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 40
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ROBERT E. M. STRICKLAND.
Robert E. M. Strickland was born at West Chester, Pennsylvania, Angust 14, 1867, a son of Nimrod and Rose (Gould) Striekland of that eity. Mr. Strickland pursued his early education in the publie schools of West Chester. He also at- tended the elassieal academy at that place and subsequently took up the reading of law and was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar on the 24th of October, 1888. He opened an office in West Chester but thinking that the far west offered better opportunities to young men, he came to Washington in January, 1889, and sinee July of that year he has made Spokane his home. He was first attorney for the Pennsylvania Mortgage Company, doing business in eastern Washington and Idaho, and was made manager of the company in 1892 but resigned this position about the 1st of January, 1898.
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In politics he is a gold democrat and in 1892-3 was a member of the demo- cratie state central committee. He has been a delegate to the city, county and state conventions of his party and was the chairman of the Spokane delegation which attended the convention in Olympia in 1892, when Snively was nominated. He was appointed by Governor McGraw, the second chief executive of the state, as regent of the State University at Seattle, serving out his term from 1893 until 1897. The university building on the shore of Lake Washington was started and completed during the time that Mr. Strickland was a member of the board of regents.
For many years he has been secretary and a member of the board of directors of the Spokane Club and he is also engaged in the real-estate and brokerage bnsi- ness with offices in the Columbia building.
JOHN A. DIX, M. D.
Dr. John A. Dix, practicing successfully in Garfield, is connected with those whose labors have set the standard for professional services in this city, for in all of his connections with the practice of medicine he has held to high ideals and continually advocated that progression which promotes the efficiency of the mem- bers of the medical fraternity. Born in Ohio, on the 15th of July. 1813. he is a son of Clark and Clarissie (Clough) Dix. The Dix family traces its ancestry in America to the Revolutionary times. The paternal grandfather, John Dix, was a native of Massachusetts but the parents were both born in Pennsylvania.
Dr. Dix pursued his early education in the public schools of Ohio. When he was nineteen years of age he enlisted as a private in Company G. Ninety-fifth Ohio Volunteers, for service in the Civil war. He was subsequently promoted to the position of second sergeant and during his service was incarcerated at Ander- sonville and other prisons for nine months. He received his discharge in June. 1865. at Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio. After he returned home he again attended school but in 1866 removed to lowa, where he worked as a farm hand and was en- gaged in teaching. Industrial pursuits did not appeal to him and he determined upon the medical profession as his life work. Accordingly he began studying medi- cine, matriculating at the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati, Ohio. He was graduated from that institution in 1871 with the degree of M. D. The same year he started to practice in Iowa but in 1878 removed to Nebraska, where he followed his profession for three years before taking it up again in lowa. In 1886 he re- moved to Garfield, Whitman county, Washington, and he has since that time been continuously engaged in the practice of medicine in this city. At the same time he opened a drug store. which he conducted until 1911. He did not regard his professional education complete when he left college and has ever remained a student of the science of medicine and has given proof of his broad learning in his professional practice. He now has a very extensive patronage and numbers among his patients many of the best people of the city. Aside from his professional du- ties, Dr. Dix has been active in politics and has been one of the enthusiastic ad- voentes of public improvements in Garfield. At present he is serving as mayor and is interested in all the movements that tend to produce an ideal city.
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Dr. Dix has been twice married. In 1870 he was united in marriage to Miss Cynthia Dresser, of Ohio, a daughter of Almond and Eleeta Dresser. To their union three children were born: Rena, who is the wife of Robert Lincoln, of Ohio, and the mother of two children; Ross, of Greeley, Colorado, who is married and has four children; and Cynthia, the wife of B. R. Williams, of Whitman county. and the mother of two children. In 188+ Dr. Dix was married to Miss Ida Fay, of Iowa, a daughter of David Fay. To their union five children have been born: Emmett, who is residing in Colfax; Ethel, who is living at home; Elizabeth, who is the wife of L. B. Monrey, of Garfield, and has one daughter; and Jessie and John M., both of whom are residing at home.
