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 18
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 (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83
As before stated, Mr. Williamson came overland to the Pacific coast in 1852, and went direct to the mines in Yuba county, California, but met with but small success in his mining operations. We next find him in San Fran- cisco, where he worked at his trade of blacksmithing, but after spending two years in California he removed to Port Gamble, Washington, where he found employment with the firm of Pope & Talbert, now the Puget Mill Company, with whom he remained two years and a half as a general mechanic and machinist, receiving one hundred and fifty dollars per month and board in compensation for his labors. On leaving the firm he was asked if he had kept an account of his extra work, and on replying that he had not he was presented with a check for seven hundred and fifty dollars above his monthly wages, so highly were his services appreciated by the company.
163
SEATTLE AND KING COUNTY.
Mr. Williamson then turned his attention to lumbering and the sawmill business, building a good mill at Seabeck, which he operated for four years with good success. He sold out in 1863 and removed to West Seattle, where he opened a sawmill and machine shop, doing all kinds of machine work and repairing. The machinist tools were subsequently sold to the Moran Broth- ers, who have made it one of the most important enterprises of the kind in the state. Subsequently Mr. Williamson engaged in building and running steam- boats, among which were the Etta White, the Celilo and the Mary Woodruf, which he finally sold and retired from that business. Since then his services have been in great demand as an expert machinist in setting up and putting in operation machinery of all kinds and making expert reports. Although now well advanced in years he still takes great delight in the business on which he has so thoroughly posted himself.
In 1857 Mr. Williamson married Miss Julia Finn, a native of Ireland, and two children blessed this union. William, now captain of the Floyer ply- ing between Seattle and Tacoma, was born at Seabeck, Washington, and was practically reared at sea. He could sail a ship and had a captain's license when only fifteen years of age. Although the law prohibited so young a man from commanding a boat, he was so thoroughly skilled in the art that he was made an exception to the rule, and is to-day one of the most popular and experienced captains on the Sound. In 1899 he married Mary Ann Fagin, and has two children. Mary, the daughter of our subject, is now the wife of Mat McElroy, of Seattle, who is engaged in the logging business. The wife and mother departed this life in 1894. She was a noble woman and too much cannot be said in her praise.
Mr. Williamson has never joined any religious or secret societies, but is a believer in the Great Architect of the Universe, and his upright, honorable life has gained for him the confidence and high regard of all with whom he has been brought in contact. Politically he has been a life-long Democrat.
HAROLD PRESTON.
Harold Preston was born at Rockford, Illinois, on the 29th of September, 1858, and comes of a family which for several generations had been estab- lished in the east. His father, Simon M. Preston, was born in Vermont and married Martha H. Sargent. Prior to the Civil war he removed to Illinois, and when the slavery question brought on the great Rebellion he offered his services to the government to aid in the preservation of the Union. He held the rank of captain and served on the staff of General Hallock, later
164
REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS OF
becoming colonel of the Fifty-second Mississippi Colored Regiment, and for gallant and meritorions services was brevetted by President Lincoln a briga- (lier-general. After the war was over he remained in the south, as president of the first freedmen's bureau and was also internal revenue collctor for the first district of Mississippi, which appointment he received from President Grant. During his residence in the south he was also chief engineer of the Natchez, Jackson & Columbus Railroad. In 1874 he removed to Iowa, was engaged in railroad building and became chief engineer of the Chicago, Bur- lington & Pacific Railroad Company. In 1891 he came to Seattle and at the age of seventy-nine years is now living retired from active business. He has been a stalwart Republican from the organization of the party and enjoys the high respect which is ever given to an honorable and worthy life. Unto him and his wife were born three sons and a daughter, all of whom are now residents of Seattle.
In the public schools of Natchez, Mississippi, Harold Preston obtained his elementary education, which was supplemented by study in Iowa College, and by a course in Cornell University. He read law in Iowa, was admitted to the bar there in 1883 and immediately afterward came to Seattle, where he engaged in the practice of his profession. In 1885 he formed a partnership with E. M. Carr, which has since been continued, in 1897 Mr. Gilman became a member of the firm under the style of Preston, Carr & Gilman, and they are engaged in the general practice of law.
