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 2
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Robert Brooke Albertson was educated in the University of North Caro- lina, being graduated in 1881 with the degree of Ph. B. He studied law in the same university and was admitted to the bar by the supreme court of North Carolina on the 6th of February, 1883. Since that time he has been admitted to practice in all of the courts of the United States. In the fall succeeding his admission he came to Seattle. He had no means, and in order to provide for his support he accepted employment at piling lumber for the Seattle and Commercial Mill Company, later spending six months as city editor of the Seattle Morning Chronicle, and for two years he was a law clerk, first employed in that capacity in the office of Burke & Raisin, and afterward in the office of Struve, Haines & McMicken. In 1885 he entered into a law partnership with George Hyde Preston and later became a mem- ber of the firm of Lewis, Hardin & Albertson. Mr. Albertson is widely known as a talented and reliable attorney. His practice is extensive and of an important character. He is remarkable among lawyers for the wide re- search and provident care with which he prepares his cases.
On the 244th of August, 1892, Mr. Albertson was married to Miss Nancy De Wolfe, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, and a daughter of Captain F. S. De Wolfe, who was formerly a mayor of that city and is now a resident of Seattle. Our subject and his wife hold membership in the Episcopal church and are very highly esteemed by a host of warm friends. Mr. Albert- son is acknowledged to be one of the most active, influential and prominent members of the Republican party in the city. He has served with much ability as chairman of the King county Republican central committee, filling the office until 1889. In that year he was elected corporation counsel of Seattle, was elected a representative from the Forty-second district of the state legislature in 1895 and re-elected in 1900. He was nominated by his party while absent at Nome, Alaska, the nomination being made without his solicitation or knowledge. He was unanimously endorsed by the King county delegation for speaker of the house, to which position he was elected, and in that place of high honor and responsibility he displayed such executive force and thorough knowledge of parliamentary usage as to win the com-
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mendation not only of his own party, but of the opposition as well. He was also speaker at the special session held in June, 1901. Mr. Albertson is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, having first been identified with the Maryland chapter and now with the Washington chapter, of which he is the historian. He belonged to the old hook and ladder company of the city up to the time when a paid fire company was installed. For five years he was a member of the Washington state militia and served with ability during the Chinese riots in 1887. He is the present chancellor commander of the Knights of Pythias fraternity, and is one of the honored citizens of the city where he has won prominence at the bar and as a statesman.
FRANK M. MULDOON.
Frank M. Muldoon, an ex-member of the city council of Seattle, is a progressive and well known business man of the city, where he has made his home for the past fourteen years, and during all this time he has been prominently identified with the real-estate interests, both on his own account and for eastern capitalists. He was born in Montpelier, Vermont, on the 6th of December, 1848. His great-grandfather in the paternal line came to this country from Ireland, and was the progenitor of the family on American soil. He took up his abode on a faim in Keysville, New York, there spending the remainder of his life. His son, John Muldoon, was born in that city, and he, too, became an industrious and respected agriculturist, spending his en- tire life in the town in which he was born, his death occurring at the age of eighty-four years. His son, Thomas B. Muldoon, became the father of our subject, and he also claimed Keysville as the place of his nativity, being there born in 1820. He subsequently removed to Montpelier, Vermont, where he learned the carriage manufacturer's trade, and was there married to Miss Maria Daggett, a native of that city. She was of Scotch and English ancestry, and for many generations her ancestors had resided in the Green Mountain state. In 1854 Mr. and Mrs. Muldoon took up their abode in Madison, Wisconsin, where he engaged in the manufacture of carriages and farm implements, in partnership with Daniel M. Thurston, the father of United States Senator Thurston, where he remained ten years, afterward removing to Hammond, that state, there becoming one of the most extensive farmers and land owners in that section of the state. He gave close attention to his business interests, and the measure of his influence upon the best devel- opment of his locality was widely felt. For many years he held the office of alderman of his city. He was called to his final rest in 1870, at the age
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of fifty years, passing away in the faith of the Episcopal church, of which he was long a worthy and consistent member. His wife died in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1885, when she had reached the age of sixty-one years. Unto this worthy couple were born six children, of whom three still survive.
