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EDWARD CORNELIUS HANFORD (17802) CORNELIUS HOLGATE HANFORD (7883) FRANK HANFORD (6775) ARTHUR ELWOOD HANFORD (6776) No student of history can carry his investigations far into the records of Seattle and the state of Washington without learning of the close connection of the Hanford family with various plans and projects that have had to do with the steady growth, development and up building of this part of the country. Of this family Lauron Neff Hanford is a worthy representative. The work instituted by his ancestors has been carried on by their descendants, and Mr. Hanford of this review is now well known as the vice president of the Lowman & Hanford Company, conducting an extensive printing and stationery business in Seattle. Through several generations the ancestral line is traced back to the Rev. Thomas Hanford, who in the year 1643 left his home in England and became the first pastor of a church in Norwalk, Connecticut. Since that time representatives of the name have borne their full share in matters of progressive citizenship in various parts of the country. Thaddeus Hanford, representing the sixth generation of the family in the new world, became a resident of Hamilton county, Ohio, about 1801 and was married there, his wife being a daughter of Sergeant William Browne, a soldier of the Revolutionary war, whose conspicuous gallantry at Yorktown was recognized in the gift of a gold medal from George Washington. Moving westward with the trend of emigration, William, Edward, George and Ebenezer Seymour Hanford, four of the sons of Thaddeus Hanford, became identified with farming interests in Van Buren county, Iowa, where Edward Hanford was married in 1845 to Abbie Jane Holgate, daughter of Abraham Levering and Elizabeth (Jones) Holgate, and a sister of John C. Holgate, who, having come to the northwest, wrote letters to Mrs. Hanford that caused her husband and two of his brothers to make their way to the Puget Sound; country. It was in 1853 that Edward and Abbie Jane (Holgate) Hanford arrived in Oregon, accompanied by her widowed mother, her sister and two younger brothers, journeying westward with ox teams and covered wagons until they reached Portland in August. Mr. Hanford purchased a settler's claim on which a house had been built, six miles from Portland, and there his family spent the succeeding winter, while he came on to Seattle, secured a claim and built a log cabin as a home for his family. George and Ebenezer Seymour Hanford made their way direct to Seattle in 1852 and the former passed away here, while the latter, after serving as a volunteer in the Indian War of 1855-6, returned to Iowa. In 1854 Edward Hanford joined his family near Portland, Oregon, and brought them to Seattle, driving his oxen and cows before him. He was also accompanied by his brother-in-law, John C. Holgate, and the two had their cabins in the midst of tall fir trees, which they cut down to make room for gardens and orchards. From these trees they made saw logs for Mr. Yesler's mill until the Indians went upon the war path and they were warned to leave their cabins and seek safety in Seattle, for their pioneer homes were situated two miles from other habitations. When the attack on Seattle was made the cabin of Edward Hanford was burned and his oxen and cows were slaughtered. During the Indian outbreak he served as a volunteer in the military organization commanded by Captain C. C. Hewitt. In 1858 Edward Hanford tried mining, but unsuccessfully, on the Fraser River. In 1859 Mrs. Hanford became teacher of a school at Port Madison and lumber was furnished for a dwelling which Mr. Hanford there built. In 1861 a removal was made to San Francisco, but after five years they returned to Seattle in 1866, Mr. Hanford erecting a dwelling at the northeast corner of Fourth Avenue and James Street, where he and his wife remained until called to their final rest. They held membership in the First Baptist church. Edward Hanford, who was born in Hamilton County, Ohio, January 10, 1807, died in Seattle, September 24, 1884, while his wife, whose birth occurred in Butler County, Ohio, October 13, 1824, passed away November 25, 1905. They were parents of nine children, of whom five sons reached adult age. The eldest, Thaddeus Hanford, who was born in Van Buren County, Iowa, December 11, 1847, was owner and editor of the Daily Intelligencer from 1877 until 1879. He died in Seattle in 1892. The second son, Cornelius Holgate Hanford, became one of the distinguished jurists of the northwest. He served as the last chief justice of Washington territory and administered the oath of office to the members of the convention which framed the constitution of the state. He was also the first United States district judge of Washington and served from the time of his appointment in February, 1890, until he resigned August 5, 1912. He was born on the old family farm in Iowa, April 21, 1849, and died in 1925. Frank Hanford, the third son of Edward Hanford, was for many years engaged in the insurance business in Seattle, was one of the trustees of the Chamber of Commerce, a member of the city council and served in the state legislature from King County in 1895. His death occurred in November, 1921. Arthur Elwood Hanford, fourth son of the family to reach adult age, became a lawyer, specializing in real estate title law, and was one of the incorporators and the first president of the Booth-Whittlesey-Hanford Abstract Company. Clarence Hanford, the other son of Edward Hanford, was associated with his brothers, with Manly B. Haynes and other leading citizens of Seattle and Tacoma in organizing the Hanford Irrigation & Power Company for utilizing the power of Priest Rapids in the Columbia river in generating hydro-electric power and for irrigating sagebrush land in that region; a project that proved of immense value to the district. Clarence Hanford was born in Seattle, May 13, 1857, and became an expert in connection with the printing business. He early established a job printing office and with the passing years his business kept pace with all improvements made in the field of printing and engraving. He afterward became associated with James D. Lowman in organizing the Lowman & Hanford Printing & Stationery Company, which is now the Lowman & Hanford Company. Clarence Hanford assumed management of the printing department of the business, which he developed until it became one of the largest and most complete printing, engraving and bookbinding establishments in this part of the country. He was also identified with agricultural interests through his development of a fifty-acre fruit farm in the Hanford-White Bluffs district on the Columbia River. In. 1882, in Seattle, he married Miss Eleanor Neff, a daughter of Charles Neff, and they became parents of a daughter and a son, the former being Aimee, the wife of Colonel E. P. Orton of the regular army. The son, Lauron Neff Hanford, was born in Seattle in 1889. He attended school at Andover and later entered Harvard University and when he had attained a sufficient age he became identified with the business of the Lowman & Hanford Company, acquiring an intimate knowledge of the operations of the plant. His business activities were interrupted by his service as a soldier of the World war, during which he was on duty in France as captain in command of a divisional train of the 91st Division. When the country no longer needed his aid, he returned to Seattle and resumed his connection with the business of which his father had been one of the promoters. Upon his father's death he succeeded to the vice presidency and to the management of the printing department and so continues. This company controls one of the largest and most important stationery printing, engraving and bookbinding interests of Washington. The business has been developed along progressive lines and workmanship of the finest kind characterizes the output of the institution. Thoroughly familiar with every phase of the business, L. N. Hanford is proving an excellent executive and one of wide vision who is ever working toward higher deals and more efficient service. Source: Bagley, Clarence B., History of King County Washington, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago-Seattle, 1929, Volume II, pages 79-82. Repository: King County Library System, Burien Branch, Reference Section. |