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 30
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On the 26th of June, 1909, Dr. Valentine was united in marriage to Mrs. Anna M. Hayes, who was also one of the pioneer residents of Spokane. He belongs to the Vincent Methodist Episcopal church and is a prominent member of Samaritan Lodge, No. 52, I. O. O. F. In fact he has taken the various degrees in Odd Fel- lowship and has filled all of the chairs in the order, and also held office in the
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Grand Lodge and the Canton. He is now examining physician for Excelsior Camp, No. 5124, M. W. A., and other camps of the organization, and also of the Royal Neighbors of America. He was one of the organizers of the Modern Woodmen fraternity and was one of the three who named the order. He likewise belongs to Oriental Lodge, No. 74, F. & A. M., to the Brotherhood of American Yeomen, and for many years he has been a prominent and active member of the Pionecr Asso- ciation. In strictly professional lines his fraternal relations are with the County and State Medical Societies, the National Medical Association and the Medical Association of Physio-Medical Physicians and Surgeons. On matters of general history pertaining to Spokane he may well be consulted for few residents in this city have longer remained here and there are indeed few who have been in closer touch with the life and interests of the community.
AARON KUHN.
The name of Aaron Kuhn is a familiar one in banking circles in eastern Wash- ington and, honored and respected by all, no man occupying a more enviable posi- tion among the financiers of the state, not only by reason of the success which he has accomplished but also owing to the straightforward and reliable methods he has ever followed in safeguarding the interests of depositors and in promoting the growth and success of the banks with which he is connected.
Mr. Kuhn was born in Germany, January 25, 1857, and after acquiring his education in the public schools there, he came to America in 1873, being at that time a youth of sixteen years. The opportunities of the western world had proved to him an irresistible attraction and he made his way direct to Salt Lake City, where he established a store, engaging in the sale of cigars, stationery and other goods. In 1875 he removed to Elko, Nevada, and later became a resident of Tuscarora, Nevada, where he engaged in the same line of business until 1878. In that year he went to San Francisco, where he continued for about four months, removing thence to Pierce City, Idaho, where he conducted a general mercantile store until 1883. Disposing of his stock at that place, he removed to Colfax, Whitman county, Washington, and began again in the same line. This was a pioneer period in the history of the region and he made good use of the oppor- tunities which were his and developed his business with the growth of the country. Saving his money, he made prudent investment in lands throughout the wheat and fruit belt, recognizing that real estate is the safest of all investments. Gradually he extended his holdings as his financial resources increased and also developed his property, becoming one of the biggest and best known wheat shippers of this part of the state, having shipped as high as a million and a half bushels in a single season. Thus his business reached mammoth proportions and he continued in active connection with Colfax until 1902, when he disposed of most of his interests there and removed to Spokane. In 1903 he became associated with Alfred Cool- idge and Adolph F. McClaine in purchasing the controlling interest in the Traders National Bank, which was then capitalized for two hundred thousand dollars, the capital stock, however, having since been raised to a million dollars. He served as president of that bank in 1907, 1908 and 1909 and is now a member of its
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executive committee, spending much of his time at the bank. He is recognized as a power in financial circles here, his operations covering a wide territory, for he is the president of the Davenport National Bank of Davenport, Washington, of the Garfield (Washington) National Bank, of the Bonner County National Bank of Sandpoint, Idaho, and a director of the Inland Empire Railway Com- pany and of the Spokane & Washington Improvement Company, close corpora- tions, which are owners of the Manitou addition. He holds much real estate in Spokane and shortly after his removal to this city purchased the Van Valkenberg and Holland block on Riverside avenue, remodeling and improving this and trans- forming it into one of the fine business structures of the city, now known as the Kuhn building.
