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 25
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tery of his own convictions at all times. His state papers have been models of clearness and directness and show a mind well stocked and well balanced. American 'gumption' pervades these papers and no lover of the state will ever turn from their perusal with lessened respect for their distinguished author." A paper of the opposition party said: "He is a growing man; · has studied and worked hard to make himself competent to discharge the duties devolving upon him, and his administration has been creditable to himself and party." Since his retirement from office he has been interested in mining on the Yukon river in Alaska, and is very extensively engaged in real-estate transactions in that distant territory.
In 1874 Mr. McGraw was married in Maine to Miss May L. Kelly, a native of the Pine Tree state and a representative of an old New England family. Two children have been born to them: Kate Edna, now the wife of Fred H. Baxter, of Seattle, and Mark Thomas, who is now engaged in mining in Alaska.
The Governor is a member of the Masonic fraternity, in which he has taken the degrees of both the York and Scottish rites, attaining the thirty- second degree of the latter. His is in many respects a remarkable history. With very limited advantages in his boyhood he started out in his early youth to fight life's battles, and has certainly come off conqueror in the strife. He is a gifted man who has developed his latent powers by the faithful and con- scientious performance of every duty, whether humble or great. In manner he is courteous, kindly and approachable and his friendship, which is highly prized by all who know him, can be won by true merit. Fearless in conduct and stainless in reputation, he stands out conspicuously as one of the strong- est and most distinguihed residents of the state.
MATTHEW DOW.
Matthew Dow, one of the most prominent and successful contractors and builders of Seattle, with office at No. 45 Colman Block, is a worthy repre- sentative of the land to which he owes his birth-Scotland. Thoroughly imbued with the strong religious ideas as held by the Scottish people, he is a man not to be swerved from principles which he believes to be right, and in all his dealings of both a business and political nature he has strictly ad- hered to those principles, even when they have worked to his immediate per- sonal detriment. In the long run this characteristic has made him thor- oughly appreciated by those who at the time were thwarted by his rugged honesty. His life has been a very eventful one, but even when threatened
Matthew Now
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by death he was not to be moved from the path which he believed to be right.
Mr. Dow was born on the 29th of July, 1849, seven miles south of Glasgow, Scotland, and is the oldest of the thirteen children in the family of Andrew and Maggie (Steel) Dow. In his native land the father followed farming, and continued to follow that occupation to some extent after com- ing to America, having emigrated to this country about four years after our subject sought a home here. He was the first man to raise Irish potatoes in Texas. During his residence in the United States he practically lived re- tired most of the time, and spent his last days in Seattle, Washington, where he died at the ripe old age of eighty-three years. He was a strong adherent of the Presbyterian church, in which his father, Andrew Dow, Sr., had served as a ruling elder for many years.
In the schools of his native land Matthew Dow acquired his literary educa- tion, and in that country also learned the builder's trade, which he followed there until twenty-four years of age. At that time he came to the new world, and after spending about two years and a half in Lexington, Kentucky, went to Fort Worth, Texas, where he did considerable building. There he was joined by his brother a year later, and together they went to Belton, Bell county, Texas, which was then about forty miles from any railroad. They soon secured a good trade in their line of business and erected buildings for the most prominent people in the place. When the Santa Fe Railroad reached the place an era of progress was inaugurated. Mr. Dow built the court house, jail and most all of the better buildings and residences there. He leased the city water works and operated them at a good profit for three and a half years. An offer was made the city that if they would donate ten acres of land within the corporate limits and give thirty thousand dollars the Boyler Female College would be moved there. Mr. Dow was chosen to draw up the plans, and after visiting the different institutions in the state he made suitable plans which were accepted and the college built there. He accepted no pay for this work, but the corner stone, which has his name as architect and superintendent inscribed upon it, is a lasting monument to the good work he did. To show their appreciation the institute offered him five scholarships for his two daughters, but he would not accept that, though they attended the college while residing there. After thirteen and a half years spent at Belton, and having earned the esteem of all citizens, he decided to come north, and in 1889. realizing the splendid building prospects in Seattle, he came to this place and since that time has been a prominent factor in the development of the city. He erected the Pacific building, the Victoria Ho- tel, the Seattle Athletic Club house, the one-story block opposite the Rialto,
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and has done all the work for the Great Northern in the building line, includ- ing the stores on Jackson street and many other buildings of a business character. In Ballard, where he made his home until 1902, Mr. Dow erected the Methodist and Baptist churches, his own building at the corner of Second and Broadway and other brick business blocks there. In 1901 he built his fine residence on Pontius avenue, Seattle, where he is now living.
