USA > Washington > Spokane County > Spokane > History of the city of Spokane and Spokane County, Washington : from its earliest settlement to the present time, Volume III > Part 20
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His study of the politieal questions and issues of the day has led him to give his support to the republican party. He is a member of the Spokane Athletic Club and of the Spokane Mining Association, and in these different connections his per- sonal worth has won reeognition in warm friendships. During the six years of his residence in the northwest he has gained a wide aequaintanee and has here found the opportunities which he sought. His labors, carefully and intelligently directed, are bringing him good returns and he has every reason to hope that more than ordi- nary success will be his in his mining operations in this distriet.
GEORGE M. COLBORN.
George M. Colborn is a Spokane dealer in real estate, largely handling business property and suburban aereage. He was born in Jola, Kansas. Angust 7, 1875, a son of Josiah F. and Iola (Friend) Colborn, the former of whom was a native of Indiana and the latter of Virginia. The father, born February 7. 1829, eame of Seoteh-German aneestry and the family was established in America prior to the Revolution, in which representatives of the name took part. He also had military experience, being connected with the militia in pioneer times in fighting Indians in Kansas. He and his wife located upon a farm in the Sunflower state when that state was being opened up for settlement and the town of Tola was named in her honor, their land covering the townsite. The death of Mr. Colborn oceurred June 16, 1904. at Wallace, Idaho, his wife surviving until January 25, 1911. The inter- ment of both took place at Jola, Kansas. She had a brother who was an officer in the Civil war while among her anecstors were those who fought in the war for
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independence. By her marriage she became the mother of the following named : Nell F., of Spokane; Madeline, the wife of D. C. MeKissick. of Wallace, Idaho; Inella E., the widow of W. P. Northrup, of Murray, Idaho; Alice C .. the widow of Winfield Scott, of Wallace, that state; Robert Curtis, who passed away at the age of nineteen years ; and Jennie, who married E. H. Moffitt, of Wallace, Idaho, and died in 1909. The other member is George M. Colborn, of this review.
At the usual age the last named entered the public schools of Iola, continuing his study there until he had become a high-school student. He afterward attended a business college at Fort Scott, Kansas, and then took a position as stenographer. Hlis identification with the northwest dates from 1892, when he located in Wallace, Idaho, remaining in that and other different towns until 1899, when he came to Spokane. Here be entered the real-estate field as an employe of the firm of Cook & Clark, and afterward was with Fred B. Grinnell, acquiring an interest in the busi- ness with which he was associated until he sold out in 1907. He then embarked in business on his own account and has so continued to the present day. His clientage has come to him in the field of business and suburban property, which he buys and sells, and he is handling Colborn and Morgan Acre Park addition just north of Hillyard, which consists of six hundred and forty acres, the traet being under the pumping system of irrigation, forty thousand dollars being expended in putting in this system. All of the land has been sold except a hundred-acre tract, About one hundred families are now living on this and the districts which have thus far been cultivated have been planted to orchards and gardens.
When Mr. Colborn arrived in Spokane his cash capital consisted of one hundred and fifty dollars. He borrowed seventy-five dollars to make the purchase of a lot in the Cannondale addition on which he began raising chickens. Almost from the outset his business prospered and as his financial resources increased he found it possible to remove from Cannondale to College avenue, where he secured better quarters. He afterward came to Manito Park where he has a beautiful home on a prominent corner that faces the park for a length of one hundred and fifty feet. Mr. Colborn assisted in promoting Manito Park addition. In a grove which is now a part of the park, in 1903 he met J. P. Graves, Dave Ham and another gentleman and they agreed to form a company and gave authority to the firm of Fred B. Grin- nell & Company, of which Mr. Colborn was a member. to prosecute the work and develop that part of the country. The company had purchased all of the unplatted land owned by Francis Cook and Charles Reeder, turning it over to the above firm for sale. No residence district of Spokane has been better developed in as short a space of time. In 1901 Mr. Graves made the offer of a hat. suit and wagon if fifty houses were built in the district before May, 1905. The work was undertaken and within the time set seventy-five houses had been built. The meeting in the grove resulted from the fact that those gentlemen wished to consult with Mr. Colborn and Mr. Grinnell as real-estate experts as to the advisability and possibility of transforming it into a part of the city. The work was accomplished and he won the reward, One hundred acres of Manito Park have been deeded to the city and that district is rapidly developing, becoming one of the most attractive portions of Spokane.
