USA > Washington > Spokane County > Spokane > Spokane and the Spokane country : pictorial and biographical : deluxe supplement, Volume II > Part 10
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On the 26th of September, 1889, Mr. Dempsey was married at Union, Oregon, to Miss Mary Ellen Lincoln, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Lincoln of Missouri. To their union five children have been born: Mary Ellen, whose birth occurred on the 19th of De- cember, 1890, and who is a graduate of the Holy Name Academy, graduating in the department of vocal music; Josephine, who was born on the 18th of October, 1892, and who, since her graduation from Holy Name Academy has been teaching school in Montana; James P., whose birth occurred on the 2d of June, 1895, and who is a student in Gonzaga College; Robert J., born February 2, 1898; and Lucille K., whose birth occurred on the 23d of December, 1903.
Mr. Dempsey is among the faithful and more prominent attend- ants at St. Aloysius Roman Catholic church. He is a life member of Spokane Lodge, No. 228, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and of the Chamber of Commerce, in whose objects for promotion he takes a deep interest. Although he gives his hotel the advantages of his personal management and careful supervision he nevertheless takes great pleasure in the society of his family and in the home life for which his modern residence at East 928 Sinto avenue is admirably adapted.
Gro. le Beck
George C. Beck
EORGE C. BECK, owner of the San Marco apart- G ments, among the most beautiful and modern of Spo- kane's apartment buildings, was born at Little York, Pennsylvania, May 20, 1843, and was one of a fam- ily of two sons and five daughters, whose parents, George and Margaret (Cook) Beck, were natives of Worms, Germany. The father was a member of a prominent Ger- man family and died at the age of fifty-seven years. Mrs. Beck's father was a leading wine merchant and vineyardist of Germany. She survived her husband for some time, passing away in 1890. Their children were: Conrad, now a resident of Cleveland, Ohio; Mrs. Mary Worley, of Pasadena, California; Mrs. Elizabeth Combs, also living in Cleveland; Mrs. Louisa Straus, who is connected with the Evan- gelical Association paper of Cleveland; Mrs. Margaret Spring, whose husband is bishop of the Methodist church of Cleveland and editor of the Evangelical Association paper of that city; and Mrs. Catherine Gardner, the wife of a retired Chicago millionaire.
The other member of the family is George C. Beck, whose name introduces this review. The removal of the family from Little York, Pennsylvania, to Cleveland, Ohio, enabled him to pursue his education in the public schools of that city, which he attended until he enlisted for the Civil war as a member of the Chicago Board of Trade Battery. He served with the Army of the Cumberland and was mustered out at the close of hostilities. He afterward engaged in the pork packing business, which he followed in Cleveland and in Indianapolis until he retired from that pursuit in 1902.
Removing westward to Spokane, Mr. Beck here erected the beau- tiful San Marco apartments, a three-story structure and basement, containing forty apartments. It is an ideal location at the junction of Sprague and Riverside avenues, with a frontage of four hundred feet on two streets. This is one of the finest of the high-class apart- ments of Spokane and scarcely has an equal in the city. It is built of white pressed brick, in Renaissance style of architecture, with a foun- dation of sandstone brought from the vicinity of Portland. It is heated with a hot water plant and oil burners will probably be used
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for heating the water. Mr. Beck intends to keep the San Marco thoroughly modern in its equipments and appointments and thoroughly satisfactory in its service. Aside from this he is interested in the Ware Brothers Company and owns land in Canada to the ex- tent of six thousand acres.
Mr. Beck was married in 1865, in Cleveland, Ohio, to Miss Amelia Berger, a daughter of Frederick Berger, of Tallmadge, Ohio, who was a burgomaster in Germany and a fine musician, connected with one of the prominent families of his native land. In 1909 Mr. Beck was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 14th of July of that year. They were the parents of three daugh- ters: Bessie, now the wife of George Roberts, an electrician of Omaha, Nebraska; Mayme, the wife of Archibald F. Rigg, an architect of Spokane; and Edith, the wife of Dr. Charles F. Rigg, a physician of this city.
