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 3
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Mr. Jamieson was first married to Miss Mattie A. Reid in 1876, who died in February, 1880, and they had one daughter, Mattie Mabel, who on September 7. 1904, married Norman Roscoe Totten, engaged in the real-estate business in Spo- kane. Two children were born to them, namely: Edward Jamieson Totten, born July 2, 1906; and Elizabeth M. Totten, born June 10, 1908. On July 4, 1881, Mr Jamieson was united in marriage at Boonville, California, to Mrs. Ida (Hoag) Haskins, a daughter of Dr. M. R. and Laura J. (Morgan) Hoag. They were both pioneers of Ohio, having come from Connecticut at an early age with their parents. Dr. Hoag was a noted physician of Olio, and practiced surgery and medicine for over forty years at Lodi, Medina county, Ohio. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Jamieson: Josephine Janette, living at home; Edward H., also at home; Arthur M., who died in infancy; Evelyn Elizabeth, attending Wellesley College; and Irene Kathryn, attending high school in Spokane.
Mr. Jamieson was always regarded as a public-spirited citizen and his labors were an element for general progress and improvement although never in the path of office-seeking. He was especially interested in education and contributed lib- erally toward the establishment of Spokane College, serving as president of the college council at the time of his death. His own private library was one of the finest in the northwest and included many rare volumes, he being noted for his discriminating taste and appreciation as a collector. He was also a lover of nature and had comprehensive knowledge of botany. He was likewise fond of art, of music and of travel, and in fact was in close touch with all of those varied interests which are uplifting and beneficial forces in life. His friendship was ever deep and sincere and his hospitality cordial. His political allegiance was given to the Vol. II. 2
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republican party save at local elections, where he cast an independent ballot. He was one of the organizers of the Presbyterian church of Spokane and contributed liberally to its support. He was numbered among the few prominent business men who survived the financial panic of 1893, retaining an untarnished name. His contribution to the world's work and progress was a valuable one. While he won success it was never gained at the sacrifice of others' interests and never to the exclusion of activity along those lines which take men from the more sordid field of business into those paths of life which mean advancement and improvement. He knew the joy of life because he chose the things which count for most in intel- lectual advancement and character development.
JOHN BERRY SLATER.
Of sturdy Hollandish and Welsh descent John B. Slater, of Colville, has shown that he possesses many of the most notable traits of his ancestors and ranks as a leading attorney of eastern Washington. He has practiced at Colville for more than twenty years and is also extensively interested in business affairs. He is a native of Yreka, California, born April 10, 1860, a son of James and Sarah Jane (James) Slater. The parents were pioneers of the Pacific coast, arriving in the west early in the '50s. The mother died in 1867, when the subject of this review was seven years old, and the father passed away in 1901. The ancestors on the paternal side emigrated to America from Holland with Peter Stuyvesant in 1630 and the great-grandfather of our subject participated in the Revolutionary war. The mother's ancestors were of Welsh nationality and the first of the family to arrive in the new world settled in the Carolinas about the time of the Revolutionary war.
John B. Slater received his early education in the public schools of Oregon and attended Santiam Academy for two years, clerking in a drug store after school hours. At the age of twenty he went to Sprague, Washington, and for two years was connected with the coppersmith's department of the Northern Pacific Railway. He began business on his own account as a druggist at Heron, Montana, in 1883, and the year following, while still the owner of the store, went to the Coeur d'Alene mines in Idaho but remained there only a short time. After returning to Heron he closed out his business and went to Medical Lake, Washington, where he owned a drug store for one year. While at that place he purchased the Medical Lake Banner, a local newspaper, and four months later, on August 20, 1885, moved the outfit to Colville and changed the name of the paper to the Stevens County Miner, which he conducted for four years. This was the first regular newspaper published north of Spokane, in Stevens county. In February, 1886, Mr. Slater was. appointed postmaster of Colville by President Grover Cleveland and installed the first post- office equipments in this place, including call and lock boxes. He filled the office of postmaster to the general satisfaction of the people for four years. In 1886, the same year in which he was appointed postmaster, he was elected probate judge of Stevens county, which then included territory which has been divided up into several counties. The office of probate judge he also filled for four years. In the meantime he had studied law and was admitted to the Washington bar in June,
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1890. In the fall of the same year he was elected prosecuting attorney of Stevens county and filled that office for two years. He has ever since applied himself to the practice of his profession, in which he has been highly successful. For seven years past he has also been interested in the lumber and sawmill business. From the time of arriving at manhood Mr. Slater has been an ardent supporter of the democratic party and has been prominent in its councils. In 1888 he was secretary of the state territorial convention which assembled at Spokane and in 1901 was appointed by Governor Rogers as member of the state board of audit and control. In the latter part of 1901 he made a trip to California and remained in that state for several months, returning home in 1902.
