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 27
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LYMAN E. KNAPP.
The profession of law, when clothed with its true dignity and purity and strength, must rank first among the calling's of men, for law rules the uni- verse. The work of the legal profession is to formulate. to harmonize, to regulate, to adjust. to administer those rules and principles that underlie and permeate all government and society and to control the varied relations of man. As thus viewed there attaches to the legal profession a nobleness that cannot but be reflected in the life of the true lawyer, who, conscious of the greatness of his profession and honest in the pursuit of his purpose, embraces the richness of learning, the profoundness of wisdom and the firmness of in- tegrity. A prominent representative of the Washington bar is Lyman Enos Knapp, and he also has the honor of being the third American governor of Alaska.
Mr. Knapp was born in Somerset, Windham county, Vermont, Novem- ber 5, 1837, and is a representative of a prominent old English family. The founder of the family on American soil emigrated to this country from York- shire, England, in 1640, and located in Brighton, Massachusetts, but later re- moved to Taunton, that state, and subsequently settled in Douglass, Massachu- setts. The great-great-grandfather of our subject. Joseph Knapp, resided in Taunton, and his son, Job Knapp, fought throughout the Revolutionary war, serving as lieutenant of a company in Colonel Reid's regiment from Doug- lass, Massachusetts. When the war was over he married his colonel's daught- ter, Ruth Reid. Their son, Cyrus Knapp, removed to Dover, Vermont, and there married Thankful Sterns. Their son Hiram was born in Dover, Ver- mont, in 1803. He married Elvira Stearns, and they continued to reside in Dover until just previous to our subject's birth. when they removed to Somer- set, Vermont. Hiram Knapp was an officer in the state militia. By his
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marriage he became the father of nine children, of whom seven are still living. He passed away in 1858, at the age of fifty-six years, but his widow survived him many years. They were members of the Congregational church and were people of the highest respectability. Their son Velosco J. Knapp is a resident of Anacortes, Washington, where he is serving as the postmaster, and he and our subject are the only representatives of the family on the Pacific coast.
Lyman Enos Knapp received his literary education in the Burr & Burton . Seminary and in the Middlebury College, of Vermont, graduating in the latter institution in 1862, and within a week after leaving school he offered his serv- ices to his country, becoming captain of Company I, Sixteenth Regiment, Vermont Volunteer Infantry. His regiment was first engaged in defending the city of Washington, after which it was attached to the Army of the Poto- mac, and his first battle was the memorable engagement at Gettysburg, in which he received a flesh wound in the shoulder. He participated in all the battles in which the glorious Army of the Potomac took part until the sur- render of General Lee, when the war was over and he marched with his regi- ment in the grand review at Washington. At the battle of Spottylsvania Court House Mr. Knapp was a second time wounded, being struck with a bullet in the head on May 9, 1864, the ball cutting a furrow in his scalp. but the second day thereafter he was able to return to duty. . At the battle of Petersburg on the 21st of April, 1865, while storming Fort Mahone, a shell exploded above him and a portion of it struck him just below the shoulder, causing a severe bruise and disabling him for a long time thereafter. Al- though disabled he continued with his command, and in acknowledgment of his distinguished service he was promoted to the rank of major, was later breveted lieutenant colonel and afterward received the full command. Dur- ing his army career Mr. Knapp participated in many of the important and hard-fought battles of the war, and was ever at his post of duty, faithfully and cheerfully performing the tasks assigned to him.
When the war was over and the country no longer needed luis services he returned to his home in Vincent, where he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1876. In the meantime he had served as editor and publisher of the Middlebury Register, was also a justice of the peace, was judge of the municipal court of the city for twenty years, and from 1879 until 1889 was judge of the probate and insolvency courts. While filling the latter position he received a telegram from the president offering him the governorship of Alaska. He received the appointment under the administration of President Harrison, and, resigning his judgeship in Vermont, he served for four years
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and six months as governor of Alaska. During that period he did all in his power to advance the interests of that territory, having organized local mili- tia companies, opened new postal routes, established a territorial library and instituted many other valuable improvements, filling the position with the most marked ability and fidelity. On retiring from that position he was left free to return to Seattle, a course which he had long before contemplated. Accordingly he arrived in this city in September, 1893, and engaged in the practice of law, his abilty soon winning him a distinctively representative clientage. He devotes his attention principally to civil practice, and is the attorney for several banks and many large corporations. He has also invested largely in city property, has erected several residences and is one of Seattle's most public-spirited and progressive citizens.