Mr. Beck is a member of the Spokane Club and the Spokane Ath- letic Club and he also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce. While he has resided here for only a comparatively brief period, he has be- come thoroughly identified with the northwest and its interests and is an enthusiastic supporter of Spokane, doing everything in his power to further its welfare and promote its upbuilding. His life has always been a busy and useful one and he has ever worked toward high ideals and utilized practical methods in the attainment of substantial results.
Conrad Wolfe
Conrad Talolfle
C ONRAD WOLFLE, president of the United Copper Mining Company, and also interested in the Florence Silver Mining Company, was born in South Dakota, September 27, 1871. His father, Conrad Wolfle, a native of Germany, is now living retired in Port- land, Oregon, where he established his home in 1890. The mother, who bore the maiden name of Anne Mayer, was also born in Germany and is a resident of Portland. The sons and daughters of the family are as follows: Conrad, of this review; F. R., who is his associate in business; David H., professor in the high school at Bremerton, Washington; E. A., a resident of Ainsworth, British Columbia; Marie, residing in Portland; and Barbara, who married William Fredericks, of Irving county, Alberta.
While a resident of his native state, Conrad Wolfle began his edu- cation in the public schools and afterward continued his studies in Oregon. He first engaged in farming, leaving home in 1889, and later he worked on the railroad, his time being thus taken up with dif- ferent pursuits until 1895, when he first arrived in Spokane. He went from here to Rossland, British Columbia, where he became actively connected with mining interests. He worked in the mines and ac- quired property and again in 1897 he came to Spokane. He reported on mines all over the western country from Arizona to British Co- lumbia, including Nevada, Idaho, Montana, California and Oregon. He organized the Golden Monarch Mining Company in British Co- lumbia which was incorporated with Mr. Wolfle as president and man- ager; F. E. Robbins, vice president; and C. H. Claudius, secretary and treasurer. They own property in Ymir, British Columbia, and after the successful organization and development of that company, Mr. Wolfle extended his efforts in other directions, organizing in 1905 the United Copper Mining Company of which he also became presi- dent and manager, with W. G. Collins as vice president and Gale Smith as secretary and treasurer. They own mines at Chewelah, five miles northeast of Spokane, there being ten claims in the group. Over six thousand feet of underground work has been done, including tun-
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Conrad Wolfle
nel, shafts, drifts and up-raises. The deepest work is six hundred feet and the width of the ore vein ranges from six to twenty-five feet. It has copper and silver values and of the low-grade ore six hundred tons shipped realized ten dollars per ton, while the high-grade ore brought from one hundred and seventy-five to two hundred dollars per ton. They shipped to Granby, Northport and Trail, making shipment to the last named place owing to a shut-down of the other two. The average output is one hundred tons per day. They have just completed a one- hundred ton mill for low-grade ores and their property is well equipped with all kinds of machinery, electric plants, shops, etc. The company also owns three hundred and twenty acres of timber land adjoining. Nearly all the work has been done on the ore and there is now being made a tunnel of thirty-five hundred feet which will give a depth of one thousand feet, and of this five hundred feet have been completed at the present writing. Mr. Wolfle is also interested in the Florence Silver Mining Company, owning property three miles north of Ains- worth, British Columbia. There are four claims containing a splendid body of ore, of galena, silver and lead values. Its property is a promis- ing one on which twelve men are now working, and shipment will be- gin in the spring of 1912. The United Copper Company has on its pay-roll from thirty-five to fifty men and is a close corporation, the greater part of the stock being held by Mr. Wolfle, Mr. Collins and Sidney Rosenhaupt. The company has made a number of displays at the Spokane and Seattle fairs and has been awarded a number of prizes for their exhibits every time they have been placed on display. The copper averages from two to three per cent in low-grade ore and in silver from eight to fifteen ounces, while in the high-grade ore the copper averages from eighteen to twenty-five per cent, from two hun- dred and fifty to three hundred and fifty ounces in silver, and from two to five dollars in gold. The recent ore chutes now opened, how- ever, are averaging better than those formerly worked. Mr. Wolfle is interested in other mining ventures and owns in different parts of British Columbia several large tracts of land.
On the 29th of October, 1899, Mr. Wolfle was married at Ritzville to Miss Pauline Cook, a daughter of the Rev. Cook, minister of the Congregational church. Two children were born unto them but both are now deceased. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wolfle are members of the Westminster Congregational church, in which he has served as a trus- tee for a number of years and in the work of which they are both actively and helpfully interested. Fraternally Mr. Wolfle is con- nected with the Maccabees and he is also a member of the Inland Club.