Since acquiring the right of franchise Mr. Preston has been an earnest Republican, and his efforts in behalf of the party have not been without re- sult. In 1898 he was elected to the state senate, in which body he was made chairman of the railroad committee and member of the judiciary committee. He is the author of the railroad commission bill, which unfortunately was defeated.
In 1887 Mr. Preston was married to Miss Augusta Morgenstern, a na- tive of San Francisco, and they have two children, Theresa and Frank. Mr. Preston belongs to the Rainier and the Athletic Clubs.
ISAAC PARKER.
Almost a half century has passed since Isaac Parker came to the terri- tory of Washington and since the 2nd of January, 1851, he has resided upon the Pacific coast. for on that day he arrived at San Francisco. Time and man have wrought many changes in the western district of the country dur- ing its decades, and no one has taken a more commendable pride and interest
sauce Parker
165
SEATTLE AND KING COUNTY.
in the public welfare and progress than Isaac Parker, who as a loyal and progressive citizen has contributed his full share to the general good. A native of Massachusetts, he was born in Waltham on the 4th of March, 1829, the day on which President Jackson was first inaugurated as the chief execu- tive of the nation. The family is of English lineage and the first of the name to seek a home in America was Thomas Parker, who left his native England in 1635 and became a resident of New England. He traced his ancestry back in England to the twelfth century and the family has been one of prom- inence, both in the mother country and in the new world. Many of its rep- resentatives gained eminence and distinction in various walks of professional life. Among the number is Theodore Parker, so widely known throughout this land. The great-grandfather of our subject removed to Ohio and be- canie one of its first settlers, while Isaac Parker, the grandfather, was there born and reared. His son, who also bore the name of Isaac, and who be- came the father of our subject, was born in Watertown, Massachusetts, Jan- uary 19, 1802. He married Miss Lucy Dinsmore, a native of Lunenburg, Massachusetts, and devoted the greater part of his life to agricultural pur- suits. He made his home in Waltham, where he occupied a prominent posi- tion in public regard. For forty years he served as a deacon in the Uni- tarian church and died on the Ist of October, 1875, at the age of seventy- three years, respected by all who knew him. His wife survived him and passed away in her eighty-sixth year. He had been very prominent in edu- cational affairs and was one of the organizers of the Rumfort Institute, in connection with which was a very costly and extensive library. Mrs. Parker was a lady of superior culture and refinement, who left the impress of her individuality upon the minds and characters of her children. Five of her nine children are yet living, one of the daughters-Mrs. Mary H. Lewis- being now a resident of San Francisco. The others are in Lowell and Walt- ham, Massachusetts.
Isaac Parker was the second in order of birth in the family and was reared and educated in Waltham. He learned the machinist's trade in Bos- ton and followed that pursuit for three years. During the close of that period he assisted in building the first locomotive sent to California. He came with it, making the voyage around Cape Horn, for to him was assigned the duty of putting the engine together and seeing that it was in successfui operation. He secured a position in what afterward became the Union Iron Works. where he remained until the gth of February, 1853, when he came to Puget Sound to build a sawmill at what was then Apple Tree Cove, but is now the city of Kingston. He continued as master mechanic for the company for
166
REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS OF
about four years, receiving one hundred and fifty dollars per month and his expenses. He also worked at Utsaladdy in the same capacity until Novem- ber, 1860, at which time he accepted a cargo of lumber for his work, char- tered the ship Leonidas and with his lumber proceeded to China, where he found a ready sale for the cargo at remunerative prices. After visiting Yoko- hama and other points in Japan, he returned to San Francisco and thence to Puget Sound, where he once more entered the service of the company by which he had formerly been employed. Soon afterward he became inter- ested in a company carrying lumber and machinery to Shanghai, China, and there engaged in the construction of a steamer to sail on one of the large rivers of that country. Intent on that enterprise he set sail on the Jeff Davis, but on arriving at San Francisco he sold his interest in the enterprise and in 1864 went to lower California to superintend the erection of a quartz mill, where he remained as master mechanic for three years. Since that time he has been engaged in mechanical work on Puget Sound, and at the first establishment of a local board of inspectors of steam vessels for Washington territory in 1872 he was appointed inspector of steam boilers, being the first to fill that position on the sound. He early became interested in Seattle city property and has the credit of erecting the first brick house built in the city for rental purposes. He also erected a frame dwelling, but lost both in the great fire of 1889. Like many other enterprising men he then built two brick blocks known as the Parker blocks, also a handsome residence which he occupies. His home is a beautiful and attractive resi- dence on a lawn which is one hundred and twenty by one hundred and twenty feet. The lot is valued at twelve thousand dollars and the residence was erected at a cost of seventeen thousand dollars, its location being No. 1120 Eighth avenue. From this handsome abode Mr. Parker can look out over the city which he has helped to build and whose interests have been materially advanced through his efforts.
