USA > Washington > King County > Seattle > A volume of memoirs and genealogy of representative citizens of the city of Seattle and county of King, Washington, including biographies of many of those who have passed away > Part 13
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In the year 1889 Judge Winsor made a change of location, leaving the state which had so long been his home and in which he had attained dis- tinguished honors, and came to Seattle, the change being prompted by the inct that his health had become much impaired, making it necessary for him to seek different climatic environment. His son had previously located in Seattle, and this fact determined his choice to a degree also. He has made extensive investments in this locality, but still retained valuable property interests in Michigan until 1901, when he disposed of the major portion of his holdings there. The Judge has become thoroughly identified with the indus- trial and professional life of Seattle and has shown his confidence in the future
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of the state by investing in real estate upon a quite extensive scale. For about two years after his arrival he gave his attention principally to looking after his investments, in the meanwhile thoroughly recuperating his physical ener- gies under the influences of the gracious climate of the state, and he then entered upon the general pratice of his profession and has attained prece- dence as one of the leading members of the bar of his adopted state. He has one of the few law libraries that escaped in its entirety from destruction by the great fire which swept the city in 1889. and the same is one of the best private collections of the sort in this section of the Union. The Judge has avoided as far as possible practice in the criminal courts, but his powers in this line have become so well known that he has occasionally been drawn into such cases, his sympathy for and willing defense of the oppressed and clowntrodden leading him to spare neither time nor personal interests when he could aid those thus afflicted and insure the ends of justice. Though he was counsel and advocate in many of the most important criminal cases in Michigan during the long years of his residence there, he is enlisted in this service in Seattle only when strongly importuned or when his sympathies are appealed to in the righting of wrongs. Since locating in Seattle Judge Winsor has continued to maintain a lively interest in public affairs, and keenly discerning the drift of political matters, he could not but appreciate the trend toward the development of political favoritism in permitting the accumulation of large property interests in the hands of a favored few, and thus, in the fall of 1892, lie engaged actively in the campaign work as an advocate of the principles of the People's party, also taking part in the cam- paign in Oregon at the time of the candidacy of Governor Penoyer. He entered into a joint debate with Congressman Tong in the city of Hills- boro, and his able and forcible marshalling of facts and arguments made his speech one of the most potent in results in all that were delivered dur- ing that campaign. He is a ready, forceful and eloquent speaker, his ut- terances bearing the marks of absolute sincerity and honesty, and he has done most effective service on the political rostrum and also through able contributions to the newspaper press and through the circulation of cam- paign documents written by him. Thirty thousand copies of a pamphlet written by him on the financial question were published and circulated in 1892, and proved most effective in result by reason of his masterful sunt- ming up of the case. He has been importuned to accept nomination for offices of distinct trust and responsibility in the state, among the most not- able overtures being that made in 1896, when he was urged to accept nomina- tion for the office of associate justice of the supreme court of the state, an
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honor which he felt obliged to decline by reason of the condition of his health at the time. In the winter of 1897, unknown to himself, his name was prominently brought forward in connection with nomination for the United States senate. He was a member of the committee which framed the present municipal charter of the city of Seattle, and his interest in all that concerns the welfare of his home city and state is vital and insistent. He has been a member of the board of regents of the state university since 1897, and the cause of education finds in him a warm friend. When twen- ty-three years of age the Judge was initiated into the mysteries of the time- honored Masonic fraternity, and has advanced to the degree of the Scottish Rite. His religious faith is that of the Unitarian church, and he has served as a member of the board of trustees of the church in Seattle. In Seattle cur subject has acquired valuable residence properties, including his own attractive home, at the corner of Sixth avenue and Lenora street, and his stimmer home is located across the Sound, in Kitsap county, where he has acquired a large tract of land.