The marriage of Mr. Knapp was celebrated on the 23d of January, 1865, when Misss Martha A. Severaner became his wife. She is a native of Mid- dlebury, Vermont. Unto this union have been born four children, two sons and two daughters: George E., a graduate of the Middlebury College; Frances A., the wife of Everett R. Morgan, of Seattle; Edwin L., who for the past four years has been an employe in the Puget Sound National Bank; and Mary A., at home. Mr. and Mrs. Knapp are valued members of the Plymouth Congregational church, of which he is one of the leaders. He is also a member and past commander of Miller Post, G. A. R. He ranks high at the bar and in political circles, and Seattle numbers him among her leading and influential citizens.
ROBERT ABRAMS.
Among those honored citizens of Scattle who are entitled to considera- tion as pioneers of Washington and as founders and builders of our great and beautiful commonwealth, a place of no secondary rank must be accorded the gentleman whose name initiates this paragraph, for he has maintained his residence in Washington for more than forty-five years, having come hither in 1857, when the work of development and progress had scarcely been inaugurated in even an incipient way, when the locality was isolated to a large extent, having no railroad facilities, and when it remained on the very frontier of civilization, the red men, in their motley garb, still disputing do- minion with the few and scattered white settlers and with the beasts of the field. Mr. Abrams has been a witness of the transitions which have marked the development of the Evergreen state, has been an active participant in the work of advancement and is to-day one of the sterling and highly honored
Robert- abrams
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pioneer citizens of Seattle, where he is engaged in the livery business, hav- ing his place of business at 2107 Western avenue. As before stated, he came to the territory of Washington in 1857, and Seattle has been continu- ously his home from the year 1869, when it was a straggling village of the most primitive sort, and he still owns land here which he purchased thirty-six years ago. The brave, energetic and loyal old pioneers are fast passing away, and it is a pleasure to yet be able to meet one of the hardy band of the former days, to listen to the tales of adventure and privation borne without Hinching, and it is a duty to perpetuate their records insofar as possible, that future generations may have appreciation of their lives and labors when all shall have been summoned to that "undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveler returns."
Robert Abrams comes of stanch New England stock of Scotch-Irish type, and he claims the old Bay state as the place of his nativity, having been born in Berkshire county, Massachusetts, on the 10th of December, 1836. His father, Richard Abrams, was a native son of the fair Emerald Isle, where he was reared and educated and where he became prominently identified with the manufacturing of the justly famed Irish linen, with which line of indus- try the family had been concerned for a number of generations. The products of the looms found their way to the United States, and the trade thus built up was in a large degree responsible for the emigration of Richard Abrams to this country. His home was in the north of Ireland, near the line of Scot- land, and in the latter country was born the estimable and gentle woman who became his wife, her maiden name having been Elizabeth Dynes. Shortly after their marriage they came to America and located in Massachusetts, but a few years later they came westward and became numbered among the pioneers of the state of Wisconsin, being among the early settlers in the vicinity of the present city of Oshkosh, where they located in the year 1840, at which time the settlers in the locality were few and the land practically unreclaimed from the virgin forests. There the father of our subject developed a good farm, prospering in his efforts with the lapse of years and becoming one of the prominent and honored citizens of the Badger state, where both he and his wife passed the remainder of their days, each living to a venerable age. The father died at the age of ninety-two years, his cherished and devoted wife having passed away at the age of eighty-one. Richard Abrams was a man of strong mentality, was prominent in religious work and in the establishment and maintaining of schools, and both he and his wife were zealous workers in the Episcopal church, with which they be- came identified after their removal to Wisconsin, there having been in the
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vicinity of their home no organization of the Presbyterian faith, to which they had previously held. In politics Mr. Abrams was a stanch advocate of the principles of the Democratic party. In his family were six sons and five daughters, and of the number the subject of this sketch is the only rep- resentative on the Pacific coast. Three of the sons sacrificed their lives while defending the Union during the war of the Rebellion. William was wounded in the engagement at Pittsburg Landing and died from the effects of his injuries. He was a graduate of Appleton College, in Wisconsin, and had been a successful teacher prior to entering the army. John Abrams still maintains his home in Wisconsin; George was killed at Pittsburg Landing, having been on the "Mound City" at the time when the vessel was blown up by the Confederate soldiers ; Henry met his death in the foundering of the "Brother Jonathan" off the coast of California; and Richard is engaged in mining in New Zealand. Of the five sisters, three are living at the present time.
