History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II, Part 1

Author: Lyman, William Denison, 1852-1920
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: [Chicago] S.J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 1138

USA > Washington > Benton County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 1
USA > Washington > Kittitas County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 1
USA > Washington > Yakima County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II > Part 1

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.

GEN

ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY

3 1833 01103 7741

GC 979.701 Y11L V.2

CHARLES . DUUI

CHARLES : SOLL

HISTORY

of the

Yakima Valley Washington

Comprising

Yakima, Kittitas and Benton Counties

Illustrated

VOLUME II

THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING CO. 1919

1369773

W. L. STEINWEG

BIOGRAPHICAL

W. L. STEINWEG.

Honored and respected by all, there is no man who occupies a more enviable position in the financial and business circles of Yakima than W. L. Steinweg, the president of the First National Bank of North Yakima. This is due not alone to the success which he has achieved but also to the straightforward business policy which he has ever followed and to his active and resultant efforts to cooperate in the upbuilding of the community in which he has made his home. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, September 30, 1852, and is a son of Charles and Henrietta Steinweg, who, leaving the Atlantic coast in 1855 made their way to San Francisco, California. The father was a wagon maker and wheelwright by trade and he and his wife continued to make their home at the Golden Gate until they were called to their final rest.

W. L. Steinweg was but three years of age at the time of the removal of his parents to San Francisco and his education was acquired in its public schools. He afterward removed to Bellingham Bay, Washington, and occupied the position of secretary to the superintendent of the mines of the Bellingham Bay Coal Company. Later he had charge of the property of that corporation for a number of years after the mines were abandoned. He came to Yakima in 1886 to accept the position of cashier of the bank with which he is now identified and through the intervening period, covering more than three decades, he has been a most prominent factor in the successful management and conduct of what is today recognized as one of the strongest financial instituions of this section of the state. It was organized as the First National Bank of Yakima in the old town of Yakima, and upon the founding of North Yakima in 1885 was reorganized as the First National Bank of North Yakima and removed to the new town. It was originally founded as a private bank by Judge Whitson. In 1886 the officers were: J. R. Lewis, president, who was at one time circuit judge and is now deceased; and A. W. Engle, cashier. The latter was formerly of Seattle and later of Ellensburg and ultimately of Yakima, Washington, and was the first state bank examiner. He now resides in Seattle. The vice-presi- dent of the institution was Edward Whitson and the directors, in addtion to the officers, were Charles and J. H. Carpenter, who were pioneer settlers and have now passed away. In the year 1886 W. L. Steinweg became cashier and thus entered into active relations with the management and control of the bank. Following the retirement of the first president, Edward Whitson served as chief executive officer of the institution and was succeeded by W. M. Ladd, while on the 14th of January, 1908, Mr. Steinweg was elected to the presidency and on the 10th of July, 1912. C. R. Donovan became cashier as the successor to A. B. Cline. The old building occupied by. the bank was removed to the corner of Second and East Yakima streets and in 1888 the present brick building was erected. It was fifty by one hundred feet and since that time a room has been added. making the bank fifty by one hundred and twenty-five feet and two stories in height. The upper floor is used for offices. The bank is today capitalized for one hundred thousand dollars and has surplus and undivided profits of almost one hundred and eighty-two thousand dollars, while its deposits have reached three and a quarter million dollars. The bank is a member of the Federal Reserve system and is the oldest and largest bank in central Wash- ington. The policy which has been maintained is one which has ever borne the closest investigation and scrutiny. The officers have recognized the fact that the

...

(1)

HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

bank is most worthy of patronage that most carefully safeguards the interests of depositors and its course has at all times been above suspicion. Moreover, it has done much through judicious loans to advance business enterprise and prosperity in this section of the state and results achieved have been most satisfactory. Thirty- two years' connection with the bank makes the institution a monument to the enter- prise and ability of W. L. Steinweg.

In the year 1876 Mr. Steinweg was united in marriage to Miss Susanna Engle, of New Jersey, who passed away in 1895. Eleven years later, or in 1906, he mar- ried lda H. Sharkey, of North Yakima. The children of the first marriage were William Engle and George Woolman, both of whom have passed away.