Frank M. Muldoon, the only representative of the above described family on the Pacific coast, received his education in the State University at Madi- son, Wisconsin, and after leaving that institution assisted his father in his extensive farming operations until 1870. In that year, in Hammond, Wis- consin, he embarked in the hardware and machinery business, later continu- ing the same occupation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and his business rela- tions were carried on in partnership with his brother, James D. Muldoon. In the latter city our subject was also engaged in the real-estate business, and he was in St. Paul, Minnesota, before the advent of the railroads into that section. Owing to the ill health of his family he thought it advisable to seek a change of climate, and accordingly, in 1888, he came to Seattle. Washing- ton, where he has ever since been actively and deeply interested in the growth and development of the city. Throughout his residence here he has been numbered among the leading real-estate dealers of the northwest, and in this line of business his services have been of incalculable value to Seattle and the surrounding country. After a residence here of only one year he was hon- ored by his fellow citizens by being made a member of the city council, and he has since been the incumbent of that important position, which proves that his services therein have been trustworthy and capable. He was prominent in advocating the cutting lown of the great Denny Hill and using the con- tents to fill in the water front and also in opening the streets through it to the north. As chairman of the street committee this proposition was his. and he is entitled to the full credit of this great improvement. At his own expense he has recently inde a trip to the eastern cities, gathering valuable (lata in regard to the methods of street improvement, bridge building, sewer construction, the care of garbage and all such subjects, and this service has been of great value in improving the streets of Seattle. To him is accorded the honor of having platted and placed on sale the Market street addition to the city, which has been largely sold and improved. and he is now entrusted with the business of various eastern capitalists, making investments for them and caring for their real estate.
In 1874 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Muldoon and Miss Sarah L. Ducolon, a native of the Empire state. Two children have come to brighten and bless their home-Jay F. and Allie B. The family reside in a beautiful home in Seattle and arc members of the Baptist church. Mr. Mul-
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doon is a member of both branches of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and has retained his membership in his lodge in the east, with which he has been identified for thirty years. He is also a member of the order of Ben Hur, and in politics is a life-long Republican. He has earned for him- self an enviable reputation as a careful man of business, always known for his prompt and honorable methods of dealing, which have won him the deserved and unbounded confidence of his fellow inen.
MICHAEL S. DREW.
Michael S. Drew, one of the highly esteemed pioneer citizens of Seattle, is numbered among the native sons of the Pine Tree state, his birth having occurred in Machias, Maine, on the 5th of January, 1827. His par- ents were Alexander and Zylpha (Small) Drew, both of whom were natives of Maine and Congregationalists in religious faith. The father was a car- penter and farmer, whose life was characterized by industry and uprightness. He died in 1833 at the age of forty-five years, and of the ten children born of his marriage only three are now living, although all attained to a good old age. As the family was large and the financial resources were limited, Michael S. Drew had little opportunity to secure an education, but as the years passed he gained much general information, constantly adding to his knowledge in the school of experience. He earned his own living from a very early age. He remained in Machias, Maine, until he attained the age of fifteen, and at that time he had depended upon his own resources for nine years. He first worked in a lathe mill, receiving twenty-five cents per day, and continued in the lumber business until as he grew in size and capability he acquired
In a complete knowledge of the lumber business in all its departments.
1848, having attained his majority, he came to the west upon the tide of emigration, which was still flowing toward the setting sun. On reaching Minnesota he was pleased with that state and took up his abode at St. An- thony Falls, then a new town, having just been established upon the western frontier. He had made the journey part of the way overland and part of the way by means of the rivers and lakes, as no railroads extended in the west- ern district at that time. While enroute he camped at Chicago, which was then but a small town, a tract of swamp land constituting the site of what is now he second city of the Union.
