An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 153

Author: Inter-state Publishing Company (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1172

USA > Washington > Skagit County > An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington > Part 153
USA > Washington > Snohomish County > An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington > Part 153

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THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

ISTORIEVOK TILDI -JUNE

MR. AND MRS. DAVID F. SEXTON AND THEIR HOME, NEAR SNOHOMISH, WASHINGTON

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BIOGRAPHICAL

Mr. Loose was born in Sugargrove, Fairfield county, Ohio, in 1859. His father, Nathaniel H. Loose, D. D., a native of Pennsylvania, had gone to that state in early life and had graduated from Heidelberg University, becoming a clergyman of the German Reformed church. He is still preach- ing in Ohio. Our subject's mother, Alma T. (Kroh) Loose, has also been spared to her hus- band and family to this date. Ursinus K. enjoyed the advantages of the common schools of his na- tive state and the Shelby high school, and immedi- ately on graduating from the latter entered the First National bank of Shelby as bookkeeper. At the age of seventeen he became assistant cashier in the same institution, gaining the distinction of be- ing the youngest person to carry the responsibili- ties of that position in the state. In 1828 he ac- cepted a position as cashier and bookkeeper in a large mercantile establishment in Bellevue, Ohio, a situation which he retained for one year, leaving it at the expiration of that period to become clerk in the National Exchange Bank of Tiffin. In 1883 he went to Toledo where he was placed in charge of the books of the Toledo and Detroit branches of the Producers' Marble Company, of Rutland, Ver -. mont, a corporation of which the head was Hon. Redfield Proctor, later governor of the Green Mountain state. After performing the duties of that position for several months, he became for four years head teller of the First National bank of Toledo. He then went to Hartington, Nebraska, to become cashier and part owner of the Cedar County bank of that city. His next move was to Snohomish, Washington, where he became cashier of the Snohomish National bank. At the time of the organization of this institution, Mr. Loose and his associates also organized the Adams County bank, of Ritzville, of which be came vice president. In 1901 this bank was reorganized as the First National bank of Ritzville, and the same office is now occupied by Mr. Loose in the new concern. He continued to act as cashier in the Snohomish bank until its dissolution upon the removal of the county seat to Everett in 1892, then opened a private bank- ing house in Snohomish, which he still conducts. He is also a stockholder in the Prosser State bank, of Prosser, Benton county, Washington, and in the American National bank of Everett.

In 1896 Mr. Loose became interested in a wholesale lumber business at Snohomish and since that time his logging and lumbering operations have been very widely extended, his varied interests in that line including at present the Sultan Railroad & Timber Company, of which he is president, and the Sultan Logging Company, of which he is vice- president and treasurer. It would seem that all these varied business enterprises must tax Mr. Loose's time and abilities to the fullest, but he is also president and general manager of the Columbia

Canal Company, which operates at Wallula, and vice-president of the Index Mining Company ; furthermore he finds time and energy to devote to advancing the cause of education, in which he is deeply interested, serving as trustee of Puget Sound Academy, at Snohomish, and Whitworth College at Tacoma, nor does he neglect social or religious duties, being at the present time an active Mason and an elder in the Presbyterian church. How he manages to accomplish all this must re- main a mystery to men less gifted with herculcan powers of accomplishment.

In Toledo, Ohio, in 1885, Mr. Loose married Miss Ada Hayes, daughter of Henry J. and Emily (Taylor) Hayes, the former a very early pioneer of the city on the Maumee and for years a promi- nent wholesale hay and grain dealer, the latter a daughter of the sunny South. Mrs. Loose was born and raised in Toledo. She died in Snohomish county in 1903, leaving one daughter, Julia, a na- tive of llartington, Nebraska. A son of Mr. and Mrs. Loose, whose name was Ralph H., died in infancy. In 1905, in Buffalo, New York, Mr. Loose again married, the lady being Miss Charlotte Sawyer Tilden, daughter of Jared H. and Catherine E. (Hedge) Tilden, old-time residents of the Queen City of the Lakes. Mrs. Loose's ancestors have resided in Buffalo since its first founding in 1810, having assisted in quelling the Indian troubles in 1812.

DAVID F. SEXTON .- Among the honored and influential pioneer citizens of Snohomish county who took an active part in laying firm and broad the foundation upon which the common- wealth of Washington was erected must ever be included the man whose name forms the title of this biographical record. The pioneer spirit has run strong and deep in his family for many genera- tions, leaving its impress upon the frontier history of this country from the memorable flood of immi- gration which swept across the Alleghanies during the latter part of the eighteenth century to the ar- rival of the Sexton family upon Puget sound a hundred years later.

