontide  of  activity,  its  evening  of  completed 
and  successful  effort,  ending  in  the  grateful  rest  and  quiet  of  the 
night,  so  was  the  life  of  John  Sanford  Taylor,  who  in  his  later  years 
was  affectionately  termed  "Grandpa"  Taylor  by  all  who  knew  him. 


GEORGE   L.HILL 


#eorge  lesilie  i|iU 

EORGE  LESLIE  HILL,  deceased,  was  for  some 
W^  x-N  ^  *^™^  connected  with  the  opening  of  the  upper  Colum- 
V  ?    I  ^2     ^^^  river  to  navigation  as  an  employe  of  the  govern- 

^^  ^J  ^p  ment,  and  was  also  largely  instrmnental,  by  reason 
w^gy^w  of  his  expert  testimony,  in  bringing  about  the  build- 
ing of  the  Copper  River  Railroad  in  Alaska.  Thus 
it  is  that  he  took  an  active  part  in  shaping  events  which  have  had 
much  to  do  with  the  history  of  the  northwest,  and,  accordingly,  his 
name  deserves  mention  upon  the  annals  of  city  and  state.  Moreover, 
he  was  a  representative  of  one  of  the  oldest  pioneer  families,  his  birth 
having  occurred  November  11,  1860,  near  Renton,  in  King  county, 
Washington.  His  father,  John  S.  Hill,  was  owner  and  master  of 
steamboats  in  the  Puget  Sound  country  and  became  a  well  known 
and  prominent  figure  in  early  times.  His  wife,  Mrs.  Addie  Hill,  was 
a  most  lovable  character,  noted  for  her  kindly  acts,  her  charitable 
deeds  and  helpful  ministrations  in  behalf  of  the  sick  and  the  needy. 
As  a  result  of  all  this  she  had  many  friends  and  was  greatly  respected 
and  loved  by  those  who  knew  her  best. 

Captain  George  Leslie  Hill  acquired  his  education  in  the  public 
schools  and  in  the  University  of  Washington  at  Seattle.  Following 
in  the  business  footsteps  of  his  father,  he  became  an  expert  in  the 
operation  and  management  of  steamboats  on  the  waters  of  Puget 
Sound  and  Alaska.  He  was  among  the  first  to  navigate  steamers  on 
the  Yukon  river  from  St.  JNIichael  to  Dawson,  and  made  a  chart  of 
that  great  river  showing  its  course  and  noting  aids  to  navigation. 
For  several  years  he  operated  steamers  for  the  companies  engaged  in 
the  transportation  business  of  the  Yukon  river.  He  also  operated 
the  steamers  in  the  inland  waters  of  Alaska  that  were  engaged  in  the 
transportation  of  material  and  supplies  in  the  building  of  the  Copper 
River  Railroad.  The  character  of  the  waters  and  the  rocky  forma- 
tions that  abounded  in  them  rendered  their  navigation  very  difficult 
and  well  nigh  impossible.  Many  of  those  who  had  examined  these 
turbulent  and  dangerous  waters  believed  that  they  could  not  be  util- 
ized in  the  building  of  the  Copper  River  Railroad.  Captain  Hill 
was  employed  as  an  expert  to  make  a  thorough  examination  of  the 
case.  His  report  was  favorable.  He  said,  "with  the  exercise  of  great 
541 


542  C9eorge  iLeglie  f^ill 

skill  and  care  it  can  be  done."  He  was  employed  to  build  the  steamers 
that  were  needed  for  this  work.  He  took  them  north  in  a  knocked- 
down  condition  and  they  were  put  together  on  the  river  and  lakes 
where  they  were  needed.  Captain  Hill  navigated  them  safely  and 
successfully  and  thus  saved  the  construction  company  many  thousands 
of  dollars.  It  is  doubtful  if  this  great  road  would  have  been  buUt 
without  the  use  of  this  river,  and  it  is  also  doubtful  if  any  other  man 
could  have  been  found  in  the  United  States  that  could  have  rendered 
equally  efficient  service.  Captain  Hill  was  in  the  employ  of  this 
company  for  five  years,  during  which  time  the  road  was  built.  Cap- 
tain Hill  was  also  for  some  time  in  the  employ  of  the  United  States 
government  in  the  opening  of  the  upper  Columbia  river  to  navigation, 
and  thus  his  life  work  was  of  far-reaching  effect,  benefit  and  impor- 
tance. 

On  the  16th  of  June,  1888,  in  Seattle,  Captain  Hill  was  married  to 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Rev.  Albert  and  Amanda  J.  Atwood.  Fra- 
ternally he  was  connected  with  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of 
Elks,  but  throughout  his  entire  life  practically  his  undivided  attention 
was  given  to  his  professional  duties,  and  in  that  connection  he  won 
prominence  and  distinction. 


JHrsi,  Cli^atjetf)  ©iU 

|RS.  ELIZABETH  HILL,  residing  in  Seattle,  tlie 
widow  of  Captain  George  Leslie  Hill,  of  whom  men- 
tion is  made  above,  was  born  at  Tom's  River,  New 
Jersey.  Her  father,  the  Rev.  Albert  Atwood,  was 
born  October  27,  1832,  in  the  vicinity  of  Tuckerton, 
New  Jersey,  and  pm-sued  his  education  in  the  Char- 
lotteville  Seminary  at  Charlotteville,  Schoharie  county.  New  York, 
there  preparing  for  the  ministry,  for  he  had  decided  to  devote  his  life 
to  preaching  the  gospel.  In  1858  he  joined  the  New  Jersey  conference 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  was  called  to  the  pastorate  of 
several  different  churches  in  that  conference.  In  1874  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  Oregon  conference  and  assisted  in  the  organization  of 
the  Puget  Sound  conference  in  1884.  He  occupied  various  jjasto rates 
and  also  acted  as  presiding  elder  in  that  conference  for  several  years 
and  his  labors  Avere  of  far-reaching  effect  and  benefit,  proving  an 
influencing  force  for  good  in  the  lives  of  many  who  came  under  his 
teachings.  He  was  an  earnest  and  ofttimes  eloquent  speaker  and  the 
logic  of  his  reasoning  appealed  to  the  minds  of  his  hearers  and  he 
also  wielded  influence  through  the  use  of  sentiment  and  persuasion. 
Rev.  Atwood  married  Miss  Amanda  J.  Robinson,  who  was  born  near 
Tom's  River,  New  Jersey,  March  31,  1841,  their  wedding  being 
celebrated  on  the  3d  of  May,  1860. 

Their  daughter,  Elizabeth  Atwood,  was  a  little  maiden  of  four 
summers  when  brought  by  her  parents  to  the  northwest.  She  attended 
the  public  schools  of  Seattle  and  afterward  became  a  pupil  in  the 
University  of  Washington  located  in  this  city.  Here  in  early  woman- 
hood she  was  married,  becoming  the  wife  of  George  Leslie  Hill  on  the 
16th  of  June,  1888,  when  seventeen  years  of  age.  She  is  a  member 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church  and  her  life  has  been  filled  Avith 
good  deeds  and  characterized  by  kindly  purpose. 


543 


Jofjn  1^.  i^innear 

)ROM  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  Seattle  in  1883  until 
his  death  on  the  31st  of  March,  1912,  John  R.  Kin- 
near  was  closely  associated  with  events  that  shaped 
the  history  of  city  and  state.  He  aided  in  framing 
the  organic  law  of  Washington  and  in  shaping  its 
legislation  both  during  the  territorial  period  and  after 
statehood  was  secured.  His  name  is  thus  inseparably  interwoven  with 
the  annals  of  the  northwest  and  the  record  of  no  man  in  public  service 
has  been  more  faultless  in  honor,  fearless  in  conduct  or  stainless  in 
reputation. 

A  native  of  Indiana,  John  R.  Kinnear  was  a  lad  of  seven  summers 
when  his  parents  removed  to  Walnut  Grove,  Woodford  county,  Illi- 
nois, where  they  located  upon  a  farm.  The  routine  of  farm  life  for 
John  R.  Kinnear  was  uninterrupted  until  after  he  had  completed  the 
district-school  course,  when  he  had  the  opportunity  of  becoming  a 
student  in  the  Washington  (111.)  high  school.  Still  later  he  attended 
Eureka  College  and  when  he  had  completed  his  work  there  he  entered 
upon  a  four  years'  classical  course  in  Knox  College  at  Galesburg, 
Illinois.  He  was  a  student  in  that  institution  at  the  time  of  the  out- 
break of  the  Civil  war,  when  with  patriotic  spirit  he  responded  to  the 
coimtry's  call  for  troops,  enlisting  for  three  years  as  a  private  soldier. 
He  participated  in  about  twenty  of  the  great  battles  of  the  war  and 
some  years  afterward,  at  the  request  of  his  comrades,  wrote  and  pub- 
lished a  history  of  the  regiment  and  brigade,  the  volume  containing 
one  hundred  and  forty  pages.  Mr.  Kinnear  proved  a  most  brave  and 
loyal  soldier,  never  faltering  in  the  performance  of  duty  whether 
stationed  upon  the  firing  line  or  the  lonely  picket  line. 

When  the  war  was  over  and  the  coimtry  no  longer  needed  his  aid 
Mr.  Kinnear  pursued  a  course  in  the  Chicago  Law  School  and  fol- 
lowing his  admission  to  the  bar  located  for  practice  at  Paxton,  Illi- 
nois, where  he  remained  in  the  active  work  of  his  profession  for  fifteen 
years.  While  there  he  was  prosecuting  attorney  for  three  years  and 
was  also  master  in  chancery  for  four  years.  In  1883  he  arrived  in 
Seattle  and  almost  immediately  became  an  active  factor  in  molding 
public  thought  and  action.  In  1884  he  was  elected  to  the  territorial 
legislature  from  King  county  upon  the  republican  ticket,  and  in 


548  3[ot)n  K»  Einneat 

November,  1888,  he  was  again  called  upon  for  public  service,  being 
elected  a  member  of  the  council  or  the  upper  house  of  the  territorial 
legislature.  He  did  not  take  his  seat  in  that  body,  however,  on  account 
of  the  passage  of  the  enabling  act  for  the  admission  of  the  state. 
However,  he  was  elected  to  the  state  constitutional  convention  from 
the  twentieth  district  and  took  a  most  helpful  part  in  framing  the 
constitution.  He  was  made  chairman  of  the  committee  on  corpora- 
tions and  he  left  the  impress  of  his  individuality  in  many  ways  upon 
the  organic  law  of  Washington.  Mr.  Kinnear  also  made  a  close 
race  for  the  office  of  first  governor  of  the  state,  for  which  he  was 
supported  by  the  entire  twenty-five  delegates  from  King  county  and 
received  one  himdred  and  thirty  votes  in  the  republican  state  conven- 
tion. He  was  a  member  of  the  state  senate  in  its  first  and  second 
sessions  and  during  both  served  as  chairman  of  the  judiciary  com- 
mittee. It  would  be  impossible  to  estimate  the  value  of  his  public 
service  but  all  who  know  aught  of  the  history  of  Washington  recognize 
its  worth  and  feel  that  he  was  among  those  who  laid  broad  and  deep 
the  foundation  upon  which  has  been  builded  the  superstructure  of  a 
great  commonwealth.  He  was  married  at  Bloomington,  Illinois, 
June  2,  1868,  to  Miss  Rebecca  Means,  of  Bloomington,  and  they 
became  parents  of  two  children,  Ritchey  M.  and  Leta,  both  of  Seattle. 
The  mother  died  May  10,  1913. 

Ritchej'  M.  Kinnear,  a  resident  of  Seattle,  was  born  at  Paxton, 
Ford  county,  Illinois,  January  18,  1870.  He  attended  the  public 
schools  to  the  age  of  thirteen  and  then  came  to  Seattle  with  his  parents, 
where  he  became  a  student  in  the  Territorial  University,  now  the 
University  of  Washington.  In  1890  he  matriculated  in  the  North- 
western University  of  Evanston,  Illinois,  where  he  studied  for  two 
years  and  then  returned  to  Seattle.  Here  he  engaged  in  the  real 
estate  business  with  his  brother-in-law,  A.  L.  Brown,  under  the  style 
of  the  Kinnear  &  Brown  Company,  and  when  a  change  in  the  person- 
nel of  the  firm  occurred  the  name  was  changed  to  the  Kinnear  &  Paul 
Company.  They  are  well  known  real  estate  dealers,  conducting  an 
extensive  business  and  having  a  gratifying  clientage.  Mr.  Kinnear, 
like  his  father,  has  figured  prominently  in  public  connections,  having 
represented  his  district  in  the  state  senate  from  1902  until  1904.  He 
was  married  in  1893  to  Miss  Brownie  Brown,  a  daughter  of  Amos 
Brown,  a  sketch  of  whom  appears  elsewhere  in  this  work.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Kinnear  have  a  son,  John  Amos. 


c^. 


jFrank  ^ines;  d^ggoob 

I  HERE  is  probably  no  man  who  has  taken  a  more  active 
part  in  the  growth  and  development  of  Seattle  than 
Frank  Hines  Osgood,  who  now  gives  most  of  his  time 
to  looking  after  his  extensive  interests  of  various 
kinds.  For  many  years  he  was  connected  with  street 
railway  constniction  and  operation  and  from  1884 
to  1888  was  the  president  and  general  manager  of  the  Seattle  Street 
Railway  Company.  Through  his  enterprise  and  capable  direction 
the  original  electric  system  in  Seattle  was  constructed.  This  was  the 
first  railway  operated  by  electricity  west  of  the  Mississippi  and  one  of 
the  first  to  be  successfully  operated  in  the  United  States.  Mr.  Osgood 
built  similar  systems  in  a  number  of  other  cities  of  the  west  but  since 
1907  has  retired  from  railroading  and  is  now  devoting  his  attention  to 
his  various  industrial,  timber  and  mining  properties. 

Mr.  Osgood  was  born  in  Charlestown,  New  Hampshire,  February 
2,  1852,  his  parents  being  Solomon  P.  and  Susan  N.  (Bailey) 
Osgood.  Through  both  he  is  a  descendant  of  early  New  England 
stock.  The  Osgoods  were  originally  English,  and  the  family  was 
founded  in  this  country  in  1637.  Through  his  paternal  grandmother, 
Mr.  Osgood  is  a  great-grandson  of  John  Bellows,  the  first  settler 
at  Walpole,  New  Hampshire,  for  whom  the  town  of  Bellows  Falls, 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Connecticut  river,  was  named.  The  Baileys 
were  of  Welsh  extraction,  and  the  family  became  residents  of  Massa- 
chusetts in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Salmon  P. 
Chase  was  a  member  of  the  family  of  Mr.  Osgood's  maternal  grand- 
father. 

Frank  H.  Oisgood  received  his  fundamental  education  in  the  vil- 
lage school  of  Charlestown,  New  Hampshire,  and  subsequently  at- 
tended the  New  London  University  at  New  London,  that  state.  The 
opportunities  of  the  far  west  induced  him  to  come  to  Seattle,  Wash- 
ington, in  1883,  and  soon  afterward  he  became  actively  connected 
with  street  railway  construction.  The  larger  part  of  his  labors  for 
the  next  twenty-three  years  were  devoted  to  railway  building  and 
operation.  After  a  franchise  had  been  granted  for  a  street  railway  in 
Seattle,  Mr.  Osgood,  without  any  previous  experience,  set  himself  to 
build  the  road,  realizing  the  ultimate  value  of  such  a  property. 
551 


552  jFcanb  l^ineg  ffl)0gooD 

This  was  the  first  street  railway  in  Washington  territory.  He  was 
president  and  general  manager  thereof  from  its  organization  in  1884 
until  the  Seattle  Electric  Railway  was  organized  in  1888.  It  was 
alone  through  his  enterprise  and  under  his  able  direction  that  the 
original  electric  road  in  Seattle  was  constructed.  It  was  the  first  elec- 
tric railway  west  of  the  Mississippi  and  one  of  the  first  to  be  success- 
fully operated  within  the  United  States  and  even  in  the  world.  In 
1890  Mr.  Osgood  built  an  electric  railway  in  Portland,  Oregon,  and 
during  the  years  following  carried  to  completion  similar  undertakings 
in  Tacoma,  Bellingham,  Port  Townsend,  Spokane,  Fidalgo  Island 
and  Victoria  and  Vancouver,  British  Columbia.  He  also  made  a  con- 
tract for  and  built  the  West  Street  &  North  End  Electric  Railway 
from  Seattle  to  Ballard,  which  is  now  a  part  of  the  Seattle -Electric 
Railway.  He  also  built  the  Rainier  avenue  line  from  Seattle  to  Rai- 
nier Beach.  The  latter  line  he  purchased  and  extended  to  Renton. 
He  owned  this  line  individually,  finally  disposing  of  it  to  its  present 
owners. 

Since  retiring  from  the  street  railway  business  in  1907,  Mr. 
Osgood  has  given  his  attention  to  his  various  interests,  which  include 
important  industrial  enterprises  and  timber  and  mining  properties. 
His  mining  interests  consist  of  gold,  silver  and  lead  mines,  the  latter 
situated  in  Oregon  and  California,  and  he  has  other  property  interests 
in  Seattle  and  elsewhere.  Among  the  industrial  enterprises  with 
which  he  is  associated  is  the  Smith  Cannery  Machine  Company  of 
Seattle,  with  which  he  became  connected  at  its  inception,  since  which 
time  he  has  been  active  in  the  successful  management  of  its  affairs. 
Mr.  Osgood  has  become  one  of  the  leading  capitalists  of  Seattle  and 
such  success  as  has  attended  his  labors  is  highly  merited,  as  it  has  come 
to  him  in  return  for  unflagging  enterprise  and  his  superior  judgment 
in  business  affairs.  He  has  had  confidence  in  the  future  of  the  west, 
and  his  faith  has  brought  him  golden  returns. 