Fraternally Mr. Steinweg is connected with Masonry, belonging to Yakima Lodge, No. 22, A. F. & A. M., and to the Rose Croix. In politics he is a republican, while his religious faith is that of the Christian Science church. He is a man of progressive citizenship and the place which he occupies as a factor in the upbuilding and development of Yakima can scarcely be overestimated.

JOHN E. SHANNON.

John E. Shannon, of Yakima, prominently and successfully identified with the agricultural and horticultural interests of the valley, was born in Coshocton, Ohio, August 14, 1860, a son of Isaac N. and Cassandra (Endsley) Shannon. The parents were natives of Ohio, where they spent their entire lives. There the father followed the occupation of farming. He was a son of Isaac Shannon, Sr., and his grandfather was born on the Shannon river in Ireland. He came to the United States prior to the Revolutionary war. One of the representatives of this family was numbered among the signers of the Declaration of Independence. The grandfather of John E. Shannon took up a homestead in Ohio and thereon resided until his death. The family has ever been noted for patriotic loyalty as well as progressiveness in busi- ness. Several of the uncles of John E. Shannon of this review served as soldiers of the Civil war.

In the public schools of Ohio, John E. Shannon acquired his education and when not busy with his textbooks assisted in the work of the home farm. When his schooldays were over he concentrated his efforts and attention upon farm work in that state until 1880, when he removed westward to Colorado, where he resided until 1884, being there engaged in civil engineering. Between the years 1884 and 1893 he resided in Wyoming, where he also practiced the profession of civil engi- neering, being actively engaged on irrigation and railway projects. With his re- moval to the far northwest in 1893 he purchased a home in Yakima and engaged in loaning money. In 1895 he purchased forty acres of land two and three- quarters of a mile west of Yakima and at once began its improvement. He planted an orchard there and afterward sold a part of that place but later purchased other land and now has seventy-eight acres in all, of which thirty-eight acres is planted to fruit trees, including apples, pears, peaches, apricots and plums. He also engages to some extent in the raising of hay and grain and his business interests have been most wisely and carefully conducted, his course at all times being characterized by unwearied industry and, unfaltering determination. He has his own cold storage and packing plant and in addition to raising he also buys fruit and is one of the big fruit producers and shippers of this section of the state. He became a charter mem- her of the Yakima County Horticultural Union and was one of the organizers of the Yakima Valley Fruit Growers' Association but in recent years has conducted his business independently of such organizations. His long experience has enabled him to speak with authority upon the subject of fruit raising in the Yakima valley. He has closely studied every phase of the business and that his ideas are practical and progressive is at once indicated in the success which has come to him.

On the 22d of December, 1887, Mr. Shannon was united in marriage to Miss Faith Luckey, of Iowa, by whom he has had three children, namely: Clinton, who is married and is a fruit grower of Yakima county; Harold E., at home; and Fern, who is deceased.

HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

Mr. Shannon and his family are members of the Methodist church and are people of prominence in Yakima, occupying an enviable social position. Mr. Shannon has built a beautiful home on his ranch and its hospitality is greatly enjoyed by all who know them. In politics he has ever been a republican but never an office seeker, although he served for three terms as county engineer of Johnson county, Wyoming. Since coming to the west he has preferred to concentrate his entire efforts and attention upon his business interests, and the development of his orchards has placed him among the most successful and prominent fruit raisers of this section of the state.

HON. RALPH KAUFFMAN.

Hon. Ralph Kauffman, a distinguished member of the bar of Ellensburg whose extensive practice connects him with much of the important litigation heard in the courts of his district, is also identificd with ranching interests in this state and, moreover, has been a most helpful factor in the war activities which have so recently engaged the attention of the country. Mr. Kauffman is a native of Pennsylvania. He was born in Mechanicsville, that state, on the 14th of October, 1860, a son of Isaac B. and Sybil A. (Merklin) Kauffman. The family was established in Pennsyl- vania during early colonial days. The mother's people were French and settled in Pennsylvania in 1711. When the Revolutionary war was inagurated representatives of the nanie valiantly esponsed the cause of the colonies and assisted in winning American independence. Isaac B. Kauffman was a lieutenant of the Ninth Pennsyl- vania Cavalry during the Civil war and was killed while defending the interests of the Union at the front. His widow always remained true to his memory, never marrying again, and she passed away in Pennsylvania in 1909. She had but two children, the younger being Isaac, a banker of Pennsylvania, who died in 1905. In both the paternal and maternal lines are found many names that figure promi- nently upon the pages of history. Mr. Kauffman of this review is a cousin of Regi- nald Wright Kauffman, the poet, and also of James Lee Kauffman, professor of American law in the Imperial University at Tokio, Japan.

