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 41
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tian gentleman." Harold White, the second son of the family, born in 1877, is now a member of the law firm of Eastman & White, of Chicago, occupying large and well appointed offices and enjoying a fine practice. He is prominent in reform politics, as was his brother Frank.
C. Ferris White pursued his education in the common schools of Chicago and his boyhood was employed in numerous ways. He took up the study of architecture in that city in 1884 and became head draftsman in the office of W. W. Meyers, and was also associated with the firm of Sprague & Newell and with W. W. Clay. He was identified with architectural work in his native city until March, 1890, when he came to Spokane under contract with Herman Preusse, to take charge of interests in his office. After a month, however, Mr. White entered the employ of C. B. Seaton, with whom he formed a partnership six months later under the firm name of Seaton & White, the firm establishing branch offices in Whatcom, now Bellingham, and Mr. White removed to that city to take charge of the work in that district, there remaining until the partnership was dissolved in April, 1892. He then removed to Everett, where he continued in business until his return to Spokane in November, 1896. Here he again became associated with Mr. Seaton but the latter died soon after the partnership was formed, passing away in December of that year. In April, 1897, Mr. White formed a partnership with W. A. Alexander, of Seattle, under the name of White & Alexander, but the junior member of the firm died in October, of the same year. In the fall of 1898 Mr. White became a partner of A. E. Permaine under the firm style of White & Permaine, and they were thus associated for one year, after which they admitted Oscar Huber and John W. Strack, Mr. Permaine withdrawing from the firm, and the firm style of White, Huber & Strack was assumed, the company doing general architectural and
engineering work. Six months later Mr. Strack and Mr. Huber were appointed on important railroad work and Mr. White was again alone in business until 1904. Owing to the severe illness of his wife he took her to California, leaving Alfred Jones to look after the business as a partner. In 1905 he became the senior partner of the firm of White & Hyslop, his associate being W. W. Hyslop, but since 1906 has been alone. The work accorded him has been of a most important character and as an architect he is widely known throughout the northwest. While asso- ciated with Mr. Seaton they made the plans for the Spokesman-Review building, the old exposition building and a number of others of less importance. They also made the plans for the state normal building at Cheney and while at Everett Mr. White devoted the major portion of his time to the erection of public-school build- ings and business blocks. In 1905 he was engaged by the Potlach Lumber Com- pany as architect for the town of Potlach and in that connection designed and superintended the erection of more than three hundred buildings, consisting of working men's cottages, ranging in price from five hundred to two thousand dol- lars, and for the officers of the company erected residences ranging in price from two to eight thousand dollars. He also built in the town a hotel, a theater, store houses, school houses, churches and depots, and in ten months had under contract work amounting to five hundred thousand dollars. He built the entire town except the mill and when he left Potlach fifteen hundred people were in the town and all were housed.
Among the fine residences of Spokane designed by Mr. White are those of Frank H. Graves, T. W. Spencer and George W. Wooster, ranging in cost from twenty
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to thirty thousand dollars. He has erected and prepared plans for over eleven hundred buildings in this state of all kinds and classes, building on an average of about fifty each year. Until a recent day he was also engaged in the decorative business but retired from that field to devote all of his attention to architecture. Since 1910 he has been secretary-treasurer of the Spokane Wrecking Company, Inc., and has done a large amount of business in this connection, razing most of the buildings on the new lines of the Milwaukee and Great Northern Railways.
In April, 1898, Mr. White was united in marriage to Miss Florence A. Sargent. Fraternally he is connected with the Elks and in social organizations his member- ship is in the Athletic Club, the Inland Club and the Coeur d'Alene Boat Club. In politics he is an active republican and was the organizer of the silver wing of that party of Snohomish county. He served as a delegate to county conventions in that county and was also a member of the county central committee. His mili- tary experience covers service with the Second Infantry Regiment of the Illinois National Guard at Chicago. Mr. White comes of an ancestry honored and dis- tinguished and is fortunate in that his lines of life have been cast in harmony therewith. The same qualities which made his forefathers worthy citizens and active factors in the growth, progress and development of the east have made him a valuable citizen of the northwest, his labors constituting an effective force in the material upbuilding and adornment of various sections, his well developed skill and ability gaining for him recognition as a foremost architect of Spokane.
