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

DR. JAMES SHANNON, president of the Board of Health, a medical practitioner in
the city of Seattle, was born in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, June 6, 1861. His
father, Daniel Shannon, of Ireland, emigrated to Canada in boyhood and was there
reared and educated. He there married Miss Margaret Crawford. The early life of
James Shannon was passed upon the farm and in prosecuting his studies at St.
Catherines' Collegiate Institute and at the Ottawa Normal School. His education
was acquired by personal effort in teaching school, which he begun at time age
of sixteen years, thus enabling him to graduate from the normal school in 1881.
He then continued his teaching by day and employed his evenings in the study of
medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. Defoe, up to 1884, when he came to
Seattle, and then entered the medical department of the University of California
and graduated therefrom in 1887. Being offered the position of house surgeon in
the city and county hospital of San Francisco, he accepted the appointment and
discharged the duties of the office for one year, when he returned to Seattle
and engaged in the active practice of his profession. After spending one year in
getting himself established and in building up a patronage, he sent for his
brother, Dr. W.A. Shannon, a medical graduate of Trinity Medical School of
Toronto, and with him organized the co-partnership of Shannon & Shannon, which
has been continued in general practice and surgery. With the reorganization of
the city in 1890 under the new charter, provision was made for the board of
Health, and our subject was one of three physicians appointed by the mayor to
perform the duties of that office, and during the present year is president of
that body. He was married in Seattle in 1891, to Miss Monica Crowkall, of
Berlin, Ontario, and the issue of this union has been one son, Charles.
Socially, Dr. Shannon affiliates with the Independent Order of Foresters, the
Young Men's Institute and the State and King County Medical societies. The
Doctor has built a comfortable home on the corner of Bose and Madison streets,
and is thoroughly identified with the substantial growth and development of his
adopted city.

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.