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 68
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After his marriage Mr. Newell removed from Bureau county to Rock Island, Illinois, and later to Whiteside county, that state, where he worked at the carpenter's trade, later following the same occupation at Clinton, Iowa. for some time. He also filled the position of collector for the transfer com pany of that city. It was on the 21st of June, 1889. that he first came to Se- attle, where for one year he was engaged in carpenter work, and then re- moved to Olympia, where he bought property, and remained one year work- ing at his trade. On selling out there he moved to Salem, Oregon, but after a month passed at that place he returned to Seattle, locating on Second ave- nue, where he made his home a short time while engaged in contracting and building. He next bought a ranch in Kitsap county. Washington. but after one winter spent there he again took up his residence in Seattle. locating at Interbay, where he now lives. He established a milk route and for a time engaged in the dairy business, making the manufacture of butter the mair feature of his business. He became one of the organizers of the Interbay Improvement Club, of which he is now vice president. and as a public-spirited
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and progressive citizen he has taken quite an active and prominent part in the development and upbuilding of his adopted city. For the past four years he has given his attention to the real estate business and contract building, and is meeting with excellent success. In 19of he erected his own comfort- able residence, and besides this owns another residence in Interbay.
In his political views Mr. Newell is an ardent Democrat and has been an active worker for the principles of his party, but has never been an aspirant for political honors, preferring to devote his undivided attention to his busi- ness interests. Fraternally he is an honored member of the Grand Army post of Seattle and has filled various offices in the order. He is widely and fav- orably known and well merits the confidence reposed in him by his fellow citizens.
JAMES WILLIAMS.
Such was the standing attained by the subject of this memoir in connec- tion with the development of the industrial activities of the state, such his prestige in the line of his profession as a civil and mining engineer, and such the esteem which he commanded by reason of his honorable life and sterling character. that it is in justice due that he be accorded distinctive recognition in this compilation. In his death King county lost a valuable and worthy citizen, while in the attractive village of Renton, where he long maintained his home, the community felt a sense of personal bereavement when he was thus called to his reward. after a life of earnest endeavor and unswerving honor in all its relations.
James Williams was born in Staffordshire. England, on the 9th of April, 1846, coming of stanch old English stock on both sides. He was reared and educated in his native land, where he received a most thorough technical training as a civil and mining engineer. the profession to whose practical work he devoted his attention during the years of his active career. In 1868. shortly after attaining his legal majority, Mr. Williams left his na tive land and came to America, believing that in the United States would be "found wider opportunities for effective and successful work in the line of the profession for which he had fitted himself. Ile first secured employment in connection with the coal-mining industry in the state of Pennsylvania, and a few years later his services were enlisted by the Union Pacific Mining Com- pany at Laramie, Wyoming, where he hekl a responsible position for ser- cral years. In 1873 Mr. Williams came to Renton, King county, Washing- ton, and entered the employ of the Oregon Improvement Company, and had
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charge of the mines at this point and also at Newcastle from the year men- tioned until 1883. He finally, in the year last mentioned, was compelled to resign his active labors, having become a great sufferer from rheumatic trou- bles, and he thereafter lived practically retired until his death, which occurred on the 17th of January. 1900. He was prominently concerned in the (level- opment of many of the mines in this section, including the celebrated Cedar Mountain coal mine in King county, and he gained the highest reputation in the line of his profession. Mr. Williams was a man of exemplary habits. of the highest business integrity, was a good citizen and a loving and indulgent husband and father, being signally true in all the relations of life and com- manding unqualified confidence and esteem on the part of all who knew him. In politics he exercised his franchise in support of the principles and policies of the Republican party, and his religious faith was that of the Protestant Episcopal church, of which he was a communicant and a devoted churchman. Fraternally he was prominently identified with the time-honored order of Free and Accepted Masons, having held membership in St. Andrew's Lodge No. 35. in Renton.
