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 162

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 162
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 162

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supposed heirs of the famous Ilyde estate, so long in the English chancery courts. Mr. Vail is a Republican in politics, though not especially active. and in fraternal affiliation is a member of the I. O. (). F., in which he is a past grand, and senior war- den of the Encampment, the Rebekahis, the For- esters, the Eagles and the Order of Ben Hur. He is a young man of excellent business ability, very successful in his chosen line of endeavor.

THIE ACME BUSINESS COLLEGE, the old- est and largest commercial school in Snohomish county, was established by Miss Carolyne Patchin in the fall of 1900, and since then has been con- tinuously under her management.

Miss Patchin is exceptionally well qualified for this line of work, as she has had much experience as a teacher in the public schools of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and other cities, and has also had an extensive business practice, obtained from directing a large stenographic office in Minneapolis, Min- nesota. This work brought her into contact with the foremost business and professional people of that city, particularly those connected with law and lumber. The experience thus obtained by her in these lines of work is of particular value in her present position, as in Snohomish county the de- mand for stenographers arises largely from those engaged in the lumber business and in the practice of law. Miss Patchin possesses that rare, but high- lv valuable combination, a thorough knowledge of theory and principle, and a working knowledge obtained from the actual business field. The Com- mercial Department is under the very efficient man- agement of Mr. R. P. Wood, who, besides having enjoyed a liberal education, has had many years of high-class experience with important firms, both in the East and West, and thus can bring the light of practical knowledge to bear on the intricacies of theory.

In business college work it is coming to be a recognized axiom, that mere text-book or theoreti- cal teachers are of little or no value in a field as practical as that of commercial education. The success of the Aeme Business College is largely the result of a due comprehension of this important fact. Practical teachers using the best methods. and giving a maximum of personal attention to their students are bound to succeed, not only from their standpoint, but also from that of the pupils. Nothing is left undone that is possible for the teachers to do in trying to fit the students to be of real help to their employers, and not mere salary drawers.

The western spirit of determination to succeed in spite of all difficulties has always been shown in the management of this school. From a very few pupils in 1900 it has won its place at the top. and is now a well-attended, flourishing institution.

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At the time of its removal from the Greenberg block, owing to the increase in number of students, its present quarters were re-decorated and furn- ished throughout, and to-day the rooms and equip- ment are unsurpassed by any other college on the Sound. The rooms were originally designed for and used by the Everett High school, and therefore are especially adapted for school purposes, being large, well-lighted and airy, and commanding a magnificent view of the Sound. In order to keep fully abreast of the times, eight new Remington typewriters have been recently added to the type- writing department. At the present time, the Acme Business College is the only school in this territory equipped with the latest models, thus giving to its pupils a knowledge of the most modern attach- ments, and the advantage of being able to turn out the finest work.

The Pitmanic systems of shorthand-the Mun- son, Graham and Pitman-are taught by the prin- cipal, who has personal supervision of the Sten- ographic Department. Touch typewriting is taught by a new and original method, clearly set forth in text-book compiled and published by Miss Patchin, which has met with the most gratifying success, and has been favorably commented on by experts in that line. Evenness of touch and beat- tiful work result from the use of this method. This text-book is really a self-teacher. Short courses are not recommended as the business world has no use for half-fledged assistants.

The introductory and intermediate instruction in the Commercial Department is mainly imparted through the famous Sadler-Rowe Budget System and allied text-books, with some important changes suggested by business practice. The final course consists of thorough drills in the lumber business, with the especial aim of giving ample practice in modern columnar accounting, covering the technical knowledge of underweights and overweights, esti- mated freights, etc. The book-keeping instruction also includes practice in all the prominent lines of business.

It will be understood from what has been said that the desire of the management of the Acme Business College is to be the best school for pupils who wish to be the best. About two-thirds of the stenographers of Everett are graduates of this Col- lege, and there are many others in Seattle and other cities. While, in common with the other high-class and reliable institutions, it has consist- ently taken the stand that positions cannot be guar- anteed to students, yet, owing to its good reputa- tion with business men, it has experienced very little trouble in placing all its graduates.

