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 37
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ROBERT INSINGER.
The extensive banking, real-estate and insurance interests of Robert Insinger place him in a prominent position among the successful and enterprising business men of this city. He helongs to that class of men who recognize that the present and not the future holds their opportunity, and with appreciation of the advantages which have come to him he has proven his worth and business capacity by utilizing these along legitimate lines leading to success. He is numbered among Spokane's
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citizens who have had their nativity across the water, his birth having occurred in the Netherlands, December 6, 1862, a son of J. A. Insinger, now deceased. His education was acquired in the schools of Holland and in the spring of 1885 he ar- rived in western Canada, believing that effort is less hampered in the new world than in the old. There he engaged in farming and stock-raising until he came to Spokane on the 1st of August, 1897. He arrived in America when a young man of twenty-two years and in his undertaking, carefully managed and conducted, won success. He came to Spokane as manager of the Holland Bank and since the Ist of January, 1908, has been manager of the Northwestern & Hypotheek. An indication of his excellent business and executive ability is found in the fact that he has increased the business of the investment department from two to nearly six million dollars in three years. In addition to his connection with the Northwestern & Hypotheek he has organized a second company known as the Tweede, North- western & Hypotheek, which was formed for the purpose of providing more money than one institution could supply. In all of his business affairs he has been watch- ful of opportunities pointing to future as well as present success and he has never regarded the accomplishment of any task as a final end but rather as the starting point for new accomplishment. He is a director of the Phoenix Lumber Com- pany, the Spokane Eastern Trust Company and the Spokane Title Company, and is vice president of the Western Union Life Insurance Company and of the Trustee Company of Spokane. The latter is a trust company which owns some fine blocks which have been brought under one management, including the Wolverton, the Hyde and Eagle blocks, all situated in the heart of the city.
Mr. Insinger's wife was in her maidenhood Miss Julia Nettleton, a daughter of Hon. William Nettleton, now deceased, and they have one son, Frederic, who is attending the United States Military Academy at West Point. Mr. Nettleton was one of the pioneer settlers of Minnesota and became the owner of Nettleton's addi- tion in Spokane. He was also largely interested in water-power sites in Spokane and was very prominent in early days in Duluth, Minnesota.
Mr. Insinger belongs to the Country Club and the Spokane Club, also to the Chamber of Commerce, of which he is now serving as vice president. He is an en- thusiastic advocate of the northwest, zealous in his support of Spokane and her interests, and at all times manifests the loyalty of public-spirited citizenship.
GILBERT LEWIS CHAMBERLIN.
During the twelve years of his residence in Spokane Gilbert Lewis Chamberlin has the remarkable record of having built several hundred honses. He is one of the most progressive residents of this city and while he has already done much for its upbuilding he is at the present time associated with men in a company that proposes to handle Spokane property on a still larger scale. At the present writ- ing he is president of the Chamberlin Real Estate & Improvement Company and president and manager of the Reserve Realty Company.
Mr. Chamberlin was born at Mokena, Illinois, July 19, 1853, a grandson of one of the soldiers of the war of 1812, who was of English descent, and a son of Lewis L. Chamberlin, who was born in Henriette, New York, and during his lifetime en-
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gaged in farming and in directing a large manufacturing enterprise in Wayne county, Indiana, he and his brother-in-law, Norton Davis, having owned the con- troling interest in the Wayne Agricultural Works of that county. Some time prior to his death, which occurred in 1879, he retired from active business. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Lucy Calkins, was a representative of the old Wilburham, Massachusetts, family of that name, of English descent, and died in 1861. A brother of Gilbert L. Chamberlin served in Company C, of the One Hun- dredth Illinois Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war and was killed at the battle of Chickamauga. A sister, Carrie, is now the wife of Milo Smith, a farmer of Iowa, while another sister, Flavia, is the deceased wife of George Austin, fore- man of the Borden Condensed Milk factory at Brewster, New York. Her first husband was a brother of George Austin and died in the hospital at Nashville, Ten- nessee, from disease contracted during his service in the army. A third sister, Lucy, died in childhood.
