USA > Washington > Spokane County > Spokane > History of the city of Spokane and Spokane County, Washington : from its earliest settlement to the present time, Volume II > Part 1
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Gc 979.702 Sp65d v.2 1411102
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
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HISTORY
OF THE
CITY. OF SPOKANE
AND
SPOKANE COUNTRY WASHINGTON
From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME II
SPOKANE-CHICAGO-PHILADELPHIA THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1912
1411102
GRAHAM B. DENNIS
Biographical
GRAHAM BARCLAY DENNIS.
Continuous progress has characterized the career of Graham Barclay Dennis. His intellect early grasped the eternal truth, that industry wins, and industry be- came the beacon light of his life. Whatever he has undertaken has found him determined in execution and watchful of all opportunities pointing to legitimate success, and today he is prominently connected with most important corporation and business interests, being numbered among Spokane's capitalists. He was born in London, England, June 1, 1855, his parents being Mendenhall John and Sophia Dennis. His father, also a native of London, was a man of most liberal education and scholarly attainments, having been graduated from Oxford and Heidelberg Universities. He was a linguist of notable powers and his life was largely devoted to the work of the Presbyterian ministry. His wife was German descent and during the early boyhood of their son Graham, they came with their family to the United States, first to Boston, Massachusetts, and finally settling in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Graham B. Dennis pursued his education in the public schools of the latter city until he reached the age of fourteen years, when he began learning the more difficult lessons in the school of experience. He was employed in both Cincinnati and in Dayton, Ohio, but a brief period sufficed to indicate to him how valuable is education as a factor in success. He therefore resumed his studies, pursuing a course in the year 1873-4 at Bethany College in West Virginia. In 1875 he be- came city editor of the Dayton (Ohio) Daily Journal and after two years spent in that capacity, was made business manager of the paper, which he thus con- ducted for two years. During the succeeding six years he was associated with different business enterprises in Dayton and brought his inventive genius into play in producing and successfully introducing an electrical postage-stamp can- celler. In the further development of his business affairs, he became the head of the firm of G. B. Dennis & Company, comprising the organization of stock companies, stocks and discounts, and at the same time, he established, published and edited the Farmer's Home, an agricultural newspaper. His identification with the north- west began in May, 1885, at which time he arrived in Spokane, the same year becoming actively interested in real estate and mining, and in the publication of the Spokane Miner, a sixteen-page paper devoted to the mining interests of the northwest, which at that time were in their infancy. He likewise organized the Muscovite Mica Mining Company, in which he enlisted Chicago capital, to develop the great mica mines in Idaho. In 1887 he built in Spokane the first electric railway of the northwest, and the first west of Chicago, known as the Ross Park Street Railway Company, of which he was for two years the pres- ident. One of the largest enterprises with which he has been closely associated
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SPOKANE AND THE INLAND EMPIRE
was the organization of the Old Dominion Mining & Milling Company for the development of properties in Stevens county, and of which company he is still the president. He has the ability that enables him to see the possibilities in a project of large proportions and to direct its interests in the best possible man- ner toward securing results desired. Upon the organization of the Northwestern Mining Association, on the 2nd of October, 1895, he was chosen its president and continued in that position for several years. In the following year he was made its delegate to the parliament of British Columbia at Victoria, and had the distinc- tion of successfully opposing the proposed two per cent tax on the gross output of the British Columbia mines. In 1897 he was one of the committee appointed by the international mining congress to prepare a revision of the federal mining laws, and in that connection was instrumental in drafting the memorial to the United States congress. His mining interests have brought him into active asso- ciation with various companies, invariably holding the position of president. In 1898 he was chosen president and treasurer of the Insurgent Gold Mining Com- pany of Republic, Washington, and still retains that position. Mr. Dennis has for many years been a director in the Exchange National Bank of Spokane, and president of the Warehouse & Realty Company, a one million dollar corporation.
