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 81
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It was Mr. Moore who planned and built the Lincoln apartment house of Seattle. It is a building one hundred and twenty feet square, seven stories in height and containing seventy-two elegantly finished and furnished apart- ments, the lot and building costing two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. It was not only the first but the finest apartment house west of Chicago, cred- itable alike to the city and to him whose business sagacity and ability made it possible. It is occupied by people of wealth in the city and is a paying invest- ment. In the past three years and a half Mr. Moore has brought to the city of Seattle for investment over two million and a half dollars, which has been invested in business enterprises and business property here, placing him de- cidedly in the lead of those who have contributed largely to the improvement of the city and its material prosperity. He built the first block of concrete sidewalk in the residence district of Seattle. He let the first contract for asphalt street paving in the residence district, it being three miles in length. He built the Lumber Exchange building, at a cost of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, a six story office building on Second avenue and Seneca street. He built the Arcade building on Second avenue, covering the entire block from University to Union streets, having a frontage of three hundred and sixty feet on Second avenue. It is as yet the largest building constructed in Seattle, and was erected at a cost of three hundred and fifty thousand dol- lars. He also constructed the Whitcomb, Estabrook, Curtiss and other busi- ness blocks. All of these different buildings and improvements stand as mon- uments to the enterprise, thrift and progressive spirit of Mr. Moore.
In 1885 Mr. Moore was married to Miss Eugenie G. Jones, a native of Denver, Colorado, and a lady of superior culture. They are members of the Plymouth Congregational church, of which Mr. Moore is a trustee, serving as chairman of the board at the present time. He is a valued member of var- ions prominent clubs of this city and is a Knight Templar Mason. In polit- ical thought and action he has always been independent, carrying out his honest views without fear or favor. In business he has achieved success through honorable effort, strong executive force, power of organization and capable management, while in private life he has gained that warm personal regard which arises from kindliness, geniality, deference for the opinions of others and true nobility of character.
JAMES MCCLINTOCK.
In an analysis of the character and life work of James McClintock, we note many of the characteristics which have marked the Scotch nation for many centuries-the perseverance, reliabilty, energy and unconquerable
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determination to pursue a course that has been marked out. It is these sterl- ing qualities which have gained for Mr. McClintock success in life and made him one of the substantial and valued citizens of Washington.
Mr. McClintock was born at Borhead, near Glasgow, Scotland, about 1847. His father, Robert McClintock, was a native of the north of Ireland and by trade was a boot and shoe-maker, following that calling in Scotland for a number of years. On leaving the land of hills and heather he crossed the Atlantic to New York city, where he engaged in business for several years, but his death occurred in Scotland, about 1852. His wife was in her maidenhood Catherine Algey. She. too, was a native of Scotland, and died there the same year in which her husband's death occurred.
James McClintock was thus left an orphan when only five years of age. He went to live with an aunt in Paisley, Scotland, where he attended school for two years, but when a youth of nine he became dissatisfied with his home surroundings and secreted himself as a stow-away on the vessel Trogan, bound from Greenwich to the West Indies. There the captain of the ship Cherokee took a fancy to the lad and made him a member of the ship's crew. They were on a cruise to Brazil, New Foundland and Liverpool, thence to British North America and to the Mediterranean sea. In the waters of that sea Mr. McClintock became a member of the crew of the ship Blue Catherine, sailing to South America and returning by way of Gibralter and Liverpool. to Glasgow. There he joined another vessel, bound for Burmah, India, and returned from there on the American ship Southern Rights to London. Soon afterward he made a trip to Cuba and the United States, and for two years during the period of the Civil war, was sailing on the lakes between Chicago and Buffalo. Returning to London he shipped for Bombay, India, where he entered the service of an English ship bound for Burrard Inlet, British Columbia.
