"Spokane and the Spokane Country, Pictorial and Biographical, De Luxe
Supplement."  Vol. 1.  Spokane, Chicago, Philadelphia:  The S. J. Clarke
Publishing Company, 1912. pp. 219-221.

WILLIAM HENRY ACUFF is now living retired after long and close association
with business interests of Spokane, whereby he contributed to the general
welfare in addition to advancing his individual success. He was born at
Gwynedd, Pennsylvania, October 8, 1846, his home being about sixteen miles
from Philadelphia in the old Welsh settlement there. At the time that
William Penn arrived in that state the three corners of the town square at
Gwynedd had been in possession of the Acuff family for a long period. The
ancestry is Welsh and Scotch and the parents of our subject were William and
Lydia (Ellis) Acuff. The father died when his son William was but five
months old, his death being occasioned by typhoid fever when he was
twenty-six years of age. The mother lived to the advanced age of eighty-two
years and passed away in California in 1906.

William Henry Acuff was an only child and pursued his education in the
schools of Pennsylvania and Illinois, having accompanied his mother on her
removal to the latter state when eleven years of age. He afterward returned
to Norristown, Pennsylvania, where he attended school from 1864 until 1868.
He also spent a portion of the time on the oil fields in order to earn the
money necessary to enable him to continue his education. In 1868 he again
went to Illinois, settling at Decatur, Macon county, and in that vicinity he
followed farming and milling, dealt in grain and taught school. Eventually
he turned his attention to the lumber business and organized what is known
today as the Decatur Lumber & Manufacturing Company, one of the important
industrial and commercial interests of that district. In the spring of 1889
his health failed him and he disposed of his interests in the middle west.
He then enjoyed a period of rest covering a few years and in the spring of
1890 came to Spokane, remaining out of business, however, until February,
1892, when he organized the Washington Mill Company, of which he became the
first secretary. Afterward he was president of the company for a period of
fifteen years and in July, 1910, having won substantial success in the
conduct of this enterprise, he retired. He has financial interests in the
Trustee Company of Spokane, of which he has been a director since its
organization.

Aside from business Mr. Acuff is well known in republican circles where he
has exerted a wide influence, being well qualified by nature and acquired
ability to become a leader of public thought and action. In 1896 he was
elected on the republican ticket a member of the city council and served for
three years as chairman of its finance committee, while for one year he was
president of the council. It was during his term that Spokane was nearly
bankrupt and it was through the good business judgment and careful
management of Mr. Acuff that the city was able to meet its monthly pay rolls
and weather the financial storm. He spent the winter of 1904-5 in
Washington, D. C., representing the Chamber of Commerce in the interest of
Spokane, endeavoring to assist President Roosevelt in securing increased
power for the interstate commerce commission and aid Spokane in its fight
for reduced freight rates. The good results he accomplished cannot be
overestimated. The campaign was conducted in such a manner that it awakened
the admiration of business men and manufacturers all over the United States.
In 1908 Mr. Acuff went to Japan as a Spokane representative with the Pacific
coast commercial commission to look into the trade relations between the two
countries. His efforts have been most effective in promoting business
conditions and in bringing forth elements that have been far-reaching forces
in the growth and material upbuilding of the northwest. For many years he
was the vice president of the Pacific Coast Lumberman's Association and was
also president of the local association.

On the 22d of August, 1871, in St. Louis, Missouri, Mr. Acuff was married to
Miss Isabelle Bricker, a daughter of Aaron and Louise Bricker of Decatur,
Illinois, and they had one daughter, Lillie A., the wife of John C.
Neffeler, of Spokane. The wife and mother died in this city in November,
1896. Since his retirement from business life Mr. Acuff has largely devoted
his attention to Masonry which had also claimed much of his time and thought
previously. He stands very high in the order and is a past master of Tyrian
Lodge, No. 96, F. & A. M.; past high priest of Spokane Chapter, No. 2, It.
A. M.; past thrice illustrious master of Spokane Council, No. 4, R. & S. M.;
past eminent commander of Cataract Commandery, No. 3, K. T.; and past
commander of Oriental Consistory, No. 2, S. P. R. S. He has likewise been
awarded the honorary thirty-third degree and is a member of El Katif Temple
of the Mystic Shrine. He is likewise a member of the grand council and is
one of its deputy grand masters. He is also junior warden of the grand
commandery and is a past patron of the Eastern Star. He is today one of the
best known men of Spokane, respected by all. In manner he is modest and
retiring but the work that he has accomplished speaks for itself. His love
of justice has expressed itself in correct principle and practice and added
to this, the salient features of his life have been a deep earnestness,
impelled and fostered by indomitable perseverance, and a progressive spirit
ruled by more than ordinary intelligence and good judgment.
     
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Submitted to the WA. Bios Project in February 2007 by Laura Perry.  No further
information is available on the individual featured in the biographies.