USA > Washington > Spokane County > Spokane > Spokane and the Spokane country : pictorial and biographical : deluxe supplement, Volume I > Part 2
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James A. Comstock
part of North Carolina, and from there he was sent to old Fort Hem- bries for the purpose of gathering up Confederates on furlough. The command then returned to east Tennessee and joined Sherman's army on the campaign to Atlanta and remained with that command until the surrender of Atlanta. During this campaign he partici- pated in the battles of Buzzards Roost, Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain and Peach Tree Creek. He accompanied General McCook on his raid to the rear of Atlanta and after that movement was com- missioned by General George H. Thomas to return to Nashville, Tennessee, and reorganize, mount and equip all of the dismounted cavalry to be found in that locality. He had succeeded in getting about two hundred men when the Confederate general, Joe Wheeler, came up to a point within six miles of Nashville and for a period of twenty days kept the whole northern force chasing him until they finally succeeded in driving him across the Tennessee river. Mr. Comstock's command then returned to Nashville but shortly after- ward the Confederates, under the command of General Forrest, made another raid into the southern portion of the state and again the Union troops drove them back into Alabama. Mr. Comstock next rejoined his regiment at Cartersville, Georgia, whence he was sent to Louisville, Kentucky, where the term of his enlistment expired in December, 1864. He then returned to his Wisconsin home and in January, 1865, reenlisted and was recommissioned captain of Com- pany F of the First Wisconsin Cavalry. He then went to Nashville but was unable to join his regiment, which was on campaign duty in Alabama and Georgia.
When mustered out at the close of the war Captain Comstock settled at Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, where he carried on general mer- chandising until 1872. He then removed to Algona, Iowa, and con- tinued in that business for eighteen years, during which period he took a very prominent part in the affairs of the city, serving for a number of years as a member of its council, while for one term he filled the office of mayor. He also acted as a member of the school board until he left Iowa, about 1890, and was for years president of the Northern Iowa Normal school, which was located at Algona.
Mr. Comstock first visited Spokane in 1884 as the guest of A. M. Horton, who was then editor of The Chronicle. In January, 1889, he again reached this city, arriving at about 11 o'clock in the morn- ing. Before 4 o'clock in the afternoon of the same day he had pur- chased property on Main street, having determined to locate per- manently. In July of the same year he returned here, bringing with
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James Al. Comstock
him R. B. Patterson, with whom he had formed a partnership under the firm style of Comstock & Patterson. They opened a retail dry- goods store, renting a room in the Crescent building, on Riverside avenue, just east of the Review building. Their entire stock was placed in the new building on the evening of August 3, 1889, and on the next day the entire business section of the city was destroyed by fire. The flames advanced to within a block of their new store and were there checked, leaving the establishment of Comstock & Patter- son as the only dry-goods store in the city. The business grew very rapidly, the firm prospering in their undertakings, and as the coun- try developed they extended the scope of their activities by the estab- lishment of a wholesale department. In 1904 the Spokane Dry Goods Company was organized and took over the entire business, Mr. Comstock remaining as vice president of the company. The retail branch is conducted under the name of The Crescent and is one of the most complete department stores in the west. From the begin- ning the project has proven a remunerative one and at the present writing they are erecting a large addition to the retail store. The Spokane Dry Goods Company also has a mammoth wholesale build- ing of its own on the railroad tracks, erected a few years ago. The labors of Mr. Comstock have constituted a most important element in the growth and expansion of the trade, for his judgment is sound, his sagacity keen, and his industry and enterprise unfaltering. The officers of the Spokane Dry Goods Company are also the owners of the Dry Goods Realty Company, which owns and controls all of the property and buildings of the former organization.