At that point Mr. McClintock abandoned his seafaring life of nearly twenty years, during which time he had visited many ports on the face of the globe. He took passage from Victoria for Alaska, where he spent one summer in bartering for furs with the Eskimo Indians. After dispos- ing of his cargo at Victoria, he went to Port Discovery, Washington. There he worked in the sawmills and in the logging camps and also at Port Ludlow and Port Blakeley. Thus two years were passed. and in the fall of 1870 he went up the White river in a canoe, spending the winter in hunting and trapping on White and Green rivers. The following year he took up a pre- emption claim of one hundred and sixty acres on Newankum creek. at what is known as Porter's Prairie. This he cleared and improved and afterward
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purchased a tract of railroad land of eighty acres, adjoining his first pur- chase, thus becoming the owner of one of the most valuable farms in King county. He devotes his attention to stock-raising, dairying and farming, and his business has been profitably conducted. When he located on this place there were no white people in the immediate vicinity, and he lived for a long time in a primitive cabin while he carried on the work of transforming the dense forest tract into an attracive farm. In later years he built a hand- some residence and other substantial and modern buildings and now has one of the best improved farm properties in this portion of the state.
On the 19th of June, 1883, Mr. McClintock was united in marriage in Glasgow, Scotland, to Martha Sprott, who was born in that city in 1862 and was educated in the old Monklen school near there. After leaving school she lived with the family of her future husband for seven years, assisting Mrs. McClintock in an extensive dry goods and general mercantile business at Paisley, Scotland. The father, James Sprott, is still living and is now manager of coal mines in Scotland. Her mother, whose maiden name was Matilda Wilson, died in Glasgow about 1885. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. McClintock has been blessed with nine children, as follows: James. Mattie, William, Mary, Ida, Jessie, Emily and Robert, all, living at home. They also lost one daughter, Katie, who died in July, 1900, at the age of fifteen years and six months.
In his political views Mr. McClintock is independent, casting his ballot without regard to party affiliations. He was a charter member of Crystal Lodge, F. & A. M., at Enumclaw, and had joined the Masonic order in Glas- gow, Scotland, as a member of Star Lodge No. 219, F. & A. M. He has had an eventful career and his life history, if written in detail, would furnish many interesting and sometimes exciting chapters, for during his seafaring life he had many experiences such as are unknown to the landsman. Since his arrival in King county he has made the most of his opportunities, and to-day stands as a leading representative of agricultural interests here.
OLIVER DYER COLVIN.
It has often been stated and commented upon that the United States has always presented great opportunities to men of industry, ability, honesty and integrity, and as long as men have the aspirations and the determination to improve their condition in life and win the success which it is possible to attain, the theme will never be exhausted.
One of the most prominent of Washington's business men, whose enter-
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prise and sound judgment have not only promoted his individual prosperity but have advanced the public welfare, is Oliver D. Colvin. He is manager of the Seattle agency of the American Steel & Wire Company, whose gen- eral office is in Chicago, and which is one of the constituent companies of the United States Steel Corporation. His territory embraces the state of Wash- ington, Alaska and northwest British possessions. He is also vice-president of the Snoqualmie Falls & White River Power Company, the largest power company in the northwest; the power being generated by water in the foot- hills of the Cascade mountains, transmitted some forty miles, and furnishing power for the cities of Seattle and Tacoma.
Mr. Colvin was born in Coldwater, Michigan, on the 12th of June, 1867, is of Holland and Scotch-Irish descent, and comes from families who left the old world for the new about the year 1700. The Colvins selected for their home the vicinity of Lake Champlain and the beautiful Lake George in New York, where many of them still reside, not unknown to the political and social life of the state. On the maternal side he is a descendant of the Richeys and Updykes of lower New York and New Jersey, a strain of Hol- land with Scotch-Irish blood. The Richeys owned large plantations worked by their negro slaves before the time when a humane legislature of New Jersey abolished slavery in that state.
Mr. Colvin's grandfather, Colonel Oliver D. Colvin, was a prominent citizen of that commonwealth, a member of the state legislature, and a colo- nel of the militia. He afterwards became a prominent citizen of Coldwater, Michigan, and his death occurred there at the early age of forty-four years. His son. Hiram M. Colvin, was born in the latter city in 1841, and has now reached his sixty-second milestone on the journey of life. In 1864 he married Miss Lucy Shutts, who was born in Sandusky, Ohio. Her father was a prominent man in the state of New York, was a member of the legis- lature and a colonel of the militia. This in a measure may account for the fact that the subject of this sketch early took an interest in military affairs, and became a commissioned officer of the militia of the state of Kansas before he was of age.
