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 168

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 168
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 168

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Miss Augusta Nutting of Syracuse was united in marriage to Mr. Pratt at Syracuse, New York, in 1888. She passed away in April, 1896, leaving an infant son, Howard G., who survived his mother

not quite nine years, his untimely death occurring February 3, 1906. Mr. Pratt was again married in 1903, this time Miss Tirza Randall, of Everett, be- coming his bride. She was born in Adams, New York, in 1855, of pioneer American parentage, and while yet a little child was left an orphan. Mrs. Pratt has been united with the Presbyterian church since the second year of its establishment here, and participated in all of its early struggles. Fraternal- ly, Mr. Pratt is a Knight Templar of the Masonic order, and also affiliated with the A. O. U. W. As a public spirited citizen he has always been known for his ardent interest in the welfare of the com- munity at large, and in the early days of Everett frequently "ran with the machine" to help the fire laddies get their man-hauled apparatus to the scene of danger when the business center of the city was a collection of one-story wooden shacks. Correct principles, persistence in carrying out plans, cour- age strong enough to back up his convictions, and good executive ability explain his business success and the esteem in which he is held by his fellow citizens as well as by his fellow pharmacists. In the affairs of the Washington State Pharmaceutical As- sociation he has long taken an active interest, being retained year after year upon the Executive Board, and last year occupied the chair of president of the association. He certainly is an American.

JAMES MERCER VERNON, postmaster of Everett, was born on the 5th of June, 1849, in Zanes- ville, Ohio, and is a son of Samuel and Eliza Ann ( Mercer) Vernon, of whose five children the sub- ject of this review is the eldest. The father was a native of Ohio and came of an old family that was represented in the American army during the Revolutionary War by the great-grandfather of James M. Vernon. He was of English descent, but when the colonists attempted to throw off the yoke of British oppression he espoused the cause of in- dependence and fought for the establishment of the republic. Samuel Vernon was a farmer by voca- tion. He died in 1891 at the advanced age of eighty-one years, while his wife passed away in 1820 at the age of fifty-one years. She, too, was of English stock and belonged to a colonial American family. Her children numbered five : Charles, Newton, and Washington, deceased; Elizabeth, the wife of J. W. Kemp, a resident of Zanesville, Ohio ; and James Mercer.

In taking up the personal history of James M. Vernon the life record of one who is widely and favorably known in Snohomish county is presented to our readers. He began his education under the instruction of a private tutor and thus continued his studies until 1866, when he matriculated in the Ohio Wesleyan University, entering ths class of 18:1. After leaving school he became connected

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BIOGRAPHICAL

with journalistic work and in 1874-5 was a reporter on the Pittsburg Gazette, published at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Later he became financial and com- mercial editor of the Pittsburg Dispatch acting in that capacity from 1875 to 1877. In the latter year he become editor of the Wilmington Journal, Ohio, and continued to publish that paper with success until 1884. He has ever been a man deeply inter- ested in general progress and improvement, and while connected with the papers in the east he put forth every effort in his power to advance the wel- fare of the communities with which he was asso- ciated. Political questions have always been of the deepest interest to him, as he realized that upon their rejection or adoption depends the weal or woe of the nation. He became a very active and promi- nent worker in political ranks in Ohio and served as a member of the state central committee of the Republican party in 1882-3. He was also influ- ential and active along other lines, and in 1883-4 served as president of the Southwestern Ohio Press Association. From 1884 until 1887 he was presi- dent and general manager of the Commercial Print- ing Company at Chattanooga, Tennessee, and dur- ing that time was also editor-in-chief of the Daily Commercial. From 1887 until 1889 he was a mem- ber of the editorial staff of the Chattanooga Daily Times and from 1889 until 1891 he was the editor of the Herald at Fort Payne, Alabama. In 1890 he was unanimously nominated for the office of secre- tary of state of Alabama. Late in 1891, when the village of Everett was yet rising house by house out of the wilderness and on the bayside were only three or four little buildings, Mr. Vernon came to the North Pacific coast as editor of the Everett Times, one of the city's pioneer newspapers. With this journal's fortunes he was connected until 1900, publishing a paper creditable alike to its editor and to the city. It became the champion of many meas- ures of progress, reform and improvement, and its influence was far-reaching and beneficial. Mr. Ver- non was also the vice-president of the Washington State Press Association in 1893-4, and during his connection with this organization did much to ad- vance the interests of those who are representatives in Washington of the great fields of journalism. In 1894-5 he was chairman of the executive committee and was then elected its president, serving during the year 1896. In 1896 he was once more chosen chairman of the executive committee, serving until 1898, and again he was elected chairman in 1900.

