Spokane and the Spokane country : pictorial and biographical : deluxe supplement (Volume 1) online

streets. The company owns its own home, known as the Spokane
Bank building, a two-story brick structure, sixty by ninety feet, the
first story being used for banking purposes, while the second is divided
into apartments. The bank has a large out-of-town patronage and,
based upon safe, conservative principles, is doing a good business.
Mr. Anderson is also stockholder in the Exchange and Fidelity

215



216



3ame& &. Anderson



Banks, is the largest owner in the Spokane State Bank building and
holds fifty per cent of the stock in the Division Street Hardware
Company, of which he is the president. He has also made investment
in property, owning one thousand acres in the Palouse country all
under cultivation, and four hundred and eighty acres under cultiva-
tion in Alberta and timber lands in Washington. He is one of the
largest owners of the Belcher Mining Company in Terry county,
Washington, and is secretary and treasurer of the company.

On the 27th of October, 1886, in Dunlap, Kansas, occurred the
marriage of James A. Anderson and Miss Jennie F. Webster, a
daughter of Captain Webster, who commanded steamboats on the
Ohio river. The two children born unto them are: Bernice, now the
wife of Orville Tupper, cashier of the Wilson Creek Bank; and Rex,
who is now attending high school.

Politically Mr. Anderson is a republican and is an active and in-
fluential worker of his party who has served as delegate to county
and state conventions and has done effective work on the county central
committee. He is interested in all that pertains to Spokane's pro-
gress and upbuilding and because of this has become a working mem-
ber of the Chamber of Commerce. He also belongs to the Inland
Club and is well known in fraternal circles, holding membership in
Spokane Lodge, No. 34, F. & A. M., in Oriental Consistory of the
Scottish Rite and in El Katif Temple of the Mystic Shrine. While
in Rosalia he filled all of the chairs in the local lodge save that of
master. He belongs to Spokane Lodge, No. 134, I. O. O. F., in
which he has filled all of the chairs and is now a past grand. He has
achieved remarkable success, advancing from farmer boy to his
present position as banker, merchant and landowner, and his prosper-
ity is a visible evidence of intelligence and well directed industry, of
determination, perseverance and notable ambition.



Militant ftenrp &cutf

ILLIAM HENRY ACUFF is now living retired

W after long and close association with business inter-

^i ests of Spokane, whereby he contributed to the gen-
// eral welfare in addition to advancing his individual
success. He was born at Gwynedd, Pennsylvania,
October 8, 1846, his home being about sixteen miles
from Philadelphia in the old Welsh settlement there. At the time
that William Penn arrived in that state the three corners of the town
square at Gwynedd had been in possession of the Acuff family for
a long period. The ancestry is Welsh and Scotch and the parents
of our subject were William and Lydia (Ellis) Acuff. The father
died when his son William was but five months old, his death being
occasioned by typhoid fever when he was twenty-six years of age.
The mother lived to the advanced age of eighty-two years and passed
away in California in 1906.

William Henry Acuff was an only child and pursued his educa-
tion in the schools of Pennsylvania and Illinois, having accompanied
his mother on her removal to the latter state when eleven years of
age. He afterward returned to Norristown, Pennsylvania, where
he attended school from 1864 until 1868. He also spent a portion
of the time on the oil fields in order to earn the money necessary to
enable him to continue his education. In 1868 he again went to Illi-
nois, settling at Decatur, Macon county, and in that vicinity he fol-
lowed farming and milling, dealt in grain and taught school. Event-
ually he turned his attention to the lumber business and organized
what is known today as the Decatur Lumber & Manufacturing Com-
pany, one of the important industrial and commercial interests of
that district. In the spring of 1889 his health failed him and he dis-
posed of his interests in the middle west. He then enjoyed a period
of rest covering a few years and in the spring of 1890 came to Spo-
kane, remaining out of business, however, until February, 1892, when
he organized the Washington Mill Company, of which he became the
first secretary. Afterward he was president of the company for a
period of fifteen years and in July, 1910, having, won substantial
success in the conduct of this enterprise, he retired. He has financial



220 TOttltam p|enrg gfcuft

interests in the Trustee Company of Spokane, of wliich he has been
a director since its organization.