On the 29th of March, 1866, Mr. Comstock was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Annis, a daughter of Chauncy L. and Lydia (Allen) Annis, of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. They have two chil- dren: Josie, the wife of Eugene A. Shadle, of Spokane, and May, at home. Mr. Comstock finds pleasure and recreation in several frater- nal associations. He is a past commander of Sedgwick Post, G. A. R., and was assistant acting adjutant general of the department of Wash- ington and Alaska, under Commander Norman Buck, in 1896. He is also president of the Northwestern Veteran's Association and he belongs to Tyrian Lodge, No. 96, F. & A. M. His religious faith is that of the First Unitarian church, in which he has served as a trustee for more than twenty years. The worth and value of his public serv- ices in Spokane are widely acknowledged. He served as a member of Spokane city council from May, 1894, to May, 1899, and during that time was president of the council for three years. Mr. Com-
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James A. Comstock
stock was a persistent advocate of the use of water meters from the time he entered the city council to the close of his administration as mayor, in fact was almost absolutely alone in the advocacy of the use of meters for a number of years. At the present time the city council have adopted what Mr. Comstock advocated at that time and have come to see the wisdom and advantages of installing such a system. In May, 1899, he was elected mayor for a term of two years, during which period he instigated and, through his intelligent and persistent efforts, completed many improvements, such as paving Sprague and First avenues and the following streets from the Northern Pacific right of way to the river, Monroe, Lincoln, Post, Wall and Stevens, River- side avenue having been paved while he was president of the council. The water system was greatly improved and enlarged during this period.
In 1910, accompanied by Mrs. Comstock and their daughter, he spent three months in Japan, studying the agricultural, economic, manufacturing and financial interests of the empire. During that time they visited all of the leading cities from Nagasaki on the south to Nike on the north. In his travels through Japan, Mr. Comstock noted especially the great advancement that nation is making, particu- larly in their economic, manufacturing, railroad and ship building interests. He found the Japanese a peaceful people and their history during the past four hundred years shows that they have had only two wars with foreign nations, one with China and one with Russia. In Mr. Comstock's opinion should trouble occur between the United States and Japan, it will be the fault of the United States govern- ment, as Japan's slogan is: "Peaceful commercial relation with all nations."
The family residence is at No. 1106 Ninth avenue and one of its attractive features is its large and well selected library. Mr. Com- stock is a man of scholarly attainments and of much literary ability, and has delivered and prepared many lectures and readings. One in particular, a comparison between General Grant and Frederick the Great, has been delivered on many occasions and has awakened wide- spread attention throughout the country. He has also been a close student of Shakespeare for many years, devoting much time not only to the reading of the plays but to everything bearing upon the subject, and he claims, with many others, that Shakespeare never wrote what is accredited to him. His reading and study has at all times covered a wide range and on the social, political and economic questions of the day he keeps abreast with the best thinking men of
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James Al. Comstock
the age. He finds his companionship among people of kindred tastes and interests. His career has been remarkably successful, chiefly by reason of his natural ability and his thorough interest in a busi- ness in which as a young tradesman he embarked. There is one point in his career, covering twenty-two years in Spokane, to which all the old settlers refer, and that is whether as a wholesale merchant or in other relations of life, Mr. Comstock has always been the same genial, courteous gentleman, whose ways are those of refinement and whose word no man can question.
The in Cowley
Michael Al. Cowley
ICHAEL M. COWLEY, a retired capitalist, is one M of the best known men in eastern Washington, and the consensus of public opinion places him in a prom- inent position among those whose lives have won for them the respect, good-will and confidence of their fellowmen. He has remained in the Pacific coast country since the spring of 1862 and for some years prior to that time was a resident of the west. He has thus long lived in a district where men are rated not by wealth but by worth and where the oppor- tunity is open for each individual to prove his worth. Coming to America practically empty-handed, he advanced step by step, as the way was open. He always watched for favorable opportunity and in the later years of his business activity he was a prominent figure in banking circles in Spokane. He now resides at 1128 Pearl street, and the fruits of his former toil supply him with all of the comforts and some of the luxuries of life.
