USA > Washington > Spokane County > An illustrated history of Spokane county, state of Washington > Part 94
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RICHARD GEMMRIG. of the Gemmrig & Stauffer Spokane Detective Agency and Merchants' Police, was born in Germany May 18, 1871. When nine years old he came to the United States, locating first at Cincinnati, Ohio. He went to Denver, Colorado, in 1884 and was there employed as a detective until 1890, when he returned to Cincinnati. Soon, however, he removed to Helena, Mon- tana, where he was engaged in placer mining
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until 1892. He then came to Spokane and re- sumed the practice of his profession. He re- mained alone until 1896, then he and William E. Stauffer established the present agency, which has since become famous for its many deeds of daring and for its phenomenal suc- cess in ferreting out crime. As a result of Mr. Gemmrig's penetration and sagacity many noted criminals have been brought to justice. His firm will also be remembered as the one which succeeded in locating the kidnapped boy, Johnny Gerard, and in restoring him to his mother after he had been lost for more than two years. Mr. Gemmrig and his partner also won renown by the skill and courage dis- played in the Wentworth burglary affair in which they caught the miscreants in their crime. On November 12, 1898, they arrested Holley Shafer for burglarizing M. Seller & Company's crockery store. This case excited much interest, as the young man who com- mitted the crime was a hard worker and a trusted employee of the company whose prop- erty was stolen. They surrounded the build- ing while the burglar was within, but he suc- ceeded in effecting his escape through a cellar door. He was, however, soon found in a sa- loon with a quantity of cutlery and silverware in his possession. As more of the stolen goods were discovered in his room, there could be no doubt of his guilt, so he is now serving a three-years' sentence in the penitentiary. For their splendid service in this case the firm received a handsome reward from the company. In 1899 Mr. Gemmrig was shot and severely wounded while pursuing Jack Williams, one of the two desperadoes who held up fifteen armed men in Harry Green's gambling house and robbed the place of about nineteen hundred dollars. In that exciting chase, in which the robbers had four guns to his one, there were
twenty-five shots exchanged and seven bullet- holes were made in the detective's coat. Mr. Gemmrig, though a young man, has for several years been recognized as one of the brightest lights in his profession, and his fame is already known throughout the entire United States. He was married in Spokane, December 25, 1898, to Miss Emma Freese, a native of Germany, and they have one son, Russel R.
The firm introduced in Spokane Gemmrig & Stauffer's merchants' police register-clock system. Each clock registers the exact time the officer makes his round during the night.
L. H. SNYDER, a pioneer of 1884, was born in Earlvile, La Salle county, Illinois, in 1859. In 1867 the family moved to Amboy, Illinois, and in 1871 to Chenoa, in the same state, where L. H. grew up and for several years was engaged in general merchandise business. In 1884 he came to Spokane and occupied positions of trust and responsibility with Holley. Mason, Marks & Company, and later with the Exchange National Bank. In 1898 he accepted a position in the Traders National Bank and has been in the employ of that institution ever since. Mr. Snyder is a man of unquestioned integrity, and commands the respect and confidence of his employers and all who know him.
WILLIAM E. STAUFFER, of the firm of Gemmrig & Stauffer, principals of the Spo- kane Detective Agency and Merchants' Po- lice, was born in Boone, Iowa, March 26, 1874. When four years old he was taken by his par- ents to Chicago and there he grew to man-
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hood and learned the profession of a detective. He was engaged in that occupation in various parts of the United States until 1896, when he located in Spokane, establishing, with Mr. Gemmrig, the present firm and agency. Mr. Stauffer, though only twenty-six years of age, has already attained to a position of eminence in his profession and has won a national rep- utation for his astuteness, penetration and persistency in hunting crime out of its lurking place, as well as for his fearlessness and daring in making arrests. He first became known to fame on account of the skill displayed in lo- cating the kidnapped boy, Johnny Gerard, after he had been lost for more than two years. Then he and his partner captured Fred Wood and I. E. Marsell, two desperadoes whose depredations so terrorized the people of this city that the mayor had sworn in four hundred citizens as special officers to effect their cap- ture. When these noted lawbreakers were at last caught they were in the act of burglariz- ing Wentworth's clothing store. The crim- inals were sent to Walla Walla for ten years, and the detectives received five hundred dollars reward from the city. Mr. Stauffer also ar- rested John McLean, a professional burglar, who an hour before had burglarized Holley, Mason, Marks & Company's hardware store. This miscreant did not give up without a hard tussle, but in the end was forced to yield and is now serving out his sentence in the state prison. In November, 1899, many clever burg- laries were committed in Spokane and the firm of Gemmrig & Stauffer were at length em- ployed by citizens to run down the perpetrators. Mr. Stauffer took the case in hand alone, his partner being busy in another matter. In about a week he secured from Mrs. Carr, of the Women's Exchange, a description of the burglar, whom he succeeded in arresting after
a hunt of a night and a day. The lawbreaker, whose name is Albert Mobbs, was found on Howard street, armed and with stolen goods in his possession, and is now serving out a four-years' sentence. Many other cases might be mentioned, but Mr. Stauffer's repu- tation as a detective is well known all over the United States. The firm introduced in Spo- kane the well-known Gemmrig & Stauffer merchants' police register-clock system.