On the 14th of April, 1875, the marriage of James M. Vernon and Miss Helena Bertha Tudor was solemnized. She was a native of Ohio, and a daughter of Jolin and Caroline (Asher ) Tudor, both of whom were natives of the Buckeye state and rep- resentatives of old English families descended from the house of Tudor, long one of the reigning houses of Great Britain. After the family was established

in America, however, its members became sympa- thizers in the cause of independence and fought against the cross of St. George when summoned to do so. Two children came to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Vernon : Leroy Tudor, now the Washington correspondent for the Chicago Daily News; and James Mercer, attending school at present. On the 5th of April, 1899, the devoted wife and mother was called to her final rest. She was an earnest Christian woman and rendered effective aid in church work up to the time of her demise, and her many excellent qualities occasioned her death to be deeply regretted by all who knew her. Mr. Vernon was married a second time, February 1, 1905, at Everett, his bride being Miss J. Eleanor Murray, one of the city's highly esteemed residents.

Fraternally, Mr. Vernon is connected with the B. P. O. E. and the I. O. O. F .; he is also a mem- ber of the Phi Gamma Delta, a national Greek let- ter society. In politics he has even been an earnest Republican, unfaltering in his allegiance to the par- ty, and continued to refuse to become a candidate for any office until his appointment as postmaster. He was made postmaster by President Mckinley on the 3rd of June, 1898, and was re-appointed by President Roosevelt June 2, 1902, and again in 1906, so that he is now serving his third term. Mr. Ver- non takes an active interest in the moral develop- ment of the community, holding membership in the Episcopal church, in the forwarding of whose growth he has rendered effective service. Socially, his many genial, loyal traits of character combined with the culture of a college-bred man have lifted liim to a position of prominence among his fellows. while his word is considered as good as his bond. His career has been one of honor and value to the communities in which he has lived and in turn he has been honored with the unqualified confidence and regard of his intimate associates.

ROBERT A. HULBERT. United States Com- missioner, local counsel for the Northern Pacific, and general practitioner, has won recognition as one of the ablest members of his profession in this section of the state, and because of his long resi- dence on the sound possesses an unusually wide ac- quaintance. He is, in fact, a product of western Washington, born, reared, educated on the shores of Puget sound, and has here attained whatever of success has come to him.

Ansel and Lucinda (Cottle) Hulbert, the par- ents of Robert A. Hulbert, are both descended from colonial American families. Ansel Hulbert was born near Toronto, Canada, August 16, 1835, while his parents were temporarily residents of that province, enroute from Pennsylvania to Michigan. Ile grew to maturity in the Peninsula state, then sought the Kansas frontier, on which he lived for many years

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preceding 1860, and where he was married August 5. 1857. In 1860 the young couple joined the im- migration westward to the Pacific Northwest, mak- ing the long journey with ox teams and enduring the usual hardships of the period. They settled first at Portland, later came north into Washington Ter- ritory, locating near Seattle when it was still a small village, then removed to California, residing temporarily at different points along the coast until about the first of October, 1872, when Mr. Hul- bert came to Snohomish county to make a perma- nent home. He filed on land near Snohomish City, then frequently called Cadyville, and engaged in farming. stock raising and lumbering. He was once called to serve his county as probate judge and for a time in recent years served under federal appoint- ment as superintendent of the Washington Forest Reserve. Since 1897 the hardy old pioneer, com- pelled to retire from active business life, has been a resident of Everett. Mrs. Hulbert, who was born in Morgan county, Kentucky, February 19, 1842, is the daughter and grand daughter of Kentuckians. The Cottles lived in the famous Licking river val- ley. near Mammoth Cave, and she was reared in an atmosphere of danger and heroism. Her parents removed to the Kansas border when she was but ten years old, and there, as a girl, she learned with men to face death often and fearlessly. The deadly rifle was her plaything and often, very often, she slept with it under her pillow, ready for instant use in defending herself or those about her. Of the eight children of this union, seven are living: Wil- liam M., Mrs. Ella Boswell, Robert A., Mrs. Lizzie Noland, and Charles, at Everett ; Harry, at Ana- cortes : and Adrian, in California. William M .. Charles and Harry are engaged in the lumber busi- ness, the first named being one of the largest opera- tors in the state.

