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 30
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Mr. Ripley was united in marriage to Miss Clyde Estelle Shepherd, of Spo- kane, a daughter of John and Josephine Shepherd, of Van Wert, Ohio, the former now deceased. Mrs. Ripley is a representative of an old and prominent family of Kentucky and by her marriage she has become the mother of two daughters, Margaret Shepherd and Virginia Florinc.
The parents are of the Episcopal faith, holding membership in All Saints Cathedral, and Mr. Ripley belongs also to the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained high rank, being a Consistory Mason and Mystic Shriner, as well as Knight Templar. He has served as an officer in various branches of the order and has also assisted in conferring the work. He likewise belongs to the Knights of Pythias lodge, the Young Men's Christian Association, Business Men's Association, the Inland Club-connections which indicate much of the nature of his interests and the rules which govern his life. He is an active member of the Republican Pro- gressive League and has represented his city and county in conventions. He also served as a member of the county central committee during the election of 1911, took an active interest therein and was one of the first to support Senator Poin- dexter. He is a man of resourceful ability, determined and energetic, and what he undertakes in any direction he accomplishes. He stands for that which is high- est and most serviceable in the activities which go to make up human existence and which are features of general progress and improvement and in his chosen pro- fession, wherein advancement is only secured through individual merit, he has worked his way steadily upward.
ARTHUR D. JONES.
Arthur D. Jones is the president of Arthur D. Jones & Company, the oldest as well as the largest real-estate firm in Spokane. He has been at the head of this institution continuously since 1887 and has built it up from one desk to one of the strong institutions of the city, oeeupying half of the ground floor space of the Arthur D. Jones building with an office entirely finished and furnished in im- ported mahogany.
ARTHUR D. JONES
MARY
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Mr. Jones was born in Michigan. September 25, 1859, and was educated in the common schools and at the State College at lowa City, lowa. After a short experience as a school teacher and solicitor for a magazine. he took a position with the advertising department of the Chicago Morning News, where he re- mained for five years until failing health brought him to Spokane.
Since 1887 he has been closely identified with the development of the city and country both in conjunction with general public enterprises and through his own initiative. Conspicuous among the records of his work in Spokane are the development of Hillyard. Richland Park. The Hill, Cannon Hill Park and a number of other additions in Spokane as well as suburban properties. His com- pany is local agent for the United States Mortgage & Trust Company and The Mortgage Bond Company, of New York, and also loaning agents for two of the great New York life insurance companies. The business includes real-estate. rental, loan and bond departments, banks, ete. He is manager of numerous land companies in which he is financially interested and is a stock holder in four Spokane banks and in other enterprises.
Mr. Jones was married December 25. 1887. to Miss Ada M. Stinson, and has two sons and one daughter. In polities he is a liberal republican, and, although he has been keenly interested in political affairs. the only office he ever held or tried for was that of city councilman for a three-year term.
Mr. Jones literally grew up with Spokane. When he started in business in this city, his capital consisted of very little money and the city contained only a few thousand people. For over a quarter- of-a century he has watched the city grow and assisted in its growing, and his own fortunes have prospered with it.
JOHN AYLARD FINCH:
John Aylard Finch is the senior partner of the firm of Finch & Campbell. who have done more to develop the mining industry of the Inland Empire than any other firm in this district. He was born in Cambridgeshire, England, May 12. 1851. a son of William and Sophia ( Aylard) Finch, who came to the United States about 1862 and for many years were residents of Cleveland, Ohio. A brother of our sub- ject. W. E. Finch, is also a resident of Spokane. In the parish school of Soham. Cambridgeshire. England. John A. Finch began his education but was only eight years of age when the family came to the United States and his studies were con- tinued in the public schools of Cleveland, Ohio. When his text-books were put aside he became connected with iron and steel manufacturing in Cleveland and after- ward continued in the same line of business at Youngstown, Ohio. Subsequently he went to Montreal with an importing firm engaged in the importation of iron from England. He was next located in Chicago as manufacturers' agent, still continuing in the iron trade. In the spring of 1881 he determined to go to the west to enjoy what he believed would be better business opportunities than could be secured in the older and more conservative cast. Accordingly he proceeded to Denver and afterward to Leadville, Colorado, where he remained for a year in mining. On the expiration of that time he returned to the iron business in Ohio but in the sum-
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mer of 1887 eame to Spokane and began to acquire mining property in the Coeur d'Alene region of northern Idaho in connection with A. B. Campbell.
