USA > Washington > History of Washington the evergreen state : from early dawn to daylight with portraits and biographies Vol. I > Part 29
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64
CLOUGH, C. F., was born in Cumberland, Providence County, R. I., December 26th, 1843. His parents were of the humble walks of life, his father being en- gaged in freighting between Woonsocket and Providence, R. I., before the advent of the railroads. The father died in 1848, leaving the care of three young chil- dren to the mother, whose health and means were inadequate to the demands of so large a family, and at the age of ten ycars our subject went to live with a rela- tive on a farm, remaining there in various capacities for about seven years. What little education he had acquired by this time was obtained in tlie district schools where he attended during the winter months. At the early age of seventeen years he cnlisted in the Fourth Regiment Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry, Sep- tember 8th, 1861. After a campaign with General Burnside in North Carolina in
426
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
the early part of 1862, at the battles of Roanoke Island, Newbern, and the bombardment of Fort Macon, in the summer of 1862 he was transferred to the Army of the Potomac, serving later in the year in engagements at South Moun- tain, Antietam, and Fredericksburg. In the spring of 1863 he was transferred to Suffolk, Va., where he was engaged in various skirmishes until 1864 ; re-enlisting in the same regiment, he was transferred from camp near Portsmouth, Va., to the Army of the Potomac, in front of Petersburg, arriving on July 1st, 1864, in time to take part in the attack upon the Confederates at the time of the explosion of the Burnside mine. He engaged in several skirmishes until the general advance of the army on Petersburg and Richmond, and was in active service continually until Lee surrendered, April 9th, 1865, at Appomattox.
After taking part in the general review of the army at Washington his com- pany was sent home, and mustered out July 25th, 1865.
From 1865-76 he was engaged in various mercantile pursuits in Rhode Island. In 1876 he went to California, and until 1884 filled a position as a commercial traveller for a San Francisco book and stationery house. It was during these trips that he became convinced of the possibilities of Washington Territory, and noting the advantages of Spokane Falls, located there in the spring of 1884, open- ing a book and stationery store. Continuing in this for three years, he acquired some property, and in 1887 sold his store for the purpose of embarking in the real estate business, which from the start proved successful. He associated him- self later with J. P. Graves, his present partner.
The sound judgment displayed in his selection has been fully substantiated by the flattering success which has attended his efforts, placing him at the head of a business, the sales from which for the year 1889 exceeded $2,000,000.
In 1886 and 1887 Mr. Clough served as a member of the Spokane City Coun- cil, and in 1890 was elected Mayor of the city, filling the position with credit to himself, satisfaction to liis constituents, and to the best interests of the commu- nity in general, as has been evidenced by the fact that he has been urgently re- quested to accept the position at various times since.
On July 3d, 1866, Mr. Clough was married at Providence, R. I. By this wife, since deceased, he had one son, Lester F., now associated with his father. Subse- quently he was married to Miss Carrie H. Signor, of Spokane.
O'NEILL, MAJOR JAMES, was born in New York State, February 8th, 1826. His mother was a native of New York, and his father was from the north of Ire- land. His preliminary education was obtained in the public schools of Schenec- tady County, and after completing a course at the Albany Academy at the age of nineteen years he returned home to Duanesburg, and entered his father's store as clerk. After spending two or three years in this capacity, he engaged in the commission business in Albany, N. Y. He afterward removed to New York .City, where he continued in the same business until 1853. In that year he start- ed for the Pacific coast via the Isthmus of Panama, and reached Portland, Ore., March 5th, 1853. He was employed by the Wells Fargo Express Company as agent at Oregon City and Portland until 1858, then engaged in the general mer- cantile business until 1861. In the latter year he was appointed by Agent C. Hutchins, United States Agent, Superintendent of Teaching in charge of the Ind-
427
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
ian training school at Fort Lopwai, Idaho ; in 1864 as United States Indian Agent. In 1866, while at the Nez Percés Agency as Agent, he selected and located the present Cœur d'Alene Indian Reservation.