Aside from business Mr. Acuff is well known in republican cir-
cles where he has exerted a wide influence, being well qualified by
nature and acquired ability to become a leader of public thought and
action. In 1896 he was elected on the republican ticket a member
of the city council and served for three years as chairman of its
finance committee, while for one year he was president of the coun-
cil. It was during his term that Spokane was nearly bankrupt and
it was through the good business judgment and careful management
of Mr. Acuff that the city was able to meet its monthly pay rolls and
weather the financial storm. He spent the winter of 1904-5 in Wash-
ington, D. C, representing the Chamber of Commerce in the inter-
est of Spokane, endeavoring to assist President Roosevelt in secur-
ing increased power for the interstate commerce commission and aid
Spokane in its fight for reduced freight rates. The good results he
accomplished cannot be overestimated. The campaign was con-
ducted in such a manner that it awakened the admiration of business
men and manufacturers all over the United States. In 1908 Mr.
Acuff went to Japan as a Spokane representative with the Pacific
coast commercial commission to look into the trade relations between
the two countries. His efforts have been most effective in promot-
ing business conditions and in bringing forth elements that have been
far-reaching forces in the growth and material upbuilding of the
northwest. For many years he was the vice president of the Pacific
Coast Lumberman's Association and was also president of the local
association.

On the 22d of August, 1871, in St. Louis, Missouri, Mr. Acuff
was married to Miss Isabelle Bricker, a daughter of Aaron and Louise
Bricker of Decatur, Illinois, and they had one daughter, Lillie A.,
the wife of John C. Neffeler, of Spokane. The wife and mother
died in this city in November, 1896. Since his retirement from busi-
ness life Mr. Acuff has largely devoted his attention to Masonry
wliich had also claimed much of his time and thought previously. He
stands very high in the order and is a past master of Tyrian Lodge,
No. 96, F. & A. M.; past high priest of Spokane Chapter, No. 2,
R. A. M.; past thrice illustrious master of Spokane Council, No. 4,
R. & S. M.; past eminent commander of Cataract Commandery,
No. 3, K. T.; and past commander of Oriental Consistory, No. 2,
S. P. R. S. He has likewise been awarded the honorary thirty-
third degree and is a member of El Katif Temple of the Mystic



HHiUiam ftcnr.p Scuff



221



Shrine. He is likewise a member of the grand council and is one
of its deputy grand masters. He is also junior warden of the grand
commandery and is a past patron of the Eastern Star. He is today
one of the best known men of Spokane, respected by all. In man-
ner he is modest and retiring but the work that be has accomplished
speaks for itself. His love of justice has expressed itself in correct
principle and practice and added to this, the salient features of his
life have been a deep earnestness, impelled and fostered by indomi-
table perseverance, and a progressive spirit ruled by more than ordi-
nary intelligence and good judgment.




