Described in one history book as "of sturdy Hollandish and Welsh descent", John B. Slater was born in 1860 in Yreka, CA, the oldest of four sons born to James B. Slater (1825-1901) and Sarah Jane James (1840-1867). His mother's parents were of Welsh roots, having settled in the Carolinas in the 1770s.
He received his early education in Oregon public schools and attended Santiam Academy for two years, clerking in a drug store after school. Records show Santiam Academy was co-created by his future father-in-law when he was an Oregon senator and he may have met his future wife during this time. At age 20 he moved to Sprague, Washington and for two years he worked in the coppersmith's department of Northern Pacific Railway. He began his own drug store business in Heron, Montana in 1883, when a year later, he went to the Coeur d'Alene mines in Idaho, remaining a short time. Returning to Heron, he closed his store and went to Medical Lake, WA where he opened another drug store for a year. There he purchased the Medical Lake Banner, a local newspaper, and four months later, on August 20, 1885 he moved the the Medical Lake Banner to Colville, WA (he lost the printing press he was hauling by horse when his wagon overturned midway while crossing a river, forcing him to start from scratch) and changed the name of the newspaper to the Stevens County Miner, which he ran for four years -- often as a one-man operation. It was the first regular newspaper published north of Spokane.
In February 1886, John was appointed Postmaster of Colville by President Grover Cleveland where he installed the first post office equipment there, including call and lock boxes. He served four years.
Also in 1886, he was elected probate judge of Stevens county, which then included territory since divided up into several counties, and in which he served four years. In the meantime, he studied law and was admitted to the Washington bar in June 1890. In the fall of 1890, he was elected prosecuting attorney for Stevens county, remaining two years in that job. John's biography shows he graduated from Nashville College of Law on December 30, 1902.
He remained a successful lawyer and he wrote prolifically for the Colville newspaper for the rest of his life, even while traveling. He also held interests in the lumber and sawmill business.
An ardent Democrat, he was prominent in the party's councils. In 1888 he was secretary of the state territorial convention which assembled in Spokane.
On September 11, 1889 John married Florence E. Ballard, a daughter of 1852 Oregon Trail pioneer, physician, Oregon Senator and two-term Idaho Territorial Governor David Wesley Ballard (1824-1883) and Jane Eliza Rooker (1831-1891). John and Florence had one child, a son named Ronald Ballard Slater, Sr., born September 29, 1891, who became a dentist.
In April, 1900 he was appointed by Gov. Rogers to be a member of the Washington State Board of Audit and Control and served until April, 1901.
At some point between 1900 and 1908, John formed a law partnership and the firm advertised itself as Slater & Allen.
John also served on the Colville school board for many years, was always a featured speaker at civic events. He founded the Stevens County Pioneer Association (now the Stevens Co. Historical Museum), serving as its secretary for many years. He founded Stevens County's first local Chamber of Commerce in Colville. On February 8, 1908 he co-founded the Colville Commercial Club.
He is identified with the Masonic order and was a past master of Colville Lodge, No. 50. He had taken the 32nd degree and was a member of the consistory. Also a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America, being a trustee of the local lodge.
Hundreds of his published political editorials and feature articles on such subjects as mining, agriculture, food, crime, Democratic politics, local social events, governmental issues and, later, a first-rate, first-person travelogue series when he drove from Colville to San Diego California, are available online.
He died in Alameda, CA in 1928.
He received his early education in Oregon public schools and attended Santiam Academy for two years, clerking in a drug store after school. Records show Santiam Academy was co-created by his future father-in-law when he was an Oregon senator and he may have met his future wife during this time. At age 20 he moved to Sprague, Washington and for two years he worked in the coppersmith's department of Northern Pacific Railway. He began his own drug store business in Heron, Montana in 1883, when a year later, he went to the Coeur d'Alene mines in Idaho, remaining a short time. Returning to Heron, he closed his store and went to Medical Lake, WA where he opened another drug store for a year. There he purchased the Medical Lake Banner, a local newspaper, and four months later, on August 20, 1885 he moved the the Medical Lake Banner to Colville, WA (he lost the printing press he was hauling by horse when his wagon overturned midway while crossing a river, forcing him to start from scratch) and changed the name of the newspaper to the Stevens County Miner, which he ran for four years -- often as a one-man operation. It was the first regular newspaper published north of Spokane.