Mr. Dow has been twice married, having before leaving Scotland wedded Miss Maggie MacGregor, and to them were born four children, two sons and two daughters, but the eldest died at the age of eight months. Those living are: Jeanie, now the wife of Jolin Kyle, a grocer of Ballard; Alex, who married Mamie Alford and resides in Interbay; and Maggie, wife of Fritz Herbert Leather, who is the promoter of newspapers published in Japan and America. The mother of these children died after the removal of the family to Seattle, and in January, 1901, Mr. Dow married her half sister, Agnes Smith.
MIr. Dow is a member of the Presbyterian church and is connected with with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. The Republican party usually finds in him a stanch supporter of its principles, but he is somewhat inde- pendent in politics, preferring to give his support to the men whom he be- lieves best qualified for office, regardless of party lines. While a resident of Ballard he served as mayor of the city one term and refused a re-election. During his term a special election was held and the town bonded for forty- five thousand dollars. The water works were also put in and he vetoed a bill for the purchase of a plant, by which the city was saved a large sum of money. Never were the reins of city government in more capable hands, for he is a progressive man, pre-eminently public-spirited, and all that per- tains to the public welfare receives his hearty endorsement. He also served as a member of the city council, and his various official duties have been dis- charged with a promptness and fidelity worthy of the highest commendation.
WILLIAM E. BOONE.
In past ages the history of a country was the record of wars and con- quests ; to-day it is the record of commercial activity, and those whose names are foremost in its annals are the leaders in business circles. The con- quests now made are those of mind over matter, not man over man, and the victor is he who can successfully establish, control and operate extensive commercial interests. William E. Boone is one of the strong and influential men whose lives have become an essential part of the history of Seattle
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and of the northwest. Tireless energy, keen perception, honesty of pur- pose, genius for devising and executing the right thing at the right time, joined to every-day common sense, guided by great will power, are the chief characteristics of the man. Connected with building interests he has contributed in very large measure to the substantial improvement of Seattle, is numbered among its pioneer architects and builders and in many of the finest structures of the city are seen the evidences of his handiwork.
In a little log school house in his native state Mr. Boone pursued his education. He remained at home until his eighteenth year and devoted three years to mastering the carpenter's trade. He then went west to Chi- cago, where he entered the service of the Central Railway Company, whose line was in process of construction. He was soon given charge of the erection of its buildings all along the road and had at times as many as one hundred and fifty mechanics working under his direction. He con- tinued with the company until the road was completed and afterward resided for three years in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he engaged in business as both an architect and builder, having recently pursued the study of archi- tecture. Through his own efforts he became very proficient in that line and while in Minneapolis he erected many of the buildings in that then rapidly growing city. The year 1859 witnessed his arrival on the Pacific coast. He made his way to San Francisco and thence to the Cariboo mines. He became a mine owner and operator, his possessions at times comprising five different mines. It was the time of the great mine excitement in California, and Mr. Boone made money rapidly but lost it just as rapidly. Returning to San Francisco, he there resumed work at his chosen vocation and was engaged in contracting and building for a number of years, becoming very prominent in that direction. He had under contract in one year over one million dollars worth of work. He was acknowledged the leading repre- sentative of his line of business in the city and many of the finest structures there stand as monuments to his skill and handiwork. Among the costly buildings which he erected was the Institution for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind.
During the Dennis Kearney excitement and the trouble which arose concerning the change in the state constitution, fully forty thousand people left San Francisco in a single year and Mr. Boone was among the number. He chose Seattle as the scene of his future business operations, arriving in what was then a city of about thirty-five hundred people. He has been connected with this place during the whole of its magnificent growth and has been deeply interested in its progress and prosperity. In the line of
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his business he has been a inost important factor in its improvement and a large majority of its fine business houses and residences have been erected under his supervision. One of these is the New York building and no finer business block can be found on the northwest Pacific coast. He also ex- ecuted the plans for the building of the magnificent high school which is alike a credit to Seattle and to its designer. During his residence in Seattle all of its fine structures have been built and to his skill and enterprise are largely due the attractive appearance of the city to-day. He has the honor of being the president of the Washington State American Institute of Arch- itects. Mr. Boone sustains an unassailable reputation as a business man. Probably in no line of industrial activity is there better opportunity for fraud and dishonesty than in building, and the unqualified confidence of his fellow townsmen, which Mr. Boone enjoys, is an unmistakable evidence of his integrity and honesty in all business transactions.