Dr. Dix gives his politieal support to the republican party. He has served as a member of the council for several terms, is at present filling the office of mayor, and in 1903 was elected to the legislature. As a Mason he has oeeupied all the chairs in the lodge and chapter. He also holds membership with the Artisans, John A. Logan Post, No. 16, G. A. R., of which he was at one time commander, and the Whitman County Medical Society. He possesses a most genial nature and his cordiality, affability and deference for the opinion of others render him personally popular and have seeured to him a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle of his acquaintance.
CYRUS EDWARD AVERILL.
Cyrus Edward Averill. who is engaged in the real-estate and loan business in Garfield, Whitman county, in partnership with Homer L. Rouse under the firm name of the Garfield Land Company, was born in Maine, on the 23d of August, 1860. He is a grandson of Stephen Averill, of Maine, and a son of Henry A. and Mehitable ( Burpey ) Averill. both natives of Maine. The father was promi- ment in the political cireles of Washington at an early day and did all the writing for the Washington territory legislature in 1852 and 1853.
Cyrus E. Averill received his edueation in the publie schools of Maine and in Battle Creek College in Michigan, which he attended in 1877. In the autumn of the following year he returned to Maine and worked on a farm until 1883. In that year he went west with his parents and for some time was located in Cali- fornia, where he was employed as a bookkeeper for the Pacific Coast Steamship Company until 1890. In Los Angeles he took a short course in a business col- lege and subsequently opened a grocery store in Pasadena independently, which he conducted until 1893, when he removed to Elberton, Washington. In that town he opened a store for himself and at the same time kept the books for a lumber company until 1897. when he removed to Garfield and engaged in the groeery business. He was eminently successful and had already won a large patronage when his entire stock and building were destroyed by fire in 1898. This was a heavy finaneial loss to him but because of the previous record which he had made as a man to be thoroughly relied upon his ereditors came to his assistance and made it possible for him to start in business again immediately. He conducted the store which he then opened until 1903, when he disposed of it to embark in the real-estate business. He at first organized the Garfield Land Company with A. H. Plummer as
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partner but in 1908 this partnership was dissolved and be associated himself with (. W. Hammaker in the real-estate and piano business. Although they were in busi- ness together less than two years, they disposed of three carloads of pianos and met with an equal degree of success in their real-estate business. In February. 1910, Mr. Averill entered into partnership with Homer 1 .. Rouse under the firm style of the Garfield Land Company and continued dealing in real estate and pianos. Ile has been one of the most successful real-estate dealers of Garfield and has not only shown his high sense of integrity in actual business dealings but has also been a valuable assistant and adviser to those contemplating purchasing or disposing of properties. He was one of the organizers of the Garfield National Bank and is at present a heavy stockholder and a director of that institution.
On the 24th of November, 1880, occurred the marriage of Mr. Averill to Miss Mmena II. Elsemore, a daughter of Stillman and Clara ( Woodman) Elsemore. of Maine. To Mr. and Mrs. Averill seven children have been born; Nellie, died in 1908, aged sixteen years; Ralph H. and Harrison Morton, both of whom are resi- dents of Montana: Violet, who is the wife of Alfred Tufts, of California, and has one child : and Edward. Clara and Kelsey. all of whom are residing at home.
In polities Mr. Averill gives his support to the republican party and is thor- ongldy alive to the issues of the day. His prominence in financial and business circles gives him the opportunity of exerting considerable influence over the politics of the party and he is one of its most loyal supporters. He is a Master Mason, belonging to Princeton Lodge, No. 139, Princeton, Maine, and also holds member- ship in the Woodmen of the World and the Artisans. His religious faith is indi- cated by his affiliation with the Methodist Episcopal church. Since Mr. Averill has been connected with the business circles of Garfield he has won that recognition which is always given to ability, integrity and an enterprising spirit when intelli- gently directed. and the esteem and regard which are his have been gained by a life of activity carried out in accordance with the highest ideals of citizenship.
FRANK H. GRAVES.
The growth of the northwest has been so rapid and so substantial as to seem ahnost magical and yet there are many men who are still prominent factors in the life of Spokane and other sections of the Inland Empire who became connected with the district during the primitive period in the history of the city. Among the num- ber is Frank H. Graves. He and his associates, utilizing the experiences of the past and the wisdom of the ages, have made this city one of the leading metropolitan centers of the Pacific coast country, bringing to bear practical judgment and busi- ness enterprise in the accomplishment of the task.