In February 1886, John was appointed Postmaster of Colville by President Grover Cleveland where he installed the first post office equipment there, including call and lock boxes. He served four years.
Also in 1886, he was elected probate judge of Stevens county, which then included territory since divided up into several counties, and in which he served four years. In the meantime, he studied law and was admitted to the Washington bar in June 1890. In the fall of 1890, he was elected prosecuting attorney for Stevens county, remaining two years in that job. John's biography shows he graduated from Nashville College of Law on December 30, 1902.
He remained a successful lawyer and he wrote prolifically for the Colville newspaper for the rest of his life, even while traveling. He also held interests in the lumber and sawmill business.
An ardent Democrat, he was prominent in the party's councils. In 1888 he was secretary of the state territorial convention which assembled in Spokane.
On September 11, 1889 John married Florence E. Ballard, a daughter of 1852 Oregon Trail pioneer, physician, Oregon Senator and two-term Idaho Territorial Governor David Wesley Ballard (1824-1883) and Jane Eliza Rooker (1831-1891). John and Florence had one child, a son named Ronald Ballard Slater, Sr., born September 29, 1891, who became a dentist.
In April, 1900 he was appointed by Gov. Rogers to be a member of the Washington State Board of Audit and Control and served until April, 1901.
At some point between 1900 and 1908, John formed a law partnership and the firm advertised itself as Slater & Allen.
John also served on the Colville school board for many years, was always a featured speaker at civic events. He founded the Stevens County Pioneer Association (now the Stevens Co. Historical Museum), serving as its secretary for many years. He founded Stevens County's first local Chamber of Commerce in Colville. On February 8, 1908 he co-founded the Colville Commercial Club.
He is identified with the Masonic order and was a past master of Colville Lodge, No. 50. He had taken the 32nd degree and was a member of the consistory. Also a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America, being a trustee of the local lodge.
Hundreds of his published political editorials and feature articles on such subjects as mining, agriculture, food, crime, Democratic politics, local social events, governmental issues and, later, a first-rate, first-person travelogue series when he drove from Colville to San Diego California, are available online.
He died in Alameda, CA in 1928.
Described in one history book as "of sturdy Hollandish and Welsh descent", John B. Slater was born in 1860 in Yreka, CA, the oldest of four sons born to James B. Slater (1825-1901) and Sarah Jane James (1840-1867). His mother's parents were of Welsh roots, having settled in the Carolinas in the 1770s.
He received his early education in Oregon public schools and attended Santiam Academy for two years, clerking in a drug store after school. Records show Santiam Academy was co-created by his future father-in-law when he was an Oregon senator and he may have met his future wife during this time. At age 20 he moved to Sprague, Washington and for two years he worked in the coppersmith's department of Northern Pacific Railway. He began his own drug store business in Heron, Montana in 1883, when a year later, he went to the Coeur d'Alene mines in Idaho, remaining a short time. Returning to Heron, he closed his store and went to Medical Lake, WA where he opened another drug store for a year. There he purchased the Medical Lake Banner, a local newspaper, and four months later, on August 20, 1885 he moved the the Medical Lake Banner to Colville, WA (he lost the printing press he was hauling by horse when his wagon overturned midway while crossing a river, forcing him to start from scratch) and changed the name of the newspaper to the Stevens County Miner, which he ran for four years -- often as a one-man operation. It was the first regular newspaper published north of Spokane.
In February 1886, John was appointed Postmaster of Colville by President Grover Cleveland where he installed the first post office equipment there, including call and lock boxes. He served four years.
Also in 1886, he was elected probate judge of Stevens county, which then included territory since divided up into several counties, and in which he served four years. In the meantime, he studied law and was admitted to the Washington bar in June 1890. In the fall of 1890, he was elected prosecuting attorney for Stevens county, remaining two years in that job. John's biography shows he graduated from Nashville College of Law on December 30, 1902.
He remained a successful lawyer and he wrote prolifically for the Colville newspaper for the rest of his life, even while traveling. He also held interests in the lumber and sawmill business.
An ardent Democrat, he was prominent in the party's councils. In 1888 he was secretary of the state territorial convention which assembled in Spokane.