In the common schools of Illinois Gilbert L. Chamberlin pursued his education to the age of fifteen years and then entered the academy at Dublin, Indiana. On starting out in business life he engaged in farming but afterward conducted a real-estate business in northwestern Kansas, and while a resident of that state also became a director in two banks, the Oberlin Trust & Banking Company and the Western Investment & Banking Company, acting also as manager of the latter. In 1893 he went to Los Angeles, California, where he engaged in the building business for six years, and in 1899 came to Spokane, where he has since engaged in the real-estate business and the erection of homes to be sold on the installment plan, conducting this undertaking under the firm name of the Chamberlin Real Estate & Investment Company, Inc. The officers of the company are: G. L. Chamberlin, president; T. N. Wilson, vice president; E. A. Chamberlin, secretary- treasurer; F. S. Ostrander, assistant secretary; H. L. Chamberlin, cashier; E. H. Hamm, assistant cashier; E. W. Ostrander, J. C. Barline, E. A. Chamberlin, O. C. Jensen, T. N. Wilson, A. E. Gallagher and G. L. Chamberlin, directors. The company is incorporated with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars. They build homes on the installment plan, affording an opportunity to merchants and other business men to secure these on easy payments. In all parts of the city the company have erected these homes which at present total several hundred. Today the company handles nothing but its own property and for the purpose of carrying on its enlarged operations a new company under the name of the Reserve Realty Company has been incorporated with a capital of five hundred thousand dollars with an issue of five hundred thousand dollars in six per cent gold bonds. All of the money from the sale of these bonds will be used for the upbuilding of Spokane, the company intending to erect apartment houses and to engage in building opera- tions on a more extensive scale. The personnel of the Realty Reserve Company is: G. L. Chamberlin, president and manager ; O. C. Jensen, vice president ; E. A. Chamberlin, secretary; Dr. T. N. Wilson, treasurer; H. L. Chamberlin, cashier. The directors are O. C. Jensen, J. C. Barline, F. J. Holman, D. K. McDonald, G. L. Chamberlin, E. A. Chamberlin and A. E. Gallagher. The companies publish a vast amount of attractive literature and beside materially aiding in the progressive welfare of the city they promote a saving instinct and have the satisfaction of knowing that many of the successful men of today owe their advancement at least
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in part to the Chamberlin companies whereby they have been enabled to gain homes of their own and make a start in life.
In Kansas City, Missouri, on September 26, 1873, Mr. Chamberlin was united in marriage to Miss Annie Wickersham, a daughter of J. G. Wickersham, of that city, who is a native of Dublin, Indiana, but is now living retired on his fruit ranch near Los Angeles, California. Mr. and Mrs. Chamberlin have become the parents of four children. Ernest A., who is secretary of both the Chamberlin companies, married Anna Hull, a daughter of C. B. Hull, a grocer of Union Park. Ina, is the wife of W. J. Ballard, president of the Ballard Plannery Company, of Spokane. Ruby is the wife of C. E. Romo, station agent of the Spokane Inland Railway at Liberty Lake, and Harry is cashier of both the Chamberlin companies.
Mr. Chamberlin votes with the republican party but has never taken an active part in politics aside from exercising his franchise in support of measures which he deems of value in good government. He belongs to the Woodmen of the World but needs no fraternal nor social connections to make him widely known. His busi- ness affairs have gained him a very extensive acquaintance and won for him a promi- nent and enviable position in business circles for his labors constitute an effective and valuable force in the improvement, development and adornment of Spokane.
DONALD K. MCDONALD.
