Horace Greely "Harry" White (1859–1940) was an American real estate broker and politician who served as the
Mayor of Seattle from 1890 to 1891.
[Cassandra Tate]
Voters elect Harry White as mayor of the City of Seattle on July 14, 1890
HistoryLink, September 22, 2004. Accessed online November 26, 2009.
Biography
White was the son of the farmer Robert A. White and Hannah E. Newbrough. At the age of 19, he left home for
Hamilton County, Nebraska
Hamilton County is a county in the U.S. state Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 9,429. Its county seat is Aurora. The county was named for Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury in the new United ...
, where he taught school and bought 240 acres of farmland. Between 1883 and 1886 he was manager of a nursery company at
York, Nebraska
York is a city in and the county seat of York County, Nebraska, United States. At the 2010 census, the city population was 7,766. It is the home of York College and the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women.
History
York was platted in 1869. ...
. On December 31, 1885, White married Anna E. Morrow, born in 1864 in Ohio, but living in
Harvard, Nebraska
Harvard is a city in Clay County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,013. It is part of the Hastings, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Harvard was founded in 1871 when the railroad was exten ...
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[ The marriage seems to have remained childless.][Harry and Anna White in the 1900-1930 censuses]
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In 1887, they moved to Seattle, where he founded the Harry White & Co. real estate and brokerage firm, in which his younger brothers Will R. and George H. White joined him. His company invested heavily in Seattle, buying large swats of land and spending more on advertising than any other organization in Seattle.
[ In July 1889, a month after the ]Great Seattle Fire
The Great Seattle Fire was a fire that destroyed the entire central business district of Seattle, Washington on June 6, 1889. The conflagration lasted for less than a day, burning through the afternoon and into the night, and during the same sum ...
that destroyed the entire central business district, he was elected a member of the city council from the First ward. He took great effort in the rebuilding of downtown, for which he was awarded a nomination and election as mayor in July 1890. When Washington became a state on November 11, 1889, Seattle adopted a new charter, and new elections were already held again on October 1, 1890. White was reelected for two years. However, under criticism for his management of public affairs, he resigned on November 30, 1891. The remaining months of his term were completed by fellow progressive Republican George Hall.[ Clarence B. Bagley wrote about him in his 1916 3-volume history of Seattle that, while in the year after his election "Gambling of every known variety flourished openly, as did harlotry and drunkenness, under the fostering eyes of the police", White had rebuilt Seattle "along modern, progressive lines" and that the "story of Seattle's advancement since 1889 without mention of Mr. White would be like the play of Hamlet without the appearance of the Danish prince".][ At the end of the century the Whites moved to ]Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, and before 1900, they had bought a house at 220 S. Bunker Hill Ave., where they lived until at least the 1930s. In the censuses White's profession is listed as "mining promoter" (1900) and "real estate brokerage" (1920,1930).[ He managed his investments through offices in Seattle and London.][ White died in 1940 at the age of 81 in Los Angeles.][
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Harry
1859 births
1940 deaths
American real estate brokers
Mayors of Seattle
People from Louisa County, Iowa
Washington (state) Republicans