In  the  town  of  his  birth — Charlestown,  New  Hampshire — Mr. 
Osgood  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Georgina  B.  Arquit,  of  Brook- 
lyn, New  York,  who  is  a  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Ellen  (Douglas) 
Arquit.  Mr.  Osgood  was  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the  Rainier 
Club  of  Seattle  and  is  a  member  of  the  Seattle  Golf  and  Country 
Club  and  the  Rocky  Mountain  Club  of  New  York  city.  He  has 
always  been  a  lover  of  out-of-door  life  and  a  great  admirer  of  nature. 
He  has  done  eminently  valuable  work  in  western  America  as  a  builder 
of  electric  roads,  and  particularly  in  Seattle  his  constructive  work 
could  not  be  easily  forgotten. 


oC     OU ,    /<ZTin/^K^K\jiAy  ^ 


Ipman  Matter  J^onnep 

)YMAN  WALTER  BONNEY,  who  is  a  member  of 

LM[  *'^^  Bonney- Watson  Company,  fmieral  directors,  has 
^  spent  almost  his  entire  life  on  the  Pacific  coast  and 
5  ni  throughout  the  entire  period  has  been  imbued  with 
the  spirit  of  enterprise  that  characterizes  this  section 
of  the  country.  Today  the  company  have  the  finest 
and  best  equipped  estabhshment  of  the  kind  in  the  United  States  and 
are  controlling  a  large  business.  A  native  of  Des  Moines  county, 
Iowa,  he  was  born  March  17,  1843,  a  son  of  Sherwood  Samuel  Bon- 
ney, who  was  born  in  Litchfield,  Connecticut,  in  1812  and  was  but  a 
small  boy  when  his  father  died.  His  mother  afterward  became  the 
wife  of  a  Mr.  Streeter  and  removed  to  Portage  county,  Ohio,  where 
he  grew  to  manhood.  In  the  late  '30s  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth 
Burns  and  moved  to  Iowa,  where  he  followed  the  occupation  of  farm- 
ing on  land  ceded  to  him  by  the  government,  there  remaining  until 
the  spring  of  1852,  when  with  his  wife  and  six  sons  he  migrated  to 
Oregon.  He  crossed  the  plains  with  an  ox  team  and  prairie  schooner, 
arriving  at  Oregon  City  in  early  November.  He  passed  the  winter 
near  there  and  the  following  siunmer  at  Salem,  Oregon.  During 
the  fall  of  1853  he  continued  his  journey  to  Puget  Sound,  arriving 
at  Steilacoom,  Pierce  county,  early  in  November.  He  took  up  a 
donation  claim  at  American  Lake,  where  he  lived  for  several  years 
and  in  1863  located  a  preemption  claim  near  Sumner,  Pierce  county, 
whei-e  he  resided  until  his  death  March  29,  1908.  He  enjoyed  the  dis- 
tinction of  being  the  first  justice  of  the  peace  elected  in  that  county. 
His  first  wife  died  while  crossing  the  plains  and  in  1853  he  married 
Mrs.  Lydia  Ann  Bonney,  to  whom  were  born  three  sons  and  two 
daughters :  William  Pierce,  Clarence,  Fred  W.,  Lucy  Elizabeth  and 
Etta.  His  children  by  his  first  marriage  Avere:  Edward  P.,  David 
H.,  Lyman  W.,  Samuel  A.,  Alvin  and  Ransom  K.  Bonney.  Lydia 
Ann  Bonney,  his  second  wife,  was  the  widow  of  Timothy  Bonney,  by 
whom  she  had  three  children:  Levi  C,  Mary  Emeline  and  Sarah  A. 
Bonney. 

In  1859  L.  W.  Bonney  left  home  to  learn  the  carpenter's  trade 
and  for  a  period  of  five  years  was  a  resident  of  The  Dalles,  Oregon. 
Following  the  gold  excitement  he  went  to  Silver  City,  Idaho,  and 
555 


556  Lgman  malm  Igonneg 

there  became  interested  in  a  sash  and  door  factory  and  planing  mill, 
conducting  a  growing  and  successful  business  until  1873,  when  he 
disposed  of  his  interest  to  his  partner,  T.  W.  Jones.  The  succeeding 
five  years  were  spent  in  San  Francisco  and  there  he  engaged  in  the 
fascinating  game  of  dealing  in  mining  stocks,  at  the  end  of  which  time 
his  "get-rich-quick"  idea  was  entirely  eliminated,  for  losses  instead  of 
success  had  come  to  him.  In  1877  he  went  to  Puget  Sound  and  for 
one  season  engaged  in  farming  there,  after  which  he  worked  at  his 
trade  in  Tacoma  during  the  spring  and  simimer  of  1878.  He  next 
made  his  way  to  Portland,  Oregon,  where  he  followed  his  trade  until 
1881.  In  that  year  he  acquired  a  half  interest  in  the  undertaking 
business  of  his  brother-in-law,  O.  C.  Shorey,  conducting  the  business 
under  the  name  of  O.  C.  Shorey  &  Company.  In  1889  G.  M.  Stewart 
purchased  Mr.  Shorey's  interest  and  they  organized  the  firm  of 
Bonney  &  Stewart.  In  1903  H.  Watson  acquired  an  interest  in  the 
business,  which  was  then  incorporated  under  the  name  of  Bonney- 
Watson  Company,  Mr.  Bonney  being  elected  president,  which  posi- 
tion he  still  fiUs,  while  Mr.  Watson  was  the  secretary  and  treasurer. 
The  establishment  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  finest  and  best 
equipped  in  the  United  States.  There  is  in  connection  a  modern 
crematory  and  columbarium,  also  a  private  ambulance  service,  all 
under  one  roof,  and  there  is  an  efficient  corps  of  assistants,  making  it 
possible  to  give  the  best  service.  Every  part  of  the  business  is 
efficiently  done,  owing  to  the  wise  direction  of  its  affairs. 

On  the  1st  of  December,  1884,  in  San  Francisco,  California,  Mr, 
Bonney  was  united  in  marriage  to  Mrs.  Eimice  (Heckle)  Hughes, 
daughter  of  Henry  Heckle,  a  United  States  army  officer,  and  widow 
of  Samuel  Hughes.  She  had  one  son  and  four  daughters,  as  follows: 
Henry  Heckle  Hughes,  who  died  in  1876  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years; 
Ida  Evelyn,  who  gave  her  hand  in  marriage  to  Orville  Moore,  by 
whom  she  had  two  sons  and  two  daughters;  Martha  Marilla,  who 
first  became  the  wife  of  James  McDonald  and  after  his  demise  in  the 
latter  part  of  1880  wedded  Edward  Damon,  by  whom  she  has  a 
daughter,  Doris  Bonney  Damon;  Sarah  Grayson,  the  wife  of  Fred 
A.  Johnson,  by  whom  she  has  two  daughters,  Bonney  Doris  and 
Leilla  Eunice;  and  Clara  Amelia  Hughes.  Mrs.  Martha  M. 
(Hughes)  Damon  had  one  son  by  her  first  husband,  Theron,  who 
passed  away  in  1913. 

Fraternally  Mr.  Bonney  is  identified  with  the  following  organiza- 
tions: St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  9,  F.  &  A.  M.,  having  the  honor  of 
holding  the  office  of  treasurer  in  that  lodge  for  twenty-six  consecu- 
tive years  and  still  filling  the  position;  Seattle  Commandery,  No.  2, 


Lgman  maltet  Igonneg  557 

K.  T.;  Nile  Temple,  A.  A.  O.  N.  M.  S.;  Lawson  Consistory,  thirty- 
second  degree  Scottish  Rite.  He  is  likewise  a  past  grand  in  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  is  connected  with  several 
other  organizations.  Mr.  Bonney  is  an  ardent  supporter  of  the 
principles  of  the  republican  party  but  he  does  not  seek  nor  desire 
office  as  a  reward  for  party  fealty.  He  belongs  to  the  Arctic  Club 
and  his  interest  in  community  aif  airs  is  indicated  by  his  membership 
in  the  Commercial  Club  and  the  Chamber  of  Commerce.  He  co- 
operates in  all  the  plans  and  projects  of  those  organizations  for  the 
development  and  upbuilding  of  the  city  and  it  is  a  well  known  fact 
that  his  cooperation  can  be  counted  upon  to  further  any  plan  or 
movement  for  Seattle's  benefit. 


^J/^ex^A    (L^2-^,..,t^ 


Jf rank  0it9ion 

jRANK  OLE  SON,  who  is  one  of  the  leading  attorneys 
of  Seattle,  is  also  connected  with  the  commercial  and 
official  life  of  this  city.  He  was  born  in  Trondhjem, 
Norway,  on  the  6th  of  March,  1862,  and  received  his 
education  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  land. 
For  six  years  he  followed  the  sea  as  a  sailor  but  in 
1882  he  emigrated  to  America  and  made  his  way  to  Omaha,  Ne- 
braska, where  he  was  employed  in  the  postoffice  until  1888. 
In  that  j^ear  he  came  to  Seattle  and  for  a  time  worked  in  the  postoffice 
here.  The  following  year  he  established  the  Washington  Posten, 
now  the  leading  Norwegian  weekly  in  the  west,  and  later  he  became 
an  employe  in  the  city  engineer's  office.  However,  he  desired  to  be- 
come an  attorney  and  accordinglj^  qualified  for  admission  to  the  bar. 
In  June,  1895,  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  supreme  court  of 
Washington  and  is  now  a  member  of  the  law  firm  of  Willett  &  Oleson, 
the  senior  partner  being  O.  L.  Willett.  They  have  gained  an  enviable 
position  at  the  bar  of  Seattle  and  are  accorded  a  large,  representative 
and  lucrative  practice.  They  are  also  factors  in  the  commercial  life 
of  the  city. 

Mr.  Oleson  was  married,  in  Omaha,  Nebraska,  December  4,  1886, 
to  Polla  Strom  Oleson  and  their  children  are  Frank,  Jr.,  Alfred  C, 
Carrie  E.,  Harold  E.,  Mildred  E.  and  Thomas  R. 

Mr.  Oleson  is  a  republican  and  was  at  one  time  prosecuting  attor- 
ney of  Wahkiakum  county.  For  several  years  he  served  ably  as 
secretary  of  the  board  of  public  works  and  in  the  discharge  of  his 
duties  promoted  the  public  welfare.  He  is  identified  with  the  Sons 
of  Norway  and  was  chairman  of  the  committee  that  erected  Norway 
Hall,  the  home  of  that  growing  organization.  Probably  there  is  no 
citizen  of  the  entire  northwest  who  has  done  more  to  encourage  the 
immigration  of  the  Noi-wegian  people  to  this  part  of  America  than 
Mr.  Oleson,  nor  is  there  any  who  has  done  more  to  advance  their 
interests  as  American  citizens.  He  was  the  first  one  to  publish  a 
paper  giving  the  advantages  of  this  country  and  Seattle  in  particular 
and  devoted  exclusively  to  the  Norwegian  people.  For  some  time 
he  has  been  at  work  on  a  History  of  the  Norwegians  in  The  Puget 
561 


562  jFranb  ffl)teson 

Sound  Country,  His  religious  faith  is  that  of  the  Norwegian  Luth- 
eran church  and  he  can  be  depended  upon  to  further  movements 
seeking  the  moral  advancement  of  the  city.  The  large  measure  of 
success  which  he  has  gained  is  due  solely  to  his  energy  and  spirit  of 
initiative  and  he  is  recognized  as  a  factor  of  importance  in  the  legal 
and  business  circles  of  Seattle. 


ROBERT   G.Vv'ESTERMAN 


Eotiert  <§,  Mesiterman 

jOBERT  G.  WESTERMAN,  a  man  of  strict  busi- 

R™/  ness  integrity,  who  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  was 
^  active  in  the  upbuilding  of  Seattle,  where  for  twenty- 
'M  six  years  he  made  his  home,  was  instrumental  in  the 
establishment  of  the  Westerman  Iron  Works  and 
remained  president  of  the  company  until  his  demise. 
A  native  of  Michigan,  he  was  born  in  Coldwater,  in  1843,  and  came 
of  Swedish  lineage.  His  parents,  Peter  and  Peternella  (Nystrom) 
Westerman,  were  both  natives  of  Sweden  but  in  1841  left  that  country 
and  sailed  for  the  United  States.  Making  their  way  westward,  the 
father  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  in  Michigan  until  1849,  when, 
prompted  by  the  discovery  of  gold  on  the  Pacific  coast,  he  went  to 
California,  where  he  engaged  in  placer  mining.  In  1855  he  returned 
•with  his  wife  to  Sweden.  Both  were  of  the  Lutheran  faith  and  closely 
adhered  to  that  belief. 

Robert  G,  Westerman  acquired  his  early  education  under  his 
mother's  careful  guidance,  having  the  privilege  of  attending  school  for 
only  four  months,  this  being  when  he  was  in  Sacramento,  California. 
He  was  a  little  lad  of  but  ten  summers  when  he  began  learning  the 
blacksmith's  trade  with  an  uncle.  In  1867  he  went  to  Chicago,  where 
for  eleven  months  he  was  employed  in  the  shops  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company  and  subsequently  he  worked  for  the  Central 
Pacific  Railroad  Company  in  California  and  in  Nevada,  also  holding 
responsible  positions  in  large  mines  and  iron  works  of  those  states. 
He  became  chief  engineer  and  blacksmith  for  the  Consolidated  Vir- 
ginia mine  and  was  associated  with  other  prominent  mining  interests. 
He  afterward  went  to  Arizona  on  a  mining  expedition  and  spent 
some  time  in  the  employ  of  the  Contention  Mining  &  Mill  Company. 
He  next  engaged  in  mining  on  his  own  account  at  Tombstone,  Ari- 
zona, where  he  remained  for  a  year  and  a  half.  Disposing  of  his 
interests  there,  he  went  to  Mexico  as  representative  of  a  leading 
mining  company,  and  in  that  country  was  engaged  in  erecting  mining 
machinery  at  various  places.  When  he  left  the  south  it  was  for  the 
purpose  of  going  to  Alaska  but  changing  his  plans  he  made  his  way 
to  the  mines  of  Idaho,  at  Eagle  City,  where  he  engaged  in  mining 
565 


566  BoSett  <g«  CQggtctman 

for  three  years.  For  a  time  he  met  with  substantial  success  there  but 
after  leaving  that  country  he  lost  his  entire  earnings. 

The  year  1886  witnessed  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Westerman  in  Seattle, 
■where  for  a  year  and  a  half  he  worked  for  wages  but  in  1888  he  em- 
barked in  business  on  his  own  account,  starting  his  enterprise  in  a 
himible  way,  with  only  one  forge.  He  closely  applied  himself  to  the 
work  of  upbuilding  the  business  and  under  his  able  control  the  trade 
grew  steadily,  so  that  in  1889  he  was  obhged  to  seek  more  commodious 
quarters.  The  building  into  which  he  then  moved  was  completed  on 
the  20th  of  May  but  on  the  6th  of  June  of  the  same  year  was  entirely 
destroyed  by  the  terrible  fire  that  swept  over  the  city,  thus  causing 
the  loss  of  the  savings  of  Mr.  Westerman  in  a  few  moments.  He 
was  never  discouraged  in  the  face  of  the  gravest  obstacles,  however, 
and  with  undaunted  perseverance  and  courage  set  to  work  to  again 
upbuild  his  fortunes.  He  built  a  shop  and  in  a  short  time  was  able 
to  establish  a  plant  larger  than  the  one  he  had  before.  In  fact  he 
erected  three  different  shops  in  one  year.  In  1898  the  business  was 
incorporated  under  the  name  of  the  Westerman  Iron  Works,  with 
Mr.  Westerman  as  the  president  and  A.  T.  Timmerman,  secretary. 
These  two  gentlemen  owned  the  entire  plant,  which  became  one  of 
the  important  industrial  undertakings  of  the  city.  It  was  well 
equipped  with  the  latest  improved  machinery  and  everything  possible 
was  done  to  facilitate  the  work.  He  was  ever  ready  to  put  forth 
effort  to  gain  a  start  and  to  lend  a  helping  hand  or  speak  an  encour- 
aging word  to  those  who  were  endeavoring  to  gain  a  foothold  in  the 
business  world. 

In  1883  Mr.  Westerman  was  united  in  marriage  to  Mrs.  Harriet 
Ray  Compton,  who  by  her  former  marriage  had  a  son,  John  Ray 
Compton.  By  the  second  marriage  there  was  born  one  son,  Frank. 
Mr.  Westerman  was  a  republican  and  his  interest  in  politics  was  that 
of  a  citizen  who  recognizes  the  duties  and  obligations  as  well  as  the 
privileges  which  come  to  the  American  man.  In  Masonry  he  was 
well  known.  He  belonged  to  Eureka  Lodge,  No.  20,  F.  &  A.  M., 
Seattle  Commandery,  No.  2,  K.  T.,  and  to  Nile  Temple  of  the 
Mystic  Shrine,  and  when  he  passed  away,  October  28,  1912,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-nine  years,  the  funeral  services  were  conducted  by  his 
Masonic  brethren.  He  had  always  been  most  loyal  to  the  teachings 
of  the  craft  and  his  life  exemplified  its  beneficent  spirit.  One  who 
knew  him  well  said  of  him:  "He  was  known  as  a  man  of  seasoned 
judgment,  large  experience  and  extreme  fairness.  His  business  in- 
tegrity was  unquestioned  and  he  always  showed  a  disposition  and 
willingness  to  serve  humanity,  yet  with  quietness  and  unostentation. 


Kofiett  a.  mtstetmm 


567 


His  attitude  toward  yovmger  business  men  with  whom  he  was  as- 
sociated in  various  ways  was  considerate  far  beyond  the  average  man. 
He  was  glad  to  encourage  them  for  the  right,  was  interested  in  their 
plans,  a  father  in  his  kindness  and  tenderness.  As  such  he  will  be 
remembered  by  those  who  knew  him  best." 