While his private business interests have been extensive and of a most im- portant character, Mr. Dennis has also been connected with various enterprises of a public or semi-public character, which have become valuable and significant features in the development and upbuilding of the northwest. From 1886 until 1888 he was a member of the city council of Spokane and aided in shaping its formative policy during that early period. In 1890 he became a member of the board of public education and served as chairman of its committee on buildings, constructing the first high school and five district school buildings in Spokane. In the same year, he became the organizer and first vice president of the Spokane Industrial Exposition, which did much to stimulate trade and business conditions in this part of the Inland Empire. For a number of years, he served as one of the trustees and as a member of the executive committee and treasurer of the Jenkins University. The foresight and untiring efforts of Mr. Dennis, resulted in 1902, through him as the author, in the formation of the Publicity Committee, an important organization comprising the representative citizens of Spokane. Its work has been extensive in making known world-wide, through the daily press and magazines, the resources and advantages of Spokane and the Inland Empire, the expense of exploiting the resources of the country amounting to forty thousand dollars a year. Mr. Dennis' firm faith in the country and its future constitutes his inspiration for the work in which he has been engaged in spreading broad- cast a knowledge of the country and promoting specific interests and projects which have had important bearing upon its material growth and progress.
On the 20th of May, 1879, Mr. Dennis was united in marriage to Miss Hester L. Bradley, a daughter of Captain John Bradley, and to them have been born a son and two daughters; Howard B. who married Josephine Wilhelm; Essie Mernie, the wife of Edward R. Dickson; and Julia B., the wife of Roy C. Lammers, by whom she has one child, Graham Dennis Lammers.
While most important and extensive business and public connections have claimed the attention of Mr. Dennis, yet it is not as a financial success that his character appeals most to those who have known, and still know him; nor is it his genial and warm-hearted manner that has earned him enduring friendships. It is his
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SPOKANE AND THE INLAND EMPIRE
broad-minded, public spirit, his fearless initiative in undertaking public work and his indomitable energy in carrying worthy projects to a successful culmination, that command the deep regard of his fellow citizens. Among his public acts were liberal subscriptions to various important enterprises-bonuses to secure projected railways, contributions for parks, hospitals, schools. And he was not a subscriber alone, but a leader and coworker in advancing worthy movements, giving of his time and brain, as well as of his financial resources, to make for a greater city and a grander commonwealth. His unfailing generosity, his zeal for work and his executive ability have entailed on him endless service as chairman of committees for public purposes, and have brought him honors the more dignified because conferred on him, by whom preferment has never been sought.
The most recent, and the crowning honor of his lifetime, was tendered him on September 26, 1906, on the occasion of his election by acclamation to the distinc- tion of the first presidency of the Pacific Northwest Development League, a public enterprise conceived by the representative men of four sovereign states, to promote their common interests.
The spirit that has characterized the entire career of Mr. Dennis has con- sidered first, good citizenship; thereafter, reasonable concern for private interest. And only too often the private interests have suffered, to promote the common weal. Such a character is more than a 'good citizen; he is a public benefactor-a type that free America, perhaps, has developed in more generous plenty than any other country.
JAMES MONAGHAN.
Inseparably interwoven with the history of Spokane is the name of James Mon- aghan, who from the time that he first arrived here in frontier days down to the present time, has left his impress upon the substantial development and upbuild- ing of the western empire. Today he is a leading factor in financial circles and at different times he has been closely associated with the mining interests and railroad building of the northwest. His birth occurred in Belturbet, Ireland, Sep- tember 22, 1839, his parents being John and Mary Ann (O'Riley) Monaghan of that place. He was the youngest of three children and was only three years of age when left an orphan. He afterward made his home with his maternal grand- parents until seventeen years of age, when the interesting reports which he heard concerning the United States led him to sever home ties and cross the Atlantic to the new world. He took up his residence with his brother, a New York physician, with whom he remained for some time but he heard the call of the west and in 1858 made the trip to the Pacific coast by way of the isthmus of Panama, reach- ing Vancouver on the Columbia river in May. His financial condition rendered it imperative that he gain immediate employment and he secured a position in con- nection with the operation of a ferry on the Des Chutes river near The Dalles, Oregon. He was also employed in connection with the sailboats of the Upper Columbia, which in those days controlled the traffic, and he secured a position on the Colonel Wright, which was the first steamboat that sailed on the Columbia from Wallula to Calilo. He was also connected with the operation of a ferry across the Spokane river about twenty-one miles below the present city of Spokane, and finally purchasing it, continued in that business until 1865, when he built the
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SPOKANE AND THE INLAND EMPIRE
bridge over the river, which is now known as the La Pray bridge, named in honor of Joseph La Pray, who purchased it from Mr. Monaghan. While thus engaged Mr. Monaghan planted the first apple trees in Spokane county. His name is asso- ciated with many of the "first events" and his labors have given impetus to vari- ous lines of activity which have constituted the foundation upon which the present progress and prosperity of the city and county rests.
