USA > Washington > Spokane County > Spokane > History of the city of Spokane and Spokane County, Washington : from its earliest settlement to the present time, Volume II > Part 28
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Mr. Langford is equally pleasantly situated in his home life. He was married on the 28th of April, 1897, to Miss Laura Belle Tilton, a daughter of Frederick A. and Hattie G. Tilton, of Spokane, and they now have an interesting little son, Frederick. Mr. Langford has been a republican since becoming a naturalized American citizen and although he was quite active in the party ranks has never aspired to office. He recognizes, however, the duties as well as the obligations of citizenship and cooperates in various movements and measures for the general good. Fraternally he is a Mason and is now a member of El Katif Temple of the Mystic Shrine. Since 1892 he has been a member of the Spokane Club and is a life member of the Spokane Amateur Athletic Club. He is interested in all manly outdoor sports and he sees to it that the periods of rest and recreation are. such as to preserve an even balance with his professional activity and thus pro- duce a well rounded character.
DAVID SANBORN PRESCOTT.
No matter in how much fantastic theorizing one may indulge as to the causa- tion of success, clear reasoning and close investigation will ever bring to light the fact that honorable advancement in business is the result of close application and persistency of purpose. To those qualities David Sanborn Prescott owes his rise in the business world and while all days have not been equally bright he has now won for himself a creditable position in commercial circles, being at the present writing secretary and treasurer of the Union Fuel & Ice Co., of Spokane. He was born in St. Anthony, Minnesota, now a part of the city of Minneapolis. Janu- ary 11, 1859, his parents being Nathan M. and Rozilla M. (Haley) Prescott. The
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father, who claimed New Hampshire as the state of his nativity, was one of the pioneer settlers of Minnesota, taking up his abode in that state in 1858. He there engaged in the milling business and in 1860 removed from St. Anthony to Castle Rock, Minnesota, while later he established the family home at Herman, Grant county, Minnesota.
David S. Prescott acquired his early education in the public schools of his native state and afterward attended Carleton College at Northfield, Minnesota. Feeling it incumbent to make for himself a place in the business world, in the spring of 1881 he went to Glendive, Montana, where he conducted a drug store, remaining there until March, 1887. At that date he visited Spokane and was so impressed with the possibilities of the country and its future prospects that he returned to Glendive, disposed of his store and in October, 1887, removed his family to this city. Here he opened a drug store which he conducted successfully for a time until his connection with political interests demanded his efforts in other fields. From the first he took an active part in the work of the republican party and was soon appointed chief clerk in the county auditor's office. The value of his service won substantial recognition, when, in 1892, he was elected county treasurer, filling the office during the two succeeding years. He then returned to business life, becoming secretary of the Ross Park Electric Railway Company, operating the first electric line on the Pacific coast and one of the earliest in the country. This now forms a part of the Washington Water Power Company's system. Every change in Mr. Prescott's business connections has meant a step in advance and thus the trend of his orderly progression is easily discernible. After severing his connection with the Ross Park Electric Company he entered the real- estate field in connection with his brother, Fred L. Prescott, with whom he was identified in the conduct of a real-estate business under the firm name of Prescott Brothers, until he sold out in February, 1911, to his brother. He is likewise secretary and treasurer of the Union Fuel & Ice Co. and both branches of his business are proving profitable.
He does not confine his attention, however, solely to commercial interests and business projects which promise only individual return, but is likewise active in fields where public progress is concerned. He has been honored with the presi- dency of the civil service commission of Spokane, an office which he now fills and in which important position many of his ideas for the welfare of the public wcal arc transformed into practical measures for the betterment of the city's govern- ment. He is now the secretary of the board of trustees of the Young Men's Chris- tian Association and takes a very active part in promoting its welfare and growth. He is also a prominent figure in Masonic circles, widely known throughout the northwest, and having served for five years as grand lecturer of the state of Washington, while at the present time he is grand master of the grand lodge for Washington and Alaska. His local membership is with Spokane Lodge, No. 34, F. & A. M., of which he is a past master; Spokane Chapter, No. 2, R. A. M., of which he is past high priest; Spokane Council, No. 1, R. & S. M .; Cataract Com- mandery, No. 3, K. T .; Oriental Consistory, No. 2, A. A. S. R .; and El Katif Temple of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
On the 16th of November, 1881, Mr. Prescott was married to Miss Laura Betsworth, of Le Mars, Iowa, a daughter of Captain William Betsworth of that place, and they now have four children: Ethel F., the wife of D. C. Gibson, of
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Spokane; and Ernest C., Leslie F. and Verna L., all of this city. Mr. Prescott's life has been an active and useful one, resulting in the successful accomplishment of whatever he undertakes, not only in a business way but also in other fields of activity. His interests have never been self-centered and he is recognized as one of Spokane's most public-spirited citizens.