^^^^        ,.:^ 


^Iton  ».  Xeonarb 

XTON  W.  LEONARD  is  the  president  of  the  Puget 
Sound  Traction,  Light  &  Power  Conijjany  and  that 
he  has  been  chosen  as  the  chief  executive  head  of  an 
extensive  corporation  that  is  of  vital  worth  to  the 
community  at  once  estabhshes  his  position  as  a  re- 
sourceful, alert  and  enterprising  business  man.  He 
is  a  product  of  the  east  both  in  birth  and  business  training  and  has 
found  in  the  conditions  of  the  growing  west  the  stimulus  that  has 
called  forth  his  powers  and  his  energies.  He  was  born  in  Monmouth, 
Maine,  April  8,  1873,  a  son  of  Fred  A.  and  Lizzie  A.  (Parker) 
Leonard,  who  are  also  natives  of  that  state.  The  father  is  now  a 
retired  contractor  of  Braintree,  Massachusetts. 

Alton  W.  Leonard  secured  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of 
Boston  and  Brockton,  Massachusetts,  and  subsequently  was  employed 
for  five  or  six  years  as  bookkeeper  by  A.  S.  Porter  &  Sons,  of  Brock- 
ton, Massachusetts.  He  entered  the  employ  of  the  Stone  &  Webster 
Management  Association,  now  general  managers  of  the  Puget  Sound 
Traction,  Light  &  Power  Company,  at  Brockton,  Massachusetts,  as 
assistant  treasurer  of  the  Edison  Electric  Illuminating  Company  of 
that  city,  operating  a  light  and  power  plant,  and  since  1895  he  has 
been  continuously  a  representative  of  those  eastern  capitalists.  From 
the  position  of  assistant  treasurer  he  was  advanced  to  that  of  super- 
intendent and  later  to  that  of  manager  at  Brockton.  In  1903  he 
went  to  Houghton,  Michigan,  as  superintendent  of  the  Houghton 
County  Electric  Light  Company  and  later  became  manager  not  only 
of  the  electric  light  plant  but  also  of  the  Houghton  County  Traction 
Company  operated  by  the  Stone  &  Webster  Management  Associa- 
tion in  Houghton  county,  where  he  remained  for  four  years.  On  the 
expiration  of  that  period  he  was  transferred  to  Minneapolis,  Minne- 
sota, having  been  appointed  manager  of  the  Minneapolis  General 
Electric  Company,  operated  by  the  Stone  &  Webster  Management 
Association.  His  next  promotion  brought  to  him  the  duties  of  vice 
president  as  well  as  of  manager  and  finally  he  was  made  district 
manager  of  the  companies  under  Stone  &  Webster  management  in 
the  central  west. 

571 


572  aiton  m,  LeonatD 

Following  the  demise  of  Richard  T,  LafRn,  district  manager  in 
Seattle  for  the  Stone  &  Webster  interests,  Mr.  Leonard  was  trans- 
ferred from  Minneapolis  to  tliis  city  to  assume  the  duties  of  vice 
president  and  general  manager  of  the  Puget  Sound  Traction,  Light 
&  Power  Company  and  vice  president  of  the  subsidiary  corporations 
of  that  compan)^  He  continued  in  that  connection  until  upon  the 
death  of  Jacob  Furth  he  succeeded  to  the  presidency,  his  appointment 
being  made  in  Boston  by  the  directors  of  the  traction  company  to  take 
effect  on  the  1st  of  November,  1914.  This  brought  to  him  added  re- 
sponsibilities but  also  broader  opportunities.  He  has  now  been  with 
the  company  for  twenty  years  and  is  one  of  its  most  trusted,  capable 
and  efficient  representatives.  Step  by  step  he  has  progressed  and  his 
developing  powers  have  gained  for  him  the  advancement  which  now 
places  him  in  executive  control  of  one  of  the  most  important  public 
utilities  of  the  northwest.  In  his  present  position  he  is  studying  every 
phase  of  the  business,  not  only  to  give  the  company  the  best  service 
possible  but  to  give  the  city  the  best,  knowing  that  it  is  only  along  this 
line  of  mutual  benefit  that  the  best  results  can  be  obtained.  At  the 
time  that  he  was  made  president  of  the  Puget  Soimd  Traction,  Light 
&  Power  Company  Mr.  Leonard  was  also  elected  a  director. 

In  1896  Mr.  Leonard  was  married  at  Brockton,  Massachusetts,  to 
Miss  Annie  A.  Keith  and  they  became  the  parents  of  four  children. 
He  is  a  home  man,  finding  his  greatest  pleasure  in  the  companionship 
of  his  family,  yet  he  is  also  popular  in  club  circles  and  belongs  to  the 
Rainier  Club,  the  Arctic  Club,  the  Seattle  Yacht  Club  and  the  Seattle 
Golf  Club  and  is  a  trustee  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce.  He  greatly 
enjoys  outdoor  sports,  especially  golf,  motoi'ing,  fishing  and  hunting. 
Above  all,  he  is  a  typical  business  man  of  the  age. 


''^fffh^ 


OTiUiam  JHartin 


;iLLIAM  MARTIN,  an  active  member  of  the  Seattle 
bar  since  1890,  was  born  March  24,  1864,  near  Ke- 
wanee,  Ilhnois,  but  the  following  year  was  taken  by 
his  parents  to  Wisconsin,  the  family  home  being 
established  on  a  farm  near  Momit  Horeb.  He  re- 
mained in  that  locality  until  he  entered  the  University 
of  Wisconsin  for  the  completion  of  his  more  specifically  literary 
course.  He  was  graduated  from  that  institution  with  the  class  of 
1889,  winning  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Letters.  Having  determined 
upon  the  practice  of  law  as  a  life  work,  he  then  began  studying  with 
that  end  in  view  and  was  graduated  as  a  law  student  with  the  class 
of  1890,  being  admitted  to  practice  before  the  supreme  court  of 
Wisconsin  on  the  25th  of  June  of  that  year. 

Mr.  Martin  spent  the  summer  in  Wisconsin  but  in  October,  1890, 
removed  westward  to  Seattle,  where  he  opened  a  law  office  and  has 
since  followed  his  profession,  making  steady  progress  in  connection 
with  a  calling  where  advancement  depends  entirely  upon  individual 
merit,  a  calling  that  has  always  been  regarded  as  conserving  the  rights 
of  the  individual  and  establishing  justice. 

On  the  23d  of  March,  1895,  Mr.  Martin  was  married  to  Miss  J.  R. 
Replinger  and  to  them  have  been  born  two  children,  Charlotte  Isabel 
and  Adelaide  M.,  aged  respectively  seventeen  and  fifteen  years. 


575 


Mi&mlij??./:^^ 


foijn  €.  ^osinell,  ill*  ®, 

)R.  JOHN  C.  GOSNELL,  who  for  eleven  years  has 
been  continuously  in  the  practice  of  medicine  and  sur- 
gery in  Seattle,  was  born  in  Lake  Beauport,  province 
of  Quebec,  August  8,  1854.  His  father,  John  Gos- 
nell,  started  in  business  in  the  city  of  Quebec  in 
partnership  with  his  brother-in-law,  Alexander  Lear- 
month,  in  a  foundry  and  machine  works.  Disposing  of  his  interest  in 
the  business  to  his  partner,  he  engaged  in  the  timber  business  and  in 
farming  at  Lake  Beauport,  in  the  seignory  of  St.  Francis,  near  the 
city  of  Quebec,  and  as  a  farmer  he  continued  for  the  rest  of  his  life 
successively  in  the  counties  of  Grey  and  Kent  in  the  province  of 
Ontario,  Canada,  and  in  the  province  of  British  Columbia.  Natur- 
al\y,  however,  his  genius  was  for  mechanics.  John  Gosnell,  himself 
of  Enghsh,  Irish  and  Welsh  descent,  married  Margaret  Fachney, 
who  was  born  in  the  Brig  of  Allen,  in  the  old  parish  of  Logic,  near 
Stirling,  Scotland,  where  her  forbears  had  lived  for  centimes.  Her 
father,  James  Fachney,  architect  and  stonemason,  a  man  of  extra- 
ordinary mechanical  skiU,  was  for  a  long  time  factor  of  the  Duke  of 
Buccleigh,  one  of  whose  castles  he  spent  nine  years  in  restoring.  Un- 
der ducal  auspices  he  received  a  grant  of  land  in  the  western  part 
of  Upper  Canada,  as  Ontario  used  to  be  called,  and  emigrated  to 
America.  Landing  at  Quebec  he  was  induced  to  remain  there  and 
followed  his  profession  as  an  architect  and  contractor  until  he  retired 
to  a  farm  in  Lake  Beauport,  where  he  also  built  and  ran  a  sawmill, 
never  claiming  his  land.  John  GosneU,  Sr.,  died  at  Victoria,  British 
Columbia,  aged  seventy-seven  years,  and  his  wife,  the  Doctor's 
mother,  lived  on  into  her  ninety-second  year.  She  was  a  remarkable 
■woman  in  many  ways  and  a  great  student  of  history,  but  Scottish  and 
church  history  in  particular.  Her  memory  was  undimmed  up  to  the 
time  of  her  last  sickness,  a  short  time  before  her  death.  Her  keen 
perception  of  mankind  was  remarkable.  She  knew  people  like  an 
open  book  after  having  a  few  moments'  conversation  with  them.  She 
inherited  the  love  of  books  from  her  father,  who  had  a  rare  collection 
of  the  valuable  works  of  his  time. 

The  Gosnells  are  an  old  English  family,  dating  back  to  or  before 
579 


580  3[oi)n  €♦  (gpgnell,  Qj,  D, 

the  reign  of  King  John,  though  the  name  has  been  spelled  indiffer- 
ently in  a  number  of  ways — Gosnell,  Gosnail,  Gosneld,  Gosnald, 
Gosnold  and  so  on.  Their  habitat  was  mainly  Suffolk  and  Norfolk, 
in  East  Anglia.  They  seemed  to  have  been  a  race  of  respectable, 
well-to-do  country  squii-es,  who  never  with  one  exception  aspired  to 
public  life  or  honors.  Some  seven  or  eight  centuries  ago  one  of  them 
sat  in  the  British  parliament.  Dm-ing  the  Civil  war,  in  the  reign  of 
Charles  I,  though  Tories  and  Church  of  England  people,  they  took 
the  side  of  Cromwell,  and  as  a  reward  for  this  service  after  the  Restor- 
ation their  estates  were  confiscated.  It  was  at  this  time  that  one 
branch  of  the  family  settled  in  West  Cork  in  the  south  of  Ireland, 
where  their  descendants  still  are,  and  from  which  place,  Skiberreen, 
the  Doctor's  grandfather,  came  to  America  about  one  hundred  years 
ago  and  settled  in  Quebec.  It  is  interesting  to  know  that  two  of  his 
ancestors,  Bartholomew  and  John,  under  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  founded 
the  first  colony  on  the  east  coast  of  British  America, 

The  immediate  subject  of  this  sketch  received  his  early  education 
(there  were  no  public  schools  in  those  days)  in  Quebec  and  while  still 
quite  young  acquired  from  his  uncle  the  art  of  sign  writing,  painting 
and  decorating,  in  which  line  in  western  Ontario  he  pursued  contract- 
ing for  some  time.  Although  quite  successful  in  his  business,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-nine  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  study  of  medicine, 
for  which  he  had  a  natm-al  aptitude.  The  mechanical  instinct  prob- 
ably gave  him  a  fondness  for  surgery,  as  an  important  branch  of  the 
medical  profession.  He  graduated  from  the  Detroit  College  of 
Medicine  in  1888.  After  a  short  term  of  hospital  work,  Dr.  Gosnell 
came  to  the  great  west  and  located  at  Willapa,  Pacific  county,  Wash- 
ington, where  he  remained  until  July,  1895.  From  there  he  removed 
to  Ilwaco  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  where  he  followed  his  pro- 
fession mitil  1901.  The  arduous  labors  involved  in  a  country  practice 
which  extended  over  the  greater  part  of  Pacific  county  decided  him  to 
take  up  city  practice.  Before  entering  upon  this,  however,  he  devoted 
a  year  to  post  graduate  work,  attending  lectures  and  doing  work  in 
some  of  the  leading  hospitals  in  the  east. 

Retvu-ning  west,  Dr.  Gosnell  took  up  his  abode  in  Belhngham 
and  resided  there  about  eighteen  months.  He  removed  from  there  to 
Seattle  and  since  that  time  has  followed  his  profession  here  with  ex- 
cellent results.  He  has  endeavored  to  keep  abreast  of  the  times  in 
medicine  and  surgery,  something  which  demands  unremitting  study, 
and  has  thus  been  enabled  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  most  modern 
thought,  methods  and  theories  of  practice.  He  has  been  particularly 
successful  in  siu*gery.    As  opportimity  offered  Dr.  Gosnell  has  made 


investments  in  property  and  has  large  realty  holdings  both  in  the  state 
of  Washington  and  in  the  province  of  British  Columbia. 

Dr.  Gosnell  was  fourth  of  a  family  of  six  children,  of  whom  four 
brothers  are  living.  His  eldest  brother  lives  in  the  middle  west  of 
Canada.  He  inherited  the  mechanical  genius  of  the  family  to  a  large 
extent  and  has  many  ingenious  inventions  to  his  credit.  His  next 
oldest  brother,  by  fate  of  fortune,  followed  farming  and  stock  raising, 
at  which  he  was  successful  and  is  now  retired  and  lives  near  Victoria, 
British  Colmnbia.  His  youngest  brother  has  for  a  long  time  been 
identified  with  the  civil  service  and  literary  life  of  British  Columbia 
and  has  written  extensively  on  the  history  and  resources  of  the  coun- 
try. On  the  4th  of  March,  1896,  Dr.  Gosnell  married  Miss  Belle 
Campbell,  of  Alvinston,  Ontario,  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William 
Campbell  of  that  place.  They  were  among  the  early  pioneers  of 
western  Ontario,  coming  from  Argyleshire,  Scotland,  in  1858. 

Dr.  Gosnell  has  offices  at  905-906  Joshua  Green  building.  In 
politics  he  has  been  a  republican  and  identified  himself  with  the  pro- 
gressive movement  in  1912,  but  has  not  been  an  active  worker  in  the 
ranks  of  recent  years,  his  time  being  taken  up  almost  entirely  with 
his  professional  duties.  He  is  very  much  interested  in  certain  phases 
of  social  politics,  if  the  expression  may  be  used,  and  among  other 
things  has  strongly  advocated  the  establishment  of  farms  for  the 
reformation  of  dipsomaniacs,  drug  fiends,  hopelessly  unemployed,  and 
certain  classes  of  criminals  who  have  been  the  victims  of  circumstances 
rather  than  by  nature  vicious.  So  far  his  efforts  have  not  met  with 
success,  but  greater  attention  is  being  paid  to  the  question  in  the  state 
as  a  consequence.  Dr.  Gosnell  belongs  to  Seattle  Lodge,  No.  164, 
A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  to  Columbia  Lodge,  No.  2,  A.  O.  U.  W.  He  is 
likewise  a  member  of  the  Canadian  Club  of  Seattle,  of  the  Caledonian 
Society,  Clan  MacKenzie,  O.  S.  C,  and  is  an  adherent  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  church.  One  may  judge  by  these  connections  the  nature 
of  his  interests  and  activities  outside  of  his  practice.  Along  profes- 
sional lines  his  membership  is  with  the  King  County  Medical  Associa- 
tion, the  Washington  State  Medical  Association  and  the  American 
Medical  Association.  He  chose  as  a  life  work  a  calling  in  which  ad- 
vancement depends  entirely  upon  individual  merit,  and  where  success 
is  based  upon  scientific  knowledge,  close  application  to  duty,  careful 
and  keen  diagnosis  and  the  element  of  himian  sympathy. 


mu 


Jofjn  ^.  #raj)am 

ROMINENT  among  the  leading  merchants  of  Seattle 
is  John  S.  Graham,  whose  splendidly  appointed 
establishment,  including  a  line  of  millinery,  suits, 
coats,  waists  and  fine  apparel  for  women,  is  one  of 
the  finest  stores  on  the  Pacific  coast.  In  fact,  it  is 
scarcely  surpassed  in  the  entire  country.  Perhaps  in 
New  York  and  Chicago  are  establishments  of  greater  size,  but  none 
show  more  discriminating  taste  in  the  selection  and  display  of  goods, 
rendering  it  one  of  the  most  beautiful  stores  of  its  kind  in  America. 
Well  formulated  plans,  executed  with  promptness  and  decision  and 
characterized  by  unswerving  commercial  integrity,  have  constituted 
the  basis  of  his  growing  success.  A  native  of  Fifeshire,  Scotland, 
Mr.  Graham  is  descended  from  one  of  the  old  families  of  that  country, 
his  father  being  Andrew  Graham,  who  was  a  tanner  and  controlled 
one  of  the  largest  enterprises  of  that  character  in  Scotland. 