L. B. WHITTEN.
A well spent life has brought to L. B. Whitten substantial success in a business way, and sound judgment has prompted judicious investment in real estate until he is now the owner of valuable city and farm property. Moreover, he is num- bered among the early residents of eastern Washington, having for thirty-one years resided in this district, so that he is largely familiar with its upbuilding and progress, while toward its growth and development he has contributed.
He was born in Alleghany county, Virginia, November 15, 1850, and is a son of James and Sidney (Hook) Whitten, who were early residents of Pennsyl- vania and were descended from old families of the east. In the public schools of his native state L. B. Whitten pursued his education and then, turning his atten- tion to the carpenter's trade, became familiar with that business in its various phases. It was his father's wish that the son should remain in Virginia and be- come a farmer, but this seemed to limit his opportunities, and when he had mas- tered the carpenter's trade he left the Old Dominion and made his way to the state of Missouri. There he conducted a photograph gallery for a short period but was still not content with his location. The west seemed to call him and he started over- land with a mule team for the Pacific coast country.
Mr. Whitten first made his way to Oregon, settling at The Dalles, but after a brief period came to Spokane, where he arrived on the 3d of January, 1880. He bought a lot on Front street, where he erected a carpenter shop and worked for several years. In 1881 he purchased a lot and erected a frame building at No. 19 Howard street, there establishing a drug store which was destroyed by fire in
L. B. WHITTEN
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1888. In the spring of 1889 he replaced this by a three-story brick building and again suffered heavy losses in the great fire which occurred in the fall of the same year. Still undiscouraged, he at once rebuilt upon that site and also erected the fine five-story Whitten block which occupied the corner of Sprague and Post streets. In 1890 he erected a brick residence at the corner of Sixth and Madison streets and in 1893 built a two-story building at 616 Front street and a two-story brick store and office building at 222 Mill street. He is now engaged on the con- struction of a three-story brick hotel, which he and his son Paul will conduct. His investments in realty and his building operations have brought him a substantial measure of success and in addition to his city property he is also the possessor of much fine farming land throughout the community. He is very active in real- estate circles and has also been identified with a number of mining projects in this part of the country.
On the 5th of November, 1888, Mr. Whitten was married in Spokane to Miss Georgia J. Ballou, a daughter of Ellis and Laura (Clark) Ballou, both of whom were natives of Ohio and were graduates of Hiram College in that state. They re- moved to Zanesville, Ohio, and afterward to Helena, Montana, Mr. Ballou be- coming receiver in the United States land office. On the maternal side Mrs. Whitten is descended from an old, prominent and distinguished French family, her ancestors having settled in this country early in the eighteenth century. Mr. and Mrs. Whitten have three children, namely: Paul B., who is associated with his father in his various real-estate interests; Lester C., who is now a student in Spokane, preparing to enter Harvard College; and Virginia, a student at Brunot Hall.
Politically Mr. Whitten is a democrat but has never been an aspirant for office, preferring always to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs, in which he has displayed keen foresight, sound judgment and unfaltering enterprise. His labors have been an element in the city's growth and improvement and he has also contributed to the civic welfare and development in other ways. His own success is due also to the fact that he is an excellent judge of human nature and that in all business dealings he is strictly reliable, so that his word has come to be regarded as good as any bond ever solemnized by signature or seal.
GEORGE W. FULLER.
George W. Fuller, librarian of the Spokane public library, was born November 17, 1876, in Charlestown, Massachusetts. He belongs to one of the oldest New England families, his first paternal ancestor in America coming from England in 1670, at which time he made settlement at Lynn, Massachusetts. The birth place of Mr. Fuller's mother was Ballymore, Ireland, where her father was extensively engaged in farming. The family removed to the vicinity of Albany, New York, when the children were very young.