On the 9th of September, 1867, Mr. Parker was united in marriage in Seattle to Miss Lydia G. Rowell, a native of Brewer, Maine. Three sons have been born unto them: George F., who is an electrician and engineer ; Benjamin S., a marine engineer; and Isaac C., who is at home with his par- ents. The family have a wide acquaintance in Seattle and their circle of friends is almost coextensive. Mr. Parker is an exemplary member of the Masonic fraternity, having received the sublime degree of a Master Mason in Mission Lodge, No. 169, F. & A. M., of San Francisco. He is a past master of the blue lodge, and past junior grand warden of the grand lodge of Washington. He also belongs to Seattle Chapter, No. I, R. A. M., and
167
SEATTLE AND KING COUNTY.
Seattle Commandery, No. 2, K. T., while in the Scottish Rite he is a shriner and has attained the Thirty-second degree of the consistory. He is also a valued member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and past noble grand and has been sent as a representative to the grand commandery of his state. He exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party and in 1888 he was chosen by his fellow citizens to the position of treasurer of Seattle. In all the relations of life this brave pio- neer of 1851 has shown himself to be an upright citizen, enterprising and competent in business and at all times worthy of the esteem which is uni- formly extended to him. Coming to the west in its pioneer days, his labors have been of the greatest benefit in the line of mechanical construction upon the Pacific coast and his efforts have ever been directed along the lines of the greatest good to the greatest number.
CORLISS P. STONE.
Forty years have passed since Corliss P. Stone became a resident of Seattle and in this period he has contributed in large measure to the exten- sion and improvement of the city through his real-estate operations, while his business activity along other lines has promoted commercial prosperity. He arrived here in February, 1862, and through the intervening period has steadily advanced until he now occupies a leading position among the men of prominence here.
Mr. Stone was born in Franklin county, Vermont, on the 20th of March, 1838, and is of English lineage, although for many generations representa- tives of the family have been residents of America, the great-great-great- grandfather having been one of the early colonial settlers of Connecticut, while Benjamin Stone, the grandfather of our subject, served in the Colonial army during the war of the Revolution. He was identified with the Congregational church in religious faith and lived to the advanced age of eighty-six years. He married a Miss Corliss, a member of the family that became famous as the manufacturers of the Corliss steam engines. James Corliss Stone, the father of our subject, was born in Connecticut and married Miss Charlotte Lathrope, a native of Chelsea, Vermont, and she, too, was of English lineage and a representative of an old Vermont family. She attained the age of sixty-six years. while Mr. Stone reached the venerable age of eighty-four years. For a number of years he held the office of justice of the peace, and his decisions were rendered without partiality or bias. Both Mr. and Mrs. Stone were active and devout members of the Congregational church and
168
REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS OF
their labors contributed to its upbuilding. Their family consisted of three sons and three daughters.
