Durham, N. N.  "Spokane and the Inland Empire: History of the City of Spokane
and Spokane County Washington."  Vol. 2.  S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1912.

JACOB STITZEL

Some men are born With ability so comprehensive that they succeed in anything
they undertake. They have a clear discernment, a wise discrimination and a well
balanced judgment not possessed by ordinary individuals. They inspire confidence
in others and when they need assistance in any undertaking it is forthcoming.
They do not seem to be hampered by difficulties to which others bow and they
appear to be the natural leaders in their respective communities. To this class
belonged Jacob Stitzel, of Colville, now deceased, who was for twenty years
United States court commissioner and served in many important public and private
positions of honor and trust. He was a native of Pennsylvania, born at
Gettysburg, in 1831, a son of John and Sarah (Smith) Stitzel.

In 1837 he removed with his parents to Carlisle, Ohio, and at the age of ten
years secured employment in a store, where he continued for three years. Later
he occupied similar positions at Addison and Troy, Ohio. He possessed very
limited advantages of education at the public schools but he was a man of fine
powers of observation, which in a large measure compensated for his early lack
of educational training. At the age of eighteen, desirous of seeing the world
and yielding to the gold excitement, he started for the Pacific coast and it was
on this journey that he undertook his first great responsibility. A thousand
people about to leave the Missouri river found themselves without a leader and a
vote resulted in the selection of Jacob Stitzel as commander of the expedition.
Although he had not yet arrived at the age of manhood, he accepted the position
and discharged his duties during the long and toilsome journey over the plains
and across the mountains in a way that indicated these hardy pioneers had made
no mistake in selecting a beardless youth as their leader. He arrived at
Sacramento in September, 1819, and for fourteen months engaged in mining on the
American river with fair success. In October, 1850, he attended the first
meeting of California pioneers at San Francisco, and during the same month came
north to Astoria and made the trip from that place to Portland in a rowboat.
Soon afterward he associated in business with Judge Platt of Oregon City and
also took up a donation claim of three hundred and twenty acres in Clackamas
county. After spending six years farming he removed to Portland and engaged in
mercantile pursuits, being identified from 1861 to 1866 in the lumber business.
In 1861 he was elected sheriff of Multnomah county and was reelected two years
later, serving four years. After retiring from this office he engaged in the
real-estate business and was instrumental in introducing the first foreign
capital to Oregon. In 1872 he went to Washington, D. C, on a special political
mission to secure public appropriation for Oregon and was successful even
against the influence of congressional representatives, Oregon being then a
democratic state. In 1874 he was appointed deputy collector of customs for
eastern Washington and northern Idaho, with headquarters at Fort Colville, a
position which he held until 1880, when he was appointed clerk of the United
States circuit court of Colville. While serving as clerk he filed upon a tract
of land near Colville, which he disposed of a few years ago at a very handsome
figure, thus rounding out his declining years in comfort. In 1883 Mr. Stitzel
was elected to the territorial legislature and served four years in the senate.
At the conclusion of his legislative term he was again commissioned as clerk of
the United States court and remained in that position until the admission of
Washington as a state in 1889, when he was elected clerk of the superior court,
serving one term. Owing to his great efficiency in handling government business
he was appointed United States court commissioner in 1892, a position which he
filled for nearly twenty years, performing his duties in a manner that secured
the very best results for the public service.

Mr. Stitzel was married in Clackamas county, Oregon, to Miss Mary W. Halprunner.
Of their children four survive. Martha A., the widow of the late General Evan
Miles, of San Francisco; Mary E., who is the wife of A. H. Moor, of Tacoma;
Kathrine S., who married Gilbert S. Ide, of Colville, a record of whom appears
elsewhere in this work; and James H., of Colville.

Mr. Stitzel died January 22, 1911, having arrived at the age of four score
years. In politics he adhered to the republican party, and was one of the most
prominent workers in its behalf in Stevens county. He was chairman of the state
republican convention in 1883 and presided over many important political
gatherings. He was offered the post of minister to China by President Grant but
declined it. For three years in the early '70s he was chief of the mounted
police in Washington, D. C. Fraternally he was identified with the Odd Fellows
and Rebekahs, being a member of the former fifty-three years, and of the latter
for fifty two years. His only request in his last days was that he should be
buried by those organizations. He assisted in organizing the Stevens County
Pioneer Association and was its first president. He was for many years an active
member of the Congregational church and was a man of pronounced tendencies
though not given to intruding his opinions upon others.

The funeral services of this good man and citizen drew the largest attendance
known in Colville. Rev. G. H. Wilbur, who had been pastor of the church of which
Mr. Stitzel was a member, had charge of the exercises and in the course of his
remarks he said: "Thus passes from our midst a man beloved by all, whose life
was worth while and whose memory must be preserved. His home, his heart, his
very life was wrapped up in this section. He believed in Stevens county and
spread the doctrine. His innate kindliness won the hearts of newcomers. His
counsel won the respect of residents. His life was a tribute to the principles
of honesty, truthfulness and helpfulness. It avails nothing to mourn his death.
The fact that he has ceased to be is not nearly so important as that he has
been—that he has lived to a purpose —that he has worked and his work has been
found good. This country was a wilderness when he first viewed it, but before
his death he saw the portals of time swing open and disclose a country born of
freedom and teeming with healthful life and industry—partly the result of his
own efforts. This country—his country—bears the impress of his activities. Let
his name be carried down to succeeding generations as one to be revered. Let him
be remembered as a master builder."

The following resolution adopted by the bar association of Stevens county
eloquently expresses the sentiments of the legal fraternity as to the work and
character of Mr. Stitzel: "Inasmuch as one of the oldest and most honorable
citizens of Colville has passed from our midst and gone to join the other
pioneers of the west, who have journeyed on to that great unexplored country,
from whose bourne no traveler returns; "And inasmuch as this citizen, whose loss
to the community can hardly be estimated at this time, has lived among us,
honored and respected for so many years, it seems right and proper that this
court, the bar of Stevens county, and the officers of the court should take
cognizance of the passing of one of our foremost citizens: "Resolved, That we as
members of the bar of Stevens county, together with the judge and officers of
this court should and do seize upon this opportunity to honor the character and
memory of our departed friend, and in token of our appreciation of the life and
character of Jacob Stitzel, in token of the respect with which we have ever
regarded him, in token of the sympathy which we feel for the bereaved family who
mourn his loss and in consideration of his services as one of the earliest
officers of this court, that the members of the bar of this county and the
officers of this court stand while his honor adjourns the labors of the court
for a season to enable all to pay their respects to the memory of the departed."

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Submitted to the Washington Biographies Project in June 2017 by Diane Wright.
Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned
above.