In Minnesota Mr. Drew engaged in lumbering, but the discovery of gold 11 California attracted him to the far west, and he resolved to seek the Eldo- rado of the west, hoping that he might readily gain a fortune upon the Pacific
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coast. In order to reach that country he made his way to New York city where he took passage in a ship to San Francisco, going by way of Panama. He reached his destination in safety on the 26th of October, 1852, and had about five cents left when he landed. For fourteen months he was engaged in placer-mining in Nevada, meeting with success and making considerable money. He also worked in a sawmill in Grass Valley, being paid four hundred dollars per month in compensation for his services. He continued in that position for two years and then spent a year in the Red Woods, near Redwood city, California. At one time he had eighteen hundred dollars in California slugs, worth fifty dollars each. Later he went to the middle and more southerly mining districts of California and there spent what he had previously saved. In 1855 he returned to San Francisco and secured a passage on the bark Live Yankees, in which he sailed to Port Gamble, arriv- ing on the 22nd of September, 1855. There he obtained work with the Puget Mill Company as saw-filer, and after two years was promoted to the position of assistant foreman under Cyrus Walker, now a wealthy and re- spected pioneer of the state.
Mr. Drew continued in that capacity until 1871, at which time he was appointed collector of customs of the Puget Sound district by President Grant, filling the position capably for two years, during which time he resided at Port Townsend. He then resigned and returned to Port Gamble, again resuming his position with the mill company, with which he continued until 1890, when he was elected a member of the first state legislature of Wash- ington. He removed to Seattle, taking up his abode in the comfortable and commodious residence in which he has ever since lived. When in the legislature he was an active and valued member, doing all in his power to promote the best interests of the state. At the close of his term of service he returned to Seattle, where he lias largely lived a retired life, although he lias dealt to some extent on his own account in city property and has engaged in loaning money.
Mr. Drew was married on the 13th of October, 1864, to Miss Susan Isabella Biles, a native of Yazoo county, Mississippi, and a daughter of James Biles, a planter belonging to an old Virginian family. He brought a large emigrant train to Washington in 1853, Olympia being their destination. He had married Miss Nancy Carter, a southern lady, and was accompanied by his wife and their seven children on the journey to the northwest in 1853. Mr. Biles was a strong temperance man and a devoted member of the Meth- odist Church. He was also a prominent Mason and took a very active part in organizing the first Masonic lodge in the territory of Washington, travel-
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ing over this portion of the country and installing lodges at various places. He died at the age of seventy-six years and was buried at Olympia, his good wife surviving for some time and passing away in the eighty-fourth year of her age. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Drew have been born seven children, three of whom are living. Fred, a practicing dentist, died at the age of twenty-five years, leaving a wife and one child. He was prominent in his profession, was highly esteemed and his loss was very deeply felt by his family and many friends. One daughter, Abbie, is a musician of note, having studied in Europe and Boston. Edward L. is a partner in the man- agement of the Third Avenue Theater of Seattle. Cyrus Walker is in the Seattle Hardware store, one of the large wholesale and retail establishments of this city.
Mr. Drew received the sublime degree of a Master Mason in 1858 at Port Gamble, and is past master of his lodge, still retaining active member- ship there. He has remained upon the Pacific coast for more than half a century, being a pioneer of California and Washington. He has contributed in a large measure to the development of the mining and industrial interests of the northwest and through legitimate channels of business has attained very creditable success.
Edward L. Drew, to whom we are largely indebted for the facts con- tained in this biographical sketch, was born at Port Townsend September 2, 1871. He was educated in the public schools and in the State University of Washington, and was engaged in the lumber business until 1893, at which time he became a partner in the management of the Third Avenue Theater, being associated with Mr. Russell in this enterprise in which they are meet- ing with marked success. He is a member of the Woodman of the World and of the Knights of Pythias fraternity, and is a young man of excellent busi- ness and executive ability, popular and esteemed in Seattle.
