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 205

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 205
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 205

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

1113

BIOGRAPHICAL

a year ago he had entire charge of the assaying for all the mining companies of this district, in ad- dition to much outside work for other camps. Mr. Redding also represents the Pacific Coast Oregon Sampling Company of San Francisco, at the smel- ter at Everett. Fraternally, he is a charter member of the Tillicum Tribe, Number 68, of Redmen at Index, holding the honored position of chief of rec- ords. He enjoys the confidence and goodwill of all his associates in business and social circles, and is one of the most popular young men of the town.

SYLVESTER SMITH. the well known lum- berman of the upper Skykomish valley, operating the large combination saw and shingle mill at Index under the name of the Smith Lumber Company, is prominently connected with the master industry of Snohomish county. He was born on a farm near St. Joseph, Michigan, March 2, 1860. Wesley Smith, the father, who was born in Ohio, followed agricul- tural pursuits until his death in 1812. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War, he attempted to enlist but was rejected by the recruit officers. Margaret (Doolittle) Smith, his wife, the mother of the sub- ject of this review, was a native of New York; she passed away in Michigan in 1902.

Sylvester Smith received his education in the district schools of his community, remaining at home until twenty-three years of age, when he bought a farm in Berring county and commenced farming on his own account. A year and a half later, how- ever, he determined to seek his fortunes in the Paci- fic Northwest, so came to Washington, reaching Seattle in the spring of 1889, while this common- wealth was yet a territory. Shortly afterward he took a pre-emption claim in the Pilchuck valley near Machias, where he spent the succeeding two years, following which he engaged in logging on the Stillaguamish near Granite Falls. Two years later he removed his camps to Tolt on the Snoqualmie, where he operated three years, then he operated on Frenchy slough, a tributary of the Snohomish river, three years, at the end of this period returning to Machias and erecting a shingle mill three miles southeast of town. This was in March, 1901. This plant contained a single block hand machine. By good management Mr. Smith prospered. Reaching out for a better location, he came to Index in 1903 and established his present mills, acquiring also con- siderable tributary timber land. The saw-mill has a capacity of 40,000 feet, the shingle mill a capacity of 30,000 shingle a day, in addition to which a large quantity of dressed lumber is handled. The equipment is modern and complete, including among other things an electric lighting plant of sufficient size to furnish the town of Index with light. The logging arrangements are also quite complete, two donkey engines being in use and the timber being

brought directly to the mills by means of cables. Between forty-five and fifty men are employed the year around in this establishment which certainly makes a generous contribution to the prosperity of Index and the county generally. Mr. Smith has. certainly attained to a business success in which any man might well take pride.

The marriage of Miss Bertha Rose Mathews, the daughter of James M. and Rose (VanSky) Ma- thews, to Mr. Smith was solemnized September 20, 1905. Her father was born in Pennsylvania in 1850, coming of good American stock. In 1864 he went to the war at the tender age of fourteen as a drummer boy for the Fifth Wisconsin Volunteers and he participated in the bloody battle of the Wil- derness and in other engagements. After the war he followed the trade of a carpenter in Minnesota until 1890, when he brought his family to Puget sound. Since that time he has lived in both Snoho- mish and King counties and is at present farming near Machias. Mrs. Mathews, who is of Pennsyl- vania Dutch extraction, was born in the Badger state in 1859. Her people came west to Wisconsin in 1859, becoming early pioneers of that state. They had come originally from Virginia. While living on the southern frontier her father's uncles, aunts and grandmother were massacred by the Cherokees and his mother, father, himself and a young brother were compelled to remain hidden three days and nights in a hollow beach log to es- cape a similar fate. Mrs. Smith was born at Eagle Lake, Minnesota, March 5, 1877. She received her education in that state and Washington, and later took up music teaching, a profession in which she was successfully engaged till the time of her mar- riage. Fraternally, Mr. Smith is an Odd Fellow, belonging to the Encampment and also to the Re- bekahs, of which latter order his wife is also a member. Politically, he is a Republican of liberal views. For the past fifteen years or more he has taken an active and substantial part in the devel- opment of the county of which he is now a citizen, winning the respect and esteem of all classes. He is essentially a self-made man, with the courage, re- sourcefulness and strength which come from fierce and prolonged battling with opposing forces.