Robert A. Hulbert was born in Seattle, March 10, 1861. He attended the public schools and, after graduation, matriculated at the University of Wash- ington, Seattle, taking a mixed course. While at- tending the university he definitely decided to enter the legal profession, and at once began his prepara- tion. . At the age of twenty hie secured access to a first-class law library and under the direction of its owners took up the prescribed courses of read- ing. During the succeeding few years the young law student pursued his studies as regularly as pos- sible, toward the close placing himself under the di- rect instruction of an able firm. In the fall of 1892. however, just prior to applying for admittance to the bar. Mr. Hulbert was nominated by the Re- publicans of Snohomish county for the office of county clerk, and after a vigorous campaign against his Fusionist opponent, was elected. So well did he fill the position that he was re-elected in 1894. That year, while serving as county clerk and clerk of the superior court, he was admitted to the bar. Janu-

ary 1. 1892, his second term of office having ex- pired, Mr. Hulbert commenced the practice of his profession as a partner of Hon. John C. Denny. This partnership was dissolved five years later by election of Mr. Denny to the superior court bench in this district, since which time Mr. Hulbert has practiced alone. Besides having one of the largest general clienteles in this section and in the railroad work referred to, he is counsel for many of the leading corporations of Snohomish county. In addition, Mr. Hulbert is associated with his brother William M. Hulbert in the lumber business. Fraternally, Robert A. Hulbert is affiliated with the 1. O. O. F., Knights of Pythias and the B. P. O. E., and is prominent in the general social life around him. His home for many years has been in the city of Everett, with whose growth and progress he has been identified in many important ways since its beginnings almost, rendering valuable service from time to time as called upon. The older of his children, Vivian Hul- bert, is at present attending school in Tacoma; the younger, Mildred. is enrolled in the Everett schools. Devoted to and eminently successful in his profes- sion, a man of diverse talents and strong, genial personality. Mr. Hulbert may be classed among the foremost men of western Washington's second gen- cration.

ALFRED DENSMORE, expert log scaler with headquarters in Room 29, Wisconsin block, Everett, and one of this section's pioneer lumbermen, is a native of Hauts county, Nova Scotia. born April 11, 1856. His father and mother, Alexander and Eliza- beth ( McCoullough ) Densmore, were likewise na- tives of that province, and the former was a farmer by occupation. He died in 1902. at the advanced age of seventy-eight, but Mrs. Densmore still lives, though now full four score. She is the mother of nine children of whom the subject of this review is the fifth child.

As soon as Alfred Densmore had acquired the customary common school education and assisted for a few years on his father's farm, he determined to give his attention to the lumber business, and at the early age of nineteen went to Portland, Maine, to begin his carcer. He spent one summer there, then migrated to Oscota, Michigan, from which point lie entered the woods. After logging in Michi- gan for seven years he determined to accept Horace Greeley's advice to go west and grow up with the country so he set out for the sound, arriving in Seattle October 20, 1883. The Queen City was his headquarters for a few months after which he went to Mount Vernon to log for Millet & Mckay and he operated in Skagit county for about two years, going thence to Lowell where he spent one winter. Ilis next field of activity was the Stillaguamish river and his next employer Jasper Sill. He recalls

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the fact that on July 1st of the year 1887 Mr. Sill's crew put 141.000 feet of logs into the water with an ox team, a record which has probably never been beaten in the sound basin. After managing their camp, which was situated two miles above Silvana, for a year, he left it to take charge of the camp of William McGee, three miles above the present town of Arlington. He spent one summer in this posi- tion, then logged on his own account for three years on the same stream, after which he started the first hotel in Haller City. A year later he sold this business, went to the Stillaguamish and became sell- ing agent for the different loggers on the river, scaling and disposing of their entire output for them on a contract basis. He gave his energies to this work for a period of fourteen years prior to Sep- tember, 1904, in which month he established an of- fice in Everett. His business now is scaling logs for different firms at so much per thousand feet. and so many are the demands upon his time that he is rushed with work continually. He says that his work for the year 1905 will consist of the scal- ing of 215 million feet, while the logs that have been scaled by him during all the years of his resi- dence in Snohomish county would aggregate over a billion feet, board measure.