In the city of Lansing, Michigan, on the 23d of June, 1863, Judge Winsor was united in marriage to Miss Martha Turner, who was born in Ingham county, that state, the daughter of John and Rebecca (Hayner) Turner, and they are the parents of four sons and one daughter, namely : Richard, Jr., who is engaged in the mercantile business in Kitsap county; Amos T., who is superintendent of construction at the state university; Irwin B., who is engaged in the steamship supply business in Seattle: Bessie L., who has been secretary of the Federation of Women's Clubs in the state from the time of its organization; and Horace G., who is attending the state university.
GENERAL SIMON M. PRESTON.
Far removed from the place of his birth is the home of General Simon Manly Preston. He is a native of Vermont, his birth having occurred in Strafford on the 14th of April, 1821, and he comes of English ancestry. His Grandfather, Alexander Preston, settled at Strafford, in 1780, married Mary Durgan and died in 1816, but she long survived him and reached a very advanced age. By profession he was a teacher and kept a private school, which he capably conducted, being a man of intelligence and ability. His wife was identified with the Society of Friends. Warner Preston, the father of General Preston, was born at Strafford, Vermont, in 1799, and mar- ried Esther Brown, a native of his own town and a daughter of Absalom and Abigal (Bean) Brown. The father was a valued member of the Freewill
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Baptist church, being a charter member of the congregation at Strafford. They had nine children and reared to maturity seven of this number, of whom four are yet living. The father departed this life in 1871 at the age of seventy-two years and his good wife passed away in 1855.
General Preston is the only member of the family living in Washing- ton. He was educated in Norwich University, a military school in which he was graduated in 1845 and in addition to his other studies be acquired : thorough knowledge of military tactics and drill. Subsequently lie was for two years professor of military drill and tactics in that school and his teaching also included seven years elsewhere spent. On the expiration of that period he engaged in civil engineering in Illinois. In 1850 he removed to Chicago and later to Rockford, that state, where he resided for fifteen years, engaged in the practice of his profession-surveying for the location of railroads and engineering their construction.
In 1861. in answer to President Lincoln's call for volunteers to put down the rebellion of the slaveholders in the south, he tendered his services to his country and was mustered in as a member of the Fifteenth Regi- ment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He became a first lieutenant and served as quartermaster. After thirty days with his regiment he was appointed by the president assistant adjutant general of volunteers, with the rank of captain, and served on the staffs of Generals Hulbert, Halleck and Wright. In 1864 he received a commission as colonel of the Fifty-eighth United States Colored troops, which was a new regiment, and Colonel Preston tool just pride in making them proficient in drill, as a result of which the com- mand won considerable renown. Such are the eminent services that our subject rendered his country, in reward for which he was breveted brigadier- general, and as such was mustered out of service on the 30th of April, 1866.
After the close of the war General Preston settled at Natchez, Miss ?- sippi, and resumed his profession of civil engineering. He was appointed by President Grant collector of internal revenue, which office he very satis- factorily filled for four years. Having resided eight years in Mississippi he decided to return north, and for some time thereafter was engaged in building railroads in Iowa and Kansas. He had charge of the construc- tion of the eastern branch of the Iowa Central Railway and that position claimed his attention until 1890, in which year he came to Seattle to re- side. He had charge of the Seattle National Bank building and has been otherwise identified with business affairs here. He was receiver for the Hopkins property and was auditor in the reconstruction of the Yeslerway and Jackson Street railroads.
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On the 12th of December. 1848, occurred the marriage of General Pres- ton to Miss Martha Harriet Sargent, a native of New Hampshire and a daughter of Captain Jacob and Pattie (Webster) Sargent. They were of English ancestry and were early settlers in Massachusetts. Mrs. Preston, the only daughter in a family of eight children, was educated in a female seminary of her native state and for three years prior to her marriage was a successful teacher in North Carolina. General Preston and wife have the following named children: Edward L., who is a civil engineer on the Chi- cago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad and resides in the state of Missouri; Harold, who is a prominent member of the bar of Washington and candi- date of his party for the office of United States senator; Clarence S., who is a practicing attorney of Seattle; and Alice Pauline, the only daughter, who is the wife of General E. M. Carr, an eminent member of the Seattle bar.
