Boswell, H. James.  American Blue Book Western Washington, Seattle, Lowman and  
Hanford Co., 1922.  p. 207.

CLAUDE C. RAMSAY is Chairman of the Board of county Commissioners of King 
county and one of the best qualified men to ever hold public office in the 
state, a man of keen analytical mind and broad vision.  Mr. Ramsay is a native 
of North Carolina and was born in 1865.  In 1890 he came to Seattle.  He 
accepted a minor position with a dry goods house, and rose to its financial 
management.  Mr. Ramsay finally engaged in the insurance business with Edgar 
Barttle, the present postmaster of Seattle.  The firm of Ramsay Company.  In 
1907 he served in the State legislature, and is entitled to more credit for 
the improved highways of Washington of Washington than any other man.  I say 
this because I am satisfied that it is true.  Later he was appealed to by 
representative interests to become a candidate for mayor but refused.  Again 
in 1918 many prominent people in all walks of life tried to persuade Mr. 
Ramsay to become a candidate for that office.  Mr. Ramsay was serving as 
County Commissioner, and feeling that public interest would be served best in 
that capacity, declined to become a candidate.  As a commissioner he has many 
times demonstrated his magnificent qualifications.  He led the fight to reduce 
the  war-time taxation from 161/2 to 10 mills, which was accomplished without 
impairing the efficiency of county government, and he is still endeavoring to 
obtain further reductions.  Mr. Ramsay was elected to the commissionership of 
King county in 1916.  In 1920 he was re-elected to this office, following a 
bitter fight, by the largest majority ever accorded a commissioner in the 
history of the county.  Were it not for the fact that the law prohibits an 
incumbent from serving more than two terms, he could just as easily be 
re-elected again.  He is a member of the Rainer And Golf and Country clubs, 
Chamber of Commerce, Automobile club, Sons of the Revolution, and a life 
member of the Sons of the Revolution of the State of North Carolina.

Submitted by: Judy Bivens

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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.