On the 31st of July. 1897, Mr. Colborn was united in marriage to Miss Lulu V. Gilbert, of Kellogg, Idaho. The father was one of the early residents of this dis- triet, coming to Spokane from Minnesota prior to his removal to Kellogg in 188t.
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Unto Mr. and Mrs. Colborn have been born three daughters, Jessie, Helen and Jean, of whom the two eldest are now attending school.
Mr. Colborn exereises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the republican party but has never been an aspirant for office. He belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and finds recreation and interest in his membership in the Spokane Club and the Spokane Athletic Club, of which he is a life member. He has won and well merits the title of a self-made man. No fortunate eireumstanees aided him at the outset of his career. He has worked along the lines of persistent, earnest labor, has ever been watchful of opportunities and in their utilization has ad- vaneed toward suceess. His work, too, has been of a character which has contrib- uted in no small measure to Spokane's progress and improvement.
HON. JAMES ALLEN PERKINS.
High political honors might have been won by James Allen Perkins had his ambi- tion centered along that line. but he has preferred to utilize the opportunities of- fered in business and gain his success in the development and conduet of projects which have contributed to general prosperity as well as to individual suceess. The consensus of public opinion names him as one of the most useful, representa- tive and honored residents of Colfax and Whitman county and because of this his life history cannot fail to prove of interest to many of the readers of this volume.
Illinois elaims Mr. Perkins as a native son, his birth having occurred in Belle Plaine, Marshall county, September 7, 1841. His parents were Joel B. and Margaret (Burt) Perkins, who were among the earliest settlers on the Paeifie coast. having crossed the plains with an ox team in 1852. They settled in the vicinity of Oregon City in the Willamette valley and subsequently became resi- dents of Benton county, Oregon, where they remained until 1861. That year witnessed their arrival in Washington, taking up their abode in Walla Walla county. where the father purchased a tract of land adjoining the present town of Waitsburg. His energies were there devoted to the development and improve- ment of a good farm and the work of reclaiming the wild land was further ad- vanced through the efforts of James Allen Perkins, who took up a preemption claim adjoining his father's place. However, he afterward sold his right to that property and purchased the tract upon which the town of Huntsville now stands. In July, 1870, Mr. Perkins and Thomas J. Smith, who was elected state senator from Whitman county upon the admission of the state, settled on the land at the junction of the north and south branches of the Palouse river, agreeing between themselves as to boundaries, for the United States survey had not then been made. After they had together put up thirty tons of wild hay and had taken to their land the materials necessary for building their houses, Mr. Smith withdrew, leaving Mr. Perkins with no other company than his employes. However, the warm personal friendship formed between the two men years ago has always been maintained and Mr. Perkins afterward secured a neighbor in H. S. Hollings- worth. who in the spring located on the land vacated by Mr. Smith. The two soon afterward began the erection of the first sawmill in the region north of the Snake
J. A. PERKINS
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river, east of the Columbia and west of the Rocky mountains, and in various other ways took active part in the development of the district, both along material and political lines.
When an act of the territorial legislature organized Whitman county during the winter of 1871-2. Mr. Perkins was appointed one of the commissioners to locate the county seat. Colfax. for the town had even then been platted and named. was the location chosen, and the decision of the commissioners was sus- tained by the voters at the next regular election. Mr. Perkins had for some time been recognized as a leading and forceful factor in community affairs and in 1870 had received an offer from Superintendent Ross, at Fort Simcoe, to look after Indian matters in the Yakima country. He had declined the position, however, preferring to cast in his lot with the town which was just springing into existence on his land. His decision was fortunate for the little city as well as for himself, as since that date he has proven a most active and prominent factor in the work of general progress and improvement. His capital has been given freely to- ward its upbuilding and all of his activities have proven elements in its growth and advancement. Specific proof of the value of his labors is found in the fact that he was one of the incorporators of the Washington & Idaho Railroad, which has had an immeasurable effect upon the development of the agricultural and mineral resources of the two states whose names it bears. He turned his atten- tion to the field of banking when in 1881 he purchased from C. C. Linnington the Bank of Colfax. remaining sole proprietor thereof until 1886, in which year A. 1 .. Mills was admitted to partnership. Four years passed and O. E. Williams then became the partner of Mr. Perkins and the successor of Mr. Mills. The bank has always been conducted on safe. conservative lives and has constituted a potent force in the financial stability of this section. Mr. Perkins has also oper- ated quite extensively in real-estate as local agent for the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company and the Northern -Pacific Railway Company, representing the latter since it has placed its land on the market.