The reclamation of the wild lands of Washington is a question that is being rapidly solved through the initiative and enterprising spirit of such men as Donald K. McDonald, whose keen sagacity and discernment enable them to take full cogni- zance of the situation and develop the methods which are most effective in producing desired results. Today some of the most highly improved and productive districts of the Spokane country owe their development to Mr. McDonald, who has been a pioneer in the advancement of irrigation methods, marking out the path that others have followed. He was born in Nova Scotia, June 10, 1861, a son of Simon and Elizabeth (Kennedy) McDonald, who were also natives of that country and were of Scotch descent. The father, who was a farmer by occupation, died in 1879 and the mother's death occurred in 1910. In the family were five sons and six daughters, of whom three are deceased: Hugh D., a resident farmer of Rock- ford, Washington; John Henry, a farmer of Wilsoncreek, Washington; James W., who follows agricultural pursuits at Medical Lake, this state; Simon, who is sim- ilarly occupied at Edwall, Washington; Christine, the wife of Robert Carlisle, a contractor and builder at Medical Lake; Elizabeth, the wife of John Ross, an en- gineer of Haverhill, Massachusetts; and Catherine, the wife of W. F. Vining, an engineer of Newton, Massachusetts.
The other member of the family is Donald K. McDonald, who was educated in the Picton Academy of Nova Scotia and afterward engaged in teaching school in that country until he reached the age of eighteen years, when he went to Cali- fornia. For two years he worked in the woods of Humboldt county and in 1881 came to Spokane. Here he was employed on the construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad as a carpenter until twenty-one years of age, when he filed on a home- stead near Edwall and began farming, which pursuit he followed until 1884, when
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he was elected to the office of county assessor. He continued to till the fields and at the same time performed his duties as assessor so satisfactorily that he was elected for three consecutive terms of two years each. He also has the enviable dis- tinction of being the only assessor of Lincoln county who was ever reelected. In 1891 Mr. MeDonald came to Spokane, where he entered the employ of the Oregon Mortgage Company, which he represented for about twenty years, resigning as their agent in the fall of 1910. In 1893, in connection with a partner, Mr. Edmis- ton, he established a state savings bank and while the period of panie and financial depression caused the bank to suspend every depositor was paid in full. Their institution was situated on the present site of the Old National Bank of today. Since that time Mr. McDonald has given his attention to the mortgage company's business and to the development of property. He was associated with R. A. Hutchinson in the ownership of a half section of land and to that fact and his own initiative the town of Opportunity came into being. Mr. McDonald made up his mind that the thing to do with their land was to dig wells and pump water for irrigation. Although others tried to discourage him, he believed that the experi- ment would be successful and it was, even beyond his most sanguine expectations. The results that have been accomplished in that district are marvelous considering the short space of time that the work has been carried on, the result being that this is one of the garden spots of the state and the town is well named, for it proved to be Mr. McDonald's opportunity, bringing him the success which always crowns initial effort and indefatigable energy when guided by sound judgment. After he had demonstrated the fact that he knew something of land and what it would do, he and his partner purchased other property and A. C. Jamison also entered the firm, thus adding to the capital with which they could operate. When they had secured sufficient land the Power Company agreed to furnish power and the town of Vera was established and developed, both Vera and Opportunity being fur- nished with power. They have recently acquired another thousand acres of land and they have over five thousand acres in Vera and Opportunity. This is a splendid showing in so short a space of time and it is only the beginning of what they plan to do. He is now developing Wilsoncreek property, comprising about thirteen hundred and seventy-six acres of swamp land, which is being drained and of which about one-half is the property of Mr. McDonald. He expects there to raise timothy hay and will experiment extensively with celery and other products. He has already introduced Canadian field peas, securing the finest crop ever grown in the north. He is enthusiastic in his faith concerning this district and its possibilities and time is proving the wisdom of his judgment. His official titles are those of secretary-treasurer of the Modern Irrigation Land Company, which owns Opportunity ; secretary-treasurer of the Vera Company; a director of the Reserve Realty Company; a director of the Union Trust & Savings Bank; and a director of the Empire Life Insurance Company of Seattle.
In Spokane, on the 10th of February, 1897, Mr. McDonald was united in mar- riage to Miss Maude Seelye, a daughter of H. N. Seelye, now deceased, who was a contractor and pioneer of Minnesota. His mother was one of the Stuarts of Scot- land and Mr. Seelye was a native of New Brunswick, where he became known in business as a shipbuilder. Unto Mr. and Mrs. McDonald has been born one child, Vera, a student in the Academy of the Holy Name at Spokane. Politically Mr. McDonald is a democrat and has been active in politics, frequently attending
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county conventions and using his aid and influence in support of the principles in which he believes. Fraternally he is a Mason, having attained high rank in .the order as a member of the consistory and shrine of Spokane. He also belongs to the Spokane Club, the Spokane Country Club and the Chamber of Commerce. With faith in the country and belief in his own business powers-a belief that time has proven to be well founded-Mr. McDonald has steadily advanced in business circles and his operations have not only been a source of substantial individual success but also an element in general development, progress and improvement.