Mr. Stauffer is well liked socially and is prominently identified with Samaritan Lodge, No. 52, I. O. O. F .; with Unique Encamp- ment. No. 32, and with the Canton Patriarchs Militant, also with the Woodmen of the World.
J. ELMER WEST, a pioneer of 1889. is a native of Pennsylvania. He is a nephew of Mr. Robert W. Forrest, who came to Spokane in 1882, and who had the honor of being the first mayor of the city, holding the office two terms. Mr. Forrest was prominent in the early affairs of the county, and became one of the wealthy men of Spokane. Mr. West com- pleted his education at Millersville, Pennsyl- vania, and after leaving school accepted a po- sition as bookkeeper in the First National Bank of Honeybrook, that state. Two years later he was promoted, becoming teller of the bank, a position which lie retained till the time of his departure for the West. Shortly after his arrival hiere. he accepted the position of assistant cashier in the Big Bend National Bank, of Davenport. Washington, but being too ambitious to remain long in so small a town, he soon resigned and came to Spokane. In June. 1890. he accepted a position as col- lection teller and correspondent in the Traders' National Bank of this city, and after serving
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two years as such he was promoted to the post of assistant cashier, the position he now holds. In January, 1893, he was elected a director in the bank. Mr. West is one of sev- eral Pennsylvanians who together organized the Pennsylvania Loan & Mortgage Com- pany, of which he was a director. In 1892 his uncle, Robert W. Forrest, died, leaving property worth over half a million, and upon Mr. West's shoulders fell the burden of set- tling up the estate. He has since had sole charge of this property, being the agent of his cousin, Mrs. Cornett. Mr. West is a man of unusual business ability, and his integrity and uprightness have gained him the unwavering confidence and esteem of all who know him. In fraternal affiliations he is a Knight of Pythias.
GEORGE S. BROOKE, son of the Rev. Robert Dunbar Brooke, an Episcopal min- ister, and Mary Watson Brooke, was born in Dubuque, Iowa, February 12, 1855. Rob- ert Brooke, the founder of the family in Amer- ica, had the degrees of A. B. and A. M. from Oxford University, and was the son of a mem- ber of parliament. He came from London to Maryland in A. D. 1650, crossing the ocean in his own ship, with a large family consisting of wife, children and servants. He had a patent from Lord Baltimore, and later on be- came colonial governor of Maryland. The Brooke family trace their genealogy to Rich- ard Brooke, of Whitechurch, England, A. D. 1550, while the genealogy of Mary Baker, wife of Robert Brooke, has been traced back to the Emperor Charlemagne, A. D. 742. George S. Brooke, the Spokane represent- ative of this historic family, is now presi- dent of the Fidelity National Bank of this city.