In 1871 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Boone and Miss Mercy Slocum, of Syracuse, New York, a representative of one of the old Ameri- can families, and a niece of the distinguished General Slocum. Both Mr. and Mrs. Boone are highly respected by all who have the pleasure of their acquaintance. From the organization of the Republican party he has been one of its stalwart advocates, but has never desired or held office, content to give his support to the party without hope of reward. He has been a worthy member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for many years and has filled all the offices in both the subordinate lodge and encampment. While residing in Minneapolis in 1857 he joined the Masonic fraternity and was exalted to the sublime degree of a Master Mason, since which time he has filled nearly all of the offices in the blue lodge and is a past master. He has taken all of the York rite degrees, becoming a Sir Knight Templar, and in the Scottish rite he has attained the thirty-second degree, being pro- claimed a sublime prince of the royal secret. He has thoroughly studied the tenets of the craft and in his life has exemplified its beneficent principles. He has not only been a good Mason, but a good citizen as well. After the great fire of Seattle, he was made a member of the committee of five ap- pointed to straighten and widen the streets and the present beautiful city attests low well the work was accomplished. Mr. Boone stands to-day among the strong men of the northwest. Strong in his citizenship, strong in his honor and good name, the work which he has accomplished in behalf of the city of his adoption is of such a character that his fellow towns- inen owe to him a debt of gratitude and extend to him their unqualified regard.
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HANS P. RUDE.
Hans P. Rude, a member of the Seattle city council and a prominent merchant tailor of the city, is a native of the land of the Midnight Sun, his birth occurring in Norway on the 4th of March, 1861, and he is of Nor- wegian ancestry. His parents, Hans and Agnete ( Pedersen) Rude, were also born in Norway, and were there reared and married. Four children were born to them in their native land, and there the mother died at the age of thirty years. In 1884 the father came to America, settling in Pierce county, Wisconsin, where he is still residing. He was a member of the Lutheran church, and was honorable and upright in all his dealings. Three of his children are residents of the Pacific coast, two of whom, Hans P. and Mathias, make their home in Seattle, and Martenas is a resident of San Francisco, while the daughter, Miss Augusta, resides in Minneapolis.
Hans Peter Rude received his education and learned the tailor's trade in the land of his nativity, and when but fifteen years of age he left the parental roof to make his own way in the world. He learned his trade in Christiana, and in 1881 came by way of Quebec to the United States, locat- ing first in Chicago, from whence he continued his westward journey to Red Wing, Minnesota, where he lived three years, engaged part of the time in work at his trade, after which he went to Minneapolis. He came to this country a poor boy, a stranger in a strange land, and he was obliged to earn the money to pay for his passage after his arrival here. He soon began Attending a night school, and in a short time became well informed con- cerning the laws and business customs of this country. Coming to Seattle in February, 1891, he was here employed as a cutter until 1894, when he opened business on his own account, and since that time has been numbered among the leading business men of the city, progressive, enterprising and persevering. Such qualities always win success, sooner or later, and to Mr. Rude they have brought a handsome competence as a reward of his well directed efforts. Since becoming a citizen of the United States he has studied closely the issues and questions of the day, and as a result he has allied himself with the Republican party, to which he gives an intelligent and loyal support. He had been a resident of Seattle but five years when, in 1896, he became the choice of his party for the office of city councilman, to which he was re-elected two years later, running against a strong fusion of the opposing parties. His second election demonstrates the fact that he had proved himself a useful and honorable member of the board of coun- cilmen.
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Such has been the uprightness of his character and business carcer that lie was deemed eligible to become a member of the Masonic fraternity, and he received the sublime degree of a Master Mason in Doric Lodge, No. 92, of Seattle, thereafter being advanced until he is now a Royal Arch Mason, a Sir Knight Templar and a member of the Mystic Shrine. He is also affiliated with the Elks, the Knights of Pythias and other fraternities. Mr. Rude is a life member of the Alaska Geographical Society. In 1882 Mr. Rude was united in marriage to Miss Lena Sophia Martenson, also a native of Norway, and the children resulting from their union are Henry Mc- Clair, George Albert. Lillie Palma and Morris Oscar. The family are mem- bers of the Lutheran church, and they share in the high regard of a large circle of friends.
WILLIAM R. BALLARD.
It is a well attested maxim that the greatness of the state lies not in its machinery of government, nor even in its institutions, but in the sterling qualities of its individual citizens, in their capacity for high and unselfish effort and their devotion to the public good. Rising above the heads of the mass there has always been a series of individuals, distinguished beyond others, who by reason of their pronounced ability and forceful personality have always commanded the respect of their fellow men and who have revealed to the world those two resplendent virtues of a lordly race, per- severance in purpose and a directing spirit which never fails. Of this class William Rankin Ballard stands as an excellent illustration. The goal to- ward which he has hastened during his many years of toil and endeavor is that which is attained only by such as have by patriotism and wise counsel given the world an impetus toward the good, such have gained the right and title to have their names enduringly inscribed on the bright pages of history.
