USA > Washington > Spokane County > Spokane > Spokane and the Spokane country : pictorial and biographical : deluxe supplement, Volume II > Part 9
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In addition to Mr. Scott's connection with the Grand Army of the Republic he was also prominent in various fraternal organizations. In Masonry he attained the thirty-third degree of the Scottish Rite and he was also widely known as a leading representative of the Inde- pendent Order of Foresters, being deputy supreme chief to Oron- hyateka, the Mohawk Indian, who is the supreme chief of the order. Mr. Scott represented Spokane in the high council of the Independ- ent Order of Foresters in 1897, 1898 and 1899. He was a personal friend of Chief Joseph, the great Indian chief of the Nez Perces tribe, and went to Washington, D. C., in 1897, with Chief Joseph and his chiefs to present their cause before the Indian commission and the president. Again he accompanied them in 1900 and he did much to formulate public opinion in favor of Chief Joseph during the past few years. He was major general of the department of the northwest of
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Rudolph Bowman Scott
the Union Veterans Union. His religious faith was indicated by his membership in All Saints cathedral. He died March 23, 1909, and thus passed from the scene of earthly activities one who had been a most unique and interesting figure on the stage of action in the north- west. His character and reputation were alike above reproach. He was a great reader and possessed a remarkable memory so that he could call to mind at almost a moment's notice any of the important historical events which have had to do with molding the department of the northwest. He was himself a great lover of outdoor life and of nature. One of his marked characteristics was his loyalty to his friends who could count upon him under any and all circumstances. He ever held to the highest ideals yet was charitable in his opinions of others and was always ready to extend a helping hand to uplift a fellow traveler either in a material or moral way.
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Frank da. hilscher, M. D.
S EDUCATOR and practitioner through the period A of his connection with the medical profession, Dr. Frank W. Hilscher has gained distinction. The scope of his professional service has embraced all branches of the practice of medicine and surgery, but at the present time he limits his practice to the treat- ment of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. In that department he specializes and the concentration of his energies upon that line of practice has given him power and ability that places him with the fore- most representatives of his specialty in the northwest. It is not alone as a physician, however, that Dr. Hilscher is known to the public. His efforts for the development of an irrigation system in the Yakima valley constituted an initial step in drawing federal attention to that district and gaining the cooperation of the government for the solution of a difficult, but most important problem there. He is thoroughly imbued with the spirit of the northwest and has put forth effective and earnest effort for its advancement.
Most of his life has been spent west of the Mississippi river, his birth having occurred in Leavenworth, Kansas, October 15, 1867. His father, Charles Hilscher, was born in Germany but came to the United States in early life and devoted his energies to the occupation of farming. He was one of the pioneers of Dickinson county, Kan- sas, locating there during the period of the border warfare and living through some exciting experiences of that epoch. With the outbreak of the Civil war he responded to the call for aid and joined Company K of the Thirty-seventh Infantry Regiment of Ohio Volunteers which was recruited at Hamilton, Ohio, where he was then living, but after the close of hostilities he removed to Leavenworth, and later to Dickinson county, Kansas, where he spent his remaining days, his death occurring in 1895. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Susanna Yauch, was born in Wittenberg, Germany, and died in 1900. The two brothers of Dr. Hilscher are C. M. and Harry L. Hilscher, residents of Kansas City, Missouri. An only sister, Mrs. Phoebe Van Scoyoc, is living in Talmage, Kansas.
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Frank TUI. Dilscher, M. D.