MICHAEL M. COWLEY.
Michael M. Cowley, a retired capitalist, is one of the best known men in eastern Washington, and the consensus of public opinion places him in a prominent posi-
- tion among those whose lives have won for them the respect, good-will and con- fidence of their fellowmen. He has remained in the Pacific coast country since the spring of 1862 and for some years prior to that time was a resident of the west. He has thus long lived in a district where men are rated not by wealth but by worth and where the opportunity is open for each individual to prove his worth. Coming to America practically empty-handed, he advanced step by step as the way was open. He always watched for favorable opportunity and in the later years of his business activity lie was a prominent figure in banking circles in Spo- kane. He now resides at 1128 Pearl street, and the fruits of his former toil supply him with all of the comforts and some of the luxuries of life.
The family name indicates his Irish nativity and ancestry. He was born in Rathdrum, County Wicklow, Ireland, May 9, 1841, his parents being Hugli and Bridget (Byrne) Cowley. The father was the owner of general mercantile stores in several different localities of that country and won success through well directed business interests. A love of adventure and the opportunities which he believed were to be secured in the new world led Michael M. Cowley to leave the Emerald isle when fifteen years of age and embark on a sailing vessel for America, where he arrived after a voyage of forty-nine days. He landed at New York city and proceeded thence to Rochester, New York, where he was employed by a relative in a grocery store at eight dollars per month. Two years were thus passed and he then started for California but as his funds were not sufficient to carry him all the way he proceeded only as far as Leavenworth, Kansas, where a United States military expedition was outfitting for the reinforcement of General Albert Sidney Johnston in the suppression of the Mormon disturbances. Mr. Cowley entered as teamster and was later given clerical work in connection with the expedition, while subsequently he was promoted to a position in the sutler's department at higher wages. He thus traveled across the plains and over the mountains with the expedi- tion to Benicia, California, and as the original object of the trip had been accom- plished the troops were sent to different posts in the west. Mr. Cowley was sent to Beall's Crossing in Colorado, afterward Fort Mojave, and remained in charge of the sutler's stores until the outbreak of the Civil war in 1861.
Mr. Cowley permanently took up his abode on the Pacific coast in the fall of that year, settling at Portland, Oregon, and in the spring of 1862 went to a mining camp at Florence, Idaho, where he engaged in mining until the carly part of 1864. He also followed merchandising at Wild Horse Creek, in the Kootenai mining regions, and at Bonner's Ferry, Idaho. On the 1th of July, 1872, he settled at
M. M. COWLEY
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Spokane Bridge on the Spokane river, about seventeen miles east of the falls, the place being then known as Kendall's Bridge, and later as Cowley's Bridge. He continued to conduct a store at that place and at the same time operated the bridge and executed government contracts for furnishing supplies to Fort Coeur d'Alene. Mr. Cowley has been identified with the upbuilding of Spokane since the year of the great fire, entering financial circles here as cashier in the Traders National Bank. His capability for the management of important financial interests was soon manifest and after five years he was elected to the presidency of the bank in which he continued until 1906, when he resigned and retired from active life. He still remains a director of the bank, however, and president of the Sav- ings society.
Mr. Cowley was married to Miss Annie Connelly, who was born in Ireland and passed away in Spokane, November 24, 1907, leaving two daughters, Mary Frances and Eleanor B. The former is now the wife of J. F. Reddy, of Medford, Oregon. and has a son and two daughters, while Eleanor B. Cowley became the wife of James Smyth, of Spokane, and has one son and one daughter.
