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 49
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owner of the Elsinore, and ran that on the sound to Port Orchard points until the winter, when he also brought it to Lake Washington, and in the fall of 1902 purchased the Xanthus and also brought her to the lake. He now operates the Xanthus, the Cyrene and the Elsinore. He has been on the lake so long that he has gained a most enviable reputation as one of the most skillful and capable sailors. He now has a plan for building a fine excursion steamer for the lake. In all the years in which he has com- manded vessels he has never had a man hurt either in building or operating his boats, and his honesty is proverbial, while his genial nature and social disposition have made him popular at all points at which he stops. To some extent the Captain has been interested in real estate, and in 1805 he erected his present residence, overlooking the lake at the end of the Yesler cable line.
In 1895 Captain Anderson was united in marriage to Emilie Matson, a daughter of Charles Matson, a machinist of this city. She is a native of Meriden, Illinois, and has been a resident of this locality since 1884. Fra- ternally the Captain is connected with the Knights of Pythias, and in politics is a Republican. In October, 1901, he made a trip to his old home in Sweden, and spent nearly five months abroad, visiting England, France, Norway, Sweden and Germany. He went as a passenger on the ship Kaiser Wilhelmn Der Grosse, and returned n the American liner St. Paul, and while he greatly enjoyed the trip and his visit to the home of his boyhood. he could never be content to live elsewhere than in the land of the free-the home of his adoption.
CHARLES OSNER.
King county figures as one of the most attractive, progressive and pros- perons divisions of the state of Washington, justly claiming a high order of citizenship and a spirit of enterprise which is certain to secure develop- ment and advancement in the material upbuilding of the section. The county has been and is signally favored in the class of men who have controlled its affairs, have promoted its business interests and thereby contributed to its prosperity, and in this connection the subject of this review deserves rep- resentation. The growth of any community, town or city depends upon its commercial activity and its industrial interests, and therefore the real up- builders of a town are those who stand at the head of its leading enterprises. Mr. Osner is actively connected with real estate dealing, both on his own account and as a broker, and his labors have been effective in promoting the growth and attractive appearance of Seattle, to which he has laid out two additions.
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Although born in Germany, Mr. Osner is of American parentage. His father, Ferdinand Osner, was an importer and wholesale leather dealer of Philadelphia, but was abroad at the time of Charles's birth, which occurred in Baden on the 20th of January, 1858. In Philadelphia Charles Osner acquired his early education and then returned to Germany to continue his studies. On putting aside his text books he became associated with his fa- ther in the leather business and so continued until twenty-one years of age. when he started out upon an independent business career as a leather broker in Chicago, which pursuit he followed for ten years. Believing that there were better business opportunities on the Pacific coast, in 1888 he came west, and for a year was a representative of the Gambrims Brewery of Portland. Oregon. Visiting Seattle, he became convinced that this was to become the leading city of the northwest and determined to make it the base of his future business operations. Accordingly in 1890 he made a permanent loca- tion here, and time has proved the wisdom of his decision. For the first year he was the Seattle representative of the Portland Company, after which he engaged in the hotel business, but in 1898 he retired from that and be- came a member of the real estate and investment firm of Groll. Damus & Osner. Following the financial panie which swept over the country in 1893 Seattle suffered considerable depression, but Mr. Osner maintained firm faith in its future, made the best of his opportunities during the dark period and in course of time saw Seattle emerge into a new growth, which has made it the leading metropolitan center of the northwest. In January, 1902, in con- nection with Mr. Damus, he purchased Mr. Groll's interest in the firm, and under the style of Damus & Osner business is now carried on. While they do some fire insurance business, representing the Philadelphia Underwrit- ers, the business is mainly the buying and selling of real estate, which they carry on on their own account, also acting as brokers. They also super- intend the negotiation of loans and investments and now have a large client- age in their line, for both gentlemen are known as reliable and trustworthy business men of large knowledge concerning realty values. Mr. Osner has erected some residences in Seattle and has also laid out two additions on Green lake, one inside the city limits and the other just outside the corpora- tion confines. Sixty acres have been divided into city lots and he also holds another sixty acres within the city limits which has not yet been sub- divided.