On the 8th of May, 1884, at Lewiston, Idaho, Mr. Kuhn was united in mar- riage to Miss Leah Grostein, a daughter of Robert and Rosa Grostein, of that city, who were pioneers of Lewiston, settling there in 1861, when the discovery of gold brought many residents to that district. They had formerly made their home in Buffalo, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Kuhn have a daughter, Rena, born in Colfax, Whitman county, Washington, now the wife of Carl H. Weil, of Chicago. Mr. Kuhn is a Mason who has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite and belongs to El Katif Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He has served as vice president of the Temple Emmanuel and is generous in support of the church but takes no active part in club life or in politics. His home address is No. 2315 First avenue. His energies have been concentrated upon his business and his varied and important interests have contributed substantially to the growth, de- velopment and prosperity of various localities.
ALFRED E. BARNES.
Alfred E. Barnes is actively connected with a profession that has important bearing upon the progress and stable prosperity of every community, and it is also one in which advancement depends upon individual merit and ability. Environ- ment nor influence can have but little effect upon the attainment of success in this field but broad study, careful analysis and logical reasoning are the concomitants which insure success. Ability therefore becomes in a measure prominence, and that Mr. Barnes occupies a leading position in the ranks of the legal profession is an indication of his learning and skill in his chosen field. He was born in Ashta- bula, Ohio, February 6, 1857, his parents being Alfred J. S. and Susan M. (Jef- fords) Barnes. His father was engaged in dairy farming in the Buckeye state and for more than forty years served as justice of the peace in his home locality, his impartial decisions winning him golden opinions from all sorts of people. At the time of the Civil war he offered his services as a private to the government, enlisting in the Sixth Ohio Cavalry and when his first term had expired he reenlisted as a member of the Second Ohio Heavy Artillery, from which he was discharged in August, 1866, with the rank of sergeant. As the result of an accident that occurred at Knoxville, Tennessee, during the period of his second enlistment, he was partially paralyzed and remained so until his death in 1892.
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At the usual age Alfred E. Barnes began his education as a public-school student in Ashtabula county and afterward went to Ponca, Nebraska, to join his elder brother, John B., who is now a member of the supreme court of that state. Alfred E. Barnes there took up the study of law, which he pursued while engaged in teach- ing school. His thorough preliminary reading qualified him for admission to the bar in March, 1879, and for twenty years he continued to practice law at Ponca. He was accorded a large clientele and at the same time was regarded as one of the leaders of the republican party in that district. He held the office of county at- torney of Dixon county, Nebraska, from 1892 until 1894, and was at one time candidate for the position of attorney general but was defeated through the activities of the railroad interests.
Mr. Barnes has been a resident of Spokane since September, 1899, at which time he entered upon the practice of law under the firm name of Hyde, Latimer & Barnes. Following the withdrawal of the senior member, the firm style of Barnes & Latimcr was assumed but in 1906 this connection was discontinued and Mr. Barnes has since practiced alone. He has remained active in republican ranks since coming to the northwest and during the campaigns has always been called upon to tour the state in behalf of his party. He has never held public office here, however, prefer- ring to concentrate his entire attention upon his professional duties which are of constantly growing importance. While undoubtedly not without that honorable ambition which is so powerful and useful as an incentive to activity in public af- fairs, he regards the pursuits of private life as being in themselves abundantly worthy of his best efforts. Well versed in the learning of his profession and with a deep knowledge of human nature and the springs of human conduct, with great shrewdness and sagacity and extraordinary tact, he is in the courts an advocate of great power and influence.
Mr. Barnes resides with his family at No. 625 South Pine street. He was mar- ried at Ponca, Nebraska, July 12, 1882, to Miss Cornelia A. King, a daughter of William King, of Kewanee, Illinois, and they have three children, Eugene A., W. Lamont and Edwin King, all of Spokane. Mr. Barnes affiliates with the Masonic fraternity but in other ways has not extended his membership relations. His pro- fessional and political activities make full demand upon his time and energies, and the position of leadership which is accorded him in each is a recognition of his ability and worth.
JAMES D. BUCHANAN.