Mr. Densmore is a thrifty, energetic man. Ever since he left his home a beardless youth of nineteen summers, perhaps even before, he has lived the strenuous life, and being a man of good judgment, he has naturally achieved a success commensurate with his efforts. Once only has he relaxed from strenuous endeavor, and this was in 1901 when he made a three weeks' visit to his old home in Canada. Ile has accumulated enough of this world's wealth to keep him in comfort the remainder of his days and it is his intention soon to retire. He is an active Mason, being a member of the blue lodge at Stan- wood and the Shrine in Tacoma; he also belongs to the B. P. (). E. in Everett and to the Floo Hloos. In politics as in all else he is independent.

GUY C. ALSTON, was born in Halifax county, North Carolina, the 7th of February, 1866. He received his early education in his native state. In 1892 he went to Chicago to take a position with the World's Columbia Exposition, which position he re- tained throughout the world's fair. In 1891 he took charge of Field Columbia Museum Guards, which position he held for four years. In 1893 Mr. Alston married Miss Bertha Barton of Evansville, Indiana, and they have one child, John Francis, born July 28, 1903. Mrs. Alston's parents were of English birth, but were brought to America in in- fancy. Her mother was of poetic taste, and wrote many poems, a number of which were published, and are still extant.

Mr. Alston's father, John Crowell Alston ; grand-

father, John Alston; great-grandfather, Jolin Joseph Alston, and great-great-grandfather, Gid- leon Alston, were all born in Halifax county, North Carolina, the first one of whom settled in North Carolina in 1691.

Guy C. Alston studied law in Chicago under E. C. Westwood, was admitted to the bar, and in 1901 came to the state of Washington, located at Everett. Snohomish county, and assumed the prac- tice of his profession, where he has been engaged in active practice ever since. He is the junior mem- ber of the law firm of Hathaway & Alston.

WILLIAM COLUMBUS COX, M. D. Com- ing to the city of Everett at the time of its incep- tion in 1891 with firm determination to stand by the newly projected metropolis until its future suc- cess should be fully assured, Dr. Cox has not only followed the community's varying fortunes un- swervingly, with profit to himself and his fellow citizens, but he has also, during those fifteen years, established a reputation as a successful practitioner. Ile belongs to that type of professional men whose period of close technical study does not end with the bestowal of their degree, but who keep abreast of the times and seek constantly though conserva- tively to use the invaluable knowledge brought to light by the latest discoveries. Ilis clientele, large and thoroughly representative, is the best evidence of his skill.

Dr. Cox was born September 20, 1858, in Flinty Branch, Mitchell county, North Carolina, and is the eldest son and second child of Samuel W. and Cynthia ( Blalock) Cox. The Cox family is of English and German lineage but of old American colonial stock. The father of Dr. Cox was born in North Carolina also. He was a farmer by occupa- tion and in the year 1823 left the Atlantic to seek a home in the far west. He arrived that year in Walla Walla. Washington, and after spending twen- ty years as a pioneer of this state passed away in 1893 at the age of sixty-six, having been born August 2, 1821. Ilis wife was also a native of Mitchell county. North Carolina, born December 31, 1831, the daughter of a Southern farmer and planter. She belonged to an old American family, and was of German and English descent. Mrs. Cox was a sister of Dr. N. G. Blalock, who has been for many years a distinguished physician of the North- west, was graduated by the Jefferson Medical Col- lege at Philadelphia in the class of 1861, and for a third of a century has been a medical practitioner at Walla Walla, prominent in his profession and in the general life of his section of the state. The mother of Dr. Cox passed away in 1862 when only twenty-nine years of age and while the family still resided in North Carolina, four daughters and two sons surviving her : Addie, now the wife of George

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Rasmus, a resident of Walla Walla; William C .; Mrs. Huldah, the wife of S. S. Parris, living near Athena, Oregon ; Nelson D., of Walla Walla, Wash- ington ; Ura, the wife of Dr. J. P. Price, of Nez Perce, Idaho ; and Victa, who is the wife of Thomas Yoe. of Dayton, Washington.