In 1869 Mr. O'Neill returned to New York on a visit, remaining there until 1878, when he came West again to fill another government position at Colville Agency, and from that time until 1887 was farmer in charge of the Colville and Cœur d'Alene Agencies. While located at Fort Lopwai Mr. O'Neill was Secre- tary of the Vigilance Committee at Lewiston, ex-Governor Cole being President. Mr. O'Neill has filled many positions of public trust. He was Mayor of Portland, Ore., in 1856 and 1857, serving also in the City Council at various times, and in other public offices. In 1888 he was elected Auditor of Stevens County, which position he held until the fall of 1890. In the latter year he was elected State Senator for the Second District, embracing Stevens and part of Spokane counties, which position he now holds. In 1849 Mr. O'Neill was married to Miss Caro- line M. Grinnell, of Fulton County, N. Y., daughter of Clark S. Grinnell. One daughter was born to them, now Mrs. W. M. Tompkins, of New York City. Mrs. O'Neill died while on a visit to the East in 1871.
Mr. O'Neill's life has been an active and varied one, filled with the excite- ments incident to the times in which he has lived. He has watched and assisted the development of the Territory and State, and is enjoying a peaceful and serene old age. Still hearty and robust, he is actively interested in the politics of his adopted State.
WEED, ALFRED B., Mayor of the city of Yakima, was born in Wisconsin in 1850. His father, Oscar F. Weed, was a native of New York and a leading at- torney of that State ; his mother, Laura A. (Conger) Weed, being a native of the same State. Educated in the public schools of Wisconsin, young Weed began life as a clerk, and was for a time in the insurance business. He was then Secre- tary and Treasurer for a manufacturing company at Grand Haven, Mich. He came to Washington Territory in 1879 and located at Walla Walla, entering the banking house of Baker & Boyer, in whose employ he remained for five years. He then removed to Yakima City and established himself in the hardware busi- ness under the firm name of Weed & Rowe. They continued until the town was chartered in 1888, when Mr. Weed bought out his partner. He promoted the organization of the Yakima National Bank, of which institution he was Vice- President. He is the present Mayor of the city. In 1892 he was elected on the Republican ticket to represent the county in the State Legislature. In his work as representative Mr. Weed introduced and caused the passage of a bill establish- ing the permanent location of the State Fair at Yakima, with appropriations therefor. He is extensively interested in hop culture, and is a speculator in that product. He was married in 1882 to Miss Alice Gordon, of Wisconsin, whose parents were pioneer settlers of that State, her father, Abram Gordon, having been a member of the Legislature. Mr. Weed has a pleasant city home and other valuable property both city and country. He is a Mason of the Knight Templar rank.
BOWMAN, A. C., of Seattle, Wash., was born in Cass County, Mo., March 24th, 1859, and at the age of two years removed with his parents to Topeka, Kan.
428
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
He received a good practical education in the public and high schools of Topeka, and at the age of eighteen years began his business life as a stenographer in the Arkansas Valley, Kan. He remained there two years, during which time he acted as the official stenographer for the Ninth Judicial District of Kansas. In the mean time he devoted his leisure time to legal studies, and was admitted to the Bar of Kansas. In December, 1881, he went to San Francisco, Cal., and thence in the following month to Seattle, Wash., where he still resides. He has given his attention principally to shorthand reporting and writing. He is recog- nized in the community as a man of the highest integrity, and possesses the confi- dence and respect of all who know him. Socially he is genial and popular, and is steadfastly loyal in his friendships. Fraternally he is deeply interested in the Knights of Pythias, having joined that order in 1884. He was a charter member of the Uniform Rank, and served as Lieutenant of the Division for two years. Upon the organization of the Brigade Uniform, Knights of Pythias, he was ap- pointed Assistant Adjutant-General on the staff of the Brigadier-General, with rank of Colonel.
Mr. Bowman was married August 20th, 1881, to Miss Georgie E. Matthews, of Providence, R. I. Two children have graced their union, a son and a daughter.