James D. Buchanan has been well known for many years in the business cir- cles of Spokane where he conducts a large undertaking establishment at Nos. 28 and 30 Third avenue. His birth occurred in Clark county, Indiana, on the 14tl: of April, 1858, and he is a son of George and Jane (Montgomery ) Buchanan, the former of whom passed away in 1891. His ancestors were among the early set- tlers of America, and Buchanan county, Virginia, received its name from some of the earliest members of the family who settled in Virginia. His boyhood days were spent in Illinois and there he received his education from the time he was seven years of age until he left school at the age of fourteen. At that time he
J. D. BUCHANAN
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entered upon agricultural pursuits and continued in that line of work until 1879 when he went to Walla Walla, Washington, where he remained until March 1880. He then went to Spokane and took up a homestead in the northeastern part of the town which he farmed until 1889, but as the city grew and opportunities for en- gaging in business presented themselves, he gave up his farming and engaged in the cigar and tobacco business for some time before entering upon the undertaking business, which he has since followed. On December 1, 1911, Mr. Buchanan re- moved from Riverside avenue to his new establishment at Nos. 28 and 30 Third avenue, where he has one of the finest undertaking establishment in the Inland Empire. The building, which was exclusively designed for him, contains a chapel and all other rooms and conveniences desirable and its cost was over twenty-five thousand dollars. The structure is devoted entirely to this business.
On the Ist of June, 1897, Mr. Buchanan was married to Miss Ella M. Ryan, a daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth Ryan, at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Two children were born to this union, Mary and Catherine, both of whom are attending school. In politics Mr. Buchanan is fully aware of the corrupt methods frequently insti- tuted by the parties, who are largely under the control of the machine rule, and consequently has ever maintained an independent attitude. He is a member of Spokane Lodge No. 228, B. P. O. E., the Knights of Columbus, Eagles, Red Men, Foresters of America, Moose, Knights and Ladies of Security, Catholic Order of Foresters, Young Men's Institution, and the Ancient Order of Hiberians, of which he is state president. In his business and fraternal relations he is both faithful and honorable, and his sterling personal worth has gained him warm friends, and he is well established in the respect and esteem of his fellow-citizens and business associates.
THOMAS H. BREWER.
In the history of banking in the northwest the name of Thomas H. Brewer de- serves prominent place, for he is the president of the Fidelity National Bank of Spokane and the Genesee Exchange Bank, of Genesee, Idaho, the vice president of the First National Bank of Pullman and of the Security National Bank of Cheney, Washington, and is a director of the First National Bank of Coeur d'Alene. He has studied banking from every possible standpoint, draws upon broad prac- tical experience in the conduct of his interests and has ever recognized the fact that the careful safeguarding of depositors' interests constitutes one of the most force- ful features in success. Almost the entire width of the continent separates him from his birthplace and in the review of his life one is reminded of the statement of an eminent lecturer that the strongest and most capable men of the country are those who have had their nativity in the east and have sought and utilized the busi- ness opportunities that are to be found in the growing west. His birth occurred June 23, 1871, in the town of Punxsutawney, Jefferson county, Pennsylvania. at that time a very quiet lumbering town. His parents were John Mitchell Brewer and Margaret L. (Thompson) Brewer. His father was a lumberman, running rafts of hewed timber down the Mahoning creek to the Allegheny river, thence to the city of Pittsburg where the timber was sold. In his boyhood days Thomas H. Brewer
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assisted in a small way in calculating the amount of timber in the rafts, until his father's death in 1887. Two years later his mother married again, becoming the wife of John E. Reed, a farmer of Moran Prairie, near Spokane.