On the 11th of September, 1889, Mr. Slater was married, at Lebanon, Oregon, to Miss Florence E. Ballard, a daughter of Dr. David W. Ballard. They have one son, Ronald Ballard, who was graduated in 1911 from the Colville high school. The parents of Mrs. Slater came to Oregon early in the '50s. Her father was graduated at the Cincinnati College of Medicine and was very successful as a prac- titioner in the early days of Oregon and was acquainted with General U. S. Grant, when the latter was in command at Fort Vancouver. He served as governor of Idaho and superintendent of Indian affairs in that territory for seven years.
Mr. Slater is also numbered among the pioneers and now fills the office of sec- retary of the Stevens County Pioneer Association. He is also a member of the public and high school boards of Colville, these boards being separate organiza- tions. Fraternally he is identified with the Masonic order and is past master of Colville Lodge, No. 50. He has taken the thirty-second degree and is a member of the consistory. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America, being a trustee of the local lodge in the orders last named. A man of great industry and perseverance, and possessing unusual public spirit, Mr. Slater has assisted very materially in promoting the welfare of the county and state and is one of the highly respected citizens of Washington. He has dis- charged his duties as a lawyer as well as those of a private citizen with the utmost fidelity and has set an example eminently worthy of imitation by old and young. It is men of this class that reflect credit upon the state and are truly deserving of the honor and esteem of their fellows.
CHARLES H. PUTNAM.
Charles H. Putnam, superintendent of the shops of the Great Northern Railway at Hillyard for ten years past, comes of a noted family in America and in the course of a useful and busy life has displayed many of the qualities that made his ancestors famous. He was born at Fitchburg, Massachusetts, September 14, 1868, a son of Henry O. and Sarah A. (Smith) Putnam, the former of whom was born January 10, 1841. The mother died in September, 1899. Mr. Putnam is descended from John Putnam, who with his wife Priscilla emigrated from Abbot-Aston, England, in 1634, and settled at Salem, Massachusetts. He was the great-grandfather of General Israel Putnam and an ancestor of Colonel Rufus Putnam, chief engineer of the Ameri- can army during the Revolutionary war. Rufus Putnam's elder brother, John, spent his life at Sutton, Massachusetts, and was by trade a scythe maker. His son John
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followed in the footsteps of his father and worked for several years at his trade in Peterboro, New Hampshire. He subsequently moved with his family to Hopkinton, and in that place Salmon W. Putnam was born December 10, 1815. At the age of eight years the son Salmon left home to earn his own living and worked for several years as bobbin boy in a cotton factory at New Ipswich. Later he obtained employ- ment in a manufacturing establishment at Lowell, Massachusetts, and was appointed overseer of a spinning room when he was only seventeen years of age. Two years later he engaged in the machine business with his brother John at Mason Village, New Hampshire, and in 1838 opened a shop at Fitchburg under the title of J. & S. W. Putnam. He showed remarkable mechanical genius and among his inventions may be mentioned the universal or self-adjustable box and hanger, the feed rod for en- gine lathes, movable and adjustable table for upright drills, etc. He secured no pat- ents upon his inventions and those devices were appropriated by others and have since come into general use. The machine shop was destroyed by fire on December 7, 1849, and the accumulations of ten years were swept away, there being no insur- ance. The next year, however, the shop was rebuilt. In 1858 Mr. Putnam organized a stock company under the name of the Putnam Machine Company, of which he served as president and general manager during the remainder of his life. He was a remarkably fine mechanic and ingenious inventor and displayed unusual enterprise and ability in his business. He died on the 23d of February, 1872, and is remem- bered not only on account of his mechanical talents but as one of the leaders in the manufacture of machinery in New England. He was a thirty-second degree Mason, and a member of the commandery and shrine.
