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 74
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Just before removing to Nebraska in 1863 he was married a second time,
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his wife being Margaret Stubbs, a native of Canada; to them were born three children, May, Charles and George, all of whom died before reaching maturity. John C., his son by his first wife, is a well known and respected citizen of the suburb of Fremont. In politics Mr. Smith is a Democrat; he served two very successful terms as a member of the Nebraska state legis- lature and was active in securing the removal of the state capitol from Om- aha to Lincoln; since coming to Seattle he has taken no part in political matters. Fraternally he is a Master Mason and one of the oldest members in the state, having joined that order sixty years ago. It may be truly said of him that lie is a self-made man, for he started in life without money and among strangers, and without accepting help from anyone has made himself master of his destiny; now in the fulness of his years he occupies a place of honor among his fellow men.
ROBERT E. CARTER.
Prominently and successfully identified with a line of industrial en- terprise which has important bearing upon the material advancement of any community, the subject of this review is one of the leading contractors and builders of the city of Seattle, having his shop and office at 713 Third avenue and his residence at 1913 East Spruce street, one of the attractive residence sections of the city. He is recognized as one of the representative business men of the city, and as such is properly given consideration in a work of this province.
Mr. Carter claims the "right little, tight little isle" of England as the land of his nativity, having been born in the borough and town of Bucking- ham, on New Year's day, 1865, the son of Robert G. and Maria Carter, both representatives of sterling old English families. The father of our subject was a building contractor in England, where he did business on an extensive scale and largely in a legitimately speculative way, buying and improving town property and placing the same on the market. He is now living practic- ally retired from active business, in Great Marlow, Bucks county, England, his wife having entered into eternal rest in 1885. They became the parents of eleven children, of whom nine are living at the present time and all except three still reside in England. Those who came to the United States are Robert E., the subject of this sketch; George, who was for several years secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association in Seattle, where he was well and favorably known, and who is now a resident of Victoria, British
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Columbia ; and Rosa H., who is now the wife of Frederick Shensky, of San Mateo, California.
Robert E. Carter passed his boyhood days beneath the parental roof- tree and attended a boarding school in Buckingham until he had attained the age of fifteen years, when he entered upon an apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade under the effective dirction of his father, thus continuing until the age of eighteen, when he went to the city of London, where he worked as a journeyman, in the employ of William Willett & Company, a large contract- ing concern, for about three years. In 1887 he came to America, whither his brother George had preceded him. He did not remain long in the east, but came through to Seattle, where he found ample demand for his services in the line of his trade. The first work which thus enlisted his attention was in connection with the erection of the large residence of Cyrus Walker at Port Ludlow. Mr. Carter continued to be employed as a journeyman until tlie great fire which destroyed so great a portion of Seattle in 1889, when the courageous citizens inaugurated the work of rebuilding almost before the ruins of business blocks and residences were yet cold, and he then engaged in contracting and building on his own responsibility. His last work prior to the fire had been on the old Commercial mill, and after this disastrous conflag- ration his first individual contract work was in the erection of a temporary building for La Tour & Company. He continued to be successfully engaged in contracting until the panic of 1893, when all lines of business became greatly depressed in this section of the Union, and Mr. Carter was for a time compelled to take such employment as he could secure in order to meet existing exigencies, his case being similar to that of many others whose affairs had previously been in a prosperous condition. Finally the reaction came and the financial depression began to abate; building enterprises were resumed and again our subject found it possible to engage in business as a contractor, and in this line he continued active operations until the year 1900, confining his attention chiefly to the erection of residences. For the past two years Mr. Carter has given his attention more particularly to the manu- facturing and installing of store and office fixtures and to remodeling and refitting store and office buildings. His shop is well equipped and he is known as a superior mechanic and careful workman, so that he has attained a high reputation.
In politics Mr. Carter gives his allegiance to the Republican party, but he has never manifested any personal political ambition in the matter of seeking or desiring official preferment. His religious faith is that of the Protestant Episcopal church and he is a communicant in St. Clement's
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church, of which he has served as a member of the vestry. Fraternally he is identified with the Ancient Order of Foresters of America, in which he is past chief ranger, and with the Modern Woodmen of America, in which he is venerable counsel. On the 28th of April, 1892, was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Carter to Miss Anna Partin, who was born in Durham, Eng- land, and who came to the United States when she was a child. Mr. and Mrs. Carter are the parents of three children, namely: Netta May, Clyde R. and Gertrude A.
LOUIS HEMRICH.
A biographical record of the representative men of Seattle and King county would be incomplete and unsatisfactory without a personal and some- what detailed mention of those whose lives are interwoven so closely with the indutrial activities of this section. In the subject of this review, who is secretary and treasurer of the Hemrich Brothers Brewing Company, we find a young man of that progressive, alert and discriminating type through which has been brought about the magnificent commercial and material de- velopment of the Pacific northwest, and it is with satisfaction that we here note the more salient points in his honorable and useful career.
