A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 101

Author: Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald, 1883-
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1002

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In 1884 Mr. Lynch returned to Butte and purchased a wholesale liquor business, which he conducted suc- cessfully and profitably until February, 1892. He then sold this business and turned his attention to real estate dealing on a large scale, in which he is still engaged. His connection with this line of trade has given him opportunities to do much for the improvement and extension of the city. In 1893 he built the Lynch block and a little later the Silver block, in the erection of which John Curtis was associated with him. He also put up the Park block and other business structures large in value and imposing in appearance. Mr. Lynch

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is president of the J. H. Lynch Investment Company and is president and one of the organizers of the Ama- zon-Butte Copper Company.

From his youth Mr. Lynch has been warmly and serviceably allied with the Democratic party in political affairs, and wherever he has been has done what he could to make it successful in all campaigns. As a member of that party, and as a clear-headed and pro- gressive business man he was chosen alderman from the Fourth ward in 1886, and served in that position until 1890. During this period the city was reincor- porated and its boundaries were extended by additions equal to half its original size. The streets were graded also, and many other valuable and commendable improvements were made, in all of which he took a leading part as an advocate of progress and wielded a potential influence in making others zealous in the movement. He was chairman of the finance committee in the city council and for one term president of the council. In 1884 President Cleveland appointed him postmaster of the city for a term of four years, and in this office he gave the people service that was uni- versally commended. Mr. Lynch served one term as representative from Butte and was a member of the first body of the legislature that met in the new capitol building.

The fraternal life of the community has interested Mr. Lynch almost as much as its political affairs, and its social activities have had the benefit of his energetic and helpful support. He is a member of the Order of Elks, and has been Exalted Ruler of Butte Lodge No. 240 in the order. He has also served as district deputy grand exalted ruler for Montana several terms, and has represented his lodge in the Grand Lodge of the order. Socially he is an active member of the Silver Bow Club. He is a charter member of Butte Council No. 666, Knights of Columbus.

On March 29, 1880, Mr. Lynch was united in marriage with Miss Mary Jane Lackie, a native of County Pon- tiac, province of Quebec, Canada, and the daughter of Hugh and Mary (Kelley) Lackie, also Canadians by birth, the marriage being solemnized at Deadwood, in the Black Hills, where the bride was then residing with her parents.

Mr. Lynch is a gentleman of unusual force of char- acter and straightforwardness, candid, fearless and out- spoken, where matters of principle are involved, though courteous and considerate at all times. As a business force in the community he has been of great service and influence. As a citizen he is progressive, enter- prising, farseeing and indomitable in his will to do all in his power for the good of his city and state. And here and elsewhere, in all he has undertaken, he has bent circumstances to his purposes and made them ministers to his advancement. Mr. Lynch is a fine sample of the men who have made the great West and the state of Montana what they are.

FREDERICK EDWIN Hoss. An honest, courteous and efficient public official, Frederick Edwin Hoss, state examiner of Montana, is a consistent and persistent booster of his adopted state, believing it to be the best in the Union, with Helena, his place of residence, its finest city. A native of Pennsylvania, he was born June 6, 1855, in Philadelphia, where he was bred and edu- cated. His father, the late John C. Hoss, was born in Germany, and there learned the trade of a miller. Shortly after his marriage he immigrated to the United States, settling, in 1850, at Philadelphia, where he was subsequently prosperously engaged in the transfer busi- ness until his death in 1908. He married in Germany Magdalena Eckstein. She died at Philadelphia in 1878, leaving three children, as follows: Frederick Edwin; John C., of Camden. New Jersey; and Katherine, wife of Rudolph Beck, of Philadelphia.

Receiving his early education in the grammar schools

of his native city, Frederick E. Hoss afterward studied the languages in a private school, and received his business training in a commercial college. At the age of seventeen years he became clerk for Seltzer & Mil- ler, wholesale liquor dealers, with whom he remained in that capacity for a number of years, during which time he was almost a constant attendant at the evening schools. Leaving Philadelphia in 1879, Mr. Hoss went to Kansas City, Missouri, where he learned the trade of a printer, serving an apprenticeship of three years with the firm of Ramsey, Millet & Hudson. Coming thence to Montana in 1882, Mr. Hoss located at Deer Lodge, and during the following year worked for Capt. James H. Mills, proprietor of the leading newspaper of that city, The Northwest, being foreman of the print- ing office. He was afterward in the railway mail serv- ice for eighteen months, resigning the position to become assistant postmaster of Helena, an office which he held four years, from 1887 until 1891. Mr. Hoss was afterwards under-sheriff of Lewis and Clark county, Montana, six years, then becoming deputy assessor, and, later, deputy county treasurer under C. B. Garrett. Mr. Garrett resigning from the office, Mr. Hoss succeeded him, filling out his unexpired term as treasurer.