Mr. Cowley belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, at Spokane. also to St. Aloysius church. He is one of the few men living who have been iden- tified with the settlement of northeastern Washington and the region known as the Inland Empire from the earliest times. He belongs to the little group of dis- tinctively representative business men who have been the pioneers in inaugurating and building up the chief industries of this section of the country. He early had the sagacity and prescience to discern the eminence which the future had in store for this great and growing district, and acting in accordance with the dictates of his faith and judgment he has garnered in the fullness of time the generous harvest which is the just recompense of indomitable industry, integrity and noteworthy enterprise.
WILLIAM H. STANLEY.
As president and treasurer of the Spokane Canning Company William H. Stanley is closely and prominently associated with the productive industries of the city, being now at the head of a business of large proportions. He was born in New York city, February 4, 1880, his parents being James and Maria Stanley. also natives of that city, who now spend a portion of their time in Spokane and the remainder in the eastern metropolis. At the usual age William H. Stanley entered the public schools and supplemented his general course by a more specific- ally literary course in Williams College of Williamstown, Massachusetts, from which he was graduated with the class of 1902. On leaving college he came to Spokane and in 1903 entered the grocery brokerage business, in which he is still interested. Ever alert to the possibilities of business life, he directed his energies into other channels in 1906, when he joined in organizing the Spokane Canning Com- pany, building a factory at Yardley. Operations were begun in the fall of that year and the business was capitalized for twenty-five thousand dollars, with William H. Stanley as president, treasurer and general manager. This is the only plant of this kind in the Inland Empire and from the outset the business has proved a
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growing and profitable one, gradually extending its ramifying trade interests over a wide territory. The plant now has a capacity of fifteen hundred cases daily and in the year 1910 sent out thirty thousand cases, while the output for the year 1911 will exceed forty thousand. The plant is in operation for about four months each year but they expect in 1912 to run the plant for six months in the year. Their pay roll averages about eight hundred dollars per week and anything which they put out under the name of the Spokane Valley brand is of high grade and quality, finding a ready sale on the market. They can all kinds of vegetables, fruits and berries and the business is growing steadily. In connection with his interest as president and treasurer of the Spokane Canning Company Mr. Stanley is also president of the Stanley Investment Company and is a director of the Fidelity National Bank.
On the 10th of June, 1908, occurred the marriage of William H. Stanley and Miss Mabel Thorne, of Brooklyn, New York. They have many friends here and their own home is justly celebrated for its warm-hearted hospitality. Mr. Stanley is well known in club and social circles. In his college days he became a member of the Phi Delta Theta and he now belongs to the University, Spokane, Inland and Rotary Clubs, the leading social organizations of this city. The wisdom of his choice in selecting the northwest as the scene of his activities has been demon- strated in the success which has crowned his efforts, making him a well known representative of industrial activity in Spokane.
FREDERICK BURBIDGE.
The rich mineral deposits of the northwest offer a splendid field of labor for the mining engineer, and as a representative of that profession Frederick Burbidge is now at the head of a substantial and growing business. He was born at Stratford, in Essex county, England, April 16, 1864, and was provided with splendid edu- cational privileges, for after attending the great institution of learning in his native city he became a student at King's College, in London. He was a youth of eighteen years when he left his native land for the new world, arriving in 1882 at New York city, where for some time he was connected with the Orford Copper Company. After four years he was sent to Butte, Montana, as manager for the Butte Reduction Works, and there remained until 1888, when he came to Spokane. Since that time he has been engaged in mining either in this district or in that of the Coeur d'Alene. For eight years he was manager of the Bunker Hill and Sulli- van mines and is now manager of the Frisco mine. He understands the great scientific principles which underlie his work, together with every practical phase of the business and his labors have been attended with results highly satisfactory to the companies which he represents, as well as a source of gratifying income to himself. He is now president of the Coeur d'Alene Development Company, and in business matters with which he has been connected displays sound judgment and kecn discrimination.