Mr. Perkins was married in Whitman county, in 1873, to Miss Jennie Ewart. daughter of Captain James Ewart. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins are parents of four children, namely: Minnie B., who in November. 1899, married L. L. Tower, a mining engineer, residing at Northport, Washington; Myrtle M., who in June, 1896, became the wife of Charles E. Scriber, cashier of the Second National Bank of Colfax: Stella, who is the wife of N. B. McDowell and lives in Spokane; and Sumner E. The three daughters were all educated at Mills Seminary in Oak- land. California.
Mr. Perkins delivered the first Fourth of July address which was ever held in Spokane. in 1874, to an audience which was composed of people living within a radius of fifty to sixty miles from Spokane, which at that time numbered only seven families as its inhabitants. After the address a prominent lady stepped up to him and remarked: "Mr. Perkins, I wish I had the faith that you must have to enable you to paint so vivid a word picture of the great future that lays before Spokane." Mr. Perkins now tells his friends that the predictions he made in 1871 have been realized in the Spokane of today. Even two years before this event. in 1872. Mr. Perkins was called upon to address an audience on the same day in Colfax.
With all of the varied activities of home and business life. Mr. Perkins has Vol. 111-10
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never been neglectful of his duties and obligations of eitizenship and has been a elose and thorough student of the politieal signs of the times. His influence and efforts have extended beyond city and county into state polities and his opin- ions have long carried weight in republican councils. In the session of 1879 he represented Whitman county in the territorial legislature, and public approval of his eourse would undoubtedly have been given him in a reeleetion had he not declined to again stand for office. He has been a delegate to territorial eonven- tions, chairman of the republican county eentral committee, a member of the ter- ritorial committee and was one of the members of the first town couneil of Col- fax. The appreciation of his fellow townsmen for his worth, ability and progress- ive citizenship is indicated by the fact that he has four times been chosen for mayor of Colfax and onec without an opposing vote. He was an alternate delegate to the national convention which nominated James A. Garfield for the presideney and in 1892 was a delegate at large to the national republican convention which met at Minneapolis. In August of that year Mr. Perkins was strongly urged by many to allow his name to be used in connection with the candidaey for gov- ernor but he steadily refused. Many believe that he would have received the nomination had he cared for it, and a nomination at that time would have been equivalent to an election. Again his friends urged him to become a candidate for the position of United States senator in 1893, but he would not consent as long as Hon. J. B. Allen was before the legislature as a candidate. His ambition has not been in the line of offiec seeking and yet no man is more mindful of his duties of citizenship nor labors more earnestly and effectively to promote publie prog- ress. Every phase of his publie as well as of his private life is above reproach and even those who hold adverse politieal opinions have naught to say against the man. He is naturally courteous and cordial and these qualities have won him friends wherever he is known, and the fact that those who have known him long- est are his warmest friends is an indication of an honorable and well spent life.
JUDGE WM. A. HUNEKE.
Judge Wm. A. Huneke, who is a distinguished jurist of Spokane. was born Au- gust 12, 1864. in Cineinnati. Ohio. a son of John and Christine ( Ringen) Huneke. The father, who was a native of Germany, was a Methodist minister for many years. He was one of the home guard during the war and was in the government employ in the postal department in Europe before coming to America. His death occurred in 1897. The mother was of German descent and died in 1868. To their union five children were born: William A., of this sketch: Louis, who is head bookkeeper for J. F. Fletcher & Company. of Chattanooga. Tennessee; Albert J .. who is manager of a mining company at Tyrone, New Mexico; Mrs. E. P. Lurker, of Evansville, Indiana ; and Mrs. Amelie C. Kloenne, who is residing in Logansport. Indiana.