Both Miss Patchin and Mr. Wood have been for several years Snohomish county residents, and are thoroughly convinced of the magnificent future before Everett and the county at large. With

headquarters in Everett, they are in a fine position to cater to the commercial educational needs of all Snohomish county people and those to whom Everett is easily accessible. This is the pioneer business school in the county. It has been through "hard times" "like the rest of us," but is now look- ing forward to the good times in store for the far Northwest.

WILLIAM G. SWALWELL, president of the Swalwell Land & Trust Company, is one of the founders of the city of Everett to which site he came in 1889. No man has taken a more active or effective part in the upbuilding of the city. The wise system of industrial economics which has been brought to bear in the development of Everett has challenged uniform admiration, for while there has been steady advancement along material lines there has been an entire absence of that inflation of values and that erratic "booming" without founda- tion which have in the past proven the death knell to many western localities. Here, under the guid- ance and co-operation of such men as Mr. Swalwell, progress has been made continuously and along safe lines, and in the healthful growth and advance- ment of the city, Mr. Swalwell has been a most important factor.

A native of Canada, William G. Swalwell was born in Portage du Fort, on the Ottawa river, in 1859. His father, George Swalwell, was born in the province of Ottawa, and his mother was a native of Scotland, who was brought to America during her infancy. In 1889 George Swalwell removed with his family to Washington and en- gaged in buying and selling real estate on his own account. He built the first Methodist house of worship erected in Everett and was a devoted mem- ber of that pioneer society, serving it also as an officer. He was married in Canada to Isabel Duff, and they became the parents of seven children, all of whom are residents of Everett: William G., the subject of this sketch ; Wellington A., secretary of the Swalwell Land, Loan & Trust Company ; A. W. and W. F., who are engaged in the real estate business ; R. E., who is with the Swalwell Paper Company : J. E., who is in the jewelry business ; and J. A., cashier of the First National bank. The father died in June, 1901. at the age of sixty-seven years, but Mrs. Swalwell is still living.

In the public schools of Canada William G. Swalwell secured his school training and afterward engaged in general merchandising for nine years. He had previously made a visit to California and Puget sound, in 1882, and, believing that unusually favorable opportunities awaited the business man of energy in this section of the country, he decided to immigrate. As soon as he could make arrange- ments he removed his family to Tacoma, where he immediately engaged in the real estate business. A

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year later he met Wyatt J. Rucker, also a new- comer to the sound, and together they decided to come to Port Gardner bay and take land. When Mr. Swalwell came to his homestead claim the land was covered with a growth of timber so dense that the trees on all sides touched the little cabin which he erected. Here his wife lived three months be- fore she saw a woman, so wild was the country at that time, but within an incredibly short period a great transformation was wrought in this section. Mr. Swalwell cleared his land, cutting 10,000 rail- road ties from his forty-acre homestead. Ile pur- chased the land between his homestead and the river and in September, 1891, platted it as Swal- well's First Addition to the City of Everett, anti- cipating the Colby-Hoyt syndicate, and thus giving the present metropolis its real inception, as nar- rated at length in the general chapters of this work. A little later he platted the homestead into the Second Addition. He built the MeCabe block that same fall, graded and planked Hewitt avenue at a cost of about $15,000, and erected the Swalwell block, a three-story pressed brick structure. the first fine block in the town and still one of the city's best structures. In this latter block the First Na- tional bank was located until 1900.

In 1892 Mr. Swalwell organized the First Na- tional Bank of Everett, became its president, and afterward acquired the stock of others so that he was its sole owner. He held this until 1901, when the bank was consolidated with the Everett Na- tional, forming the present institution with deposits in excess of a million and a quarter dollars. Upon this merger being effected, Mr. Swalwell resigned as president, not wishing to be hampered with the arduous duties, but retained his directorship on the board, which thus profits by his wise counsel and experience. Ile now devotes his time exclu- sively to the Swalwell Land, Loan & Trust Com- pany, which has been incorporated. The stock is held exclusively by himself and wife. Mr. Swalwell has erected many frame and brick business blocks and about fifty residences, his own being built in the year 1892 on the old homestead tract. In con- nection with other business pursuits, he is also president of the Mitchell Land & Improvement Company, and is among the heaviest realty holders in the city.