As associates in mining enterprises Fineh & Campbell purchased the Gem mine in the Coeur d'Alene distriet and then organized the Milwaukee Mining Company in eonneetion with capitalist friends of Milwaukee and Youngstown, Ohio, Mr. Campbell becoming president and Mr. Fineh secretary and treasurer of this eom- pany. They operated the mine most successfully for more than twelve years and in 1891 began the development of the Standard mine, which they opened and equipped. Later they opened the Heela mine, both of which have paid several millions in dividends and are still being operated and are paying handsome divi- dends. Mr. Fineh beeame seeretary and treasurer of both, with Mr. Campbell as president. In 1893 they extended their operations into British Columbia, going to the Sloean district, where they opened and developed the Enterprise and Standard mines, which are now leading properties of that loeality. In faet Finch & Camp- bell are among the leaders in mining and developing in the whole Inland Empire. They recognized the faet that nature was lavish in her gifts in regard to the min- eral resources of the country and notable sagacity and sound judgment have en- abled them to so place their investments that splendid returns have generally ae- erned from their development of mining property. They have seldom been identi- fied with mining interests that have not proven profitable. Their activities have been not only a source of gratifying individual sueeess but have also constituted one of the most potent forces in the development of the mining industry and eonse- quent prosperity of the entire distriet. For many years Mr. Fineh has also been leading factor in financing and controlling other important business enterprises. He is the president of the White & Bender Company and of the Coeur d'Alene Hardware Company. both of Wallace, Idaho; president of the Blaloek Fruit Com- pany of Walla Walla: and president of the National Lumber & Box Company of Hoquiam, Washington, with Mr. Campbell as vice president of these companies. The last named enterprise was established in 1901 and is today one of the largest of its kind in the northwest. Mr. Finch is a trustee of the Union Trust Company and also an officer and director of many other companies, the long list ineluding many of the most important business interests of the Inland Empire.
On the 3d of September, 1896, in Chicago. Mr. Finch was united in marriage to Miss Charlotte R. Swingler. a daughter of M. M. and Fannie Swingler, of Spo- kane, who came to this eity in 1884. Mr. Fineh is a director of the Country Club but does not belong to any fraternal orders. He was the first president of the elub and has maintained deep interest in the organization. He has likewise been a member of the Spokane Club since 1894 and is a life member of the Spokane Ama- teur Athletic Club. He belongs to the Episcopal church, is one of the trustees of St. Luke's Hospital and has given liberally toward charitable and benevolent work. He donated the site for the present hospital and also the land for the Children's Home on Northwest boulevard. Politieally he has always been a republican and served as a member of the state senate in the first general assembly of Idaho in 1891. Four years later he came to Spokane, where he has sinee made his home and during the period of his residence here he has not been active in polities. In 1897 he ereeted his present palatial home, which is one of the finest in the northwest. While he has come to rank with the millionaires of this section of the country, his path has never been strewn by the wreek of other men's fortunes and the secret of
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his success is found in his keen discrimination, his close application and his ex- ceutive force. His business activity has constituted an important clement in gen- eral development and prosperity and his own success has enabled him to often ex- tend a helping hand to those less fortunate and to do effective and important work for the alleviation of those upon whom fate has entailed suffering or hardships.
SEABURY MERRITT.
Seabury Merritt, who in the practice of his profession has come to be regarded largely as an authority on land law in the northwest because of his wide study along those lines and the important litigated interests of this character which he has conducted, was born in Frankfort. Indiana. August 23, 1866. He is one of a fam- ily of three sons and two daughters and his parents were Sammel and Elizabeth (Gaskill) Merritt, natives respectively of Ohio and Indiana. The father came of English ancestry although the family was planted on American soil prior to the Revolutionary war. The father throughout much of his life engaged in merchandis- ing and in the grain business, and in the year 1860 he was elected sheriff of Clinton county. Indiana, receiving more votes than were given Lincoln. He served as a trustee of the schools for sixteen consecutive years while his incumbency in the sheriff's office covered the period of the Civil war. Ile married Elizabeth Gaskill, who was likewise of English lineage and belonged to one of the old American fam- ilies antedating the war for independence. She died in 1896. just nineteen days before the death of her husband. Of their sons John W. is now associated with his brother Seabury in the practice of law in Spokane, and William A. is a book- keeper of this city. The two sisters are: Emma, now the wife of John J. Blair. chief dispatcher of the Northern Pacific Railroad at Spokane; and Jennie M .. who is living with her brother.
