Samuel Clarence Slaughter (1848 – May 23, 1910) was a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

banker and then a pioneer, real estate investor, and politician in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

. Slaughter started his career in New York working for the banking firm Norton, Slaughter & Company for more than fifteen years. He came to Tacoma in 1883 and entered real estate. After over twenty years in the field, Slaughter was highly esteemed in Washington state real estate circles. He worked at Moore & Slaughter, and later was the chief partner at S. C. Slaughter & Company. He was known as a figure who contributed to city development and commercial growth. Politically, Slaughter was a Democrat, and a member of the Democratic Club of Pierce County. He ran for the position of Tacoma

City Controller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level executi ...

several times and was elected in 1892, being the only Democratic candidate to succeed in that year's election cycle. He worked as City Controller for two years.

Early life, family and education

Slaughter was born in 1848 in

Culpeper County, Virginia Culpeper County is a county located along the borderlands of the northern and central region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 52,552. Its county seat and only incorporated community is ...

, where he grew up and was educated. Slaughter's father was Dr. Philip C. Slaughter, a

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

surgeon during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

and a chief surgeon at Camp Lee. His ancestors came from Wales to settle in America in 1620. Slaughter's mother was Mary Slaughter (McDonald), whose ancestors came to America from Scotland.

Career

New York

After getting secondary school education, Slaughter went to

and became a businessman there. He worked in the well-known banking firm of that time Norton, Slaughter & Company. Slaughter worked and lived in New York for more than fifteen years.

Real estate business

Slaughter moved to

Tacoma Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, northwest of Mount ...

in 1882, becoming a pioneer real estate businessman of Washington State. At the time of his arrival, the area, was covered in forests. In one of his first real estate dealings, he sold a lot located at the corner of Pacific Avenue and 11th street. That area later became "one of the most prominent" business areas of Tacoma, and the piece of land sold by Slaughter became the site for the Pacific National Bank. Slaughter closed many real estate deals for property that later turned into well-known landmarks of the city. According to Prosser, one of the Washington State Historical Society founders, Slaughter closed more deals than the majority of other businessmen in the field at the time. Around 1884–1885, Slaughter operated from a business building located on the northwest corner of Pacific Avenue and 13th Street. There, he worked in partnership with Henry K. Moore in the real estate and law firm called Moore & Slaughter. By 1903, Slaughter became chief partner in the firm S. C. Slaughter & Company. In his twenty years of real estate dealings in Tacoma, he was considered one of the "most progressive and enterprising citizens," and noted for his contributions to the city's development and commercial growth.

Political activity in Tacoma

Politically, Slaughter was a Democrat and a member of the Democratic Club of Pierce County. In 1890, Slaughter was nominated for the position of the Chairman of the

County Commissioners A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States. A county usually has three to five ...

, but he changed his mind to run in the Tacoma

race. He lost to Republican candidate J. H. Houghton. On April 5, 1892, Slaughter ran for City Controller again, and this time was elected. He was the only Democratic nominee to succeed in that year's elections, and worked at the position for two years.

Personal life

In 1889, Slaughter married Julia C. Widgery in San Francisco. She was born in England, but later moved to America. She became well known in

as the founder of the Washington State Cooperative Society, the only female trustee for the Ferry Museum, and the president of the Tacoma Art League (which later developed into the

Tacoma Art Museum The Tacoma Art Museum (TAM) is an art museum in Tacoma, Washington, United States. It focuses primarily on the art and artists from the Pacific Northwest and broader western region of the U.S. Founded in 1935, the museum has strong roots in the ...

). In 1908, Slaughter was struck and injured by a car belonging to the Tacoma Railway & Power Company. The accident resulted in lawsuit filed in the Superior Court in 1909 for $2,000 ($53,000 in 2020 dollars). On May 23, 1910, Slaughter died in Tacoma of heart disease. He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Tacoma.

Notes

References

Literature cited

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slaughter, Samuel People from Culpeper County, Virginia Washington (state) pioneers Businesspeople from Tacoma, Washington Politicians from Tacoma, Washington American businesspeople in real estate Businesspeople from New York City American bankers