Since first coming to Washington Mr. Monaghan has spent practically his en- tire time in this state. In 1869 he became identified with the business interests of Walla Walla and while living there in 1871, was married. Immediately after- ward he removed to what is now Chewelah, in Stevens county, although at the time there was no town and the work of settlement had scarcely been begun in that part of the state. He purchased land from the Indians and conducted a trading busi- ness, ultimately founding the town. In 1873 he became a merchant of Colville, then the principal town of northeastern Washington and also secured the govern- ment contract for handling mails and furnishing supplies to the troops. His activ- ity later included public service of an important character. He filled the office of county superintendent of schools, county commissioner and justice of the peace, discharging his duties with a promptness and fidelity that won him the commenda- tion of all concerned. He also made arrangements with the quartermaster's de- partment for moving supplies and equipment from Colville down the Columbia river to Foster Creek, now Bridgeport. When the survey of the river was made by Lieutenant Symonds, of the United States army, the name of Monaghan Rapids was given to that portion of the stream near the mouth of the Nespelem river. He made the transfer of the government property and supplies from the army camp at Lake Chelan across the country to the site of Fort Spokane, and finding Walla Walla a more convenient place from which to conduct his business opera- tions he removed his family to that city, which had been the early home of his wife. The frontier post of Spokane was established in 1882 and Mr. Monaghan became the post trader, and at the same time became associated with C. B. King. Both were equally interested; Mr. Monaghan conducted the store at Fort Spokane and Mr. King the store at Fort Sherman, on Lake Coeur d'Alene. In 1883, fol- lowing the discovery of the mines, he was associated with Mr. King and others in putting on the first steamers on the Coeur d'Alene and also laid out the city of that name. The following year they built the first wagon road from Kingston to the Murray mining camp and also made the original survey for an electric road from Coeur d'Alene to Spokane. Selling his interests to D. C. Corbin and others in 1886, Mr. Monaghan then returned to Spokane, where the family home has since been maintained, although at different times business interests have called him into other districts. He was one of the organizers of the corporation which in 1888 began the building of the Spokane Falls & Northern Railway, having the line surveyed the following year, after which Mr. Monaghan sold his interest to Mr. Corbin. He was also one of the original owners of the Cariboo Gold Mines in British Columbia, personally superintending the work and was president of the company until 1898, when he sold his stock. The financial panic of 1893 caused him severe losses but with indomitable courage and energy he has recovered from these and is today one of the substantial citizens of Spokane, where in financial circles he is well known as a director of the Union Trust Company and also of the Traders National Bank.
JAMES MONAGHAN
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SPOKANE AND THE INLAND EMPIRE
It was on the 30th of November, 1871, in Walla Walla, that Mr. Monaghan was married to Miss Margaret MeCool, a daughter of Robert and Margaret McCool, and a native of Donnamore, County Donegal, Ireland. She was born August 12, 1852, and her death occurred in Spokane, April 22, 1895, her loss being deeply deplored by many friends as well as her immediate family, for her attractive social qualities and kindly spirit had endeared her to all who knew her. Mr. and Mrs. Monaghan were the parents of six children: John Robert, born in Chewelah, March 26, 1873, and who died near Apia, Samoa, April 1, 1899; Margaret Mary, whose birth occurred in Colville, January 31, 1876; Ellen Rosanna, who was born at Fort Spokane, November 12, 1885; James Hugh, who was born in Spokane, November 10, 1888; Agnes Isabel, born November 9, 1891, in Spokane; and Charles Francis, who was also born in this city, August 12, 1894.