Mr. Putnam, whose name stands at the head of this sketch, received his early edu- cation in the public and high schools of Fitchburg and later became a student of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduating from that noted institution in 1889. He became an apprentice in the shops of the Putnam Machine Company and advanced through various grades until he was appointed chief draftsman of the en- gineering department. On account of over application his health gave way and he was obliged to retire from active work. He spent a year traveling and a similar length of time "roughing it" in Wisconsin. Having recovered his accustomed strength, he entered the employ of the Great Northern Railway at St. Paul as draughtsman in the office of the superintendent of motive power. His ability soon attracted atten- tion and four months later he was appointed shop superintendent at St. Cloud, Min- nesota, a year later being sent to Great Falls, Montana. in a similar capacity. Since 1901 he has been in charge of the shops at Hillyard. The Putnam Machine Company, to which reference has been made above, is now the second largest concern of its kind in the country and Charles H. Putnam still retains an interest in it. The active man- agement is under the control of the surviving sons and grandsons of S. W. Putnam, and George Rufus, our subject's brother, holds a position of trust in the company.
In June, 1901, Mr. Putnam was married, at St. Paul, Minnesota, to Miss Mary B. Clark, a daughter of Charles H. and Martha (Pierce) Clark, and to this union two children have been born: Martha Clark, who is now attending the public schools; and Henry Homer, aged six years. Politically Mr. Putnam is in hearty sympathy with the republican party and religiously he adheres to the Unitarian faith. He has in a large measure inherited the mechanical talents of his ancestry and, as he is a good judge of human nature, he has been highly successful in the management of an im- portant department giving employment to many men. He was fortunate in securing
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an excellent education and its advantages have been manifest in the ease with which he has solved many problems arising in his work. As an enterprising and loyal citi- zen he is greatly respected, and the spirit of helpfulness with which he has ever been actuated has gained for him the confidence and good-will of his fellowmen.
WILLIAM R. BAKER.
Minnesota has contributed many of her most prominent sons to Washington, who have ably performed their part in the great work of redeeming the forest and prairie and building up the business, financial, educational and religious institutions of this state. Among the number may be named William R. Baker, who for nearly three years past has filled the office of cashier of the Bank of Colville. He is a native of Hastings, Minnesota, and was born August 20, 1876, being a son of Charles A. and Helen S. (Rogers) Baker. The parents were pioneers of Minnesota, arriving in that region in 1856 during the territorial days. The father died in 1890 and the mother passed away in 1909.
William R. Baker, whose name stands at the head of this sketch, possessed ad- vantages of education in the public schools of Hastings and later was a student for four years of the high school at St. Paul. In 1895 he went to San Jose, California, and engaged in fruit raising for nearly three years, coming to Colville, Washington, in 1897, where he was connected with the mercantile business for twelve years. He sold out January 1, 1909, and since that time has filled the position of cashier of the Bank of Colville, being also a member of the board of directors of that institution. He takes great interest in the study of financial matters and is now vice president of Group No. 1 of the Washington Bankers Association. He has attained a gratify- ing measure of success financially and is the owner of considerable real estate in Colville.
On the 10th of September, 1902, Mr. Baker was married to Miss S. L. Cranney, a daughter of Thomas Cranney, and they have two children, William R., Jr., and Clement C. The father of Mrs. Baker was very prominent in earlier years in Wash- ington. He was a member of the territorial legislature and of the state constitutional convention, also holding many county offices. In 1874 he served as deputy grand master of Masons of Washington.
Mr. Baker also is greatly interested in the Masonic fraternity and has held most of the important offices in the various branches of the order in Washington. He is past master of Colville Lodge, No. 50, F. & A. M., past high priest of Colville Chap- ter, No. 20 R. A. M., of Colville; Spokane Council, R. & S. M .; a member of Cata- ract Commandery, No. 3, K. T .; Oriental Consistory, No. 2, Scottish Rite Masonry ; and El Katif Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. He served as representative to the Grand Lodge in 1901, filling the office of chairman of the committee on representative ex- penses. He was junior grand warden of the Grand Lodge in 1906 and in June, 1909, was elected grand master of Masons of the state of Washington, a position which he occupied with great acceptance to members of the order for one year. He served as grand patron of the Order of the Eastern Star of Washington from 1904 to 1905 and is now a member of the Association of Past Grand Masters. In addition to his activities as a Mason he holds membership in the Odd Fellows and the Woodmen.