STINSON, F. L., of Seattle, General Agent of the Mutual Life Insurance Com- pany, of New York, for the States of Washington and Oregon, is one of the most energetic and successful young business men of the Northwest, to whom much credit is due for the industry he has displayed in working his way onward and upward. Mr. Stinson was born in Pittsfield, Somerset County, Me., March 17th, 1863. He received his preparatory education in his native town and was gradu- ated from the Maine Central Institute. He began life as a school-teacher in his native county, and followed that vocation for four years. He then began the study of medicine, but three years later, on account of poor healthi, caused by too close application to study, decided to turn his attention to other pursuits. In 1888 he accepted a position with the Mutual Life Insurance Company, of New York, and acted as their Agent in his native State. In February, 1889, he came directly to Seattle, and assumed charge of the company's affairs in Washington. His success in this field has been conspicuous and rapid. Under his able direc- tion the business has steadily increased until it now reaches about $5,000,000 annually, the result of steady, persistent endeavor. He is now General Agent for the States of Washington and Oregon. In the management of the affairs of his company Mr. Stinson has shown a high order of executive ability, and the pres- ent prosperous condition of its business in this section is wholly due to his ener- getic exertions. It is unnecessary to state that Mr. Stinson is an indefatigable worker, yet he is so easily master of his business that he accomplishes readily an immense amount of work. He is warmly attached to the home of his adoption, and as a public-spirited citizen takes an enthusiastic and active interest in the prosperity of Seattle. During his short residence here he has made many warm friends, while his integrity of character commands the respect of all who know him. He is First Lieutenant of Company E, First Regiment National Guard, Washington, and a member of the fraternities of Masons, Odd Fellows, and Knights of Pythias.
429
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
STOWELL, HOLLIS L., merchant, of Ellensburgh, Wash., was born forty-six years ago in Waverly, N. Y., the son of Rev. A. B. Stowell, a Baptist clergy- man, and Lucy (Le Baron) Stowell, a native of Pennsylvania. Educated in the public schools and the Chester, Vt., Academy, besides obtaining his commercial training in a practical manner, he began the business of life as a travelling man, in which capacity he journeyed extensively throughout the Southern States, and then engaged in merchandising at Waverly, where he remained for eighteen years. Coming West, he located in Kittitas County, at Ellensburgh, and established his present general merchandising business, in which he has invested a considerable capital. He took in a partner two years ago, the firm being now known as Stowell & Steinman. They do a very successful business. Mr. Stowell was mar- ried in New York in 1872 to Miss Hattie E. Sager, of Wisconsin. They have one child, a son, who is now a student in the State University at Seattle. Mr. Stowell is Chairman of the Republican County Central Committee, and was elected Mayor of the city at the last municipal election. He is a Royal Arch Mason, was Master of Waverly Lodge No. 407, New York, for four years, and As- sistant Grand Lecturer of the same for the State of New York for two years. As his record shows, he is deservedly popular with his fellow-citizens.
COOK, HON. FRANCIS H .- Perhaps in the histories of nations, ever since that great tide of empire started westward, and, following the trend of time, has passed from Orient to Orient again, carrying with it the destinies of this great world of ours, and leaving in its wake the markings of its ponderous course upon the great page of history, no time, no age, no moment has held within its grasp. the issues and the questions which we of the present now have and have had be. fore us.
Who knows but what we, the Washington of to-day, the gateway to the Orient, from which and to which all time and things have gone and returned, shall not be also in herself the embodiment of all the wondrous past ? The lives of all those gone before, the beacons of intelligence which shine with all the light of ages past, the ponderous billows of the great ocean of evolution and matured fact but lay at her command, subservient to her will, obeying the direction of those who guide her course, and she offering within herself all the functions necessary to correlate this great issue with herself-what can prevent it ?
For all the centuries past there has been waiting within the borders of the sun-kissed domain of the Pacific's blue the wealth of the forests, the treasures of the mountains, the verdure of the hills and valleys, and all the flower of nature's best creation to meet the coming of the time which is now so close upon her.
True, indeed, at one time it seemed as though this great trend was to be broken, and the domain of the Pacific pass into the care and jurisdiction of an- other nation. Had not Whitman made his famous ride of 1843 and carried to the seat of government the intelligence which saved it to the Union all this might not have been. Yet incident is but the order of creation ; and Whitman and his band were as unconscious of the part they were playing in the future as many here to-day are of what is yet to come.
