An Illustrated History of the State of Washington, by Rev. H.K. Hines, D.D., The
Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, IL., 1893

CLARENCE L. WHITE, civil engineer of Seattle, was born in Littleton, Buchanan
county, Iowa, November 27, 1856. His parents, H. J. and Elizabeth (Richmond)
White, were natives of Canada, where Mr. White learned the trade of millwright,
and upon coming to Littleton about 1854, among the pioneer settlers of that
locality, he built a flouring mill, which he operated a number of years.
Clarence L. attended the public schools of Littleton and worked in his father's
mill up to 1872, when the entire family came to Seattle, arriving on the 2d day
of September. Spending the first winter in Seattle, our subject attended the
public schools, and in the following summer went with the family to a ranch near
what is now Anacortis, and then worked at clearing up and improving the ranch
until the summer of 1876, when subject began "rustling" for himself, attending
the Territorial University at Seattle during the winters. In the spring of 1879
he went to Spokane Falls as editor and manager of the Spokane Times, the first
newspaper started in that city. His health failing from the sedentary work, he
was obliged to resign within the following summer, and then went on a Government
survey in the Grand Coulee country. With restored health he returned to Spokane
Falls in November, 1880, and during the winter was employed as Deputy Auditor of
Spokane county, under Mr. J.M. Nosier. During the summer and autumn of 1881 Mr.
White was in the Northern Pacific survey party in Idaho and Western Montana,
acting as chainman and leveler. About Christmas of that year he returned to
Seattle and began working for Whitworth & Thomson, civil engineers, and
continued with them, except during the winter of 1882-ë83, when he took a course
in surveying in the university. In January, 1887, Mr. White went out in a party
on the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad, as transitman, working during the
summer and following winter on preliminary and location, from Seattle to the
summit of Snoqualmie Pass in Cascade mountains. In the spring he was transferred
to the Spokane Falls division of the same road, doing work in Spokane and
westward to the Columbia river. In July he was sent out as resident engineer in
charge of work at crossing of Grand Coulee, 120 miles westward of Spokane Falls,
at a point where the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad and the Northern
Pacific Railroad were fighting for location. This work was abandoned, soon after
the troublesome point was settled in favor of the Seattle road, and Mr. White
returned to Spokane and had charge of the construction of the large railroad
trestles near Spokane. Upon the completion of this work he returned to Seattle,
and in the spring of 1889 became partner in the firm of H.H. Thomson & Co. In
March, 1890, the firm name was changed to Thomson & White, which continued until
Mr. Thomson became City Engineer, and thereafter Mr. White operated alone. He
was married in Seattle, April 17, 1890, to Miss Etta B. Whitworth, native of
Washington, and daughter of Rev. G.F. Whitworth, whose biography appears
elsewhere in this volume. The above union has been blessed by one son, Roydon
Whitworth.

Submitted to the WA. Bios Project in January 2004 by Jeffrey L. Elmer

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Notice: These biographies were transcribed for the Washington Biographies
Project. Unless otherwise stated, no further information is available on the
individual featured in the biographies.