Mr. Williams had crossed the Atlantic on four different occasions, and at one time he was there united in marriage to Miss Lizzie P. Black. Mrs. Williams was born in Walsall, Staffordshire, England, and soon ofter her marriage she accompanied her husband on his return to the United States. They became the parents of seven children, of whom five are living at the present time, namely : Gertrude, who is the wife of Arthur E. Raymond, of Renton ; Sidney J., of whom more specific mention will be made in following paragraphs ; Arthur E., who is attending school: Florence, who remains with her mother, being a graduate of Whitworth College; and Edith M., who like- wise remains with her mother. All are communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church and the family is one which has occupied a prominent posi- tion in the best social life of the community.
Sidney J. Williams, through whose courtesy was secured the data for this brief memoir of his honored father, is a native of King county, having been born in the town of Renton, which is still the family home, on the 10th of April, 1877. In his home town he received his preliminary educational discipline in the public schools, and in the Washington State University he took both the literary and law courses and was graduated in the law depart- ment as a member of the class of 1901, being admitted to the bar of the state on the 6th of June, of that year. He is now established in the practice of his chosen profession in the city of Seattle, the firm name being Blake & Will- iams. He is thoroughly devoted to his profession, is a close student, and
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careful and conservative in his methods. . As soon as he attained his legal majority Mr. Williams sent in his application for membership in the Masonic lodge, with which his father had been so prominently identified, and in due time he received the fellowcraft degrees in St. Andrew's Lodge No. 35, Free and Accepted Masons, of Renton, being there raised to the degree of Master Mason. Of this lodge he has filled the office of secretary, and he is also iden- tified with the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, being in the latter past noble grand of the lodge at Renton. While he is a stanch Republican in his political proclivities, Mr. Williams realizes that the law is a jealous mistress and demands an undivided devotion on the part of those who aim to achieve success in the profession, and thus he has no wish to become active in the field of politics.
FRANK TURNER.
Frank Turner is a retail dealer in meat, and is also engaged in the ship- ping business in this line, at Auburn. He was born in New York city, April 9. 1859. 1lis father, Gilbert Turner, was born at Turner, Orange county, New York, about 1832. That place was named in honor of the family, which had been established there at an early day. For many years the father of our subject was an active and prominent business man of that section and owns there three large farms, also conducts a hotel and in other ways is in- terested in the improvement and commercial activity of the district. He is a large producer of live stock and of dairy products, and for many years has supplied the West Point military post with meat and dairy products, his place being located only about eight miles from the noted military academy. Mr. Turner was united in marriage to Miss Martha Pollard, who was born in New York city about 1840, and is a daughter of Willett Pollard, who was captain of one of the Cunard line steamers for many years and was afterward engaged in stevedoring on East river. The parents of our subject were mar- ried at Turner and are still living in the old home there.
At the usual age Frank Turner began his education in the commor schools of Orange county, and then entered the Chester Academy at Chester; New York. On leaving school at the age of twenty years he became em- ployed in the old Washington market in New York, where he remained for two years. Throughout his entire life he has been connected with the meat business. About 1883 he went to Medora, South Dakota, and was asso- ciated with Marquis De Mora, and Theodore Roosevelt, now the president of the United States, in the conduct of a cold storage plant at that place. After
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one year in this business Mr. Turner went to Minneapolis, where for two years he had charge of the Minneapolis Transfer Packing Company, and on the expiration of that period he went to Chicago, where he was employed in Armour's packing house for a year. In 1890 he arrived in Washington settling in Tacoma, where for a year he was engaged in canning fish at Mu- kilteo, where he rented a cannery. The following year he was in the butch- ering business at Snohomish, and then was with the Puget Sound Dressed Beef and Packing Company at Seattle. Later he located at Kent, Washing- ton, where he entered into partnership with William Horlock, conducting a new butchering business, this relation being maintained for about four years In 1896 Mr. Turner came to Auburn and purchased the butchering business of the Pauly Brothers, and Auburn has since been his home. He has a forty-acre farm near the town, where he keeps his stock and has a large slaughter-house. He now enjoys an extensive local trade and also does a shipping business.