He received his education in Griswold College, Davenport, from which institution he gradu- ated in 1872, and the same year he entered the employ of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railway Company, as car record- er, in their general offices at Cedar Rapids. He came to Portland, Oregon, in 1874, and went to work for the O. S. N. Co. as pur- ser for one of their boats on the upper Columbia river. Subsequently he was for four years connected with the well-known firm of Allen & Lewis. as bookkeeper and cashier, but he at length returned to the en- ployment of the O. S. N. Co. as bookkeeper and passenger agent, remaining with them and with the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Com- pany, which succeeded them, until 1882. In that year, however, he went to Sprague, and, in company with H. W. Fairweather, super- intendent of the Northern Pacific Railway, organized a bank which after 1886 was known as the First National Bank of Sprague, and which for many years was recognized as the leading institution of its kind in Lincoln county. Under Mr. Brooke's judicious man- agement of the bank stood the stress of the peri- . od of financial stringency and panic, coming out of the hard times with its original capital doubled and some twenty thousand dollars surplus and profits. In 1896 this banking in- stitution was moved to Spokane, since which it has been known as the Fidelity Na- tional Bank. During all the fourteen years of his residence in Sprague, Mr. Brooke ever showed himself an energetic and public-spirited citizen. He was very active in securing the formation of Lincoln county in 1883-84, it having previously been a part of Spokane county, and he was the first mayor and the organizer of the city government of Sprague. The popularity of his administration and his
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high standing in the community are attested by the fact that he was subsequently elected mayor for three successive terms, and that he served as chairman of the school board for twelve years. He has also been active in the affairs of this city and county and is justly regarded as one of our leading and influential citizens. He was married, in 1882. to Miss Julia Hill, of Westport, Connecticut, and they have a fam- ily of six children, three sons and three daugh- ters. Mr. Brooke is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, having proved into the society from Revolutionary ancestry on both maternal and paternal sides. He is :also a member of the Society of Colonial Wars, a trustee of the Young Men's Christian Association and senior warden of All Saints' cathedral (Episcopal).
JOHN MARSHALL BUNN, of the law firm of Stevens & Bunn, attorneys, Peyton block, was born in Wisconsin about thirty- three years ago. His father, Hon. Romanzo Bunn, who has been United States district judge for the western district of Wisconsin for the past twenty-five years, came from New York among the early pioneers of the state. The entire family are either lawyers ·or judges. One brother is general counsel for the Northern Pacific Railroad Company ar St. Paul, and another is judge of the dis- trict court of Ramsey county, Minnesota, at St. Paul. All are graduates of the academic and law colleges of the University of Wis- consin. Mr. J. M. Bunn entered that institu- tion at the age of sixteen, and completed the English course of the Academic College, then came west to Puget sound, and entered the Tacoma National Bank at Tacoma, Washing-
ton, as clerk. He was employed by the same bank continuously until it failed in 1893, occu- pying during that time nearly every position in the gift of the institution. Mr. Bunn then returned to his old home in Madison, Wis- consin, and at the earnest solicitation of Senator Spooner and Judge Bunn entered the University Law College, also Senator Spoon- er's law office. He remained under that emi- nent attorney's excellent tutelage for three years. the third being the year in which the re-organization of the Northern Pacific Rail- road took place, in which re-organization Senator Spooner bore an important part. In July. 1896, a few months prior to the time when the new company assumed charge of the Northern Pacific Railroad, Mr. Bunn, at the suggestion of Senator Spooner, came to Spokane and opened a law office. When the final transfer was made, his firm was appointed (livision counsel for the company, with juris- cliction over Idaho and Washington, east of the Columbia river. Mr. Bunn is one of the most promising lawyers in Spokane. Though young in years and young in the practice of his profession, he has already reached a place of prominence, and his past success gives token of an eminently brilliant and useful ca- reer and of laurels to be won in the future. Of the young men just entering upon the practice of law in this state, none stands a better chance of attaining to the topmost round of the ladder of professional success than does Mr. Bunn. Before moving to Spokane in 1896, he was married to Miss Bertha Kellett. a young lady who attended the University at Madison during his law course. She is the daughter of a prominent and wealthy mer- chant and mill owner of Neenah, Wisconsin. They are parents of one daughter, Bertha K., born June 6, 1897.
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C. F. HECHT, deceased, a pioneer of 1877, was a native of Germany, born July 12, 1848. When he was seven years old he was brought to America by his parents, who located in Wisconsin, and he grew to manhood and re- ceived his education in that state. He was for a time engaged as clerk in a store, then moved to Iowa, but in 1877 came to Spokane county. He filed on one hundred and sixty acres of land one and a half miles east of Rockford, his being one of the first homesteads ever taken in the Rock Creek valley. Upon this farm he resided continuously until June 21, 1893, when he died. Mr. Hecht was one of the earliest pioneers of the county and one of the sub- stantial and highly-esteemed citizens of the community in which he was a resident for so many years. He was a consistent Christian and an active and influential member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Rockford. He was married in Colfax, Washington, October 12, 1879, to Miss Lizzie Desgranges, a native of New York, and they have had six children : Charles H., Emma C., Sarah and Eddie W., living, and two deceased.