In 1869 Hiram M. Colvin removed with his family to Missouri, where he engaged in farming and stock-raising, dealing principally in thoroughbred Hereford cattle. They later, in 1882, took up their abode in Burlingame, Kansas, where he continued farming and stock-raising, afterwards moving to Osage City, Kansas, where he engaged in grain and mercantile business until 1888, and there his wife still resides. In their family are four children, consisting of three daughters, Lida May, now Mrs. J. K. Schoonmacher, a resident of Spokane, Washington; Jessie Maude, who is unmarried and resid-
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ing in Spokane; Nellie Madge, who married George Williams, connected with the Kansas City Journal of Kansas City, Missouri; and the subject of this sketch.
O. D. Colvin received his primary education in the schools of Missouri, attended the high school at Burlingame, Kansas, where he graduated and afterwards entered Baldwin University. After putting aside his text books he was engaged in business with his father until his twenty-first year, when he experienced that longing for the far west which has ever beckoned the young men who are ambitious and are willing to assist in building up a new country, and he left his parental home and removed to the Pacific coast, ar- riving in Tacoma, Washington territory, in June, 1888. He was engaged in different pursuits, and assisted in the surveying of a portion of that city; also assisted in planning and building the city of Fairhaven and the surveying of the Fairhaven Southern Railroad. Within eighteen months time he wit- nessed the growth of the last named place from a village containing four buildings to one of several thousand inhabitants. After returning to Tacoma he engaged in the real estate business there, acquiring considerable property.
In 1890 he came to Seattle, as it seemed to him even at that time that it was destined to be the great commercial city of the Pacific coast, and the fol- lowing year accepted the position of chief deputy assessor of the county of King, and for a number of years thereafter was connected with the treas- urer's and assessor's offices. In the spring of 1894 he was appointed deputy United States marshal by James C. Drake, ably serving in that position dur- ing the trouble with "Coxey's army" and the Great Northern strike. He was actively engaged in several riots and disturbances, where his military train- ing was of great assistance.
In August, 1895, he was appointed auditor of the Seattle Consolidated Street Railway and the Rainier Power & Railway Company, the two com- panies representing the street railway system of the city of Seattle, and in December of that year was made receiver of the Front Street Cable Railway Company, under authority of United States circuit court, which position he filled so satisfactorily for four years that on the reorganization of the com- pany he was appointed general manager of the road by its former bond- holders, and continued in its management until August, 1899.
In 1896 Mr. Colvin was made a special officer and given full authority to investigate the feasibility of the Northern Pacific Railway Company, con- structing their cars at their Tacoma and Seattle shops, to be loaded with local products, thereby making an earning while in transit, and be sold to eastern railway companies. In that capacity he visited New York, where he inter-
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viewed the officers of the Northern Pacific Railway Company, and although his plan was considered feasible and practical, it was never carried out owing to the reorganization of the Northern Pacific Railway Company at that time.
In June, 1897, without any solicitation on his part, the local agency of the Washburn-Moen Manufacturing Company was tendered Mr. Colvin, this company representing a capital of nine million dollars; and two years after his connection with them it was merged into the American Steele & Wire Company, consolidating practically the rod and wire interests of the United States, and with a capitalization of ninety millions of dollars. In December, 1900, the United States Steel Corporation, known as the "billion dollar trust," was also incorporated, absorbing the American Steel & Wire Company and making it a part of the largest corporation in the world. Mr. Colvin is their only representative in the northwest, his office being located at 108 West Washington street, Seattle, where he has well appointed offices and an excel- lent corps of clerks. The company also has a large warehouse in the city at 115-117 First avenue south, built of brick, sixty by three hundred feet in extent, with a floor space of thirty thousand feet, having a carrying capacity of three thousand pounds to the square foot. Seattle is the second agency of importance on the Pacific coast, ranking next to San Francisco, and as the representative of the territory tributary to Seattle Mr. Colvin has won for himself an enviable reputation in business circles.