After completing a public school education Ralph Kauffman passed the en- trance examination for West Point and was named an alternate but did not have the opportunity of becoming a student at the military school. Determining upon the practice of law as a life work, he then entered the University of Pennsylvania, in which he completed a law course in 1886. He was president of his class there and was not only a most thorough student but also a popular representative of the school. In the same year he came to the northwest, making his way to Portland, Oregon, and there he assisted in organizing a loan and trust company. In 1887 he came to Ellensburg as a representative of that company and the following year he or- ganized the Ellensburg National Bank, of which he remained the cashier until 1890. He then resumed the active practice of law in connection with Mitchell Gilliam, who later removed to King county, Washington. Mr. Kauffman continued in active law practice alone from that time until 1895, when he entered into partner- ship with J. E. Frost, with whom he was associated for a decade. Mr. Kauffman was then appointed state tax commissioner. He practiced law alone until 1907 and in March of that year he was appoined judge of the superior court, to which office he was elected in 1908 and re-elected in 1912. He was again a candidate for the office in the fall of 1916, but on that date was defeated. He then resumed the private practice of law, in which he has since continued, and his clientage is now extensive and of a distinctively representative character. Few men are. more thoroughly informed concerning the principles of jurisprudence or are more accurate in the application of these principles to the points in litigation. For two terms Mr. Kauff- man served as city attorney, nor have his business activities been confined to pro- fessional lines alone, for he has large holdings of ranch lands in this part of the state, owning two hundred and fifty acres under irrigation. He was one of the pro- jectors of the Cascade irrigation canal and he has been a close student of the water

HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

problems of the northwest and of all that has to do with the substantial develop- ment of this section of the country.

Moreover, Mr. Kauffman has been a prominent factor in public life as a trustee of the State Normal, in which position he served for several years, and as a school director. His political endorsement has always been given to the republican party and he is actuated in all that he does by a marked devotion to the general good.

Mr. Kauffman was married November 24, 1888, to Miss Lida D. Stayman, a daughter of Milton C. and Mary Jane (Bailey) Stayman, of Winchester, Virginia. The children of this marriage are: Dorothy, the wife of Lieutenant Howard L. Lewis of the United States army; and Charlotte, the wife of Lieutenant Harold A. Mallum also of the United States army.

The religious faith of the family is indicated by the membership of Mr. and Mrs. Kauffman in Grace Episcopal church, in which he is serving as senior warden. He has been most helpful along the lines of war activities. He was chairman of the Kittitas County Legal Advisory Board to advise and aid in the draft registra- tion and he is chairman of the Kittitas County Chapter of the American Red Cross, having served in that capacity since its organization. His activities in behalf of war work have been far-reaching and resultant and his public-spirited citizenship stands as one of the pre-eminent traits of his character, his devotion to the public good being manifest in his law practice, in his official service and in every relation where his activities have touched the general interests of society.

HON HENRY JOSEPH SNIVELY.

Hon. Henry Joseph Snively is a distinguished member of the Yakima bar and one of the recognized leaders of the democratic party in the state. In fact, through his political activity and his incumbency in office he has done much to shape the affairs of the state, his influence always being on the side of progress, development and improvement. What he has accomplished represents the fit utilization of the innate powers and talents with which nature endowed him. He has recognized and readily utilized the opportunities which have come his way and his popularity as a man and the faith reposed in him by his fellow townsmen have been indicated by the fact that on various occasions he has been the only nominee on the democratic ticket elected to office.

Mr. Snively is a native of Virginia. He was born on the 17th of August, 1856, and is a son of Ambrose and Elizabeth (Harritt) Snively. The father is a native of Germany but came to the United States with his parents when but six weeks old. Reared to manhood in Virginia, he there engaged in contracting and building, which he followed at various places in the Old Dominion. He now makes his home in Grafton, West Virginia.