William R. Ballard has been a resident of Washington for thirty-seven years and while he has not sought prominence in the line of political pre- ferment no man in Seattle has done more to advance the city's welfare through the establishment of important industrial and commercial interests that have contributed largely to the public good than Mr. Ballard. He was born in Richland county. Ohio, on the 12th of August, 1847, and is descended from English ancestry who became carly settlers of New Eng- land and for many years were respected and influential residents of New Hampshire. In that state his father, Dr. Levi Ballard, was born, his birth-
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place being the town of Hillsboro, Hillsboro county, and the date Decem- ber 21, 1815. Removing from the old Granite state to New Jersey he there began reading medicine and later was graduated in the Cleveland Medical College, of Cleveland, Ohio, with the class of 1844. He was married that year in Richland county, Ohio, to Miss Phoebe A. McConnell and there they began their domestic life, the Doctor engaging in the practice of medicine. In 1850 he was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died leaving two sons, Irving, who became an attorney of King county, Washington, and died in 1880, and William Rankin.
In 1852 the father crossed the plains to California, where he remained for only a few months and then returned to the east by way of the Isthmus route. In 1855 he once more crossed the plains, locating in Oregon, and was the surgeon of a regiment of volunteers during the Indian war. In 1857 he again returned to the east by way of the Isthmus of Panama and was married to Miss Mary E. Condit. Accompanied by his wife and two sons, in 1858 he made his way to Oregon and practiced his profession in Roseburg until 1865, at which time he removed to Auburn, Waslı- ington, where he retired from his profession, spending his last days in the enjoyment of a well earned rest. He departed this life on the 12th of Jan- uary, 1897, at the age of eighty-two years, and thus closed a career that was marked by honor, integrity and usefulness. In politics he was a Re- publican and in religious faith a Presbyterian. He was a conscientious and faithful practitioner and would always respond to the call of the sick and suffering at no matter what personal sacrifices, never stopping to question whether his labors would ever be recompensed by pecuniary remuneration. There were five children by his second marriage and his widow still sur - vives him.
William Rankin Ballard was a youth of eleven years when his father crossed the plains with his family and since that time he has been identified with the development of the northwest. His preliminary education was supplemented by study in the academy at Wilber, Oregon, and in the Wash- ington State University. He acquired a good knowledge of civil engineer- ing and began life on his own account in that line of activity. He secured various government contracts for surveying public lands, among which was the Yakima Indian reservation, the largest government surveying contract in the state, requiring three years for its completion. Some complications arose in regard to receiving his pay and in 1875 he found it necessary to go to Washington to attend to that and other business. In the summer of 1876 he accepted the position of mate on the steamer Zephyr, which
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was owned by his brother and plied between Olympia and Seattle. In 1877 he was made captain and in 1881 became part owner of the vessel, his part- ners being George Harris and John Leary. In 1886 he became sole owner and continued in command until 1887, when he sold his ship. Under Cap- tain Ballard's management she was very popular and made larger earnings than any other local steamer then plying on the Sound.
While engaged in conducting the trips of this steamer Captain Ballard became convinced that Seattle had a brilliant future before it and began to invest in city property. In 1883. in partnership with Judge Thomas Burk and John Leary, he purchased seven hundred acres of land on Salmon Bay, upon which is now located the prosperous city of Ballard, a suburb of Seattle, containing five thousand and four hundred inhabitants. His property there has been subdivided and from time to time he has sold lots on which he has realized very largely, as the land was purchased for only a few dollars per acre and is now worth as many thousands. Captain Ballard had the man- agement of his company's affairs in the handling of the property and to him belongs great credit for the success which has attended the enterprise and for the large fortunes resulting therefrom. He has also been closely associated with the financial circles of the city, being one of the organizers of the Seattle National Bank, which was established in 1890 with a capital stock of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. He was elected its vice- president and his business ability and wise counsel were important factors in its success. The company erected a six-story bank building, one of the finest of its kind in the entire northwest. For three years he was manager of the bank, during which time it was attended with most gratifying success. He was one of the organizers of the Seattle Savings Bank, of which he remained president until 1897, and also president of the First National Bank of Waterville, Washington, and one of the directors of the North End Bank of Seattle and the Fairhaven National Bank. In the organiza- tion of the West Street and North End Electric Railway Company he was prominent, becoming one of the heavy stockholders of the company and also its vice-president. He was also a large stockholder and director in the Terminal Railway & Elevator Company and thus it can be seen that he has done his full share in the improvement and upbuilding of the city through the establishment of many extensive business concerns which have been of the greatest value in promoting material progress and prosperity. He has always had great faith in the future of Seattle and believes it is (destined to attain still greater prominence as a metropolis of the northwest. He is now president of the Mutual Land Company of the city and is push-
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ing its interests. He is likewise a member of the Chamber of Commerce and Lake Washington canal committee and a trustee of Whitworth College of Tacoma. The influence of such a life cannot be measured but all familiar with the history of Seattle acknowledge the city's indebtedness to his efforts.
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