O. O. ROWLAND, of the McAllister-Rowland Copper Mining Company, Incorporated, owning and operating half a dozen important groups in the In- dex and Silver creek districts, including the cele- brated Ethel mine and mill, and also associated with W. J. McAllister of this company in the construc- tion of an electric railway from Index to Mineral City, an account of which is given elsewhere in this volume, is among Snohomish county's most aggres- sive and far seeing business men. During his short residence here lie has entered into vast undertakings-

111៛

SNOHOMISH COUNTY

with a confidence and an enthusiasm that have awakened a new interest in mining circles, and he is engaged in the actual execution of these enter- prises.

Born in Lane county, Oregon, July 26, 1862, Mr. Rowland is one of the Northwest's native sons and a descendant of one of Oregon's oldest fami- lies. Lowrey Benton Rowland, the father, went to Iowa from his eastern birthplace about the middle of the last century, and in 1852 joined the little band of immigrants that wended its uncertain way with ox teams across the plains and mountain ranges into the far-off Willamette valley, selecting as his new western home a donation claim near Eugene, Lane county. He served successively as a soldier in the historic Rogue River Indian War and in the Yakima War of 1855-6, and on all occasions arose to the responsibilities and sacrifices of frontier life. A man of broad abilities, a stockman, farmer, and merchant in turn, he was active in the business and social life of his community until advancing years forced him into retirement. He is still living at the age of seventy-six. Engene being his home. His wife, the mother of O. O. Rowland. came from Iowa to Oregon with her parents in the same train with Mr. Rowland : they were married near Eugene. She bore the maiden name of Elizabeth McCall, and is still living at the age of sixty.

The subject of this review was reared in Mon- mouth, Polk county, to which his parents removed when he was seven years old, and there received his education in the public schools and the Christian College, now the Oregon State Normal. He had prepared himself to take up surveying and civil en- gineering, so upon graduation from college in 1881 he readily obtained a position with the O. R. & N. R. R. Company. From that road he went to assist in surveying the main line of the Northern Pacific through Washington Territory, giving this work three seasons. He then spent a similar period with the Southern Pacific in engineering work with head- quarters at Portland, a season with the Oregon Paci- fic working between Yaquina Bay and Corvallis, and a year with the Hunt system in southern Wash- ington, at the end of this extended railroad work settling down to a general practice in Washington. Since 1891 he has followed his profession in this state with headquarters either at Seattle or New Whatcom ( now Bellingham ). However during this time he has visited southern Oregon, eastern Oregon and Idaho as a mining engineer, thus fitting himself for the work he has recently undertaken. For five years past his headquarters have been in the Alaska building, Seattle, though at present he is established in Index. The Ethel shipped its first carload of concentrates March 13, 1906, and is be- ing operated steadily by the McAllister-Rowland Company as lessees, and the exploitation of the other properties has already been commenced.

Mr. Rowland and Miss Nettie Darneille of Lane

county, Oregon, were united in marriage June 30, 1891. She, too, is a native of Oregon, born in Lane county in 1880, the daughter of early pioneers of the Northwest. Isaac Darneille, her father, came to Oregon with the senior Rowland. and is engaged in agricultural pursuits near Eugene. Mrs. Dar- neille bore the maiden name of Hill, and was the daughter of Judge Hill. one of Oregon's earliest judges. She was an infant when brought across the plains. Her death occurred in 1892. Mr. and Mrs. Rowland are the parents of two children : Jesse Emmett, born in the historic Florence mining basin, central Idaho, September 8. 1900; and Edward Theodore, born in Seattle, October 2, 1903. The family home is still maintained in Seattle. Politi- cally, Mr. Rowland is a Republican of liberal views, though in these matters as in general business af- fairs, he is broad minded. As one of its native sons, Mr. Rowland is familiar by experience with the his- tory of this section of the Union during practically the entire period of its wonderful growth, and has himself taken an active part in its development. Mr. Rowland has been accorded a welcome into Snolio- mish mining circles as a man of experience, initiative abilities and a business man of energy.

PHILIP HINGSTON, of Index, treasurer and general manager of the New York-Seattle Copper Mining Company, Incorporated, operating the most extensively developed property in the well known Silver Creek mining district of Snohomish county, is among the younger leaders in the industrial prog- ress of this section of the state. He has been asso- ciated with the interests of the Silver creek district for the past five years, engaged continuously on the New York-Seattle mine, and in that time he has become most favorably known in his profession and as a public spirited citizen.