Mr. Turner belongs to Perseverance Lodge, Frec and Accepted Masons. New York city, and to the Knights of Pythias fraternity of Auburn. In pol- itics he is a Republican and at the last election cast his ballot for Theodore Roosevelt, his former associate and partner, for vice president. He does not find the time or desire for office, however, preferring to devote his attention exclusively to his business affairs, in which he is now meeting with signal Sticcess.
MRS. J. F. T. MITCHELL.
In acknowledging the indebtedness of the public to the pioneers who settled upon the frontier of the northwest, one should not forget that an im- portant part in the work of development and progress has been carried on by the pioneer women. Their lives, of a more quiet character. have perhaps not brought them into so great public notice, but their influence and work have been none the less potent. Mrs. Mitchell came to Seattle when it was but a mere hamlet in the midst of the woods, and during more than four decades has lived in this city, taking an active interest in the well-being and progress of Seattle.
Mrs. Margaret Judith (Jacklin) Mitchell was born on the 13th of March, 1854. in Galena. Illinois, the town of the famous soldier and presi- dent General U. S. Grant. She is a daughter of Daniel Jacklin, a native of England, whose ancestors have long resided in that country, and who were originally descendants of the Jacquelins of France. The father of Mrs.
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Mitchell emigrated to the United States when a young man and was married' in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, to Miss Grace Brooks Grannan, a lady of Irish birth and ancestry, who, however, was reared in Canada. With his wife and fam- ily of four children he crossed the plains in 1860 to San Francisco, and thence came to Seattle to engage in the lumber business with his brother-in- law, Walter Lawrence Grannan, who had come to the northwest in 1852, and who became one of the prominent and prosperous pioneer lumbermen and shipbuilders of the Puget Sound country. Mr. Grannan shipped the first cargo of lumber out of this district and built up a very large lumber indus- try at U'tsaladdy. He was married in San Francisco to Mrs. Elizabeth Hale, and four years later his death occurred. Thus passed away one of the nobk pioneer men of the territory of Washington, one whose efforts and labors were of marked value in promoting the early development of this section of the country. Mrs. Mitchell's father was his partner up to the time of his death and was interested with him in all his enterprises, acquiring a consid- erable fortune through their business operations. At length he retired from business and removed to the east, passing away in 1870 at the age of forty- nine years. His good wife survived him and returned to Seattle, where she resided until 1891, when in the seventy-sixth year of her age she was called to her final rest. Their children were Frances Elizabeth, Margaret Judith, William Brooks and Angeline Burdette Coutts. The mother was a devoted Roman Catholic and the father a member of the Episcopal church. The children were educated at home under the instruction of a governess and tutor. This means of education was somewhat unusual in the pioneer days in the Sound country. Frances Elizabeth became the wife of Captain Albert Nicholas and is now a widow residing in Seattle. She has three children. Angeline B. Coutts became the wife of the Hon. John Collins, of Seattle, and has four children.
Margaret Judith, whose name introduces this record, married Captain J. F. T. Mitchell, who was the pioneer shipbuilder and marine architect of the Puget Sound country. Ile was educated in Scotland, becoming a ship builder, and in 1862 came to Utsaladdy. Ten years later he established the first ship-building plant in the Puget Sound country at Seattle. He contin- ued in the business until 1898, at which time he went north to superintend the completion of a large contract. While on his way, on the 18th of June. 1808, he departed this life, dying of heart disease. He was a citizen of a very excellent reputation. llis sterling worth and splendid characteristics won for him the high regard of all with whom he came in contact. He was also a thirty-second degree Mason. The loss to his family and to the coun-
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try was a very great one, for in the household he was a devoted husband and father and as a citizen was public spirited and progressive, interested in all that pertained to the general welfare.
To Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell were born six children: Grace Elizabeth, Alexander, Merdes, Lettie, Anastasia and Wendell W .. all of whom were born in Seattle. They became students in the schools of this city and in the state university. Grace Elizabeth was the first native daughter of Wash- ington to graduate from the law department of that institution, completing the course with the class of 1902, since which time she has been admitted to the bar.