Mrs. Preston is a valued member of the Congregational church. She says that her part in the great Civil war was in the care of their children through that period of excitement and danger and a part of the time she was in camp with her husband. That she performed her part well is evi- denced by the notable family she has reared. her children all being an honor to her name. The General is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and has been a lifelong Republican, unfaltering in his advocacy of the party platform. His three sons have also followed in the political footsteps of their father. Both the General and his wife enjoy the esteem of all who know them and the respect of a large number of friends. They have a beautiful home in which to spend the evening of their days and are most worthy representatives of Seattle. The General is as true and loyal to his country in all matters pertaining to her welfare and protection as he was in the dark hours of peril when he followed the starry banner of the nation upon the battle fields of the southi.
ALONZO COSTILLO BOWMAN.
The gentleman above mentioned is serving as United States commis- sioner for the district of Washington. He was born in Cass county, Mis- souri, March 24. 1859, and is of English ancestry. His father. James Har- vey Bowman, was born in the state of Pennsylvania and now resides in Seat- tle in the seventy-sixth year of his age. Ile married Miss Amanda Fuller. a lady of French lineage. although the family has been represented in Amer- ica through many generations. The father of our subject served his country
alBowman
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valiantly in the Civil war as a defender of the Union, for three and a half years, becoming a member of the Eleventh Kansas Cavalry, but notwithstanding the fact that he was in many battles and often in the thickest of the fight he escaped wounds and capture and at the cessation of hostilities received an honorable discharge. In the family were three children: C. E. Bowman, a prominent member of the Seattle bar; Laura, the wife of A. Furry, also of this city, and Alonzo C.
During his early boyhood our subject was taken by his parents to Kan- sas and in the public schools of that state pursued his education and entered upon his business career in the newspaper field, in Burton. He also became the official stenographer for that district, filling the position for three and a half years, during which time he took up the study of law, using his leisure hours for the mastery of the principles of jurisprudence. He was there ad- mitted to the bar, but believing the business opportunities of the Mississippi valley did not equal those of the Pacific coast he came to the northwest, set- tling in Seattle, on the 15th of January, 1882, since which time he lias been largely engaged in stenographic work, being an expert in that line, having remarkable speed, facility and accuracy. He is now a member of the firm of Bowman, Bolster & Eaton, law stenographers, doing the principal busi- ness in their line in Seattle.
In 1880 Mr. Bowman was united in marriage to Miss Georgia Mat- thews, who was born in the state of Mississippi and is descended from an old New England family. Unto them have been born two children: Otha C. and Fleta C. Theirs is one of the delightful homes of Seattle, celebrated for its gracious hospitality and a favorite resort with their many friends. Mr. Bowman is a Republican in his political views and is a very prominent Mason, having taken all of the degrees of the York Rite and all of the Scottish Rite up to and including the thirty-second. He is also a member of the Mystic Shrine and is grand chancellor of the grand lodge of Wash- ington of the Knights of Pythias. He is likewise identified with the Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks and is accounted a valued representative of these various organizations.
JAMES THEODORE RONALD.