MANSON F. BACKUS.
Manson F. Backus, president of the Washington National Bank, is one of the most enterprising and successful business men of Seattle. He was born in South Livonia, Livingston county, New York, on the 11th of May, 1853, and is of old English ancestry, the family having been established in Saybrook, Connecticut, in 1635. They became prominent in the early his- tory of New England, and from that section of the country representatives of the name removed to New York. John Backus, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Washington county, in that state, whence he early
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removed to Livingston county. Ilere he followed the life of a frugal, indus- trious farmer, and attained the advanced age of eighty-eight years. His son, Clinton T. Backus, the father of our subject, was born in South Livonia, Livingston county, and became a stock raiser, raising and dealing in fine horses and cattle. In 1859 he removed to Union Springs, New York, where he was engaged in the milling business until 1863, at which time he pur- chased a large interest in a gypsum mine. He was engaged in that line of work throughout the remainder of his life, and under his management the various gypsum mines and mills were consolidated under the name of the Cayuga Plaster Company. In 1865 he was associated with Gen. William HI. Seward, Jr., Gen. Henry W. Slocum, E. P. Ross, J. N. Napp and others, in the organization of the Merchants Union Express Company, which was subsequently consolidated with the American Express Company, and of the latter Mr. Backus was a director for many years. In 1866 he became a stockholder in the First National Bank of Union Springs, New York, and was president of the institution until 1890, at which time he liquidated the bank and continued the business as a private banking house. Although extensively connected with manufacturing and financial affairs, he always maintained his interest in farming and stock raising, and continued business along that line until the time of his death. At his death he was the largest land owner in his town, and his chief pleasure consisted of visiting his vari- ous farms and inspecting the fine stock raised thereon. He was a gentleman of superior executive ability and keen discrimination, and his business judg- ment was rarely at fault. He carried forward to successful completion whatever he undertook, and his wise counsel proved a potent element in the conduct of many profitable concerns. He departed this life September 5. 1897, at the age of seventy years, and over the record of his career there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil. He left to his family not only a handsome competence, but an untarnished name.
In 1851 M. Backus was united in marriage to Miss Harriet N. Groes- beck, a native of Rensselaer county, New York, born in 1828. They had two children, a daughter and a son; the mother died in 1854.
Manson Franklin Backus pursued his education in Oakwood Seminary. at Union Springs, and graduated from that institution with the class of 1871. He then attended the Central New York Conference Seminary at Cazenovia, New York, and is one of its graduates of the class of 1872. Upon the com- pletion of his literary course he entered the employ of the First National Bank of Union Springs. In 1874 he was appointed teller and the following year became cashier, a position which he filled acceptably and continuously
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until 1888, when he determined to improve the excellent opportunities offered by the northwest and ally himself with the business interests of Washington. Accordingly, he came to Seattle in 1889, and in connection with others or- ganized the Washington National Bank, of which he served as the cashier and chief executive officer until 1897. when he was chosen vice-president. In 1900 he was elected president. The bank has always been conducted along most conservative lines, and its growth and success are quite remarkable, its deposits now aggregating three and one-half million dollars, while its sur- plus and undivided profits are equal to three times its capital. This result has largely been attained through the personality and energy of Mr. Backis. Other business interests have also profited by his managerial ability; while in Union Springs he had the management of the plaster company from 1879 to 1888, during which time its business increased tenfold. Mr. Backus studied law as an accomplishment, and was admitted to the bar at Buffalo, New York. He was appointed postmaster at Union Springs by President Garfield in 1881. In 1893 he was appointed by the United States Court receiver of the Seattle Consolidated Street Railway Company, and also of the Rainier Power and Railway Company, two of the largest corporations in the state of Washington. He is now ( 1902) president of the Seattle Clearing House Association, and was a member of the clearing house committee which was instrumental in carrying the Seattle banks through the panic of 1893 without a failure among its members. In November, 1896, in con- nection with Mr. E. O. Graves, he organized the banking house of Graves & Backus, the firm afterward becoming Graves, Backus & Purdy. This institution is located at Whatcom, Washington, and has been remarkably successful. Mr. Backus is also a director of the Columbia & Puget Sound Railway Company. It will thus be seen that his business connections are of a comprehensive and important character.
