USA > Washington > Spokane County > Spokane > Spokane and the Spokane country : pictorial and biographical : deluxe supplement, Volume I > Part 11
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R.a. Hutchinson
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Richard Ashton Hutchinson
ICHARD ASHTON HUTCHINSON is well R known in Spokane through the real-estate business which he has conducted, but is perhaps more widely known throughout the state as the senator from the Spokane district. He has been almost continuously in office since 1882 when, at the first election held in Spokane county, he was chosen assessor. Consecutive progress has brought him to a position of prominence and individual ability has made him a leader in public thought and action.
Mr. Hutchinson was born in Grand Gulf, Mississippi, February 14, 1853, a son of William Dean and Margaret ( Murray) Hutchin- son. The father, who was born in Kentucky in 1798, was a cousin of Andrew Jackson, whose mother belonged to the Hutchinson fam- ily. In 1836 William Dean Hutchinson removed from Kentucky to Illinois and afterward went to Havana, Cuba, where he was engaged in business until the outbreak of the Mexican war, when he returned to the United States and volunteered for service with the Mississippi troops. He also went to California in 1849 with the argonants in search of the golden fleece, but after a brief period spent on the coast returned to Mississippi. His opposition to slavery caused him to join John Brown in his famous campaign in Kansas and during the Civil war he served as guide on General Sigel's staff in Missouri but became disabled and left the army. In the winter of 1862 he went to Col- orado but returned to Kansas and was the builder of the first house in Hays City, that state. He became a resident of eastern Washing- ton, and he and his sons became the first settlers in what is now Mon- dovi, Lincoln county, where his death occurred on the 8th of Novem- ber, 1884. There have been few men whose lives have been more closely connected with a greater number of events of national im- portance than William Dean Hutchinson. Enterprising in spirit, fearless in action, he was the champion of his country's interest in the Mexican war, the friend of the oppressed when slavery marred the fair name of the nation and he met with valorous spirit the hardships and privation incident to pioneer life in California and Washington. His wife was of Irish and Scotch descent. Her father was a lieu-
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Richard Ashton Butchinson
tenant in the Scotch Grays of the British army during the Napoleonic wars and fought under Wellington throughout the Peninsular cam- paign and at Waterloo.
Richard Ashton Hutchinson was with his father in Missouri in 1857 when a lad of four years and afterward in Colorado and Kan- sas. While in the former state he served as a page in the legislature and also worked for a time in the Denver mint. During his residence in Kansas he was for seven years engaged in driving cattle and in conducting a store as well as in fighting Indians, for the settlers had to contest their right to the territory against the red men. In 1872 with the others of the family he became a pioneer of Quillayute county on the Pacific coast where he improved and developed land. About that time his father met with reverses and the support of the family fell upon Richard A. Hutchinson, then twenty-two years of age. From 1873 until 1879 he worked in the coal mines at Newcastle, King county, but while there became crippled and also lost his health. On the 1st of May, 1879, he started on foot for eastern Washington with his younger brother William Hutchinson. They arrived at Spo- kane on the 20th day of May, finding here a hamlet of fifty people. The brothers took up land thirty-five miles west of the city which they developed and cultivated, transforming it into a valuable tract which they still own. Almost from the beginning of his residence in Spo- kane county Mr. Hutchinson has been prominent as a factor in its public life. At its first election held in 1882 the district, then com- prising the present counties of Spokane, Lincoln, Adams, Douglas and Franklin, he was elected assessor. In 1883 the division of the county was changed so that his property was beyond the borders of Spokane county and as he wished to be with his father he resigned his office but was elected assessor of Lincoln county. In June, 1886, he grubstaked the halfbreeds who discovered the mines at Ruby camp, Okanogan county when the reservation was first opened. He has always been interested there and still retains a working property in that district. When Joseph's band of Nez Perce Indians were brought to Spokane in 1886 he received them as prisoners of war and took them to the Nespelem valley on the Colville reservations where he lived with them until July, 1889, teaching them farming. During the first year and a half Mr. Hutchinson and his wife were the only white residents with those Indians, his nearest neighbor being a horseman fifteen miles distant, on the south side of the Columbia river.
