Durham, N. N. "Spokane and the Inland Empire; History of the City of Spokane and Spokane County Washington." Vol. 3. S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1912. Vol. 2. CHARLES H. PUTNAM. Charles H. Putnam, superintendent of the shops of the Great Northern Railway at Hillyard for ten years past, comes of a noted family in America and in the course of a useful and busy life has displayed many of the qualities that made his ancestors famous. He was born at Fitchburg, Massachusetts, September 14, 1868, a son of Henry O. and Sarah A. (Smith) Putnam, the former of whom was born January 10, 1841. The mother died in September, 1899.Mr. Putnam is descended from John Putnam, who with his wife Priscilla emigrated from Abbot-Aston, England, in 1634, and settled at Salem, Massachusetts. He was the great-grandfather of General Israel Putnam and an ancestor of Colonel Rufus Putnam, chief engineer of the American army during the Revolutionary war. Rufus Putnam's elder brother, John, spent his life at Sutton, Massachusetts, and was by trade a scythe maker. His son John followed in the footsteps of his father and worked for several years at his trade in Peterboro, New Hampshire. He subsequently moved with his family to Hopkinton, and in that place Salmon W. Putnam was born December 10, 1815. At the age of eight years the son Salmon left home to earn his own living and worked for several years as bobbin boy in a cotton factory at New Ipswich. Later he obtained employment in a manufacturing establishment at Lowell, Massachusetts, and was appointed overseer of a spinning room when he was only seventeen years of age. Two years later he engaged in the machine business with his brother John at Mason Village, New Hampshire, and in 1838 opened a shop at Fitchburg under the title of J. & S. W. Putnam. He showed remarkable mechanical genius and among his inventions may be mentioned the universal or self-adjustable box and hanger, the feed rod for engine lathes, movable and adjustable table for upright drills, etc. He secured no patents upon his inventions and those devices were appropriated by others and have since come into general use. The machine shop was destroyed by fire on December 7, 1849, and the accumulations of ten years were swept away, there being no insurance. The next year, however, the shop was rebuilt. In 1858 Mr. Putnam organized a stock company under the name, of the Putnam Machine Company, of which he served as president and general manager during the remainder of his life. He was a remarkably fine mechanic and ingenious inventor and displayed unusual enterprise and ability in his business. He died oh the 23d of February, 1872, and is remembered not only on account of his mechanical talents but as one of the leaders in the manufacture of machinery in New England. He was a thirty-second degree Mason, and a member of the commandery and shrine. Mr. Putnam, whose name stands at the head of this sketch, received his early education in the public and high schools of Fitchburg and later became a student of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-, graduating from that noted institution in 1889. He became an apprentice in the shops of the Putnam Machine Company and advanced through various grades until he was appointed chief draftsman of the engineering department. On account of over application his health gave way and he was obliged to retire from active work. He spent a year traveling and a similar length of time "roughing it" in Wisconsin. Having recovered his accustomed strength, he entered the employ of the Great Northern Railway at St. Paul as draughtsman in the office of the superintendent of motive power. His ability soon attracted attention and four months later he was appointed shop superintendent at St. Cloud, Minnesota, a year later being sent to Great Falls, Montana, in a similar capacity. Since 1901 he has been in charge of the shops at Hillyard. The Putnam Machine Company, to which reference has been made above, is now the second largest concern of its kind in the country and Charles H. Putnam still retains an interest in it. The active management is under the control of the surviving sons and grandsons of S. W. Putnam, and George Rufus, our subject's brother, holds a position of trust in the company. In June, 1901, Mr. Putnam was married, at St. Paul, Minnesota, to Miss Mary B. Clark, a daughter of Charles H. and Martha (Pierce) Clark, and to this union two children have been born: Martha Clark, who is now attending the public schools; and Henry Homer, aged six years. Politically Mr. Putnam is in hearty sympathy with the republican party and religiously he adheres to the Unitarian faith. He has in a large measure inherited the mechanical talents of his ancestry and as he is a good judge of human nature, he has been highly successful in the management of an important department giving employment to many men. He was fortunate in securing an excellent education and its advantages have been manifest in the ease with which he has solved many problems arising in his work. As an enterprising and loyal citizen he is greatly respected, and the spirit of helpfulness with which he has ever been actuated has gained for him the confidence and good-will of his fellowmen. ******************* Submitted to the Washington Biographies Project in May 2015 by Diane Wright. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.