In his social relations he is a member of the Rainier Club, the Country and Golf Club, Tennis Club, Firlock Club and the Seattle Athletic Club. On the 24th of October, 1894, in Seattle, occurred the marriage of Mr. Colvin and Miss Eva Victoria Amery, she being a native of Wisconsin, but of Eng- lish descent, as both her father and mother were born and reared in the city of London. One son, Oliver D. Colvin, Jr., born March 1, 1899, has blessed this union. The family reside in a beautiful home at 1117 Cherry avenue, on First Hill, where they dispense a gracious hospitality to their many friends. They are members of St. Mark's Episcopal church. Mr. Colvin exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and the measures of the Republican party, and all movements for the public good receive his hearty support and co-operation.
WILLIAM T. SCOTT.
William T. Scott, a successful and able legal practitioner of Seattle, was born in Union county, Kentucky, on the 30th of October, 1846, and is of Scotch descent, his ancestry being among the early settlers of both Vir-
Th Seatt
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ginia and Kentucky, and they were Presbyterians in their religious faith. The great-grandfather of our subject, Thomas Scott, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and became one of the prominent and influential citizens of Kentucky, in which commonwealth his son, Thomas Scott, was born. The latter became a well known and extensive farmer, and attained promin- ence in both Kentucky and Illinois, his death occurring in Galesburg, of the latter state, in 1859.
William Scott, the son of the latter Thomas Scott, was born in Meade county, Kentucky, on the 8th of June, 1821. In early life he became con- nected with steamboat work on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and rose to the position of captain, in which capacity he served his government through- out the period of the Civil war. As a companion on the journey of life he chose Miss Indiana Roberts, a native of the state of Indiana. In an early day her people were identified with the Whig, and afterward with the Republican party. During the war of the Rebellion seven of her brothers nobly defended the starry banner on the battle fields of the south, and four of them laid down their lives on the altar of their country, three dying in battle, while the fourth was stricken with disease. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Scott was blessed wih three children, all of whom are still living. The father was called to his final rest in 1868, dying from exposure received while serving in the defense of his country. In the same year his loving wife joined him in the spirit world.
William T. Scott, son of these parents, received his literary education in the Indiana State University, in which institution he was graduated in 1869, and while a student there he also prepared for his law practice. In Harrison county, Indiana, in 1871, he embarked in the practice of his chosen profession, remaining there for four years, on the expiration of which period, in 1875, he removed to York county, Nebraska, and there continued his chosen profession until 1890. Since that time he has been a resident of Seattle, and during his connection with the courts of King county has won an enviable place among his professional brethren and as a practitioner has secured a liberal clientage. On attaining to mature years Mr. Scott cast his first presidential vote for General Grant, and since that time has remained an ardent adherent of Republican principles. In 1879, while following the practice of law in Nebraska, he was made the nominee of his party for the state legislature, and was successful at the following election, serving in that honorable office with efficiency. He also had honor of being elected pros- ecuting attorney of York county, Nebraska, and was one of the delegates to the national convention which nominated James G. Blaine for president
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of the United States, being very active in procuring his nomination. In Seattle Mr. Scott was the corporation counsel of the city from 1894 to 1896, and his ability has enabled him to grace the many positions which he has been called upon to fill.
The marriage of Mr. Scott was celebrated in 1871, when Miss Sarah J. Miller became his wife. She is a native of Harrison county, Indiana, and to their union have been born three children, Charles A., Thomas A. and Clara K. The elder son is chief clerk to the corporation counsel, while the younger son is a student in the law department of the University of Washington. Mr. Scott became a member of the Masonic fraternity at New Albany, Indiana, in 1870, and is now a Master and Royal Arch Mason and a Sir Knight Templar. Both at the bar and in the political circles of King county he occupies an enviable position, and wherever known is honored and esteemed for his many noble characteristics.
FRANK LEWIS WHEELER.
