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 40
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84
It was Mr. Green who took hold of the baseball team of Spokane when it was at the bottom of a long list of city teams and promoted its interests until the team became a recognized factor in baseball circles in the northwest. In 1902, long before baseball had been placed on its present businesslike basis, Mr. Green pur- chased an interest in the Spokane Northwestern League Club and as the result of his efforts he gave Spokane one of its best and most popular ball teams. He pro- moted Spokane's first aviation meet, largely financing the movement which brought Hamilton, the well known aviator, to this city. He likewise became interested in the theatrical world through his intimate friend, John Considine of Seattle, and was the owner of stock in the Orpheum and the Washington theaters of Spokane and also in Vancouver theaters. He was a promoter of boxing contests and the owner of one of the finest kennels of the northwest.
On the 18th of June, 1892, Mr. Green was united in marriage to Miss Emma Thatcher, of Spokane, who survived him together with three brothers, an uncle, a cousin and an adopted child, Helene J. He left his widow most comfortably provided for by reason of his well directed investments in business. He at times met heavy losses in his sporting interests but no one ever heard him complain of this.
When he passed away words of regret were heard on every hand and such trib- utes were paid to him as: "I knew him for twenty years and I never knew him to do a mean trick." Another said: "Harry Green was the most popular man Spokane ever had. He had a personal speaking acquaintance with thousands and always a good word for all of them." Another said: "When you say that Green was a lover of fine horses and fine dogs, you can pay him no higher compliment, for there's always a lot of good in such a man. With animals he was gentle-just as he was with his friends." Death came to him after a twelve days' illness with pneumonia and impressive funeral services were held in the Eagles Hall, which proved entirely too small to accommodate his many friends who gathered to pay their last tribute of friendship and respect to him. One of the local papers said: "Scarcely less impressive than the outpouring of friends at the funeral exercises were the floral tributes. The entire south end of the hall, the rostrum and the casket in front of it were literally buried in flowers. There were roses, carnations, chrysanthemums, lilies and smilax worked into the most elaborate designs." Judge J. Stanley Webster, president of the order, paid high tribute to him in a brief address, saying: "He was both a friend and a brother. He valued liberty, love and the truth and was just in his dealings with all men. He believed in the hereafter and in God. He did what he thought was right at all times and he has gone to his reward." His friends were found in every rank and walk of life, a Vol. II-19
384
SPOKANE AND THE INLAND EMPIRE
fact which indicated his intellectual hospitality. He had the faculty of putting all at ease in his presence and his whole life seemed to radiate good nature and kindliness. It is said that he was particularly the friend of the man who is "down and out"-a characteristic that is found in few and indicates a nature that is in- deed commendable. He was indeed always held in high esteem for his personal integrity, his thorough manliness, his whole-hearted spirit and his generosity.
GEORGE W. LIBBY, M. D.
Dr. George W. Libby, physician and surgeon, and for twenty-eight years a resident of Spokane, was born in Hiram, Oxford county, Maine, January 29, 1850. His father, Daniel Jeremy Libby, was a grandson of Daniel Libby, whose life record covered the period from 1715 to 1804. He was a resident of Berwick, Maine, and a member of the committee of correspondence and safety during the Revolutionary war. Daniel J. Libby devoted the principle part of his life to farm- ing. He married Mary Chase, a daughter of Gideon and Salome (Lombard) Chase, of Standish, Maine, and a cousin of Solon Chase, the greenback candidate for presi- dent. The death of Daniel J. Libby occurred in Spokane in 1906, when he had reached the advanced age of eighty-six years. He had for two decades survived his wife, who passed away in 1886. In their family were two sons, one of whom is I. C. Libby, teacher of classics in the Spokane high school. The daughter of the family is now Mrs. Samuel B. Locke, a widow residing at West Paris, Maine.
Dr. Libby attended the common schools of Cumberland county, Maine, also the Westbrook Seminary of Westbrook, Maine, and the Maine Wesleyan Seminary of Kents Hill, Maine. In early manhood he also took up the profession of teaching, teaching in the common schools both before and after his graduation from the high school and later becoming a high-school teacher. His professional training was received in the Harvard Medical College and the Bowdoin Medical College, winning his M. D. degree from the latter in 1876. He served as interne in the Maine General Hospital of Portland, Maine, for one year and then located for practice in the town of Searsport in his native state, where he continued from 1876 until 1883. During the succeeding year he was in Middletown, Connecticut, and thence came to Spokane in 1884. He has formed no professional partnerships, practicing independently, and has gained a wide recognition not only from the general public but also among the profession.