Corliss P. Stone was educated in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, attending the public schools and the academy there, and entered upon his business career as a clerk in a dry-goods store. Later he engaged in business on his own account for three years before coming to the Pacific coast. He made the voyage around the Horn in the Archer, a clipper ship, which in a gale lost a mast and was in imminent peril, but she stopped for repairs and afterward continued the voyage in safety, casting anchor in the harbor of San Fran- cisco after one hundred and ten days. Mr. Stone had followed Horace Greeley's advice to young men and had come to the west, hoping to find good business opportunities in this section of the country. He possessed a strong body, willing hands and a clear head, but little else to serve him as capital. His first work in Washington was at Port Madison, where he was employed as a salesman in a store for five years. In 1867 he established a store of his own in Seattle and conducted a successful business until 1884, when he sold out and became interested in city real estate. Many other enterprises have also claimed his attention and he is widely known as a man of resourceful business ability, who not only has the talent for planning successful enter- prises but also the ability to put them into good working order. He became one of the organizers of the Union Electric Company, furnishing light and power for the city, and is now the president of the Cascade Laundry Com- pany, which is doing a large business in the city. He also continues his opera- tions in Seattle real estate and has platted several additions to the city. the first being in 1884. This was the Lake Union addition, including one hundred and sixty acres of land, on which great improvements have been made. His next was the Edgewater addition of thirty acres, which is also all built up at the present time. He then platted Stone's extension to the same addition, which has also been improved, many fine buildings having been erected there. He is now handling the C. P. Stone home addition, of twenty acres, adjoining Lake Union. It will thus be seen that he has been a promi- nent factor in the improvement and upbuilding of the city and has done his full share toward the promotion of many movements which have contributed to the public welfare aside from his individual interests.
In 1864 Mr. Stone was married to Clara Boyd, and unto them were born two children, but only one is now living-Corliss L., who is now in the office of his father, and is a young man of excellent business ability. In 1874 Mr. Stone was again married, his second union being with Almira L. Crossman, a native of Montreal, Canada. In politics he has been a lifelong
169
SEATTLE AND KING COUNTY.
Republican and had the honor of being elected mayor of the city in 1872. He exercised his official prerogatives for the improvement and substantial progress of Seattle and has labored earnestly for the advancement of this part of the state. Regarded as a citizen and in his social relations, lie belongs to that public-spirited, useful and helpful class of men whose ambitions and desires are centered and directed in those channels through which flow the greatest and most permanent good to the greatest number.
TIMOTHY D. HINCKLEY.
For more than a half century Timothy Duane Hinckley has resided on the Pacific coast and for forty-nine years has been a resident of Seattle, which he has seen emerge from villagehood to take rank with the most important cities of the great northwest. No man has felt a keener interest in the progress and development of the place or labored more earnestly and inde- fatigably for its improvement. The fine brick block on Second street which bears his name stands as a monument to his business thrift and enterprise and he also owns a fine farm in the suburbs.
Mr. Hinckley is a native of St. Claire county, Illinois, born on the 30th of June, 1827, and is a descendant of the Hinckleys who were pioneer settlers of Hamilton county, Ohio. His father, Timothy Hinckley, was born in Maine, and followed the ship carpenter's trade in Bath until 1816, when he removed to Ohio. He was married to Hannah Smith, a native of his own town in Maine, and after making their home in Ohio for a time they removed to St. Clair county, Illinois. Mr. Hinckley owned a farm there and also worked at the builder's trade in St. Louis, Missouri. In politics he was a Whig and for a number of years acceptably filled the office of justice of the peace. He and his wife were valued members of the Baptist church. He died at the age of fifty-five years and his wife survived him for some time, passing away at about the same age. They had eleven children, of whom but three are living. One of the daughters is Maria Louise, the wife of the Hon. John B. Hay, of Belleville, Illinois. Pauline is now a widow and resides in Middletown, Virginia.
Timothy D. Hinckley, the only living son, acquired his education in the public schools and afterward learned engineering, which he followed during the greater part of his early life. In 1850 he crossed the plains from Missouri with a mule team, in company with a party that started on the 30th of April and included his brothers, Samuel and Jacob. They met with no thrilling incidents on the trip, but had plenty of buffalo meat and the time
11
170
REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS OF
passed pleasantly. While in the Snake river country they met with two In- dians who had a fine mule for which one of the company traded an old horse and some blankets. Soon after, however, they were overtaken by the real owner of the mule, and the man who had made the trade was afraid to go back for his horse and blankets. But Mr. Hinckley said he would accom- pany the man who owned the mule, and they were out all night on the expe- dition, but succeeded in regaining possession of the horse and blankets. Af- ter traveling for three months the party reached Hangtown, now Placerville, California, where Mr. Hinckley and his brothers separated and the former engaged in placer mining at Cold Spring's, meeting with only moderate suc- cess. He afterward went to the middle fork of the American river, and engaged in mining near Georgetown, but was not successful. He proceeded thence to Volcano and on to the Trinity country, mining at Weaverville, where he met with much better success.