The subject of this review was born in Mont- gomery county. Ohio, April 1, 1838, the descendant of one of the Buckeye state's earliest white fami- lies. Joseph Sexton, the father, was born in Ohio in the year 1808, and was reared there. He learned the blacksmith's trade, spending seven years as an apprentice. In Ohio he was married and there farmed and worked at his trade until 1842, when he removed with his family to Jasper county, Indiana, That section was then new, neighbors being few and far between, but it gave rich promise. Mr. Sexton bought a tract of government land, built a home and there resided, farming and following his old trade, until about the year 1855. From that

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time on his life was mostly spent in the religious work undertaken by his talented wife, he accom- panying her and assisting. In 1820 the family re- moved still further westward, this time to Wilson county, Kansas. In that county his death occurred at Fredonia, October 21. 1818. David F. Sexton's mother, who passed away in Seattle December 15, 1894, at the advanced age of ninety-five years, was

a distinguished woman. Rev. Lydia Sexton, or "Mother Sexton" as she was familiarly and affec- tionately known throughout the United States, was born April 12, 1199, in Sussex county, now Rock- port. New Jersey, and preached for nearly fifty years of her long, useful life. She was a cousin of Bishop Matthew Simpson, and a granddaughter of Marquis Anthony Cozot, the name being later cor- rupted to Casad. This nobleman took possession of a grant of land along the lower Mississippi carly in the eighteenth century, founding an American branch of his family whose members are scattered throughout the different states. He abandoned his grant upon the sale of Louisiana in 1803 and died in New Jersey, leaving nine children, among whom was Rev. Thomas Casad. a Baptist clergyman, the father of Lydia Casad. In 1814 at the age of fifteen, left an orphan, this intrepid girl went to Ohio, then called "Hios," and in that far off north- western outpost of civilization grew to woman- hood, learning the glove-making and tailoring trades. When quite a young woman she was mar- ried to Isaac Cox, who died shortly afterward, and in 1824 she was again married, this time to Joseph Moore. Her second husband lived only a short time, however. September 12, 1829. she was united in marriage to Joseph Sexton at Jacksonborough. Ohio, with whom she lived nearly fifty years, or until his death. In 1834 this good woman, after a life of doubt, affiliated with the United Brethren church, being baptized in the Miami river at Day- ton, Ohio. Shortly afterward she was moved to commence preaching the gospel, but owing to the opposition of her family, deterred action several years. From the first her success was notable. In 1851 Josiah Turrell, presiding elder at the quarterly Illinois conference, gave her a license to preach. Her forte was revival work, and her converts dur- ing the twenty or thirty years following her regular initiation into the work undoubtedly numbered many thousands. Upon the family's removal to Kansas she at once became prominent in that com- monwealth and was shortly appointed chaplain of the state penitentiary by Governor Harvey. At that time she was seventy years of age, and her kind, motherly and sympathetic tenderness awoke in many a criminal's breast the love he bore for his own mother. In 1870 she went as a delegate to the national prison congress at Cincinnati, and was the only woman who addressed that distinguished body. A year or two later, when Kansas was suffering

great distress owing to successive crop failures, Mother Sexton traveled throughout the east in their behalf, meeting with a wonderful success in this noble mission. At one time she secured a whole carload of flour for her stricken people. In 1889 Mother Sexton came to Seattle to reside with her son Joseph Z. Sexton. She preached frequently and journeyed considerable until 1892, when fail- ing eyesight compelled her to abandon further ac- tive work. The last year of her life she was en- tirely blind, but still possessed unusual control of her faculties. Although she passed to her reward in the kingdom many years ago her unconquerable spirit and influence for the uplifting of mankind still live in a multitude of hearts and her name will be enscrolled among those of America's prominent religious teachers. At the time of her demise she was the oldest woman preacher in the United States. In passing it might be noted that her brother Abner, and her maternal ancestors, the Tingleys, fought in America's early wars, the former in the War of 1812 and the latter in the Revolutionary War. Only one member of her fam- ily survives her, David F., of Snohomish, the sub- ject of this article.