In a private school in Charlestown, George W. Fuller began his education and subsequently pursued his studies in the Boston Latin School and Tufts College, from which he was graduated with the class of 1901. He then entered the Unitarian ministry and for one year held a joint pastorate with B. Fay Mills at Oakland, California. Later he was pastor of the Unitarian church at Pomona, California,
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for three years, and was then called to Spokane, where he spent four and a half years in charge of the First Unitarian church. He resigned that pulpit to accept the position of librarian in the Spokane public library. He had previously been a member of the board of trustees for several years and his insight into the affairs of the library which his service had given him, made him well qualified for the respon- sible duties that have devolved upon him as head of this public institution. His business activity also covers three years' experience as night editor of the Bangor (Maine) Daily News, and while in the ministry he also engaged extensively in editorial writing for various newspapers. He has ever reached out along constantly broadening lines of thought and interest, has kept thoroughly informed concerning the significant and vital questions of the day and is conversant with the best liter- ature of the ages, so that his work in the library is eminently satisfactory.
In 1902 Mr. Fuller was united in marriage to Miss Genevieve Forrest, of Med- ford, Massachusetts, and in the social circles of Spokane they occupy a prominent position.
JOHN SENGFELDER.
The question of street paving has become an important one throughout the length and breadth of the land, and original methods and invention have brought forth valuable paving materials. It is to a business of this character that John Sengfelder is now devoting his energies and attention, being president of the Spokane Bitu-Mass Paving Company, which represent the Bitu-Mass paving process as sales agent in the west. His birth occurred at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, December 14, 1859, his parents being John and Elizabeth Sengfelder, of that city, where his father engaged in business as a building contractor. Having mastered the branches of learning which constituted the curriculum of the public schools there, John Sengfelder, Jr., began learning the bakery and candymaker's trade, which he followed for a time in Philadelphia. Attracted by the opportunities of the west he went to Leadville, Colorado, in 1879, and during the five succeeding years was there engaged in business. His next abode was Eagle City, Idaho, in the Coeur d'Alene district but after passing a short period there he came to Spokane in the spring of 1884. Here he followed his trade for a few years in the employ of others and then, with a capital derived from unfaltering industry and careful expenditure, he established a business on his own account in 1887, opening a store at No. 9 South Howard street, where he remained for twenty-three years. Dur- ing that time he enjoyed a large trade that made his undertaking a profitable one. In 1904 he organized the Spokane Bakery Company and continued as its president until 1908, when he sold the business and turned his attention to the real-estate business. While thus engaged he recognized the necessity, as never before, of well paved strects and at length withdrew from the real-estate field to enter the paving business, organizing in 1911 the Spokane Bitu-Mass Paving Company, in association with C. G. and R. S. Betts. This company was formed as a sales agent of the Bitu-Mass paving, which is a bituminous cement and there is every evidence that they will do a mammoth business throughout the northwest as soon as the new undertaking is thoroughly organized and plans perfected whereby they can get
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into direct touch with the trade. Of this company Mr. Sengfelder is the president, with C. G. Betts as treasurer and general manager and R. S. Betts, secretary. Mr. Sengfelder also has other interests, being now vice president and one of the di- rectors of Hayden Lake Interstate Irrigated Land Company and vice president of the Warehouse Realty Company of this city. With aptitude for successful manage- ment and a belief in his business and in the future of the country, he has directed his labors so energetically that he is winning substantial success and is recognized as one of the prominent business men of Spokane.
On the 11th of July, 1888, in this city, Mr. Sengfelder was married to Miss Elizabeth Stevens, a daughter of James Melvin and Maria Stevens, and they have two children, Vera S. and Helen A. In 1907 Mr. Sengfelder erected a family resi- dence at No. 1321 Ninth avenue. He is well known in fraternal and social circles of the city, holding membership in Spokane Lodge, No. 34, F. & A. M .; Spokane Chapter, No. 2, R. A. M .; Spokane Council, No. 4, R. & S. M .; Spokane Lodge, No. 228, B. P. O. E .; and Imperial Lodge, No. 134, I. O. O. F. In the Masonic bodies and with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks he holds life memberships. He belongs to the Spokane Club and the Inland Club and has a host of friends in this section of the state, their kindly regard having been won by reason of his cor- diality, his reliability and enterprise in business, his support of progressive meas- ures of citizenship and his loyalty to the ties of home and friendship.