has ever been prominent in the last named organi- zation, which has done so much to promote the growth of the city. In its early days, Mr. Swalwell served as a member of the city's first council and on its pioneer school board. In politics he is a stalwart Republican, and fraternally, is a chapter Mason and affiliated with the B. P. O. E. Unusual and deserved success has crowned his endeavors in the business world and to-day he stands among the leading capitalists of this section of the state, who owe their advancement to their own efforts, His labors, moreover, have been of marked value to the community in promoting growth, stability and real progress, and as a distinguished and honored citizen he is deserving of a prominent place among these annals.

THOMAS E. IIEADLEE, mayor of Everett, now serving his second term as the official head of that municipality, is making a record for honest, wholesome, business-like administration that is not only highly creditable to himself but worthy of the progressive metropolis on Port Gardner bay. A lawyer by profession, ex-auditor of the county, at present chief clerk and head book-keeper of the Clark-Nickerson Lumber Company, in touch with both labor and capital, he is peculiarly fitted for his exalted position, a fact quite apparent to his fellow citizens. Mr. Headlee is a son of E. Headlec, a native of Ohio, who came west to Iowa when a young man and there engaged in agricultural pur- suits. In 1890 he removed to Snohomish county and here resided. an esteemed citizen, until his death four years later. Mrs. Headlee, the mother of Thomas E., bore the maiden name of Harriet 1 Tumes, and is a sister of Judge Humes, ex-mayor of Seattle. She was born in Indiana and when a little girl went with her parents to Iowa, where she was educated and where her marriage took place. The children of this union, now living. are : Francis M., of Arizona, one of Snohomish county's pioneer lawyers, who preceded the rest of his family west. a man of marked ability, widely known and respected ; Alice, the wife of Charles T. Smith, Granite Falls; James W., Everett ; the subject of this review: Etta, wife of Fred S. Anderson, ex- mayor of Snohomish : and Elsie. now Mrs. E. W. Mathewson of Everett. also Sarah, wife of C. H. Lamprey, of Snohomish. George T. and Charles W. are deceased.

Mr. Swalwell was married in Canada, Septem- bbr 11, 1881, to Miss Effie Fowler, a daughter of the Rev. Hiram Fowler. To this union four chil- Thomas E. Headlee was born at What-cheer, Iowa, September 1. 1867. He attended the public school and later a local business college. meanwhile assisting his father on the farm. Until 1890 he made his home with his parents, but in that year joined Francis M. at Snohomish, determined to seek his fortune in the great Northwest. Entering his brother's office, the young man read law during dren have been born: Herbert G., who is attend- ing Whitworth College at Tacoma; Melvin F., Vivien and Winifred, at home. Mrs. Swalwell is a devoted member of the Methodist church, whose services the family attend. Mr. Swalwell is one of the trustees of the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation and of the Everett Public Library, and is a director of the local Chamber of Commerce. He ! the ensuing three years and in 1893 was admitted

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to the bar. Following his admittance the brothers formed a partnership and for a year practised to- gether in Snohomish City. Then the junior mem- ber of the firm took charge of the Anderson shingle mill at Granite Falls, one of the pioneer mills in that section. He had served as deputy county audi- tor five months in 1891, under George C. Ruff, resigning to better pursue his studies, so that in 1896, when the Democratic party was seeking a competent man to nominate for auditor. Mr. Ilcad- lee was considered well qualified and given the place. He was elected in 1896 and re-elected in 1898, leaving behind a most creditable record as a public officer. Upon the expiration of his last term, he accepted a position with the Clark-Nicker- son Lumber Company, one of the largest on the sound, and has remained with that corporation ever since. In December. 1903, he was again called into public service, this time to serve as mayor of Ever- ett, being elected on the Democratic ticket. A re- election in 1904 evidenced the people's faith in him.