In addition to his private practice Dr. Libby is now serving as United States medical pension examiner. He was appointed to the position by President Cleve- land during his first administration, was reappointed by President Harrison and has since continued in the office. For six years he served on the staff of Sacred Heart Hospital, accepting the position soon after the institution was founded. He is now a member of the board of control of the Spokane Deaconess Hospital and is medical examiner for the Germania and the Fidelity Life Insurance Com- panies of Philadelphia. He belongs to the county medical society, of which he has been president, has also been honored with the presidency of the state medical society, is a member of the American Medical Association and is representing the state as delegate-elect to the house of delegates of that body for 1912 and 1913.
385
SPOKANE AND THE INLAND EMPIRE
Dr. Libby's membership relations extend to the Chamber of Commerce, which finds him a cooperant factor in all its practical and progressive movements for the benefit of the city. He likewise belongs to the Inland Club. When in Maine he became a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and in his younger years occupied some of the chairs in his local lodge, including that of vice grand. He has attained high rank in Masonry, being now a member of the Consistory and of the Mystic Shrine. His religious belief is indicated in his membership in the First Methodist church, which his family also attend. He was married at Towns- end, Massachusetts, on the 31st of May, 1877, to Miss Jacova D. Pribble, a daugh- ter of Gabriel and Sarah Pribble, of Augusta, Kentucky, representatives of a promi- nent family of the northern part of Kentucky. The war records show that repre- sentatives of the name participated in the revolution. Unto Dr. and Mrs. Libby have been born two children, Elva and George W. The former was graduated from the Spokane high school and the Washington State College and for three years studied medicine in the University of Minnesota. She is now the wife of Arthur A. Young, a civil engineer of North Yakima, Washington. The son is a graduate of the Spokane high school and has completed two years' work in Whitman College.
The family are prominent socially and occupy a leading position in those circles of society where intelligence and true worth are accepted as passports. Dr. Libby has ever held to high ideals in his professional service, has utilized every oppor- tunity to promote his knowledge and thus advance his efficiency and has the tact and ready sympathy which enables him to understand the mental as well as the physical condition of his patients. Along other lines, too, his reading has been broad and his interests are wide, bringing him into close connection with many lines of thought and various activities which are contributing to the world's progress and improvement.
H. C. SAMPSON.
In the history of Washington's educational progress the name of H. C. Samp- son figures largely and, turning from professional to commercial interests, he has won notable success as general manager of the Western Union Life Insurance Company, which position he has occupied since the 1st of May, 1910. He was born in Monroe City, Indiana, November 22, 1870, the son of Hiram W. Simpson, who devoted his life to merchandising and bore the reputation of an honorable, upright business man and citizen. He was public-spirited and took an active and helpful part in civic matters and was prominent in Masonry. He wedded Mary C. Whitla, who was born in Pennsylvania and came of Irish ancestry. She died in 1874 while the death of Hiram W. Sampson occurred in 1880.
H. C. Sampson, of this review, has one brother, M. W. Sampson, now a minister in Oklahoma, and a half brother, S. W. Sampson, a merchant of Oakland City, Indiana. Like the others of the household Mr. Sampson, of this review, was ac- corded good educational privileges, supplementing his public-school course by study in Vincennes University of Indiana, and the University of Indiana, from which he was graduated with the B. A. degree in 1897; in 1901-1902 he was a graduate student at Harvard, holding an Austin teacher's scholarship. Before the comple-
386
SPOKANE AND THE INLAND EMPIRE
tion of his own education, however, he had had business experience, for in his boyhood he worked on a farm for two years and when a student in Vincennes was employed in a mercantile establishment. At seventeen years of age he became a teacher and followed that profession for three years. It was subsequent to this time that he spent two years in the Indiana Universities and then, resuming the profession of teaching, was superintendent of schools at Kingfisher, Oklahoma, for two years, followed by a two-years' incumbency in the mathematical professorship at Vincennes. He next accepted the position of professor of mathematics at the Cheney Normal School of Washington and at the close of the year there became principal of the preparatory school at the state college in Pullman, where he con- tinued for two years. He was principal of the summer school and professor of edu- cation at the state college at Pullman for six years and afterward served for two years as president of the state normal at Cheney. Each change indicated an ad- vance and he became widely recognized as one of the leading educators of the northwest, his withdrawal from that field bringing a distinct loss to educational circles. He has spent at least one hundred and fifty weeks in lecture work with teachers in the four northwestern states, one hundred and twenty-five weeks of this time being passed in Washington. He has lectured to teachers in every county of this state and when in the normal school at Cheney established the first rural school department ever conducted in the United States. He also introduced a rural train- ing school in connection with the normal school work. For years he carried on a propaganda for manual training, domestic economy and agriculture before those branches were taught in the northwest. He was also the first one to introduce physical, dental and medical inspection of students in the normal school at Cheney. His entire work in the educational field was characterized by a spirit of progress that found its manifestation in practical results which constantly broadened the scope of education, promoting the ability of teachers and rendering the work of the schools much more effective and beneficial as a preparation for the practical duties of life. The excellent results which he accomplished established him as one of the foremost educators of the northwest.