After  acquiring  a  high  school  education  John  S.  Graham  served  a 
four  years'  apprenticeship  to  the  dry  goods  business  and  since  starting 
out  on  his  own  account  has  never  been  in  any  line  save  that  of  women's 
furnishings.  He  arrived  in  Seattle  in  1889,  immediately  after  the 
great  fire,  when  there  were  practically  no  stores  in  the  town.  For 
one  dollar  per  front  foot  he  rented  space  for  a  tent  next  to  the  present 
location  of  the  Cheasty  store,  on  Second  and  Spring  streets.  Later  he 
found  a  man  occupying  what  he  considered  a  much  better  location, 
there  selling  chickens,  rabbits,  etc.,  in  a  large  tent.  Mr.  Graham 
then  bought  the  man  out  and  occupied  the  tent,  just  opposite  the  pres- 
ent Butler  Hotel.  When  the  Butler  Hotel  building  was  erected  he 
rented  a  store  in  it  from  Daniel  Jones  and  Guy  Phinney,  there 
remaining  for  five  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  removed  to  the 
Boston  block,  there  continuing  until  about  four  years  ago,  when  he 
established  his  business  at  his  present  location  at  Second  and  Spring 
streets,  just  across  the  street  from  where  he  started  upon  his  business 
career  in  Seattle  in  a  tent.  In  some  seasons  his  employes  num- 
bered one  hundred  and  fifty  and  he  has  one  of  the  finest  and  most 
up-to-date  stores  in  Seattle,  carrying  a  large  and  attractive  line  of 
millinery,  suits,  coats,  waists  and  evening  apparel  for  women.  Every- 
thing is  tastefully  arranged  and  the  appointments  of  the  store  are 


586  31oi>n  ^«  (Dtai)am 

most  attractive.  He  carries  the  latest  goods  which  the  markets  of  the 
world  aiFord  and  the  most  fastidious  and  critical  taste  can  here  find 
satisfaction.  His  establishment  is  popular  with  the  public  and  the 
growth  of  the  business  is  indicated  in  a  comparison  of  his  little  tent 
store  with  the  present  extensive  and  well  appointed  establishment. 
When  he  started  out  upon  his  business  career  in  Seattle,  opening 
his  store,  all  goods  were  marked  in  plain  figures  and  a  one  price  system 
was  inaugurated — a  rule  from  which  he  has  never  deviated  to  the 
slightest  extent  as  the  years  have  gone  on.  When  a  sale  of  goods  in 
this  establishment  is  advertised  the  public  knows  that  the  announce- 
ment means  exactly  what  it  says  and  Mr.  Graham  has  thus  gained 
and  held  the  confidence  of  the  people  by  his  strict  business  principles 
and  his  unfaltering  adherence  to  the  highest  standards  of  honesty  and 
honorable  dealing. 

In  Sacramento,  California,  Mr.  Graham  was  married  to  Miss 
Josephine  Spencer,  a  native  of  Boston,  and  they  have  one  son, 
Robert,  who  is  now  associated  with  his  father  in  business,  having  made 
his  first  trip  to  the  east  as  a  buyer  for  the  house  in  the  fall  of  1914. 
The  family  occupy  a  handsome  residence  at  No.  404  Harvard  avenue. 
North,  and  in  addition  Mr.  Graham  owns  much  other  valuable  real 
estate  in  the  city.  He  votes  independently  in  politics,  supporting  the 
best  man  irrespective  of  party,  seeking  ever  by  his  ballot  to  promote 
good,  clean  government.  He  is  identified  with  the  Arctic,  Seattle 
Athletic  and  other  leading  clubs  of  the  city  and  of  several  is  a  life 
member.  His  friends,  and  they  are  many,  find  him  a  pleasant,  con- 
genial companion  and  the  public  accords  him  honor  and  respect  for 
what  he  has  accomplished  and  the  methods  which  he  has  followed,  his 
course  at  all  times  measuring  up  to  the  highest  commercial  standards. 


^  ^   l-fC^CZ-^jUy^ 


^imotfjp  ®.  Jlincfelep 


IMOTHY  D.  HINCKLEY  was  numbered  among 
those  who  engaged  in  farming  on  the  present  site 
of  the  city  of  Seattle.  Tall  trees  stood  where  electric 
light  poles  are  now  to  be  seen  and  native  grasses 
covered  the  sections  which  have  been  converted  into 
broad  thoroughfares,  in  which  is  heard  the  rumble 
of  traffic  that  connects  Seattle  in  its  trade  relations  with  many  parts 
of  the  world.  Mr.  Hinckley  lived  to  witness  remarkable  changes, 
for  he  made  his  home  in  the  Sound  country  for  more  than  six  decades. 
He  was  born  in  St.  Clair  county,  Illinois,  Jime  30,  1827,  and  is  a 
representative  of  one  of  the  old  pioneer  families  of  Hamilton  county, 
Ohio.  The  ancestral  line  comes  from  New  England.  His  father, 
Timothy  Hinckley,  was  born  in  Maine  and  followed  the  ship  car- 
penter's trade  at  Bath  until  1816,  when  he  removed  to  Ohio.  He 
married  Hannah  Smith,  also  a  native  of  Maine,  and  after  living  for 
some  time  in  the  Buckeye  state  they  became  residents  of  St.  Clair 
county,  Illinois,  where  Mr.  Hinckley  became  the  owner  of  a  farm. 
He  also  worked  at  the  builder's  trade  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri.  He 
was  about  fifty-five  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  demise  and  his 
wife,  surviving  him  for  some  years,  passed  away  when  about  the 
same  age.  They  were  both  consistent  and  faithful  members  of  the 
Baptist  church  and  Mr.  Hinckley,  who  was  a  whig  in  politics,  filled 
the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  for  a  nimiber  of  years. 

Timothy  D.  Hinckley  was  one  of  a  family  of  eleven  children. 
After  acquiring  a  public-school  education  he  took  up  the  study  of 
engineering  and  devoted  the  early  part  of  his  life  to  work  of  that 
character.  In  1850  he  joined  a  party  that  on  the  30th  of  April 
started  across  the  plains  from  Missouri.  He  drove  a  mule  team  and 
was  accompanied  by  his  brothers,  Samuel  and  Jacob.  It  was  not 
difficult  to  obtain  buffalo  meat  on  the  trip  and  other  wild  game  was 
also  to  be  secured.  They  had  no  encounter  of  any  moment  with 
the  Indians  and  after  traveling  for  three  months  the  party  reached 
Hangtown,  now  Placerville,  California.  There  Mr.  Hinckley  and 
his  brother  separated  and  the  former  engaged  in  placer  mining  at 
Cold  Springs,  but  was  only  fairly  successful.  He  had  no  better  luck 
near  Georgetown,  on  the  middle  fork  of  the  American  river,  and  later 


590  Cimotftp  5:)«  l^inckleg 

proceeded  to  Volcano  and  thence  to  Weaverville,  in  the  Trinity 
country,  where  he  met  with  much  better  success. 

It  was  in  March,  1853,  that  Mr.  Hinckley  arrived  on  the  present 
site  of  Seattle  and  secured  a  claim  bordering  Lake  Washington. 
There  was  no  market  for  his  farm  products,  however,  and  this  caused 
him  to  abandon  the  work.  He  afterward  removed  to  Port  Madison, 
where  he  operated  an  engine  for  three  years,  and  later  he  was  employed 
as  an  engineer  at  Port  Orchard.  Subsequently  he  erected  a  nimiber 
of  buildings  on  and  near  the  site  of  the  Phoenix  Hotel,  in  Seattle, 
but  these  were  destroyed  in  the  great  fire  of  1889.  After  disposing 
of  that  land  Mr.  Hinckley  purchased  nine  acres  on  the  west  side  of 
Lake  Union  and  erected  thereon  a  fine  residence.  It  was  just  after 
the  fire  that  he  built  the  Hinckley  block,  one  hundred  and  twenty  by 
one  himdred  and  eight  feet,  and  five  stories  and  basement  in  height. 
This  proved  a  paying  investment  and  he  retained  the  ownership  of 
the  property  imtil  his  death.  A  portion  of  his  land  bordering  Lake 
Union  was  divided  and  sold  as  town  lots,  but  he  retained  four  acres 
surrounding  his  home. 

It  was  in  1867  that  Mr.  Hinckley  was  united  in  marriage  to  Mrs. 
Margaret  E.  Hinckley,  widow  of  his  brother  Jacob.  She  was  born 
in  Ireland  and  by  her  fii'st  marriage  had  the  following  children: 
Katherine  Hannah,  now  the  wife  of  Perry  Poison,  a  prominent  mer- 
chant of  Seattle;  Charles  Byron  and  Mary  Francis,  who  are  deceased; 
Clara  Duane,  the  wife  of  Sherman  Moran  of  Seattle;  and  two  who 
died  in  infancy  in  California.  Five  children  were  born  of  her  second 
marriage:  Ferdinand,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-six  years; 
Walter  Raleigh,  who  some  years  previous  to  his  father's  death  became 
manager  of  his  business  interests;  Ralph  Waldo,  deceased;  and  Ira 
and  Lyman,  who  are  at  home.  Mrs.  Hinckley  is  numbered  among 
the  pioneer  settlers  of  both  California  and  Washington,  having  lived 
in  the  coast  country  since  1854. 

In  politics  Mr.  Hinckley  was  a  democrat  and  for  many  years 
capably  served  as  justice  of  the  peace,  his  decisions  being  strictly  fair 
and  impartial.  He  also  aided  in  framing  the  laws  of  Washington 
during  territorial  days,  being  for  three  terms  a  representative  in  the 
general  assembly.  He  was  largely  influential  in  securing  the  passage 
of  the  liquor  license  law,  requiring  the  payment  of  five  hundred  dollars 
annually  as  a  license,  and  he  was  also  the  author  of  a  bill  creating 
and  organizing  the  county  of  Kitsap.  His  fraternal  relations  were 
with  the  Masons  and  his  religious  faith  was  evidenced  by  his  member- 
ship in  the  Baptist  church.  He  also  belonged  to  the  Pioneers  Asso- 
ciation and  took  a  great  interest  in  the  meetings  of  that  organization, 


Cimot|)p  D.  ^incblep 


591 


where  he  came  into  contact  with  other  early  settlers,  who  like  himself 
had  borne  a  part  in  the  work  of  developing  the  comitry,  doing  away 
with  conditions  of  frontier  times  and  introducing  the  advantages  of 
modern  civilization.  In  the  later  years  of  his  life  he  lived  retired, 
enjoying  the  respect  and  esteem  of  all,  reviewing  in  retrospect  the 
events  which  had  shaped  the  history  of  the  northwest.  He  was  in  the 
eighty-seventh  year  of  his  age  when  called  to  the  home  beyond  in 
February,  1914. 


^.e^^X^  8 


Jlertiert  Crnegt  ^noofe 


lOR  a  quarter  of  a  century  Herbert  Ernest  Snook  has 

F,,  J  been  a  resident  of  Seattle,  during  which  period  he  has 
(^  engaged  actively  in  law  practice.  For  fifteen  years 
\5  I  he  has  followed  his  profession  independent  of  part- 
nership relations  and  his  ability  has  gained  him  high 
rank  among  the  representatives  of  the  Seattle  bar. 
He  was  born  at  Marion,  Linn  county,  Iowa,  April  1,  1868.  His 
father,  Benjamin  Franklin  Snook,  was  born  in  Zanesville,  Ohio,  in 
1836,  was  educated  for  the  ministry,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  1905,  was  pastor  of  the  Universalist  church  at  Webster 
City,  Iowa.  He  was  also  prominent  in  fraternal  circles  and  was  chap- 
lain of  the  Masonic  lodge  of  Webster  City,  while  in  the  order  he 
attained  to  the  thirty-second  degree  of  the  Scottish  Rite.  His  wife, 
who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Catherine  Mary  Moore,  was  of  Scotch- 
Irish  parentage  and  was  born  in  Bloomington,  Indiana,  in  1838. 

Herbert  E.  Snook  is  a  graduate  of  a  high  school  of  Bloomfield, 
Iowa,  where  he  completed  his  course  with  the  class  of  1886.  He  was 
afterward  graduated  from  the  Southern  Iowa  Normal  School  of  that 
place  in  1888  and  he  became  a  law  student  in  the  office  of  McHenry, 
McHenry  &  McHenry  of  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  who  directed  his  reading 
until  his  admission  to  the  bar  in  1890.  In  the  meantime  he  had  taught 
school  in  the  Mount  Pleasant  district  of  Jefferson  county,  Iowa,  in 
1887,  in  the  schools  of  Pacific  City,  Mills  county,  Iowa,  in  1888,  and 
was  principal  of  the  Park  Avenue  School  of  Des  Moines  in  1889, 
during  all  of  which  time  he  was  pursuing  his  legal  studies. 

On  the  18th  of  April,  1890,  soon  after  the  great  Seattle  fire,  Mr. 
Snook  arrived  in  this  city  with  the  intention  of  making  it  his  perma- 
nent abode  and  his  residence  here  has  been  continuous  through  the  past 
quarter  of  a  century.  He  formed  a  partnership  with  Daniel  O.  Finch 
for  the  practice  of  law  on  the  1st  of  June,  1890,  and  opened  law  offices 
on  the  third  floor  of  the  Butler  block,  then  just  completed.  Mr.  Finch 
was  an  elderly  man  whose  office  as  United  States  district  attorney  for 
the  state  of  Iowa  under  President  Cleveland's  first  administration  had 
just  expired.  On  the  1st  of  January,  1891,  they  removed  to  offices  in 
the  Burke  building,  then  just  completed.  About  six  months  after  the 
formation  of  this  partnership  they  were  joined  by  Joseph  M.  Glasgow, 


596  i^ctbett  OBrnegt  ^nook 

afterward  municipal  judge  of  the  city  of  Seattle,  in  a  partnership 
under  the  firm  name  of  Finch,  Snook  &  Glasgow.  That  relation  was 
dissolved  in  1892  when  a  son  of  Daniel  O.  Finch  was  taken  in  as  a  third 
member  of  the  firm  under  the  style  Finch,  Snook  &  Finch.  In  1893 
that  partnership  was  terminated  by  the  return  of  Edward  Finch  to 
Des  Moines,  Iowa,  while  Daniel  O.  Finch  retired  from  practice.  Mr. 
Snook  remained  the  sole  survivor  of  the  firm  and  ever  since  has  con- 
tinuously maintained  his  offices  in  the  Burke  building.  Daniel  O. 
Finch  died  in  Los  Angeles,  California,  in  1909.  During  the  past  fif- 
teen years  Mr.  Snook  has  practiced  law  alone  save  that  in  some  import- 
ant cases  he  has  been  associate  counsel  with  other  lawyers  or  they  with 
him.  He  has  been  connected  with  much  important  litigation  and  in 
the  case  of  Moses  vs.  the  United  States  he  was  called  in  as  special 
counsel  to  assist  the  late  Lyman  E.  Knapp,  ex-governor  of  Alaska, 
in  what  was  known  as  the  Overtime  cases. 

Mr.  Snook  has  been  twice  married.  On  the  26th  of  December, 
1888,  at  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  he  wedded  Miss  Mary  Blanch  Mosier,  by 
whom  he  had  two  daughters,  Olive  and  Catherine.  This  marriage  was 
legally  dissolved  in  1894  and  on  the  17th  of  August,  1899,  Mr.  Snook 
wedded  Donna  Emeline  Irons  at  Seattle,  Washington.  To  them  have 
been  born  three  children,  namely:  Dorothy  Eleanor,  Ruth  Radnor 
and  Herbert  Ernest,  Jr. 

From  the  time  when  Mr.  Snook  was  able  to  form  an  independent 
political  opinion  he  was  a  conservative  democrat  until  the  progressive 
party  was  organized.  His  sympathies  with  it  were  at  once  aroused,  for 
he  believed  that  its  principles  coincided  with  his  own  more  than  those 
of  any  other  party.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  progessive  state  conven- 
tion at  Aberdeen  in  1912  and  was  chosen  a  delegate  to  the  national 
convention  held  in  Chicago.  Mr.  Snook  is  a  Master  Mason  and  a 
member  of  Rainier  Council,  No.  189,  of  Seattle,  and  is  past  regent  of 
the  Royal  Arcanum,  belonging  to  Madrona  Council,  No.  189,  of  Seat- 
tle. He  is  president  of  the  New  Queen  Anne  Improvement  Club,  which 
office  he  has  held  during  the  past  two  years,  and  he  stands  for  advance- 
ment and  improvement  along  all  those  lines  which  lead  to  the  material 
and  intellectual  development  of  his  commimity  and  which  uphold 
projects  that  are  a  matter  of  civic  virtue  and  civic  pride.  He  belongs 
to  the  Washington  State  Bar  Association,  in  which  his  membership 
dates  from  1905,  and  he  is  also  a  member  of  the  American  Bar  Asso- 
ciation, having  been  elected  to  that  honor  in  1909. 


€:i)omas;  Jlercer 


)HOMAS  MERCER  was  born  in  Harrison  county, 

T.^w,  Ohio,  March  11,  1813,  the  eldest  of  a  large  family  of 
^\  children.  He  remained  with  his  father  until  he  was 
P  iw  twenty-one,  gaining  a  common  school  education  and 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  manufacture  of  woolen 
goods.  His  father  was  the  owner  of  a  well  appointed 
woolen  mill.  The  father,  Aaron  Mercer,  was  born  in  Virginia  and 
was  of  the  same  family  as  General  Mercer  of  Revolutionary  fame. 
His  mother,  Jane  Dickerson  Mercer,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  of 
an  old  family  of  that  state. 

The  family  moved  to  Princeton,  Illinois,  in  1834,  a  period  when 
buffalo  were  still  occasionally  found  east  of  the  Mississippi  river,  and 
savage  Indians  annoyed  and  harassed  outlying  settlements  in  that 
region.  A  remarkable  coincidence  is  a  matter  of  family  tradition. 
Nancy  Brigham,  who  later  became  Mr.  Mercer's  wife,  and  her  familj% 
were  compelled  to  flee  by  night  from  their  home  near  Dixon  at  the 
time  of  the  Black  Hawk  war,  and  narrowly  escaped  massacre.  In 
1856,  about  twenty  years  later,  her  daughters,  the  j^oungest  only  eight 
years  old,  also  made  a  midnight  escape  in  Seattle,  two  thousand  miles 
away  from  the  scene  of  their  mother's  adventure,  and  they  endured 
the  terrors  of  the  attack  upon  the  village  a  few  days  later  when  the 
shots  and  shouts  of  hundreds  of  painted  devils  rang  out  in  the  forest 
on  the  hillside  from  a  point  near  the  present  Union  depots  to  another 
near  where  Madison  street  ends  at  First  avenue. 

In  April,  1852,  a  train  of  about  twenty  wagons,  drawn  by  horses, 
was  organized  at  Princeton  to  cross  the  plains  to  Oregon.  In  this 
train  were  Thomas  IMercer,  Aaron  Mercer,  Dexter  Horton,  Daniel 
Bagley,  William  H.  Shoudy,  and  their  families.  Mr.  Mercer  was 
chosen  captain  of  the  train  and  discharged  the  arduous  duties  of  that 
position  fearlessly  and  successfully.  Danger  and  disease  were  on 
both  sides  of  the  long,  dreary  waj%  and  hundreds  of  new  made  graves 
were  often  counted  along  the  roadside  in  a  day.  But  this  train  seemed 
to  bear  a  charmed  existence.  Not  a  member  of  the  original  party 
died  on  the  way,  although  man}?^  were  seriously  ill.  Only  one  animal 
was  lost. 