Mr. Hingston was born in Huron county, On- tario, April 25, 1814, the son of Thomas L. and Sarah ( Cardiff ) Hingston, both of whom also were born in Ontario. The elder Hingston removed to Manitoba in 1881, becoming one of the pioneers of that northwestern frontier, and there engaging ex- tensively in wheat raising which business he fol- lowed until his retirement. At one time his farm consisted of 960 acres. He is still living near Winnipeg at the age of sixty-one years. Mrs. Sarah Hingston is also living. aged fifty-six. She is the mother of five children of whom Philip is the oldest. He was reared on the farm and secured his educa- tion as best he could in a frontier school, situated eight miles from his home and in session only four months each year.

Four years of this sort of schooling in addition to what he could pick up in his home constituted the educational equipment of the young man when he entered a machine shop as an apprentice at the

BIOGRAPHICAL

1115

age of eighteen. Two years and a half later he left the shop at Brussels for Niagara Falls, New York state, and after working there a short time he went to Toledo, Ohio. Later he entered the Westing- house Electrical Works at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and after spending two years in the employ of that celebrated firm lie accepted a position with the Stan- ley Electric Company in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In the meantime, with commendable ambition and perseverance. he had resumed his studies at night school and had supplemented his practical work in the shops by a thorough course in engineering. Thus, when he came to Snohomish county, in April. 1900. as one of the owners and officers of the New York- Seattle Company, he was well fitted to undertake the engineering problems immediately presented to him for solution. The property consists of sixteen claims adjoining the Mineral City town site. At that time it was scarcely more than a prospect, sit- uated in an extremely rough country, and there be- ing no roads. the task of installing a plant was an arduous one from the beginning. but at present the mine is equipped with a small saw-mill, a complete compressor plant operated by waterpower from which may be developed 500 horsepower, and the various shops and residence buildings necessary to the working of such a property. The company is at the present writing calling for bids for the erec- tion of a 200-ton concentrator during the summer of 1906. A railroad is projected by private capital into the Silver Creek district, upon which road it is expected work will be commenced at once. When completed it will afford excellent shipping facilities to this and other mines in the vicinity. The ore bodies of the New York-Seattle group of claims are large, lying in five parallel leads, and carrying chal- copyrite with some gold. In passing it may be said that the owners of this mine have steadily adhered to the policy of development on an extended scale rather than to the construction of expensive outside works, indicating a gratifying conservatism.

The marriage of Mr. Hingston and Miss Agnes MF. Curtin, daughter of Thomas H. Curtin, was sol- eminized at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, November 16, 1904. Her father came of Colonial American stock and was born in New York state. He was superin- tendent of the woolen mills at Utica until his death in 1886 at the age of thirty-six. Mrs. Curtin, who bore the maiden name of Mary E. Dunn, was born in Ireland in 1852, was brought to America when a child by her parents, and is now living in Pittsfield. Mrs. Hingston was born at Utica, New York, May 15, 18:6, but was reared and educated principally in the Old Bay state. Upon her graduation from high school she took up stenography as an occupa- tion and was so engaged until her marriage. Fra- ternally, Mr. Hingston is affiliated with the Odd Fellows and the Masons, his home Masonic lodge being the celebrated one at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, which has no number and with which many of

America's famous men have been connected. Mr. Hingston is a successful young business man of increasing prominence in the community, command- ing the respect and esteem of his associates.

THOMAS MCINTYRE, one of the leading mine operators in the Index district of Snohomish county, has been prominently identified with the de- velopment of that district for many years past. He is trustee and treasurer of the Buckeye Copper Com- pany, whose sixteen claims lie five miles south of the town of Index and within a mile of the Skyko- mish river and the Great Northern Railway. For- merly this was the Index-Independent Consolidated mine and from it some rich shipments of ore have been made. In fact the ore was awarded a bronze medal at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904, for the copper and silver contained in it. Copper glance and bornite are the predominating copper deposits. Fully 1,500 feet of development work has been done and two of the eight ledges have already been cross- cut by tunnel. Under the superintendency of Mr. McIntyre, who is also one of the heaviest stock- holders of the company. three eight hour shifts are now at work.