Mr. Graves is a native of Hancock county. Illinois, born June 15, 1857, and, tracing his ancestry back various generations, finds that Captain Thomas Graves was the progenitor of the family in America, having landed at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1608, on the William and Mary, which was the second ship to touch at that port. In shaping the destiny of the little Virginia colony he took an important part and in June. 1819, was one of the members of the first house of burgesses in Virginia. Through successive generations the family were connected with the agricultural de-
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velopment of that colony, owning large plantations in Accomac county, but sub- sequent to the establishment of American independence the great-grandfather cast in his lot with the settlers who were engaged in the reformation of Kentucky, con- verting it from a "dark and bloody ground" into one of the progressive states of the Mississippi valley. Hle there developed a large plantation, receiving the land as a grant from the government in recognition of valuable aid which he had ren- dered his country when the Revolutionary war was in progress. One of the counties of Kentucky was named in his honor. His son. Major Reuben Graves, of Boone county, Kentucky, made a splendid record in two of the wars of the country, serv- ing as major under Colonel Johnson in the Indian campaigns which largely led to the suppression of outbreaks among the red men in that part of the state and cul- minated in the battle of Tippecanoe, in which Major Graves secured the tomahawk of the famous Indian chief. Tecumseh. Later he did equally valuable and valiant service in the Mexican war. His opposition to the system of slavery led him to dis- pose of his property interests in the south, free his slaves and remove with his family to Hancock county, Illinois, being one of a colony of Kentucky people to found the town of St. Marys. There he became identified with agricultural interests and his son, John J. Graves, who had been born October 18, 1819, on the old fam- ily homestead in Kentucky, followed in the business footsteps of his father, added to his land until his holdings were extensive, and was prominently connected with agricultural interests in that locality. Ile also subscribed to the stock and aided in the building of the first railroad in that section, which was a division of the Burling- ton. extending from Galesburg to Quiney. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Orrilla Landon Berry, represented an old New England family. Her father was Dr. Jonathan Berry, of Grand Isle, Vermont, the chief surgeon on the American flagship at the battle of Plattsburg, in the War of 1812.
Their eldest son, Frank H. Graves, attended the distriet sehools until he had mastered the elementary branches of learning and later entered Carthage College of Carthage, Illinois, in which he completed the course by graduation with the class of 1880. Having pursued the study of law. he was admitted to the bar in the same year and in the spring of 1882 began practicing in Carthage. But the spirit of en- terprise which had led his ancestors in successive generations to migrate from the old world to the new, from Virginia to Kentucky, and from Kentucky to Illinois, led him to seek the opportunities of the northwest. and on Christmas day of 1884 he arrived in Spokane, where he opened an offiee and entered upon the practice of law. In years of continuons connection he is one of the oldest members of the Spokane har and has ever maintained a foremost place among the lawyers practic- ing in the courts of eastern Washington. His ability is manifest in the many ver- diets which he has won favorable to his clients. At the same time he has been prominently known in other connections, especially in the fields of mining and journalism. for he was one of the original owners and a member of the board of trustees of the Le Roi mine in British Columbia and in 1897 he became associated with Judge Turner. Colonel Ridpath and others in the purchase of the Seattle Post- Intelligencer, which they conducted until 1899, when they disposed of the paper to the present owners.
In September, 1882, occurred the marriage of Mr. Graves to Miss Maude Ferris, a daughter of Hiram G. and Phoebe (Holton) Ferris. Their two children are Car- roll S. and Arnold L. The former, born in September. 1883. is a graduate of the
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United States Naval Academy at Annapolis and is now lieutenant commander of the United States ship Decatur, in the Philippines. Arnold L., born in December, 1893, is a student in the Phillips-Exeter Academy, at Exeter. New Hampshire. The family residence is at No. 515 East Sixteenth avenue, where Mr. Graves erected an attractive home in 1906. He is a member of the Society of Colonial Wars, Sons of the American Revolution and the Spokane Club. He is preeminently a business man, practical and determined, accomplishing what he undertakes, and his theories have stood the test of practical achievement.
GEORGE HENRY WATT.