A year afterward, in 1890, Thomas H. Brewer left his position as office boy with the Rochester & Pittsburg Coal & Iron Company at Walston, Pennsylvania, and came to Spokane. He realized the benefit of commercial college training and here attended the Spokane Business College during the months of December, 1890, and January, 1891, receiving therefrom a graduate's diploma. He then accepted a position as bookkeeper with John P. Vollmer, of Lewiston, Idaho, in June, 1891, but after two months was transferred to Vollmer, Idaho, now Troy, where for two years he acted as bookkeeper and assistant manager of Mr. Vollmer's store. In 1893 he was transferred to Genesee, Latah county, Idaho, becoming bookkeeper and collector in Mr. Vollmer's store at that point and in February 1894, he was ap- pointed cashier in Mr. Vollmer's private bank-the First Bank of Genesee. The work there was not very arduous, for the bank at that time had less than five thou- sand dollars on deposit. In December, 1894, the manager of the Vollmer store at Genesee, which was run in connection with the bank, resigned and Mr. Brewer was then made general manager of the store, serving in the dual capacity of man- ager and bank cashier until August, 1897, when he organized the Genesee Exchange Bank at Genesee, Idaho. For eight years he served as its cashier and was then elected to the presidency, which position he still fills. Seeking a still broader field of operation along banking lines he came to Spokane in May, 1906, as vice president of the Fidelity National Bank and two and a half years later resigned and was elected vice president of the Exchange National Bank of Spokane. In January, 1911, he organized a syndicate which took over most of the stock of the Fidelity National Bank to which Mr. Brewer then returned as president. In addition to his presidency of the Fidelity National and of the Genesee Exchange Bank he is vice president of the First National Bank of Pullman, Washington, and of the Security National Bank of Cheney, Washington, and is a director of the First Na- tional Bank of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and of the Trustee Company of Spokane. His ability enables him to readily and successfully solve complex business problems, especially in the field of banking. He has been a close student along that line, has made himself familiar with the condition of the country and its business prospects and his sound judgment of men and affairs constitutes one of the chief forces of his success.
It was in 1904 that Mr. Brewer was married to Miss Winifred Walbridge, a daughter of George J. and Ella (Merritt) Walbridge. To Mr. and Mrs. Brewer have been born two children, boys, Lawrence Walbridge, in 1909, and Robert Thomas in 1911. Mr. Brewer is well known in fraternal and club circles. He belongs to Oriental Lodge, No. 74, F. & A. M., and Imperial Lodge, I. O. O. F., also to the Spokane Club and the Inland Club. He is likewise a member of the Westminster Congregational church of Spokane, is one of the trustees of the Young Men's Christian Association and is treasurer of the Spokane Chamber of Com- merce, all of which indicates the nature of his interests and the high purpose which dominates him in his private and public life. His aid can always be counted upon to further any movement for the material and moral progress of the city and for its upbuilding and the exploitation of its resources and opportunities. The progres- sive steps in his life are easily discernible and each forward move has brought him
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a broader outlook and wider opportunities. He has never left anything to chance but has labored to acquaint himself with every phase of business with which he has been connected and thus has gradually advanced to the prominent position which he occupies as a representative of banking interests in Spokane.
E. F. CARTIER VAN DISSEL.
In business circles E. F. Cartier Van Dissel is notable by reason of his executive ability which has been manifest in the organization and management of important industrial enterprises. He has been a resident of Spokane since 1897 and is now the president of the Phoenix Lumber Company, operating a sash, door and box factory. Their enterprise has enjoyed substantial growth, bringing them into close . connection with the material progress of this city.
Mr. Van Dissel is a native of Holland, born January 24, 1863. His parents, Dr. E. D. Cartier and Mary (Jongeneel) Van Dissel, were also born in Holland, where the father still makes his home, recognized there as a prominent physician. He has engaged in practice for sixty years and in his profession is following in the footsteps of his father. His wife died in 1900. In his family are three sons and seven daughters, the brothers of our subject being: P. M. Cartier Van Dissel, vice president of the Phoenix Lumber Company, who makes his home in Springdale, Washington; and Dr. M. C. Cartier Van Dissel, a practicing physician of Hol- land. His sisters are: Mrs. E. Kerkhoven, a resident of Spokane; Mrs. Vos, Mrs. Warsinck and Mrs. Eling Schwurman, all of Holland; Mrs. A. Klinkert, the wife of Dr. A. Klinkert, a physician of Holland; and Miss A. C. Cartier and Miss A. Cartier Van Dissel, who also make their home in that country.