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Conrad Wolfle
His activities touch the general interests of society and he is known as a cooperant factor in many projects relating to the social, intellectual and moral progress of the community as well as to its material develop- ment. His ideals of life are high and he shapes his course in harmony therewith.
la
I & Buchanan
James D. Buchanan
J AMES D. BUCHANAN has been well known for many years in the business circles of Spokane, where he conducts a large undertaking establishment at Nos. 28 and 30 Third avenue. His birth occurred in Clark county, Indiana, on the 14th of April, 1858, and he is a son of George and Jane (Montgomery) Buchanan, the former of whom passed away in 1891. His ancestors were among the early settlers of America, and Buchanan county, Vir- ginia, received its name from some of the earliest members of the fam- ily who settled in Virginia. His boyhood days were spent in Illinois, and there he received his education from the time he was seven years of age until he left school at the age of fourteen. At that time he entered upon agricultural pursuits and continued in that line of work until 1879 when he went to Walla Walla, Washington, where he re- mained until March, 1880. He then went to Spokane and took up a homestead in the northeastern part of the town which he farmed until 1889, but as the city grew and opportunities for engaging in business presented themselves, he gave up his farming and engaged in the cigar and tobacco business for some time before entering upon the under- taking business, which he has since followed. On December 1, 1911, Mr. Buchanan removed from Riverside avenue to his new establish- ment at Nos. 28 and 30 Third avenue, where he has one of the finest undertaking establishments in the Inland Empire. The building, which was exclusively designed for him, contains a chapel and all other rooms and conveniences desirable and its cost was over twenty-five thousand dollars. The structure is devoted entirely to this business.
On the 1st of June, 1897, Mr. Buchanan was married to Miss Ella M. Ryan, a daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth Ryan, at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Two children were born to this union, Mary and Catherine, both of whom are attending school. In politics Mr. Buchanan is fully aware of the corrupt methods frequently instituted by the parties, who are largely under the control of the machine rule, and consequently has ever maintained an independent attitude. He is a member of Spo- kane Lodge No. 228, B. P. O. E., the Knights of Columbus, Eagles, Red Men, Foresters of America, Moose, Knights and Ladies of Se-
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James D. Buchanan
curity, Catholic Order of Foresters, Young Men's Institution, and the Ancient Order of Hibernians, of which he is state president. In his business and fraternal relations he is both faithful and honorable, and his sterling personal worth has gained him warm friends, and he is well established in the respect and esteem of his fellow-citizens and business associates.
J. A. Moar
Thomas A. Moar
T HOMAS A. MOAR is a successful man whose intel- ligently directed industry and unfaltering persever- ance have constituted the rounds of the ladder on which he has climbed to the plain of affluence. He was born on Prince Edward Island, November 3, 1844. His father, George Moar, was a native of the Orkney islands, on the north coast of Scotland, and emigrated to Prince Edward Island in the year 1803, and married Jane M. II. Norton in 1825. She was born in Londonderry, Ireland, in 1806, and emigrated in the year 1819 with her father, the late John Nor- ton, Esq.
Thomas A. Moar was one of a family of twelve, of whom six are still living. He received his education at Brudenell River, Prince Edward Island, and on having attained his majority he struck out for himself, working at the carpenter trade for a short time. Not being satisfied with that work he removed to Newfoundland, where he went into business with his brother who owned a schooner of eighty tons in which he traded and fished between Newfoundland and Lab- rador, making yearly trips up the St. Lawrence river to Quebec, where supplies were purchased.
During the six years spent in that isolated and primitive country he had many novel experiences, being called upon to perform the marriage ceremony, to christen the infants and bury the dead. Be- coming dissatisfied with his occupation in the coasting trade, he de- cided to go west and in the year 1873 arrived in Chicago, where for a year he worked at his trade. Still heeding the call of the west, the succeeding year found him in Denver, but being fascinated by the glowing accounts of California and the Pacific coast, the following year found him in San Francisco, where for a number of years he managed work for one of the largest contractors in the city, finally becoming a leading contractor on his own account. But the spirit of adventure was not yet subdued and the year 1889 saw him headed north. Arriving in Spokane, November 3, of that year, he was im- mediately given a crew of men and put to work on the Auditorium Theater, which was then one of the finest buildings west of Chicago.