Louis Hemrich was born in the town of Alma, Buffalo county, Wiscon- sin, on the 20th of May, 1872, a son of John and Catherine ( Koeppel) Hemrich, the former of whom was born in Baden, Germany, and the latter in Bavaria. They came to America and resided in Wisconsin for a number of years, removing thence to Seattle when the subject of this sketch was a lad of about fourteen years, his rudimentary educational training having been secured in the public schools of his native state, while he continued his studies thereafter in the public schools of Seattle, where he prepared himself for college. At the age of eighteen years he matriculated in the University of Washington, where he completed a commercial course. After leaving school Mr. Hemrich took a position as bookkeeper for the Seattle Brewing & Malting Company, where he remained for a period of three years and was then elected secretary and treasurer of the company, in which capacity he rendered most effective service for the ensuing two years. He then resigned this office and forthwith became associated with his brothers in the organi- zation of the Hemrich Brothers Brewing Company, which was duly incor- porated under the laws of the state. They erected a fine plant, where is produced a lager of the most excellent order, the purity, fine flavor and gene- ral attractiveness of the product giving it a high reputation, while the busi-
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ness is conducted upon the highest principles of honor and fidelity, so that its rapid expansion in scope and importance came as a natural sequel.
As a business man Mr. Hemrich has shown marked acumen and mature judgment, and his progressive ideas and his confidence in the future of his home city have been signalized by the investments which he has made in local realty and by the enterprise he has shown in the improving of his various properties. In 1901 he erected in the village of Ballard, a suburb of Seattle, a fine brick business block, located at the corner of First avenue and Charles street, and he has also erected a number of substantial business buildings in the city of Seattle, together with a number of dwellings. He is the owner of valuable timber lands in the state and has well selected realty in other towns and cities aside from those already mentioned. He has recently accum- ulated a tract of land on Beacon Hill, and this will be platted for residence purposes and is destined to become one of the most desirable sections of the city. Mr. Hemrich erected his own beautiful residence, one of the finest in the city, in 1001, the same being located on the southwest corner of Belmont avenue and Republican street. It is substantial and commodious, of effec- tive architectural design, having the most modern equipments and acces- sories and is a home which would do credit to any metropolitan community.
While . Mr. Hemrich takes an abiding interest in all that concerns the advancement and material upbuilding of his home city and state, he has never taken an active part in political affairs, maintaining an independent attitude in this regard and giving his support to men and measures. Fraternally he is a popular member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and he is most highly esteemed in both business and social circles. On the 20th of May. 1897. in the city of Seattle, Mr. Hemrich was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Hanna, daughter of Nicholas and Mary Hanna, who were numbered among the early settlers of this city, where Mrs. Hemrich was born and reared and where she has been prominent in the best social life.
JOHN LANGSTON.
No man in King county is more distinctively entitled to representation in this compilation than is Mr. Langston, for he figures as one of the sterl- ing pioneers of the state of Washington, as one whose life labors have brought about the development and progress of our great commonwealth. and as one who commands unqualified confidence and esteem in the communi- ty where he has so long made his home. He is now living practically retired
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in the city of Seattle, where he has a beauitful home, and while he has been successful in his efforts in connection with the industrial activities of the state, there can be none to begrudge him his prosperity, for it represents the result of his own labors.