Robert Abrams was but ten years of age at the time when the family removed from Massachusetts to Wisconsin, and there he was reared under the sturdy and invigorating discipline of the farm, his early educational training having been secured in a log school-house of the primitive type, but improve- ments were soon made in the facilities afforded, his father having been an earnest worker in behalf of the cause of education, as has been already stated. Robert remained on the old homestead farm, assisting in its development and cultivation, until he had attained the age of nearly twenty-one years, when he set forth to face the problemis of life on his own responsibility, his equip- ment consisting of a sturdy physique, a self-reliant nature, a good common- school education and a determination to make the best of the opportunities presented, while his integrity of purpose was unbending and insistent. He started forth at the age mentioned and made his way to California, via the Isthmus of Panama. After passing a few months in California he came by boat to Oregon, where he remained about a year and then came to Washington territory, where he became identified with the lumbering business, getting out spars and masts for vessels. At the time when he located here there were no steamboats on Puget Sound. In company with two companions he came to the Sound country and they camped near where Dexter Horton had his trading post, the triumvirate harmoniously dividing their labors, Mr. Abrams acting as the Nimrod of the party and supplying the larder with game, while one of his companions was the fisherman and the other acted as cook, so that they found themselves well placed, even in the wilds of the new country. At that time Mr. Abrams prophesied, basing his ideas upon the topography and natural advantages and upon information gathered from the Indians,
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that there would eventually be a great city on the Sound and that in all prob- ability the site would be that of the present city of Seattle. The total num- ber of buildings on the site at that time was but twenty-five. Mr. Abrams continued to devote his attention to the lumbering business in the line noted for a period of five years, and then established the first livery business in Seattle. bringing in the first carriage used in this section. He continued this enter- prise successfully for a period of sixteen years, and simultaneously carried on successful operations as a dealer in live stock, raising the same quite ex- tensively, as he became the owner of a tract of land soon after his arrival and has ever since been the owner of farm property. His present farm, located four miles south of the city, has been in his possession for twenty years, and he has been the owner of other valuable farm properties in the state, but his present real-estate investments are principally in city property, of which he has extensive and valuable holdings. He has platted ten acres of land which is known as Abrams' addition to South Seattle, and he has given his atten- tion to building and improving his realty in the city and its environs, erect- ing many residences and business buildings and placing the property on the market at terms in harmony with intrinsic values, his dealings having been conducted upon that high plane of integrity and fidelity which implies popular confidence and co-operation. He is one of the most progressive and public- spirited men of the city and state to whose upbuilding he has so largely con- tributed, and his success cannot but be viewed with pleasure by all who have cognizance of his earnest efforts and worthy career as a capable business man. He erected his present beautiful residence on Lake Union about twelve years ago, and every house in which the family had previously lived was also erected by him.