George H. Watt, who is professor of pharmacy of the Washington State College and is also conducting a drug store in Pullman, was born in Harrison county, Ohio. July 16. 1856. his parents being John and Sarah ( Frazier) Watt. both of whom were natives of Ohio. His grandfathers. Joseph Watt and George Frazier, were natives of Ireland and Maryland respectively. the Frazier family tracing its lineage back to the Fraziers who were prominent in Revolutionary times.
George H. Watt pursued his early education in the public schools of Ohio and subsequently was a student in the National Normal University at Lebanon, Ohio, from which institution he was graduated in 1880 with the degree of B. S. During three years of his college course, 1877-1879, Mr. Watt taught school. After his graduation he again took up teaching. and in the winter of 1880-81 was instructor in a school in Ohio. At the end of that time however he removed to Detroit, Min- nesota, where he taught until 1888 when he came to Oregon to begin his connection with the schools in that state. In Oregon he was principal at Jacksonville, until 1890 in which year he returned to Ohio and entered Scio College where he took up the study of pharmacy, receiving the degree of Ph. G. After being thus legally recognized as a pharmacist he came to North Yakima, Washington, and was elected superintendent of schools. He remained in this position for two years before com- ing to Pullman and became professor of chemistry in the State College of Wash- ington in January. 1893. Later he was principal of the preparatory school and in 1896 was made head of the department of pharmacy. This position is one which carries with it considerable honor and responsibility, but Mr. Watt has always ably met every ditheulty which arose and has conducted his courses so satisfactorily that he has won the esteem of the other members of the faculty.
In October, 1905, realizing he had sufficient time to do so without encroaching upon his college duties, he opened a drug store in Pullman which is known as Watt's Pharmacy. Because of his professional standing throughout the community his store is one of the most popular and best patronized business enterprises in Pullman. Mr. Watt has extended his commercial interests and has become connected with many of the important enterprises of Pullman. He is director and treasurer of the Pullman Savings & Loan Association and director and vice president of the Pull- man State Bank. He has evinced his confidence in the possibilities of the soil of the northwest by purchasing three hundred and thirty aeres of land in Idaho, which he is planting to fruit trees.
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In 1881, at Freeport, Ohio, Mr. Watt was united in marriage with Miss Harriet Colvin. a daughter of Samuel and Susannah (Sears) Colvin. To this union three children were born: Vivian, who married C. M. Seatterday of Freeport. Ohio; Franees C .. who is the wife of E. A. Clemens of Selah. Washington ; and George L., who is residing in Buhl, Idaho. In 1893, in North Yakima, Mr. Watt wedded Miss Anna Mattoon of that town. her death occurring in 1895. In 1910 Mr. Watt was again married, this union being with Miss Anna M. Torsen, a teacher, then residing at Viola, Idaho, where the ceremony took place. She is a daughter of Barney and Anna (Hansen) Torsen. both natives of Norway. To Mr. and Mrs. Watt one daughter, Anna Virginia, has been born.
Mr. Watt holds membership in the Congregational church, in which he aets as trustee and treasurer. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonie order and has served as seeretary for his lodge for several years. while he is also treasurer of the Royal Arch chapter. He likewise holds membership in the Moscow Lodge. No. 249, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and in the Pullman Chamber of Commerce. His political preference is given to the men and measures of the republican party. Starting out in life for himself at an early age he has since depended upon his own resources and can truly be ealled a self-made man.
THOMAS NEILL.
Thomas Neill. judge of the superior court of Whitman county. has been en- gaged in the practice of law in the state of Washington for twenty-three years. He is a native of Ireland, having been born in Belfast on the 14th of March. 1861, his parents being James and Elizabeth (Gregory) Neill, also natives of the Emerald isle.