597 


598  CI)oma$  Qgeccer 

As  the  journey  was  fairly  at  an  end  and  western  civilization  had 
been  reached  at  The  Dalles,  Oregon,  Mrs.  Mercer  was  taken  ill,  but 
managed  to  keep  up  until  the  Cascades  were  reached.  There  she 
grew  rapidly  worse  and  soon  died.  Several  members  of  the  expedi- 
tion went  to  Salem  and  wintered  there  and  in  the  early  spring  of  1853 
Thomas  Mercer  and  Dexter  Horton  came  to  Seattle  and  decided  to 
make  it  their  home.  Mr.  Horton  entered  immediately  upon  a  business 
career,  the  success  of  which  is  known  in  California,  Oregon  and  Wash- 
ington, and  Mr.  Mercer  settled  upon  a  donation  claun  whose  eastern 
end  was  the  meander  line  of  Lake  Union  and  the  western  end,  half 
way  across  to  the  bay.  Mercer  street  is  the  dividing  line  between  his 
and  D.  T.  Denny's  claims,  and  all  of  these  tracts  were  included  within 
the  city  limits  about  1885. 

]\Ir.  Mercer  brought  to  Seattle  one  span  of  horses  and  a  wagon 
from  the  outfit  with  which  he  crossed  the  plains  and  for  some  time  all 
the  hauling  of  wood  and  merchandise  was  done  by  him.  The  wagon 
was  the  first  one  in  King  county.  In  1859  he  went  to  Oregon  for  the 
summer  and  while  there  married  Hester  L.  Ward,  who  lived  with  him 
nearly  forty  years,  dying  in  November,  1897.  During  the  twenty 
years  succeeding  his  settlement  here  he  worked  hard  in  clearing  the 
farm  and  carrying  on  dairying  and  farming  in  a  small  way  and  doing 
much  work  with  his  team.  In  1873  portions  of  the  farm  came  into 
demand  for  homes  and  his  sales  soon  put  him  in  easy  circumstances 
and  in  later  years  made  him  independent,  though  the  few  years  of 
hard  times  prior  to  his  death  left  but  a  small  part  of  the  estate. 

The  old  home  on  the  farm  that  the  Indians  spared  when  other 
buildings  in  the  county  not  protected  by  soldiers  were  burned,  stood 
until  1900  and  was  then  the  oldest  building  in  the  county.  Mr.  D.  T. 
Denny  had  a  log  cabin  on  his  place  which  was  not  destroyed — these 
two  alone  escaped.  The  Indians  were  asked,  after  the  war,  why  they 
did  not  burn  Mercer's  house,  to  which  they  replied,  "Oh,  old  Mercer 
might  want  it  again."  Denny  and  Mercer  had  always  been  particu- 
larly kind  to  the  natives  and  just  in  their  dealings  and  the  savages 
seem  to  have  felt  some  little  gratitude  toward  them. 

In  the  early  '40s  Mr.  Mercer  and  Rev.  Daniel  Bagley  were  co- 
workers in  the  anti-slavery  cause  with  Owen  Love  joy,  of  Princeton, 
who  was  known  to  all  men  of  that  period  in  the  great  middle  west. 
Later  Mr.  Mercer  joined  the  republican  party  and  was  ever  an  ardent 
supporter  of  its  men  and  measures.  He  served  for  ten  years  as 
probate  judge  of  King  county,  and  at  the  end  of  that  period  declined 
a  renomination. 

In  early  life  he  joined  the  Methodist  Protestant  church  and  ever 


Cf?oma0  Qgeccec  599 

continued  a  consistent  member  of  that  body.  Rev.  Daniel  Bagley, 
who  participated  in  the  funeral  services,  was  his  pastor  fifty-two  years 
earlier  at  Princeton,  Illinois,  and  continued  to  hold  that  relation  to 
him  in  Seattle  from  1860  until  1885,  when  he  resigned  his  Seattle 
pastorate. 

To  Mr.  Mercer  belongs  the  honor  of  naming  the  lakes  adjacent 
to  and  almost  sm-rounding  the  city.  At  a  social  gathering  or  picnic 
in  1855  he  made  a  short  address  and  proposed  the  adoption  of  "Union" 
for  the  small  lake  between  the  bay  and  the  large  lake,  and  "Wash- 
ington" for  the  other  body  of  water.  This  proposition  was  received 
Avith  favor  and  at  once  adopted.  In  the  early  days  of  the  county  and 
cit}^  he  was  always  active  in  all  public  enterprises,  ready  alike  with 
individual  eifort  and  with  his  purse,  according  to  his  ability,  and  no 
one  of  the  city's  thousands  took  a  keener  interest  or  greater  pride 
than  he  in  the  development  of  the  city's  greatness,  although  latterly 
he  could  no  longer  share  actively  in  its  accomplishment.  He  was 
exceedingly  anxious  to  see  the  Lake  Washington  canal  completed 
between  salt  water  and  the  lakes. 

Thomas  Mercer  was  born  March  11,  1813;  married  to  Nancy 
Brigham,  January  25,  1838;  died  in  Seattle,  May  25,  1898. 

Nancy  Brigham  was  born  June  6,  1816,  and  died  at  the  Cascades 
of  the  Columbia,  September  21,  1852. 

The  children  of  this  marriage  were : 

Mary  Jane,  born  January  7,  1839,  died  September  8,  1910;  Eliza 
Ann,  born  March  30,  1841,  died  October  24,  1862;  Susannah  Mercer, 
born  September  30,  1843;  Alice,  born  October  26,  1848. 

Thomas  Mercer  was  married  to  Hester  L.  Ward  in  Oregon  in 
1859.    No  children. 

Mary  Jane  was  married  to  Henry  G.  Parsons,  March  11,  1857. 

Their  children  were:  Flora  A.,  born  December  21,  1857;  Ella, 
born  February  15,  1860,  died  January  23,  1899;  AViUiam  M.,  born 
October  27,  1862,  died  August  4,  1897;  Alice  E.,  born  April  4,  1865; 
Annie  V.,  born  May  21,  1867;  Lela  M.,  born  February  4,  1870. 

Ella  Parsons  married  David  Fleetwood,  December  25,  1880. 

Their  children  were:  David  Lee,  born  October  13,  1881;  Carrie 
E.,  born  September  17,  1883;  Lyman  G.,  born  April  25,  1887;  Olive 
P.,  born  October  18,  1891;  Edith  E.,  born  December  1,  1893. 

Alice  Parsons  married  Thomas  T.  Parker,  August  4,  1897. 

Their  children  were:  Lester  L.,  born  May  23, 1900;  Lawrence  I., 
born  July  8,  1902. 

Lela  Parsons  married  Del  M.  Kagy,  June  30,  1893. 


600  Ci)omag  Qgetcet 

Their  children  are :  Lloyd  Parsons,  born  July  3,  1894 ;  Orville  L., 
bom  June  15,  1896;  Howard  R.,  born  March  14,  1904. 

Eliza  Ann  Mercer  married  Walter  Graham  in  Seattle  in  1857. 

Their  children  were:  William  T.,  bom  February  1,  1858;  George 
R.,  born  September  20,  1860. 

Susannah  Mercer  married  David  Graham  in  Seattle,  May  23, 
1861.    No  children. 

Alice  Mercer  married  Clarence  B.  Bagley,  December  24,  1865. 

Their  children  were  Rena,  Myrta,  Ethel  W.,  Alice  Claire  and 
Cecil  Clarence. 


Clause  Clinton  l^amsia|> 

THOROUGH-GOING  American,  a  loyal  and  en- 
terprising citizen,  and  a  fine  exemplar  of  true  public 
spirit  is  Claude  Clinton  Ramsay  of  Seattle,  head  of 
the  Claude  C.  Ramsay  Company.  To  his  own  inter- 
esting personality  and  unflagging  industry  is  due  the 
fact  that  he  occupies  place  in  the  first  rank  of  the 
city's  successful  business  men.  Genial,  companionable,  heartily  help- 
ful in  every  plan  looking  toward  the  public  good,  he  is  looked  upon 
with  a  high  degree  of  respect  and  sincere  regard  in  the  city  of  his 
home  and  with  the  growth  of  which  he  has  been  so  intimately  identified. 
Mr.  Ramsay  is  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  his  birth  having  oc- 
curred December  31,  1865,  at  the  family  home,  "Palermo,"  in  Rowan 
county.  He  represents  one  of  the  old  and  distinguished  families  of 
that  state.  His  paternal  great-grandfather.  Captain  Robert  Ramsay, 
served  with  distinction  in  the  war  for  American  independence,  par- 
ticipating in  the  famous  engagement  at  King's  Mountain,  South 
Carolina,  and  in  other  equally  important  battles.  His  son.  Colonel 
David  Ramsay,  won  distinction  in  the  War  of  1812,  while  Dr.  James 
Graham  Ramsay,  father  of  Claude  Clinton  Ramsay,  was  a  noted 
medical  practitioner  and  was  a  member  of  the  Confederate  congress 
at  the  time  of  the  Civil  war. 

Claude  Clinton  Ramsay's  ancestry  is  distinctively  American,  and 
the  spirit  of  true  American  democracy  finds  expression  in  his  life. 
After  obtaining  his  preliminary  education  in  the  primary  schools  of 
Scotch-Irish  township  in  Rowan  county,  North  Carolina,  he  continued 
his  studies  in  the  Rock  Hill  Academy  at  Mount  Vernon,  North  Caro- 
lina, and  in  the  Finley  high  school  of  Lenoir,  North  Carolina,  and  in 
Eastman's  Business  College  of  Poughkeepsie,  New  York.  At  the 
end  of  school  days  he  secured  a  clerkship  in  the  postoffice  at  Salis- 
bury, North  Carolina,  and  later  was  employed  in  a  general  mercantile 
establishment  there. 

His  identification  with  the  Pacific  northwest  dates  from  1890,  and 

with  the  wonderful  development  which  Seattle  has  made  following  the 

great  fire  of  1889  he  has  been  closely  and  prominently  identified.    He 

was  willing  to  make  a  humble  start  in  business  circles  here  but  not 

603 


604  ClauDe  Clinton  Hamsag 

willing  to  continue  in  a  minor  position  and  natvu*ally  worked  his  way; 
steadUy  upward  when  he  secured  a  position  with  W.  S.  Leckie  & 
Company,  then  a  prominent  dry  goods  house  of  the  city.  In  less  than 
a  year  he  had  risen  to  the  position  of  head  accountant  and  when  the 
firm  was  reorganized  under  the  name  of  E.  W.  Newhall  &  Company, 
Mr.  Ramsay  was  made  financial  manager  of  the  business.  Seven 
years  later  he  entered  upon  an  independent  business  career,  opening 
an  insurance  office.  In  this  connection  his  extensive  friendships  and 
knowledge  of  opportunities  united  to  make  his  progress  rapid,  and 
when  little  more  than  a  year  had  passed  he  organized  the  firm  of 
Ramsay  &  Battle,  with  Edgar  Battle  as  his  partner.  In  addition  to 
the  insurance  business  they  established  a  realty  department  and  almost 
from  the  beginning  enjoyed  an  extensive  patronage.  Some  time  later 
the  firm  name  was  changed  to  the  Claude  C.  Ramsay  Company,  and 
for  some  time  the  concern  has  specialized  in  handling  and  developing 
its  own  properties.  In  this  work  the  company  has  been  exceptionally 
well  directed  and  has  been  a  strong  factor  in  the  expansion  and  up- 
building of  Seattle.  Mr.  Ramsay  individually  owns  large  properties 
and  has  led  the  way  in  the  matter  of  improvements  in  every  district 
where  his  properties  are  located.  He  is  the  builder  and  owner  of 
Carolina  Court,  one  of  the  finest  and  most  modern  apartment  houses 
in  the  west,  and  of  many  other  substantial  structures.  He  has  always 
been  a  pioneer  in  the  projection  and  a  heavy  contributor  to  the  cost  of 
Seattle's  great  street  grades  and  other  big  public  improvements. 

On  December  20, 1898,  Mr.  Ramsay  married  Miss  Grace  Eleanor 
Anderson,  of  Seattle,  a  representative  of  an  old  and  respected  pioneer 
family,  her  father  being  A.  C.  Anderson.  Residing  with  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Ramsay  is  their  nephew,  Claude  C.  Ramsay,  a  son  of  James  Hill 
Ramsay  of  North  Carolina.  This  nephew  graduates  from  high  school 
in  1916  and  is  a  member  of  the  Washington  State  Militia.  The  in- 
terest of  Claude  C.  Ramsay  largely  centers  in  the  family  of  his  brother 
James,  whose  first  son,  James  Graham  Ramsay,  will  be  graduated 
next  year  from  the  North  Carolina  State  University.  He,  too,  is  a 
member  of  the  state  militia.  He  has  had  four  years  of  study  at  the 
Horner  Military  School  and  one  year  at  Randolph-Macon.  The  two 
daughters  of  the  family  are  Annie  Laurie,  the  wife  of  Thomas  Hines, 
and  Miss  Eleanor  Ramsay. 

Mr.  Ramsay  is  prominent  in  club  circles  as  he  is  in  the  business 
life  of  Seattle,  his  name  being  on  the  membership  rolls  of  the  Rainier 
Club,  the  Seattle  Athletic  Club,  the  Seattle  Golf  and  Country  Club, 
the  Seattle  Chamber  of  Conmierce,  the  Commercial  Club  and  the 
Good  Roads  and  Seattle  Automobile  Clubs.     He  is  a  trustee  of  the 


ClauDe  Clinton  Kamsag  eos 

Chamber  of  Commerce  and  a  member  of  the  executive  committee  of 
the  publicity  and  industrial  bureau.  He  also  has  membership  with 
the  North  Carolina  Society,  the  Washington  Sons  of  the  Revolution, 
of  which  he  is  a  life  member,  the  Union  Club  of  Tacoma  and  the 
Young  Men's  Republican  Club  of  Seattle.  He  entered  the  Wash- 
ington State  Legislature  as  a  republican  in  1907,  actively  defended 
his  views  upon  the  floor  of  the  house  and  supported  many  progressive 
legislative  measures.  From  the  beginning  of  his  legislative  service  he 
took  the  lead  in  advocacy  of  laws  which,  by  their  enactment,  opened 
the  way  to  the  present  system  of  improved  highways  of  which  the  state 
of  Washington  is  justly  proud.  There  had  been  talk  of  "good  roads," 
but  Mr.  Ramsay  was  the  pioneer  in  coordinating  public  sentiment,  and 
the  real  beginning  on  good  roads  in  his  state  was  due  to  his  personality 
and  persistence.    One  of  the  biographers  said  of  him  in  this  connection : 

"Mr.  Ramsay  entered  the  Washington  state  legislature  in  1907, 
and  in  a  short  time  won  an  enviable  reputation  as  an  active  and  fear- 
less lawmaker.  One  of  the  enduring  monuments  to  his  efforts  at 
Olympia  is  our  present  system  of  improved  highways,  for  which  a 
large  share  of  the  credit  should  be  attributed  to  his  farsightedness. 
Business  instinct  and  training  gave  Mr.  Ramsay  an  ability  for  organ- 
ization seldom  found  in  the  legislator.  Approached  by  a  delegation  of 
representative  Seattle  business  men  with  the  request  that  he  accept  the 
nomination  for  mayor,  Mr.  Ramsay  was  compelled  to  refuse  it  because 
of  the  large  business  interests  which  for  years  have  left  him  but  small 
leisure  time.  Upon  his  retirement  from  the  legislature  in  1907  he 
was  tendered  the  most  unusual  honor  of  a  banquet  by  his  colleagues, 
members  of  the  house  of  representatives  from  King  county,  and  neigh- 
boring delegations  at  the  state  capital.  This  unique  recognition  of 
Mr.  Ramsay's  talents  as  a  law-builder  and  organizer  has  seldom  been 
duplicated  in  the  historj'  of  the  state  of  Washington.  To  the  personal 
activity  and  individual  enterprise  of  Mr.  Ramsay  is  due  no  small  share 
of  credit  for  the  general  and  steady  progress  of  the  city  in  which  he 
makes  his  home.  He  has  been  identified  with  every  imdertaking 
directed  toward  civic  growth  and  improvement;  a  foremost  figure  in 
every  movement  for  the  public  good.  His  voluntary  pilgrimage  to 
the  Orient,  through  Mexico  and  British  Columbia  in  the  interests  of 
the  Alaska- Yukon-Pacific  Exposition  of  1909,  giving  largely  of 
time,  thought  and  money  to  insure  its  success,  was  typical  of  the  man. 
as  was  his  action  inducing  the  legislature  of  his  native  state.  North 
Carolina,  to  indorse  the  exposition. 

Mr.  Ramsaj'  continues  to  take  an  active  interest  in  eveiy  phase  of 
Seattle's  growth,  despite  his  numerous  business  cares,  and  being  still 


606 


ClauDe  Clinton  mamsag 


in  the  prime  of  life,  will  doubtless  be  privileged  to  witness  many  of  the 
great  projects  come  true  in  whose  inception  he  took  such  a  prominent 
part.  Now,  as  for  many  years,  he  is  universally  recognized  as  one  of 
Seattle's  most  valuable  citizens. 