Ever true to the duties of citizenship, taking a lively interest in all that affected the welfare of his city and state and standing as a stalwart sup- porter of the principles and policies of the Republican party, it is but natural that Mr. Abrams should have been called upon to serve in positions of dis- tinctive public trust and responsibility. In 1875 he was elected to represent King county in the territorial legislature, where he proved a valuable and zealous worker. He was one of the principal factors in securing the passage of the bill providing for the closing of all saloons on election days ; was instru- mental in securing the legislation providing for the opening of the Snoqual- mie road, connecting the eastern and western parts of the state, and he did most effective and timely service in securing appropriations for the state uni- versity. In connection with these bills he was specially active and inde- fatigable, and through his efforts was brought about their enactment. He
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served several terms as a member of the city council, and here his mature judgment and business sagacity were again brought into valuable play for the promotion of the best interests of the people. He held the office of county commissioner for a period of four years, though he did not make any personal canvass at the time of his nomination and had no desire for the office, his own personal business demanding his attention, but he was elected by a large majority and did his best to discharge his duties faithfully, and that he did thus discharge them is evident when it is recalled that such was the popular appreciation of his services that he was chosen as his own successor, serving for a second term. He and his family are attendants of the Congregational church, and fraternally he is identified with St. John's Lodge, No. 9, F. &. A. M., in the administration of whose fiscal affairs he has been prominent.
In what is now the town of Renton, on the 18th of June, 1872, Mr. Abrams was united in marriage to Miss Mary H. Brown, daughter of Captain Robert and Charlotte ( Heppingstone) Brown, of New London, Connecticut. She is the fourth in order of birth of a family of ten children. Both father and mother are deceased. Her brothers and sisters are all in Seattle with the exception of one brother, who resides in San Francisco. Eight of the chil- dren are living. Richard H. married Martha Anderson, of Skagit county, Washington, and they have three children. Mr. and Mrs. Abrams are the parents of three sons and three daughters, namely : Richard H., who is a contractor and builder in this city, as is also Robert W .; Norman B., who is engaged in the real-estate business with his father; Mary, the wife of Arthur Lawley, a resident of Boston, Massachusetts, where he is engaged in the ship building business : and Violet and Mildred, who remain at the parental home, where a gracious hospitality is ever in evidence and where is found a favorite rendezvous for the wide circle of friends which the family have gath- cred about them.
GEORGE W. KUMMER.
The student of the history of Seattle has marvelled at the rapid growth and advancement of the city in recent years, especially since the work of build- ing had to be begun anew after the great fire of 1889. But although much has been accomplished, there is much still to be done and the opportunities and possibilities of this metropolis of Washington are attracting men of marked business ability from all sections of the country. Among this number is George W. Kummer, a stockholder and the general manager and secretary of the Denny Clay Company of Seattle, which is engaged in the manufacture
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of sewer pipe, drain pipe and all kinds of brick and ornamentations for de- corating the outside of brick buildings.
A native of Pennsylvania, George W. Kummer was born in Allentown, July, 6, 1851, and is of French, Spanish and German ancestry. The Kum- mers are of German lineage, but John Kummer the grandfather of our sub- ject, was born in Madrid, Spain, whence he emigrated to Philadelphia, rear- ing his family in that city, where he engaged in the manufacture of woolen and linen goods, becoming a prominent representative of its commercial interests. He lived to be eighty years of age, but he lost his wife when they were on shipboard coming to America. They were bringing with them their entire family of twelve children, but the vessel encountered storms and adverse winds and every member of the family died with the exception of the father and one son, Jacob Kummer, who became the father of the subject of this. review. Jacob Kummer was born in 1816 and pursued his education in Phil- adelphia. He became extensively engaged in merchandising there and in partnership with another man, brought his goods form the New York market to Philadelphia in large wagons. For some time they enjoyed a very suc- cessful trade and Mr. Kummer had acquired eighty thousand dollars, when his partner absconded and left him with very little. However, he managed to continue in business and later engaged in the manufacture of bed spreads and other such articles. This enterprise also proved profitable and in course of time he largely retrieved his lost possessions and became a successful man. He married Rebecca Huntsberger, a representative of an old Virginian fami- ly of planters and slave-owners. Mr. and Mrs. Kummer removed to Allens- town, Pennsylvania, where he continued to carry on his business. They were members of the German Reformed church, living in consistent harmony with their professions, doing naught that would reflect discredit upon the church of their choice. Mr. Kummer departed this life in 1885. His widow, how- ever, still survives and is now living in her eighty-second year at Loyal Oak, Ohio, where her husband passed away. They were the parents of twelve children, but only three are now living: Alfred, who is pastor of the First Methodist Episcopal church of San Jose, California; Anna M., who became the wife of George Hanson and resides with her mother in Loyal Oak, Ohio; and George W.