In the common schools of Indiana, Seabury Merritt pursued his early education while spending his boyhood days upon his father's farm. He early became familiar with the work of plowing, planting and harvesting and continued to assist in the cultivation of the old homestead until 1888. when he embarked in the hardware and implement business in which he continued for three and a half years. In the latter part of 1891 he began reading law and while thus engaged at Frankfort. Indiana, also conducted an insurance and abstract business. He was admitted to practice in 1895 and followed his profession alone in his native state until 1900, when the oppor- tunities of the west attracted him and he came to Spokane, where he became the successor to Judge Wallace Mount, in the firm of Mount & Merritt, the judge being elected to the supreme bench. Until 1906 that firm remained as Merritt & Merritt but in that year Hugo E. Oswald was admitted to a partnership under the firm style of Merritt, Oswald & Merritt. They conducted a general law practice, specializing, however, largely in land and titles. They represented the Oregon Mortgage Com- pany and other mortgage companies and have been attorneys for many corporations including Ham, Yearsley & Ryrie: the Big Bend Land Company ; the Oregon Mort- gage Company : the Pacific Northwest Investment Society : the E. H. Stanton Com- pany ; and the Mohler Union Warehouse Company. Mr. Merritt is recognized as having comprehensive knowledge of land law on account of the vast number of titles
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he has been called upon to examine. Like almost all who come to the northwest, he is interested in its development and is the owner of an irrigated orehard of forty- five aeres, all in apples, on the Columbia river, twenty-eight miles above Wenatchee and known as the Hossier Apple Ranch. In addition to this, Mr. Merritt owns Spokane property and his holdings outside of the eity include timber land in British Columbia and in different seetions of the western part of the state. He is like- wise interested in mining operations in Idaho and is thus contributing to the ma- terial development and progress of the Inland Empire. However, the practice of law is his real life work and the firm of which he is a member has a more extensive practice in the eastern part of the state than any other firm of attorneys here, their legal business extending to Lincoln, Adams and Douglas counties.
Mr. Merritt is well known in Masonic circles as a member of the commandery and Mystie Shrine, and has served as senior warden in the blue lodge. He be- longs also to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Lodge No. 228, has filled all of the chairs in the local lodge of Knights of Pythias, has been past chancellor for several years and has represented Spokane Lodge in the grand lodge. He is like wise connected with the Fraternal Order of Eagles and is a valued member of the Spokane Club, the Inland Club and the Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Merritt is a republiean and was an active member of the central committees of city, county and state when in Indiana and a delegate to city, county and state conventions both in Indiana and Washington. In his native state he did considerable campaign work and sinee coming to the west has been a candidate for congress in the third Washington district in 1910, in the primary, but insurgency caused the republican defeat. He stands always as a fearless defender of the principles or cause in which he believes and his position upon political questions has therefore never been an equivocal one. During the twelve years of his residence in Spokane he has become widely known and the power which he has displayed in his law practice places him in a foremost position among the members of the Spokane bar.
FRANK ROSE, M. D.
Dr. Frank Rose. physician and surgeon. of Spokane, was born in Ontario. Can- . ada, October 25. 1869. His father. Lawrence Rose, a native of Oxfordshire, Eng- land, became a pioneer resident of western Ontario where he engaged in the milling business, becoming the owner of a flour mill there. His death occurred in 1885. Representatives of the family to which he belonged have lived at Deddington. England, for the last five hundred years and for several centuries have been eon- nected with the milling business there. The mother of Dr. Rose bore the maiden name of Hannah Phin and was born at the old family homestead in Ontario, Canada, which is called Kennaquhair.
It was in the Guelph Collegiate Institute that Dr. Rose pursued his more specifically literary education, after which he entered the University of Minnesota to pursue a medical course and was graduated M. D. in 1901. Broad practical experience came to him in one year's service in Asbury Hospital and he after- ward received clinical instruction in Chicago and New York for a period of three months. He next came to Spokane where he has since followed his profession,
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and the liberal practice accorded him is the best evidence of his capability and the consensus of public opinion concerning his equipment for and devotion to his chosen life work. He is a member of the County Medical Society, of which he has served as vice president and treasurer, and he belongs also to the State Med- ical Society, in which he is a member of the judicial counsel.