From time to time Mr. Hutchinson was called to public office and has done not a little in shaping the policy of the country during its
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Richard Ashton Dutchinson
formative period. In 1890 he had charge of the United States census in Lincoln county and was elected a member of the house of repre- sentatives for the fifteenth district. In 1892 he was chosen senator from Okanogan and Lincoln counties representing the first district, and thus he was actively concerned with framing the laws of the state, giving careful consideration to every important question which came up for settlement.
Reverses overtook Mr. Hutchinson in 1893, for during the panic of that year he lost all of his property and was in debt fifteen thou- sand dollars, but with resolute spirit he looked to the future to retrieve his losses and in 1895 came to Spokane, where with a borrowed capital of five hundred dollars he embarked in the real-estate business. Such was the sound judgment that he displayed in his purchases and sales of property that within a short time he was able to regain possession of his old home in Lincoln county and discharge all of his indebted- ness. Since that time he has continued not only to engage in the real-estate business but also in mining and he is one of the most ex- tensive individual wheat raisers in the state, having over ten thousand acres in Lincoln, Adams, Douglas and Spokane counties. His min- ing interests are in the Coeur d'Alenes, British Columbia and in Okan- ogan and Stevens counties. Recognizing the possibilities for the country especially when water can be secured to aid in its development, Mr. Hutchinson became the promoter of the Opportunity irrigation district east of Spokane. The National Country Life Commission, appointed by President Roosevelt, said of Opportunity: "It is the most ideal place for Rural Homes that we have seen." Since dispos- ing of his interests in Opportunity Mr. Hutchinson has been actively engaged in real-estate dealing in Spokane, especially handling that district of the city known as the Hutchinson addition. His fitness for office as indicated by his public-spirited citizenship and his devo- tion to all that works for the welfare of the locality and the common- wealth led to his election in 1906 to the house of representatives from Spokane county and in 1908 he was elected from the fourth district to the state senate, wherein his term of office will continue until 1912.
Senator Hutchinson has been twice married, his first wife being Miss Amelia Johnson, a native of Washington. They were married in 1883. Three children were born to bless this union: Margaret Elizabeth, wife of J. B. Hayes; Ida A .. and William Dean. Mrs. Hutchinson died April 10, 1893. On the 9th of February, 1895, he was united in marriage to Marguerite Wright, a native of Virginia and a daughter of Weitzel A. and Sarah Ann (Taylor) Wright. Mrs. Hutchinson taught the first school in Wenatchee in 1885, being
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then only sixteen years of age. Three children were born of this union, Marita, Rachael and Richard Ashton, Jr. The parents are members of the Episcopal church and are interested in all those feat- ures which contribute to the material, intellectual, social and moral welfare of the community. The life record of Mr. Hutchinson if written in detail would present many thrilling and unusual chapters because of his life on the frontier and his experience with the red men, as well as his efforts to attain advancement in a business way, ef- forts that have ultimately been crowned with a substantial measure of success.
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James Clark
James Clark
H ISTORY was formerly a record of wars and con- quests but has become a record of business activity and of man's utilization of natural resources. In this connection the life work of James Clark is nota- ble. He came to America when a youth in his teens and gradually worked his way upward until he be- came one of the conspicuous figures in mining circles in the west and in fact his name was known throughout the length and breadth of the country. Prosperity did not come to him as the result of for- tunate conditions or circumstances, but because of his keen sagacity, manifested in judicious investments and the careful conduct of his business interests.
He was born in Ireland in 1849 and died on the 8th of August, 1901. Within that period he accomplished that which would be a credit and honor to the life of any individual. His parents were James and Mary Clark, and while spending his youthful days in the parental home he pursued his education and thus laid the foundation for his later advancement. Favorable reports reached him concern- ing business conditions in the new world and he was but seventeen years of age when he with his brother, Patrick Clark, came to the United States. They made their way westward to Butte, Montana, and while Patrick Clark became associated with Marcus Daly as fore- man in the development of the Alice mine and later in the opening and operation of the Anaconda mine, James Clark worked as a miner and day by day added to his knowledge and experience of the busi- ness. Later he made his way to the Coeur d'Alene district where he was also engaged in mining, and eventually he became interested in mining property at Rossland, British Columbia, being superintend- ent of the well known War Eagle mine. He was afterward one of the original discoverers of Republic camp, locators and owners of the Republic and other mines there and from its sale realized a hand- some fortune. As the years passed he became recognized as an ex- pert on mining property and its possibilities, and the soundness of his judgment was proven in his splendid success, making him one of
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the wealthy men of the northwest and one of the best known repre- sentatives of mining interests in the entire country.