As a boy, David F. Sexton attended the com- mon schools of Jasper county, Indiana, and thus acquired his elementary education. Desiring to se- cure a more liberal education, after reaching man- hood's estate, he took a course in the normal school at Burnettsville, Indiana, and also for a time at- tended Ilartsville University, at Hartsville, Indi- ana. While pursuing his higher studies and for a number of years afterward he engaged in teaching in the Hoosier state and was recognized as a suc- cessful member of his profession. He also taught several terms after he became a resident of Kan- sas. In 1870 Mr. Sexton and his wife took up their abode in Wilson county, Kansas, then a frontier community, and there he engaged in farming. However, the climate did not agree with his failing health, so he abandoned with reluctance his beauti- ful prairie home for one further west among the mountains and forests that he hoped would prove a permanent abiding place. On May 13, 1878, having sold the place. Mr. and Mrs. Sexton with their mule team, and accompanied by John M. Robbins, now a resident of Marysville, started for Puget sound. The journey proved a happy one, terminat- ing October ?th, by the party's arrival at the shores of the sound. The ague and fever which had com- meneed to undermine Mr. Sexton's health were ef- fectually checked and he determined to locate in the valley of the Snohomish, at that time sparsely set- tled and for the most part in its virgin state. He purchased, in February, 1879, the claim on the Pilchuck river. just northeast of the present city of Snohomish, and upon it the Sexton home has since remained. At that time the tract was a dense for-

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est. but with returning health Mr. Sexton attacked the wilderness with a perseverance and a zeal that soon brought their rewards. During the first few years of his residence in the county he did consid- erable freighting for his neighbors, logging camps and the old Morgan mill, there being at that time only two other teams of horses in Snohomish. All the logging was done with oxen. Snohomish City in 1829 had barely a hundred inhabitants and re- ceived its mail two or three times a week by the steamer Fanny Lake of Seattle. Of public build- ings, only the Presbyterian church and a school- house had then been erected. Court was held in the old Eagle Hotel.

With their fellow pioneers Mr. and Mrs. Sexton endured the hardships and dangers of the times, but faced them cheerfully and to-day express no re- grrets. Of his two hundred-acre ranch in the beau- tiful Pilchuck valley, Mr. Sexton has now sixty- five acres under cultivation. Along with general farming, he pays especial attention to dairying and fruit raising. his dairy herd being a choice collec- tion of Jerseys. One ten-acre tract of this place is devoted exclusively to blackberries and raspber- ries, good crops of which are annually produced.

On November 19, 186:, Miss Orra J. Downing became the bride of Mr. Sexton, both at that time being residents of Indiana. Mrs. Sexton was born in Tippecanoe county, Indiana, August 30, 1842, of pioneer American stock. Her parents, John H. and Sarah ( Knight) Downing, were among the earliest pioneers of Tippecanoe county, having set- tled there after journeying from Ohio in the year of their marriage, 1829. They lived on the old homestead for more than half a century, Mrs. Downing's death occurring there in 1885, at the age of seventy-six, and Mr. Downing's death in 1888, at the age of eighty years. Both lived to en- joy the fruits of their labors and the respect of their large circle of neighbors and friends.

Because of his broad public spirit and interest taken in fruit culture, Mr. Sexton has been hon- ored by election to the presidency of the Snohomish County Horticultural Society, a position he still occupies. He is also an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic, by virtue of having served in the 135th Regiment of Indiana Volunteers during the Civil War. In consequence of ill health he did not remain long in the army, however. IJe is also connected with the A. O. U. W. fraternity. Although not aspiring to political office, he wields a strong influence in his party, the Republican, and has consistently supported it since he cast his first ballot in 1860 for Abraham Lincoln. He has been identified with the Snohomish Methodist church since since its organization, and during the entire life of the society has served on its board of trustees. Mr. Sexton and his wife have contributed their share to the upbuilding of Snohomish county,

and are to-day respected and esteemed by neigh- bors, friends and acquaintances for their sterling personal qualities of mind and heart and for what they have done toward the advancement of the community.

WILSON M. SNYDER, cashier of the First National bank of Snohomish, and one of the organ- izers of that well known financial institution seven- teen years ago, may justly be classed as among the men who have been more than ordinarily influential in promoting the development of his home city and county. His position in the business world for so many years has afforded him opportunity and power, and one of the true measurements of the man is found in the fact that he has improved the former privilege and used the latter with commend- able discretion.