MAJOR JAMES M. ARMSTRONG.
Spokane is a monument to the business ability and enterprise of such men as Major James M. Armstrong, who came to this city in 1883 when its proportions were those of a village. He recognized, however, the possibilities for growth and development here and became a prominent factor in business circles, active in the management of business affairs which have constituted important elements in public progress.
He was born in Washington, Washington county, Pennsylvania, April 23, 1814, a son of David and Letitia Armstrong, who were also natives of that place. When a little lad of six years he accompanied his parents on their removal to Louisville, Kentucky, and six years later the family went to Washington, Iowa. It is a nota- ble fact that much of Major Armstrong's life was spent in communities named in honor of the "father of his country," for he was born in Washington, Pennsyl- vania, lived for a time in Washington, Iowa, and Washington, D. C., and after- ward became a resident of the state of Washington.
Following the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted on the 28th of July, 1861, as a private of Company K, Thirteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and served in the Army of the Tennessee for three years, participating in many hard fought cam- paigns and engagements, including the battle of Shiloh, the siege and battle of Corinth and the siege of Vicksburg. He also took part in the battles of Marietta, Peach Tree Creek and Atlanta, and in the last named sustained a gun-shot wound in the left leg, which necessitated the amputation of that member, so that he was honorably discharged for disability on the 21st of July, 1864. He left Iowa in 1867, going to Washington, D. C., where he occupied a clerical position in the census office of the department of the interior and also acted as chief clerk in the land office. While thus engaged he entered upon the study of law in the Columbia Law School and was graduated with the class of 1871.
The year 1880 witnessed the arrival of Major Armstrong in this state. On the 20th of April he was appointed by President Hayes to the position of register of the land office at Colfax and came to Spokane on the transference of the office to this city in September, 1883. He held that position until 1885, after which he engaged in the general practice of law for four years, but was again called to public office in October, 1889, when elected county clerk. He ably discharged the duties of that position for four years and then served as deputy until 1895, when he re- signed to become treasurer of the LeRoi Mining Company, which he had aided in incorporating in 1890. At the time the mine was sold in 1898 he was treasurer
J. M. ARMSTRONG
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of the company and a heavy stockholder. He was also interested in the Sullivan group and was president of the Wonderful and other mining properties and vice president of the Miller Creek group and of the Gem. His investments in mining property brought him splendid returns and he also became interested in city prop- erty in Spokane, being half owner of the Hyde block and owner of a fine residence on the north side. He became one of the most prominent residents of this city and took high rank among the men whose enterprise and business ability developed and built up Spokane and the surrounding mining region-the great source of its wealth and prosperity.
On the 11th of June, 1873, in Washington, D. C., Major Armstrong was united in marriage to Miss Lida B. Murphy, a native of Philadelphia and a daughter of Charles and Margaret E. Murphy, the former a descendant of one of the promi- nent early English families of this country. Her father was at one time a resi- dent of New Jersey and afterward of Philadelphia, becoming an editor of that city and later a prominent lawyer. Unto Major and Mrs. Armstrong was born a daughter, May Edith, who was born April 17, 1880, and is now the wife of Donald Kizer, a practicing attorney of Spokane. They have one daughter, Edith Lida Kizer.
