The Witherspoon Family

By Dale Raugust

Archibald William Witherspoon, known as A.W., was born in Detroit on June 11, 1876, and moved to Spokane, on October 8, 1883 at the age of 7. His father, William, W. Witherspoon “was very active in the support of the Republican Party and held the office of chief of police. He was also city commissioner…and was chief of the volunteer fire department…his prominence and influence were important factors in guiding and shaping the destiny…” of Spokane during the early years. N. W. Durham, History of Spokane and the Inland Empire, (J. Clark and Sons, 1912), v. II, 821.
A.W. received his general education in the Spokane public schools and then entered into the study of law in the office of his uncle, George Forster, of Forster and Wakefield, “who carefully directed his reading until his admission to the bar in 1899.” Durham, v II, 822
Forster was born in 1845 in Scotland and as a young boy immigrated with his family, first to Canada and then to America. He graduated in 1978 from St Louis University Law School and then practiced law in St Louis for five years before deciding to come to the Northwest in 1883. Soon after his arrival in Spokane he set up a partnership called Turner and Forester with Colonel W. W. D. Turner. Later Judge George Turner joined the firm which was now known as Turner, Forster and Turner. When Colonel Turner retired in 1891 and George Turner was elected to the U. S. Senate, Forester joined with William J. C. Wakefield in 1891 to form Forster and Wakefield. Durham, v III, 74-77. George Forster was married twice. His first wife was Helen Witherspoon, the sister of William W. Witherspoon. Before the Witherspoon family moved to Spokane they had moved from Detroit to St Louis, then to San Francisco, Portland, Tacoma, and finally Spokane. George Forester arrived in Spokane from St Louis at about the same time as the Witherspoon family.
Mr. Wakefield had previously been admitted to the bar in California in 1889, and immediately turned his sights on the Spokane area to begin his practice. Wakefield was born in Vermont in 1862. His family can trace their ancestry back to the French and Indian War in which Jonathon Wakefield fought in the battles for Ticonderoga and Crown Point in 1759. Six of his sons fought in the Revolutionary War. “One of these, Samuel Wakefield, was a member of the Lexington Company” that fired the shot heard around the world. Durham, v. II, 84-5. After college, William Wakefield taught school in Austin, Nevada while studying Californian law in the office of Judge McKenna. After passing the California bar he moved to Spokane in 1889 where he formed a partnership with Judge Nash and then in 1891, created the firm of Forster and Wakefield. When Mr. Forster died in 1905, Mr. Wakefield invited A. W. Witherspoon to form the firm of Wakefield and Witherspoon. By 1912 this firm was regarded “as one of the most prominent and successful in the city.” Durham, v II, 85. Mr. Witherspoon was described as a “hard worker” and prepared his cases with “diligence and energy” as well as “earnestness, tenacity and courage”. Durham, v. II, 822. John Fehey, in his excellent book, The Inland Empire Unfolding Years, 1879-1929, wrote that: “The law partnership of William Wakefield and Archibald Witherspoon, formed in 1905, served as informal mediator (between the attorneys and the real estate men who ran the city). The discreet Wakefield was a member of the park board, Finch’s attorney and next door neighbor and Davenport Hotel trustee…The magisterial Witherspoon was Cowles’s attorney (of the Spokesman-Review) and director of dozens of companies (he once claimed to be on seventy-five boards). He was a man who savored his connections---bragged of them.” Fahey 219. A. W. and his wife Eda Mauseth had three children: Margaret Eda, born in 1903, William Wallace (see below) and Helen Elizabeth, Born in 1911. Helen married Neal Fosseen who was mayor of Spokane from 1960 to 1967.
A. W. Witherspoon’s second child, William Wallace Witherspoon, was born on November 15, 1905 and followed his father into the law. He received his B. S. degree from Princeton University in 1928 and his law degree from the University of Washington in 1931. He joined his father’s law firm and in 1935 the name was changed to Witherspoon, Witherspoon and Kelly, and then in 1957 to Witherspoon, Kelly, Davenport & Toole, the current name of the firm. Today Witherspoon, Kelly Davenport and Toole is 124 years old and can trace its roots to Turner and Forster, founded in 1884. According to Duane Swinton; “Witherspoon Kelly is now the oldest operating law firm founded in the state of Washington…” William Witherspoon held many corporate positions including Chairman of the Board for Old National Bank of Washington. He died in 1972 from cancer. William and his wife Charlotte Semple were married in 1941 and had 5 children including Peter A. Witherspoon, born December 24, 1951.
Peter carried on the family tradition and is currently a member of the firm Workland-Witherspoon, PLLC. Peter’s son John T. Witherspoon is the fourth generation of the Witherspoon family to practice law in Spokane. John Witherspoon is an attorney with Lukins & Annis, P. S.