Of illustrious pioneer American ancestry, whose oldest branches reach back on the paternal side to the German and on the maternal to the Scotch and English peoples, Wilson M. Snyder was born at Galena, Illinois, May 1. 1853, the son of William H. and Lucretia H. ( McLean) Snyder. The elder Snyder, a banker also, was a native of Utica, New York, born in 1814. His great grandfather fought in the French and Indian War, while his mother was a member of the Dodge family, of Boston, who came among the early colonists and served in the Indian and Revolutionary Wars. William 11. went to Illinois in 1838, as a pioncer settler. There he engaged in the mercantile business, later entering the field of banking and finally in 1865 reorgan- ized the institution as the Merchants' National bank of Galena. Lucretia MeLean Snyder was born in Alexandria, Virginia, a descendant of colonial Old Dominion stock, slaveholders. The Battle of Bull Run at the outbreak of the Civil War was fought on the estate of her uncle, Wilmer McLean, and in his home at Appomattox Courthouse the treaty of peace was signed by Generals Grant and Lee in 1865. Mrs. Snyder at the age of eighty-two is still living in Galena and is a stockholder in the bank established by her husband. Of the three children in the family, there are two daughters, Mrs. Fannie Merrick and Miss Alice L. Snyder, and one son, the subject of this sketch.

He grew to manhood in Galena, there complet- ing his English education. Immediately his parents sent him to Germany to finish his studies, especially, however, to acquire the German language. After a two years' stay in Europe he returned home and in 18;1 entered his father's banking house. Four- teen years elapsed before he severed connections with that institution, but so glowing was the busi- ness prospect of the Pacific coast that in 1888 the young banker decided his opportunity had arrived. Coming to the thriving little town of Snohomish City in May of that year, he was so favorably im-

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pressed that he purchased an interest in the private bank of J. Furth & Company there and at once entered into the life around him. In July follow- ing, to meet the growing demand of the public, this firm was dissolved and in its stead the First Na- tional bank of Snohomish was organized with Mr. Snyder as its cashier, a position he has held unin- terruptedly since. During the transition period of the city's growth-from a town into a city-Mr. Snyder took an active part, serving as a member of the first council upon incorporation, and later, when Everett wrested the county seat from Snohomish after a memorable struggle of several years' dura- tion, he was again prominent in his home city's be- half. The hard times dangerously strained the business life of the entire county, and it is a sig- nificant fact, reflecting special credit upon the abil- ity and faith of the First National, that it weath- ered the storm safely, among the few banks in this section that did. Those were trying times that tested the mettle and the capacity of men in all ranks of life, vet probably upon no class was the pressure so great as upon those who handled the cash and the credit of business men generally, the bankers.

The marriage of Miss Nettie Henry to Mr. Snyder took place in 1882 at Mineral Point, Wis- consin, she being the daughter of William T. Henry, prior to his death a prominent banker and mine owner of that place. Mrs. Emma (McHugh) Henry survived him and is now a resident of Snohomish. Mrs. Snyder is a native of Mineral Point and was there reared and educated. Henry M., the elder of Mr. and Mrs. Snyder's children, is attending the state university at Seattle, and dur- ing vacation periods learning the banking business under his father. The younger son, W. McLean, resides at home and is a pupil in the Snohomish public schools. The family religious faith is that of the Episcopal church. Mr. Snyder, while a believer in Republican. principles and policies, is liberal in his political views, and when he has accepted pref- erment at the hands of his fellow citizens, the spirit of good citizenship rather than the vanity of party has ruled him. For several years he has filled the office of city treasurer.

In closing this brief review, it is not inappropri- ate to make mention of a curious document in Mr. Snyder's possession, a business paper of special interest to the people of Puget sound. This is a contract, handed down to Mr. Snyder through his maternal ancestors, bearing date of December 28, 1754, calling for the manufacture of a specified number of shingles to be paid for in tobacco, at that time legal tender in Virginia. The ancient paper is well preserved and, mounted in a substantial frame hung on the wall at the bank, is an object of more than passing attention. Descended from a line of eminent business men, patriotic citizens, firm in their faith and progressive in spirit, pioneers also,

Mr. Snyder himself is not lacking in these quali- ties of mind and heart, so characteristic of genu- inely successful men.