While at Portland Mr. Osner was united in marriage to Miss Bielen- berg, whose father is now living retired here, and in 1898 ereeted his resi- dence at 326 Bellevue avenue, where they have a pleasant home in what
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is known as the Broadway district. In his political affiliations Mr. Osner is independent. although he usually votes the Democratic ticket. He does not consider himself bound by party ties and is a man of independent spirit, self-reliant and always outspoken in defense of his honest convictions. He belongs to the chamber of commerce and is a member of several fraternal organizations, and he withholds his co-operation from no movement or meas- ntre calculated to advance the general welfare. To him there has come the attainment of a distinguished position in connection with the material in- dustries of the state, and his efforts have been so discerningly directed along well defined lines of labor that he seems to have realized at any one point of progress the full measure of his possibilities for accomplishment at that point.
AXEL H. SOELBERG.
Some historians have gone so far as to believe that the physical aspect and character of a country are primary causes in determining the nature of its inhabitants, and although this cannot be proved in its entirety, no one will dispute the fact that climate and environment exert much influence upon the temperament of people. This can be stated with certainty of the land of Norway, whose stern, rocky, rugged shores have been the nurturing place of men who in all ages have found their delight in the fiercest of the con- Aicts against the elements and the less material but real difficulties of life. While these influences may have had no appreciable effect on the firm and upright character of Mr. Soelberg, he is proud to claim that northern coun- try as his birthplace and ascribe to its hardy soil much that has made for his success in life.
He was born in Norway on March 2. 1869. and spent the first nineteen years of his life there, receiving a good education meanwhile and preparing himself for the future. The stories of the wonders and the prosperity to be enjoyed in the United States had often come to his ears, and in 1888 he came to this country. He located in Minneapolis and found his first em- ployment in a sashi and door factory. But four years later he came to Seattle. Some of his friends were interested in the establishment of the Scandinavian-American Bank, and when it was opened he obtained the posi- tion of bookkeeper. After holding this place for two years he was chosen cashier, and in May. 1902. was elected vice president. which position lic now fills and is very active in making this one of the foremost financial in- stitutions in the city ; he is also a director in the bank. He is also connected
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with other interests in the city and holds various positions; among these he is secretary of the Seattle Clearing House. But he devotes most of his time and attention to the business of the bank.
Mr. Soelberg has found the Republican party representative of his politi- cal views, and he has been honored with being chosen as delegate to the coun- ty conventions. He holds membership in the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Knights of Pythias, of which he is past chancellor. He belongs to the Lutheran church. For recreation during his vacation he made two trips to Alaska, and thus added to his fund of knowledge con- cerning the world. Mr. Soelberg was married in January, 1898, to Miss Olga Wickstrom, who is the daughter of one of Seattle's pioneers, Peter Wickstrom. They have one daughter, Adene. They are now living in their fine new residence, which was erected during the past year. It is situated on Capitol Hill, and has a charming location at the corner of Thirteenth avenue and Aloha street.
FRANK HANFORD.
Almost fifty years have elapsed since this gentleman arrived in Seattle and he is justly numbered among her honored pioneers and leading citizens. He has been prominently identified with her business interests, and is to-day a member of the well-known insurance firm of Watson, Hanford & Com- pany. Not alone is there particular interest attaching to his career as one of the earliest settlers of this state, but in reviewing his genealogical record we find his lineage tracing baek to the colonial history of the nation and to that period which marked the inception of the grandest republie the world has ever known.