Following his withdrawal from the educational field Professor Sampson became general manager of the Western Union Life Insurance Company, which position he has filled since the 1st of May, 1910. This company was organized November 23, 1906, as a union of financial and business interests in the Pacific northwest for the purpose of keeping capital in this section at home. The new company was capi- talized for two hundred thousand dollars, fully paid up, and now has over twelve million dollars of insurance in force. Its assets amount to three quarters of a mil- lion, its gross surplus is one hundred and twenty thousand dollars, its legal reserve is over four hundred thousand dollars and it has more than one hundred thousand dollars on deposit with the state treasurer of Washington to safeguard its policy holders. The company was organized under the laws of the state of Washington and in accordance therewith is a public business. Its interests are safeguarded by the state and the business is under the direction of the insurance commissioner of Washington. Its growth has been phenomenal-far beyond that of any company of similar age in the western part of the country. The Western Union Life now operates in the four northwestern states with general agency offices at Portland, Oregon; Missoula, Montana; Ellensburg and Lewiston, Idaho; Walla Walla, Wenatchee and Seattle, Washington; while the head offices of the company are in
387
SPOKANE AND THE INLAND EMPIRE
the Home Office building in Spokane, which is owned by the company. The six hundred stockholders include some of the most prosperous and best known agri- culturists, business and professional men and bankers of the Pacific northwest, among whom are numbered prominent residents of Helena, Boise, Portland, Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane and most of the smaller cities of Washington. The business has been founded on a safe basis and is conducted along the most progressive lines in keeping with the modern spirit of the age and the results achieved are notable and gratifying.
On the 25th of June, 1902, at Pullman, Washington, Mr. Sampson was united in marriage to Miss Jessie Hungate, a daughter of James A. Hungate, a retired farmer and a representative of one of the oldest families of Walla Walla county, having crossed the plains before the railroad was built. Mr. Hungate served in the Washington constitutional convention. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Sampson have been born four children, Alan Hungate, Donald Calvin, Mary Elizabeth and Patricia.
Mr. Sampson has always been deeply interested in civic and public affairs and his influence has ever been found on the side of advancement, and his intelligent discussion of vital questions is based upon a thorough understanding of facts and principles involved. In politics he is an independent republican and believes that the general good should always transcend partisanship and that legislation that fosters the interests of the few rather than the many is a detriment and menace to the high ideals of republican government. He is a trustee of the Chamber of Commerce, is treasurer of the Northwestern Development League, is an exemplary representative of the Masonic fraternity and a member of the Spokane Club. These associations indicate much of the nature of his interests and the lines along which he is working toward that progress which should ever be the goal of a loyal, high-minded citizen, whose interests are not self-centered but reach out to the broader activities and more significant problems of life.
EDWARD R. NORTHROP.
