An illustrated history of the state of Washington, containing biographical mention of its pioneers and prominent citizens, Part 45

Author: Hines, Harvey K., 1828-1902
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 1056

USA > Washington > An illustrated history of the state of Washington, containing biographical mention of its pioneers and prominent citizens > Part 45

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and down the sound to Port Townsend, for the purpose of shipping before the mast. The vessel not being ready, Mr. Kuhn opened a small photographie gallery, and at the same time began reading law in the office of Judson & MeFadden. He was admitted to the bar in 1870, and engaged in practice in the offices of his preceptors.

In 1872 Mr. MeFadden was elected to Con- gress, and the firm then became Judson & Kuhn, which was continned until 1876; then changed to Kuhn & Burke, with Judge Thomas Burke, of Seattle, as copartner; and in 1880 the firm dissolved, and Mr. Kuhn continued alone up to 1890; then retired from active practice.

Ile has also been elosely identified with the development of the city, and to him and Mr. Eisenbeis, who were associated, is the city indebted for the enterprise of building 1,320 feet of sea-wall between Taylor and Van Buren streets, thus adding materially to the appear- ance of the city, and improving the water front. Ile has also erected some of the finest improve- ments of the city, in residence and business property, -- the " Chetzamoka " block being his latest investment. Ile was one of the incorpor- ators of the Commercial Bank in 1890, and served two years as president. He was one of the organizers of the Merchants' Bank, and is a stockholder and director of the First National Bank. He was active in organizing the l'ort Townsend Southern Railroad Company, and served as president to the time of the sale of the road in 1890. Ile aided in organizing, and is president of the Point IIndson Foundry, Port Townsend Construction & Street Railway Company, and vice-president of the Port Townsend Gas & Fuel Company, besides own- ing valuable timber lands in contiguous eoun- ties of the sound.

As a Democrat he has held a high rank in his party. In 1872 he was elected to the Legislature of Washington, and by re-election has filled seven terms, serving in both houses. Ile served twelve years on the School Board of Port Townsend; ten years Justice of the Peace; four years Probate Judge; two terms Mayor of Port Townsend; three terms Commis- sioner of Emigration; and has served as Chair- man of Territorial and County Democratic Committees; and front 1884 to 1892 was a member of the National Democratie Committee. As a Mason Judge Kuhn has received the

HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.

thirty-second degree and Mystic Shrine-Scot- tish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction. He is Past Grand Master of the Lodge of Washington, and special duty of Supreme Council for northern counties of Washington and Alaska.

ACOB GOETZ, of Spokane, was born in Frankfurt-on-the- Main, Germany, in 1853, a son of Lorenz and Marguerite (Loeffer) Goetz, also natives of that country. The father was a gardener by occupation. Jacob, our subject, came to the United States in 1868, locating first in Illinois, where he remained one year. He then spent one year in St. Louis, Missouri; one year in Vicksburg, Mississippi, engaged in raising cotton ; returned to St. Louis and followed gardening and contracting for a time: in 1876 went to Oregon, and one year later began logging in Lewiston, Idaho, where he also engaged in the mercantile business, and in contract work on the Northern Pacific Rail- road. In 1883 Mr. Goetz went to the Coenr d'Alene, where he was engaged in mining until 1889, and in that year came to Spokane, where he bought property at a cost of $33,000. He erected a fine building in this city, at a cost of $230,000, which was destroyed during the great fire of August, 1889. The next day he began business in the largest tent in the world, which cost $20,000, and soon afterward, in June, 1890, erected his present fine block, at a cost of $95,000. This is one of the most beautiful blocks in the State. In addition to his other business interests, our subject also owns consid- erable property in and around Spokane.

He was married in 1887, to Miss Louise Knuth, a native of Germany. They have one son, Harry Frankfurt, aged three years. Mr. Goetz is a charter member of the Elks, Spokane Lodge, and affiliates with the Republican party. Religiously, both le and his wife are members of the Lutheran Church.

D AVID B. FOTHERINGHAM, one of the leading citizens of Spokane, was born in Ohio, in October, 1856, a son of Will- iam and Isabella (Boyd) Fotheringham. The father was a native of Scotland, and a merchant by occupation. David B., the third in a family

of four children, was educated in the common and high schools of Pennsylvania, and com- pleted his education at the age of seventeen years. He was then engaged in contracting and building in Erie, Pennsylvania, until 1877, fol- lowed the same occupation in Denver, Colorado, until 1883, and in that year began work at his trade in Spokane, Washington, which he still continues.