At her husband's death Mrs. Mitchell was left in possession of a good property. She and her children have an elegant and commodious home at 414 Boylston avenue. Mrs. Mitchell was made administratrix of her hus- band's property and is conducting the business with marked ability. She is a member of the Pioneer Society of the state, is one of its trustees and she had the honor of being the first president of the Woman's Federation of Clubs in the city. She and her accomplished daughters are held in very high esteem by a wide circle of friends in the city in which she has so long resided and in which they were born.
JAMES A. BUNCE.
One of the most distinguished and prominent residents of Seattle is James :A. Bunce, whose extensive business interests, active political work and marked enterprise have made him an eminent factor of the northwest. He has been and is distinctively a man of affairs and one who has wielded a wide influence. A strong mentality, an invincible courage, a most deter- mined individuality have so entered into this makeup as to render him a nat- ural leader of men and a director of opinion.
Mr. Bunce was born in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. February 8, 1854. during a temporary sojourn of his parents in that state. His paternal grand- father, James A. Bunce, was a native of New York and a pioneer of Illinois, going to Freeport, that state, at an early day. There he followed his trade of blacksmithing, making his home in Freeport until called to his final rest. The parents of our subject were Jacob B. and Melissa I. ( Mitchell ) Bunce. The father, a native of the Empire state, was born in 1820, and the mother was a native of Indiana. In early life he learned the blacksmith's trade under the direction of his father and for a number of years followed that pursuit in Freeport, Illinois, but on account of an accident, which resulted in
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a broken leg. he was obliged to give up work at his trade, and in consequence turned his attention to railroad contract work, which he carried on exten- sively for several years. In 1853 he went to Canada to execute some rail- road contracting there and later returned to Freeport. Illinois, but remaine less than a year at that time. Removing to Olmsted county, Minnesota. he was there engaged in general merchandising and trading, handling grain and other products of the farm. He lived in a tent until a log cabin could be built. after which he made that primitive dwelling his home for seven or eight years. In the meantime the country settled up rapidly, his butsi- ness proportionately increased and he then replaced his log cabin by a fine brick residence. He was one of the leading citizens in business and social matters in that part of the state and contributed in large measure to public progress and improvement. A pronounced Republican in politics, he never sought or desired office. although he labored most earnestly for his party's success. He remained in active business life up to the time of his death. which occurred in 1883. He was very successful in his mercantile inter- ests. and was thus enabled to provide a comfortable home for his family. Religiously he was connected with the Christian church, becoming one of the early followers of the doctrines preached by Mexander Campbell. Fra- ternally he was connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and was prominent and active in its work. His wife died October 17, 1871. In the family were seven children : Lucretia is the wife of J. J. McDonald. painter of Seattle: George W. is a resident of Mankato, Minnesota, and has been upon the road for twenty years as a traveling salesman: Iluldah E. is the wife of a prominent grain dealer of the state, who served for many years a- state grain inspector: James A. is the next of the family: Edgar J. is a traveling salesman residing at Redwood Falls, Minnesota: Mary Adelaide is the wife of A. A. Robinson, a painter of Seattle; and Mande E. is the deceased wife of Albert S. Ford. for many years a journalist of Spokane.
James .A. Bunce was only a year old when his parents removed to the frontier of Minnesota, where he was reared to manhood amid the condi- tions of pioneer life. Hle pursued his education in the public schools, at- tending the high school of Rochester, Minnesota, and after completing his course assisted his father in the store and in other business affairs, incluid- ing the supervision of his father's extensive landed interests. He remained at home until twenty-six years of age. From the time he was thirteen years of age he was allowed to trade for himself, and he worked on the farm during the summer months and in the store through the winter seasons. From the time that he was eighteen years of age he owned certain lines
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of goods in the store, dealing in these strictly on his own account. He invested his earnings in other goods and commodities and when his father removed to another part of the state Mr. Bunce became sole proprietor of the business, which he carried on until 1881, carrying the best stock of fancy goods in the town. In that year, however, he lost all by fire and found himself forty dollars in debt, because he had no insurance upon the store. He went then to Brainard, Minnesota, and accepted a position as night agent for the Northern Pacific Express Company, which position he held for a year, when he established a livery business and began trading in horses, for which he had always had a special fondness, being an ex- cellent judge of a fine animal. He continued his buying and selling, ship- ping draft horses to Minneapolis. Ile also dealt and traded in farm pro- duce.