William A. Huneke pursued his early education in the public sehools of Cinein- nati, Ohio, and subsequently was a student at Wallace College, Berea. Ohio, where he took a course in the elassies and from which institution he was graduated with the degree of A. B. Later he matriculated in the law department of the University of Michigan. and was graduated therefrom with the degree of LL. B. As soon as he
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was admitted to the bar and thus qualified to practice before the courts he opened an office in Louisville, Kentucky, and began practicing law and serving as collector. Ile remained there for one year but in the fall of 1889 came to Spokane where he has since been located. His ability and learning soon brought him into prominence, and in the courts he gave proof of his power in coping with the intricacies of the law and presenting his cause with clearness and force, so the majority of his auditors were brought to his point of view through his logical statements and persuasive ele- ments. He was elected judge in 1901 and reelected in 1908. At present he has charge of department 2. Since he has been connected with the Spokane bar he has been in partnership with various members of the legal fraternity of this city. His first partner was Fred P. Fisher, with whom he practiced for two or three months. Later he entered into partnership with Mark F. Mendenhall, with whom he remained for two years. After practicing alone for some time he became associated with R. J. Danson on the Ist of January. 1896. their partnership holding for nine years, un- til Mr. Huneke was elected to the bench. Aside from the attention he gives his pro- fession he has also interested himself in mining.
One the 28th of December, 1899, Mr. Haneke was married to Miss Laura Grace Cook, a daughter of Isaac Cook of Spokane. The father, who is of English descent. traces his ancestry back to Governor William Bradford. Throughout his active ca- reer he was a minister and was at various times president of different colleges. He is now living retired. Mr. and Mrs. Huneke have become the parents of three chil- dren: Bradford, deceased ; Helen and John.
In politics Mr. Huneke gives his support to the republican party, and before his election to the judgeship was active in political circles and served as delegate to county conventions. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Meth- odist Episcopal church. He is widely acknowledged as a man of strong intellect and superior ability whose learning constitutes an ornament to the Spokane bar.
GEORGE S. BAILEY.
A splendidly equipped mining property is that of the Ozark Mining & Milling Company of which George S. Bailey is the manager. It has all the necessary ad- junets for successful operation of its claims and its work is being carried on along profitable lines. For the onerous duties which devolve upon him in this connection Mr. Bailey was well trained, having been graduated as a mining engineer at Seran- ton, Pennsylvania. He was born in Galena, Illinois. August 10. 1861, a son of J. R. and Mary (Harris) Bailey, both of whom were natives of London, England. and representatives of prominent and well known English families. The father was actively engaged in business at Galena, Illinois, for twenty-five years and was a man of considerable local influence and distinction, representing Jo Daviess county in the Illinois legislature and filling other positions of trust and responsibility in the community. The Harris family were among the earliest to secure homesteads in the vicinity of Galena and the founding of the family in America antedates the Revolutionary war. The brothers of Mrs. Bailey were soldiers of the Civil war. Unto Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Bailey were born five sons and four daughters: George S .: Albert, who is a resident of Dalton. South Dakota: William, living in Yankton,
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South Dakota; Frank, a resident of Parker, that state; Edward L., whose home is in Marion Junction. South Dakota; Lizzie, the wife of J. E. Oliver, of Mankato. Minnesota; Alice, the wife of A. L. Greene, of Hanover, Illinois; Maggie, the wife of James McAllister, of Parker, South Dakota; and Hattie, the wife of W. S. Sanderson, of Bellevue, lowa.