Edward R. Northrop, who since 1905 has been engaged in the general practice of medicine in Spokane and is also serving as chief surgeon of the Inland Empire Railroad System, was born at Seymour, Connecticut, December 3, 1870, a son of the Rev. Henry D. and Josephine L. (Merrick) Northrop. The father's birth occurred in Poultney, New York, March 10, 1836. He pursued his education at Amherst College, from which institution he was graduated in 1857. His first pastorate was the Seymour Congregational church and, although he was there but for a short time, he won the affection of all who knew him. After having a charge in New Haven, where he also attended a course of lectures at Yale University, he went to London, England, in 1862 and founded the Victoria Park Congregational church. Two years later he returned to America and served as pastor of the West Twenty- third Street Presbyterian church of New York, the Fourth Congregational church of Hartford and the North Tenth Street Presbyterian church of Philadelphia, the latter being his last pastorate. Upon retiring from the active work of the ministry Rev. Northrop devoted himself to literary pursuits and became chief editor of the National Publishing Company of Philadelphia. He was the author of many well
388
SPOKANE AND THE INLAND EMPIRE
known and highly regarded books, among them being "The Golden Manual;" "Earth, Sea and Sky ;" "Beautiful Gems of Thought and Sentiment;" "Bible Stories for the Young;" and the American story "John Winslow." As a preacher he pos- sessed great power and eloquence, and as a literary man exceptional ability, being well fitted for both of these professions because of his rare intellectual attainments. He is survived by his wife, formerly Miss Josephine Merrick, a member of an old New England family, and by three children: Dr. Herbert L. Northrop, professor of anatomy and dean of the Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia; Dr. Edward R. Northrop, of this review; and Mrs. A. S. Hatheway, of Nepperhan Heights, Yonkers, New York.
Edward R. Northrop pursued his preliminary education in the public schools of Philadelphia and prepared for his professional career as a student in the Hahne- mann Medical College of Philadelphia, from which he was graduated in 1898, and the Medico-Chirurgical College of Philadelphia, from which he was graduated in 1899. He entered upon the practice of his profession at Grand Forks, British Columbia, as chief surgeon for the Granby Smelter. After remaining in that posi- tion for six years he came to Spokane in 1905 and became chief surgeon of the In- land Empire Railroad System, a position which he still holds in addition to his general practice. He is a deep student and keeps in touch with the advanced thought of the profession, as investigation and research are continually broadening knowl- edge and promoting efficiency among the members of the medical fraternity. Aside from his professional duties Dr. Northrop interests himself in the apple-growing industry, being therein extensively engaged as the owner of large tracts in the Spokane valley and Methow districts. Another of his profitable investments is in the Silver Hoard Mines Company, a well known silver and lead bearing property at Ainsworth, British Columbia, of which company he is the president.
Dr. Northrop was married on the Ist of June, 1899, to Miss Laura Merwarth, a daughter of Sylvester Merwarth, of Easton, Pennsylvania. To their union two sons have been born: Jay Graves, whose birth occurred at Grand Forks, British Columbia; and Seymour, who was born in Spokane. Because of the extensive prac- tice which he enjoys Dr. Northrop has had little time to engage in politics and he has never been an office seeker. He is a member of the Spokane Club, the University Club and the Phi Alpha Gamma fraternity. He maintains an office in the Paulsen building.
ROBERT JOHN DANSON.
Robert John Danson, senior partner of the law firm of Danson, Williams & Danson and a practitioner at the Spokane bar since 1890, was born in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, February 2, 1857. His father, Robert W. Danson, became an early settler of the Badger state, establishing his home in Pewaukee in 1840. There he died in 1867, while his wife, who bore the maiden name of Michal Giles, sur- vived him until 1898.
After attending the graded and high schools of Pewaukee, Robert J. Danson entered the State Normal at Whitewater, Wisconsin, and when his course there was completed he went to Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he read law in an attor-
ยท
ROBERT J. DANSON
391
SPOKANE AND THE INLAND EMPIRE
ney's office. His last year's reading was pursued at Davenport, Iowa, where he was admitted to the bar in December, 1881. He then practiced in that city until 1883, when he removed to Algona, Iowa, where he followed his profession until 1890. In that year he came to Spokane and formed a partnership with Judge Prather under the firm name of Prather & Danson, which association was main- tained for four and a half years. During the succeeding year and a half Mr. Danson practiced alone and was then joined by Mr. Huneke under the firm style of Danson & Huneke, which was continued until January 1, 1905, when the firm name was changed to Danson & Williams. On the Ist of September, 1911, they were joined by Mr. Danson's son, Robert W., at which time they adopted the firm name of Danson, Williams & Danson. Their clientage is extensive and of an important character and in the work of the courts Robert J. Danson is proving himself the peer of the ablest members of the Spokane bar.
Aside from his professional activity Mr. Danson is known in business circles . as one of the organizers and stockholders of the Pasco Reclamation Company and has done much to upbuild and improve that district through his efforts in connection with the company. He is also a trustee of the Washington Trust Com- pany and of the Union Park Bank.
On the 17th of March, 1881, Mr. Danson was married to Miss Ella J. Lilly, a daughter of John Lilly, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They have five children: Ella E., now the wife of Clyde Higgins; Robert W., a member of the law firm of Danson, Williams & Danson; Michal L. and May, both at home; and Ethel, who is attending Monticello Seminary at Godfrey, Illinois.
