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

LEVI W. FOSS, of Seattle, Washington, was born at Machias, Washington county,
Maine, April 7, 1838, a son of Rufus and Jane (Crocker) Foss, natives also of
that locality. The boyhood days of our subject were passed upon the farm and in
the logging camp, and he received the limited educational advantages of three
months' school during each year. With the Fraser river gold excitement of 1858,
young Foss became enthused with a spirit for mining, and in May, 1859, sailed
from New York, via the Isthmus and San Francisco, and landed at Port Townsend
June 25, following. He discovered that the gold excitement was not prolific in
affording opportunities, and he then followed his old occupation of logging two
years on Hood canal. The following five years was spent in Port Ludlow, and in
the spring of 1866 his old desire for mining returned. Mr. Foss again went to
the Cariboo Mines, where he spent three seasons, remaining at the mines during
the summer and passing the winters at Port Townsend, where he owned an interest
in a butchering business, under the firm name of Booth & Foss. In the spring of
1869 Joseph Borst entered the partnership, and they established a branch house
in Seattle. In the spring of 1871, Mr. Foss removed to this city to look after
his interests, and the purchasing of cattle for his firm. He secured the stock
in eastern Washington, driving the herd across the mountains in summer, and in
the winters bringing them down the Columbia river. In August, 1874, the
partnership of Foss & Borst was organized, and they conducted a wholesale and
retail establishment until in February, 1885, when our subject returned to Port
Townsend. In 1887 he took up his permanent residence in Seattle, where he has
long been an investor in real estate. He has erected several residences and
business houses in the city, and his present beautiful home was completed in the
summer of 1889, the former residence having been destroyed in the disastrous
fire of 1889. He platted the Foss addition to Port Townsend in June, 1888,
comprising forty acres, much of which he still owns; has 500 acres in other
localities, and much real estate in Seattle. In 1883 our subject was united in
marriage to Mrs. Elizabeth (Rowland) Briscoe, of St. Johns, Newfoundland. For
twenty-three years Mr. Foss has been a member of the Masonic order. He is now
retired from active business, and is devoting his time to his private interests
and the enjoyment of the accumulations of his days of arduous labor.

Submitted to the WA. Bios Project in January 2004 by Jeffrey L. Elmer

* * * *

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.