The family name indicates his Irish nativity and ancestry. He was born in Rathdrum, County Wicklow, Ireland, May 9, 1841, his parents being Hugh and Bridget ( Byrne) Cowley. The father was the owner of general mercantile stores in several different localities of that country and won success through well directed business inter- ests. A love of adventure and the opportunities which he believed were to be secured in the new world led Michael M. Cowley to leave the Emerald isle when fifteen years of age and embark on a sailing vessel for America, where he arrived after a voyage of forty-nine days. He landed at New York city and proceeded thence to Roches- ter, New York, where he was employed by a relative in a grocery store at eight dollars per month. Two years were thus passed and he then started for California but as his funds were not sufficient to carry him all the way he proceeded only as far as Leavenworth, Kan- sas, where a United States military expedition was outfitting for the reinforcement of General Albert Sidney Johnston in the suppression of the Mormon disturbances. Mr. Cowley entered as teamster and was later given clerical work in connection with the expedition. while subsequently he was promoted to a position in the sutler's department at higher wages. He thus traveled across the plains and over the
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Michael Al. Comley
mountains with the expedition to Benicia, California, and as the orig- inal object of the trip had been accomplished the troops were sent to different posts in the west. Mr. Cowley was sent to Beall's Crossing in Colorado, afterward Fort Mojave, and remained in charge of the sutler's stores until the outbreak of the Civil war in 1861.
Mr. Cowley permanently took up his abode on the Pacific coast in the fall of that year, settling at Portland, Oregon, and in the spring of 1862 went to a mining camp at Florence, Idaho, where he engaged in mining until the early part of 1864. He also followed merchandis- ing at Wild Horse Creek, in the Kootenai mining regions, and at Bonner's Ferry, Idaho. On the 4th of July, 1872, he settled at Spo- kane Bridge on the Spokane river, about seventeen miles east of the falls, the place being then known as Kendall's Bridge, and later as Cowley's Bridge. He continued to conduct a store at that place and at the same time operated the bridge and executed government con- tracts for furnishing supplies to Fort Coeur d'Alene. Mr. Cowley has been identified with the upbuilding of Spokane since the year of the great fire, entering financial circles here as cashier in the Traders National Bank. His capability for the management of important financial interests was soon manifest and after five years he was elected to the presidency of the bank in which he continued until 1906, when he resigned and retired from active life. He still remains a director of the bank, however, and president of the Savings society.
Mr. Cowley was married to Miss Annie Connelly, who was born in Ireland and passed away in Spokane, November 24, 1907, leaving two daughters, Mary Frances and Eleanor B. The former is now the wife of J. F. Reddy, of Medford, Oregon, and has a son and two daughters, while Eleanor B. Cowley became the wife of James Smyth, of Spokane, and has one son and one daughter.
Mr. Cowley belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, at Spokane, also to St. Aloysius church. He is one of the few men living who have been identified with the settlement of northeastern Washington and the region known as the Inland Empire from the earliest times. He belongs to the little group of distinctively repre- sentative business men who have been the pioneers in inaugurating and building up the chief industries of this section of the country. He early had the sagacity and prescience to discern the eminence which the future had in store for this great and growing district, and acting in accordance with the dictates of his faith and judgment he has garnered in the fullness of time the generous harvest which is the just recompense of indomitable industry, integrity and noteworthy enterprise.
James monaghan
James Monaghan
INSEPARABLY interwoven with the history of Spokane is the name of James Monaghan, who from the time that he first arrived here in frontier days down to the present time, has left his impress upon the substantial development and upbuilding of the western empire. Today he is a leading factor in financial circles and at different times he has been closely associated with the mining interests and railroad building of the northwest. His birth occurred in Belturbet, Ireland, September 22, 1839, his parents being John and Mary Ann (O'Riley) Monaghan of that place. He was the youngest of three children and was only three years of age when left an orphan. He afterward made his home with his maternal grandparents until seventeen years of age, when the interesting reports which he heard concerning the United States led him to sever home ties and cross the Atlantic to the new world. He took up his residence with his brother, a New York physician, with whom he remained for some time but he heard the call of the west and in 1858 made the trip to the Pacific coast by way of the isthmus of Panama, reaching Vancouver on the Columbia river in May. His financial condition rendered it imperative that he gain immediate em- ployment and he secured a position in connection with the operation of a ferry on the Des Chutes river near The Dalles, Oregon. He was also employed in connection with the sailboats of the Upper Columbia, which in those days controlled the traffic, and he secured a position on the Colonel Wright, which was the first steamboat that sailed on the Columbia from Wallula to Calilo. He was also con- nected with the operation of a ferry across the Spokane river about twenty-one miles below the present city of Spokane, and finally pur- chasing it, continued in that business until 1865, when he built the bridge over the river, which is now known as the La Pray bridge, named in honor of Joseph La Pray, who purchased it from Mr. Mon- aghan. While thus engaged Mr. Monaghan planted the first apple trees in Spokane county. His name is associated with many of the "first events" and his labors have given impetus to various lines of I
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James Monaghan
activity which have constituted the foundation upon which the pres- ent progress and prosperity of the city and county rests.
