USA > Washington > Spokane County > Spokane > Spokane and the Spokane country : pictorial and biographical : deluxe supplement, Volume II > Part 2
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Mr. Pettet remained at Sutter's Fort for the purpose of enlisting emigrants as they came in for the war that was then being waged in
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William Pettet
southern California. With quite a number of enlisted men he went to San Francisco where the troops were fitted out for service on the sloop of war Portsmouth. Returning to Yuba Bueno Mr. Pettet then or- ganized the firm of Ellis & Pettet for the purpose of dealing with the Russians at Sitka, Alaska, and when he had disposed of his business interests in that country he returned to San Francisco, where he was elected to the office of city clerk. He was afterward appointed sheriff and at the close of his term in that position returned to New York. In 1851, however, he returned to San Francisco, sending around Cape Horn the material for the first iron building erected in that city-a structure destroyed by fire a few weeks after its completion. Ill health again compelled him to return to New York and while there he became interested in mercantile enterprises. In 1868 he went abroad with his family and spent five years in Europe, returning to the United States in 1873. For some time he was a resident of St. Paul, where he was widely known.
The year 1883 witnessed the arrival of Mr. Pettet in Spokane and, believing that the city would enjoy rapid and substantial growth at a later day, he made considerable investments in real estate. The fol- lowing year, in connection with F. R. Moore, now deceased, F. Cham- berlin and William Nettleton, he secured the block on which the county courthouse now stands and at their own expense these gentle- men erected a building for the reception of the county records when they were brought from Cheney. In association with Messrs. Moore and Chamberlin Mr. Pettet also established permanent arc lights for the streets. From this partnership developed the present Edison Elec- tric Light Company of Spokane. It was this company that purchased the lower falls of the river and the land on which the big power plant of the Washington Water Power Company now stands. He invested in considerable business property together with a large amount of north side residence property and with the growth of the city and de- mand for realty, his holdings grew in value, in time making him one of the wealthiest residents of Spokane.
On the 7th of November, 1850, in Milford, Worcester county, Massachusetts, Mr. Pettet was united in marriage to Miss Caroline S. Dean, a daughter of Sylvester and Charlotte (Cutler) Dean, both representatives of old and well known Massachusetts families. The former was a son of Seth Dean, a soldier of the Revolutionary war. Sylvester Dean became a merchant of New York, where he long con- tinued in business. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Pettet were born two chil- dren. The son George is now assistant secretary of the Spokane & Eastern Trust Company. The daughter, Grace, became the wife of
Mrs. William Pellet
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William Pettet
J. P. M. Richards, president of the Spokane & Eastern Trust Com- pany, and unto them were born five children: Grace, who is the wife of the Rev. E. P. Smith, of Boise, Idaho, and who has two children, Dorothy and Cornelia; Caroline, the wife of Lieutenant Sherburne Whipple, of the United States army now stationed in the Philippines and by whom she has one son, Sherburne; and John Vanderpool, Jo- siah and William Pettet Richards. In the spring of 1889, three months before the great fire, Mr. Pettet was stricken with typhoid fever from which he never fully recovered. The latter years of his life were largely spent at his home, Glasgow Lodge, on the North boule- vard, where he had a forty-acre tract of land within the city limits and a beautiful residence on the banks of the Spokane river, fitted up in English style. His eightieth birthday was celebrated by a garden party attended by over two hundred of his friends. It was said of him: "Mr. Pettet's benign influence has been very sensibly felt in Spokane, to the development of which he has contributed incalculably. He has always been a man of great energy and his superb business ability and keen foresight made him eminently successful in his various enterprises."