Frank Lewis Wheeler was born in the city of Brooklyn, New York, January 13, 1866; received his education at Adelphi College in Brooklyn and after his graduation went into his father's wholesale jewelry store, in which business he remained until August, 1889, when he came to the then territory of Washington and located at Seattle. In 1890 he moved to Gray's Harbor, Washington, and erected a saw mill, in which business he was engaged until the summer of 1892. He then sold out his interests in the Gray's Harbor country and moved to Northi Yakima, Washington. There he was engaged for some months in surveying, being at work on the Sunnyside canal, which was being constructed at that time; also on one or two others of the large irrigation enterprises.
In March, 1893, Mr. Wheeler purchased the Fruit Vale ranch. Since that time he has been actively engaged in the growing of fruit and has taken great interest in the products of his state, having early identified himself with the North West Fruit Growers' Association, of which he was vice president for the state of Washington for several terms. Appreciating the fact that the exportation of fruit from the state of Washington would be one of the most important industries, he has become associated with and an active member of the firm of H. S. Emerson Company, Incorporated, the oldest wholesale fruit house on Puget Sound. Mr. Wheeler is a stanch Repub- lican, believes in expansion, and it is his intention to place the Washington fruits in Siberia and all the oriental countries. Mr. Wheeler and his asso-
frank Led huly.
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ciates have, no doubt, a bright future for their business. The firm is well and favorably known and with an abundance of capital and new energy, there seems to be no limit to their ambitions.
D. McL. BROWN.
David C. and Mary (McMullen) Brown were natives of the Isle of Man, and the former came in youth with his uncle to the new world, settling in Canada and engaging in farming. In 1888 he removed with his family to Seattle, Washington, and resided with his sons till his death, which oc- curred in January, 1901. He took part in public affairs to some extent in Canada and was a member of the Presbyterian church. His wife, who died in Canada in 1877, was the mother of six children: Kate; D. McL .; Duncan and William, members of the Seattle Bridge Company; George, also with that company; and Charles Neil, in Nome, Alaska.
D. McL. Brown was born to the above named parents in Ontario, Can- ada, June 5, 1860, and was reared on a farm and received a common school education. At the age of twenty-one he moved with his family to Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron, where for the next seven years he and his father and his brothers were engaged in getting out timber for the railroad companies. The year 1877 was the date of his coming to Seattle, and for the next two years he was employed in various capacities, but then accepted a position with the Moran Company as foreman of the construction of their first dock and water ways, remaining with the firm for four years. In the meantime the Puget Sound Pile Driving Company had been organized, and on leaving his previous employment Mr. Brown became a partner in this enterprise. The original company was formed by Brown Brothers, D. A., William A. and C. N. Nettleton, together with other prominent business men of Seattle, but on the entry of our Mr. Brown into partnership the name was changed to Brown Brothers, and in December, 1890, it was or- ganized as the Seattle Bridge Company, with R. W. Ledgewood and James McPherson as part owners. In 1895 Mr. Ledgewood disposed of his in- terest to the company, and in 1898 Mr. McPherson sold his, and the present Seattle Bridge Company, with offices at 511-12 Pacific block, is composed of D. McL., D. A., W. A. Brown and Clark M. Nettleton. They are exten- sively engaged in the building of coal bunkers, in dredging and making harbor improvements, and they also construct steel combination and Howe truss bridges, do pile-driving and wharf-building. They received a govern- ment contract for the improvement of the harbor at Everett, and to complete
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this work the company bought at great expense a hydraulic dredge, and tugs, scows and a complete equipment for that kind of work. They have taken some of the largest contracts let by the government on the Pacific coast, one of them amounting to four hundred thousand dollars. They built the White Star dock for the Northern Pacific Railroad, the Yesler pier No. 2 for the J. B. Agen Company, constructed five bridges across the Snohomish river for the Great Northern, and dredged the waterway of Smith's cove from the level of twenty-six to thirty-four feet below tide in order to accomodate the larger ships. In 1897 they built the government dock at Sitka and ill 1898 the first dock at Skagway for the Pacific Coast Company, the steamer Alki being the first vessel to land at the dock. In April, 1902, the company purchased the Port Orchard rock quarry at a cost of thirty thousand dollars, and they will use this valuable ledge of basaltic rock for rip-rap and maca- dam work. The invested capital of this enterprise is a quarter of a million, and thus it is one of the soundest companies form the standpoint of financial reliability and business management in the west.
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