MICHAEL C. KING.
Michael C. King, attorney at law, with offices in the Rookery, in Spokane, was born in Scotland, August 10, 1863, and is a son of James and Anna (Farrell) King. The father died in 1904, having for six years survived his wife, who passed away in 1898. In the public and high schools of Maquoketa, Iowa, the son pursued his early education and afterward attended the State University at Iowa City, being graduated therefrom in 1887. He then began preparation for the bar and was graduated from the law department of the Iowa State University with the class of 1890. The same year he was admitted to the bar and removed to Sulton, Nebraska, where he practiced for nine years, gaining the practical training and experience which well prepared him to enter upon the work here when he came to Spokane. He has won a good clientage, connecting him with much important litigation, and his work in the courts has been successful, his efforts winning for his clients many favorable verdicts. In addition to his law practice Mr. King has other interests in the northwest, being the owner of eighty acres of irrigated fruit and hay land in Idaho, while of the Bornite Mining & Smelting Company he is the secretary and treasurer.
On the 19th of June, 1893, Mr. King was married, in Edgar, Nebraska, to Miss Julia R. Reynolds, a daughter of J. B. and Prudence Reynolds. They have three children: Alys, who attends the high school; and Harold and Wallace, who are yet students in the grades. Mr. King belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, also to the Independent Order of Foresters, of which he is high counsel of the high court of the state of Washington, and the Royal Highlanders. He is now financial secretary for Spokane Lodge, I. O. F., but has largel-given his time
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and attention to his profession, conserving his energies for the benefit of his clients and therefore acquiring a large and representative business in the field of law practice.
HERMAN ALLENBERG.
Herman Allenberg, who was manager of the largest life insurance agency west of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, attained this position by reason of enterprise, in- defatigable energy and unfaltering determination. His life record indicates clearly what may be accomplished in America by a poor boy of foreign birth, who is not afraid to work and whose labors are prompted by laudable ambition. In Wil- kowyschken, Russia, in 1865, Herman Allenberg was born, his parents being Baer and Rachel Allenberg. The father was considered one of the leading bristle mer- chants of Russia and furnished the material for cleaning the naval guns to the Russian government. His wife was the granddaughter of a Prussian military officer very high in the ranks of the Prussian government. Both parents have now passed away, one dying in Germany and the other in Russia.
Herman Allenberg spent the first seventeen years of his life in his native land and as the Jews were denied participation in the education dispensed in the public schools in that country, all the training which he received was that which he could obtain in private schools. In 1882, however, he sailed for America-the land of opportunity. He could not speak a word of the English language when he arrived here and, as it was necessary for him to provide for his own support, the only way he could obtain an education was by studying at night. He first located in Mass- achusetts and started in life by selling goods throughout the country. For a year he remained in that state and then went to Leavenworth, Kansas, after which he removed to Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Mr. Allenberg arrived in Spokane in 1889, just before the great fire of that year. Soon afterward he became interested in life insurance and took a position as agent with the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, which at that time was almost unknown in the Inland Empire. In spite of all the handi- caps he had built up a large volume of business and in the next three years it was estimated that the Equitable wrote sixty-five per cent of all the life insurance written in the territory. His agency was quoted everywhere as a model and Mr. Allenberg became one of the best known insurance anthorities in the United States. For eighteen years he engaged in the life insurance business, eventually becoming manager of the largest agency west of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He closed per- sonally more than one-half a million of insurance in a single year. He was manager for the Equitable Life for Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, Alberta, Alaska, a part of Idaho and Montana, and at one time maintained an agency force of from seventy-five to one hundred men. In the last year of his connection with the business, 1905, his agency wrote over five million of insurance. Mr. Allenberg was called upon to deliver addresses on the subject of insurance before learned bodies of the leading men of the country and also before the student body of various universities. He is now secretary of the Trustee Company of Spokane and manager of its sales
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department. Step by step he has advanced to a prominent position in financial circles, where he controls interests of magnitude and importance and is recognized as one of the foremost business men of the northwest.