In the development of Spokane James Monaghan bas taken a most active and helpful part and is still alert to the opportunities of promoting the growth and substantial improvement of the city. He was one of the fifteen freeholders who drafted the new charter of Spokane in 1891 and was chosen city commissioner. He came to the west when the Indians were more numerous than the white set- tlers, when hardships and dangers were the lot of every pioneer but he recognized the opportunities of the new country with its undeveloped resources and taking advantage of these he has steadily advanced in the business world, making a most creditable record in the management of his affairs and in the attainment of suc- cess as the years have gone by. At the same time he has been closely associated with the public life of the community in the support of projects and measures for the general good and he stands today as one of those sturdy citizens who have been the builders of the great state of Washington.
JOHN ROBERT MONAGHAN.
A crisis ever tends to bring out the true characteristics of an individual: it will show the weakness of one and the strength of another, for the spirit of courage responds wherever there is need. We are led to this train of reflection through contemplating the life record of John Robert Monaghan, whose valor and nobility of charatcer have placed his name on the roll of heroes of whom America has every reason to be proud. He had been reared upon the frontier where men were rated by their true worth and where the best and strongest in men is brought out and developed. His birth occurred at Chewelah, Stevens county, Washington, March 26, 1873, his parents being James and Margaret (McCool) Monaghan, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume. His parents desired to give him supe- rior educational advantages under the auspices of the church to which they be- longed, but the facilities for Catholic instruction were limited in Washington in those days, so that the boy at the age of eleven was sent to the school of the Chris- tian brothers-St. Joseph Academy, at Oakland, California. He attended that school and also another brothers' school in Portland, Oregon, until the Jesuit Fathers established Gonzaga College in Spokane in 1887. He was then enrolled as one of the first eighteen students and after four years spent in that institution he took the examination held in Spokane in 1891 for the Military Academy at West
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SPOKANE AND THE INLAND EMPIRE
Point and the Naval Academy at Annapolis, receiving the highest percentage in each of these examinations, so that he was entitled to make his choice of appoint- ments. Although it was his original wish to go to West Point, he generously waived that preference in favor of the next applicant, the son of an old army officer who heartily desired the appointment.
John R. Monaghan then entered the Naval Academy, from where he was credit- ably gradnated in 1895, being the first representative of the many from the state of Washington to graduate from that school. His experiences as a member of the navy were interesting and varied and were notable by reason of his unfaltering loyalty to duty on every occasion and in every situation. He first went upon a two years' crnise in the Pacific on the flagship Olympia, during which time he visited the Hawaiian Islands, Japan, China and other ports in Asia. Later he received his commission as ensign and was assigned to the Monadnock and afterward to the Alert, both also of the Pacific squadron. On the latter vessel in the fall of 1897 and the early part of 1898 he made two successful voyages to Central American ports, engaged in survey work in connection with the proposed Nicaragua canal. After being transferred to the Philadelphia he participated in the ceremonies at Honolulu, attending the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands, in August, 1898. He next made a brief cruise in Central American waters but returned in January, 1899, and anchored in the harbor of San Diego, California.