A public-school course constituted the initial educational training which prepared Dr. Hilscher for the work done in Beaumont Hos- pital Medical College, now the medical department of the St. Louis University, from which he received his professional degree in 1895. In the meantime he had had varied experience in business life. He left home in 1881 when but fourteen years of age and was apprenticed to a druggist. He was employed in connection with that business in various places but spent most of the time in Leavenworth, Kansas, and in St. Louis, Missouri. His work awakened his interest in the medical profession and following his graduation from the Beaumont Hospital Medical College he entered upon active practice in St. Louis, where he remained for a number of years. He also at once became assistant professor of otology in the school from which he had just graduated and had charge of the ear clinic of the college for a year. Later he joined the faculty of the St. Louis College of Physicians and Surgeons in the capacity of assistant professor of ophthalmology, remaining one of the instructors in that school until he came to Spo- kane in 1899. His ability as an educator and practitioner was recog- nized by the profession and the St. Louis Medical Society, to which he belonged, honored him with the secretaryship, which position he was filling at the time of his removal to Spokane. In St. Louis he was also connected with the College of Physicians and Surgeons as chief of the eye clinic, was oculist to the Merchants and Manufacturers Hospital, to the Baptist Hospital, the Amelia Children's Home, the Visitation Convent and other institutions. His marked ability has gained him prominence and the high reputation which he bore in St. Louis has also been accorded him during the period of his connection with Spokane.
Since coming to this city Dr. Hilscher has limited his practice to the treatment of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat and for the past four years he has conducted a private sanitarium limited to the treatment of those diseases. It is pleasantly located at the entrance of Rockwood boulevard and has splendid equipment for that depart- ment of practice. He keeps in touch with the advanced work of the profession through the proceedings of the Spokane County and Washington State Medical Societies and the American Medical As- sociation, in all of which he holds membership.
What Dr. Hilscher has accomplished along professional lines would alone entitle him to representation in this volume. His work in other fields, however, is equally interesting and important. Since coming to Spokane he has invested quite largely in property in this city and in the Inland Empire and has promoted a number of cor-
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Frank TU. Dilscher, M. D.
porations, chief among which were the Yakima Land & Live Stock Company, of which he was the secretary; the Yakima Development Company, of which he was one of the trustees; the Yakima Land & Development Company, of which he was president for many years and is now secretary; and the Wenatchee Farms Company, of which he is secretary and treasurer.
The Yakima Land & Live Stock Company was organized about April, 1902, by Dr. Hilscher, M. N. Kuppenberg, J. W. Oakes, G. W. Frost and George W. Stoltz. They purchased thirty-seven thou- sand, seven hundred and twenty-one acres of land in Yakima in the Moxie valley from the railroad company for one dollar and five cents per acre on the six-year payment plan. In this Dr. Hilscher had a third interest, which he turned over to the company and after the com- pany was organized an assessment of eight thousand dollars was made to cover the first payment. Within four months they sold a half in- terest in contracts for twelve thousand dollars, thus recovering all the money expended and half as much again. Inside of six months they were offered two dollars and a half per acre but declined this. They then employed a corps of engineers to examine the irrigation possibil- ities of the land, the first survey including what is now known as the Titeton project. They filed appropriation notices on the water of that district. Arriving at the Yakima river, however, with the pro- posed canal, the engineers found that it would be a very expensive matter to cross the river to the other side where the lands were located. They then employed another engineer, who in connection with the first, made more surveys, which finally culminated in the proposal to dam the three lakes at the head of the Yakima river-the Kachess, Keechelus and Clealum, impounding the water therein and bringing the high line canal down on the east side of the river. This would command approximately two hundred and fifty thousand acres of land. The plans made were practically identical with the ones now known as the Kittitas project of the United States government, which will probably be carried out in the next few years.
The immensity of this project necessitated the incorporation of a promoting company called The Yakima Development Company, which was then organized and was headed by the distinguished Judge Whitson, who was then a practicing attorney of North Yakima. The filing of water appropriations of this company and its plans aroused a good deal of local feeling in the lower Yakima valley, which was then suffering from a dearth of sufficient water to extend the existing canals, especially those at Sunnyside. The company soon found itself involved in a fierce fight with the previous water claimants and there
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were many meetings of commercial clubs in various parts of the Yakima valley, both in the interests of and against the project. In the meanwhile information requested by the company of F. H. New- ell, chief of the reclamation service, resulted in surveys being made for the waters of the Yakima river and all its tributaries for a whole year, together with measurements for water actually used by the existing irrigators. Under the supervision of Professor O. L. Waller, of Pull- man, a final report was made which showed to the people of the Yakima valley that many times the amount of water available had already been appropriated and each succeeding claimant was more or less at the mercy of previous claimants. The agitation resulting is now a matter of history and culminated in unanimous appeal of those interested in the valley to the United States government to take over the existing water rights of most of the claimants and make an equal apportionment. This is how the government first became interested in the Yakima valley. Thus the aims and objects of The Yakima Development Company passed out of existence and the benefits of the many thousands of dollars spent there by the two companies have thus become the property of the public.
