History of Seattle Municipal Railway's Division C, the streetcar line that once connected Burien with White Center and Seattle.
July 17, 2005
Representative Citizens of Seattle and King County pp 256-259

Frank W. Mitchell

Frank W. Mitchell occupies a commanding position in the business circles of Seattle, being the vice-president and manager of the store belonging to the Mitchell, Lewis & Stayer Company, extensive dealers in mining and milling machinery, wagons and carriages. It is true that he entered upon a business already established, but many a man of less resolute principles could not have carried on the work, increasing the business of the house as he has done, and in his labors he has shown marked enterprise, keen discernment and strong purpose. Mr. Mitchell is a native of Washington and his family is of Scotch lineage. The grandfather, Henry Mitchell, was born in Scotland on the 11th of March, 1810, and in 1833 crossed the Atlantic to the new world, taking up his abode in Chicago, Illinois, where he engaged in the manufacture of the Mitchell wagon. In 1856 he removed to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he established the Bain Manufactory, which he afterward sold to E. Bain. His next place of residence was Racine, and there he became the, founder of the Mitchell & Lewis Company, which carried on a very extensive business there, manufacturing thirty thousand wagons yearly. Mr. Mitchell died on the 23d of October, 1893, at the advanced age of eighty-three years.

William Henry Mitchell, the eldest son, and the father of our subject, was born in Chicago in I834 and accompanied his parents on their removal to Kenosha. The year 1853 witnessed his arrival on the Pacific coast. He crossed the plains with oxen, leaving’ his Wisconsin home in April and arriving in Olympia, Washington territory, in the following October. He was a single man at that time, but while enroute met the lady who afterward be...

(left out page 257, discussing his father’s history)

... thought and opinion as well as in industrial and commercial circles. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell were the parents of five children, four of whom are yet living: H. W., who is now manager of the business of the Mitchell, Lewis & Stayer Company in Portland, and is secretary and treasurer of the corporation; Edith, the wife of A. McCoquadale, an employee of the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company, at Portland; and Albert B., who is with his father in Tumwater.
Frank W. Mitchell was educated in the schools of his native city and in a business college in San Francisco, California. In 1882 he became connected with his father’s business as a bookkeeper, also performing other office duties, and the latter went upon the road as a traveling salesman through the northwest, selling the products carried by the house. He also opened a branch house in Walla Walla, conducting it for a year, at the end of which time he again went upon the road. In 1887 he returned to the office and continued his connection with the business in Portland until 1894, at which time he came to Seattle to assume the management of the extensive trade which is controlled from this point, the house having been established here at the time of the incorporation of the company in 1892. They deal on an extensive scale in mining and milling machinery, wagons and carriages, their goods being shipped to many parts of the United States. His business ability, executive force and keen insight have been largely instrumental in promoting the business in the northwest, bringing to the corporation a high degree of prosperity.

In 1887 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Mitchell and Miss Georgie May Riggen, of Portland, who was born in California. They became the parents of one daughter, Mildred May, who was left motherless in 1897 by the death of Mrs. Mitchell. On the 1st of January, 1900, Mr. Mitchell was again married, his second union being with Miss Marie Histermann, a native of Germany, who in her childhood was brought to America by her parents, who located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Later she returned to the fatherland and was educated in some of its best schools. In 1889 she came to Seattle, just after the great fire here. Both Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell have a host of warm friends in this city, the hospitality of many of its best homes being accorded them. Mr. Mitchell is one of the native sons of Washington, having always been identified with the interests of this state. He votes with the Republican party and is deeply interested in all that pertains to the progress and improvement of the northwest. He is thoroughly informed concerning his business, having made a close study of it in principle and detail. He stands to-day, strong in his manhood and strong in his honor and good name, a mc prominent and active factor in the commercial life of northwest.

Posted by Rob Ketcherside at July 17, 2005 3:11 PM
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