William Columbus Cox was a youth of fifteen when he accompanied his father to Walla Walla in 1813. In that city he continued his education in the public schools, pursuing his studies until nine- teen years of age, then worked upon his uncle's farm until 1882. In the fall of that year, having determined to devote his life to his noble calling, he matriculated in the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, the alma mater of his distinguished uncle, from which he was graduated on the comple- tion of a thorough course, April 2, 1885. receiving the degree of M. D. Thus equipped for his chosen profession, he returned to Walla Walla, where he engaged in the practice of medicine in connection with his uncle, Dr. Blalock. This relation was main- tained until April, 1886, at which time Dr. Cox re- moved to Genesee, Idaho, where he remained in active practice five years. On the 6th of July, 1891. he came to Everett, opened an office and in that city has since continued to practice without inter- mission. When he arrived, there was in reality no city or even town of Everett, merely a collection of people awaiting the final survey and platting of the land, knowing that a great commercial center was projected by wealthy and aggressive capitalists. It was not until September of 1891 that the first plat was thrown open for sale by W. G. Swalwell, but after that event the boom broke with all the in- tensity common to such occurrences. Dr. Cox came early, worked hard and skillfully and as a result has won unusual success. Besides giving his attention to a large general practice, he is serving as the lo- cal surgeon for the Great Northern Railroad Com- pany, the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, and the Everett Railway, Light & Power Company.

On the 4th of March, 1888, Dr. Cox was united in marriage to Miss Grace Jain, a native of Wis- consin and a daughter of Louis and Adelia Jain, of Genesce, Idaho. She died on the 10th of October, 1891, after a happy married life of a little more than three years. The second marriage of the Doc- tor was solemnized November 1, 1894, his bride being Harriet G. McFarland. a native of Maine, and the daughter of Captain Robert and Georgia Berry (Harrington) McFarland, both natives of Maine and among Everett's earliest pioneers. Captain Mc- Farland has been a sca-faring man all his life on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, has served in many prominent government positions of trust and high responsibility at home and abroad and is one of Everett's distinguished citizens. During the Civil War he commanded vessels engaged in furnishing supplies to the Union navy and army and narrowly

escaped capture or death many times. The home of Dr. and Mrs. Cox is one of the city's most hos- pitable homes and social centers.

Ever recognized as a leader, Dr. Cox has been elected to various positions of public trust and has always been found most loyal to his duty and the confidence thus reposed in him. In 1890 he was chosen mayor of Genesee, Idaho, serving for one year, and in 1894 he was elected a member of the Everett council. The following year, 1895, he was nominated and elected mayor of the city and served through the succeeding year. In 1900 he was ap- pointed a member of the state board of medical ex- aminers and acted in that position for three years. His political support has always been given the Democratic party. Fraternally, he is connected with the Masons, Knights of Pythias, Improved Or- der of Red Men, the B. P. O. E. and the Odd Fel- lows. He also holds membership with various or- ganizations tending to promote medical knowledge and the efficiency of practitioners. At present he is a member of the Snohomish County Medical So- ciety, and is affiliated with the Washington State Medical Society, the American Medical Association, the International Association of Railway Surgeons and the American Academy of Railway Surgeons. His unfailing courtesy, genial nature and broad sympathies have won for him a goodly host of friends and admirers and in a profession where merit alone is recognized as just cause for promo- tion he has attained a most worthy and honorable place. Professionally and socially, Doctor Cox stands to-day as one of the leading citizens of Everett and this section of Puget sound.

DR. HENRY P. HOWARD, among the suc- cessful physicians of the city of Everett, in fact, one of the leaders of his profession in Snohomish county, is a native of Prince Edward's Island, born in 1865. His father, John Howard, and his mother, Elizabeth ( Balderson) Howard, were likewise na- tives of that well known island province, both born in 1835 and descendants of pioneer families. The elder Howard followed farming until his death, which occurred in 1881. Mrs. Howard survived her husband until 1895. Both the Howard and Balderson families came to Prince Edward's Island when it was sparsely settled and contributed liber- ally to its development. Henry Pope Howard, the subject of this sketch, attended the public schools of the island until he was prepared to enter college. He then entered the University of Pennsylvania from which he received his degree with the class of '92. After finishing school he came west to the Pacific coast in search of a suitable location and at that time visited Snohomish and other points on Puget Sound, though he finally settled in eastern Oregon. There he practiced successfully five years,

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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 168

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