The lands of the Yakima Land & Live Stock Company were finally sold at various figures, netting on an average of no more than four dollars per acre, although much of the land has since been sold for prices as high as one hundred dollars per acre. This company has also gone out of existence. The Yakima Land & Development Com- pany planted one hundred and fifty acres of orchard on irrigated land near Hayden Lake, Idaho, in 1907, and all has since been sold. The same company has bought and sold lands in Yakima valley near Ken- newick and on the Quincy flats. The company is now engaged in re- tailing about thirteen hundred acres in the latter district and land which originally cost the company about five dollars per acre is now being rapidly disposed of at from twenty-five to fifty dollars per acre. The Wenatchee Farms Company, in which Dr. Hilscher is also inter- ested, owns a small body of land on Rock creek in Whitman county, of which one hundred acres is now irrigated and they are planning to supply another hundred acres with water. The company is doing the actual selling of the Yakima company's Quincy land.
In 1889 Dr. Hilscher was married and has three children, Schuy- ler, Earl Durand and Aubrey L., all now in school. Dr. Hilscher attends the Unitarian church and in politics is an insurgent republi- can. He belongs to the Woodmen of the World, the Royal High- landers and the Spokane Amateur Athletic Club. He is a broad and liberal-minded man, whose purposes of life are high, whose ambition is commendable and whose labors have been resultant for good in all of the different fields in which he has put forth his effort.
D. F. Samuels
N H. F. SAMUELS, Wallace has a citizen of marked determination, and to this characteristic may largely be attributed his success. It was this quality that en- abled him to obtain a liberal education in the face of difficulties and obstacles that would have utterly discouraged many others and which has enabled him to continue on and on toward the goal of prosperity until he now ranks with the capitalists of this city. Moreover, he is entitled to distinction and honor from the fact that he is the only man who, after making his fortune from the mines about Wallace, has used his capital to develop and promote the business activities and upbuilding of the city. He was at one time prominent as a practitioner of law but later retired from the bar to concentrate his energies upon mining and banking in- terests. His birth occurred in Washington county, Mississippi, on the 4th of April, 1869, his parents being H. Floyd and Isabelle (Jenkins) Samuels. Representatives of the family were among the earliest set- tlers of Virginia, and later took up their abode among the pioneer resi- dents of Kentucky, while subsequently they joined the first settlers of Indiana. The mother of the grandfather of our subject was thirteen years of age when the Revolutionary war broke out and lived to be one hundred and six years old. His grandmother White, on the maternal side, was a descendant of the White that came to America on the May- flower. The father of Mr. Samuels of this review, who was living in Kentucky at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war, enlisted in the Federal army as captain of Company E, Twelfth Kentucky Volun- teer Cavalry, while his brother joined the Confederate ranks, the fam- ily thus becoming divided. He participated in fifty-two battles and his company was part of the command that pursued and finally cap- tured the celebrated General Morgan. At the present time he is liv- ing in Indiana, and has attained the age of seventy-seven years. Rep- resentatives of the Jenkins family enlisted with the northern troops, and four uncles of our subject laid down their lives on the altar of their country. I
To the subject of this review the name of Henry Floyd Samuels was given but he has always been known as H. F. Samuels in order to
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D. F. Samuels
He is also a member of Wallace Lodge No. 331, B. P. O. E., and is now past chancellor commander of Wallace Lodge of the Knights of Pythias.