GILBERT D. HORTON, proprietor of a sta- tionery, book, art and wall paper establishment at Snohomish, is one of the pioneers of the Puget sound country and of this part of Snohomish county in particular. Having come here in 1888, Mr. Horton is thoroughly acquainted with the transformation which has taken place since he first set foot on the shores of the Snohomish river. He was born in Waterford, Oakland county, Michigan, in the early days of 1852. His father, William D. Horton, was born in New York of an old family, his grandfather having fought in the Revolutionary War. Mr. Horton went to Michigan in the pioneer days and is now a resident of Snohomish. Mrs Catherine 1. ( Birdsall), also a native of New York, likewise is descended from one of the old families of the Empire state, her ancestors at one time having owned considerable property on Long Island. Mrs. Horton still survives, the mother of five children : Almerian, Gilbert, Harvey, Alvan and a child who died in infancy. Gilbert D. Hor- ton grew to manhood at .Ansable, on the shores of Lake Huron, and in the land of the pine woods of the peninsula. His attendance at school was lim- ited but he has acquired a great fund of knowledge and has assimilated everything which has come un- der his observant eye. At the age of sixteen he went to Alpena, where he learned the art of photog- raphy. After mastering the details of his profes- sion, Mr. Horton returned to Ausable and opened a gallery of his own, which he operated for two years, leaving to go into the woods and engage in chopping and logging. In 1817 he came to the l'acific coast and located at Astoria, Oregon, where he at once opened a photograph gallery. At a later time Mr. Horton went to the Lewis river country and finally crossed the mountains into eastern Washington, where he engaged in a log drive for the Northern Pacific from the eastern slopes of the Cascades through the entire Yakima valley to the Snake river. This was during the construction days of the Northern Pacific and the drive is said to have been the largest in the history of lumbering in the United States. Mr. Horton then entered the em- ploy of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Com- pany in the Meacham Creek canyon, leaving that work. however, to open a photograph gallery in Pendleton, Oregon. He sokl out this establishment and went to Michigan to visit his old home. On his return the Northern Pacific had been built through to the sound, and thither Mr. Horton went. He built a floating photograph gallery and for sev- eral years followed the enterprise of traveling about the sound and engaging in professional work. When he sold his outfit he came to Snohomish and

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in company with his brother, Harvey W. Horton, established the mercantile enterprise which he is now conducting. In 1899 Mr. Horton bought the interest of his brother, who had gone to the Klon- dike.

In May of 1889 at Snohomish Mr. Horton mar- ried Miss Maggie Leigh Huff, a native of Kansas. Two daughters have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Horton: Cora, who is chief clerk in her father's store, and Ella, who is attending school. In poli- tics Mr. Horton is a Democrat. He is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Mr. Hor- ton has very distinct recollections of the carly days of Snohomish, when there were no roads and the river was the only avenue of communication or transportation, when the lumberjack, fresh from payday or a drive on the river, was wont to make things lively in the little town. While now retired from the business of photographer, Mr. Horton re- tains his characteristic love of art, and of photo- graphic art in particular. He is a man of delicately poised temperament and an authority regarding artistic matters.

CHARLES L. LAWRY, cashier of the Mon- roe State bank, is a pioneer of the county. Well acquainted with all the resources of the valley, an authority on questions of finance, he naturally is a man whose opinions are sought and heeded. His beautiful home, embracing forty-five acres of valu- able land, lies a half mile north of the corporate limits of the city of Snohomish. Born in Bangor, Maine, February 15, 1858, he is the son of Parker and' Thursa ( Powers) Lawry, who had two chil- dren, Charles L. and Theresa B., the latter de- ceased. The father was a sailor who, at the age of twenty-one, became the captain of a vessel. He followed the high seas all his life and visited every corner of the globe. His wife died when her son, the subject of this review, was six months old. Charles firmly refused to listen to the alluring tales of a life at sea and wisely took advantage of the common schools of the state, attended high school, and took a commercial course in a business col- lege. He decided that the Pacific coast must have opportunities for young men, so crossed the conti- nent when he was twenty and remained a short time in San Francisco. On a pleasant spring day in May. 1828, he reached Snohomish, a village of less than 200 white people, with numerous Indians in the vicinity. First he worked in the lumber camps; in 1879 and 1880 he hunted for gold in the diggings of the Cassiar placer district: then returned to Snohomish county and again found work in the woods. From 1884 to 1888 he ran an express and drayage line in Snohomish and farmed on a limited scale. seeking legitimate opportunity where he could. During these years he was becoming popu-

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An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 153

Author: Inter-state Publishing Company (Chicago, Ill.) Publication date: 1906 Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1172

Author: Inter-state Publishing Company (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1172