George S. Bailey pursued his preliminary education in the common schools of Galena. Illinois, and was graduated as a mining engineer at Seranton, Pennsylvania, with the degree of M. E. Throughout the greater part of his life he has been con- neeted in one eapaeity or another with mining interests. However, he was en- gaged in merchandising in Montana for three years. after which he spent four years in that state in connection with the mines. He afterward went to Lewiston, Idaho, where he continued for twelve years, and since 1910 has been a resident of Spokane. He has followed mining engineering and donc general consulting work yet has devoted most of his time to the management of different properties. For three years he was general manager for the Wild Goose Rapids Mining Company of Wallowa, Oregon, owners of a copper mine which Mr. Bailey largely developed. He afterward became manager of the Black Jaek gold mine on Salmon river in Idaho where he remained for three years. Subsequently he took charge of the Ozark Mining & Milling Company as manager and has had the oversight of this property for three years. Its holdings are located at Pieree City, Idaho, and the company is milling free gold. There are seven claims in the Ozark, nine in the Wild Rose and six in the Cameron properties and the mill has a capacity of one hundred tons and is located on the Wild Rose property. It is operated to its full eapaeity and the average run is about nine tons. The depth is now five hundred and sixty feet by means of a eross-cut tunnel. This represents an expenditure of about one hundred and twelve thousand dollars on the property and they have nine hundred thousand dollars bloeked out and ready for the mill. The lead shows at five hundred and sixty feet depth and is forty-two feet in width, being broader than on the surface but of a different character of ore, having more base, so that it will necessitate the leading process in its handling. The Wild Rose was formerly owned by W. S. Wilkinson, of Walla Walla, and M. A. Ellis. of Pieree City, and paid to them dividends of about one hundred thousand dollars before it was taken over by the Ozark Company. The Ozark elaim was formerly owned by John Gaffney, one of the pioneers of Idaho, and was operated by him until the Ist of September, 1905, paying him upwards of sixty thousand dollars. The Cameron is now under devel- opment and the company expeets to spend on the three properties in the year 1912 about seventy-five thousand dollars. Mr. Bailey is also interested in mining prop- erties in the state of Montana and in southern Oregon. He is the viee president of the Sunrise Gold Mining Company. owning property at Pieree City, and he is also interested in many other undeveloped properties both in Idaho and Oregon. His college training gives him an excellent working knowledge and his broad experience has continuously called forth his skill and ability so that his labors have been a potent foree in the development of the rich mineral resources of this section.
In 1884 Mr. Bailey was united in marriage to Miss Rosa B. Larson, of Yank- ton, South Dakota. Mr. Bailey was again married at Great Falls, Montana, in 1891, his second union being with Miss Minnie L. Cox, a daughter of John W. Cox, of Hillsboro, Iowa. The only child of this marriage is Murrell Bailey.
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In his political views Mr. Bailey is an earnest republican and does whatever he ean to further the interests of the party and promote its welfare. He has served as a delegate to county and state conventions in both Montana and Idaho and was city alderman of Clarkston, Washington, for two years, or from 1902 until 1901. He was also for two terms school trustee at Pierce City, Idaho, and he indorses all of the practical plans and projects for the benefit of the communities in which he has lived. He became an Elk while in Lewiston and also attained the Knight Templar degree in the commandery at that place, having previously been initiated into Masonry as a member of the lodge at Clarkston, Washington. His friends, and they are many, find him a genial, social gentleman, appreciative of good comrade- ship and always loyal to those who merit his high regard and his confidence.
ROBERT L. DALKE.
Robert L. Dalke, engaged in the real-estate business with offices in the Jamieson building in Spokane, was born in Tomah, Wisconsin. August 13. 1873. The name indicates his German lineage. his parents, Edward C. and Augusta (Kert) Dalke both being natives of Germany. The mother was brought to the United States when quite young and passed away in this country in 1887. The father still survives and is now living retired in Spokane. The only daughter of the family is Mrs. T. H. Rieger, of this city.
Robert L. Dalke, the only son, pursued his education in the public schools of Ean Claire, Wisconsin, and afterward studied law in that city and in Marinette, Wisconsin. He felt at the time that his services would be of more use if exerted in other lines, yet he devoted nine long years to the mastery of the principles of law and has found that his knowledge thereof has proven of practical benefit and value to him in later years. He first came to Spokane in October. 1899, and opened a real-estate office six months after his arrival. Ile formed a partnership with J. Lawyer and W. H. Kernan, with whom he continued for seven years, conducting an extensive business in promoting suburban properties. He was financially inter- ested and instrumental in putting upon the market the Pine Grove Terrace and South Side Cable additions and also conducted a general real-estate business. in which he has specialized since the dissolution of the partnership in 1906. In the intervening years he has practiced alone and has become well known as a real- estate broker, largely advertising, promoting and selling his own properties. He has handled real estate both in Spokane and elsewhere and has done as much as any one man in this city in his line of work. while none has more intimate knowl- edge of the properties upon the market and their real value. The first year in which he was alone his commissions amounted to eight thousand dollars. His ac- tivities have never abated and in buying and selling real estate he has gained a wide and favorable acquaintance.
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