On the 18th of May, 1892, occurred the marriage of Mr. Burbidge and Miss Rebecca Florence Williams, a daughter of William and Rebecca Williams, of Seneca Falls, New York. They have two children: Norman E., aged eighteen, now a
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student in Phillips Exeter Academy, at Exeter, New Hampshire; and Beatrice F., aged twelve, who is attending Brunot Hall. The family reside at No. 806 Seventh avenue. Mr. Burbidge has never been identified with politics or held office, but is a well known club man of the city and is popular with his associates in the work of the leading social organizations of Spokane. Since 1890 he has held member- ship in the Spokane Club, of which he was secretary in 1891-2, and he is also a life member of the Spokane Amateur Athletic Club. The business opportunities of the new world have been so attractive to him that he has never felt regret over leaving his native country. He is thoroughly American in spirit and interests and is a typical citizen of the northwest, alert to every opportunity and recognizing the fact that in this day of close competition, strenuous effort must be put forth to achieve the success which is worth while.
JUDGE FRANK H. RUDKIN.
Judge Frank H. Rudkin, who by appointment became judge of the district court of the United States for the eastern district of Washington, on the 31st of January, 1911, and since January, 1887, has been a member of the bar of this state, was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, April 23, 1864. His parents, Bernard and Winnifred (Leonard) Rudkin, were both natives of Ireland and are now resi- dents of Trumbull county, Ohio, where for many years they have made their home. In their family were five sons and one daughter: Frank H .; Mark L., Edward and William B., all of whom are residents of Kinsman, Ohio: John J., living in Kenne- wick, Washington; and Mrs. T. A. Collins, whose home is in Greenville, Penn- sylvania.
At the usual age Judge Rudkin entered the public schools of his native county, continuing his education in the high school and later in Washington and Lee Uni- versity at Lexington, Virginia, where he was graduated L. B. with the class of 1886. In January of the following year he arrived in Washington and throughout his entire professional career has been connected with the bar of this state. He practiced law in Ellensburg and North Yakima until 1900, in which year he was elected to the superior court bench from the district comprising Yakima, Kittitas and Franklin counties, his term to cover four years. Such was the record which he made in that connection that in 1904 he was elected judge of the supreme court of the state and served on the bench of the court of last resort in Washington for over six years. From 1909 until 1911 he was chief justice of the supreme court and was then reelected judge of the supreme court, while on the 31st of January, 1911, he was appointed judge of the district court of the United States for the eastern district of Washington. Devotedly attached to his profession, systematic and methodical in habit, sober and discreet in judgment, calm in temper, diligent in research, conscientious in the discharge of every duty, courteous and kind in demeanor and inflexibly just on all occasions, these qualities have enabled Judge Rudkin to take first rank among those who have held the highest judicial office in the state and have made him the conservator of that justice wherein is the safe- guard of individual liberty and happiness and the defense of our national in- stitutions. His reported opinions are monuments to his profound legal learning
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and superior ability, more lasting than brass or marble and more honorable than battles fought and won. They show a thorough mastery of the questions involved, a rare simplicity of style, and an admirable terseness and clearness in the statement of the principles upon which the opinions rest.
On the 3d of October, 1903, Judge Rudkin was married to Miss Pearl A. Mor- ford, or North Yakima, a granddaughter of John B. Nelson, one of the pioneer ยท residents of North Yakima. The Judge is a member of the Spokane Club and those who come within the circle of his friends find him a social gentleman of unfeigned cordiality, with whom association means expansion and elevation. His successive elections to the bench indicate clearly his position as a jurist. An excellent pres- ence, earnest manner, marked strength of character, a thorough grasp of the law and the ability to correctly apply its principles make him an effective and suc- cessful advocate and ensure him equal rank with other distinguished members of the court of appeals. His record has at all times conferred honor and dignity upon the district that has honored him.
MYRON ARCHER FOLSOM.
In a history of the bar of Spokane appears the name of Myron Archer Folsom, whose work as an attorney has been of an important character, especially in the field of corporation law. He is particularly well known in connection with liti- gation of different mining companies and his professional work has made him a practitioner before all the state and federal courts upon the Pacific coast.