Mr.  Ramsay  is  one  of  the  best  poised  of  men.  He  never  seems  to 
lose  grasp  of  himself  or  of  the  situation  with  which  he  deals  and  views 
every  question  from  a  broad  standpoint.  He  seems  to  see  not  only 
present  but  future  relations  and  conditions  and  his  even  balance  weighs 
every  possible  problem  and  determines  the  true  value  of  every  project 
either  of  a  business  or  public  nature. 


jNE  of  the  strong  members  of  the  Seattle  bar  is  Judge 
Joseph  M.  Glasgow,  his  strength  arising  from  the 
fact  that  his  knowledge  of  the  law  is  comprehensive 
and  exact,  his  preparation  of  cases  thorough  and 
exhaustive.  He  knows  that  he  is  in  the  right  when 
he  enters  upon  the  trial  of  a  case  and  nothing  can 
thwart  him  from  the  purpose  of  securing  justice.  His  name  has 
been  associated  with  much  of  the  most  important  litigation  tried  in 
the  courts  of  the  district  in  recent  years. 

Judge  Glasgow  was  born  on  a  farm  seven  miles  northeast  of 
Washington,  in  Washington  county,  Iowa,  July  22d,  1861,  a  son  of 
Samuel  Black  and  Phoebe  Anne  (Robertson)  Glasgow.  The  father, 
who  was  born  in  Adams  county,  Ohio,  in  1830,  died  in  Seattle  in 
1907,  while  the  mother,  born  in  Washington  county,  New  York,  in 
1829,  died  in  Washington  county,  Iowa,  in  1969.  Mr.  Glasgow  had 
been  previovisly  married  in  Ohio,  in  1851,  and  had  two  childi'en  by 
his  first  wife — William  Bebb,  who  was  born  in  Ohio,  in  1852,  and 
is  now  living  in  Whittier,  California,  and  Elizabeth,  who  was  bom 
in  1854  and  died  in  Washington  county,  Iowa,  in  1885,  after  devoting 
her  life  to  teaching.  The  former  is  a  prosperous  fruit  grower  and 
farmer  and  is  married  and  has  five  children.  Having  lost  his  first 
wife,  Mr.  Glasgow  was  married  in  Jefferson  county,  Iowa,  in  1857 
to  Phoebe  A.  Robertson  and  they  had  two  children,  the  younger 
being  Anna,  who  was  born  in  1863,  and  died  in  Seattle,  in  1899.  She 
was  married  to  David  Wilson,  of  Great  Falls,  Montana,  in  1890, 
and  at  her  death  left  a  daughter,  Doris,  who  was  born  in  Seattle,  in 
1896,  and  is  now  a  sophomore  in  the  University  of  Washington.  For 
his  third  wife  Mr.  Glasgow  wedded  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Armstrong,  whose 
son  by  her  first  marriage  is  Dr.  James  T.  Armstrong,  a  physician 
who  specialized  in  the  treatment  of  the  eye,  ear,  nose  and  throat  at 
Omaha,  Nebraska,  and  afterward  established  the  school  for  feeble 
minded  at  Beatrice,  Nebraska,  acting  as  its  superintendent  to  the 
time  of  his  death  in  1902.  By  his  third  marriage  Mr.  Glasgow  had 
two  children,  Eliza  Grace,  who  was  bom  in  Washington  county, 
Iowa,  in  1871,  and  Ruhamah,  born  in  the  same  county  in  1873.  The 
former  was  graduated  in  1900  from  the  University  of  Washington 
609 


610  3luDgg  3[oggpt)  g^«  <glaggotp 

and  was  president  of  her  class.  She  is  now  a  teacher  of  Seattle.  The 
latter  was  married  in  1898  to  Samuel  Archer  of  Seattle  and  they  have 
two  children.  The  Glasgows  come  of  Scotch-Irish  ancestry,  and  the 
family  have  retained  the  characteristics  of  the  Scotch  race  including 
the  religious  belief,  nearly  all  of  the  immediate  family  of  Joseph  M. 
Glasgow,  save  himself,  being  United  Presbyterians  and  nearly  all 
of  liis  relatives  Presbyterians  or  Covenanters.  His  great-great- 
grandfather, Robert  Glasgow,  was  a  Scot  and  emigrated  from  Bel- 
fast, Ireland,  with  his  two  brothers  in  1765,  settling  in  Rockbridge 
county,  Virginia.  From  one  of  these  brothers  is  descended  Ellen 
Glasgow,  the  author,  of  Richmond,  Virginia.  Robert  Glasgow,  who 
served  as  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  removed  to  Adams 
county,  Ohio,  sixty  miles  above  Cincinnati,  in  1793.  The  great-grand- 
father was  William  Glasgow,  a  soldier  of  the  War  of  1812,  The 
grandfather  was  Joseph  Montgomery  Glasgow,  who  was  born  in 
1806  and  was  named  for  his  maternal  grandfather.  He,  too,  was  a 
Revolutionary  war  soldier  and  pioneer  settler  of  Missouri.  He 
owned  slaves,  but  having  conscientious  scruples  against  slavery 
manumitted  his  bondmen.  Joseph  Montgomery  Glasgow,  the 
grandfather  of  J.  M.  Glasgow  of  Seattle,  was  an  abohtionist,  living 
across  the  river  from  a  slave  state,  Kentucky,  and  in  a  district  where 
the  anti-slave  agitation  was  hottest.  His  home  became  a  station  on 
the  famous  underground  railroad.  In  the  '50s  he  removed  west  to 
Washington  county,  Iowa,  and  for  many  years  was  a  member  of 
the  board  of  covmty  supervisors  there. 

In  tracing  the  ancestry  in  the  maternal  line  it  is  found  that  William 
Robertson,  great-great-grandfather  of  J.  M.  Glasgow,  emigrated 
from  Scotland  in  1758,  and  settled  in  eastern  New  York.  He  was 
accompanied  by  Edward  Small,  the  great-grandfather  of  Mrs. 
Phoebe  A.  Glasgow,  and  both  were  soldiers  of  the  Revolutionary 
war.  John  Robertson,  grandfather  of  J.  M.  Glasgow,  was  born  in 
1787,  was  a  tanner  by  trade  and  developed  a  profitable  business  in 
Cambridge,  New  York.  He  was  on  a  visit  to  Ireland  when  the  War 
of  1812  broke  out  and  with  some  difficulty  managed  to  get  back,  after 
which  he  participated  in  the  struggle.  His  son,  James  Edward 
Robertson,  now  deceased,  succeeded  to  the  father's  business  and  at 
one  time  was  internal  revenue  collector  of  his  district  by  appointment 
of  President  Cleveland.  Another  son,  Dr.  William  Hamilton 
Robertson,  was  a  surgeon  in  the  army  during  the  Civil  war  and  in 
March,  1866,  became  a  pioneer  physician  of  Seattle,  at  which  time 
the  city  had  less  than  one  thousand  population.  Here  he  practiced  his 
profession  until  September,  1869,  when  he  removed  to  California, 


3Iu0ge  3[ogeplj  9g,  (glaggoto  eii 

where  he  died  in  1873.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Sarah  M.  Renton 
and  stepdaughter  of  Captain  William  M.  Renton,  the  milhonaire 
founder  of  the  Port  Blakeley  sawmills.  They  had  one  child.  Mrs. 
Willetta  (Robertson)  Hendrickson  lives  with  her  husband  and  two 
sons  in  San  Francisco.  Mr.  Glasgow  has  a  faint  recollection  of  his 
grandfather,  John  Robertson,  when  at  the  age  of  four  years  he  went 
on  a  visit  with  his  mother  to  her  old  home  in  Cambridge,  New  York, 
and  of  seeing  the  old  house,  more  than  one  hundred  years  old,  in  which 
his  mother  was  born.  Soon  after  the  mother  and  her  children  returned 
home  the  family  removed  from  their  old  home,  in  which  J.  M.  Glasgow 
was  born,  into  a  new  seven  room,  frame  house  which  was  always 
painted  white  with  green  blinds.  The  plaster  was  not  dry  in  the  new 
home  and  the  dampness  caused  Mrs.  Glasgow  to  contract  a  severe 
cold  which  developed  into  tuberculosis,  and  after  an  illness  of  about 
four  years  she  passed  away  in  October,  1869.  She  was  a  well  edu- 
cated woman  and  had  taught  school  and  instructed  her  children  in 
reading  and  in  religious  matters,  being  a  devout  member  of  the  United 
Presbyterian  faith.  J.  M.  Glasgow  attended  the  Center  school,  a 
mile  and  a  half  from  his  home,  where  one  of  his  early  recollections 
was  of  the  boys  and  girls  skating  on  the  ice  on  a  pond  nearby,. and 
some  Bohemian  words,  which  he  learned  from  some  Bohemian  boys 
who  lived  near  the  schoolhouse,  still  linger  in  his  memory.  He  remem- 
bers also  seeing  prairie  chickens  standing  almost  as  thick  as  they 
could  be  upon  the  fence  aromid  his  home.  He  was  but  eight  years 
of  age  at  the  time  of  his  mother's  death,  after  which  his  older  half- 
sister,  Lizzie,  then  a  girl  of  fifteen  years,  kept  house  until  the  father 
married  again  in  1870.  Mr.  Glasgow  bears  testimony  to  the  splendid 
character  of  his  stepmother,  a  devout  Christian  woman,  whose  kindli- 
ness was  ever  manifested  where  there  was  sickness  or  distress,  or 
where  she  could  serve  any  one.  Although  there  were  three  sets  of 
children  in  the  home,  she  never  manifested  any  difference  in  her 
treatment  of  those  of  the  father's  first  two  marriages  and  her  own 
children.  She  capably  managed  the  household  affairs  and  displayed 
an  energy  in  all  things  that  became  contagious.  Many  improvements 
were  made  on  the  farm  including  drainage  by  tiling  and  the  building 
of  a  large  basement  barn. 

Mr.  Glasgow  has  pleasant  recollections  of  the  old  home  with  its 
maple  trees  around  the  house,  its  groves  of  willow  and  maple  and  its 
orchards  of  fruit  trees.  Stock  raising  was  an  important  feature  of 
the  place  for  they  had  a  large  herd  of  cattle  including  some  thorough- 
bred shorthorns.  The  family  attended  the  United  Presbyterian 
church,  there  being  a  house  of  worship  about  half  a  mile  from  their 


612  31ut»0g  3loggpi)  Q0«  <g!ag0oto 

home  and  another  about  fom-  miles  to  the  south.  Mr.  Glasgow 
attended  the  district  school  through  its  summer  and  winter  sessions 
imtil  he  reached  the  age  when  liis  labors  were  of  worth  on  the  farm, 
after  which  he  attended  school  only  in  the  winter.  He  was  ambitious 
to  improve  every  opportunity  for  reading  and  study  and  took  a  keen 
interest  in  the  literary  society  of  the  neighborhood,  developing  what 
was  considered  quite  a  talent  for  writing.  When  about  sixteen  years 
of  age  he  edited  the  society  paper  making  it  most  popular.  A  news- 
paper of  that  day  was  most  valued,  at  a  period  when  public  libraries 
were  not  to  be  had  at  demand,  but  on  the  Sabbath  day,  the  father 
being  a  devout  churchman,  it  was  not  permissible  to  even  read  a  secular 
paper  and  still  less  were  the  children  allowed  to  whistle  or  engage  in 
any  form  of  amusement  or  recreation.  They  had  many  relatives  liv- 
ing in  the  neighborhood,  however,  and  many  pleasant  hours  were  spent 
in  visiting  among  them.  The  influence  of  the  home  was  one  which 
had  marked  effect  over  the  children.  The  father  was  an  honorable 
and  upright  man  of  intellectual  tastes,  a  great  reader  and  possessing 
a  retentive  memory.  For  some  years  he  was  an  ardent  republican  and 
warm  advocate  of  General  Grant,  but  afterward  became  an  equally 
stalwart  prohibitionist. 

Joseph  M.  Glasgow  left  home  on  the  6th  of  April,  1880,  possessing 
at  that  time  about  five  dollars  in  cash  and  some  clothing.  He  sought 
work*  in  the  coal  mines  at  Delta,  in  Keokuk  county,  about  thirty  miles 
west  of  Washington,  Iowa,  and  went  down  the  shaft  to  where  the 
men  were  working  a  few  hundred  feet  under  ground.  As  he  could 
not  secure  a  position  there  he  started  to  What  Cheer,  a  new  coal  mining 
town,  a  few  miles  to  the  north.  There  he  was  equally  unsuccessfvil  in 
obtaining  employment  and  started  to  walk  to  the  Quaker  neighbor- 
hood north  of  the  town,  thinking  to  obtain  farm  work.  This  time  he 
was  more  successful  for  he  was  employed  on  a  farm,  where  the  regular 
hand  was  ill  with  the  measles,  until  the  man  had  recovered  about  three 
weeks  later.  He  next  proceeded  on  foot  to  South  English  where  he 
chanced  to  meet  a  man  who  had  a  lot  of  maps,  atlases,  charts,  etc.,  and 
induced  him  to  become  a  sales  agent.  Mr.  Glasgow  purchased  the 
stock  and  started  out  in  the  country  to  dispose  of  it.  Large  maps  of 
the  United  States,  which  he  purchased  for  seventy-five  cents,  he  sold 
for  two  dollars  and  a  half,  and  after  he  had  disposed  of  all  he  had  he 
secured  work  on  the  section  in  South  English  at  one  dollar  and  ten 
cents  per  day,  paying  four  dollars  a  week  board  at  the  hotel.  He 
awaited  the  arrival  of  more  maps  and  atlases  which  he  had  ordered 
from  Chicago.  With  the  arrival  of  the  stock  that  he  had  ordered,  he 
started  for  Muscatine,  Iowa,  selling  maps  along  the  way.    He  passed 


3IuDge  3loscpi)  Qg.  (Dlaggoto  eis 

within  eight  miles  of  his  old  home  and  of  his  relatives  at  Riverside, 
Iowa,  and  says  that  he  never  remembers  a  time  when  he  was  so  utterly 
homesick  and  wretched,  but  he  was  too  proud  to  give  in.  At  Muscatine 
he  crossed  the  river  into  Illinois  and  sold  maps  down  the  state  as  far 
as  Keithsburg,  where  he  took  passage  on  the  Libby  Conger,  one  of  the 
Anchor  Line  boats,  for  St.  Louis.  Although  he  had  always  lived 
within  sixty  miles  of  the  Mississippi  he  had  never  seen  the  river  until 
he  reached  Muscatine,  and  his  trip  down  to  St.  Louis  made  a  tremen- 
dous impression  upon  hun,  as  did  the  buildings,  the  thoroughfares,  and 
the  life  of  the  city.  He  remained  there  for  only  a  brief  period,  how- 
ever, as  he  knew  no  other  work  than  that  of  farm  work  and  desired  to 
secure  employment  in  the  harvest  fields,  for  harvesting  paid  the  best 
wages.  He  proceeded  to  Shiloh,  in  St.  Clair  county,  Illinois,  which 
was  a  typical  German  village  and  after  attending  a  German  picnic 
on  the  intervening  Sunday,  he  tried  to  get  work  on  Monday  but  with- 
out success  and  again  started  on  his  way.  He  found  there  were  many 
idle  men  in  that  section  of  the  country,  and  as  he  proceeded  on  his 
way  he  saw  that  two  negroes  were  following  him.  He  tried,  by  walk- 
ing rapidly,  to  outdistance  them  but  was  unsuccessful.  After  trudg- 
ing on  for  hours  he  threw  his  grip  and  bag  upon  the  ground  under  the 
trees  near  the  railroad  track  and  lay  down  to  rest  on  the  green  grass. 
It  was  a  warm  and  pleasant  night  and  he  soon  fell  asleep.  A  long 
freight  train  rumbled  by,  but  other  than  this  he  heard  nothing  until 
he  felt  a  crash  upon  his  forehead  and  put  up  his  hand  to  find  that  the 
blood  was  trickling  down.  He  sprang  up  and  there  were  the  two 
negroes,  one  in  front  with  a  revolver  in  his  hand,  only  about  eight  feet 
away,  Mr.  Glasgow  ran  down  the  railroad  track  and  a  bullet  whizzed 
by  his  neck  as  he  ran.  Seeing  a  house  in  the  distance,  about  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  ahead,  he  ran  across  a  plowed  field  and  seeing  that  his  assail- 
ants were  not  following,  slackened  his  pace.  When  he  reached  the 
house  his  forehead  was  bathed  and  the  mistress'of  the  home,  a  German 
lady,  treated  him  with  great  kindness.  Her  two  sons  then  hitched  up 
their  team  and  with  Mr.  Glasgow  drove  back  to  the  place  of  the 
assault  but  found  that  the  negroes  had  taken  his  grip  with  all  of  his 
clothes  but  had  left  the  maps.  The  next  day  he  proceeded  to  Marissa, 
Illinois,  where  he  obtained  work  on  the  farm  of  a  Scotchman  by  the 
name  of  McCurdy,  who  was  a  United  Presbyterian.  It  was  in  such 
an  environment  that  Mr.  Glasgow  had  been  reared  and  there  he  felt 
much  more  at  home.  He  worked  for  the  ordinary  wages  of  the  farm 
laborer  until  harvest  time  when  he  was  paid  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents 
per  day,  after  which  he  worked  through  the  period  of  stacking  and 


614  jiuogg  3Ioggpi)  ^«  <^las0oto 

haying  for  two  dollars  per  day.    Later  he  was  employed  on  a  threshing 
machine  in  the  Shiloh,  Illinois,  neighborhood  mitil  October. 

