Prosser, Col. William Farrand. "A History of the Puget Sound Country, Its Resources, Its Commerce and its People." Vol. 2. The Lewis Publishing Company; New York, Chicago; 1903. p. 410. ALEXANDER SPITHILL Alexander Spithill, one of the prosperous and representative, businessmen of Marysville, Washington, was born May 24, 1824, at Greenock, Scotland, and is a son of John Spithill, a native of Scotland, who was a sea captain engaged in the merchandise lumber trade between Quebec and Clyde for thirty-three years, dying at the age of seventy-nine years in Sydney, Australia. The maiden name of his wife was Catherine McKellar, and she was born at Greenock, Scotland, and died at Sydney, Australia, in 1853, aged forty-nine years. Six sons and four daughters were born to these parents, namely: John, Duncan, Matthew, Neil, James, Catherine, Jessie, Agnes and Mary. Alexander Spithill was educated in the public schools of Greenock until he was sixteen years of age, when he went to sea with his father and remained with him until 1852. On March 6, 1849, he came to San Francisco, and until 1852 remained with his father in San Francisco. From 1854 to January, 1856, he was in the employ of a Scotch syndicate whose object was to explore for guano in the north and south Pacific. At the expiration of two years he went to Chili, South America, for the same syndicate and engaged in coasting. In December, 1854, he went from Valparaiso to San Blas, Mexico, with a cargo of merchandise, owned by British and American consuls at Tepic, Mexico. Leaving the vessel at that point he went north to San Francisco on the Mexican brig Arizona, arriving at his destination in the fall of 1856. He then shipped as second officer on the bark Francis to take a cargo of lumber for the building of the Andes railroad in Peru, and this was the first cargo of lumber shipped from Puget Sound for the building of that road. Afterwards he engaged in boating on the Sound for a short time, and in 1856 was employed to carry the United States mails to the different reservations and military ports, after which he settled at Utsalady, on Camano Island, Island county, in the employ of Grennan and Craney, who were engaged in getting out spars mainly for the French government. Later he was engaged in logging and the lumber business for a number of years, and in 1869 was appointed by the government in the Indian department on the Tulalip and Makah Indians' reservation, and was an employe of its agent until the summer of 1872. From then until 1876 he was engaged at Priest Point at the mouth of Snohomish river, taking charge of various logging and steamboat companies' interests. In 1877 he bought land at Muckilteo, and farmed very successfully until 1889, when he settled at Everett and remained for about a year, and then located at Marysville, and made it his permanent home. Since coming to the city he has been extensively engaged in real estate, and makes a specialty of dealing in timber lands and in averaging these lands. He was one of the incorporators of Marysville, and served as a member of the town council for a number of years. He was first road supervisor of Snohomish county, being elected in 1862. For ten years he served as justice of the peace of Muckilteo. Mr. Spithill was also first school clerk of Muckilteo precinct, and helped organize the district and build the first schoolhouse. He was also the first school clerk in the Everett district. In March, 1857, Mr. Spithill was married at Utsalady, Washington, to Hessie Turner, a native of Washington, and they had four children: Agnes, deceased; Neil; Duncan; and Alexander, deceased. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Spithill married, on February 26, 1870, at Tulalip, Snohomish county, Washington. Anastasia Newman, a native of Puget Sound, and a daughter of Ezra and Elizabeth (Warren) Newman, old pioneers of the county, having settled there in 1849, and were the first white people there. Four sons and five daughters have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Spithill, namely: Alexander; Mathew J.; Catherine M., deceased; Anastasia M. married Frank Flynn, of Tacoma; Celia married Marion Kidder, of Everett; John; Ezella M.; Inez; David B., all of whom were born in Snohomish county. In politics Mr. Spithill is a stanch Republican and has always taken an active part in local affairs. He is well and favorably known in the community and has borne his part in its upbuilding and development. Mr. Spithill is the oldest living resident of Snohomish county. ******************* Submitted to the Washington Biographies Project in February 2008 by Diana Smith. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.