Reared in the environment of a refined home, Thomas Neill acquired his early education under the supervision of governesses, but later was sent to a publie school and subsequently pursued a elassieal course in a private academy in his native land. Ile left Ireland at . the age of eighteen and became a eitizen of the United States, locating in Montieello. Indiana. in 1879. There he entered the law office of Judge Gregory to prepare himself for the legal profession. He assidu- ously applied himself to the mastery of the principles of jurisprudenee until 1882, at which time he was admitted to the bar. Immediately following thereupon he engaged in praetiee as a junior partner of Judge Gregory. with whom he was associated for a year. Believing that he could find a wider field for his activities in the larger and newer distriets of the west. he removed to North Dakota, locat- ing in Dawson. He established an office and engaged in general practice in that town, at the same time being associated with his brother, Hugh Neill, in the banking business for five years. In 1888 Judge Neill again started westward, Washington being his destination. He first settled in Pullman, where he built up a good elientele and was successfully engaged in praetiee until 1897, when he re- moved to Colfax. Here he formed a partnership with Charles MI. Wyman. under the firm name of Wyman & Neill, and the new combination took over the prac- tice of Chadwiek, Fullerton & Wyman. Judge Neill remained in Colfax until 1905. then returned to Pullman. again associating himself with the legal fraternity of that eity.
THOMAS NEILL
THE NEW YORK 00 LIBRARY
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Judge Neill is a very able representative of his profession, and is so regarded by his fellow practitioners and those who have employed his services. He has read widely and extensively and is exceedingly well informed on every phase of his profession. In the preparation of his cases he is painstaking and cautious. presenting his cause with a dignity and assurance that carries great weight in the courtroom. He has been called to a number of public offices, having served both as city attorney and mayor while residing in Pullman, and as city attorney in Colfax.
While residing in Dawson, North Dakota, Judge Neill was married to Miss Ada M. Allen, the event occurring December 16, 1886. Mrs. Neill is a daughter of K. P. and Susan (Garow) Allen, and is a native of Michigan as were also her parents. Two children have been born of the union of Mr. and Mrs Neill. Roy A., who is living in Pullman: and Marjorie, at home.
In his political views Judge Neill has always been independent, giving his support to such men and measures as he deems best adapted to meet the exigencies of the situation. Fraternally he is a member of both the Knights of Pythias and Odd Fellows, and has passed through all of the chairs in both of these lodges, while he maintains relations with his fellow members of the bar through his con- nection with the Whitman County Bar Association, of which he is an ex-president. Educational matters have always engaged the attention of Judge Neill. who was one of those who exerted considerable influence in getting the State College lo- cated at Pullman. As a citizen of Whitman county he has ever proven loyal in his allegiance to its best interests by giving his aid and exerting his influence to promote every movement which he deemed at all likely to develop or advance its intellectual and moral standards.
SANFORD HOSKINSON RIGGS.
A native of West Virginia. Sanford Hoskinson Riggs was born May 17. 1845. his parents being Nathaniel T. and Louisa (Martin) Riggs, also natives of West Virginia. The family origin is traced back to Wales, whence representatives of the name came to this country prior to the Revolutionary war. Samuel Riggs, grandfather of the subject of this review. landed in Pennsylvania and took an active part in the Indian wars in the carlier days when the thirteen colonies repre- sented the civilization which has now extended throughout the United States.
Sanford Hoskinson Riggs was reared in West Virginia, where in the common schools he received his education and assisted his father. dividing his attention between the duties of the school room and the work of the farm. In 1863 he gave his entire time to assisting his father, but in the following year he removed to Clarksville, Pike county. Missouri, where he worked as a farm hand until 1866. when he started farming on his own account, remaining in that state until 1873. He then decided to remove to Colorado, and there farmed for two years. In that state, however, he met with serious disaster as everything be raised was destroyed by the great scourge of grasshoppers which visited that section. He then returned to Missouri where he remained until the year 1880, when he re- moved to Rosalia. Whitman county. Washington, driving across the plains from
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Vandalia, Missouri. On arriving in this state he filed on a government home- stead three and a half miles east of Rosalia which comprised one hundred and sixty acres, and also bought one hundred and sixty acres of school land. Toiling early and late, by well directed efforts he soon placed his half section of land under cultivation and introduced on it such modern improvements as he considered to be of service to him in his general farming operations. Although he was very successful as a whole in his business, during 1893 he suffered a disastrous loss of ten thousand bushels of wheat which so crippled him financially that he was again compelled to begin all over the work of building up his fortune. He re- mained on his farm until 1900, when he retired and moved to Rosalia, so that the younger children of his family might have the advantages of the superior educa- tional facilities to be found there.
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