Mr. McIntyre is a native of the Emerald Isle, born in the west portion November 9, 1858. His father, Dennis J. McIntyre. a butcher by trade, died in 1811 at the advanced age of seventy-seven years. The mother. Mary ( Woods) McIntyre, was also a native of Ireland. At the early age of sixteen the young man left the family roof tree to make his own way in the world. after having obtained a fair edu- cation. Leaving his native land, he crossed the ocean to Boston where he secured employment in a store. A year later he went to New Hampshire to drive tip carts in grading roads, and thence accepted employment in the great paper store of Bradner & Smith, Chicago. After a year and a half with that firm he went south to New Orleans and engaged in steamboating on the Mississippi river for a year. returning in 1880 to Chicago. From St. Paul, Min- nesota, lie shortly shipped to Bismarck, Dakota, to assist in the construction of the Northern Pacific across the continent, staying with this work until the great project was completed. He was present at the driving of the golden spike at Gold creek, Montana, in September, 1883, by President Grant, Henry Villiard and other notables. Mr. McIntyre then came to Seattle, going thence back to Timber- line. Montana, where he had charge of the tracks in the coal mines for some time. In 1882, he had joined the rush to the mines at Cook City, being among the first to reach the diggings. From Tim- berline he attended another mining excitement, this time going to the Castle Mountains. After this trip he returned to Washington Territory and worked as foreman on the eastern end of the projected Seattle,

1116

SNOHOMISH COUNTY

Lake Shore & Eastern railway, then held the same position on the Lewiston branch of the Northern Pacific, and following this acted as foreman in the construction of the Wallace branch of the same road. Easton was his home during the next two vears. He arrived at Index in July, 1893, it being then a mere trading post, and this has since been his home though he has mined and followed railroad work in various parts of the Northwest. In 1894 he went to British Columbia on a prospecting tour and was gone two years. Again he spent several years in the Monte Cristo district, all of which prepared him for the important work he has now undertaken. He is thoroughly familiar with the whole western slope of the Cascades in Washington, having pros- pected, mined, hunted and fished over much of it during his long residence on the Sound. Of the three oldest settlers at Index at present he is one, the others being Amos D. Gunn and Fred C. Doolittle.

Mr. McIntyre was united in marriage December 26, 1893, to Miss Annie McRee, a native of Ten- nessee, born March 25, 1864. She is the daughter of David McRee, a native of North Carolina and one of its planters. He was born in 1826, and passed away in 1893. He went to Tennessee as one of its earliest pioneers and came to Washington in 1887, settling at Snohomish. He served during the Civil War on the southern side. Mrs. McRee bore the maiden name of Levina McAdoo, and was also a native of Tennessee, her people having been wealthy southern planters. of colonial stock. She passed away when Mrs. McIntyre was but a year and a half of age. Mrs. McIntyre was educated and reared in eastern Tennessee. Two of her brothers came to Snohomish county with the family and were pioneers of Index. David McRee came to In- dex in December, 1890, among the first, and took a homestead. He was killed at the Index mine in 1897. Adolphus McRee arrived the year after his brother. He was drowned in the Skykomish river in November, 1897, while taking a canoe load of ore across.

Mr. McIntyre is affiliated with the Odd Fellows and Rebekahs. his wife belonging to the latter, the Red Men, and Knights of Columbus. Politically, although a believer in Democratic principles, he is liberal, and is a supporter of President Roosevelt. Both himself and wife belong to the Catholic church. The McIntyre home at Index is one of the finest residences in the community and is filled with an atmosphere of genuine western and southern hospi- tality. Mr. McIntyre is accorded the position of being one of the substantial mining men of the county, a public spirited citizen and a leader in his community.

FRED C. DOOLITTLE, one of the influential citizens of Index, Washington, was born in Lynn county, Kansas, December, 16, 1868. His father,

Samuel R. Doolittle, born in 1837, is a native of New York. Going to Kansas as colonel of the Seventh Kansas Cavalry regiment, in the Civil War, he became a well known pioneer of that state. He is still living at the age of seventy-two in Kansas. The mother, Mell ( Thomluson) Doolittle, is a Mis- sourian, the place of her birth being Warrensburg. She is the mother of ten children, all of whom save the second. Fred C., are residents of Kansas. Mr. Doolittle received his early education in the com- mon schools of his native state, supplementing this training by a course in the State Agricultural Col- lege. Having completed his education he taught for two years in Kansas, prior to coming west in 1890. He first located in Snohomish, Washington, arriv- ing there on the fifth of July, and remaining till his marriage in the fall of that year when he came to Index. He and his bride took their wedding trip on horseback, that being the only way to reach their destination. Only one other family, that of his father-in-law, Amos D. Gunn, had found a home in this lonely spot. The following winter he spent in running a pack train to the mines, and during the next year took up a homestead which he later sold. After working at whatever he could find to do until 1900, he took up the draying and express business, and is still thus engaged. By careful in- vestment he has acquired 300 city lots, and devotes a portion of his time to real estate dealings.