In his political views Mr. Pettet was a republican during the early days of his residence in this country but in later life became a stanch democrat. He attended the Episcopal church until old age compelled him to remain away from the house of worship, after which he always observed the Sabbath in services at home. He was a most congenial, entertaining man, of kindly nature and greatly enjoyed the com- panionship of young people. He died in November, 1904, in London. He and his wife three years before had left Spokane for an extended tour of the old country and were on their way home when both were taken ill in London. Mrs. Pettet improved but her husband gradu- ally failed until the end came. He was then about eighty-six years of age. His had been a long, well-spent and honorable life, and it is said that no one who met him, even casually, would ever forget his frank personality. He was a remarkable and unique character and a most valuable citizen. He sought out his own ways of doing good but they were effective ways, productive of immediate and substan- tial results. He contributed much to the pioneer development of the city, giving impetus to its industrial and commercial interests in the era which preceded the fire and also in the period that followed the great conflagration. His wise judgment and clear insight were often used for the benefit of others as well as in the conduct of his own busi- ness affairs and he stood as a splendid type of the Anglo-Saxon race who finds or makes his opportunity and uses it to the best advantage.
andrew Paidla
Andrew Laidlaw
V ARIOUS corporate interests claim the attention and profit by the cooperation of Andrew Laidlaw, who is operating extensively in the coal lands of the northwest, being financially interested in many of the leading mines of this section. In developing the natural resources of the district, he is also contribut- ing to the permanent upbuilding of the country which always has its root in business activity.
He was born upon a farm near Drumbo, Ontario, Canada, March 2, 1864, and following his father's death, which occurred ten years later, accompanied the family on their removal to Wookstock, Ox- ford county, Ontario, where he acquired a common and high school education. When his text-books were put aside, he turned his at- tention to the printing business, learning the trade, and at the age of twenty-one, he was business manager and part owner of the leading newspaper of Woodstock. He thus early showed forth the elemental strength of his character and called into activity the salient energies and possibilities of his nature. He remained in Woodstock until 1892, when he disposed of his interest in the printing business to his partner and removed to Galt, Ontario, where he purchased the lead- ing newspaper of that town, and soon afterward began the publica- tion of the first daily paper in the city of Galt. All this time he was becoming more and more widely acquainted with the country and its possibilities, and after six years, decided to try his fortune in the west.
Since 1898 he has resided continuously in Spokane. Prior to his arrival he had conducted a brokerage business in Rossland stocks, and upon coming to this city, he again entered the brokerage field. Mr. Laidlaw, while thus operating, went east and raised capital to the amount of about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in order to acquire a number of copper properties in the Boundary country near Greenwood and Phoenix, British Columbia, and he erected the stand- ard prytic smelter at Boundary Falls, British Columbia, now owned by the Dominion Copper Company. While promoting this enter- prise, Mr. Laidlaw was in Greenwood for the greater part of a year or more. He became interested in coal lands in the Crow's Nest dis-
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Andrew Laidlaw
trict in British Columbia in 1902, and has been actively interested in coal lands and coal stocks since that time, his holdings in British Columbia and Alberta coal properties now being very large. Among the different companies with which he is connected, are the follow- ing: Jasper Park Collieries, Limited; Coal Securities, Limited; Royal Collieries, Limited; Oyster Harbor Collieries, Limited; Gal- braith Coal Company, Limited; Durham Collieries, Limited; Colfax Coal & Coke Company; People's Coal Company, Limited; The Al- berta Coal & Coke Company; and Princeton Collieries, Limited. Mr. Laidlaw is the secretary and treasurer of the Imperial Investment Company of Spokane, the ownership of which he shares with Mrs. Laidlaw, and is the principal owner of the Clay Products Company of Spokane.
In 1889 Andrew Laidlaw was married at Hamilton, Ontario, to Miss Clara Laird, and they have two daughters, Ellenore and Phyllis. Theirs is a home of culture, furnished with everything that wealth can secure, and refined taste suggests. It is said that every man has a hobby, and if this is so, Mr. Laidlaw's is horses, for he has a great admiration for horses and in his stables he has some of the finest heavy harness and saddle horses in America.
Such a record as Mr. Laidlaw has made, needs little comment. Without special family or pecuniary advantages at the outset of his career, he has made continuous progress, his success being attrib- utable largely to the fact that he has thoroughly mastered everything that he has undertaken and has thus been equipped for further prog- ress. He has never studied any question from but one standpoint, and has thus been enabled to base his opinions upon clear understand- ing, taking into consideration possibilities as well as existing condi- tions. Sound judgment has been the basis of his profitable invest- ments, making his name a conspicuous one in mining circles in the northwest.