Mr. Samuels is preeminently a representative of that class of men who in advancing individual interests also promote public progress and prosperity. His life record displays many admirable elements. His future success was foreshadowed in his determination to obtain an education at the sacrifice of physical ease and comfort. Always recog- nizing that the present and not the future held his opportunity, he utilized each passing moment to the best advantage and has never al- lowed obstacles nor difficulties to brook his path if they could be over- come by determined, persistent effort. This quality has enabled him to advance steadily on the highroad to success until today he stands among the capitalists of the Coeur d'Alene district, the possessor of a handsome fortune and an honorable name. Moreover, few men have the high sense of personal obligation and responsibility that is mani- fest in Mr. Samuels. Recognizing the chance to make his life work of benefit to the district in which his fortune was won, he has wisely and judiciously invested in business projects here and his efforts have been of almost inestimable benefit in the upbuilding of Wallace, of which place he may be termed without invidious distinction the fore- most citizen.
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Gler Derbyshire
Glenn B. Derbyshire
N THE roster of officials of Spokane county appears O the name of Glenn B. Derbyshire, who is now serv- ing as county clerk, having been elected to that posi- tion on the 8th of November, 1910. Moreover, he is widely known throughout the state as a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and through business associations, too, he has gained a wide acquaintance. His birth occurred near Adrian, Michigan, January 12, 1874. His father, William Derbyshire, a native of Onondaga county, New York, was connected with the secret service at the time of the Civil war. He be- came one of the pioneer residents of Michigan, settling about sixteen miles from Adrian, in 1845. In the upbuilding of his part of the state he took an active and helpful interest and at one time served as tax collector in Lenawee county. His occupation was that of farming and through the careful and systematic cultivation of the fields he provided a comfortable living for his family. He married Maria Newitt, a native of Syracuse, New York, who still resides on the old homestead in Michigan but Mr. Derbyshire passed away in March, 1908. They were the parents of four sons, the brothers of Glenn B. Derbyshire being: Daniel Z., who is employed in a factory at Adrian, Michigan; William N., who is engaged in the clothing business at Hudson, Michigan; and Paul M., who is cultivating the old home- stead farm. There are also two half-sisters: Mrs. Harriet Pratt, a widow, who is now living with the mother; and Mrs. Orilla Babcock, residing on a farm near the old home place.
Glenn B. Derbyshire acquired his education in the public and high schools of Addison, Michigan, and in Hudson Business College, com- pleting a course there in the fall of 1894. Thinking to enter upon the practice of law, he became a student in the law office and under the direction of the firm of Bird & Wood, attorneys at Adrian, the senior partner becoming afterward attorney general of Michigan. After reading law for a year Mr. Derbyshire secured a position with the Page Woven Wire Fence Company, with which he was connected for six years as bookkeeper. He then became interested in life insurance as district manager of the New England Mutual Life Insurance
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Glenn B. Derbyshire
Company of Boston, having jurisdiction over four Michigan coun- ties. Later he was for a time connected with the Adrian State Sav- ings Bank but thinking that the far west offered better business op- portunities he severed his connection in his native state and on the 1st of May, 1902, arrived in Spokane, where he became bookkeeper for the lumber manufacturing firm known as the Holland-Horr Mill Company. He was afterward made estimator for the company and so continued with this firm for about seven years. He then turned his attention to the printing business as a partner of the Pacific Print- ing Company, with which he was connected for two years and subse- quently he became interested in the real-estate firm of H. M. Howard & Company.
Since his election to the office of county clerk Mr. Derbyshire has devoted his entire attention to the duties of that position. He was made the democratic candidate and polled a large vote on the 8th of November, 1910. From early manhood he has always taken an active part in politics, has served on election boards, was a delegate to county conventions in Michigan, and was secretary of the central committee of his county in 1896 during the free silver campaign.
The pleasant home life of Mr. Derbyshire had its beginning in his marriage at Hudson, Indiana, on the 8th of August, 1894, to Miss Anna M. Platt, a daughter of William Platt, one of the pioneer set- tlers of Adrian, Michigan, who is now deceased. Their only child, Naomi, is a student in the Spokane high school.