John Langston is a native of the state of Missouri, having been born on a farm in Osage county, on the 7th of January, 1842, the son of Abraham and Rebecca (Slater) Langston, natives respectively of Indiana and Ohio. Abraham Langston, who was a son of John Langston, one of the early pioneers of the Hoosier state, was reared to maturity in Indiana and as a young man removed thence to Osage county, Missouri, where he devoted his attention to teaching school at intervals for a number of years. also be- coming one of the successful agriculturists of that section, where he owned two good farms. In 1847 or 1848 he removed with his family to Polk county, Iowa, locating near the city of Des Moines, where he remained until 1849, when he returned to Missouri, locating in Lewis county. In the fol- lowing year he disposed of all his interests there and joined the throng of argonauts making their way across the plains to the New Eldorado in Cali- fornia, the gold excitement being then at its height. He drove a large band of live stock through to the coast. arriving safely at his destination and locat- ing on the American river in California, where, a few months later, he suc- cumbed to an attack of typhoid fever. He left a widow and two children, our subject, and his sister Emily, who was married in Missouri to Anthony Washburn, with whom she came to Washington and here died in the year 1863 After the death of his father the subject of this sketch became the head of the family and the support and protector of his mother and sister. In 1859, when seventeen years of age, he started, in company with his moth- er, sister and brother-in-law, across the plains for Colusa county, California, the long, weary and hazardous journey being made with ox teams. They started on the 21st of April and reached their destination on the 17th of September. Mr. Langston and his brother-in-law here engaged in cutting cordwood and during the winter got out three hundred cords. The follow- ing season Mr. Langston was employed on a ranch in that locality, and in 1862 embarked at San Francisco for the territory of Washington, where the work of development had scarcely been inaugurated. The vessel reached Port Townsend after a voyage of thirty-one days' duration, and two more days elapsed ere he arrived in Seattle, whither he came in company with James Coffin, a son-in-law of the late William Bell. In company with a friend Mr. Langston went to White river valley, taking up a claim of govern- ment land in King county and continuing his residence there until he had
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proved on the property. He then traded the same for another claim in the same county, exchanging with Joseph Brannan. In 1867, at Kent, Mr. Langston opened the first store in King county outside of Seattle, and here he conducted business for a period of seventeen years, building up a profit- able general merchandise enterprise. About the year 1870 he also estab- lished a ferry across White river, in the meanwhile continuing to operate his farm, which he developed into one of the most valuable and thoroughly improved in the county. For some three years before leaving this farm Mr. Langston was engaged quite extensively in the dairy business, produc- ing cheese during the summer seasons and butter in the winters. He kept a herd of about seventy-five excellent milch cows and in this line, also, did a profitable business. In the fall of 1882 Mr. Langston disposed of his farm and in the following year removed to Seattle, which city has ever since been virtually his home. Here he engaged in the livery business, his stables be- ing located on Washington street, where the St. Charles Hotel now stands, and there he continued the enterprise until the devastating fire nearly wiped out the city in 1889. He finally resumed the livery business in Eighth avenue, near Union street, and there conducted the same successfully until 1891. when he disposed of his interests. In 1889 Mr. Langston purchased another tract of forty acres of heavily timbered land. This he also cleared and improved and he gave his personal attention to its operation until 1899, dividing his time between the city and the farm. It should be noted in this connection that Mr. Langston has cleared and reclaimed a total of three hun- dred acres of heavily timbered land in King county, placing two hundred and eighty acres of the same under effective cultivation. In the spring of 1883 he took the contract for the clearing of eight miles of the right of way of the Northern Pacific Railroad, between the White and Black rivers. On his last mentioned farm Mr. Langston has given his attention principally to the dairy business, about twenty cows being kept on the place, and for the past two years he has rented the same, giving his attention principally to the demands placed upon him in the operation of his magnificent funeral coach, which is one of the finest in the northwest and which is drawn by a team of the best horses. the car being operated in connection with the undertaking business of three different concerns in the city. In 1902 he completed his fine modern residence at 720 Union street. the same being one of the many attractive homes in the city. While Mr. Langston has ever shown himself to be a public spirited and progressive citizen, taking deep interest in all that has concerned the well-being of the city and county of his home, he has never sought or desired the honors or emoluments of political preferment, though
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he is recognized as one of the stalwart supporters of the Republican party. Mr. Langston erected the St. Charles Hotel, one of the first to be opened to the public after the fire of 1889.
In King county, on the 30th of July, 1870, Mr. Langston was united in marriage to Mrs. Helen Keller, who was born in the state of Maine, as were also her parents, Goddard and Elizabeth Molmes. Of the four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Langston, the second died in infancy, while Hugh E. died in 1893, at the age of twenty-one years. The two surviving children are Cecil A., and Nellie, who is the wife of Harry Watson, of this city. Mr. Langston is one of the few remaining pioneers of King county, and this slight tribute to his worthy life and accomplishment is certainly due in this connection. The family have occupied a prominent place in the social life of the city, and the home of our subject is known as a center of cordial hos- pitality and good cheer.
BENJAMIN F. BRIGGS.
As one of the honored pioneers of the state of Washington and as a representative business man of Seattle, it is certainly fitting that Mr. Briggs be accorded definite recognition in a compilation of the province ascribed to this work, and in connection with his career and genealogical record are to be found many points of distinctive interest. He was incumbent of the re- sponsible position of cashier of the banking house of Dexter Horton & Com- pany, and known as one of the able financiers of the state, and during the long years of his residence in Washington had retained unqualified confi- dence and esteem on the part of those with whom he had come in contact in the various relations of life.
Mr. Briggs was a representative of families long identified with the annals of American history, the same having been founded in New England in the early colonial epoch. He was born in the village of Assonet, Bristol county, Massachusetts, near the city of Boston, the date of his nativity hav- ing been July 19, 1832. His father, Franklin Briggs, was likewise a native of the old Bay state, and he followed a seafaring life, having been an able navigator. He was mate of a vessel during the war of 1812 and was cap- tured by the British and held in Dartmouth prison for several months. He was prominently identified with maritime interests for many years, having been master of a large schooner utilized in the southern trade and having prospered in his endeavors. His wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Hatha- way, was likewise a native of Massachusetts and a member of one of the
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prominent old families of New England. Of their eight children, three are living at the present time, the subject of this review being the only repre- sentative of the family who came to the state of Washington. The father lived to attain the age of seventy-five years, his wife having passed away at the age of forty-nine.