One of the prominent attorneys of Seattle and member of the firm of Ballinger. Ronald & Battle, has attained to a position of distinction as a representative of the legal fraternity and his reputation extends through- out the state of Washington. He was born at Caledonia. Washington
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county, Missouri, on the 8th of April, 1855, and is descended from Lord Ronald. the Scottish chieftain who fought under Bruce and was prominent in regaining the liberty of Scotland. The great-grandfather of our subject was Andrew Ronald, who was born in the land of hills and heather, and is a son of the last Lord Ronald. He emigrated to Virginia and became a noted lawyer, for a time serving as counsel for the crown prior to the Revo- lutionary war. He was the progenitor of the family in this country and in his profession gained marked prominence. He was associated with Pat- rick Henry in a number of cases and was also his opponent in cases of great importance. The various generations of the family have been born in Vir- ginia up to the time of Onslow G. Ronald, our subject's father. Andrew Ronald. the grandfather of our subject, was a devout member of the Meth- odist church and an educated Christian gentleman of the most admirable character. He had great love for liberty and although reared amid slavery he was never a slave owner, his love for the whole human race being too great for that. He attained the age of seventy-five years and died in Wash- ington county, Missouri, where he had emigrated with his family a few years before. His son, Onslow Gemmel Ronald, was born in Virginia on the 22nd of February, 1822, and was educated in Missouri. He married Miss Amanda Carson, of Virginia, who was descended from the same an- cestry as Kit Carson, the renowned mountain guide and Indian fighter. Mr. Ronald acquired a farm in Washington county, where he led an indus- trious and honorable life and there his children were born and reared. His farm comprised two hundred and sixty-six acres of land and is still owned by our subject and his brothers and sisters. The mother died there at the age of forty-six years, while the father passed away at the age of seventy. Ile was one of the substantial pioneer citizens of that portion of Missouri, and was for many years one of the most prominent and devout members of the Methodist church. In their family were nine children and by a sec- ond marriage the father had five more children.
James T. Ronald was reared upon the old homestead and attended the public schools, also pursuing his studies in the seminary of his native town. In 1873 he entered the State Normal School at Kirksville, where he com- pleted a three years' course in two years, being graduated in June. 1875. Immediately afterward he started for the Pacific coast, arriving in Sacra- mento, California, on the 26th of July, with just ten cents in his pocket. With this he bought three postage stamps, for which he then paid three cents each. One was used on a letter to his father, another on a letter to his sweetheart, the third he saved to write to her again. A week later he secured
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a small school in the valley, but on account of his inexperience he was con- sidered incapable, and after one term was not again employed. He then removed to Plumas county and there was more successful in his educational work and demonstrated his ability to impart clearly and concisely to others the knowledge he had acquired. He taught the Snake Lake Valley school, later was employed as principal of the Greenville school, and acceptably filled that position for three years, so that his efforts at pedagogy proved successful. On the 4th of July, 1876, he borrowed a copy of Blackstone from Judge E. T. Hogan, of Quincy, California, and earnestly began the study of law, improving every leisure moment before and after school, even studying well into the night. He continued his teaching and the study of law until 1880, when he was called to take charge as principal of the Lincoln Grammar School, at Lincoln, California, remaining at that place for two years. During his vacation in the summer of 1881 he spent five weeks in the law office of Judge Cheney and Honorable Edward Bruner at Sacramento. On the 27th of May, 1882, he was admitted to the bar by the superior court of Placer county, California.
On the 26th of February, 1877, Mr. Ronald had been happily married to Miss Rhoda M. Coe. She was born in Knox county, Missouri, the daugh- ter of Jamison Coe, a representative of an old Virginia family of great vorth. She was the girl he had left in Missouri when he came to California, and the marriage was a very happy one, in every way congenial. She had been his schoolmate in childhood and came to California to become his wife. The eldest daughter, Norna Vane, now a beautiful young lady, was born at Greenville, Plumas county, California, and two other daughters. Eva and Mabel, have been added to the family in Seattle. While pursuing his law studies Mr. Ronald had been studying the several places on the Pacific coast in search of a new field in which to engage in the practice of his pro- fession, and finally gave Seattle the preference, a choice which he has since had no cause to regret, notwithstanding that the beginning was anything 1.ut auspicious. He arrived in Seattle on the 26th of July, 1882. accom- panied by his wife and little daughter, and bringing with him his household effects and four hundred and eighty dollars in money. The city then con- tained a population of about five thousand, including a large number of law- yers. Mr. Ronald had no experience, but he hung out his shingle and awaited business, but two months passed before any came. In that time his funds had become largely exhausted, but he sold some real estate on con- mission in order to provide his family with the necessarics of life. He contracted for two lots in the woods back of Lake Union, on which he built