While there Mr. Monaghan was visited by the members of his family. Some time before his father had urged him to leave the navy and engage in business, but the Spanish war was then in progress and he felt it his duty to continue in the service. Again reaching San Diego the father urged him to resign, but at this junction came the news of serious troubles in Samoa, affecting American interests, and the Philadelphia was ordered to proceed thither with all dispatch. Reaching Apia early in March, it was found that the situation was an acute one, the two rival chieftains, Malietoa and Mataafa, contending for supremacy. The three signa- tories to the Berlin agreement, respecting Samoa, the United States, England and Germany, were all represented by warships in the harbor. The decision of the American and English commanders made Malietoa king, and Mataafa was ordered to disperse his forces but defied the injunction and continued hostilities. Troops were accordingly landed from American and English ships, and on the 15th of March a bombardment was begun which lasted intermittently for two weeks, but had only slight effect, the enemy retiring into the bush. On the 1st of April a con- certed movement was made by the allied land forces, Lieutenant Lansdale of the Philadelphia commanding the American party with which Ensign Monaghan had been serving since it had been put ashore. The march was through a densely wooded country, where Mataafa's men were in ambush in large numbers. The fol- lowing account of this encounter has been given: "Under a deadly fire which could not be replied to with advantage, especially as the only piece of artillery (a Colt automatic gun) brought by the marines had become disabled, a retreat was sounded. While this was in progress Lansdale received a wound in the leg, shattering the bone. In the confusion of the retreat he had been left in the rear, with only Mon- aghan and three or four privates. He was carried some distance, when one of the privates was shot to death, and soon afterward the others fled, leaving Monaghan alone with him. Although urged repeatedly by Lansdale to save himself (as testi- fied by the last of the men to leave), he steadily refused and stood his ground,
JOHN R. MONAGHAN
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SPOKANE AND THE INLAND EMPIRE
awaiting assistance. Presently others who had been in the rear came up and in their turn departed. The next day the bodies of Lansdale and Monaghan were found lying together in the jungle. Captain White of the Philadelphia in his offi- cial report wrote: 'It is in evidence most clear that when Ensign Monaghan dis- covered that Lieutenant Lansdale was wounded he used his best endeavors to con- vey him to the rear and seizing a rifle from a disabled man made a brave defence; but undoubtedly he fell very shortly after joining Lansdale, and the hostiles, flushed with success, bore down on our men in this vicinity. The men were not in sufficient numbers to hold out any longer and they were forced along by a fire which it was impossible to withstand. But Ensign Monaghan did stand. He stood steadfast by his wounded superior and friend, one rifle against many, brave man against a score of savages. He knew he was doomed. He could not yield. He died in the heroic performance of duty.'"
The remains of Ensign Monaghan were brought back to the United States on the Philadelphia and interred in Spokane, where every honor was paid his mem- ory. On the 25th of October, 1906, a bronze statue was unveiled in Spokane, by his sister, Agnes, which was given by the citizens of the state of Washington. The torpedo boat destroyer which was launched February 18, 1911, was named in honor of Ensign Monaghan and his sister, Nellie, christened the boat. A life of great promise was terminated when in that tropical country he closed his eyes forever in death, after displaying a heroic devotion to his commander and to the cause which he served that is unsurpassed in the history of military action among American troops. It has been said that "Memory is the only friend that grief can call its own." It is indeed a precious memory that remains to the parents, for there was never a blot on his scutcheon, and the story of his heroism may well serve as an inspiration to the American youth.
Rev. H. L. McCulloch, S. J., has recorded the life history in a book, which he wrote and published and following we quote some of the excerpts:
Father Forestier says: "During this war many events have caused us pain and grief and many a wound has been left on our hearts, but perhaps the one we have felt most acutely and which is the most indelible is the death of Ensign Monaghan."
Cadet Sweet says: "Monaghan's death is especially a personal loss to me, as we had been close 'companions in these trying events. I have lost a brother, tried and true."
Mr. Justice Gordon, speaking at Olympia, in Robert's native state, on the Fourth of July, exclaimed: "You will search history in vain for the record of any act of bravery to excel that of Spokane's Ensign Monaghan at Samoa, presenting as it does to the world an object lesson in heroism and friendship. Such an act perfumes the pages of history and renders it enchanting, and wherever language is spoken or history is written, his name shall shine on, like the stars of God, forever and ever."
Admiral B. H. McCalla, then captain, in the U. S. Navy, renders a splendid tribute to our hero. At that time having been asked to tell of the most inspiring deed of ship or man that ever came to his notice, to stimulate interest in naval affairs, he said: "In reply I beg to state that I know of nothing finer, or more courageous, or more heroic, than the act of Ensign J. R. Monaghan, who on April 1st, last, while attached to the Philadelphia, and forming one of a landing force in Samoa, alone
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