Since first coming to Washington Mr. Monaghan has spent prac- tically his entire time in this state. In 1869 he became identified with the business interests of Walla Walla and while living there in 1871, was married. Immediately afterward he removed to what is now Chewelah, in Stevens county, although at the time there was no town and the work of settlement had scarcely been begun in that part of the state. He purchased land from the Indians and conducted a trad- ing business, ultimately founding the town. In 1873 he became a merchant of Colville, then the principal town of northeastern Wash- ington and also secured the government contract for handling mails and furnishing supplies to the troops. His activity later included pub- lic service of an important character. He filled the office of county superintendent of schools, county commissioner and justice of the peace, discharging his duties with a promptness and fidelity that won him the commendation of all concerned. He also made arrange- ments with the quartermaster's department for moving supplies and equipment from Colville down the Columbia river to Foster Creek, now Bridgeport. When the survey of the river was made by Lieu- tenant Symonds, of the United States army, the name of Monaghan Rapids was given to that portion of the stream near the mouth of the Nespelem river. He made the transfer of the government property and supplies from the army camp at Lake Chelan across the coun- try to the site of Fort Spokane, and finding Walla Walla a more convenient place from which to conduct his business operations he removed his family to that city, which had been the early home of his wife. The frontier post of Spokane was established in 1882 and Mr. Monaghan became the post trader, and at the same time be- came associated with C. B. King. Both were equally interested; Mr. Monaghan conducted the store at Fort Spokane and Mr. King the store at Fort Sherman, on Lake Coeur d'Alene. In 1883, fol- lowing the discovery of the mines, he was associated with Mr. King and others in putting on the first steamers on the Coeur d'Alene and also laid out the city of that name. The following year they built the first wagon road from Kingston to the Murray mining camp and also made the original survey for an electric road from Coeur d'Alene to Spokane. Selling his interests to D. C. Corbin and others in 1886, Mr. Monaghan then returned to Spokane, where the family home has since been maintained, although at different times business in- terests have called him into other districts. He was one of the or-
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James Monaghan
ganizers of the corporation which in 1888 began the building of the Spokane Falls & Northern Railway, having the line surveyed the following year, after which Mr. Monaghan sold his interest to Mr. Corbin. He was also one of the original owners of the Cariboo Gold Mines in British Columbia, personally superintending the work and was president of the company until 1898, when he sold his stock. The financial panic of 1893 caused him severe losses but with indomitable courage and energy he has recovered from these and is today one of the substantial citizens of Spokane, where in financial circles he is well known as a director of the Union Trust Company and also of the Traders National Bank.
It was on the 30th of November, 1871, in Walla Walla, that Mr. Monaghan was married to Miss Margaret McCool, a daughter of Robert and Margaret McCool, and a native of Donnamore, County Donegal, Ireland. She was born August 12, 1852, and her death occurred in Spokane, April 22, 1895, her loss being deeply deplored by many friends as well as her immediate family, for her attractive social qualities and kindly spirit had endeared her to all who knew her. Mr. and Mrs. Monaghan were the parents of six children: John Robert, born in Chewelah, March 26, 1873, and who died near Apia, Samoa, April 1, 1899; Margaret Mary, whose birth occurred in Colville, January 31, 1876; Ellen Rosanna, who was born at Fort Spokane, November 12, 1885. James Hugh, who was born in Spokane November 10, 1888; Agnes Isabel, born November 9, 1891, in Spokane; and Charles Francis, who was also born in this city, August 12, 1894.
In the development of Spokane James Monaghan has taken a most active and helpful part and is still alert to the opportunities of promoting the growth and substantial improvement of the city. He was one of the fifteen freeholders who drafted the new charter of Spokane in 1891 and was chosen city commissioner. He came to the west when the Indians were more numerous than the white settlers, when hardships and dangers were the lot of every pioneer but he recognized the opportunities of the new country with its undeveloped resources and taking advantage of these he has steadily advanced in the business world, making a most creditable record in the manage- ment of his affairs and in the attainment of success as the years have gone by. At the same time he has been closely associated with the public life of the community in the support of projects and measures for the general good and he stands today as one of those sturdy citizens who have been the builders of the great state of Washington.