Mr. Fotheringham was elected City Alder- man in 1888, the Mayor of Spokane in 1881. Ile filled the latter office with ability until 1892. when he voluntarily retired from politics. The following is an extract from a local publication and is apropos in this connection: "It is a somewhat noticeable feature in connection with the municipal government of this city that the reins are held by men who are still young in years. Under the new charter adopted in the spring of 1891 the citizens, with wise foresight, elevated to office men who had no antiquated ideas to unlearn, but who were both wide-awake and capable, and at the same time personally in- terested by virtue of their various business con- nections in the progress of welfare of the city. The present Mayor of Spokane, David B. Foth- eringhanı, is eminently qualified to occupy the highest office within the gift of the people. His capable direction of municipal affairs his clearly proven his executive ability, and it is evident to all that he is the right man in the right place. As a citizen, Mr. Fotheringham has shown dur- ing his many years of residence here that he did not make any error in his judgmentof what the future Spokane would be when he selected this city as his permanent home. Coming here when it was bnt a village, he has shared with others in the labor of making the place what it appears to-day,-the leading commercial center in this great inland empire.

By dint of energy, strict attention to business, coupled with an experience born of practical ap- plication, he has prospered with the growth of Spokane, meeting with marked financial snecess in his business life, and wearing now with be- coming dignity the highest municipal honors which his fellow-citizens have to confer upon him.

" During his thirty five years Mr. Fothering- ham has seen considerable more of the world than falls to the lot of many men of even mature age, and his training has been of the most prac- tical nature. As an executive officer he is con- servative in his ideas, thongh truly progressive

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in character, every movement which he believes, after thorough investigation, to be for the pub- lie good, meeting with his hearty approval and cordial support. That he is ever watchful of the city's best interests has been evinced by the manly and determined stand which he has taken upon occasions when he deemed it necessary to exercise his official prerogative, and the citizens of Spokane could not have selected a more careful or conscientious guardian of their rights and privileges."

As a public official Mr. Fotheringham is al- ways affable, gentlemanly, and approachable. His long residence here has made him hosts of friends, every one of whom wishes for him even greater advancement and higher honors than those which he has already achieved. While ever a busy man, Mr. Fotheringham does not permit the duties and cares of municipal life to monopolize his undivided attention, but with- in the charmed circle of home and amid the so- cial life of the city, he finds that relaxation and enjoyment which comes from such refined sources.

He was married in 1882, to Miss Mary Jen- nings, a native of Raton, New Mexico. They have three children: William Henry, age nine years; David Dalton, five years; and Benjamin Harrison, three years. Mr. Fotheringham has a beautiful residence on the corner of Hemlock and Second avenue. Socially, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias.

D R. J. P. SWEENEY, President of the Board of Aldermen of Seattle, and a medical practitioner of the city, was born in Lincoln, Rhode Island, April 12, 1857.

Thomas F. and Mary (Gillan) Sweeney, his parents, were born in Ireland, but were married in Boston, Massachusetts, where Mr. Sweeney was successfully engaged as a bookseller and publisher. He was a prominent speaker and extensive writer, being a frequent contributor to journals and magazines on topics of histori- cal and local interest. Mr. Sweeney removed to Rhode Island, on account of the health of his family, and there his son, the subject of our sketch, was born. The father died in 1861, leaving the care of a large family to his widow.

Dr. Sweeney attended the public schools of Central Falls from the time he was four until he

was twelve years old, after which for four years he was successively employed in a linen factory, grocery store, and in the moulding room of an iron and brass foundry. Then he spent one year in school at Lawrence, Massachusetts. Appreciating the advantages of an education by this time, he worked hard and accomplished about two years' work in one. Returning to Central Falls and finding no congenial occupa- tion, he began shoveling coal, and in this way earned sufficient means to start him upon his journey westward. Arriving at Cincinnati, he applied for work in various departments, with- out success. Not discouraged, however, he went out into the country and worked on a farm for a dollar a day and his board, thus saving enongh money to pay his passage on the steamer Rob- ert Mitchell to New Orleans, where he arrived in August, 1876. The following three years of his life were passed in traveling through Texas and into the interior of Mexico. He traveled over 5,000 miles in the land of Montezuma, and spent his leisure in learning the Spanish lan- guage, in which he became very proficient. He found ready employment in teaching the English tongue at the Polytechnic College, San Luis Po- tosi. His experiences were varied and often fraught with danger. At last, tiring of the nn- settled and undeveloped condition of the coun- try, he returned to Central Falls to visit his home and friends.