Mr. Derbyshire has an interesting military record, covering three years' service as a member of Company B, First Infantry Regiment of the Michigan National Guard. He is a well known figure in fra- ternal circles, being especially prominent in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He joined that organization in Adrian, Michigan, and now holds membership in Mt. Carlton Lodge, No. 103, of Spokane; Unique Encampment, No. 32; Canton Spokane, No. 2, of the Patri- archs Militant; and Hope Lodge, No. 38, of the Order of Rebekahs. He has been honored with office in these different organizations, being a past grand of Mt. Carlton Lodge, past chief patriarch of Unique Encampment, and past commandant of Canton Spokane No. 2. In 1906 he was representative to the grand lodge of the state of Wash- ington and the same year was made district deputy grand master. He has also been district deputy grand patriarch of the encampment and in the spring of 1910 was deputized by the grand patriarch to institute Abraham Encampment at Newport, Washington. In 1908 he was appointed assistant adjutant general of the Second Brigade Patri- arch Militant for the department of Washington and still holds that
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commission with the rank of major. His work in the Odd Fellows society has made him widely known throughout the order in this state and among its membership he has many warm friends. He is also connected with the Hoo Hoos, his number being 14,089. He is a member of Spokane Lodge, No. 161; Loyal Order of Moose and is a member of the Inland Club. His religious affiliations are denoted by his attendance at the Christian Science church. He never holds nar- row nor contracted views of life but maintains the position of a pro- gressive citizen who has faith in the future and is ever willing to co- operate in movements for general progress and improvement.
B.b. Dempercy
Christopher C. Dempsey
CHRISTOPHER C. DEMPSEY, who is the owner C and proprietor of Hotel Dempsey, located at 407 Front street is well known in the business circles of the city as a man whose business judgment is dem- onstrated in the success which has attended his ef- forts. He is a western man by inclination and training and is imbued with the progressive spirit which has been a prominent factor in the building up of the northwest. His birth occurred in Dodge county, Wisconsin, on the 28th of December, 1858, his parents being Connor and Mary (Duffy) Dempsey, the former of whom passed away in 1868, while the latter died in Spo- kane, July 5, 1911, at the venerable age of eighty-two years. The father was a prominent agriculturist of Wisconsin and for fifteen years was chairman of the town board. During the gold excitement in the far west he made a trip to California, leaving in 1852, but two years later he returned to Wisconsin and again devoted his time to the development of the farm which he owned.
Christopher C. Dempsey was educated in the public schools of Wisconsin, but during the summer months he was actively engaged in assisting his mother in the cultivation of the home farm. When he was twenty-four years of age he desired to make his own way in the world, but before entering definitely upon any career wished to see something of the world. He spent a short time in Chicago before going to Louisiana, where he remained before going to the Pan- handle of Texas, where for two years he worked at surveying. Sub- sequently he went to Denver where he conducted a restaurant for one year, but in the fall of 1888 he came to Spokane and has since been one of the active promoters of various business undertakings in this city. His first enterprise in this city was engaging in the restaurant business on Post street near the Pacific Hotel. Fortune favored him, however, and just before the fire of 1889 he disposed of this prop- erty, which otherwise would have been destroyed and been a serious loss to him financially. After the fire he started another restaurant on Bernard street which he conducted for a year, when he removed to Howard and Main streets, and there stayed in business until he
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was elected sheriff in 1896. At the completion of his term of office in 1898, he engaged in the livery business for one year until Janu- ary, 1900, at which time he disposed of his business and assumed the management of Hotel Dempsey, which was situated at the corner of Main and Stevens streets. He occupied that location until 1905, when he erected the building which is now known as the Hotel Demp- sey. It is a substantial three-story and basement brick building, cov- ering a ground plan of sixty by one hundred and forty-two feet. It contains ample accommodations for many guests, having one hun- dred and twenty sleeping rooms. Mr. Dempsey has many of the salient characteristics necessary for the successful hotel manager- geniality, courtesy and consideration for the rights of others.
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