JOHN T. HOLLIS, a pioneer of 1878, is a native of Virginia, born October 2, 1856. When about four years of age he was taken by his parents to Tipton, Missouri, and he passed his early youth in that town. In 1872, how- ever, he came with the family to Eugene, Ore- gon, and he was engaged with them on a farm there until 1878, then came to Washington, lo- cating on the site of the present town of Farm- ington. The next year he came to Spokane county and took a homestead and timber cult- ure one mile west of Waverly, where he now resides. He has a fine farm of nine hundred
and twenty acres, in an excellent state of culti- vation and supplied with splendid farm build- ings, fences, etc., and with a fine orchard. He is engaged in wheat raising and in sugar beet culture, and also keeps a large number of high- grade horses, hogs and cattle. Indeed he is one of the most extensive farmers in the coun- ty, and his entire premises show evidence of thrift, industry and intelligent enterprise. He is also a prominent and influential citizen, and takes an active interest in the general welfare of the community. Mr. Hollis was married, in Spokane, December 14, 1886, to Miss Hester M. Beatty, a native of Lane county, Oregon, . and they have five children, namely : Essie E., Millie A., Emily E., Harry R. and Christie.
DAVID M. VESS, a pioneer of 1877, was born in North Carolina June 10, 1835, and was raised and educated in that state. In 1862 he joined the Federal army, being mus- tered in at Camp Nelson, Kentucky, as a mem- ber of Company E, Eighth Tennessee Cavalry. He was present at the battles of Warm Springs, North Carolina, Cumberland Gap, Knoxville and Bull's Gap, also in many. skirmishes, notably those at Strawberry Plains and Bean Station. While in the army he was company blacksmith. He made a highly honorable mil- itary record and one of which he and his family have just reason to be proud. He was never mustered out, having been absent, engaged in recruiting, at the time when the mustering out of his company took place. After leaving the army he returned to North Carolina and en- gaged in farming, but soon moved to Tennes- see, where he was employed in farming and blacksmithing for three years. He then went to Missouri and followed the same two occu-
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pations in that state for the ensuing twelve years, after which he removed to the Willa- mette valley. He remained there a year, then came to Palouse City, Washington, but after a brief residence there, removed to Rockford, and he has resided in that vicinity continuously since. He has a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres, situated three miles south of the town, and is one of the prosperous and well - to-do farmers of that neighborhood. He was married in North Carolina, in March, 1856, to Mary Hyatt, a native of that state, and they have been the parents of seven children, four · of whom are now living, namely: David L .. Minthey C., Grant and Sherman. The deceased children are William, Loss and Johnson.
C. W. FRICK, proprietor of the St. Charles Hotel, Spangle, a pioneer of 1879, is a native of Pennsylvania, born July 6, 1832. He was educated in the public schools and in Buchan- an's College, near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He learned the trade of a cabinet maker, serv- ing a full apprenticeship, then went to Dayton, Ohio, and entered the employ of Smith & Com- pany, furniture dealers. Subsequently he be- came foreman in the furniture factory of Cop- pleman & Company, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and he was with them for four years. He then went to Vandalia, Illinois, established a furniture fac- tory, and ran it until 1872, in which year he moved to Walla Walla. He opened a furniture store there, the first in the city, but in 1875 sold out and moved to Dayton, Washington. In 1876 he moved to Pomeroy, Washington, and the next three years of his life were passed there. He came to Spangle in 1879. bought a farm and also engaged in the hotel business. Mr. Frick is a veteran of the Civil war, having
enlisted August 21. 1862, in Company A. Twenty-second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. and having served until August 29. 1865. He participated in a number of severe engagements, among which were those at Island No. 10. Pittsburg Landing and Bull Run. In the first and last of these battles he was slightly wounded. Mr. Frick has also been a prominent man in the affairs of his community since com- ing to Spangle. He has served as justice of the peace for the past eight years, and he was ap- pointed by the governor county commissioner of Columbia county. Socially he is affiliated with the I. O. O. F. and the F. & A. M. He was married in Illinois, in December. 1867. to Miss Lucinda Hall. a native of Illinois, and they have eight children : George. Salome, Charles. William, Ida, Maud, Susana and Hazel. Mr. Frick's grandfather. Isaac Frick, was a soklier of the Revolution, and the family still have some of the Continental money which he re- ceived as pay from the government.