J. 9B. «mhln>




\Y. BINKLEY of Spokane has been associated with
various interests which have constituted elements in
the growth and progress of Spokane and the sur-
rounding country. He now occupies a prominent
position in financial circles as president of the North
Pacific Loan & Trust Company, in which connec-
tion he is a partner of Jacob R. Taylor. He was born in Ontario,
Canada, July 10, 1856, his parents being George and Mary (Rymal)
Binkley. He had the advantage of liberal educational training, at-
tending the Collegiate Institute of Ontario and afterward the To-
ronto University, in which he took up the study of law, pursuing his
course until qualified for practice. After leaving college he made his
way direct to this state, settling first in Seattle. He was admitted to
the bar at Tacoma in 1883 and the same year came to Spokane, where
he formed a partnership with his cousin, Jacob R. Taylor, which rela-
tion has since been maintained. They entered at once upon the ac-
tive practice of law and made steady progress in that field but have
gradually withdrawn to concentrate their energies and attention upon
other business interests. Mr. Binkley served as probate judge of the
county in 1885 and 1886, having been elected on the democratic
ticket, but for some years he has not taken an active part in politics
aside from exercising his right of franchise. More and more largely
his efforts and activities have been concentrated upon his business
affairs and he is now president of the North Pacific Loan & Trust
Company, which deals entirely in farm mortgages and bandies for-
eign capital from Holland. The firm have now loaned on these mort-
gages over one million dollars. They first organized the Northwest-
ern & Pacific Mortgage Company in 1884, it having a continuous
existence until 1896, when it was taken over by the Northwestern
Hypotheek Bank, subsequent to which time they organized their
present business under the name of the North Pacific Loan & Trust
Company. In this way Mr. Binkley has contributed much toward
the upbuilding, progress and improvement of this district and his
progressive work has also been done as the president of the first and
second fruit fairs which were ever held here.



226 3 3S ffinhltp

In 1880 Mr. Binkley was married to Miss Josepliine Clarkson,
of Ontario, who died in Spokane. They had one daughter, Ethelyn,
who is the wife of Aubrey L. White, of this city. Mr. Binkley be-
longs to the Chamber of Commerce and in more strictly social lines
is connected with the Spokane Club, the Spokane Amateur Athletic
Club and the Spokane Country Club.




â– to




facoti &. Raptor



^OR more than twenty-eight years the firm of Binkley

Fl & Taylor has maintained a continuous existence, the
($i partners being J. W. Binkley and Jacoh R. Taylor,
«* ' whose connection with the bar and operations in finan-
cial circles have constituted an important and force-
ful element in the general growth and prosperity of
Spokane and outlying districts. The birth of Mr. Taylor occurred
in Ontario, Canada, on the 21st of December, 1854, his parents being
George and Margaret (Rymal) Taylor. In pursuing his education
he spent some time as a student of the Collegiate Institute at Brant-
ford, Ontario, and afterward prepared for the bar as a law student in
Toronto University. On crossing the border into the United States
he made his way to Denver, Colorado, where he took the required ex-
amination and was admitted to the bar in 1882. He then came to the
northwest, with Seattle as his destination and in that city was joined
by his cousin, J. W. Binkley. After a brief period in Seattle and a
short stay in Tacoma they decided upon Spokane as a favorable loca-
tion, and opened a law office, continuing in general practice for a time
but later turning their attention to financial interests, organizing in
1884 the Northwestern & Pacific Mortgage Company under which
name they carried on business until 1896. This was then taken over
by the Northwestern & Pacific Hypotheek Bank and was followed
by the organization of the North Pacific Loan & Trust Company.
They deal entirely in farm and city mortgages and handle foreign
capital, mostly from Holland, having invested more than one million
dollars in mortgages in this district.

Mr. Taylor is a prominent Mason, holding membership in Spo-
kane Lodge, No. 34, F. & A. M.; Spokane Chapter, No. 2. R. A. M.,
Cataract Commandery, No. 3, K. T. He is a thirty-second degree
mason in Oriental Consistory, No. 2. Scottish Rite and belongs to El
Katif Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He also has membership rela-
tions with the Spokane Club and the Chamber of Commerce.

On the 11th of February, 1892, Mr. Taylor was married to Ada
L. Martin, a daughter of Mrs. Jennie Martin, of this city, and they
now have three children, Margaret J.. Binklev R. and John R.



230 gatofe &• Adaptor

They reside at No. 1305 Sixth avenue, where Mr. Taylor built a
pleasant home in 1894. In his business life he has been a persistent,
resolute and energetic worker, possessing strong executive powers,
and added to a progressive spirit, ruled by more than ordinary intel-
ligence and good judgment, there has been a native justice which has
expressed itself in correct principle and practice.




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