Mr. Clark was married in Butte, Montana, in 1883, to Mrs. Char- lotte (Willman) Toner, a daughter of Henry and Alicia (Foy) Willman, of Ireland. They have three children: Agnes, at home; Patrick of the Traders National Bank, in which institution the es- tate has large holdings of stock; and Katherine, at school. The fam- ily circle was broken by the hand of death, when on the 8th of August, 1901, Mr. Clark passed away. His political allegiance was given to the democratic party and fraternally he was connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He was a devout ad- herent of the Roman Catholic church. His friends found him a very witty man, quick at repartee and a most congenial and entertaining companion. He possessed the characteristic versatility and ability of people of his nationality and his record is a credit alike to the land of his birth and the land of his adoption. In business his associates and colleagues found him reliable as well as enterprising and pro- gressive, and his efforts were ever of a character that contributed to the general development and consequent prosperity of the northwest as well as to his individual success.
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James A. Anderson
ARMING, stock-raising, merchandising, banking, F mining, real-estate dealing-all have claimed the at- tention of James A. Anderson, and in each field he has operated successfully. He is today a prominent figure in financial circles in Spokane, is also inter- ested in the Division Street Hardware Company and is the owner of considerable valuable property in the Palouse country. He was born in Iowa, May 14, 1859, a son of John and Margaret (Davis) Anderson, both of whom were natives of Scotland and were descended from old and prominent Scotch families. Both are now deceased, the mother passing away in 1874. Several sons and daugh- ters of the family are living in this country.
The removal of his parents from Iowa to Kansas in his early youth made James A. Anderson a pupil in the schools of the latter state and in the high school, where he completed his education. He was engaged in farming and stock-raising in Kansas during the period of his early manhood but came to Washington in 1889 and turned his attention to commercial pursuits, becoming a dealer in hardware, implements and grain at Rosalia. There he remained until 1906, when he removed to Spokane, and the success which he had achieved along commercial lines enabled him to become one of the large stock- holders in the Spokane State Bank, of which he was elected presi- dent in 1907. This institution conducts a general banking business, with J. A. Anderson as president; H. A. Steinke, vice president; G. W. Peddycord, cashier; and H. W. Belshaw, Josh Wilson, J. M. Donovan and J. W. Bursell as directors. The bank is capitalized for fifty thousand dollars and has a surplus of twelve thousand. A gen- eral banking business is conducted and this is the only bank on the north side, its location being at the corner of Division and Nora streets. The company owns its own home, known as the Spokane Bank building, a two-story brick structure, sixty by ninety feet, the first story being used for banking purposes, while the second is divided into apartments. The bank has a large out-of-town patronage and, based upon safe, conservative principles, is doing a good business. Mr. Anderson is also stockholder in the Exchange and Fidelity
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James A. Anderson
Banks, is the largest owner in the Spokane State Bank building and holds fifty per cent of the stock in the Division Street Hardware Company, of which he is the president. He has also made investment in property, owning one thousand acres in the Palouse country all under cultivation, and four hundred and eighty acres under cultiva- tion in Alberta and timber lands in Washington. He is one of the largest owners of the Belcher Mining Company in Terry county, Washington, and is secretary and treasurer of the company.
On the 27th of October, 1886, in Dunlap, Kansas, occurred the marriage of James A. Anderson and Miss Jennie F. Webster, a daughter of Captain Webster, who commanded steamboats on the Ohio river. The two children born unto them are: Bernice, now the wife of Orville Tupper, cashier of the Wilson Creek Bank; and Rex, who is now attending high school.
Politically Mr. Anderson is a republican and is an active and in- fluential worker of his party who has served as delegate to county and state conventions and has done effective work on the county central committee. He is interested in all that pertains to Spokane's pro- gress and upbuilding and because of this has become a working mem- ber of the Chamber of Commerce. He also belongs to the Inland Club and is well known in fraternal circles, holding membership in Spokane Lodge, No. 34, F. & A. M., in Oriental Consistory of the Scottish Rite and in El Katif Temple of the Mystic Shrine. While in Rosalia he filled all of the chairs in the local lodge save that of master. He belongs to Spokane Lodge, No. 134, I. O. O. F., in which he has filled all of the chairs and is now a past grand. He has achieved remarkable success, advancing from farmer boy to his present position as banker, merchant and landowner, and his prosper- ity is a visible evidence of intelligence and well directed industry, of determination, perseverance and notable ambition.