George W. Kummer was reared in the Buckeye state and pursued his education in the public schools. He was only eight years of age when he earned nine dollars and a half by carrying water to the men who were working on the construction of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad. When a youth of ten years lie left home to work on a farm and for the first
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two years his pay was a wagon-load of corn. As he grew older and was able to perform more service, he was given wages proportionately high, yet most of the time he had to take his pay in corn, for there was but little money in circulation in the country. He continued farm work until liis nineteenth year. When he left home nine years before, his mother had given him a half dollar, which was the only money he handled during all of that period. That fifty cents he has kept through all life's vicissitudes and when a little daughter came to bless his home, a hole was made in the coin and a ribbon put through it and it was hung about the little one's neck. Mr. Kummer still has this coin which he prizes very highly.
When nineteen years of age Mr. Kummer, not content with his lot, ran away from the farm on which he was employed and made his way to . Akron, Ohio. He was without money but he went to a hotel and the people of the place being pleased by his appearance gave him work at fifty cents per day, but he did not like the associations there and at the end of the week he left the hotel and secured a position in a printing office in the capacity of printer's devil at two dollars and a half per week. He was thus employed for a year. Board in the place was three dollars per week but he got an old colored man to furnish him meals for two dollars and a half per week and he slept on the book-binder's table in the office. The rats ran around the room in search of the paste used in the establishment and his quarters were certainly not luxurious, but he made the best of his surroundings, eagerly watching, however, to improve his condition. The first day of his service in the printing office he told one of the editors that he could scarcely read or write, but that he desired to learn, and the man furnished him with reading matter. The second year he was paid three dollars per week, and the third he was given the position of city reporter at ten dollars per week. For three years he was in the editorial room and became correspondent for the Cincinnati Inquirer and for newspapers of Chicago. Boston, Pittsburg and other cities. He spent two years in the composing room as foreman and when the bookkeeper defaulted, Mr. Kum- mer assisted in straightening out the books and became bookkeeper and manager's assistant. During this time he attended night school, taking up a college course. He was retained in the business department of the paper for three years and then was promoted to the position of city editor. in which capacity he served for six years. He was with the Akron Daily Beacon for eighteen years in all and in that period rose from the most humble position in the office to the highest. This brief account, however, gives one little knowledge of the hardships which he had to endure in gain-
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ing his start. His health broke under the arduous stress of business and study and when he left the office he only weighed one hundred and two pounds. His strength had completely given way and one day he fell faint- ing upon the street and was picked up for dead.
It was then that Mr. Kummer decided to seek a change of climate by establishing his home upon the Pacific coast. He arrived in Seattle one week after the great fire, coming to this place in order to write up the sit- uation for eastern papers. He remained for three months; during which time he wrote many articles about the country and its prospects. He then re- turned to the east, sold out his interests there, gave up his newspaper cor- respondence, and accepted a position on the Pacific Christian Advocate in Portland, in September. 1889, having charge of the business management of that paper. Subsequently the Puget Sound Fire Clay Company made him a proposition to take stock in it and doing so he was elected secretary and treasurer of the company, entering upon the duties of his new office in February, 1890. That company sold out to the Denny Clay Company and he was elected to his present position as general manager and secretary, in which capacity he has since served, giving the highest satisfaction to all concerned by his faithful performance of duty, his capable supervision and his effective labors in increasing the business. The plant represents the in- vestment of four million dollars and is operated to its full capacity. All kinds of sewer and drain pipe are manufactured, together with brick and ornamental work for decorating the outside of brick buildings. The pro- duct is sold in Alaska, British Columbia, South Africa and all over the Pacific coast, and a very extensive business is being done, a fact which is largely due to the efforts and capable management of Mr. Kummer. Our subject has the honor of being the president of the Manufacturers As- ciation of Seattle, but devotes the greater part of his attention to the large business which he is controlling so successfully.
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