Mr. Hanford was born in Winchester, Van Buren county, Iowa. Jan- uary 9, 1853, and is a descendant of Eglin Hanford, who came to this coun- try from Sudbury, England, on the Planter, April 10, 1635. She was a widow at that time and brought with her two daughters, leaving one son, Thomas, and a daughter, Eglin, in England. Later, about 1637, Thomas also emigrated to America and became the first minister at Norwalk, Con- necticut, where he lived from 1052 10 1693. He was married October 22. 1661 to Miss Mary Ince, daughter of Richard Miles, who was one of the original settlers of Milford, Connecticut, but later became a resident of New Haven, being one of the seven founders of the church there. Thomas Han- ford, Jr., son of Thomas, was born in Norwalk, July 18, 1668, and married Hannah Burwell. Their son Theophilus was the father of Theophilus Han-
frank Hanford
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ford, Jr., who was born April 26, 1724. The latter's son, Ebenezer Han- ford, born October 1. 1757, was the father of Thaddeus Hanford, the grand- father of our subject. The last named was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, November 21, 1780, and in 1802 removed to Ohio, locating on a farm on the Little Miami river, nine miles from the city of Cincinnati. He was urged to accept the nomination for governor of the state but always refused to ac- cept any political office. A devoted Christian, he was for more than thirty years a class leader in the Methodist church.
Edward Hanford, the father of our subject, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, January 10, 1807, and was educated in the schools of that city. Dur- ing his minority he remained upon the home farm, and then in company with a brother went to Van Buren county, Iowa, where he purchased four hundred acres of land. There he was married December 4, 1845, to Miss Abby J. Holgate. She traces her ancestry back to William Holgate, the progenitor of the American branch of the family, who came to this country with William Penn and erected the first brick house in Philadelphia, im- porting the brick from England. This building was torn down in 1833 and some of the relics found in the corner stone are now in possession of the family. Members of the family took a conspicuous part in the Revolu- tionary war and one served as judge of the court of common pleas. Abra- ham Levering Holgate, the father of Mrs. Hanford, was of the fifth gen- eration in direct descent from William Holgate. He was born in Phila- delphia, March 1, 1791, and with his brother served as a soldier in the war of 1812, belonging to the Chestnut Hill Rifle Rangers. In October, 1819, he removed to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he was engaged in the manufacture of edged tools until 1824, and then removed to Lebanon, Ohio, where Mr. Hanford was born. In October, 1839, he went still farther west to the new territory of Iowa, where he made his home until called to final rest November 7, 1847. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hanford were born five sons, namely : Thaddeus, now deceased, who was a graduate of the Uni- versity of Rochester (New York) in the class of 1870; Cornelius H., United States district judge of Washington; Frank, the subject of this sketch; Ar- thur E., a member of the abstract firm of Booth, Whitely & Hanford; and Clarence. a member of the firm of Lowman & Hanford Company.
Edward Hanford continued his residence in Van Buren county, Iowa. until his wife's poor health made it advisable for the family to seek another climate. As her brother, John Holgate, had come to Oregon in 1847, they decided to remove to the Pacific coast and started for the west, crossing the Missouri river in May, 1853. They drove across the plains and arrived at
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their destination in November. On the ist of January. 1854, Mr. Hanford and his brother-in-law came north and selected a claim near Seattle, re- turning for his family in May. He found this part of the trip more severe than crossing the plains, as they had to travel by water much of the way. C'anoes were at first used. but the latter part of the journey was made on a scow. Mr. Hanford engaged in logging until the Indian war broke out, when the red men killed all his cattle and destroyed his orchard of two hundred choice fruit trees. He then enlisted in the Home Guards under Captain Flughett and served until hostilities ceased. He went to Port Madison, and after a year removed to San Francisco in order to give his children bet- ter educational advantages than the schools of this state afforded at that time. At the end of six years, however, he returned to Seattle, and bought land at what is now the corner of Fourth avenue and James street. turn- ing his attention to fruit raising. Politically he was a strong Republican, but never held office. When a young man he was an active member of the Methodist Protestant church, but after coming west united with the Baptist church which was organized at his house. Generous and hospitable he made many warm friends, and he was honored and respected by all who knew him. His death occurred in Seattle on the 25th of September, 1884. His wife still survives him and now makes her home . with our subject.