Little, indeed, did those stragglers who arrived with Whitman at Walla Walla in September, 1836, and later came north across the plains of the Palouse
430
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
and Snake rivers to the Spokane, dream of the homes and villages and cities which now abound in what seemed then to them a wilderness. A city on the Spokane-an inland empire of wealth and power, with railroads, newspapers, and all the multitudinous agencies which have brought about the present high social and industrial condition of the Washington of to-day-the very suggestion would have seemed then almost ridiculous.
But so it is, and the story is just begun. To these first-comers must be given the credit of the finding. To those who came afterward and laid the foundation stones of a coming civil government, who built the first walls of the cities, who started the newspapers and planted the standards of Christian civilization and religion amid the wilds of the then unknown territory must be given the credit of the making.
Among these, and one who belongs to that fair young city in the east of the State, around which the interests of all the inland empire seem to cluster, none could be found who has done more or taken greater interest in its advancement than has Hon Francis H. Cook, of Spokane.
Born in Marietta, O., in 1851, he spent his early youth in learning the printer's trade ; following his first bent, he afterward became one of the owners of the paper upon which he had been employed in Magnolia, Ia. After conducting it for a year and a half his journalistic experience opened up to his mind a broader field of observation, and feeling the necessity of a more complete intellectual equipment, the young journalist sold out lis interest and attended the Iowa State University. At the end of the second year at this seat of learning his studies were cut short by the failure of his debtors to meet their notes, and with but $15 in his pocket he started out into the world, travelling as a journeyman printer all over the United States, working at various times on the Burlington Hawkeye, the New York Tribune, and other papers on the Atlantic seaboard.
In 1871 he started West, going to San Francisco, and from there to Olympia, Wash. Here he obtained employment on the Olympia Courier, then starting, and in a few weeks became its foreman.
In 1874 he bought the Olympia Echo, mainly for the experience it would afford, and conducted it as editor and proprietor, as an independent journal. This paper he published successfully for three years, taking an active part in political and economic questions of the day, and by his energetic and able efforts succeeded in securing the enactment of some important measures by the Terri- torial Legislature, changing the contract system then in vogue at the insane asy- lum to the highly successful and humane system of to-day. In 1877 lie moved to New Tacoma and started the Tacoma Herald, the town then boasting of a population of only forty-five souls. This paper hie conducted for three years, two of which as a daily.
While editing this paper, he published the first series of articles ever printed concerning the Territory east of the mountains, known as the Spokane District, and in 1879 he established the first newspaper in Spokane Falls, then a frontier town of only seventy-five inhabitants.
His many public efforts throughout the Territory brought him prominently before the people, and he was nominated for several offices, being elected in tlie face of strong corporative opposition as a member of the Upper House of the
433
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
Territorial Legislature, representing Pierce, Mason, and Chehalis counties. Upon taking his seat, in 1879, he was chosen President of the Council, although he was the youngest member in either House at the time, where, as a presiding officer, he served with the greatest satisfaction to the Council.
During this session the present Revenue Bill was passed and the meeting with General Grant arranged. With his usual keen foresight, Mr. Cook visited Spo- kane Falls in February, 1878, purchased property, and began vigorously adver- tising the coming city and its marvellous surroundings in his Tacoma paper, removing later to Spokane.
As an editor Mr. Cook was fearless in his advocacy of right, and always urged as well as practised a high standard of morality and strict integrity. While not refusing others the right to do as they think proper, Mr. Cook himself has always abstained from the use of tobacco and intoxicating drinks, and it is a notable fact that he never, under any circumstances, used profanity.
In 1880 he was married to Miss Laura C. McCarty, of Sumner, Wash.
After three years of successful operation, the last nine months as a daily with telegraphic dispatches, Mr. Cook sold out his paper at Spokane and purchased a large tract of land immediately adjoining the little town of his adoption, and lying three or four hundred feet above it, and retired from public service.
Since relinquishing his editorial duties he has devoted his entire time to the building of a motor line through his property and plotting and improving it, until now it is one of the most available residence portions of the city of Spokane. It is supplied with the most improved system of electric street car service, of which Mr. Cook is sole owner, also with spring and city water, electric lights, broad avenues and parks, and all that is essential to a sightly and desirable resi- dence portion.