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Volney D. Malilliamson
HAT a story of thrilling interest would the life his- W tory of Volney D. Williamson be if written in detail, for he has been a pioneer in various sections of the country and has been among the first on the ground in many of the famous American mining camps. Moreover, he has contributed largely to the devel- opment of the mineral resources of the country, has been interested in Alaskan expeditions, in railroad building and real-estate opera- tions. He was born in Oakland, Oregon, July 27, 1865, and is a son of Sol Williamson, for whom Williamson river of Oregon was named. His father was a native of Ohio and of English descent. He made the long journey across the plains in 1847, taking up a tract of land where the city of Portland now stands. He traded this claim for a yoke of oxen and in 1848 went to California. The following year, however, he returned to Oakland, Oregon, where he settled on a large tract of land. He was known throughout the district as the father of that part of the country, was consulted by the old pioneers concerning their property and investments and by his wise counsel and substantial aid assisted many of the new settlers who came to establish homes on the frontier. At that time it was necessary to haul all goods by team from Portland, Oregon. Mr. Williamson was well-to-do and when his old friends crossed the plains he was always ready with money and teams to assist them. His neighbors were Indians, and an old Indian scout known as Billy slept on his hearth for several years. He frequently notified Williamson of the approach of Indians who were on a raid and he could then retreat about a mile from his house, there remaining in hiding during the time the Indians were in the neighborhood. He was a lover of fine stock and by a tragic coincidence his death was caused by a kick in the breast by one of his favorite horses, in 1868, when he was forty- four years of age. He had contributed largely to the upbuilding, settlement and improvement of Oregon and his name is honored as one of its pioneer residents. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Adeline Reed, was a native of Indiana, her family tracing their an- cestry back to the time when as members of the William Penn colony
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Volney D. Williamson
they settled in Pennsylvania. Mrs. Williamson died in 1878. In the family were three sons and three daughters, the brothers of Vol- ney D. Williamson being W. H., a resident of Idaho, and F. A., of Spokane. His sisters were: Sarah J., who is the widow of S. J. Nel- son, of this city; and Mary and Estella, who are both deceased.
Volney D. Williamson pursued his education in the public schools and a business college of Portland, Oregon, and on leaving that state in 1878 came to Walla Walla, driving a team across the country. In 1879 he passed through Spokane and the Palouse country and re- turned to Sprague, where he was engaged in general merchandising until 1883. In the spring of that year he grubstaked a claim in con- nection with a Mr. Holmes and his brother, F. A. Williamson, and they were the first in the Coeur d'Alenes, except a man of the name of Pritchard, who staked the "Widow" claim, while they had the adjoining property, called the "Last Chance." In the fall of 1883 Mr. Williamson made a trip to the Coeur d' Alenes by way of Herron's Siding and came out the same fall, although he returned the follow- ing year. From Murray, Idaho, he went to Canyon Creek, where he assisted in laying out the town of Burke. He was afterward in Wallace and operated in the Kootenai Lake and Slocan country and was interested in the purchase and sale of the War Eagle, for which seven hundred thousand dollars was paid, the Center Star, which brought two million dollars, and the Crown Point, which sold for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. He was also interested in the Spokane and several other large mining properties, all of which are now being successfully worked. He next operated in Republic and was interested in the purchase and sale of the Republic mines, and San Poil, Black Tail and several others, all of which are now being worked and are turning out rich ore.
During all this time Mr. Williamson made his headquarters in Spokane. He traveled, however, for five years and made a trip around the world. During the '90s he made his headquarters in New York for eight years. He turned his attention to the mineral re- sources of Mexico, where he operated in connection with Victor M. Clement, and he was also interested to a small extent in South Afri- can properties while Mr. Clement was in that district. He became interested to a small degree in Coolgardie, Australia. He also owned the Treasure Box in Coeur d'Alene, from which in hand mortars and arrastres they took out from two hundred to four thousand dollars per day, securing seventy-seven thousand dollars in two months. Mr. Williamson was also, while working the old Santa Rosa mine in Mexico, the discoverer of the first turquoise mine of that country.