1411104
grillonag ham.
John Robert Monaghan
CRISIS ever tends to bring out the true character- A istics of an individual: it will show the weakness of one and the strength of another, for the spirit of courage responds wherever there is need. We are led to this train of reflection through contemplating the life record of John Robert Monaghan, whose valor and nobility of character have placed his name on the roll of heroes of whom America has every reason to be proud. He had been reared upon the frontier where men were rated by their true worth and where the best and strongest in men is brought out and devel- oped. His birth occurred at Chewelah, Stevens county, Washington, March 26, 1873, his parents being James and Margaret (McCool) Monaghan, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume. His parents desired to give him superior educational advantages under the auspices of the church to which they belonged, but the facilities for Catholic instruction were limited in Washington in those days, so that the boy at the age of eleven was sent to the school of the Christian Brothers-St. Joseph Academy, at Oakland, California. He at- tended that school and also another brothers' school in Portland, Ore- gon, until the Jesuit Fathers established Gonzaga College in Spo- kane in 1887. He was then enrolled as one of the first eighteen students and after four years spent in that institution he took the ex- amination held in Spokane in 1891 for the Military Academy at West Point and the Naval Academy at Annapolis, receiving the highest percentage in each of these examinations, so that he was entitled to make his choice of appointments. Although it was his original wish to go to West Point, he generously waived that preference in favor of the next applicant, the son of an old army officer who heartily de- sired the appointment.
John R. Monaghan then entered the Naval Academy, from where he was creditably graduated in 1895, being the first representative of the many from the state of Washington to graduate from that school. His experiences as a member of the navy were interesting and varied and were notable by reason of his unfaltering loyalty to duty on every occasion and in every situation. He first went upon a two years' cruise in the Pacific on the flagship Olympia, during which time he visited the Hawaiian Islands, Japan, China and other ports in Asia.
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John Robert Monaghan
Later he received his commission as ensign and was assigned to the Monadnock and afterward to the Alert, both also of the Pacific squadron. On the latter vessel in the fall of 1897 and the early part of 1898 he made two successful voyages to Central American ports, engaged in survey work in connection with the proposed Nicaragua canal. After being transferred to the Philadelphia he participated in the ceremonies at Honolulu, attending the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands, in August, 1898. He next made a brief cruise in Central American waters but returned in January, 1899, and an- chored in the harbor of San Diego, California.
While there Mr. Monaghan was visited by the members of his family. Some time before his father had urged him to leave the navy and engage in business, but the Spanish war was then in progress and he felt it his duty to continue in the service. Again reaching San Diego the father urged him to resign, but at this junction came the news of serious troubles in Samoa, affecting American interests, and the Philadelphia was ordered to proceed thither with all dispatch. Reaching Apia early in March, it was found that the situation was an acute one, the two rival chieftains, Malietoa and Mataafa, con- tending for supremacy. The three signatories to the Berlin agree- ment, respecting Samoa, the United States, England and Germany, were all represented by warships in the harbor. The decision of the American and English commanders made Malietoa king, and Ma- taafa was ordered to disperse his forces but defied the injunction and continued hostilities. Troops were accordingly landed from Amer- ican and English ships, and on the 15th of March a bombardment was begun which lasted intermittently for two weeks, but had only slight effect, the enemy retiring into the bush. On the 1st of April a con- certed movement was made by the allied land forces, Lieutenant Lansdale of the Philadelphia commanding the American party with which Ensign Monaghan had been serving since it had been put ashore. The march was through a densely wooded country, where Mataafa's men were in ambush in large numbers. The following ac- count of this encounter has been given: "Under a deadly fire which could not be replied to with advantage, especially as the only piece of artillery (a Colt automatic gun) brought by the marines had be- come disabled, a retreat was sounded. While this was in progress Lansdale received a wound in the leg, shattering the bone. In the confusion of the retreat he had been left in the rear, with only Mon- aghan and three or four privates. He was carried some distance, when one of the privates was shot to death, and soon afterward the
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