In April, 1873. Mr. Backus was united in marriage to Miss Emma C. Yawger, who died in 1884, leaving two children, Irene, now the wife of Dr. R. M. Harlan, of New York; and Leroy M., a graduate of Harvard Uni- versity, class of 1902. In 1886 Mr. Backus was again married, his second union being with Miss Lue Adams, of King Ferry. New York, who died in February, 1901. Socially he is connected with the Rainier and several other clubs. In his politics he is a Republican, but aside from exercising his right of franchise in support of the men and measures in which he be- lieves, he has taken no active part in political affairs since coming to Wash- ington. He is a liberal contributor to local charities and public enterprises, and has done his full share toward promoting the prosperity of his adopted
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city. Honored and respected, few men in Seattle occupy a more enviable position than Manson F. Backus in mercantile and financial circles, not alone on account of the success he has achieved, but also on account of the lion- orable, straightforward business policy he has followed. He possesses un- tiring energy, is quick of perception, forms his plans readily, is determined in their execution, and his close application to business and his excellent man- agement have brought him the high degree of prosperity which he at present enjoys. He has demonstrated that success is not the result of genius, but the outcome of judgment, vigilance and hard work.
CHARLES J. SMITH.
Charles Jackson Smith belongs to the little group of distinctively rep- resentative business men who have been the pioneers in inaugurating and building up the chief industries of this section of the country. He early had the sagacity and prescience to discern the affluence which the future had in store for this great and growing country, and, acting in accordance withi the dictates of his faith and judgment, he has garnered, in the fullness of time, the generous harvest which is the just recompence of industry, integ- rity and enterprise. He is now connected with many extensive and import- ant business interests of a private nature and has earned the proud Ameri- can title of a self-made man, for all that he has is the reward of his own enterprise and industry.
Charles Jackson Smith was born in Nicholasville, Jessamine county, Kentucky, on the 13th of March, 1854, and is of Scotch-Irish lineage. His paternal grandfather emigrated to New York in 1795, while the maternal grandfather became a resident of North Carolina, whence he removed to Kentucky, settling in the Blue Grass state during its pioneer days. Charles F. Smith, the father of our subject, was born in Easton, Delaware county, New York, in the year 1813, and was united in marriage to Miss Q. A. Jackson, whose birth occurred in Kentucky in 1826. The wedding took place in the Empire state, whither the bride had removed with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Smith remained in New York until 1857, when they took up their abode in Kansas City, Missouri, where they passed the residue of their days, the father dying in 1877 at the age of sixty-four years. He was a mer- chant and for a time served as internal revenue collector. Four of the five children are yet living and Mrs. Smith still survives in her seventy-fifth . year, her home being at Portland, Oregan. Like her husband, she holds membership in the Presbyterian church and since coming to the northwest
ยท
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has made many warm friends, who esteem her highly for her lovable traits of character. Two of her sons, L. E. and Charles J., are residents of Seattle.
The latter pursued his education in private schools of Kansas City and is a graduate of Blackburn University of Carlinville, Illinois. Soon after the completion of his literary course, lie became connected with railroad serv- ice as a clerk in the motive power department of the Kansas City, Missouri River, Fort Scott & Gulf Railroad Company. He was promoted to the audit- ing department and did the auditing of the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Gal- veston Railroad. In 1878 he became auditor for both roads and soon after- ward the auditing departments of those roads and of the Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs and the Atchison, Nebraska Railroads were removed to Kansas City and consolidated in one office-Mr. Smith being made assist- ant auditor of the consolidated department.
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