Mr. Danson is well known in Masonic circles, having attained the thirty- second degree of the Scottish Rite and also crossed the sands of the desert with the nobles of El Katif Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is likewise a member of the Spokane Club and 'the Spokane Country Club. In a profession where advancement depends entirely upon individual merit and ability he has worked his way constantly upward and at the same time has proven his resourcefulness in his capable management of other business interests and investments.
C. FERRIS WHITE.
C. Ferris White, long engaged in general architectural and engineering work, sometimes in partnership relations and again alone, but in all connections winning that success which comes in recognition of superior ability and merit, has in this connection contributed largely to the upbuilding and improvement not only of Spokane but of other sections of the state. He was born in Chicago, August 22, 1867, and in the paternal line his ancestry is traced back to some of the oldest New England families. His grandparents, Alpheus and Lydia (Taft) White, were the founders of the Petersham branch of the family, removing to that place from Uxbridge, Massachusetts. The latter was a descendant of Robert Taft, who left his native country of Scotland and made his way to the town of Munden in 1680. After King Philip's war, when Uxbridge was cut off from London, the Taft family there resided until they removed to Petersham. An uncle of C. Ferris White was
392
SPOKANE AND THE INLAND EMPIRE
Hon. Francis Granger White, who was identified with copper mining in northern Michigan, and lives now retired in Denver, Colorado.
Captain Lyman A. White, father of C. Ferris White, was born in Petersham, Massachusetts, and was a practical man of affairs who pursued his education in Brown University and was for a time a successful teacher. Withdrawing from professional connections, however, he turned his attention to farming and in 1857 he removed to Clifton, Illinois, becoming the owner of a tract of land, but when the call came for volunteers in 1861 he put aside all business and personal interests and enlisted as a private of the Nineteenth Illinois Infantry with which he served throughout the entire war under General Grant. When mustered out he was cap- tain of Bridge's Battery. One writer says of him: "He combined with strict dis- cipline an unusually sympathetic nature which left an imprint on the personal lives of many of his soldiers as it had previously done on his pupils." He sacrificed much to enter the army but never allowed his personal interests to stand in the way of his duty to his country and when the war was over he became a hotel pro- prietor, opening the Clarendon, among the first family hotels in Chicago. During the four years of his army life he visited Clifton, Illinois, the scene of his pioneer farming experience, and there formed the acquaintance of a young lady from the east, Annie Hungerford Ferris, whom he wedded after the close of hostilities, their home being established in Chicago. Mrs. White was born in Greenwich, Connecti- cut, and became a physician, practicing in Chicago. She was a graduate of the Hahnemann Homeopathic College of Medicine of that city, which conferred upon her the degree of M. D. She had one brother, Franklin W. Ferris, who gave his life for his country when only seventeen years of age, being killed in the battle of Chickamauga. Her uncle, William Albert Ferris, was at one time prominent in the south, serving as mayor of New Orleans. Their ancestry were Quakers of English descent and were engaged in the East India trade. Unto Captain and Mrs. White were born three sons. Frank White, born in 1873, died March 2, 1906. He was a most popular young man, beloved by all who knew him, and after his death his friends published a memorial of his life, beautifully bound, and contain- ing fine engravings of the young man at different ages. He had studied law and was actively engaged in practice but his professional interests were never allowed to warp the spiritual side of his nature which was strongly developed and prompted him to many good deeds in his short life. The memorial volume is entitled "A Short Life Well Lived," the introduction being written by Robert E. Speer, sec- retary of the Presbyterian board of foreign missions, and also contains many per- sonal tributes, among them being one written by the Rev. Wilbur Chapman, secre- tary of the Evangelistic committee of the Presbyterian church, and another by John Willis Baer, president of Occidental College, of Los Angeles, with letters from other prominent men of the bar and church. One says: "In telling of a life which in its essence so nearly approached the one ideal Life that often the com- parison was made involuntarily. . It was a great privilege to know Frank White. One had but to look upon his face to realize that he was a marked man, that God's seal of approval was upon his life." Another said: "He lived a great life, short as it was," and still another wrote: "He was frank and there are no men who knew him who will not declare him a man who was to the very darkest corner of his soul a white man." Still another expression in this tribute of love was: "His death caused a loss to the profession and to the city as a lawyer and a Chris-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.