Benjamin F. Briggs received his education in the public schools of his native state and in an excellent academy at Middleboro, having passed the summer seasons on various vessels, while he devoted the winter months to his school work, thus gaining a good practical experience simultaneously with scholastic discipline. When he attained his legal majority he decided that he wouldl try his fortunes on the Pacific coast, the gold excitement being then at its height, and he felt that here might be found better opportunities for the attainment of success through personal effort. In 1853. therefore, he set forth for California. making the trip by way of the Isthmus of Panama, and for three years after his arrival in the Golden state he continued to be identified with maritime interests, being employed on different vessels and finding his services in ready demand. He then entered into partnership with Captain Lamb and was engaged in the grain and general commission busi- ness in San Francisco for several years, after which he held a position as accountant in the same city until 1869. when he came to Seattle, as one of the pioneers of the future metropolis of the great state. In June, 1870, Mr. Briggs opened the first banking institution ever founded in the city, in the capacity of cashier, the concern being a private banking house conducted by the well known firm of Dexter Horton & Company. He remained with the bank for two years after Mr. Horton disposed of his interests therein, in 1893, and after that time was associated with Mr. Horton in the most re- sponsible position one man can hold in the employ of another, that of con- fidential agent, and handled all of the business interests of Mr. Horton as though they were his own, these interests being of wide scope and importance and demanding in their management marked financial and administrative ability. Mr. Briggs proved altogether capable of discharging the varied duties devolving upon him, and his integrity and fidelity were proverbial, no business man in the city ever being held in greater confidence. while his advice and counsel were valued by many of the prominent men of Seattle.
Mr Briggs made judicious investments in both city and country prop- erty, buying valuable land in Snohomish and King counties, the latter being located a short distance to the east of Lake Washington, while in the city of Seattle he owned a quarter of each of three different blocks. He erected five substantial buildings on his property at the corner of Spring street and
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Seventh avenue, and a fine building on his Madison street property, while his commodious and beautiful residence is located at the corner of Spring street and Sixth avenue. That he had confidence in the development of the city and a prescience as to the magnificent future awaiting her, was shown in his investment in local realty, and the city had among its citizens no more loyal and enthusiastic devotee to its interests. Mr. Briggs attended to the renting of both the New York and the Seattle buildings, which are among the finest of the many modern and attractive business blocks in the city. The New York building contains one hundred and fifty-eight office rooms, three large stores of three stories each, two smaller stores and the fine offices and counting room of the Washington National Bank. The Seattle building contains eight stores, forty-six double rooms and thirty-three single, and of both of these structures Mr. Briggs was the agent, collecting all rents and having general charge of the properties.
In politics Mr. Briggs had ever given his allegiance to the Republican party, and in the early days of his residence in Seattle he served as a member of the city council, while he refused to accept nomination for various other offices. He attended the Protestant Methodist church and was a liberal con- tributor to its support. Fraternally he was identified with the Masonic order, having been initiated in the same shortly after taking up his residence in California. In 1869 Mr. Briggs was united in marriage to Miss Rebecca Horton, daughter of Dexter Horton, with whose extensive business and moneyed interests he was so long and prominently identified, and of this union three children were born: Ida, Alfred and Laura. He was afterward married to Sarah Griffith, a native of Pennsylvania, and four children were born of this union: Frank, who is engaged in the jewelry business in Se- attle : Clarence, a student in the Portland Medical College; and Herbert and Clyde, who remain at the parental home. On August 17, 1902, Mr. Briggs ended his long and useful career in death, a loss not only to his family circle but to the city and county where he had labored so earnestly.
FRANCIS M. CARROLL, M. D.
Success in any vocation, in any avenue of business, is not a matter of spontaneity but is the legitimate offspring of effort in the proper utilization of the means at hand, the improvement of opportunity and the exercise of the highest functions made possible by the specific ability in any case. In view of these facts the study of biography becomes valuable and its lessons of practical use. To trace the history of a successful life must ever prove a
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profitable and satisfying indulgence, for the history of the individual is the history of the nation, the history of the nation that of the world. The sub- ject of this sketch is a man to whom has not been denied a full measure of success in his chosen field of endeavor, who stands distinctively as one of the representative members of the medical profession in the state of Washington and whose prestige has been gained by close application, determined effort and the development of the intrinsic forces which are his. When it is stated that the Doctor is the city health officer of Seattle and secretary of the King County Medical Association, an idea of his precedence in his profession is at once conveyed, and he is known and honored as one of the leading physi- cians and surgeons of the metropolis of the state and as a young man of high intellectual and executive powers.
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