It was during the infancy of Frank Hanford that the family crossed the plains to Portland, Oregon, and after stopping for a time with his uncle, John C. Holgate, came to Seattle in August, 1854. since which time our subject has been identified with the growth and prosperity of the city. He was reared upon the frontier and his early education was obtained in a district school which was very good for those early days. Later when the family were driven away by the Indians in 1855 they took up their resi- dence in Seattle, where he attended school for six years. During their stay in San Francisco he was a student in the Washington grammar school two years, and for three years was employed in a mining and real estate office, there gaining his first knowledge of business methods. Returning to Seattle in 1866, at the age of thirteen, he spent the following two years of the home farm, and then entered the State University, where he was a student from 1869 until 1872. He next engaged in teaching school at Seaheck for three months, and at the end of that time took charge of a store for a year. Subsequently he was in the employ of Crawford & Harrington for fourteen years, and at the end of that time embarked in the insurance business on his own account as a member of the firm of Pumphrey & Han- ford. Later the business was at different times conducted under the firm
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style of Frank Hanford; Hanford & Beach and Hanford & Stewart until 1898, when the present firm of Watson, Hanford & Company was estab- lished. This is one of the leading concerns of the kind in the city and they are doing a large and profitable business which is constantly increasing. Mr. Hanford is also interested in several mining companies and is a director of some of them. At one time he was a director of the Meyers Packing Company but has since retired. He is part owner in the bark Hesper and has considerable real estate, both farm land and residence property. His pleasant residence in Seattle was erected by him in 1886, and later he bought ten acres of land on Lake Washington with the view of building there but never did owing to his wife's death.
At Canby, Oregon, Mr. Hanford was married in 1886 to Miss Eva Waite, a daughter of ex-Chief Justice Aaron E. Waite, of that state. She died in July, 1894, leaving one son, Frank Waite Hanford. An older child had died previously.
Since attaining his majority Mr. Hanford has always affiliated with the Republican party, and has taken quite an active and prominent part in local politics. In 1890 he was elected to the city council and served two years, during which time a large amount of work was accomplished by that body as it was right after the fire. He was called upon to represent his district in the legislature in 1895 and became a prominent and influential inember of the house. He was instrumental in securing the amendment to the corporation law, by which a majority of directors may be residents of other states, and was active in having the arson law passed. He also suc- ceeded in having the bill, relieving ships in foreign trade from local tax, pass through the house but it could not be reached in the senate, owing to the great amount of legislation at that session. His speech on this won him great renown. Mr. Hanford was chairman of the house committee on investigation of penitentiaries, and was connected with other important work. He has been a delegrate to numerous county and state conventions of his party and takes a very active interest in politics but has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking. Fraternally he is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, and when younger filled all the chairs in the different branches of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, including the offices of noble grand and chief patriarch. He attends the Episcopal church, of which his wife was an earnest member.
As a pioneer Mr. Hanford has taken part in every event of historical interest to the city of Seattle, and although quite young he well remembers when the Indians made their attack on the place. At that time he was living
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where Hotel Seattle now stands. When the Chinese riots occurred in 1886, Mr. Ilanford was sworn in as a deputy sheriff and took an active part in the maintenance of law and order. He is a member of the Chamber of Com- merce and the Ranier Club, having been connected with the latter for fifteen years. It will thus be seen that Mr. Hanford has ever been prominently identified with public affairs in Seattle, and as one of its leading and rep- resentative citizens deserving of honorable mention in its history.
AUGUSTUS MUCHMORE.