E. F. Cartier Van Dissel pursued his education in Arnham, Holland, and in early life engaged in the nursery business. He was married on the 22d of Decem- ber, 1890, to Anna Elizabeth (Kolff) Van Oosterwyk, a native of Holland, and, wishing to use his time and talents to the best advantage in a business career, hc soon afterward came to America, believing that its opportunities were broader than could be secured in his native land. It was in the year of his marriage that he arrived in California where he became manager of the Holland Colony at Fresno. Seven years passed in that state and in 1897 he came to Spokane to make a report of the possessions of the Amsterdam Trustees Kantoor. The company at that time owned the waterfalls which later passed into the possession of the Washington Water Power Company. In the development of the interests in his charge Mr. Van Dissel in 1898 established the Phoenix Sawmill which was then controlled by a foreign corporation which, however, was changed to a Washington corporation in 1906, under the name of the Phoenix Lumber Company, of which Mr. Van Dissel became president, having previous to that time served as manager. His brother, P. M. Cartier Van Dissel, became the vice president, with R. Insinger as secretary- treasurer; Frank Post, of the firm of Post, Avery & Higgins as trustee; and l'Iver Wyn Lang as trustee for the Holland interests. The business has been developed along modern lines and the plant now comprises sawmills, a sash and door plant, a box factory and planing mills. The capacity is one hundred thousand feet of lumher per day. These factories are supplied with the latest improved machinery
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to facilitate the work. The company also owns seventy thousand acres of timber land in Stevens county which they operate at present from their own railroad, bring- ing the raw product to the mill. They established business with a capital of thirty thousand dollars and something of the growth of their undertaking is indicated by the fact that the enterprise is now capitalized for eighty-five thousand dollars. Their trade is mostly local although they ship to some extent to the eastern states, their output going as far as Pittsburg. The growth of the business is notable even in this district of rapidly developing enterprises and its splendid success is attributable in large measure to the executive force, keen sagacity and discrimination of the president. In addition to his other interests he is a director of the Spokane & East- ern Trust Company, of the Western Union Life Company and the Fidelity Build- ing & Loan Association, and is interested in North Yakima irrigation projects.
Mr. Van Dissel is also connected with other projects of a more public character. He is now chairman of the board of trustees of the National Apple Show, is a di- rector and was one of the organizers of the Interstate Fair and is a trustee of the Chamber of Commerce, taking an active interest in the civic matters of the chamber. At all times he gives his cooperation to practical and well planned measures for the public good and, bringing to bear the wisdom of a practical business man, his efforts in behalf of the public progress have been far-reaching and effective. He is an enthusiastic advocate of the northwest and its opportunities, and has never re- gretted the fact that business interests brought him to the coast, for he here found the chances which he sought and has continuously advanced in those fields where energy and perseverance, intelligently directed, always reach fruition. Those who meet Mr. Van Dissel in social connections find him a genial gentleman of unfeigned cordiality and these qualities have made him popular among the membership of Spokane Lodge, No. 228, B. P. O. E., the Spokane Club, the Spokane Country Club, the Seattle Athletic Club, the Inland Club and the Spokane Tennis Club, to all of which he belongs, his membership therein indicating in considerable measure the nature of his recreation and interests outside of business.
THOMAS F. SPENCER.
