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"Spokane and The Spokane Country - Pictorial and Biographical - Deluxe Supplement." Vol. II. The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1912. (No author listed.) pgs. 228-231.
CHARLES R. HESSELTINE is president of the United Securities Company, a
financial underwriting and promotion company, and is widely known as one of
the promoters of the northwest whose labors, capacity for organization and
powers of direction have constituted an effective and valuable element in the
development of the northwest. The enterprising spirit characteristic of this
section of the country and its growth finds expression in his life. He is a
western man by birth, training and preference, for he was born in Clackamas
county, Oregon, December 20, 1879, his parents being Appolis H. and Elva
(Cain) Hesseltine. The father crossed the plains with his parents in the early
'50s, making the journey from Iowa to the Pacific coast. The family first
settled in California, where they remained for two years and then made their
way northward into Oregon. The grandfather of our subject was Eli Hesseltine,
who became one of the first settlers of Clackamas county and bore an active
part in the work of reclaiming that region for the purposes of civilization.
His son, Appolis H. Hesseltine, built the first saw and shingle mill in that
county and in other ways the family were closely identified with the early
improvement there. In 1889, however, they crossed the Cascade mountains by
team and settled at Wilbur, Lincoln county, Washington, where the father did
contract work for the Northern Pacific Railroad Company and thus bore his
share in the development of that section.
Charles R. Hesseltine acquired his education in the public schools of
Clackamas county, Oregon, and Lincoln county, Washington, pursuing his studies
through successive grades until he became a high-school student. Early in his
business career he traveled all over the west as a representative for a
publishing house, and in 1902 he took up his residence in Seattle, where he
entered the promotion field. He possesses marked powers of organization and
his administrative direction and executive force have been elements in the
successful conduct of various projects which he has instituted and
established. He readily sees and seizes upon the opportunity for the
establishment of a business that promises success and his efforts in this
connection have contributed largely to the commercial activity and consequent
prosperity of the northwest. He organized the Pacific Fish Canning Machinery
Company, of which he became the secretary and treasurer, and the machines of
this company are now being used in every thoroughly modern cannery in the
United States, for one machine will do the work that was formerly done by two
hundred Chinamen. Mr. Hesseltine has also organized and financed several
successful campaigns which have resulted in the formation of the
Comstock-Golden Gate Mining Company, the Washington Meteor Mining Company of
Chelan county, Washington, and the Rogers-Hesseltine Company, a real-estate
holding company. In the fall of 1908 he came to Spokane and organized the
United Securities Company, which does a general financing and promotion
business being the means of bringing worthy and financially sound improvements
and investments to the atten-tion of capital. Thus by bringing together the
promoters and men of financial standing the business has been operating to
the best wel-fare of the city and many substantial structures during the past
four years have been erected as the outcome of its activity. Mr. Hesseltine
has also recently organized the Iceless Refrigerator Manufacturing Company,
which is proving to be a paying undertaking, and one of his recent inceptions
is what is known as the Empire State Manu-facturing Company, for the purpose
of manufacturing a new patented floor scraper. Ever since a boy he has been of
an inventive turn of mind and shown a natural ability as draftsman. This
genial gift has found a practical outlet in a number of useful articles which
are the fruit of his fertile brain, among them a potato planter, a device
plowing at the same time the ground and planting potatoes. Among others of his
notable inventions are a mechanical device for the raising and lowering of
buggy tops and an automatic combination breast and wall drill for iron and
metal work. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and is in thorough
sympathy with its purpose of instituting publicity measures which will make
known the advantages of the city and in promoting projects for adorning and
improving Spokane in many ways.
On the 11th of March, 1907, Mr. Hesseltine was married to Miss Lillian
Fairbanks, a daughter of William and Katherine Fairbanks, of Rutland, Vermont,
and a niece of ex-Vice President Fairbanks. The attractive residence of Mr.
and Mrs. Hesseltine at No. 2506 Garfield road was erected by him in the year
1911.
Mr. Hesseltine has never become actively interested in social orders
or clubs, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs. He
recognizes the fact that the present and not the future holds his opportunity
and therefore makes each passing hour count for the utmost in his business
activities. To build up rather than to destroy is his broad policy and not
alone has he followed constructive measures but also attacks everything with a
contagious enthusiasm that has won him the support and cooperation of many.
Submitted by: Nancy Pratt Melton
* * * * Notice: These biographies were transcribed for the Washington Biographies Project. Unless otherwise stated, no further information is available on the individuals featured in the biographies.