It was at this time that he began the study of medicine, under the preceptorship of Dr. James E. Tobey. Then he attended the College of Physicians and Surgeons, of New York city, where he graduated May 16, 1882. Upon the completion of his college course, he entered into the practice of his profession at Central Falls. However, being unable to overcome the impres- sions of western push and enterprise, and being desirous of returning to that land of greater op- portunity, Dr. Sweeney secured the appoint- ment of physician to the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation, a part of the Colville agency, and in February, 1885, departed for that field of labor. He was the first physician ever sent to that tribe, which he found in a sickly and mis- erable condition. After two and a half years of service, he overcame many of the diseases of the tribe, being then removed to Fort Spokane, the headquarters of the Colville agency. He re- mained at the headquarters until the office was changed to the interior, when he resigned. Vis- iting Seattle at this time, and being delighted

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with its future prospects, he immediately settled there, and soon established himself in a Incra- tive practice.

Upon his arrival in Seattle, Dr. Sweeney identified himself with the Democratic politics of the city, and in 1868 was a delegate to the county convention. Ile then continned an active supporter of his party principles, and in the spring of 1891, by a petition signed by fifty electors, was nominated to fill a vacancy " at large" upon the Board of Aldermen, and at a succeeding special election was duly elected to fill the vacancy in the Eighth ward, being the only Democratie member and the first Demo- crat elected at large. In the spring of 1892 he was re-elected for a terin of four years, with the highest straight vote. By the Board of Alder- men he was honored by being elected president of that body, the duties of which he ably and enthusiastically performs. He is now the acting Mayor of Seattle.

Dr. Sweeney was married at Gardiner, Maine, in 1883, to Miss Lizzie Rafter. of that city. They have two children, Mary Christina and Josephine De Smet.

The Doctor continues a general practice in medicine and surgery, and through his several investments in real estate is the possessor of valuable city and acre property. He is a mem- ber of Rhode Island Medical Society, Kings County Medical Society, and Washington State Medical Society.

A RTHUR T. WESTON, a highly es- teemed citizen of Clarke county, belongs to that army of fruit-growers that have developed one of the largest and most important industries in the world. It is there- fore fitting that a brief outline of his career be inserted in this volume. Ile was born in Sara- toga county, New York, February 11, 1836, a son of Oliver and Aun (Sherman) Weston, who were descended from old and influential fami- lies of the Empire State. Both father and mother are deceased, the former having passed away in 1845, and the latter in 1886. When a lad of thirteen years Arthur T. went to Massa- chusetts, and there resided until he had attained his majority. In 1857 he joined the train of western emigrants, and did not stop on his journey until he had reached Columbia county,

Wisconsin, where for many years he was con- nected, in one capacity or another, with the rail- road company; he removed later to Junean county and there established a thriving mer- cantile business. Ilis next place of abode was ('lay county, Dakota, and there he remained five years, coming at the end of that time to Washington. Ile located in Vancouver in 1877, and now owns four and a half aeres of land set to fruits of various kinds. He markets the green fruits in the city of Portland, but makes a specialty of drying the entire prune crop.

Mr. Weston affiliates with no secret societies, and takes no active interest in the political questions of the day; his views, however, are strictly in accord with the principles of the Republican party.

Ilis marriage to Miss Sarah L. Smith, a na- tive of Massachusetts, was solemnized Septem- ber 11, 1859; they are the parents of three children: Frederick S., Frank A. and Charles II.

R OBERT II. McHARGUE, County Com- missioner and one of the substantial fariners of Columbia county, was born in Linn county, Oregon, December 24, 1854, and reared in his native State, a son of James and Sarah (Montgomery) Mellar- gue. Ilis father, an Oregon pioneer of 1847, crossed the plains that year and took up a do- nation claim in Linn county, where he has since resided.

Mr. Mellargue, of this sketch, is the sixth in order of birth of the eleven children in the above family. After he attained his majority of years he engaged in stock-raising, in company with his father, on a farm in Whitman county, that State. After the expiration of about nine years he moved to Columbia county, Washing- ton, in 1883, and he now resides some eight miles northwest of the city of Dayton. llis farm consists of 320 aeres, nearly all of which is devoted to grain-growing. On the premises are a nice little orchard, a large barn, suitable sheds, etc. The entire farm has the appearance of thrift and comfort.

With reference to the great political ques- tions of the day Mr. McHargne takes Demo- cratic views most decidedly, and his sympathies are for the principles of "Old Hickory" Jack- son. He was elected County Commissioner in

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the autumn of 1892, and he is at present also a member of the School Board of District No 36.

July 19, 1882, is the date of Mr. MeHargne's marriage to Miss Nannie E. Wright, a danghter of Edward Wright, of Oregon, and they have had four children, namely: Myrtle, HIazel, Nina and Mamie.