Dr. Rose has filled the office of city bacteriologist and is now a member of the play ground commission. Perhaps his most important public service in the nature of his profession has been in connection with the development of the water supply. When the city decided to change its water system from the river to wells in the Spokane valley, Dr. Rose and the board of health, with Mayor Moore, went on a trip of inspection to ascertain the source and volume of the water supply and the quality of the water in the Spokane valley. After a very careful investigation both as to the quantity and quality, Mayor Moore and Dr. Rose decided to sink wells near the waterworks and thus supply the city. It has been found through subsequent experience that they were not only wise but correct in their decision for the supply and quality of the water have far surpassed all their expectations based on that investigation. The bacteriological examinations, made twice cach month for several years, have confirmed the earlier examination as to the purity, and Spokane can well boast of having the finest and purest water of any city in the world. The supply has never failed and as high as forty million gallons have been pumped at one time without any appreciable diminution of the water in the wells. The water is presumed to come from the entire watershed of the Spokane valley and is filtered through sand and gravel, reaching the consumers in perfect purity. It is unique in that this is the only great water supply of that character in the world, although Long Island has somewhat the same character but not to the same extent. Dr. Rose modestly gives Mayor Moore and the board of health the credit for securing and developing the water supply and system, but he should share with the mayor and the board of health the credit and honor.
On the 16th of September. 1899, Dr. Rose was married to Mrs. Annie Win- chester. He belongs to the Masonie fraternity, having taken the degrees of the lodge, the consistory and the Mystic Shrine. His political allegiance has always been given the republican party and his religious faith is that of the Episcopal church, his membership having been in All Saints' cathedral for seven years dur- ing which period he has also held the office of vestryman. His life work has in- deed been of benefit and value to his fellowmen and all of his professional duties are discharged with a conscientious sense of obligation.
B. M. FRANCIS.
B. M. Francis, whose real-estate operations not only cover Spokane but also various other districts of the northwest, was born December 25. 1865, in Pontiac, Michigan, a son of John and Mary Rose Francis, natives of Pontiac and Eng- land respectively. The latter is a resident of Frankfort, Michigan, but the father died in 1886. He was a representative of an old New England family of English descent and was a leading and influential resident of his home town where he served as alderman and in other local offices. His family numbered two sons and
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three daughters; B. M., of this review; L. R., engaged in the automobile business in Detroit. Michigan: Miss Ethel M. Francis, residing in Spokane; Lulu MI .. who married Clark Long, of Havillah, Washington; and Edna, the wife of Eph Slade, of Michigan.
In the schools of Saginaw, Mielnigan. B. M. Francis pursued his education and for a short period was a student in the Chicago College. He entered business circles in connection with the jewelry trade when but a boy, and when he had mastered the trade in Michigan he went to Chicago where he was employed for two years. He afterward removed to Elmira, New York, and later to Philadel- phia where he taught engraving in the Horological Institute for four years. On the expiration of that period he made his way westward to Butte, Montana, in 1892, and spent four years in that place as an employe in a jewelry store. In 1896, at Missoula, Montana, he became proprietor of a jewelry store, continuing at that point for five years. At that time he engaged in the real-estate business and his activities along that line inereased more and more while during the last eight or nine years he gave a great deal of his attention to mining. In Missoula he formed a partnership with W. J. Rhodes under the firm name of Franeis & Rhodes for the eonduet of a real-estate business and in 1907 opened an office in Spokane which he maintained for some time. While in Butte he became associated with three others and leased the Homestake mine which he snecessfully operated for a year and a half. flis real-estate interests are now in Bozeman, Missoula and Spokane, in all of which places he has platted additions. In Spokane Mr. Francis has płatted Spokane Terrace and Spokane Park, doing this work under partnership connections. In Missoula he platted a subdivision of Homevale, Glenwood Park and East Missoula, and in Bozeman he purchased the old Butte addition to the town. Since the dissolution of the partnership he has independently platted Em- pire Heights, which he sold to Mr. Van Velsor, and Castle Hill, which he now owns. Mr. Franeis has obtained some substantial returns from his mining as well as his real-estate interests and has contributed as well to the general progress and development of communities in which he has operated.