Active and energetic, Thomas F. Spencer closely watches every opportunity for the attainment of legitimate success and has made constant progress since starting out in the business world on his own account. He is now secretary of the Kelley- Clarke Company, wholesale grocery brokers, import and export commission merchants. He was born in San Francisco, April 24, 1862, his parents being Aaron G. and Mary (Tuite) Spencer, the former a mining engineer of that city, who came across the plains from Syracuse, New York, during 1850, and for many years oper- ated several placer gold mining companies in the northern part of California. They directed the education and training of their son, who was a pupil in the public schools, until having passed through consecutive grades, he became a high-school student, graduating in San Francisco. When his text-books were laid aside, he was employed in the commissary purchasing department and later in the operating department of the Southern Pacific Railroad for several years.
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During the spring of 1890, with his brother Frank A. Spencer he came to Spo- kane and entered into business; this was the first branch founded by that company although several others have since sprung into existence. Later they opened and established houses in Portland, Seattle and Tacoma, associating, in the three cities named, with Charles H. Clarke, and for several years conducted the business as Spencer-Clarke Company. Later Frank A. Spencer withdrew, joining as manager and junior partner, the old and well known firm of Allen & Lewis, of Portland, Oregon, who have been in the wholesale grocery business for nearly half a century. On January 1, 1901, the business of the Spencer-Clarke Company of Portland, Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane and the house of Philip F. Kelley, of Seattle, were consolidated, greatly enlarged and incorporated as the Kelley-Clarke Company, under which title they have since conducted the business, in 1905 adding and open- ing another house in San Francisco, from which office the business in California is handled and conducted. The Kelley-Clarke Company is today one of the largest concerns of its kind in the United States, having over one hundred and fifty rep- resentatives in the eastern jobbing markets as well as direct resident, and selling and buying representatives in all the important European and Oriental cities. They make a specialty of all kinds of canned goods and in the year 1911 their sales will exceed three million cases; their annual business is approximately thirty million dollars. They now have houses in San Francisco, Portland, Spokane, Seattle and Tacoma, with associate houses in Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia. They are the sole selling agents for the Northwestern Fisheries Company, operating four- teen salmon canning plants in Alaska, as well as selling agents for a number of Puget Sound and Columbia River salmon packers, and distributing approximately a million cases of salmon annually. They are Pacific Coast representatives for the Proctor & Gamble Distributing Company, of Cincinnati, the Beaver Soap Company, of Dayton, Ohio, the Merrill-Sonle Company, of Syracuse, New York, and Hol- brooks Limited, of Birmingham, England; they are also representing in Oregon, Washington and Idaho, the Western Sugar Refining Company, The California Fruit Canners Association, the D. Ghirardilli Company, of San Francisco; the Louisiana State Rice Milling Company's seventeen rice mills, Spencer-Kellogg & Company, Buffalo, New York; Wm. Underwood & Company, of Boston ; Towle Maple Products Company, of St. Paul, Minnesota; John C. Siegfried & Company, of Kobe, Japan; Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Company, of Muncie, Indiana; The Curtis Olive Company, of California and Godillot & Company of Bordeaux, France; and a number of California dried fruit and nut packers. They are also representing the Union Bag and Paper Company, Arbuckle Brothers, The Enoch Morgan & Sons Company, James Pyle & Sons, the Church & Dwight Company and Hills Brothers, all of New York city; the T. A. Snider Preserve Company, of Cin- cinnati ; the Postum Cereal Company, of Battle Creek, Michigan ; the O. & W. Thum Company, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, the Saint Charles Condensing Company, of St. Charles, Illinois; the Hutchinson Kansas Salt Company, of Hutchinson, Kan- sas ; Douglas & Company of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; the Cream of Wheat Company, Minneapolis; Libby, McNeil & Libby, and the Quaker Oats Company, and Frazer Lubricator Company, of Chicago; the Riverside Mills of Augusta, Georgia; the Portland Cordage Company of Portland, Oregon, as well and a large number of eastern packers of corn, peas, canned fish and vegetables, and a number of large cereal and milling companies. The business has been largely built up through the
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