The subject of the foregoing brief sketch is numbered among the representative and pro- gressive citizens of the county, and he enjoys the esteem of the entire community.

J T. RONALD, Mayor of Seattle, was born in Caledonia, Washington county, Mis- souri, April 8 1855.

Ilis father, Onslow G. Ronald, was a native of Virginia, and his great-grandfather, Andrew Ronald, was one of two sons of Lord Ronald, of Seotland. After the death of Lord Ronald, Andrew, in 1755, at the age of twelve years, was brought to the Virginia colony. He grew up to be a distinguished lawyer, and was conn- sellor for the Crown in Virginia prior to the Revolutionary war .. In boyhood Onslow G. Ronald removed with his parents to Madison county, Missouri, and was there reared and edneated, and married to Miss Amanda Carson, a native of Virginia. They subsequently settled in Washington county, where Mr. Ronald fol- lowed agrieultural pursuits.

J. T. Ronald was reared upon the farm, and when not engaged in farming duties improved his time seeuring knowledge at the publie school and seminary of his native town. . In 1873 he entered the State Normal School at Kirkville, where, being advanced in his studies, he completed the three years' course in two years, graduating in June, 1875. Ile at onee started for the Pacific coast, and landed at Sae- ramento on July 26, with his financial capital reduced to ten cents. Ile secured the position of teacher of a small school in the valley; but, on account of his inexperience, was considered incapable, and after one term was retired. Ile then went to Plumas county and began teaching the Snake Lake Valley school, was soon pro- moted to the Greenville school, and after one year was elected principal, which position he hield three years. July 4, 1876, he borrowed a copy of Blackstone of Judge E. T. Ilogan, of Quincy, California, and earnestly began the

study of law, improving every leisure moment before and after school and studying well into the night. Continuing his teaching and the study of law until 1880, he was then called to take charge as principal of the Lincoln Gram- mar School, at Lincoln, Placer county, and there remained for two years, when he was ad- mitted to the bar in the Superior Court of Placer county, May 27, 1882.

While pursuing his studies, Mr. Ronald had been investigating the several points of the Pacific coast as to a place of settlement, and finally decided upon Seattle. Ile paeked up his household effects and removed to this city, ar- riving July 26, 1882, with his wife and child and $400 in cash, deciding to " make or break " with the development of this city. The popu- lation then numbered 4,600 and ineluded fifty- three lawyers. With no experience whatever, Mr. Ronald opened an office. Ilis finances were exhausted before securing a ease, and he resorted to the sale of real estate to support his family. In August, 1883, he was appointed Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, with no salary attached thereto. Feeling, however, that this oppor- tunity would develop his career, he applied himself to a careful understanding of the erimi- nal code and then began a vigorous prosecution of the gamblers and "hobos " who had been running riot through the city, and by his suc- cessful proseention he built up a name and repu- tation. In the fall of 1884 he was the nominee of the Democratic party for the office of Prose- enting Attorney for the district of King, Kitsap and Snohomish counties, and was elected with a majority of 1,153 votes, in a district formerly 1,200 Republican majority. In 1886 he was re-elected with a majority of 1,793, filling the position up to March 4, 1889, when he retired from office, having discharged his duties with honor and distinction. In 1886 he took in as partner S. H. Piles, Esq., a native of Ken- tncky, and the firm has condneted a general practice in all the courts of the State. Their practice has been very extensive in both eivil and criminal law in King and adjoining eoun- ties. After studiously declining publie office, Mr. Ronald listened to the solicitation of his Democratic friends in the spring of 1892 and was nominated Mayor of Seattle, to which office he was subsequently eleeted by a very flattering majority. He has been largely interested in the development of resident property, having platted the Electric Motor Line Addition to

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Seattle. He is also the owner of 800 acres of valuable farm and timber land ju King and ad- joining counties, besides some valuable city property in Seattle.

Mr. Ronald was married in Stockton, Cali- fornia, February 26, 1877, to one of his college mates, and he and his wife are the parents of three children, Norma, Eva and Mabel.

Socially, he affiliates with the !. O. O. F.