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Volney D. Calilliamson
In 1908 Mr. Williamson returned to Spokane. He was con- nected during the early stages of its building with the Oregon Trunk Railway but eventually sold out to J. J. Hill. He has been a prop- erty owner in Spokane since 1886 and has always called this city his home. He owns mining interests in Mexico with the English Exploration Company of London and still retains small interests in the Coeur d'Alenes. He was interested in an expedition into Alaska during the early period of the excitement there and was connected with the early operations of the Crow's Nest Coal Company in Brit- ish Columbia, of which he is still a stockholder. He has large invest- ments in land in Oregon and is interested in several towns of that state, including Madras, Redmond, Metolius and Lakeview. He is now president of the Inland Empire Company; president of the Williamson Investment Company, a corporation; president of the State Bank of Metolius, Oregon; president of the Santa Rosa de Mazipil Mining Company, the Santa Rosa Development Company and was vice president of the International Metals Company of Mexico but recently resigned.
Mr. Williamson was united in marriage to Miss Mabel C. Cotter, of Denver, Colorado, in 1905, a daughter of J. Lambert Cotter. Mr. Williamson holds membership in the Episcopal church and is connected with several fraternities and leading clubs. He is a life member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and of the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows. He belongs to the Spokane Club, the Spokane Country Club, the Engineers Club of New York and was one of the committee which secured half a million dollars from Andrew Carnegie for the purpose of building the Engineers Club. He is likewise a member of the Arlington Club of Portland and of the Coeur d'Alene Boat Club.
Few men could speak so largely from practical experience of the west and its history, especially in connection with its mining interests. Mr. Williamson has made an excellent record in his business career, accomplishing what he has undertaken, his sound judgment preclud- ing the possibility of many false moves. He is today one of Spo- kane's wealthiest citizens and is honored and respected by all who are familiar with his life work.
W- Huntley
Talilliam Huntley
ILLIAM HUNTLEY, vice president of the Ex- W change National Bank, is recognized in business cir- cles as a man of keen discernment and of marked sagacity, as is evidenced in the judicious investments which he has made and which have returned to him the gratifying rewards of industry, sound judgment and capable management. Various business projects have profited by his cooperation and his ability to control important and intricate interests, and he is today one of the prominent representatives of financial affairs in Spokane. He has displayed both originality and initiative in the handling of his business interests, which he has re- cently incorporated under the name of the Huntley Investment Com- pany, in which equal shares are held by his wife, their ten children and himself.
Mr. Huntley was born in Pike county, Illinois, September 19, 1858, a son of Alonzo and Paulina (Smith) Huntley. The latter is still living but the father died in 1899. The son enjoyed but lim- ited educational opportunities, for when only nine years of age he took his place as a regular hand in the fields. At ten years of age he was herding cattle and he remained upon the home farm until he had completed his first two decades of life. The last ten years of that period were spent in Missouri, to which state his parents had removed about 1868. At length he started out in life on his own account and took up the occupation to which he was reared, following farming in Missouri until the spring of 1884, when he removed west to the Palouse country, settling near Endicott, Washington. There he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land and used all his rights. He next engaged in the live-stock business, in which he con- tinued until about 1909. As he prospered he also extended his ef- forts in other directions, became interested in a bank at Colfax, es- tablished the bank at Endicott and became owner of a store at St. John and another at Colfax, both of which he still owns in addition to six thousand acres of valuable land in the Palouse country. He has operated even more largely along business lines in Spokane. He was connected with the establishment of the Powell-Sanders Company of
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William Huntley
this city, of which he is still a director, and when the capital stock of the Exchange National Bank was raised from two hundred and fifty to seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars he bought in, be- came a director and has served as vice president of the bank during the past four years. The capital stock of the Exchange National Bank was later raised to one million dollars, and Mr. Huntley is now the largest stockholder in this institution. He is president of the Mechanics Loan & Trust Company; president of the Farmers & Mechanics Bank of this city; secretary of the Inland Brewery Com- pany; secretary of the Boise Brewery Company; and a director and stockholder of the American Building Company. He also has ex- tensive interests in other institutions and business enterprises of Spo- kane and his cooperation is a prized factor in the management and support of business projects.