In March, 1853, Mr. Hinckley came to Seattle and took up a ranchi on Lake Washington, but soon abandoned the farm, as there was no market for the products. He then removed to Port Madison, where he ran an engine for three years, after which he went to Port Orchard, where he also secured a position as engineer. Subsequently he erected a number of buildings in Se- attle on the site of the Phoenix Hotel and land adjoining it, but lost them in the great fire a little later. Mr. Hinckley then sold that property and bought nine acres of land on Lake Union, where he has built a fine home, a fitting place for the brave pioneer to spend the evening of a busy, eventful and useful life. He built the Hinckley block in 1889, just after the great fire. It is one hundred and twenty by one hundred and eight feet and is five stories and a basement in height. Substantially built of brick, the first floor is used for storage and the upper floors for office purposes. It is a valuable and paying property. Mr. Hinckley still retains four acres at Lake Union, in connection with his residence.
In 1867 was celebrated the marriage of our subject and Mrs. Margaret E. Hinckley, the widow of his brother. She is a native of Ireland and by her former husband had five children: Kate, now the wife of Perry Polson, a prominent merchant of Seattle; Ferdinand, who died at the age of twenty- six years; Walter H., who has charge of Mr. Hinckley's business and is one of the representative men of the city ; Ira and Lyman, at home. Mrs. Hinck- ley has been a resident of this section of the country since 1854, and has lived in both California and Washington in poineer times.
In politics Mr. Hinckley has been a lifelong Democrat and for many years filled the office of justice of the peace, his even-handed justice "winning
171
SEATTLE AND KING COUNTY.
golden opinions from all sorts of people." For three terms he served in the territorial legislature of Washington and was active in promoting many use- ful measures. He was largely influential in securing the passage of a liquor license law obliging the payment of five hundred dollars annually as a license, and he was also the author of the bill creating and organizing the county of Kitsap. He worked diligently for all measures which he deemed of value to the territory, his course reflecting credit upon himself and proving of value to the district which he represented. He has seen the whole of the phe- nomenal growth of Seattle and takes great pride in the wonderful develop- ment of the city.
JAMES W. CLISE.
James W. Clise, the well known president of the Seattle chamber of commerce, and one of the most active and successful business men of the city, has through a long period been closely associated with its progress and material upbuilding. In the edition of the Trade Register, published on the 13th of July, 1901, appears the following: "James WV. Clise, who so ably fills the important office of president of the Seattle chamber of commerce, and has, as an active business man of the Queen city, invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in realty and buildings in this city and the Evergreen state, was born in Lancaster, Wisconsin, in 1855. He was educated in the Lancaster schools and when twenty years of age went to Stockton, California, where he was engaged in mercantile business until 1879. He thien located in Denver, Colorado, where he was in the lumber business until 1889. The year of the Seattle fire he came to Seattle and organized the Clise Investment Com- pany, of which he has since been president and general manager. Besides handling real estate and other investments, Mr. Clise has been agent for a number of prominent eastern capitalists who have purchased and erected a large number of business blocks in Seattle. Mr. Clise is also manager of the Globe Navigation Company recently organized which has purchased three large steamships and is building a large sailing fleet to take part in the com- merce of the Pacific, which farsighted business men realize will rapidly de- velope into enormous proportions and make Seattle the American Pacific Gateway for tlie far eastern trade with the continent. Mr. Clise promoted and built the Selah & Moxel irrigation canal in Yakima county and is in- terested in other stock business projects. Since 1890 he has been an active member of the Seattle chamber of commerce, serving as trustee, vice-pres- ident and has been elected president for two successive terms by the unani-
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.