Mr. Cook is one of the few men who, coming early to Spokane, became con- vinced of its assured future, and has, through his good judgment, become one of the wealthiest men in the State. He has gained his success by honest persever- ance and far-seeing, sound business judgment. He has overcome obstacles which most of his fellow-citizens have thought unsurmountable.
Since retiring from the newspaper business he has remained entirely out of politics, declining all nominations for public offices of any kind, and devoting his time entirely to his family and his private affairs.
He is at present erecting the most commodious residence in the State, being a reproduction, with improvements, of a beautiful villa located near Tarrytown, on the Hudson. This is to be the home of his large family, consisting of a wife, four daughters, and three sons, the children all being born in Spokane. There are few other men in the State who have taken a more active part in its develop- ment than has Mr. Cook. He is liberal and public-spirited in every way. His late gift of over $100,000 worth of property to the city for a stand-pipe, water reservoir, and city park but demonstrates the nature of the donor.
Mr. Cook's life has been an active one, full of ups and downs, and varied with experience which has fitted him to hold the enviable position in the community which he has attained, with a sense of having earned it.
His career as a newspaper man was marked with character and success, and but gave to his perception that keenness of experience in grasping situations
434
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
which has marked his career in Spokane during its growth. Indeed, few could have seen in Spokane that which the perception of Mr. Cook discerned when he started that first creditable sheet out in the world to spread abroad the story of the coming of that pageant of industrial growth which has since been seen ; and from his sightly residence, which offers the finest perspective view in the State, he can sit and view beneath its horoscope the throbbing city of which he was one of the founders, with its bands of steel and threads of flashing wires which tie it to the vast arterial system of the universe.
DENNEY, HON. JOHN C .- Among the citizens of the State of Washington who have attained prominence in professional and commercial life are many who are still young in years. One of the most successful of these younger men is the sub- ject of the present sketch. The structure of his success is not only conspicuous but solid, for ability, fidelity, industry, and integrity are its broad foundation stones. Judge Denney was born in Delaware County, O., November 18th, 1852. His father was a native of Pennsylvania, and his mother was born in England. His parents removed in 1865 to Johnson County, Ia., where the early youth of our subject was spent upon a farm. He attended the district schools during the winter months, and afterward took a three years' course at the Northern Indiana Normal Academy, at Valparaiso, Ind. He began the study of law with James Brown, of New Castle, Ind., and was admitted to the Bar in 1878. The same year he located in Rooks County, Kan., and began the practice of his profession. During his residence in Kansas Judge Denney was actively interested in the politics of the State and county, and was Probate Judge for Rooks County from 1880-83. In June, 1888, he came to Washington, and, locating at Sno- homish, continued the practice of his profession. Here he has been prominently identified with public matters, political and otherwise, and has taken an active interest in the growth and welfare of the community. He served as a member of the State conventions of 1889 and 1890, and in both was a member of the Committee on Resolutions and Platform. He served as City Attorney for one year, was Prosecuting Attorney for Snohomish County for one year, and has been a School Director for a number of years. On March 6th, 1891, he was ap- pointed Superior Judge for Snohomish and Kitsap counties, which position he still holds.
Judge Denney was one of the original incorporators of the S. S. S. Railroad, projected from Port Gardner to Spokane, and is still a stockholder. This road was afterward merged into the Everett and Monte Cristo Railroad. He is also prominently identified with the opening up of the Monte Cristo and Silver Creek mining districts, and was one of the principal factors in bringing these districts into publicity and promoting the building of the railroad to those points.
Judge Denney was married December 31st, 1879, to Miss Hattie McNeeley, of Stockton, Kan., formerly from Ohio, and a graduate of the Wesleyan University, of Delaware, O. This union has been blessed by two sons.
Judge Denney is a self-made man, having attained his present position entirely through his own efforts. As a judge he has served the public faithfully and well, and has given the most unbounded satisfaction. His mental and tempera- mental qualities admirably adapt him to the Bench. He has acute perceptive
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.