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Politically he is an adherent of the republican party, whose principles he believes to be of great importance in the promotion of the prosperity of the country. He has served as delegate to state and county conventions but has declined all political offices except that of postmaster at Colville, to which he was appointed by President Mc- Kinley in 1900 and reappointed by President Roosevelt, filling the office to the entire satisfaction of the people until 1909. He was proffered the position of deputy bank examiner of Washington but declined this and other offices, preferring to concentrate his attention upon his business. He is a sincere believer in the Christian religion and is a member of the Congregational church of Colville. In the discharge of his many responsibilities Mr. Baker has shown an energy and clearness of judgment which have reflected upon him and his associates the highest credit. A man of genial nature and pleasing address, his friends are numbered by the legion and, as he is known to be true to every trust, it requires no prophet to foretell his advancement to any position in the financial or business world to which he may aspire.
PATRICK C. SHINE.
A remarkably successful career has been that of Patrick C. Shine since he entered upon the practice of law as a member of the Spokane bar. He was born in County Limerick, Ireland, December 25, 1863. His parents were Michael and Ellen (Conners) Shine, who sent their son to the hedge school of the locality, subse- quently to the National village school at Athea, and finally he completed his edu- cation at the College and Civil Service Academy of Limerick city. He was book- keeper for J. P. Newsom & Company of Limerick for three years thereafter.
He was one of a large family and in 1885, he came to America joining his brothers and father in Kansas City, Missouri, where he worked for a time as street car con- ductor for the Metropolitan Street Railway Company. He next entered the employ of the Union Pacific Railroad, and in 1887-8, filled the office of deputy county col- lector of Jackson county, Missouri. Ambitious to have broader opportunities in other fields, he took up the study of law during that period, devoting all of his leisure hours to the mastery of the principles of jurisprudence. On leaving the office of deputy county collector of Jackson county, he returned to the Union Pacific Railway as statistic clerk and assistant cashier at Kansas City and from that point was transferred to Huntington, Oregon, as cashier for the joint agency of the Oregon Short Line and Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company. Subsequently he filled various positions with the latter company in all its departments. In 1894 he came to Spokane where he was employed by the Union Depot Company.
Mr. Shine had no sooner become a resident of this city than he severed his resi- dence relations with Kansas City which he always theretofore claimed as his home. Edwin McNeill, then president of the Iowa Central Railway, offered him a respon- sible position with that road, but Mr. Shine refused to leave the west and continued in his less lucrative position at Spokane. Edwin McNeill, who was then prospec- tive reorganizer of the Union Pacific system with headquarters at Portland, promised him the position of superintendent of a prospective division between Spokane, Washington, and La Grande, Oregon. Meantime by and with the encouragement of the superintendent of the Union Depot, Mr. Shine became a member of the
P. C. SHINE
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American Railway Union, and was promptly elected its secretary and treasurer.
This affiliation changed his course completely and forced him into politics which became the stepping stone to his chosen profession. He was cashier and chief deputy county treasurer under George Mudgett for two consecutive terms. After he had successfully passed the required examination for admission to the bar, in January of 1899, he was appointed local counsel for his old employer, the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company. Later, at the instance of the legatees of the McNeill estate, he was appointed administrator with will annexed of the estate of Edwin McNeill, who died in New York. Other interests connected with his now extensive clientele have made him an official of various real-estate holding corpora- tions. He has served as British Columbia Commissioner for the past ten years. He was always active in politics and was chairman of the Peoples' Party central committee, chairman of the executive committee of the Fusion Party, composed of populists, democrats and silver republicans, in 1896, when John R. Rogers was elected governor of the state of Washington. Since then he has been mentioned for various appointive political positions, but he has never accepted one. At the present time he is not affiliated with any political organization, although he keeps well in- formed on the questions and issues of the day and advocates such measures and principles as he believes will prove helpful in municipal and general government.