The natal day of Mr. Folsom was January 16, 1875, and the place of his na- tivity a farm in Dane county, Wisconsin, his parents being Jeremiah and Mary (Lyon) Folsom, both of whom were representatives of early New England fam- ilies represented in this country since the colonial epoch in our history. At the usual age he began his education as a public-school student in Wisconsin and fol- lowing the removal of the family to Alexandria, South Dakota, he continued his studies there. Still he was not content with the opportunities for intellectual advancement thus far afforded him and in 1891, upon the opening of Leland Stan- ford Jr. University in California, he entered as one of the first students and was graduated in 1896 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In the fall of the same year he was admitted to the bar of California, having previously taken up the study of law, his thorough mastery of legal principles enabling him to success- fully pass the required examination that admitted him to practice before the courts of the state. In January, 1897, he opened an office in San Francisco and while there assisted in preparing an annotation of the codes of California. He also col- laborated with Curtis H. Lindley in the preparation of "Lindley on Mines" and edited the ninth edition in three volumes of "Desty's Federal Procedure."
In the spring of 1899 Mr. Folsom went to northern Idaho and under a re- tainer from the state government assisted in the prosecutions resulting from the Coeur d'Alene riots. He was also assistant United States attorney in the prosecu- tion of the miners for interference with the United States mails. In December, 1899, he arrived in Spokane, Washington, and became one of the attorneys for the Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mining Company and rendered valuable services in
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connection with the important apex litigation involved. He has tried cases in all the state and federal courts of California, Oregon, Idaho and Washington and also before the United States supreme court and in recent years his practice has been mostly in the United States courts. His knowledge of the law is compre- hensive and his deductions logical, while in the application of a legal principle he displays marked discernment. His arguments are characterized by a perspicuity that leaves no one at sea as to his meaning.
In December, 1896, Mr. Folsom was married to Miss Maud Wadsworth, a daughter of Hiram Wadsworth of Spokane, and they have two daughters, Frances and Janet. Mr. Folsom is a member of the principal social organizations of the city and has been honored with the presidency of the Spokane Club. He is a representative of our best type of American manhood and his genuine worth, broad mind and public spirit have made him a director of public thought and action. He has never sought, nor desired office and in fact has never sought to figure personally before the public in any light or any relation outside of his profession, yet his influence is felt as a strong, steady, moving force in the social, moral and legal movements of the community.
SIKKO BARGHOORN.
Sikko Barghoorn, general agent at Spokane for the Netherlands American Mort- gage Bank, has in this connection become well known as a representative of financial interests in this city and has proven his worth as an enterprising and re- sourceful business man. He was born in Groningen, Holland, on the 18th of Jan- uary, 1875, and after completing his education there in the government high school, entered the employ of the Netherlands American Mortgage Bank of his native city, with which he has since been connected. After a brief period, in which he had proven his worth and adaptability, he was sent by the bank to America in 1893 and made his way direct to Spokane. Soon afterward he opened an office at Pull- man, Washington, and later at Moscow, Idaho, but in 1907 took up his permanent abode in Spokane, where as representative for the company he has done an ex- tensive business in farm mortgages, loaning about three million dollars on farm properties in the Spokane country, while about ten million dollars of the company's funds have been loaned in the United States. He is also a director of the Spokane & Eastern Trust Company and is a prominent figure in financial circles, thor- oughly versed on realty values and manifesting keen discrimination in the place- ment of investments.
On the 15th of June, 1902, Mr. Barghoorn was married to Miss Franc Mc- Connell, a daughter of Richard D. McConnell, a resident of Moscow, Idaho. Three children have been born of this union: Sikko Richard, Catharine Anna and Win- ston William. The family home is at No. 825 East Mission avenue, in one of the attractive residence districts of the city. Mr. Barghoorn is well known socially through his membership in the Spokane Club, the Spokane Country Club and the Spokane Amateur Athletic Club. He not only easily wins friends but has the happy faculty of retaining the warm regard of those with whom he is associated. He has proven his worth in the business world, the company which he represents
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