W ILLIAM O. BENNETT is a member of the firm of Rice & Bennett, Attor- neys and Counselors at Law, Centralia, Washington. They practice in all the courts of the State, negotiate loans and make collections, and represent some of the leading insurance companies of the United States. The individual members of the firm are A. E. Rice and William (). Bennett. Mr. Rice is a well-known member of the bar of Lewis county, and is the present Prosecuting Attorney, having been elected to the office in 1892. The firm is accounted the strongest in the southern part of the State. Mr. Bennett is a native of the State of New Hamp- shire, born in Hillsborough county, September 3, 1840. The younger of two children of hum- ble parents, his boyhood and youth were not the brightest; his father died when he was a mere child, and through force of the circumstances in which his mother was left, it became necessary for her to entrust him to the care of others, temporarily, until he was received into the home of Joshua Martin, where he lived until a youth of fourteen years. Ile attended the common schools for a brief period, and although his opportunities were limited, he laid the founda- tion for an education that has been acquired in later years through his own efforts, experience being his faithful, though often severe teacher. He left the scenes of his childhood at the tender age of fourteen years, and made his way to Min- nesota, where he was employed on a farın for two years; he then took up the carpenter's trade, which he followed withont interruption until 1868. At this time he took charge of the St. Charles elevators, and held the position four years, resigning to take np the duties of City Recorder, to which office he had been elected in 1872, and re-elected in 1873, withont opposition. In 1878, he became traveling salesman for Wal-

ter A. Wood, manufacturer of agricultural im- plements, and remained in his employ for many years.

Ilaving a natural taste for law as a profes- sion, Mr. Bennett took np the study as early as 1872, but did not seek admission to the bar un- til he had taken up his residence in this State. He located in Lewis county, in 1885, and for several years has been Notary Public. He is an ardent Democrat and has been of great service to his party as an organizer, and is one of its able and sterling leaders. In 1889, he was the Democratic nominee for the Legislature, and was on the ticket again the following year, and, although he ran ahead of his party ticket, the Republican majority of 400 was not overcome, and he was lacking eighty-one votes of election.

Mr. Bennett is a member of the Masonic order and is a high official of that fraternity.

While a resident of Illinois, September 8, 1863, he was united in marriage, to Mary L. Ives, a daughter of Henry T. Ives, a pioneer of Illinois, having located here in 1836. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett are the parents of six children: Mary L., wife of C. J. Williams; Bertha M., wife of M. R. Ross, a merchant of Centralia; Nellie A., wife of G. M. Butterworth, in busi- ness at Seattle; Frederick; Frances II .; and one that died in infancy.

W ILLIAM L. RUSSELL, one of the bright young business men and excel- lent farmers of Walla Walla county, Washington, is a native of this State. Ile is a son of Charles and Annie (Sheets) Russell, and was born May 19, 1864. The father of our sub- ject, Charles Russell, was one of the first settlers in the Walla Walla valley. The missionaries were here before him, as were the employes of the Hudson's Bay Company, mostly Canadians. Prior to the war of 1855-'56, the Americans had attempted a settlement here and had been driven away by the Indians. When the soldiers came to conquer the Indians, Mr. Russell came with them as wagon-master and lived here contin- uously until his death, August 7, 1891.

Charles Russell was a native of Boston, Mas- sachusetts, born September 18, 1828. IIis father was a physician and would doubtless have been pleased if his son had decided to adopt his

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profession, but as a boy lie had been adventur- ons and desired to see other countries, and at the early age of ten years left home and adopted the sea as his profession. In 1846 he enlisted in the United States marine service and sailed on the sloop-of-war, the Dale, for the Pacific coast. He participated in the war that gave California to the United States, and finally was discharged from service in New York, in 1850. He then came again to California, by the Isthmus route, where he soon found employ- ment in the United States Quartermaster's de- partment, and was so connected until 1855, under General Allen. In 1855, Lieutenant Robert Williamson commanded a party, con- sisting of Lieutenants George Crook, Horatio Gibson, Phil. Sheridan, and Lieutenant Abbott, which visited Oregon for the purpose of finding a railroad route through the Cascade range of mountains, and Mr. Russell accompanied them, in charge of the pack train. In November of that year the party disorganized at the Dalles, and Mr. Russell took charge of the transporta- tion in the Yakima expedition, under Major Raines, after the Indians. Later he came to Walla Walla, in charge of the transportation under Colonel Steptoe, where he arrived in Au- gust, 1856. From that time until 1859 he was in charge of transportation for the Government under the quartermaster in this department. Here Mr. Russell had from fifty to 120 men in his employ all of the time. Under his super- vision all of the war parties were fitted out, in- cluding that of the ill-fated Steptoe reconnois- sance, and also for the historie raid of Col. Wright.

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An illustrated history of the state of Washington, containing biographical mention of its pioneers and prominent citizens, Part 45

Author: Hines, Harvey K., 1828-1902 Publication date: 1893 Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis publishing company Number of Pages: 1056

Author: Hines, Harvey K., 1828-1902
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 1056