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a three-room house. He was to pay for this land and house by installments of twenty dollars per month, and a grocer of the city allowed him to pur- chase some necessary supplies on credit. He cleared the lots, painted and pa- pered his little home, dug his own well and in this honorable and praiseworthy way provided for his wife and family. Mr. Ronald has ever since remem- bered with the greatest gratitude the gentleman who trusted him for the few groceries that they so much needed and when the panic came on in which so many of the business men of Seattle were forced to the wall Mr. Ronald proffered his services to his kind friend, piloted his benefactor through the trying time in safety and has ever since cheerfully given him his legal advice free and they have ever been the warmest of friends since those early days when Mr. Ronald was attempting to get a start here. In August, 1883. Mr. Ronald was appointed deputy prosecuting attorney of King county at a salary of twenty dollars per month. The town was then over-run with criminal char- acters and a lamentable state of affairs prevailed. Feeling that this was his opportunity to lay the foundation for his future success, Mr. Ronald applied himself to gaining a thorough understanding of the criminal code of Washington and began such a campaign against law-breakers as had not been before experienced in the county, with the result that the city was great- ly benefited and fines to the amount of five thousand dollars were col- lected during his first year and put into the school funds. In this suc- cessful work Mr. Ronald laid the foundation of his reputation as a suc- cessful and capable lawyer and in the fall of 1884 he was the nominee of the Democratic party for the office of prosecuting attorney for the district comprising the counties of King, Kitsap and Snohomish and was elected with a majority of one thousand one hundred and fifty-three votes in a district formerly giving a Republican majority of twelve hundred. He com- pleted his term of two years in such a satisfactory manner that he was re- elected in 1886 with an increased majority of one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three. He filled the position until March 4. 1889, when he re- tired from office, having discharged its duties with honor and distinction. In 1886 he took in as a partner Mr. S. H. Piles and the firm of Ronald & Piles conducted a general practice in all the courts of the state, meeting with the most flattering success. In 1892 Mr. Ronald's Democratic friends prevailed on him to permit his name to be used in connection with the can- didacy for mayor of the city. To this he reluctantly consented and was elected by a very large majority and while chief executive of the city he put forth every effort to make his administration one that would be bene- ficial and satisfactory to all law-abiding citizens. Along many lines he ad-
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vanced the interests of Seattle. The city's debt was reduced fifty-eight thou- sand dollars and the city's credit greatly improved. In 1894 his term ex- pired. In 1900 he was requested by his party to accept the nomination as a candidate for the United States congress, and although he did not desire this position, and it was only at the solicitation of prominent members of the party that he accepted, he made a vigorous canvass and ran far ahead of his ticket, receiving twenty-five hundred more votes than Mr. Bryan and carried his own city and county. While Mr. Ronald has never desired office, he has always taken an active part in politics, his influence carrying weight in the councils of his party while his efforts have been effective in promoting its growth and success. As the years have passed Mr. Ronald has made judicious investments in property, acquiring much valuable realty. He is president of the Una Mining Company, president of the North Star Min- ing Company and also of the Hester Mining Company, the properties of all of which are now being rapidly developed with prospects of soon returning a good income to the owners. Mr. Ronald has affiliated with the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows for about twenty years, during which time he has filled all of the offices in its branches. He is also a member of the An- cient Order of United Workmen and of the Woodmen of the World, while his wife and daughters are valued members of the Grace Methodist Episco- pal church, and with them he attends its services. They now have a beauti- ful home in Seattle and are most highly respected there, having a large circle of friends.
OLIVER H. P. LAFARGE.
The ancestry of Oliver H. P. LaFarge as far back as their history can be traced in the annals of America are noted for the sterling traits of char- acter which mark the valuable citizen of this great republic. At all times they have been ready to uphold righteous and just laws, to promote the welfare of the land of their nativity, and, if needful, to lay down their lives on the altar of her liberty and maintenance.
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