On the 4th of May, 1891, in Philadelphia, Mr. Francis was married to Miss Maggie R. Bishop, a daughter of George Bishop, a shoe manufacturer, and they have one son, Delbert M., who is now attending high school. Mr. Franeis is num- bered among that class of energetie men whose advancement is attributable en- tirely to earnest and persistent labor. He started out with no special advantages but proved his worth in the business world and gradually progressed until he be- came a merehant of Missoula. As he prospered he extended his investments in real estate and mining property and his work has been a valuable foree in the general growth and development of the northwest.
ROBERT H. COSGROVE.
Various projects have contributed toward the promotion of a knowledge of the Spokane country, its resources, its advantages and its possibilities, but none have been more effective in this connection than the Interstate Fair, of which Robert H. Cosgrove is secretary. It has been a stimulating influence in fruit- raising and stoek-raising, giving impetus to the efforts of those who are thus en-
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gaged in holding before them the highest standards and also in bringing a notice of the work accomplished to the country in general.
Mr. Cosgrove is a native of Minnesota, born July 11, 1876. His parents were C. N. and Elizabeth (Bradley) Cosgrove, the former born in the state of New York and the latter in Wisconsin. The father has at different times held public office in the various communities where he has resided. He served as mayor of Le Sueur, Minnesota, and for twenty-five years was connected with the Minnesota State Fair, occupying all positions from manager to president. He is of Irish descent and his wife is of English lineage, although her ancestors came to Amer ica during the early period of colonization and were represented in the Revolu- tionary war. Robert H. Cosgrove is a brother of Edward B. Cosgrove, who is now in business in Kansas City, Missouri. His sisters are: Cora, who is the wife of George W. Strand. a nurseryman of Taylors Falls, Minnesota; and Ethel C., who is living in Porto Rico and is engaged in teaching school.
Robert H. Cosgrove attended the high school of Le Sucur, Minnesota, and the University of Minnesota, in the class of 1898. He then turned his attention to the hardware business in Le Suenr and afterward became connected with ranch interests at Mandan, North Dakota. During the same period he was connected with the Minnesota State Fair and in 1901 came to Spokane to take charge as secretary-manager of the Spokane Interstate Fair, with which he has since been connected. Ilis labors here have been more than gratifying, producing results beyond the expectations of those who sought his cooperation. One of the first exhibits of this kind in Spokane was held on East Sprague street in 1890 but the building burned and nothing more was done until 1891, when Herbert Bolster. now deceased, and John I. Smith, the president of the Spokane Interstate Fair, organized what was known as The Spokane Fruit Fair. This was held at River- side and Washington streets, on the present site of the Fogelquist clothing store, from the 24th to the 27th of October, 1891, with Judge J. W. Binckley as presi- dent. The succeeding year Mr. Bolster had charge of the fair, which convened September 30th and ended on the 5th of October. The dates chosen in 1896 were from October 6th to 17th, with F. W. Smith as secretary and manager, and again in 1897 it continued for two weeks, beginning October 5th, in the old Auditorium grounds, with Mr. Bolster as secretary and John A. Finch as president. Again the fair was held at the Auditorium grounds in 1898, from the Ith to the 15th of October, with the same officers, and in 1899 Dr. E. D. Olmsted served as president, with Mr. Bolster as secretary, and the dates were from October 3d to 17th. From October 2d to October 16th. 1900, with W. E. Hawley as manager, the fair was again held at the Auditorium grounds, but the equipment there was so expensive that those interested incorporated the Interstate Fair for twenty-five thousand dollars and, borrowing ten thousand dollars more, purchased fifty-one acres of land east of the town and thereon held the eighth annual exhibit in September. 1901. with H. W. Peel as president and Herbert Bolster as secretary-manager. From the 6th to the 11th of October, 1902, the fair was again a feature of Spo- kane's activities, with Mr. Peel as president and George H. Martin as secretary- manager. The former continued as president with H. G. Stimmel, now deceased, as secretary and manager in 1903, and the fair was held from the 5th to the 13th of October. In 1901 it was opened on the 3d and continued to the 9th of October, with Mr. Peel as president and R. H. Cosgrove as secretary-manager. The same
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