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Thomas A. Moar
In 1895 he was united in marriage to Miss Almeda J. Bell, daughter of John Bell, of Prince Edward Island, and of Scotch descent. They have one son, T. Edgerton Moar, who is now a stu- dent in the high school.
As a contractor Mr. Moar ranks among the best in the state, his advice being sought by many prospective investors. Spokane and the state of Washington has always appealed to him. When he came to Spokane it was but a village, but to him its location and surround- ings appeared advantageous and promising as no others. This brought him to the conclusion to cast his career and life with that of the country and its people with the result that his expectations have been more than realized. Comparing the village of 1889 with the magnificent city of today, he feels proud to have been connected with the development of this giant young city and predicts for it a grand future.
IL Harper
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John Lawrence Darper
B USINESS interests bring John Lawrence Harper many times to Spokane and have made him a familiar figure among capitalists and leading citizens here. He is manager of the Republic Mines Corporation, the company having its office in the Old National Bank building of Spokane. Washington numbers him among her native sons, his birth having occurred in Goldendale, Klickitat county, August 23, 1873, his parents being Martin V. and Margaret (Johnson) Harper, both of whom are still living. They were pioneers of the northwest, having crossed the plains in 1852 when still in the childhood period of life. The Harper and Johnson fam- ilies established homes in the vicinity of Olympia and there the youth- ful days of the parents of John L. Harper were largely passed. His father afterward became a prominent factor in public life and twice represented his district in the territorial legislature. While thus serv- ing he aided in organizing Franklin county, being the leader of the delegation having that object in view. For a long period he was suc- cessfully engaged in mining and other frontier pursuits but for the past few years has lived retired-one of the honored pioneer citizens of the state.
John L. Harper pursued his education in the public schools of Goldendale and Yakima and in the "College of Hard Knocks," as he expresses it. He was only fourteen years of age when he began earning his own livelihood. He was very young to shoulder the bur- dens and responsibilities of life and the lessons which he learned in the school of experience were often difficult ones, but ultimately they were mastered and have since been used to his advantage. He served an apprenticeship in a printing office at Yakima and later as a journeyman printer traveled through western Idaho and Washing- ton and at times conducted newspapers in Oakesdale, Rosalia and Bellingham, Washington. His rise in journalistic circles was but a forecast of what was to come to him in later years in other fields. After seven years' connection with the newspaper business he became actively engaged in mining and since that time has operated largely in Ferry county, although he spent one year in Alaska and has mined
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John Lawrence Harper
all through this section of the United States. He is now the controll- ing factor in the Republic Mines Corporation, being general manager of the company, which operates the largest mine in the state. He is also general manager of the North Washington Power & Reduction Company and of both companies serves as a director and as chairman of the executive board. He likewise has several other mining inter- ests and, moreover, is vice president and one of the directors of the Ferry County State Bank at Republic.
On the 24th of November, 1896, Mr. Harper was married to Miss Anderson, the only daughter of D. F. Anderson, who was one of the pioneer residents of Whitman county, coming to the northwest from Kansas. He afterward represented that county in the state legisla- ture and is well known by reason of his active support of the wheat- rate legislation secured under the name of the Anderson bill. He was likewise a Civil war veteran.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Harper have been born two children, Law- rence Anderson and Evelyn Ora, the elder now five years of age, while the little daughter is in her second year. Mr. Harper gives his political allegiance to the liberal wing of the democratic party and as representative from Ferry county in 1905 was one of the lone demo- crats in the state legislature during that session. He is interested in the vital questions and problems of the day and keeps well informed on all that pertains to general improvement. At the same time he most capably manages important business interests and is now recog- nized as one of the leading mining men of the Inland Empire.
GULD away.