Success comes not to the man who idly waits, but to the faithful toiler whose work is characterized by intelligence and torce: it comes only to the man who has the foresight and keenness of mental vision to know when, where and how to exert his energies, and thus it happens that but a small pro- portion of those who enter the "world's broad field of battle" come off victo- rious in the struggle for wealth and position. Mr. Muchmore is a member of the leading printing company of Seattle, the Mensing-Muchmore Company, of which he is the founder. He is a worthy representative of the younger ele- ment that has appreciated and improved the business opportunities that Se- attle offers. Starting in with a small printing office, in 1892, with only thirty or forty fonts of type. he has built up a business that is the most com- plete in its line on the coast.
A native of New Jersey, Mr. Muchmore was born near Madison, of that state. in 1867, and in both paternal and maternal lines comes of ancestry that has long been connected with America. The Muchmore family is of Scotch lineage and the first of the name in this country came to the new world between 1730 and 1740. Our subject was the fourth generation born in New Jersey, the records showing that his great-grandfather, his grandfa- ther, John Muchmore, and his father, Joseph Eli Muchmore, were all natives of that state. John Muchmore was engaged in agricultural pursuits; his home adjoined Washington's headquarters, and the army on its memorable trip from Valley Forge encamped on his land. There were a number of Indian mounds there, and Augustus Muchmore has found, by excavating them, many arrow-heads and other Indian relics. Joseph E. Muchmore was born at Newark, New Jersey, in 1819, and spent his entire life in that locality. He was a carpenter and builder by trade, and followed it all his life, and was also interested in educational matters, filling several local posi- tions in connection with the schools. He married Margaret Cook Kitchell, and of their children seven attained maturity and six are yet living, but
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Augustus is the only one west of Chicago. The Kitchell family is of Eng- lish descent, and a complete record of the family can be traced down to 1500. Representatives of the name were on the second boat to reach American shores from England. Several of the family served in the Revolutionary war, and one of these was a direct ancestor of our subject. The old Kitchell- home was retained in the possession of the family until 1897. The maternal grandfather of our subject was born in 1797. and both his wife and the wife of John Muchmore were born in 1800. Joseph E. Muchmore passed away at the age of seventy-three years and his wife when fifty-four years of age.
In the public schools and in a preparatory school at Williamstown, Mas- sachusetts, Augustus Muchmore pursued his education and then started upon his business career as an employe in a printing office. For nineteen years he has followed this pursuit. After a time spent at Madison, New Jersey, he went to Pennsylvania, and was employed in Carlisle and after- ward in Bedford. In 1889 he came to the west, remaining in California until the fall of the following year, when he returned to the Atlantic coast, but in 189t he again came to the Pacific coast. In 1893 he embarked in business on his own account, in Oakland. California, where, in connection with Frank Jordan, now clerk of the supreme court of the state of California, he established the Jordan Printing Company. He has always felt a deep interest in the Woodmen of the World, and while at Oakland he established the first paper setting forth the important object of that order and promot- ing its growth and development; it is still published. In 1898 he Jecided to go to Skagway and establish a paper there, but upon reaching Seattle he was so pleased with the city and its prospects that he decided to locate here permanently. He started a small printing establishment in a room in the Collins building, and in November he admitted Mr. Mensing to a partner- ship under the firm name of the Mensing-Muchmore Company. They have steadily increased their business until they now have all of the work they can handle. In the spring of 1899 the company was incorporated under the name of the Mensing-Muchmore Company, Mr. Muchmore becoming the secretary and treasurer. The business grew so rapidly that it became neces- sary to increase their facilities, and in June, 1901, they removed to their present location, at 714 Third avenue, and put in a lithographing press. Since that time their business has steadily increased and will necessitate a removal to larger quarters in the near future. They have the most complete plant on the coast, as they do their own printing, lithographing and copper plate work, all of which is executed under the one roof. Their business has been very satisfactory and tests the capacity of the plant and facilities to the ut-
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most. Mr. Muchmore established the Forest Echoes here, and Head Consul Valkenburg of the Woodmen of the World says it is the best paper pub- lished in the interest of the order. Mr. Muchmore is serving as editor of this publication, which was begun shortly after his arrival here.
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