Mr. Headlee and Miss May Foss, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Foss, of Snohomish, were united in marriage March 22, 1896. Mrs. Headlec was born in Snohomish, her parents being early pioneers of this county. A biographical review of the Foss family appears elsewhere in these records. Mr. and Mrs. Headlee's three children are Audrey, aged nine : Thomas E., Jr., seven years old; and Fred F., one year old. Mr. and Mrs. Headlce are well known in Everett's social circles, and in fra- ternal life Mr. Headlee is identified with the Wood- men and the Redmen. Mayor Headlee has for many years past contributed freely and ably to the general progress of his home city and county, serv- ing faithfully and efficiently as a public official, zealously promoting the business interests with which he is connected, and by his many sterling personal qualities reaching an honorable position among his fellow men.

HENRY HEWITT, JR .- Notwithstanding the animus which some men feel or affect to feel to- ward men of great wealth, there is, and must al- ways be, a deep seated respect in the breasts of men in general for the conspicuously successful in that species of conflict in which all must, perforce, engage and in which so few have the qualifications to wage a wining warfare. Courage, steadfastness of purpose, heroism in meeting disappointments and discouragements, marvelous capacity for labor, genius for details, splendid generalship, broad knowledge of men and things and all but prophetic foresight-who does not admire these qualities ? and yet which of these qualities is lacking in any of the commanding geniuses of finance? Certainly all have been manifested in the career of Henry Hewitt, Jr., who with no special advantages to begin with has climbed to the top round of the ladder

of industrial success, at times proving himself the peer or even the superior of some of the best known financiers of the American Union.

Mr. Hewitt is a native of England, born in Lancashire in 1810, the son of Henry and Mary ( Proctor) Ilewitt. His father, who was born in England in 1819, came to America in 1839, located in Racine, Wisconsin, and engaged in contracting. Later he moved to Chicago and became one of the original contractors on the Illinois & Mississippi canal, whence the pursuit of his business finally led him to Kaukauna, Wisconsin, which city was his headquarters for two decades. During all this time he was engaged in large construction enter- prises, among them being the canal from the Missis- sippi river to Green Bay, a government undertak- ing of great magnitude. In later life he removed to Menasha, Wisconsin, and built the government lock there. He also became the principal owner of two banks, the First National of Neenah and the First National of Menasha. In the work at Chicago, mentioned above, he was simply a subcontractor. The failure of the original contractors left him with many obligations and with nothing to meet them but his reserve resources, accumulated in other ventures, but he honestly paid every dollar of this indebtedness, although it left him penniless. Such were his splendid abilities, however, that be soon recovered himself and at the time of his demise in 1901 he was a very wealthy man. In all his opera- tions he had able assistance from his wife, our sub- ject's mother, who not only acted as his secretary but shared with him, in a measure, the manage- ment of his extensive enterprises. She too was possessed of unusual abilities and rare good judg- ment in industrial matters. She was a native of England, born in 1821, the daughter of an exten- sive agriculturist of that country.

Henry Hewitt. Jr., with whom this article is more directly concerned, was but an infant when brought by his parents to America. After receiving the usual public school training, he spent a short term in Lawrence university, at Appleton, Wisconsin, and later he spent a few months in a Chicago busi- ness college, but he never completed a course in any institution. He began the active duties of life at sixteen as his father's assistant, learning, at that early age, the important lesson of how to direct and control men. Two years later he had his first experience in the lumber business, his father having fitted him out with teams, etc., and launched him in the industry for himself on Wolf river, Wis- consin. From that day to the present he has been interested in this line of endeavor on a constantly enlarging scale. At the early age of twenty, he took a contract to build a lock and dam at Portage City, Wisconsin, the consideration for his work being a grant of land from the Fox River & Wis- consin Improvement Company. The contract, a