On March 15, 1904, Mr. Shine was married, at San Francisco, California, to Miss Mary Louise Gomm, a native of Savannah, Georgia, and they now have two children, Patrick and Mary. Mr. Shine belongs to the Spokane Club and is a life member of the Spokane Amateur Athletic Club. He believes that trusts and labor organizations are fundamentally the same in principle and that both should be con- trolled by federal regulations. He has the social qualities, the ready wit and at- tractive personality, characteristic of the people of the Emerald isle, combined with the ambition and enterprise so common in the west, and these qualities have made him popular as a man and successful as a lawyer.
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PATRICK J. GEARON.
Patrick J. Gearon, who is treasurer of the J. F. Howarth Company and also has extensive property and mining interests in Wallace, was born in Illinois in 1862, his parents being John and Bridget (Hines) Gearon.
When Patrick J. Gearon was still in his infancy his parents removed to Iowa, and there he was educated and reared to manhood. He left the parental roof at the age of seventeen years and came west seeking his fortune, in common with many other lads. He first located in Jefferson, Montana, and was employed for a year in the Gold Quartz Mill at that point, after which he engaged to furnish the mill charcoal, and did so for eighteen months. In 1883, during the days of the first gold excitement, he came to the Coeur d'Alene mining district, subsequently going to Eagle City, Idaho, at the forks of the Pritchard and Eagle creeks, where he engaged in placer mining for five years. Later he continued his prospecting at both Burke and Mullan, this state, and there he also engaged for a time in the general contract- ing business. In June, 1890, immediately following the great fire, he came to Wal- lace and engaged in the saloon business until 1903, when he bought a half-interest
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in the Ryan Hotel, and has ever since been connected with this hostelry. When the J. F. Howarth Company was organized in August, 1911, Mr. Gearon was made treasurer. He is largely interested in many of the mining companies of the district and he is also owner of the Carter House property on Hotel street, Wallace.
On the 20th of November, 1891, Mr. Gearon was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Carter, a daughter of Daniel Carter of Minnesota. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Gearon there has been born one son, John, whose birth occurred in September, 1892.
Mr. Gearon is one of the capable business men of the city as well as one of the successful. Such prosperity as has been awarded him, must be entirely attributed to his own effort, as he started out as a youth with no capital save his own determina- tion and inherent ambition to get along and by sheer force of will and energy he has attained his desire.
THOMAS A. LE PAGE.
Occupying an honored position in the commercial world, which he has earned through his wisely applied effort, Thomas A. Le Page may be named among the successful men of eastern Washington. He was for a number of years identified with the furniture business at Hillyard and as he possesses energy and sound busi- ness judgment his labors have met with gratifying returns. He was born at Carl- ton, Minnesota, a son of A. J. and Isabel (Nelson) Le Page, the former of whom was born in 1862 and the latter two years later. The family is of French and Scotch- Irish descent and the ancestry has been traced back for five centuries in France. Mr. and Mrs. Le Page were the parents of three children: Thomas A., of this sketch; Floy, who is now completing her education in Europe; and Marguerite.
In the public schools of Duluth, Minnesota, Thomas A. Le Page secured his early education. He came to Spokane with his parents in 1896 and prosecuted his studies further at Gonzaga College. After leaving this institution he entered the employ of Tull & Gibbs, furniture dealers of Spokane, and continued with this firm for five years, in the course of which time he gained a good practical knowledge of business which he has been able to apply to excellent advantage. After severing his connection with his employers Mr. Le Page assisted in organizing the Moore & Le Page Furniture Company of Hillyard, which began under favorable auspices and proved a success from the start. Two years later he sold out and organized the Hillyard Furniture Company, of which he was the head for five years. He then sold out once more and subsequently organized the Le Page Furniture & Hardware Company, which is now one of the flourishing concerns of Hillyard and, being conducted according to up-to-date ideas, gives promise of even more satisfactory returns in years to come. He is also financially interested in other mercantile establishments of the city but devotes all of his time to his furniture and hardware business. He marches in front rank of those who have at heart the welfare and progress of the city and as one of Hillyard's boosters was instru- mental in founding the Chamber of Commerce, of which he acted as the first presi- dent. Mr. Le Page has applied himself with marked success to mercantile pursuits
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