In 1883 Mr. Bunce removed to Minneapolis, where he conducted a livery stable and also bought and sold horses, remaining there for five years during which time he made over fifty thousand dollars. In 1888 he re- moved to Spokane, Washington, where for a short time he was connected with the Northern Pacific Express Company, but again turned his atten- tion to horse dealing. In 1895 he came to Seattle, having in the meantime suffered financial reverses, but with strong courage and a determination to retrieve his lost possessions he accepted a position in a lumber yard, where he remained for some time. He next turned his attention to contracting and building, which he has since followed, being alone until 1901, when he admitted his son-in-law, Walter H. Johnston to a partnership under the firm style of the B. & J. Contracting Company, general contractors and builders. Mr. Bunce has erected many fine residences in Seattle, including some of the most beautiful homes here. He has done much conduit work for the Denny Ice Company, building conduits for underground wires and heating. He has also done a large amount of concrete work in building walls and conduits, and the business of the firm is now extensive and im- portant, the company ranking among the most prominent in their line ( business in the city.
In 1899, because of his especial fitness, Mr. Bunce was appointed city inspector of streets and sewers, having under his supervision the construc- tion of streets, sewers, grading and paving. Reared in the faith of the Republican party. since 1896 he has given his support to the free-silver branch of the party, and he is to-day one of the most prominent and influ- ential members of the party in the state. Few men are more widely known in political circles of the northwest than he. He has represented the city
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in state and national conventions, was a delegate to the national conven- tion in Kansas City in 1900, and at that time was elected a member of the national committee for the state of Washington. Hle is most active and influential in campaign work, was elected one of five to do campaign work in doubtful states and spent the fall of 1900 in such work in various states. During the years 1894-5 he was in the government secret service depart- ment. He served with distinction and received letters of the highest praise in recognition of his work. In 1902 he was one of the deputies who took a prominent part in the chase for the notorious Harry Tracy, and with his son, Fred C. Bunce, followed him for several days and nights through the (lense woods of King county, exchanging shots with him in the dark, at which time he would undoubtedly have captured him had he been certain of the identity of the man. Fear is unknown to him, and he never hesi- tates for an instant in the performance of his duty in the government ser- vice. He is a splendid athlete, has mastered the science, and frequently gives lessons therin. While in Minnesota he served for thirteen years as a mem- ber of the fire department and for three years as chief of the department of Brainard, while through the remaining years he was connected with the department at Rochester.
Mr. Bunce was reared in the Baptist church, but became a member of the Congregational church. Fraternally he is connected with the Ameri- ean Union and has taken an active part in the American Protective Associa- tion. He was largely instrumental in organizing the American Union, of which he was chosen the general commander for the United States and has since held the office. This organization was effected in the city of Seattle, its purpose being of a patriotic nature, to preserve American institutions anl rights, and it has become an order of national importance.
In St. Paul, Minnesota, in September, 1875, Mr. Bunce was married to Miss Henrietta L. Newton, a daughter of Ezra and Martha Thayer ( l'at- ton ) Newton. She was born in Kingston. New Hampshire, and in early life accompanied her parents to Minnesota, where she remained until com- ing to Washington. She has been a faithful helpmate to her husband, and has a large circle of acquaintances here. Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bunce: Nellie M. is the wife of W. H. Johnston, a member of the B. & J. Contracting Company ; Frederick C., who is one of the skilled civil engineers of the state, now employed in the county surveyor's office : Ezra N., an electrical engineer : Henry C., who died at the age of eleven years; Jim, who died at the age of eight years: Martha M. and Charles D., at home; and two who died in infancy. Mr. Bunce erected an elegant
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