During the last five years of his life Major Armstrong was an invalid, com- pelled to spend much of his time within doors, but he was a great reader and his books and the companionship of his wife and daughter made the hours pass pleas- antly. His political allegiance was given to the republican party and he was al- ways regarded as a public-spirited man for it was known that his aid was never withheld from all practical public projects and movements. He died September 10, 1909, after a residence of twenty-six years in the northwest. He was de- termined and energetic and his resolute spirit enabled him to carry forward to successful completion whatever he undertook. Socially he was known as a promi- nent member of the Grand Army of the Republic, becoming a charter member of John L. Reno Post, of this city, and he was also an Elk. He never allowed the accumulation of wealth to in any way affect his relations toward those less for- tunate and was always willing to extend a helping hand where aid was needed. In the years of his active career he was a strong man in his ability to plan and perform and always equally so in his honor and good name.
WILLIAM S. NORMAN.
The most lively imagination of the novelist has not pictured more interesting tales in fiction than are to be found in the lives of men who have been and are active in the upbuilding of the northwest. The opportunities here offered, the dif- ficulties encountered, are as great as any which are to be found on the pages of literature, and conditions have called forth originality and initiative spirit together with the perseverance and determination that lead to victory. One cannot but thrill with the story of what is accomplished by resolute, energetic men who are making history in the Inland Empire, building from the crude materials that nature has furnished the great structures of wealth, intelligence and culture which con- stitute the strong elements in the commonwealth. In this connection more than Vol. II-18
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passing notice should be given William S. Norman, now one of the most prominent hotel men on the Pacific coast, one of the proprietors of the Spokane Hotel, the Tacoma Hotel and the North Yakima Hotel. Moreover, he has figured prominently in the industrial growth of Spokane city and is still comparatively a young man with limitless opportunities for accomplishment yet before him. Mr. Norman is a native of England, born January 8, 1859. His parents were George and Honore (Thomas) Norman, both now deceased, the former having passed away in 1875 and the latter in 1888. The father was the proprietor and editor of two newspapers published in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, and in addition to his efforts in the journalistic field he conducted a large printing and lithographing estab- lishment.
William S. Norman's identification with the northwest dates from February, 1884, at which time he reached Spokane, this being the year of the completion of the railroad. He was then a young man of twenty-five years. He looked over the country in company with F. Lewis Clark and started to take up railroad lands but was unsuccessful in this for his claims were jumped. He afterward worked on farms on the Camas prairie and that fall entered upon stenography in the courts which were being held at Cheney-the first stenographer who ever lived there. He had learned the art of stenographic writing when in England while reporting for the papers owned by his father. In this state he reported many important cases including that of Holmes versus the Northern Pacific Railway which was one of the first damage cases ever tried in the territory, W. C. Jones and James McNaught being the attorneys while Judge George Turner presided on the bench. In Feb- ruary, 1885, Mr. Norman entered the employ of H. H. McCartney & Company, who had the contract for supplying all the hay, grain and produce required by the Canadian Pacific Company in the construction of its railroad between the first and second crossing of the Columbia river. Incidental to this Mr. Norman supervised the building of a steamer called the Kootenai at Little Dalles, about thirty-five miles from Spokane, hauling the engines from Lake Pend d'Oreille. These engines belonged to the steamer Katie Hallett, which had been sunk in that lake. The engines were raised and hauled one hundred and thirty-five miles by bull teams over a road which had in parts to be built before the journey could be resumed. The Kootenai was put in commission in April with Mr. Norman in charge of its financial interests as purser while Captain Pingston, one of the old Hudson Bay Company men, was in command. Joe and Marcus Oppenheimer largely financed this undertaking together with H. B. Sanborn, H. L. Pittock, now manager of the Oregonian, Jim Lotam and Harry McCartney. At that time there was only one white man on the Columbia river between The Dalles and Revelstoke, a distance of two hundred and ten miles, and this was Captain William Moore, a customhouse officer of the British government. That season the steamer was used in moving fifteen hundred tons of hay, fifteen hundred head of steers and large quantities of eggs and canned goods. This transportation project indicated in a measure what Spokane might do as the hub of the wheel covering the territory known as the great, Inland Empire. All manner of difficulties were encountered in the construction of the boat, for it was necessary to build a sawmill to get out the needed lumber for the building and the ribs of the boat were brought from Portland. The Kootenai made twenty-six trips up and down the Columbia and was brought down from the Little Dalles to Marcus where the old Hudson Bay post was then located.
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