Adelbert Al. Dewey
A DELBERT M. DEWEY was born in Lewis county, New York, in 1857, the son of Milton and Permelia (Riggs) Dewey, his father being a country school- master and 'squire of the village in which he lived. At the age of six he moved with his parents to Bing- hamton in the same state, where he attended the pub- lic schools until fourteen years of age, when he was indentured as an apprentice to learn the printing and newspaper business in the office of the Broome Republican, being associated with the two men who later organized what is now known as the Associated Press. After five years work as apprentice and journeyman, the future Spokane business man travelled extensively over the country, working in most of the larger cities as a newspaper and job compositor, in both of which he is said to have been highly skilled as a workman. Later he settled in the city of Detroit, where he became the proprietor of a publishing house and edited and published several trade and technical journals.
When quite a young man, Mr. Dewey became an active student and writer on economic subjects. This led him to engage in what was at that time called the "reform movement," and he was associated with T. V. Powderly and others in the Knights of Labor and kindred organizations having for their object the uplifting of humanity. He edited the Journal of United Labor at Philadelphia, and gave to that paper a position second to no other in the economic field, with a. greater weekly circulation than all others of his class in the United States combined, reaching more than five hundred thousand persons with each issue. Mr. Dewey was also an active official of the Typo- graphical Union for many years, and is still a firm believer in the men who do the work of the world, but thinks they should organize and meet changing conditions with changed methods, and that the workers should do their striking on election day and at the ballot box.
The temperance reform movement always found an aggressive supporter in the student printer, and he was for two years the high chief ruler of the Order of Recabites in North America, travelling extensively as a lecturer on temperance and other subjects.
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Adelbert Al. Demey
In 1884 Mr. Dewey retired from all these various activities and entered the public service at Washington as an expert in the field serv- ice of the department of labor. His labors brought him to the state of Washington, and he early determined to make Spokane his future home. On the occasion of his first visit to the Inland Empire Mr. Dewey invested heavily in a copper mining prospect in Okanogan county and later came here to take over the management of the cor- poration, purchasing a home on Cannon Hill. His activities since coming to Spokane include the promotion of the Okanogan Electric Railway, the Okanogan Irrigation & Improvement Company, the management for five years of the Q. S. Mining Company, besides being a director in several other industrial enterprises operating in Spokane. At the time of this writing Mr. Dewey is also the proprie- tor of the Alexandria Hotel, a select family hotel in the residence dis- trict of Spokane.
In fraternal circles Mr. Dewey is an active member of the Masonic Order and Elks, and is an advocate of the spirit of fraternity as an antidote for the tendency of the day toward commercialism in all things. He is a man of family, with a son of thirty and a daughter eleven years of age.
Chas Jasper
Charles Jasper
D ENMARK has furnished a valuable class of citizens to the new world. They have brought with them from the old country the unremitting energy and perseverance characteristic to that nationality, and in a great majority of cases have attained success in the management of varied business affairs. To this class belongs Charles Jasper, who is now engaged in the general con- tracting business and has offices in the Peyton building. He came to America in 1882 when a young man of but seventeen years, his birth having occurred in Denmark in 1865. His parents were Peter and Maren (Jensen) Jesperson.
On the home farm in Denmark Charles Jasper spent the days of his boyhood and youth and attended the common schools. From time to time he heard interesting reports concerning America, its business conditions and its opportunities, and at length these proved to him an irresistible attraction, and leaving behind him his parents, brothers and sisters he departed for Hamilton, Ontario. For three years he resided in that city and worked as a cabinet-maker, but in 1885 re- moved to the United States, settling first at Grand Forks, North Da- kota and engaging in the carpenter's and builder's business. He was thus engaged for three years before coming to Spokane in 1888 and started at once in the general contracting business. He had previ- ously learned the rudiments of the building science, and having ambi- tion and courage, after arriving in this city he directed his attention ยท almost entirely to the erection of large buildings in Spokane and ad- joining cities. The first building he erected was the Concordia Hall, which was located at the corner of Second and Jefferson streets but which has since been destroyed by fire. This piece of work showed his ability to the prospective builders of Spokane, and from that time he has always enjoyed a large patronage. He has since erected many prominent buildings, the most recent of which is the Eiler building at the corner of Sprague avenue and Post street. In Lewiston he built the Weisgerber building and Weisgerber brewery, and at Tekoa he erected the Sisters Academy. Among the forty or fifty buildings which he has erected in Spokane the Western Union Life building
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