W.Hacuff
William Henry Acuff
ILLIAM HENRY ACUFF is now living retired W after long and close association with business inter- ests of Spokane, whereby he contributed to the gen- eral welfare in addition to advancing his individual success. He was born at Gwynedd, Pennsylvania, October 8, 1846, his home being about sixteen miles from Philadelphia in the old Welsh settlement there. At the time that William Penn arrived in that state the three corners of the town square at Gwynedd had been in possession of the Acuff family for a long period. The ancestry is Welsh and Scotch and the parents of our subject were William and Lydia (Ellis) Acuff. The father died when his son William was but five months old, his death being occasioned by typhoid fever when he was twenty-six years of age. The mother lived to the advanced age of eighty-two years and passed away in California in 1906.
William Henry Acuff was an only child and pursued his educa- tion in the schools of Pennsylvania and Illinois, having accompanied his mother on her removal to the latter state when eleven years of age. He afterward returned to Norristown, Pennsylvania, where he attended school from 1864 until 1868. He also spent a portion of the time on the oil fields in order to earn the money necessary to enable him to continue his education. In 1868 he again went to Illi- nois, settling at Decatur, Macon county, and in that vicinity he fol- lowed farming and milling, dealt in grain and taught school. Event- ually he turned his attention to the lumber business and organized what is known today as the Decatur Lumber & Manufacturing Com- pany, one of the important industrial and commercial interests of that district. In the spring of 1889 his health failed him and he dis- posed of his interests in the middle west. He then enjoyed a period of rest covering a few years and in the spring of 1890 came to Spo- kane, remaining out of business, however, until February, 1892, when he organized the Washington Mill Company, of which he became the first secretary. Afterward he was president of the company for a period of fifteen years and in July, 1910, having, won substantial success in the conduct of this enterprise, he retired. He has financial
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interests in the Trustee Company of Spokane, of which he has been a director since its organization.
Aside from business Mr. Acuff is well known in republican cir- cles where he has exerted a wide influence, being well qualified by nature and acquired ability to become a leader of public thought and action. In 1896 he was elected on the republican ticket a member of the city council and served for three years as chairman of its finance committee, while for one year he was president of the coun- cil. It was during his term that Spokane was nearly bankrupt and it was through the good business judgment and careful management of Mr. Acuff that the city was able to meet its monthly pay rolls and weather the financial storm. He spent the winter of 1904-5 in Wash- ington, D. C., representing the Chamber of Commerce in the inter- est of Spokane, endeavoring to assist President Roosevelt in secur- ing increased power for the interstate commerce commission and aid Spokane in its fight for reduced freight rates. The good results he accomplished cannot be overestimated. The campaign was con- ducted in such a manner that it awakened the admiration of business men and manufacturers all over the United States. In 1908 Mr. Acuff went to Japan as a Spokane representative with the Pacific coast commercial commission to look into the trade relations between the two countries. His efforts have been most effective in promot- ing business conditions and in bringing forth elements that have been far-reaching forces in the growth and material upbuilding of the northwest. For many years he was the vice president of the Pacific Coast Lumberman's Association and was also president of the local association.