On the 4th of January, 1883, when in Missouri, Mr. Huntley was united in marriage to Miss Emma Langford, of Audrain county, that state. Twelve children have been born unto them, of whom ten are living. The married daughter, Grace Lorean, became the wife of Ira Hunt in 1907 and lives with her husband at No. 1604 Fourth avenue. The other children are: Jesse Blain, a trustee of the Huntley Investment Company; Mabel Frances; Carl Raymond, aged nineteen; Lawrence Platt, a youth of seventeen; Eunice Leta, who is fourteen years old; Elva Dean, aged thirteen; Emma Lilly, who is ten years of age; and Ralph William and Clarke Valentine, who are eight and six years of age respectively. It is said that when Mr. and Mrs. Huntley were married her parents were reluctant to give their consent because of the meager financial resources of the prospective husband, whose sole possessions consisted of a team of mules. This opposition was overcome, however, and two years after their marriage the young couple started for the Palouse country and, as previously stated, preempted a claim four miles west of Endicott. Subsequently they occupied a home about a mile from that town for fifteen years or until they came to Spokane in 1902. In the mean- time Mr. Huntley had given ample demonstration of his worth and resourcefulness in business and in July, 1910, he organized the Hunt- ley Investment Company, of which he is a trustee, a unique corpora- tion providing against the division, distribution or dissolution of the Huntley estate and retaining Mr. Huntley as manager for twenty years. Arrangements were made for the distribution of the income among the husband, wife and ten children, each receiving equal shares save that the special provision has been made that Mrs. Hunt- ley's income shall never be less than three hundred dollars a month
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William Huntley
for herself and one thousand dollars a year for each of her seven minor children. The company was incorporated for one million, two hundred thousand dollars, the incorporators being William Huntley, Emma V. Huntley, Jesse B. Huntley, the eldest son, and Edwin T. Coman, president of the Exchange National Bank. Its trustees for the first six months were William Huntley, Jesse B. Huntley and Edwin T. Coman. The incorporation is for a period of fifty years and its objects and purposes are, generally, to buy, sell, encumber and otherwise deal in real and personal property, lands, mines, mill sites, town sites, irrigation ditches, stocks, bonds and negotiable paper. The stockholders are empowered to increase the number of trustees from time to time, this provision enabling them to make places on the board for such of the children as may develop sufficient interest and ability to justify the appointment as they grow to maturity. Mr. Huntley tak- ing this method of stimulating the interest of his sons that they may eventually assume the management of the estate for themselves and their sisters. At the end of the twenty-year period in which Mr. Hunt- ley is to serve as manager, the Mechanics Loan & Trust Company, of which he is president, is directed to assign and deliver to each living child or to direct descendants of such as are not living, their respective interests in the one million dollars of trusteed stock. One feature of Mr. Huntley's business that has ever awakened surprise and admira- tion among his associates and colleagues is his remarkably retentive memory. He has never kept an ordinary system of bookkeeping and but few memorandums, relying entirely upon his memory not only for the principal features of his business but also for the details connected with every transaction. He seems to have almost intuitive perception as to the value of a business situation or the opportunity for invest- ment.
In his political views Mr. Huntley is a republican and during his residence in Whitman county served as county commissioner. He be- longs to the Masonic lodge and also holds membership with the Elks and the Spokane Club. His is one of the life records which make the history of the western country read almost like a romance. There have seemed to be no setbacks in his career, his path on the contrary being marked by continuous progress, bringing him at last to rank with the millionaire residents of Spokane and the Inland Empire.
Leander HPrather
Don. Leander Hamilton Prather
S AN able attorney, as judge of the superior court A and as one of the prominent representatives of the people's party Hon. Leander Hamilton Prather has become widely known in Spokane and throughout the Inland Empire. He is now devoting his atten- tion to the private practice of law and the careful regard evinced for the interests of his clients and an assiduous and unrelaxing attention to all the details of his cases have brought him a large business and made him very successful in its conduct. Early environment and inherited tendency may have had something to do with his selection of a life work, but in his native talent and acquired ability are found the secret of his continuous advancement at the bar. He was born in Jennings county, Indiana, October 25, 1843, his parents being Hiram and Mary (Huckleberry) Prather. His father was an attorney at law, who also had agricultural interests and was prominent as a political leader in his state, representing his district in both the house and senate of the Indiana legislature.
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