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BIOGRAPHICAL

large one, was carried through with the help of his father and the land secured, and thus he came into possession of his first realty; thus was he started in a career of land accumulation which has resulted in his acquiring thousands of acres in dif- ferent states. Mr. Hewitt was busy with his gov- ernment contract when the war broke out so could not participate in person, but he sent a substitute, and his father having also sent one for him without his knowledge, he was doubly represented in the war for the Union. After the close of that struggle the father and son together started a bank, and of this institution the younger Hewitt was cashier for the ensuing fifteen years. All this time he dictated the policy of the bank; that his management was wise, his judgment good, is abundantly evident from the fact that in the decade and a half the losses from bad loans amounted to only three hun- dred dollars and this sum was lost in a compromise settlement. Mr. Hewitt's energies were too great to find scope for their activity in one line of en- deavor, so he carried on a lumbering business in addition to his banking, and also augmented liis fortune by judicious speculation ; indeed it was at this time that he scored one of his greatest suc- cesses. His father, fearing a panic, advised a sale of their land holdings at a sacrifice, but he could sce no grounds for apprehension, so he not only" held onto his own lands but bought his father's also. His judgment proved correct and one of the longest strides in his pathway to phenomenal strč- cess was made. After that time he was not asso- ciated with the elder Hewitt except in the bank. He continued his land buying policy, securing forty thousand acres in Arkansas, thirty thousand of which he still retains, twelve hundred acres in Chautauqua county, Kansas, four thousand in Mis- souri, three or four thousand near the iron mines of Duluth, and eight thousand in the iron fields of Michigan, upon which are two paying mines and others in process of development.

When Mr. Hewitt decided to come west in 1888 he sold some $380,000 worth of pine lands in Wis- consin and northern Michigan that he might have plenty of capital to operate with. Visiting Arizona and Mexico, he built a smelter at Nogales, on the American side of the line, designed to reduce ore shipped across the border, but a change in the duty on lead made the plant unprofitable, so he closed it down after having run it a year, though he still owns it. He then went to San Francisco, and thence into the red wood districts, where he made the discovery that the people were using more Puget sound fir than they were of the timber which grew at their own doors. This determined him to come to Washington. After examining the Gray's harbor country, Port Garner bay and the timber resources of Pierce county, he decided to locate at Tacoma, thinking that would be the central point.

There he associated himself with Col. C. W. Griggs, A. G. Foster, the ex-senator, and C. H. Jones, a brother-in-law and a lumberman from Michigan, for the purpose of buying vast cstates from the Northern Pacific Company. They acquired eighty thousand acres of timber lands in the vicinity of Tacoma and elsewhere in the Sound country, erected a large mill at Tacoma and began operations. They now have two mills with a combined output of 500,000 feet per day. At this time Mr. Hewitt heard of the timber resources of the Snohomish river and came in person to investigate, hiring Indians to take him over the ground. The result was the purchase by him of four hundred million fect of timber, but his visit also had a very important inci- dental result, important not alone to himself but to the country in general. While he was opening up the river and arranging for a boom site his at- tention was attracted by the advantages of the land upon which Everett now stands for town building purposes ; he investigated it thoroughly and began buying it. Now about this time Charles L. Colby, principal owner of the Wisconsin Central Railroad and interested with John D. Rockefeller in building the Chicago Terminal road, together with Angus McDougall, the celebrated inventor and promoter of the whaleback type of vessel, were on the sound, looking for a site for their proposed whaleback- building establishment. They had about completed arrangements with the citizens of Anacortes for the location of the plant there, but Mr. Hewitt took advantage of an invitation to accompany them on a trip to Alaska to argue the advantages of his newly discovered town site. On this Alaska trip, besides the gentlemen mentioned were Henry C. Davis, private secretary to President Oakes of the Northern Pacific Railroad, and John Plummer.

Mr. Hewitt believes that his presentation of the wonderful advantages of both river and bay and the excellent wharf facilities, etc., besides his state- ments that the public-spirited owners of the land, Messrs. Rucker, Swalwell, Smith and others, would give half their holdings as a bonus, had much to do with their ultimately choosing Everett as the site of their operations. The outcome was an agree- ment that all should investigate the situation and if found as Mr. Hewitt said that funds should be placed subject to his check with which to buy up the site, establish mills, inaugurate enterprises, etc. He was authorized to spend not to exceed $800,000, but in the expenditure of that sum was left abso- lutely to his own judgment. He immediately made a bargain with Rucker, Friday and Swalwell for half their holdings, eight hundred acres. They gave four hundred and Hewitt, as agent for his company, purchased about two hundred more. He then made a bargain with E. D. Smith for a large part of his lands in the vicinity of Lowell, securing altogether over six thousand acres. They then

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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 162

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