On the 22d of August, 1871, in St. Louis, Missouri, Mr. Acuff was married to Miss Isabelle Bricker, a daughter of Aaron and Louise Bricker of Decatur, Illinois, and they had one daughter, Lillie A., the wife of John C. Neffeler, of Spokane. The wife and mother died in this city in November, 1896. Since his retirement from busi- ness life Mr. Acuff has largely devoted his attention to Masonry which had also claimed much of his time and thought previously. He stands very high in the order and is a past master of Tyrian Lodge, No. 96, F. & A. M .; past high priest of Spokane Chapter, No. 2, R. A. M .; past thrice illustrious master of Spokane Council, No. 4, R. & S. M .; past eminent commander of Cataract Commandery, No. 3, K. T .; and past commander of Oriental Consistory, No. 2, S. P. R. S. He has likewise been awarded the honorary thirty- third degree and is a member of El Katif Temple of the Mystic
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William Denry Acuff
Shrine. He is likewise a member of the grand council and is one of its deputy grand masters. He is also junior warden of the grand commandery and is a past patron of the Eastern Star. He is today one of the best known men of Spokane, respected by all. In man- ner he is modest and retiring but the work that he has accomplished speaks for itself. His love of justice has expressed itself in correct principle and practice and added to this, the salient features of his life have been a deep earnestness, impelled and fostered by indomi- table perseverance, and a progressive spirit ruled by more than ordi- nary intelligence and good judgment.
3. da. Binkley
W. BINKLEY of Spokane has been associated with various interests which have constituted elements in the growth and progress of Spokane and the sur- rounding country. He now occupies a prominent position in financial circles as president of the North Pacific Loan & Trust Company, in which connec- tion he is a partner of Jacob R. Taylor. He was born in Ontario, Canada, July 10, 1856, his parents being George and Mary (Rymal) Binkley. He had the advantage of liberal educational training, at- tending the Collegiate Institute of Ontario and afterward the To- ronto University, in which he took up the study of law, pursuing his course until qualified for practice. After leaving college he made his way direct to this state, settling first in Seattle. He was admitted to the bar at Tacoma in 1883 and the same year came to Spokane, where he formed a partnership with his cousin, Jacob R. Taylor, which rela- tion has since been maintained. They entered at once upon the ac- tive practice of law and made steady progress in that field but have gradually withdrawn to concentrate their energies and attention upon other business interests. Mr. Binkley served as probate judge of the county in 1885 and 1886, having been elected on the democratic ticket, but for some years he has not taken an active part in politics aside from exercising his right of franchise. More and more largely his efforts and activities have been concentrated upon his business affairs and he is now president of the North Pacific Loan & Trust Company, which deals entirely in farm mortgages and handles for- eign capital from Holland. The firm have now loaned on these mort- gages over one million dollars. They first organized the Northwest- ern & Pacific Mortgage Company in 1884, it having a continuous existence until 1896, when it was taken over by the Northwestern Hypotheek Bank, subsequent to which time they organized their present business under the name of the North Pacific Loan & Trust Company. In this way Mr. Binkley has contributed much toward the upbuilding, progress and improvement of this district and his progressive work has also been done as the president of the first and second fruit fairs which were ever held here.
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J. W. Binkley
In 1880 Mr. Binkley was married to Miss Josephine Clarkson, of Ontario, who died in Spokane. They had one daughter, Ethelyn, who is the wife of Aubrey L. White, of this city. Mr. Binkley be- longs to the Chamber of Commerce and in more strictly social lines is connected with the Spokane Club, the Spokane Amateur Athletic Club and the Spokane Country Club.
Jacob R. Taylor
F OR more than twenty-eight years the firm of Binkley & Taylor has maintained a continuous existence, the partners being J. W. Binkley and Jacob R. Taylor, whose connection with the bar and operations in finan- cial circles have constituted an important and force- ful element in the general growth and prosperity of Spokane and outlying districts. The birth of Mr. Taylor occurred in Ontario, Canada, on the 21st of December, 1854, his parents being George and Margaret (Rymal) Taylor. In pursuing his education he spent some time as a student of the Collegiate Institute at Brant- ford, Ontario, and afterward prepared for the bar as a law student in Toronto University. On crossing the border into the United States he made his way to Denver, Colorado, where he took the required ex- amination and was admitted to the bar in 1882. He then came to the northwest, with Seattle as his destination and in that city was joined by his cousin, J. W. Binkley. After a brief period in Seattle and a short stay in Tacoma they decided upon Spokane as a favorable loca- tion, and opened a law office, continuing in general practice for a time but later turning their attention to financial interests, organizing in 1884 the Northwestern & Pacific Mortgage Company under which name they carried on business until 1896. This was then taken over by the Northwestern & Pacific Hypotheek Bank and was followed by the organization of the North Pacific Loan & Trust Company. They deal entirely in farm and city mortgages and handle foreign capital, mostly from Holland, having invested more than one million dollars in mortgages in this district.
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