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"Spokane and The Spokane Country - Pictorial and Biographical - Deluxe Supplement." Vol. II. The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1912. (No author listed.) pgs. 228-231.
PROBABLY no one citizen has been more prominent or influential in the
commercial development of Reardan than the late M. F. Moriarty, who had been
successfully identified with the business interests of the town for nineteen
years at the time of his death and had contributed largely toward the
financial success of various local enterprises. He was born in Fillmore
county, Minnesota, on the 10th of June, 1857, and was a son of Florenze and
Mary (Pierce) Moriarty, both natives of County Kerry, Ireland. The father
engaged in railroad contracting in Minnesota during the early years of his
residence in this country, but he subsequently turned his attention to
agricultural pursuits.
Reared in a home of moderate circumstances, M. F. Moriarty was given
but meager opportunities for learning during his boyhood and youth, his
education being confined to the course provided by the district school. On the
20th of May, 1889, he came to the northwest, first locating in Spokane. A few
months later he went to Deep Creek, where he remained for about a year. In the
fall of 1890 he bought grain for a short time at Mondovi, where by his
generosity, his open-hearted and strictly honest business methods, he formed
lasting friendships among the tillers of the soil. From there he came to
Reardan, thereafter making this city his home. At that time he was a grain
buyer for the Northern Pacific Elevator Company, but he subsequently left
their employ and engaged in the mercantile business in this city. He was a man
of tireless energy and applied himself to any-thing he undertook with that
earnestness of purpose that invariably wins success by reason of its unceasing
persistence. His undertakings were always characterized by keen discernment
and excellent judgment, and he never went into any enterprise without planning
definitely his course of action, carefully considering every possible issue,
and as a result he prospered and became known as one of the most capable and
efficient business men not only of Reardan but of Lincoln county. In 1899 he
became associated with J. K. Smith and others in the Washington Grain &
Milling Company, of which firm he was president and manager. This likewise
proved to be a very profitable enterprise, owing to the judicious management
and sagacity Mr. Moriarty exercised in expanding its interests. In 1902 he and
his associates further extended the scope of their activities by purchasing a
controling interest in the Reardan Exchange Bank of Reardan, of which Mr.
Moriarty was president until his death. It is largely due to his capable
guidance of its affairs as well as his foresight and discretion that this
institution is now numbered among the well established and stable banks of the
county.
On the 18th of May, 1891, Mr. Moriarty was united in marriage to Miss
May Morton, a daughter of Elias and Elizabeth (Van Eman) Morton, natives of
Lawrence county, Pennsylvania. The father was a shoemaker by trade, but the
latter years of his life were entirely devoted to agricultural pursuits. Two
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Moriarty, Ella M. and Francis F., who have
not yet completed their education.
Mr. Moriarty was a communicant of the Roman Catholic church. His
fraternal relations were confined to his membership in the Woodmen of the
World and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In politics he was a democrat
and had the distinction of being Reardan's first mayor, in which capacity he
served for two terms, manifesting in the discharge of his public duties the
same promptness, unswerving purpose and fidelity to the trust reposed in him
that characterized his business transactions. During Cleveland's last
administration Mr. Moriarty also served as postmaster.
He was a most unusual man and possessed many rare qualities, not least
of which was his democratic spirit and sympathetic understanding that made him
the friend of all. He was as ready to rejoice over the successes of his
friends as to sympathize at their misfortunes and was at all times ready to
lend aid to the unfortunate. There passed before his bier a strange assemblage
composed of day laborers and bankers, representatives of large business
interests and state legisla-tors, and one and all could relate some little
incident of an intimate, personal nature indicative of this man's greatness of
heart and magnanimity.
One incident related by a former business associate that illustrates
his generous spirit of helpfulness occurred when he was engaged in the grain
business. A poor season and hard times had compelled the farmers to dispose of
all of their wheat in order to provide their fam-ilies with the actual
necessities of life, so when the planting season came they were without seed.
In their need they sought the keeper of the warehouse, and frankly stated
their circumstances, asking him to extend them credit for the grain they
needed to plant their fields.
The manager laid the matter before Mr. Moriarty, asking what he should
do, as the farmers had neither grain nor money and in case of crop failure
they might not get their seed back. "Well," he replied, "their families must
live even if we never get the seed back; let them have it."
This man's life and his successes should prove an inspiration and
incentive to every young man, who is struggling for recognition, as he was in
every sense of the word self-made. The limited advantages afforded him in his
early years were never permitted to be a hindrance nor an excuse in his
struggle to attain the goal, and his leisure mo-ments were wisely and
judiciously spent in reading carefully chosen books. He was a lover of art,
music and literature and availed himself of every opportunity to extend his
knowledge and understanding as well as appreciation of the best things the
world has to offer along these various lines.
Mr. Moriarty died on June 28, 1911, and in speaking of him one of the
local papers said: "By his death the people of Reardan have lost a
companionable friend and citizen, one who exerted a valuable influence in
building up the town from its pioneer conditions to the prosperous little city
it is today. The entire community has lost a firm and loyal neighbor, and a
vacancy is caused which cannot be filled."
Submitted by: Nancy Pratt Melton
* * * * Notice: These biographies were transcribed for the Washington Biographies Project. Unless otherwise stated, no further information is available on the individuals featured in the biographies.