O. C. JENSEN, of the firm of Jensen. King & Byrd, a pioneer of 1883, was born in Denmark in 1853. He lived there until twenty years old, acquiring a common-school education and learning the trade of a carpenter. In 1873 he came to Stockton, California, where he followed his handicraft for a time, but desiring to prepare himself for a more exalted sphere of activity, he entered a business col- lege. After completing his course, he served as bookkeeper for a period of three years, after which he came to Sprague, arriving in 1883. lle followed the hardware business in that town continuously until 1896, then sold out his machinery and moved the remaining stock to Spokane, incorporating the firm to which
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he now belongs. Mr. Jensen is president and manager of the company and is also one of the directors of the Fidelity National Bank. He is one of those men whose energy and push have carried them to success in spite of early disadvantages. Arriving in America without a knowledge of our language and without capital or influential friends, his trade being his only means of securing a livelihood. Mr. Jensen has steadily pushed onward, overcoming obstacles which would have deterred less cour- ageous men, until he now stands among the leaders in the business circles of our city. He has the good will of all the people who know him and commands the respect always due to those who are conquerors in life's battle. Fra- ternally, he is affiliated with the I. O. O. F., and the Knights of Pythias. He was mar- ried in Spokane, in 1886, to Maggie Adams, and they have a family of six children, four daughters and two sons.
C. STOUT, deputy sheriff and liveryman at Waverly. is a native of Corvallis, Oregon. In 1883 he came to Dayton, Washington, and in the following year to Rosalia, where he was employed by the Morris Brothers on their stock farm. He then went to the Big Bend country and took a homestead there, but later returned to Farmington and engaged in freighting from that point to Coeur d'Alene City. In the early days he did freighting over different parts of the country, and he hauled the first load of lumber for the first hotel in Oaksdale. Sub- sequently, he, with his brother Arthur, engaged in the meat business at Oaksdale, but later he sold out his interest and engaged in the same line at Palouse City. He next bought a farm four miles southeast of Farmington and di-
vided his attention between tilling the soil and mining. In 1898 he sold the farm and moved into the town of Farmington, but the following year he removed to Waverly and purchased the livery business of Austin Stroud. Later, Mr. C. B. Hayden bought an interest in the enterprise, and the firm of Stout & Hayden was organized. In October. 1899. Mr. Stout received from Sheriff Cole an appointment as deputy sheriff, which position he still retains. He is a wideawake, efficient officer, and has made some very important arrests. Socially, he is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America. He was married in Palouse City. in 1890. to Miss Effie Lamb. a native of Kan- sas. and they have two children, Leonard M. and Lora W. Mr. Stout's father, C. W., was a veteran of the early Indian wars of this country.
A. D. THAYER, a pioneer of 1878, is a native of Ohio, born November 23, 1847. In 1855 his parents moved to Minnesota, locating near Red Wing, where he grew to manhood. He received his education in the public schools and at Hamblin University, and on February 6, 1865, when seventeen years old, he enlisted in Company I. First Minnesota Heavy Artil- lery, which served in the Army of the Cumber- land. He was discharged September 27, 1865, and at once returned to Minnesota and engaged in farming. Ten years later he moved to Ore- gon, and followed the same occupation there for the ensuing three years, then came to Spo- kane county and located a homestead one mile east of Waverly, where he has since lived. In 1879 he was appointed by President Garfield postmaster of the first postoffice established in the community, and he held that position for five years. Mr. Thayer is one of the most in-
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dustrious and enterprising, as he is one of the oldest, farmers in the vicinity of Waverly. He has a fine farm of six hundred acres, well culti- vated and improved, and is engaged principally in stock raising, though he has also become in- terested in the beet industry since the establish- ment of the sugar beet factory in his neigh- borhood. Socially he is affiliated with the G. A. R. at Latah. He was married near Red Wing, Minnesota, February 22, 1871, to Miss Sarah F. Kinney. a native of New York, born September 9, 1849, and they have four chil- dren: Minnie M., born January 21, 1873, wife of Arthur Jaquith, of Latah ; Fannie M., born March 18, 1875. a teacher in the Spo- kane schools; C. R., born October 27, 1880, and Alice E., born December 2, 1882.
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