Mr. Doolittle and Henrietta Gunn were married November 4, 1890. Mrs. Doolittle, a native of Iowa, is the daughter of Amos D. and Perses E. (Graves) Gunn, distinguished pioneers of Index, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this history. The father was born in Putnam county, Ilinois, May 14, 1843. He is a well known veteran of the Civil War, having served in the 20th and 139th Illi- nois regiments. Coming to Washington in 1890, he took up the present site of Index as a squatter's claim. Two years later he platted the town, and is thus known as the "father of Index." The mother, also born in Illinois, died in Index in 1898, after a long, useful life. Mrs. Doolittle is the eldest of eleven children, six of whom are still living. The seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle are as follows : Hazel, Ruth, Blanche, Nell, Bessie, Luther (deceased), and Dorothy. Mr. Doolittle is a popular member of the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Redmen. He is prominent in the councils of the Republican party ; held the office of deputy sheriff for three years, and is now one of the most active members of the Republican Central Committee, one whose loyalty and devotion to the highest interests of the party are unquestioned. He and his family attend the Congregational church. By reason of his long residence in Index Mr. Doo- little has a wide circle of acquaintance, and enjoys the unbounded confidence and respect of all who have ever been associated with him either in busi- ness or social relations.

111%

BIOGRAPHICAL

ANDREW J. MURPHY, the well known liquor dealer of Index, Washington, was born in Arena, Wisconsin, January 1, 1864. His father, John Murphy, was a native of Lynn, Massachusetts, the date of his birth being 1826. When he settled in Arena, Wisconsin, the nearest railroad was at Mil- waukee, a distance of 136 miles. He later found a home in Sioux City, Iowa, and died there in 1894. Margaret (Sullivan) Murphy, the maternal ances- tor, who was also born in Lynn, is still living in Sioux City, aged sixty-eight. Andrew J. Murphy is the third child of a family of seven. After at- tending the common schools he completed his educa- tion in the normal school at Madison, Wisconsin, and at the age of eighteen started out for himself. He was employed by a stone contractor in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, for two years, when he decided to take up railroading. Going to Aberdeen, South Dakota, he secured a position as fireman on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul road, discharging his duties in such a satisfactory manner that at the end of two years he was promoted to the right hand side of the cab. Four years later he resigned this coveted place, migrating to Washington, in the fall of 1889. After spending the winter visiting various portions of the Sound country, he settled in Fair- haven in the spring, and opened a restaurant which he owned for a year. He then engaged in the ice business in Fairhaven. Sehome and Whatcom, and was at that time the only dealer in ice on Bellingham Bay. Two years later the old longing for the road took possession of him, and, disposing of his busi- ness interests, he went to Great Falls, Montana.

Entering the employ of the Great Northern railroad as engineer, he was assigned to the Seattle extension of the road, running an engine on it for nearly three years. During the last two years his route embraced the switchback on the Cascades. Again abandoning the road, he opened a hotel at Sultan which was then enjoying a boom, and in the ensuing seven years by wise investments acquired a large amount of real estate of which he is still the owner. Wishing to locate in Everett he sold his hotel, and moved thence, becoming the owner and proprietor of the Fashion saloon and lodging house. He was thus employed until July 26, 1905, at which time he sold out. fully intending to go to Tonopah, Nevada. A brief visit to Index, Washington, having convinced him that here was an excellent opening, he took up his residence in the town, and opened a saloon. He has thus far had no occasion to regret his decision.

Mr. Murphy was married in November, 1893, to Bertha Mann, raised in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, born in Muskegon, Michigan, April 14, 1874. In 188; she moved to Snohomish with her parents, George and Annie Mann, pioneers of Snohomish county. Her father died in November, 1899; the mother still lives in Sultan. Mr. Murphy is a prominent member of the Eagles, Aerie No. 13, of Everett, Washington, and also of the Foresters of America. In political belief, he is independent, pre- ferring to identify himself with no political party. The Catholic faith claims him as an adherent. He is a keen, practical business man, whose present financial standing is due entirely to his own efforts.

OCKER OCT 1 0 1997

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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 205

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