Mason Franklin BACKUS
Obituary

Age 81 years, 9 months, 4 days.

He was the son of the son of Clinton T. Backus and Harriet N. Groesbeck Backus.
In April 1873, he married Emma C. Yawger of Union Springs, New York.
They were the parents of two children.
On October 20, 1886, he married Lue Adams of Kings Ferry, New York.
On June 19, 1902, he married Elise Piutti at Greens Farms, Connecticut.

Manson Franklin Backus was born May 11, 1853 in South Livonia, New York, the son of Clinton T. Backus and Harriet N. Groesbeck Backus. His father was a farmer and then entered the manufacturing business and later became a banker. He attended public schools in New York and also attended Friends Academy in Union Springs, New York where he graduated in 1871. In 1872, he graduated from the Methodist Seminary in Cazenovia, New York. He joined the First National Bank in Union Springs, New York where his father was President. In 1875, he became Cashier of the bank. He was elected General Manager of a gypsum company at Union Springs and was appointed Postmaster of the village by President Garfield. He studied law and in 1889, was admitted to the bar at Buffalo, New York. He traveled to Seattle in 1889 before the great fire of Seattle with Edward O. Graves, Chief of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing of the United States Treasury Department to explore the possibility of opening a bank in the area. Returning to the East they learned of the fire, but returned to found the Washington National Bank in a half finished building at Second Avenue and Cherry Street. Mr. Backus was Cashier and in 1896 became Vice President and in 1900 President. In 1906, when Washington National was consolidated with the National Bank of Commerce, Mr. Backus became President until his retirement in 1932. He was one of the founders of the Clearing House Association, President of the Washington Bankers' Association, State Vice President of the American Bankers' Association and in 1914 one of the incorporators of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. He later became Director for the Seattle branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. He became known as the Dean of Seattle bankers. During World War I he was President of the National Currency Association. He was a founder of the Metropolitan Building Company, a trustee of the Washington Building and Loan Association, which became the Washington Mutual Savings Bank and the founder of the First National Bank of Bellingham. In 1907 to 1908, he made a trip around the world to publicize the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. In 1909, the year of the fair, he was a regent of the University of Washington. He was active in financing the Y.W.C.A. Building. He was a member of the advisory board for Children's Orthopedic Hospital and the Salvation Army. He was a member of the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, the China Club of Seattle, Artic Club, Rainier Club and Seattle Golf Club. He collected books, etchings and Northwest Americana. In April 1873, he married Emma C. Yawger of Union Springs, New York. She died in 1884. They were the parents of Mrs. Ralph Harlan of New York City who predeceased her father and Leroy Manson Backus. On October 20, 1886, he married Lue Adams of Kings Ferry, New York who died in 1901. On June 19, 1902, he married Elise Piutti at Greens Farms, Connecticut. She died on October 19, 1927. He died at the age of 81 years at 2:10AM on Friday, February 15, 1935 at the Seattle General Hospital, where he was admitted on January 26th. Survivors included his son, Leroy Manson Backus of Seattle and six grandchildren: Mrs. Robert E. Braddy of Annapolis, Manson Franklin Backus II, Otis B. Harlan, Walter Clinton Backus, LeRoy Manson Backus Jr. and Edith Marjorie Backus, all of Seattle; four great-grandchildren: Manson Backus Harlan, Otis B. Harlan Jr., Allan Sherman Harlan, all of Seattle and Fredericka Nell Braddy of Annapolis; a half-brother, George B. Backus of Union Springs. Funeral services were held at the Florence Henry Memorial Chapel in the Highlands with the Rev. Dr. H.H. Gowen officiating. Cremation was under the direction of Bonney-Watson.

The Seattle Daily Times, Friday, February 15, 1935

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