On September 11, 1889 John married Florence E. Ballard, a daughter of 1852 Oregon Trail pioneer, physician, Oregon Senator and two-term Idaho Territorial Governor David Wesley Ballard (1824-1883) and Jane Eliza Rooker (1831-1891). John and Florence had one child, a son named Ronald Ballard Slater, Sr., born September 29, 1891, who became a dentist.
In April, 1900 he was appointed by Gov. Rogers to be a member of the Washington State Board of Audit and Control and served until April, 1901.
At some point between 1900 and 1908, John formed a law partnership and the firm advertised itself as Slater & Allen.
John also served on the Colville school board for many years, was always a featured speaker at civic events. He founded the Stevens County Pioneer Association (now the Stevens Co. Historical Museum), serving as its secretary for many years. He founded Stevens County's first local Chamber of Commerce in Colville. On February 8, 1908 he co-founded the Colville Commercial Club.
He is identified with the Masonic order and was a past master of Colville Lodge, No. 50. He had taken the 32nd degree and was a member of the consistory. Also a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America, being a trustee of the local lodge.
Hundreds of his published political editorials and feature articles on such subjects as mining, agriculture, food, crime, Democratic politics, local social events, governmental issues and, later, a first-rate, first-person travelogue series when he drove from Colville to San Diego California, are available online.
He died in Alameda, CA in 1928.
He received his early education in Oregon public schools and attended Santiam Academy for two years, clerking in a drug store after school. Records show Santiam Academy was co-created by his future father-in-law when he was an Oregon senator and he may have met his future wife during this time. At age 20 he moved to Sprague, Washington and for two years he worked in the coppersmith's department of Northern Pacific Railway. He began his own drug store business in Heron, Montana in 1883, when a year later, he went to the Coeur d'Alene mines in Idaho, remaining a short time. Returning to Heron, he closed his store and went to Medical Lake, WA where he opened another drug store for a year. There he purchased the Medical Lake Banner, a local newspaper, and four months later, on August 20, 1885 he moved the the Medical Lake Banner to Colville, WA (he lost the printing press he was hauling by horse when his wagon overturned midway while crossing a river, forcing him to start from scratch) and changed the name of the newspaper to the Stevens County Miner, which he ran for four years -- often as a one-man operation. It was the first regular newspaper published north of Spokane.
In February 1886, John was appointed Postmaster of Colville by President Grover Cleveland where he installed the first post office equipment there, including call and lock boxes. He served four years.
Also in 1886, he was elected probate judge of Stevens county, which then included territory since divided up into several counties, and in which he served four years. In the meantime, he studied law and was admitted to the Washington bar in June 1890. In the fall of 1890, he was elected prosecuting attorney for Stevens county, remaining two years in that job. John's biography shows he graduated from Nashville College of Law on December 30, 1902.
He remained a successful lawyer and he wrote prolifically for the Colville newspaper for the rest of his life, even while traveling. He also held interests in the lumber and sawmill business.
An ardent Democrat, he was prominent in the party's councils. In 1888 he was secretary of the state territorial convention which assembled in Spokane.
On September 11, 1889 John married Florence E. Ballard, a daughter of 1852 Oregon Trail pioneer, physician, Oregon Senator and two-term Idaho Territorial Governor David Wesley Ballard (1824-1883) and Jane Eliza Rooker (1831-1891). John and Florence had one child, a son named Ronald Ballard Slater, Sr., born September 29, 1891, who became a dentist.
In April, 1900 he was appointed by Gov. Rogers to be a member of the Washington State Board of Audit and Control and served until April, 1901.
At some point between 1900 and 1908, John formed a law partnership and the firm advertised itself as Slater & Allen.
John also served on the Colville school board for many years, was always a featured speaker at civic events. He founded the Stevens County Pioneer Association (now the Stevens Co. Historical Museum), serving as its secretary for many years. He founded Stevens County's first local Chamber of Commerce in Colville. On February 8, 1908 he co-founded the Colville Commercial Club.
He is identified with the Masonic order and was a past master of Colville Lodge, No. 50. He had taken the 32nd degree and was a member of the consistory. Also a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America, being a trustee of the local lodge.
Hundreds of his published political editorials and feature articles on such subjects as mining, agriculture, food, crime, Democratic politics, local social events, governmental issues and, later, a first-rate, first-person travelogue series when he drove from Colville to San Diego California, are available online.
He died in Alameda, CA in 1928.
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