On  the  day  that  Garfield  was  elected  Mr.  Glasgow  started  by 
steamer  from  St.  Louis  to  Grand  Island,  Arkansas,  hoping  to  secure 
a  position  at  school  teaching  there.  On  reaching  his  destination  he 
found  that  the  district  contained  many  negroes  and  that  the  people 
of  the  locality  were  very  unintelligent.  He  was  among  the  "poor 
white  trash"  of  the  south.  He  was  not  successful  in  finding  a  public 
school  in  which  to  teach  until  the  following  summer  when  he  taught 
a  three  months'  term  in  a  negro  school,  near  Colhns  Station,  Ai'kansas, 
taking  the  examination  for  a  teacher's  certificate  at  Monticello,  in 
Drew  coimty.  In  the  interim  he  had  canvassed  for  books,  making  his 
home  most  of  the  time  with  Mr.  Neice,  with  whom  he  worked  at  plant- 
ing, hoeing  and  digging  cotton.  He  also  spent  much  of  his  leism-e 
time  in  reading  and  study,  one  of  his  books  being  Macaulay's  History 
of  England.  In  the  faU  of  1881  he  worked  for  a  time  in  a  construction 
camp  in  railroad  building,  then  went  across  the  river  into  Mississippi 
among  the  cypress  swamps  and  timber  and  cut  cord  word,  afterward 
being  employed  on  the  levee  at  Boliver  Landing,  receiving  two  dollars 
and  a  half  per  day.  Life  in  that  camp  was  the  worst  experience  he 
ever  had.  There  were  no  comforts,  aU  the  food  was  of  poor  quality 
and  his  companions  were  the  railroad  Irish.  His  life  in  the  "sminy 
south"  was  not  all  sunshine  and  he  was  glad  to  make  his  way  north- 
ward, taking  passage  on  a  Mississippi  river  boat  for  St.  Louis.  At 
Grand  Tower,  Illinois,  the  boat  was  laid  up  on  account  of  ice  in  the 
river  and  with  three  companions  he  walked  to  Murphysboro,  Illinois, 
and  there  took  a  train  for  St.  Louis.  Soon  afterward  Mr.  Glasgow 
secured  employment  in  the  zinc  works  at  Corondolette  or  South  St. 
Louis,  and  shortly  afterward  he  obtained  a  position  in  the  Vulcan 
Steel  Works,  being  assigned  to  the  converting  department.  His  first 
night  there  he  had  a  narrow  escape  from  death.  He  worked  on  a 
platform  near  the  roof  in  the  end  of  the  building  where  the  flues  were. 
On  the  side  of  the  platform  which  he  had  approached  from  the  floor 
it  was  about  two  feet  to  the  floor  which  he  supposed  surrounded  the 
platform.  While  at  work  he  lost  his  balance  and  stepped  off"  of  the 
platform  to  find  that  there  was  no  floor  on  the  other  side.  In  the 
faU  he  threw  his  arm  over  a  steel  rail  that  had  one  end  resting  on  the 
platform  and  he  found  himself  gazing  downward  to  the  ground  about 
eighty  feet  below.  He  pulled  himself  up  and  on  to  the  floor  and  then 
there  came  to  him  a  realization  of  the  predicament  that  he  was  in, 
realizing  that  he  had  had  an  almost  miraculous  escape  from  death. 


3luDge  31osepi)  Qi«  eiaggoto  6i5 

After  working  at  the  Vulcan  Steel  Works  for  a  time  he  became  ill 
and  was  forced  to  go  to  the  hospital. 

After  his  recovery  Mr.  Glasgow  worked  at  threshing  in  St.  Clair 
county,  Ilhnois,  for  a  time.  At  the  end  of  the  threshing  season  he 
removed  to  Nemaha  county,  Nebraska,  having  just  previously 
attained  his  majority.  His  uncle,  Gilbert  Glasgow,  now  deceased,  was 
a  resident  of  that  county  and  Mr.  Glasgow  was  soon  afterward  joined 
by  his  sisters,  Lizzie  and  Anna,  and  the  three  began  housekeeping 
together  in  Peru,  Anna  attending  the  Nebraska  State  Normal  school 
at  that  place.  It  was  there  that  Mr.  Glasgow  received  his  first  pecu- 
niary assistance,  inheriting  a  little  over  five  hundred  dollars  from 
his  grandfather,  John  Robertson.  While  there  he  prepared  to  take 
the  teacher's  examination  and  won  a  first  grade  certificate.  At  that 
time  there  were  onlj^  a  few  schools  in  the  county  that  had  not  already 
engaged  teachers.  One  school  was  notoriously  tough,  but  Mr. 
Glasgow  accepted  it  and  after  an  encounter  with  the  belligerents  he 
had  no  fiu'ther  trouble  and  finished  his  term.  He  then  started  to 
take  some  special  work  at  the  normal  school,  but  had  only  got  fairly 
started  upon  the  term,  when  his  sister  Anna  had  a  hemorrhage  of  the 
lungs  and  his  sister  Lizzie  was  already  suffering  from  tuberculosis. 
He  resolved  to  send  the  latter  home  and  take  the  former  to  Montana, 
M'hich  he  accordingly  did.  In  April,  1883,  they  traveled  in  an  emi- 
grant train  from  Omaha,  Nebraska,  to  Ogden,  Utah,  then  proceeded 
northward  over  the  Utah  &  Northern  Railroad  to  Deer  Lodge,  Mon- 
tana, and  by  stage  over  the  mountains  to  Helena  and  on  to  Fort  Shaw 
on  the  Svm  river  and  from  that  point  to  Augusta,  Montana,  one  hun- 
dred miles  north  of  Helena.  All  this  brought  many  new  experiences 
into  Mr.  Glasgow's  life.  He  had  never  before  seen  a  mountain  and 
was  standing  on  the  topmost  bale  of  hay  in  a  hay  car,  piled  high  above 
the  roof  of  the  other  cars,  when  he  obtained  his  first  glimpse  of  the 
eternal  Rockies,  appearing  just  like  two  little  snow  banks  on  the 
horizon  ahead  of  them. 

Judge  Glasgow  remained  in  Montana  until  August,  1884.  He 
herded  sheep  for  Mr.  Holbrook  for  a  time.  Soon  after  his  arrival  he 
purchased  a  cayuse  and  saddle  and  in  the  summer  of  1883,  in  connec- 
tion with  Jesse  Cox,  bought  an  outfit  for  getting  out  house  logs  and 
fence  poles  in  the  mountains  back  of  Haystack  Butte,  about  twenty 
miles  from  Augusta.  He  lived  in  a  log  cabin,  situated  in  the  timber, 
on  the  moimtain  top  and,  when  his  partner  would  take  a  load  of  house 
logs  or  poles  down  the  valley,  he  would  be  left  alone  in  the  camp, 
twenty  miles  from  a  settlement.  After  a  time  they  divided  their  cabin 
into  two  rooms,  and  Judge  Glasgow's  sister,  Anna,  came  to  keep  house 


616  31uDgg  31oggpi)  ^'  (glaggoto 

for  them.  In  the  winter  they  spent  much  time  in  tracking  deer, 
ofttimes  going  on  snowshoes  and  this  work  involved  many  hardships 
as  they  waded  on  through  the  snow.  In  November,  1883,  they  left 
their  mountain  home  never  to  return  to  it,  and  subsequently  sold  the 
property  at  a  good  figure.  Mr.  Glasgow  then  went  to  Helena,  where 
he  passed  an  examination  that  brought  him  a  first  grade  teacher's  cer- 
tificate and  in  the  winter  of  1883-4  he  taught  school  near  Haystack 
Butte,  where  among  his  pupils  were  three  white  boys,  all  the  other 
children  being  half  breeds.  While  in  Montana  he  took  up  a  section 
of  land  mider  the  desert  claim  act  and  one  himdred  and  sixty  acres 
under  the  timber  cultm-e  act,  selling  his  rights  to  those  properties  when 
he  left  Montana.  In  May  and  June,  1884,  he  aided  his  uncle,  Jim 
Lytic,  in  shearing  sheep,  and,  although  it  was  new  work  for  him,  he 
was  soon  shearing  fifty  sheep  per  day  at  the  regular  rate  of  ten  cents 
per  head.  He  was  afterward  employed  at  shearing  thoroughbred 
Merino  sheep  for  which  he  was  paid  twenty-two  cents  per  head,  shear- 
ing about  twenty  per  day.  The  purpose  of  his  trip  was  accomplished 
— the  restoration  of  his  sister  Anna  to  health. 

It  was  Judge  Glasgow's  strong  wish  to  study  law  and  whUe  in 
Montana  he  kept  up  his  practice  of  readmg  and  study.  In  August, 
1884,  he  bade  adieu  to  his  Montana  friends  and  relatives  and  started 
for  Nebraska,  determined  to  pursue  a  year's  preparatory  course  in 
the  Nebraska  Normal  School  at  Peru.  His  study  there  covered 
English  literature,  Latin,  algebra,  geometry,  physics,  chemistry, 
botany  and  zoology,  wlule  his  reading  covered  a  wide  field  including 
IngersoU,  Payne,  Darwin,  Huxlej^  TyndaU  and  Spencer.  While  at 
Peru  he  formed  the  acquaintance  of  George  Dysart,  with  whom  he 
entered  the  law  school  of  the  JNIichigan  State  University  at  Ann 
Arbor,  remaining  room-mates  and  chums  until  their  graduation  in 
June,  1887.  Among  their  classmates  was  Webster  Davis,  afterward 
mayor  of  Kansas  City,  Missouri,  and  first  assistant  secretary  of  the 
interior  during  President  McKinley's  administration  and  at  one  time 
a  law  partner  of  Judge  Glasgow  in  Seattle. 

Following  his  graduation  the  Judge  returned  to  his  old  home  in 
Washington,  Iowa,  where  he  was  offered  a  partnership  by  J.  F.  Hen- 
derson, an  able  lawyer  of  that  place,  and  became  a  member  of  the 
firm  of  Henderson  &  Glasgow.  He  did  not  believe,  however,  that 
there  was  much  of  a  professional  future  there,  and  with  a  companion, 
Charles  Patterson,  also  a  young  lawyer  of  Washington,  Iowa,  started 
for  the  Puget  Sound  country.  Judge  Glasgow  had  fully  determined 
to  locate  in  this  section  of  the  country  and  his  attention  was  directed 


31ut»gc  jjoscpl)  g0«  (glaggoto  ei? 

toward  Seattle.    He  bore  with  him  letters  of  introduction  to  Arthur  A. 
Denny,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  city,  and  to  W.  D.  Ballard. 

It  was  in  March,  1888,  that  Judge  Glasgow,  accompanied  by  his 
old  time  friend  and  college  companion,  Mr.  Patterson,  reached 
Seattle,  then  a  city  of  about  sixteen  thousand  population.  Soon  after- 
ward the  two  walked  out  Madison  street,  which,  after  a  little  way, 
was  like  a  country  road  winding  through  the  tall  timber,  and  it  was 
six  miles  by  way  of  Madison  street  to  Lake  Washington.  Soon  after- 
ward Mr.  Patterson  returned  to  Iowa,  but  Judge  Glasgow  had  fully 
decided  to  remain.  As  he  had  very  little  money  it  did  not  seem  prac- 
ticable to  open  a  law  office  at  once,  and  for  a  short  time  he  was 
employed  in  an  abstract  office,  but,  upon  the  advice  of  Judge  William 
D.  Wood,  he  made  arrangements  to  at  once  enter  upon  the  practice 
of  law.  The  judge  advised  him,  notwithstanding  his  very  limited  capi- 
tal, to  at  once  take  up  practice  and  get  desk  room  in  a  real  estate 
office  where  he  could  pay  his  rent  by  making  out  legal  j)apers  and 
doing  the  legal  work  for  the  firm.  Acting  upon  this  advice  he  was 
soon  installed  in  the  office  of  Day  &  Ferry.  At  that  time  he  had 
just  fifty  dollars,  of  which  he  paid  six  dollars  for  a  sign,  purchased 
a  few  necessary  books  and  a  desk,  and  arranged  for  a  room  on  the 
hillside  at  five  dollars  per  month.  While  in  those  days  one  could  get 
a  good  meal  at  Seattle  in  nearly  any  restaurant  for  twenty-five  cents, 
there  were  times  that  he  went  hungry,  being  too  proud  to  let  any  one 
know  his  financial  condition,  but  he  kept  a  smiling  face  and  presented 
a  good  front,  making  friends  as  fast  as  possible.  He  made  it  a  point 
to  engage  in  conversation  with  those  who  entered  the  real  estate  office 
and  thus  broadened  his  acquaintance  and  in  a  short  time  he  gained  a 
start.  He  made  friends  among  several  real  estate  men,  who  com- 
menced to  put  law  business  in  his  way,  and  believing  that  the  future 
was  bright  he  wrote  to  his  old  friend,  Mr.  Patterson,  who  again  came 
to  Seattle  and  under  the  firm  name  of  Patterson  &  Glasgow  they 
together  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law,  opening  their  office  in  Yesler's 
old  house  on  James  street  between  Front  and  Second.  Their  practice 
grew  rapidly  and  they  tried  a  number  of  important  cases.  They  also 
dealt  in  real  estate  to  some  extent,  for  the  city  was  growing  rapidly, 
and  Judge  Glasgow  invested  money  for  a  number  of  relatives.  With 
his  partner  he  bought  thirty-six  acres  of  land,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Duwamish  river  in  West  Seattle.  He  also  exercised  his  right  to  take 
up  government  land,  which  he  secured  under  the  homestead  law  and 
under  the  preemption  law,  and  he  also  purchased  one  himdred  and 
sixty  acres  under  the  timber  and  stone  act.  When  the  Oregon  Navi- 
gation Company  put  the  town  of  Anacortes  on  the  market  in  the 


618  fuDge  3[oggpi)  Qi»  (glaggoto 

spring  of  1889,  he  and  a  partner,  E.  von  Homyer,  invested  six  hun- 
dred dollars  in  lands,  which  was  one-third  of  the  purchase  price,  and 
in  about  seven  weeks  they  sold  for  six  thousand  dollars.  In  three 
years  from  the  time  he  arrived  in  Seattle  Judge  Glasgow  owned  prop- 
erty in  King,  Kitsap,  Jefferson,  Island  and  AVhatcom  counties,  but 
with  the  collapse  of  the  boom  followed  by  the  panic  of  1893,  and  the 
consequent  financial  depression,  he  turned  over  all  of  the  property 
he  had  accumulated  to  his  relatives  that  they  might  not  suffer  any 
loss  upon  their  investments. 

In  the  fall  of  1892  he  was  elected  judge  of  the  municipal  court 
of  Seattle,  a  court  of  records  with  original  common  law  jurisdiction 
over  all  misdemeanors  under  the  state  law  and  over  all  violations  of 
municipal  ordinances.  In  addition  he  was  committing  magistrate  in 
felony  cases  under  the  state  law.  Judge  Glasgow  was  the  fu-st  elected 
to  the  office,  which  was  created  by  the  first  state  legislature  of  Wash- 
ington. The  court  term  was  four  years  at  a  salary  of  twenty-four 
hundred  dollars  per  year.  The  practice  and  procedure  prescribed 
were  the  same  as  in  the  superior  court.  He  took  his  place  on  the 
bench  on  the  10th  of  January,  1893,  and  had  not  long  been  a  judge 
of  the  municipal  court  when  he  found  that  if  he  conducted  it  as  a 
court  and  not  as  a  mere  adjunct  of  the  police  department,  hearing 
cases  according  to  the  law  and  evidence,  it  would  be  impossible  for 
him  to  have  the  friendship  and  good  will  of  the  police  department, 
the  members  of  which  felt  that  they  should  be  "sustained"  by  the  judge 
in  any  contention.  This  was  contrary  to  the  course  which  had  been 
instilled  into  his  mind  by  Judge  Cooley  and  other  great  and  able  men, 
who  had  been  his  preceptors,  and  which  his  judgment  and  sense  of 
right  and  wrong  had  taught  him.  He  was  not  long  in  deciding,  how- 
ever, and  determined  that  he  would  be  in  the  right  notwithstanding 
the  opposition  of  the  police  department,  with  which  he  soon  found 
himself,  therefore,  in  collision.  It  was  the  practice  of  the  members  of 
the  department  to  arrest  any  of  the  "bunco  gang"  who  did  not  come 
through  with  tribute.  Such  a  man  Judge  Glasgow  was  expected  to 
sentence  for  thirty,  sixty  or  ninety  days  in  jail  with  a  one  hundred 
dollar  fine  additional.  In  order  to  prepare  Judge  Glasgow  for  his 
duty  in  the  premises.  Chief  of  Police  Jackson  would  come  to  him  at 
the  behest  of  a  subordinate  to  tell  him  what  a  hard,  dangerous  charac- 
ter the  man  was.  It  never  seemed  to  occur  to  the  police  that  any  evi- 
dence was  necessary.  Another  point  on  which  he  was  in  conflict  with 
the  jjolice — it  was  their  custom  of  collecting  ten  dollars  monthly  fine 
at  police  headquarters  from  the  fallen  women  of  the  city,  this  money 
later  to  be  turned  over  to  the  clerk  of  the  municipal  court  and  forfeited 


31uDgc  3Iosgpl)  Q^«  <S^Ia0goU)  6i9 

without  the  women  ever  appearing  in  court.  One  of  the  first  things 
Judge  Glasgow  did  was  to  order  this  bail  money  deposited  with  the 
clerk  of  his  court.  Later  on  he  served  notice  to  the  chief  of  police 
that  he  would  not  sit  in  the  capacity  of  revenue  collector  of  that  charac- 
ter for  the  city  and  thereafter  when  these  women  came  before  him 
he  would  handle  their  cases  as  he  would  handle  any  other  case,  would 
increase  the  punishment  every  additional  time  they  appeared  and 
would  cease  imposing  fines  if  they  kept  coming  and  impose  instead 
a  jail  sentence.  This  brought  about  the  end  of  the  monthly  "fine" 
system. 