Reared in the south. Hon. Henry Joseph Snively of this review was graduated from the University of West Virginia with the class of 1877 and then entered upon his law course at the University of Virginia where he took the degree of Bachelor of Law in 1879. He afterward practiced law in West Virginia for seven years and in 1886 he arrived in North Yakima, where he has since followed his profession. He is recognized as one of the distinguished and eminent members of the bar of central Washington. As a lawyer he is sound, clear-minded and well trained, felicitous and clear in argument, thoroughly in earnest, full of the vigor of conviction, never abusive of his adversaries and imbued with the highest courtesy and yet a foe worthy of the steel of the most able opponent. He has other interests outside of his pro- fession, for in 1912 he established and now owns the Kennewick flouring mill and his investments include large stock ranches in Yakima and Benton counties. In all business affairs he has displayed sound judgment and keen discrimination, carrying forward to successful completion whatever he has undertaken.

In politics Mr. Snively has been a most active democrat, one of the party leaders in the state. He was nominated' for the office of district attorney for the district comprising Yakima and Kittitas counties in 1886 and was elected by a large majority against the Hon. C. B. Graves, who was later judge of the district court.

HON. HENRY J. SNIVELY

HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

In 1888 Mr. Snively was reelected over Walter M. Milroy and on each occasion was the only successful democratic nominee on the ticket. While serving as district attorney he was appointed by Governor Semple a member of the code commission to formulate a code for the laws of the territory and did active and valuable work in that connection. This code was later revised by W. Lair Hill and is known as the Hill code. In 1890 Mr. Snively was the democratic candidate for attorney general of Washington, but with the others of his ticket was defeated. In 1891 he was elected to represent his district in the state legislature, being the only democrat to receive a majority at that election. In 1892 he was elected a delegate to the national democratic convention held at Chicago and at the request of the national campaign manager seconded the nomination of Grover Cleveland for the presi- dency. In August, 1892, his party made him its standard bearer in the state elec- tion and as candidate for governor of Washington he ran five thousand votes ahead of his ticket but was defeated by a few hundred votes by the republican candidate, John H. McGraw. In 1897 Mr. Snively was appointed by Governor John R. Rogers a member of the state board of control, having the management of all the state institutions except the University and the Agricultural College, in which capacity he served for four years. Since 1900 he has concentrated his efforts and attention upon the practice of law, but does not cease to feel the deepest concern in those questions of public import which affect the welfare, the sociological and the economic development, of the state.

Mr. Snively was married in 1881 to Miss Elizabeth H. Martin, of Grafton, West Virginia, a daughter of Luther and Anna M. (Harrison) Martin. The father, who was a lumberman, was born in West Virginia, while the mother's birth occurred in the District of Columbia. She was a descendant of the James River Harrisons. Mrs. Snively was born in Virginia in 1858 and was graduated from the Pittsburgh Female College. To Mr. and Mrs. Snively have been born three children, Janie M., born in Grafton, West Virginia, January 22, 1883, is the wife of Dr. Edmond S. West, of Yakima; Jessie H., born in Grafton, July 30, 1885, is the wife of Dr. A. F. Campbell, of Yakima. and has two children, W. F. and Henry J. Henry J. Snively, Jr., the young- est of the family, was born in North Yakima, January 25, 1900, and is now manager of his father's stock farm. The family attend the Episcopal church and in social circles of the city occupy a very prominent position. The family residence was built in 1888 by Colonel Howlett and later was remodeled, being one of the finest homes of the state.

Mrs. Snively takes a very prominent interest in church work and in the lead- ing social movements of the city and both Mr. and Mrs. Snively exert much in- fluence over public thought and he has left the impress of his individuality upon many movements and measures which have had to do with shaping the policy and progress of the commonwealth.

GEORGE DONALD.

It was the consensus of public opinion that the death of George Donald "marked the passing of one of the best known and most substantial citizens of Yakima." He was prominently known in business circles as a bank president, rancher and railroad and ditch builder and through the extent and breadth of his activities and interests contributed in most marked measure to the development, upbuilding and progress of Yakima and central Washington. He had been closely associated with the management of the Yakima National Bank since 1892 and aided in its organiza- tion four years prior to that time. He was born in Canada in 1859, a son of John and Jane Donald, who were natives of Scotland but who crossed the Atlantic to Canada when young people. The father died in the year 1870, but the mother sur- vives and is now living in Yakima.