On the 20th of December, 1891, in Spokane, Mr. Allenberg was united in mar- riage with Miss Flo Barmon, a daughter of Jacob and Sarah Barmon, of this city. Her people were among the early residents of Spokane, where the father followed merchandising up to the time of the fire, after which he retired. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Allenberg have been born two children, Ruth and Jack. Fraternally Mr. Allen- berg is a Mason and has attained high rank in that order, being a member of the consistory and also of El Katif Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of two Jewish churches, and he belongs to the Spokane Amateur Athletic Club and to the Progress Club. He has not only won success but has gained many friends during his residence in this part of the country, his present worth being recognized by those who have met him and know aught of his career. He has never allowed difficulties nor obstacles to bar his path but has regarded these rather as an impetus for renewed effort, and the energy and determination demanded in sur- mounting these has carried him forward to a prominent position among the leading residents of the northwest.
EUGENE A. SHADLE.
Eugene A. Shadle, treasurer of the Spokane Dry Goods Realty Company and a trustee of the Spokane Dry Goods Company, has made for himself an enviable position in the commercial and financial circles of the city. A son of Jacob D. and Mary A. (Means) Shadle, of Bellevue, Iowa, he is a native of that city, in which his father engaged in business as a building contractor until the boy was a year old, when the family removed to Algona, Iowa, where Jacob D. Shadle con- tinued in the building business.
It was in the public schools of that city that Eugene A. Shadle pursued his education, supplementing his work in the grades by a course in the high school, from which in due time he was graduated. He then made his official step in the business world by entering the employ of J. M. Comstock, who at that time was proprietor of a general dry-goods store in Algona. Mr. Shadle remained in Mr. Comstock's employ at Algona until November, 1891, when he came to Spokane to join him in the same line of business here, and the association between them has ever since been maintained. Gradually he has worked his way upward and now has im- portant financial interests in the business of the Spokane Dry Goods Company and also the Dry Goods Realty Company, the latter assisting in handling all of the prop- erty and buildings owned by the former. As treasurer of the Dry Goods Realty Company Mr. Shadle does much in shaping its financial policy and has a large voice in its management. The other members of the two companies are: J. M. Com- stock, R. B. Paterson and J. L. Paine. These gentlemen are stockholders and the officers of each company and their business ability is manifest in the substantial success which is enjoyed by each organization.
On the 11th of December, 1901, Mr. Shadle was married to Miss Josie Comstock, a daughter of J. M. and Elizabeth (Annis) Comstock, her father being Mr. Shadle's
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associate in business. They reside in an attractive residence at No. 1112 Ninth avenue, which he erected in 1910. He is a man of pleasing personality, recognized as one of the substantial business men of Spokane, who concentrates his attention upon his individual interests and takes an active interest in the political situations and club life of the city. His strict integrity, business conservatism and judgment have long been recognized and he enjoys public confidence to an enviable degree.
J. GRIER LONG.
In the life history of J. Grier Long is found a refutation of the too generally accepted statement that American business men are so engrossed in the spirit of commercialism that no time nor opportunity is left for cooperation in the broader themes and more vital activities which touch the interests of society at large. While president of The Washington Trust Company and therefore one of the most prominent factors in financial circles in Spokane, Mr. Long has done equally ef- fective work for the moral and social uplift of his fellowmen, holding ever firmly to the theory that each individual should be given the opportunity of bettering him- self. It is due to the fact that he has wisely used his time and opportunities, that he has reached his present position. He was born in Juniata county, Pennsylvania, December 4, 1861, and is a son of John F. G. and Frances (Gallagher) Long. The father, who devoted his life to agricultural pursuits, died in 1903, while his wife passed away in 1900.
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