The  state  being  new  many  cases  were  presented  to  him  for  deci- 
sion pertaining  to  the  validity  of  different  ordinances  that  had  been 
passed  by  the  city  council.  Many  of  these  he  sustained  and  a  few  of 
them  held  invalid,  and  this  brought  a  conflict  with  the  city  council- 
men,  but  when  such  cases  were  appealed.  Judge  Glasgow's  opinions 
were  usually  sustained.  He  held  the  gambling  ordinance  invalid 
because  it  duplicated  the  state  law  on  the  subject,  holding  that  the 
state  law  was  exclusive,  because  the  legislature  intended  that  the 
state  gambling  statute  should  operate  throughout  the  state  and  in 
every  case  where  there  was  a  violation  of  said  article.  He  held  too 
that  the  inevitable  effect  of  the  ordinance  would  be,  if  allowed  to 
stand,  to  entirely  supersede  the  state  law  within  the  limits  of  Seattle 
and  that,  therefore,  it  impinged  upon  the  state  law  and  was  in  conflict 
with  it.  He  made  a  thorough  study  of  the  question  and  wrote  an 
opinion  which  was  published  in  full  in  the  Press  Times,  covering  six 
columns.  He  mailed  a  copy  of  the  paper  to  Judge  Cooley  of  Ann 
Arbor,  from  whom  he  received  a  letter,  in  part,  as  follows:  "I  have 
read  your  opinion  concerning  the  gambling  ordinance  passed  by  the 
city  authorities  of  Seattle,  and  find  it  strong  and  clear  as  well  as  judi- 
cial in  the  treatment  of  the  question  involved.  I  must  congratulate 
you  upon  it,  because  it  seems  to  me  to  display  an  ability  which  is  cer- 
tain to  be  recognized  by  the  people  of  your  state  and  to  lead  up  to 
your  occupation  of  situations  in  the  line  of  promotion  until  the  highest 
is  reached.    This  result,  I  assure  you,  would  give  me  much  pleasure." 

Another  point  in  which  Judge  Glasgow  was  in  conflict  with  the 
police  department  came  up  in  the  fall  of  1893,  when  the  city  was 
filled  with  idle  men — idle  not  from  choice,  but  from  necessity.  Certain 
very  active  and  aggressive  members  of  the  police  force  would  arrest 
these  unfortunate  men  and  bring  them  into  the  court  on  a  vagrancy 
charge.  Soon  after  coming  into  office  Judge  Glasgow  had  drafted 
an  ordinance  defining  "disorderly  persons"  and  prescribing  punish- 
ment therefor.    One  of  the  clauses  enumerated  was  "one  who,  having 


620  3luDgg  3loggpt)  Q^«  (glasgoto 

no  lawful  means  of  support,  is  willfully  idle."  It  was  this  on  which 
the  men  were  prosecuted  for  vagrancy.  The  police  would  enter  a 
saloon,  round  up  every  man  in  the  place  and  send  them  to  jaU.  Upon 
questioning.  Judge  Glasgow  would  find  that  the  police  officer  perhaps 
had  never  seen  the  defendant  before  and  would  not  know  whether  he 
could  get  work  if  he  wanted  it,  proving  that  he  was  not  "willfully 
idle."  When  the  police  found  that  the  prisoners  were  discharged,  no 
adequate  evidence  being  brought  against  them,  they  were  furious  and 
their  anger  found  vent  and  expression  in  the  newspapers.  On  the 
31st  of  October,  1893,  a  man  was  thus  arrested  and  brought  into  court, 
who  testified  that  he  was  a  candymaker  by  trade  and  had  had  a  well 
established  and  prosperous  business  in  Portland,  Oregon,  but  failed 
in  the  widespread  financial  panic.  He  had  come  to  Seattle,  hoping  to 
secure  employment;  that  Mr.  Bigelow,  editorial  writer  on  the  Post- 
Intelligencer,  had  known  him  in  Portland  and  had  inserted  gratui- 
tously several  ads  in  the  paper  whereby  he  had  attempted  to  secure 
work,  even  offering  to  work  for  his  board.  He  also  said  that  he  was 
acquainted  with  a  well  known  minister  of  Seattle,  who  had  tried  to 
get  work  for  him  and  failed.  The  Post-Intelligencer  had  previously 
severely  criticised  Judge  Glasgow's  course  of  discharging  these 
so-called  "disorderly  persons."  Asking  the  candymaker  to  appear  in 
court  the  next  day.  Judge  Glasgow  issued  subpoenas  for  Mr.  Bigelow 
and  the  minister,  who  were  called  to  the  witness  stand,  both  corroborat- 
ing the  testimony  given  by  the  man  the  day  before.  That  very  night 
the  board  of  police  commissioners  met  and  their  action  was  told  to 
the  public  in  an  article  in  the  Post-Intelligencer  the  following  day 
which  was  headed  "All  after  Glasgow.  Police  commissioners  want 
the  judge  to  resign.  His  court  no  help  to  police.  Frequent  release 
of  prisoners  causes  move  against  him."  The  police  commissioners 
had  put  on  foot  a  movement  to  bring  about  his  resignation  if  possible. 
The  next  day  Judge  Glasgow  called  upon  Mr.  Bigelow  and  drew 
his  attention  to  the  way  in  which  the  Post-Intelligencer  had  been  criti- 
cising the  court.  He  further  told  him  plainly  the  situation,  assuring 
him  that  these  men,  or  the  vast  majority  of  those  whom  the  police 
were  arresting  were  victims  of  circumstances  just  as  was  his  friend 
the  candymaker.  He  urged  Mr.  Bigelow  to  write  an  editorial,  not 
for  the  judge's  vindication,  but  to  put  a  stop  to  the  wicked  and 
inhvunan  practice  of  the  police  in  arresting  these  men.  He  promised 
to  do  so  and  the  next  day  the  Post-Intelligencer  had  a  leading  editorial 
under  the  caption,  "Is  He  a  Vagrant?"  which  completely  refuted  all 
its  charges  against  the  judge  and  turned  its  criticism  into  commenda- 
tion.   The  police  department  then  concentrated  its  efforts  upon  secur- 


31uDge  3[ogepf)  g^«  (^lasgoto  621 

ing  the  resignation  of  the  judge.  In  November,  1894,  Byron  Phelps, 
then  mayor,  the  board  of  police  commissioners  and  the  city  council 
served  upon  him  a  demand  for  his  resignation.  Up  to  that  time  he 
had  steadily  refused  to  make  any  statement  for  publication  in  answer 
to  criticisms,  but  he  felt  that  his  hour  had  now  come  and  returned  an 
open  letter  in  answer  to  the  demand  for  his  resignation  one  night 
when  the  city  council  was  in  session.  They  started  to  read  it,  when 
one  of  the  members  moved  to  refer  it  to  a  committee.  Next  day  they 
sent  their  emissary  to  Judge  Glasgow,  urging  him  to  withdraw  the 
letter  and  let  the  matter  drop,  but  he  was  determined  that  not  only 
would  it  be  placed  on  file  but  published.  It  appeared  in  the  Seattle 
Argus  and  was  the  sensation  of  the  hour,  changing  public  sentiment 
to  a  remarkable  extent.  The  next  movement  of  his  enemies  was  an 
attempt  to  abolish  the  municipal  court  in  the  legislature.  Members 
from  Spokane  and  Tacoma  wanted  it  abolished  because  it  was  an 
expensive  court  and  they  believed  that  its  jurisdiction  should  be 
divided  between  the  justices  of  the  peace  and  the  superior  court.  This 
plan  was  introduced  as  the  TuU  bill  and  at  the  joint  session  there  was 
but  one  vote  against  the  passage  of  the  bill — the  vote  of  Billie  McArdle 
of  Seattle,  who  wired  Judge  Glasgow  to  "come  to  Olympia."  Before 
going  he  had  prepared  and  circulated  a  petition  to  the  legislature, 
asking  for  the  enlargement  of  the  court's  jurisdiction  and  conferring 
upon  it  a  civil  jurisdiction  up  to  one  thousand  dollars.  This  had  been 
signed  by  about  fifty  of  the  ablest  and  best  known  lawyers  and  judges 
of  Seattle.  When  he  entered  the  fight  in  Olympia  his  most  sanguine 
friends  predicted  that  he  would  be  defeated  in  the  house,  that  the  Tull 
bill  would  pass  the  house.  To  each  member  of  the  legislature  a  copy 
of  The  Argus  had  been  sent  and  each  man  seemed  to  be  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  the  situation.  His  opponents  were  lobbying  and  put 
forth  every  effort  to  defeat  the  bill,  but  finally  it  was  laid  on  the  table 
by  a  vote  of  fourteen  to  forty-four  in  the  house  and  never  reached 
the  senate. 

During  the  last  two  years  of  his  incumbency  in  the  office  of  munici- 
pal judge,  Judge  Glasgow  had  a  very  peaceful  time.  Probably  the 
most  noted  trial  that  came  before  him  was  that  of  Charles  H.  Lugren, 
editor  of  the  Seattle  Telegraph,  for  criminal  libel  by  Bolton  Rogers, 
chief  of  police,  a  jury  trial  which  lasted  several  days  and  attracted 
much  attention.  His  instructions  to  the  jury  were  satisfactory  to 
both  sides.  In  the  fall  of  1896  Judge  Glasgow  was  a  candidate  for 
nomination  by  the  silver  republican  party,  but  the  hostility  of  the 
convention  committee  composed  of  delegates  from  each  of  the  three 
parties    prevented   this    and    after    the    first    ballot,    on    which    he 


622  31uDgg  3logept)  9^,  ^lasgoto 

lacked  eight  votes  of  having  a  majority  over  all  the  candidates,  Judge 
Glasgow  threw  his  support  to  Gilbert  V.  Bogue,  who  was  accordingly 
nominated  and  elected.  After  leaving  the  municipal  court  bench  in 
Januaiy,  1897,  he  resumed  the  practice  of  law,  in  which  he  has  since 
been  contmuously  engaged,  devoting  his  attention  largely  to  civil  law 
and  handling  some  important  litigation.  He  has  also  had  some  crim- 
inal cases  which  have  brought  him  wide  publicity.  One  of  these,  the 
"trap  gun  case,"  attracted  much  attention  by  reason  of  its  novelty. 
The  defendant,  an  Italian  laborer,  placed  a  loaded  revolver,  rigged 
with  strings  and  pulleys,  in  such  a  manner  that  it  would  be  discharged 
upon  the  opening  of  the  lid  of  the  trunk  in  which  was  a  valuable  con- 
certina worth  four  hundred  dollars.  His  landlady  opened  the  trunk 
from  curiosity  and  was  shot  through  the  heart  and  instantly  killed. 
The  Italian  was  informed  against  for  second  degi-ee  murder.  Judge 
Glasgow  defended  him  and  the  jmy  stood  eleven  for  acquittal  with 
one  for  conviction.  Judge  Glasgow  appealed  the  case  to  the  supreme 
court,  which  reversed  the  lower  court  decision,  when  the  case  was 
dismissed  upon  motion  of  the  prosecuting  attorney.  Another  case  in 
which  Judge  Glasgow  figured  was  that  of  the  State  vs.  Miller.  MiUer 
was  arrested  on  suspicion  by  the  Seattle  police,  July  22,  1909.  Five 
charges  of  burglary,  twelve  charges  of  perjury,  two  habitual  criminal 
charges  and  the  charge  of  murder  in  the  first  degree  were  preferred. 
There  were  nine  trials  by  jury  and  six  appeals  to  the  supreme  court 
growing  out  of  this  prosecution  of  Miller  and  it  was  more  than  five 
years  before  the  prosecution  succeeded  in  landing  him  in  the  peni- 
tentiary, where  he  soon  became  and  is  now  librarian.  The  first  Miller 
case,  reported  on  page  125,  61  Washington,  is  the  leading  "third 
degree"  case  and  is  reported  in  the  American  and  English  Annotated 
Cases.  This  was  an  appeal  over  the  judgment  and  sentence  of  the 
court  rendered  upon  his  first  trial.  He  defended  himself  at  that  first 
trial  and  testified  to  the  most  revolting  cruelties  practiced  upon  him 
by  the  police  in  order  to  extort  a  confession.  Miller  preserved  a  good 
enough  record  at  the  first  trial  so  that  Judge  Glasgow  was  able  to  take 
the  case  to  the  supreme  court  and  get  a  reversal.  The  opinion  in  that 
case,  written  by  Judge  Dunbar,  is  perhaps  the  most  eloquent  opinion 
ever  handed  down  by  the  Washington  supreme  court.  The  court 
denounced  in  unmeasured  terms  the  brutal  and  lawless  methods 
whereby  the  police  and  prosecuting  attorney  had  procured  the  defend- 
ant's conviction  and  this  denunciation  had  the  wholesome  effect  of 
breaking  up  the  practice. 

In  the  fall  of  1895  Judge  Glasgow's  father  and  stepmother  visited 
him  in  Seattle,  and  his  sister  Anna  came  to  this  city  with  them  with 


3[u0ge  jlosepft  ^*  (glaggoto  623 

the  intention  of  remaining  with  him  during  the  winter.  After  some 
negotiation  Judge  Glasgow  succeeded  in  inducing  his  father  to  pur- 
chase a  house  at  No.  132  North  Broadway,  the  southeast  corner  of 
Johns  and  Broadway.  It  was  completely  furnished.  The  owner 
offered  it  for  forty-one  hundred  dollars,  the  purchaser  to  assume  a 
mortgage  of  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  and  pay  sixteen  himdred 
cash.  The  purchase  was  at  length  concluded  and  in  the  spring  of 
1896  the  father  and  stepmother,  who  had  returned  to  Iowa,  came  again 
to  Seattle,  accompanied  by  Judge  Glasgow's  sisters,  Grace  and 
Ruhamah.  His  sister  Anna  had  remained  in  this  city.  After  the 
father's  death  in  the  fall  of  1907,  the  property,  for  which  they  had 
paid  forty-one  hundred  dollars,  was  appraised  at  twenty  thousand 
dollars,  showing  the  rapid  rise  of  realty  values  in  Seattle  following 
the  Klondike  boom.  The  sister  Anna,  who  had  married  David 
Wilson,  died  of  tuberculosis  in  1899.  Her  daughter,  Doris,  has  made 
her  home  with  her  aimts  Grace  and  Ruhamah,  now  Mrs.  Archer. 
Grace  was  graduated  from  the  University  of  Washington  in  1900 
and  was  president  of  her  class — an  unusual  honor  to  be  bestowed 
upon  a  girl. 

In  his  political  views  Judge  Glasgow  is  a  democrat,  but  although 
a  man  of  firm  convictions  on  politics  as  on  other  questions,  he  is  not 
ambitious  for  office.  He  prefers  to  concentrate  his  energies  upon  his 
law  practice  and  is  quiet  and  self-contained  when  handling  a  case  in 
the  courts  but  never  seems  to  lose  sight  of  a  point,  weak  or  strong, 
that  the  opposing  counsel  brings  forth.  His  mental  alertness  enables 
him  to  grasp  every  phase  of  any  situation  and  if  he  believes  he  is  in 
the  right  nothing  can  swerve  him  from  the  pursuit  of  his  purpose. 


INDEX 


Adams,  E.  Arlita 487 

Albertson,  R.  B 161 

Alvord,  E.  H 457 

Ames,  E.  G 95 

Arnold,  M.  A 439 

Arthur,  John 139 

Bagley,  C.  B 19 

Bagley,  Daniel   13 

Baker,  F.  W 261 

Baxter,  Portus  275 

Baxter,  Sutcliffe    177 

Bebb,  C.  H 225 

Bigelow,  H.   A 151 

Blaine,  E.  F 125 

Bonney,  L.  W 555 

Borst,  Joseph    281 

Brady,  Edward 309 

Briggs,  B.  F 257 

Brown,  Amos   119 

Brown,  E.  J 231 

Bussell,  C.  B 305 

Caine,  E.  E 221 

Carroll,  James   295 

Carstens,  Ernest   395 

Casey,  J.  T 469 

Chilberg,  Andrew  43 

Clapp,  J.  M 493 

Erickson,  C.  J 399 

Ferry,  E.  P 5 

Fluhart,  S.  S 319 

Frye,  G.   F 9 

Frye,  J.  M 271 

Furth,  Jacob  25 

Gay,  W.  R 329 

Glasgow,  J.  M 609 

Glasgow,  W.  A 347 

Gosnell,  J.  C 579 

Graham,  J.  S 585 

Graves,  C.  B 251 

Hahn,  R.  E 325 

Haller,  G.  0 67 

Hawthorne,  W.  C 315 

Healy,  N.  C 483 

Henehan,  M.  J 351 

Henry,  H.  C 37 

Hibbard,  C.  L 373 

Hill,  Mrs.  Elizabeth 543 

Hill,  G.  L 541 

Hinckley,  T.  D 589 

Hulbert,  R.  A 499 

Jones,  T.  A 343 

Kempster,  A.  L 363 

Kinnear,  George  81 

Kinnear,  J.  R 547 

Knoff,  A.  E 509 

Kristoferson,  Alfred   355 


Latimer,  N.  H 75 

Leary,  John 59 

Leonard,   A.    W 571 

Lewis,  Swan  339 

McFee,  J.  6 195 

McFee,  Malcolm  173 

McGilvra,  J.  J 131 

McMicken,  Maurice  99 

Mackintosh,  Angus   145 

Martin,  William 575 

Mercer,  Thomas  597 

Metcalfe,  J.  B 243 

Moeller,  Wigbert   389 

Morris,  C.  L 473 

Niesz,  U.  R 381 

Norton,  J.  C 237 

O'Dea,  E.  J 405 

Oleson,  Frank 561 

Osgood,  F.  H 551 

Osseward,  Cornelius 421 

Palmer,  A.  L 189 

Parsons,  R.  H 185 

Peterson,  M.  W 377 

Phelps,  Byron Ill 

Purcell,  P.  F 425 

Ramsay,   C.   C 603 

Randolph,  S.  P 411 

Rawson,  Z.  B 443 

Rowe,  L.  S 367 

Ryan,  Timothy 359 

Shannon,  James  435 

Shillestad,  F.  W 285 

Smith,  R.  H 157 

Snook,  H.  E 595 

Spencer,  R.  R 105 

Squire,  W.  C 513 

Struve,  F.  K 55 

Struve,  H.  G 49 

Surber,  W.  H 215 

Talbot,  W.  C 333 

Tanzer,  G.  L 479 

Taylor,  J.  S 535 

Thomas,  J.  D 429 

Voigt,  William   449 

Walker,  Cyrus   167 

Walker,  William    503 

Watson,  Harry 301 

Wegener,  0.  F 199 

Weichbrodt,  I.  A 267 

Westerman,  R.  G 565 

Whitham,  P.  P 529 

Wilhelra,  Fridolin    461 

Williams,  W.  W 465 


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