George Donald was indebted to the public school system of his native country for the educational opportunities which he enjoyed. He was a youth of nineteen years when he crossed the border into the United States, becoming a resident of Chicago in 1878, at which time he was employed by the Grand Trunk Railway Company.

HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY

In 1881 he started westward by stage from Bismarck, South Dakota, and after travel- ing eleven days and nine nights finally reached Montana, where he was with the Northern Pacific Railway Company, following the building of its line to Yakima in 1884. He was afterward engaged in railway contracting and was closely identified with the development of railway systems in the west to the time of his demise. He built the Lewiston extension, also the Farmington branch, two coal roads on the western slope, and he built the North Yakima & Vallley Railroad, making his home all during this period in Yakima. He also built the Zillah, Moxee, White Swan, Naches and Cowiche branches and in fact all the branch lines in the Yakima valley. He likewise built the first large irrigation ditch in the valley in 1889, known as the Kiona canal, and was later connected with the construction of the Sunnyside canal besides furthering many other irrigation projects. He developed several ranches and thus contributed in marked measure to the progress and upbuilding of his sec- tion of the state.

Mr. Donald's connection with the banking interests of Yakima dated from May 1888, when he became one of the organizers of the Yakima National Bank, of which H. S. Rowe was elected president, A. B. Weed vice president and Mr. Donald the cashier. The bank was located on Yakima avenue, between First and Second streets. In 1892 Mr. Donald was elected to the presidency and Mr. Weed and Mr. Rowe retired. J. D. Cornett then served as cashier from 1892 until 1908, or for a period of sixteen years, when he was succeeded by Frank Bartholet, who has since occupied that position. L. L. Thorp is vice president of the bank, and George E. Stacy and Edwin D. Clark assistant cashiers. The directors of the bank were George Donald, J. D. Cornett, L. L. Thorp, W. I. Lince, C. F. Myer, P. A. Bounds, Mary M. Donald, Frank Bartholet and A. H. Sinclair. In 1894 the bank's statement showed deposits of one hundred and eighteen thousand five hundred and eighty-two dollars. Ten years later, or in March, 1904, the deposits had increased to six hundred and two thousand nine hundred and fifty-one dollars and the bank's statement of 1917 shows deposits amounting to two million, three hundred and forty-two thousand four hundred and forty-six dollars. The bank was originally capitalized for fifty thousand dollars but this was increased to one hundred thousand dollars in 1917 and the institution has a surplus of more than one hundred thousand dollars, while its capital and surplus amounts to two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. The bank has been continuously under the same management. In 1903 the present building at First street and Yakima avenue was completed-a two-stroy structure seventy-five by one hundred and thirty feet, the building including the hardware store which adjoins the bank. President of the institution for more than a quarter of a century, Mr. Donald was the chief factor in establishing its policy, directing its activities and promoting its success.

On the 17th of September, 1885, Mr. Donald was united in marriage to Miss Clara Burch and to them was born a son, George, now living in Tacoma, where he is employed in a bank. On the 14th of September, 1904, Mr. Donald wedded Miss Mary Ditmars and they had four children: Jessie Mary, now twelve years of age; Jean, ten; Allen, eight; and Remsen, two.

Fraternally Mr. Donald was connected with the Masons and attained the Knight Templar degree. He was also a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and he was one of the organizers of the Yakima Commercial Club, of which he twice served as president. A republican in politics, he was a delegate to the national convention at Chicago in 1904 and he put forth every possible effort not only to promote the success of his party but to advance the welfare and progress of the community in which he lived. He was keenly interested in war activities and the governor appointed him a member of the State Council of Defense, making him chairman of the transportation department. He rendered valuable aid in that con- nection and suggestions which he made in his official capacity pertaining to the uni- fication of the railroads of the northwest were considered and to some extent acted upon by the highest authority. All through the period of the war he was alert to the issues of the times and he was one of the first Yakima citizens to take an active part in organizing the war drives, giving himself unsparingly to the work of the State Council of Defense. He was also greatly interested in the campaign to induce thrift among the American people and was county chairman for the War Savings

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. II, Part 1

Author: Lyman, William Denison, 1852-1920 Publication date: 1919 Publisher: [Chicago] S.J. Clarke Number of Pages: 1138

Author: Lyman, William Denison, 1852-1920
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: [Chicago] S.J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 1138