Subsequently locating at Bozeman, Montana, Mr. Hoss assumed the management of the Boscman Chron- icle. When that publication changed hands Mr. Hoss instituted the Gallatin Farmer and Stockman, which he published for a year and a half before selling out. Returning then to Helena, Mr. Hoss was for three years manager of the Capitol Brewing Company, a post- tion which he resigned on account of ill health. At the end of six months, having recovered his former physical vigor, Mr. Hoss accepted the position of second assist- ant state examiner, and has since been advanced to the office of first assistant state examiner, and state exam- iner-a position which he is filling ably and faithfully. He became head of his department by appointment of Governor Norris, July 1, 1912. He has been successful in life, owning his home in Helena, and other interests in the city.

Politically Mr. Hoss is a Democrat, and works hard, though quietly, in the interest of his party. Fraternally he is a member of King Solomon Lodge, No. 9, Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons.

Mr. Hoss married Miss Anna Bell, of Stockton, Cali- fornia, whose parents, William and Margaret Bell, natives of Wisconsin, were pioneer settlers of Califor- nia. Mr. and Mrs. Hoss are the parents of two chil- dren, namely: Margaret M., wife of H. G. Torley, of San Francisco, California; and Fred W., living at home.

CHARLES W. CANNON. Among the thousands of men who cast their lot with the new and growing west, leaving civilization and all the pleasures and enjoy- ments to be found in older settled communities, de- termined to hew out a career for themselves, was Charles Wesley Cannon. He was a man of broad guage and possessed of a foresight that was truly remarkable. In character he was the peer of the best of the Mon- tana pioneers, and when that is said it is a testimonial that carries with it the assurance that he was one of nature's noblemen. He was a merchant, upright and honorable in all his dealings, and possessed the con- fidence and esteem of all who knew him, and as such, and in many other ways, was one of the founders and upbuilders of the great state of Montana. His domin- ant traits were partly the inheritance from a sterling ancestry, and partly the result of his own innate and in- flexible determination to do right and good; and in all he was an eminent and unqualified success. His ancestors were of the French Huguenot stock and he dated his earliest forebears to Jan Cannon, the founder of the family in America who sought refuge in the new world on the revocation of the edict of Nantes in France. He settled in New York in 1692, and was one of the

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leading merchants and citizens of that city. His de- scendants have had much to do with the best life and history of the United States, and of community life, and the name of Charles W. Cannon occupies a con- spicuous place among these distinguished and worthy citizens. His father was George Cannon of Stratford, Connecticut.

Charles W. Cannon was born at Cleveland, Ohio, July I, 1833, and removed at an early age with his parents to Iowa, which was at that time a part of Michigan. In the town of Dubuque the father established him- self in the business of merchandising, and there Charles W. Cannon passed his early youth, receiving his edu- cation in the public schools. At the age of sixteen the elder Cannon was incapacitated from attending to busi- ness by reason of ill health, and the result was that young Cannon was called upon to assume those du- ties, which he did with great credit and ability. He applied himself diligently and gained a knowledge and experience that were invaluable in after life. He con- tinued in the merchandising business in Iowa until 1859, when by double bereavement in the death of his father and sister, he, with his brother Henry, decided to leave that section of the country and try their for- tunes in the far west. With this end in view they pur- chased a team and wagon and started for Montana, then one of the most widely advertised gold-mining regions in the world. They traveled by the way of the South Platte river, the overland route, across South Pass of the Rocky mountains, and Lander's cut-off to Snake river, thence north to the place of their destination which was Alder gulch. This plain statement of their trip across the plains does not include the thrilling ad- ventures with the Indians, and the hardships encount- ered in the long trek to the land of gold. But they had adventures in plenty, and not the least of these was their encounter with hostile Indians. The dust, the sand, the alkali waters, the dearth of fuel and all the discomforts were experienced by the travelers, but they withstood them all and arrived safely in Virginia City. In that town they at once started a store which was successfully conducted by the brothers until the dis- covery of gold in Last Chance gulch, when Charles W. Cannon immediately went to that camp and in Helena started another merchandising store which was even- tually merged into the firm of Kerchival, Cannon & Company, one of the largest wholesale grocery and min- ing supply houses in the then territory of Montana. As an item of expense the company was obliged to pay on one installment of freight from St. Louis to Helena, the sum of $67,000, or at the rate of sixteen cents per pound.

Mr. Cannon continued his merchandising and also engaged in mining, until 1882, when, with unusual fore- sight, he saw the future of the city of Helena with a discernment that was a little less than marvelous. He at once engaged in the real estate business in his adopted city and home, and branched out into Butte and Great Fall until he became one of the most ex- tensive real estate operators and owners in Montana. He was also the leader in many civic enterprises and was mainly instrumental in establishing the first gas, electric light and street railway system in Helena. He was president of each of these companies, vice pres- ident of the Montana Central Railway and a director in the Montana National Bank. His enterprise was not confined to the various important projects above men- tioned, but included stock raising. He established and owned in conjunction with his brother one of the larg- est sheep, cattle and horse ranches in the state.

On March 17, 1871, in Dubuque, Iowa, Mr. Cannon was united in marriage with Miss Catherine B. Mar- tine, the only child of Capt. W. W. Martine. of New York City, and Asenath Newell, of Boston. Two beau- tiful children were to bless their home, but were stricken while barely entering upon their lives as a young man

and young woman. Bernice Martinique died in 1889, at the age of eighteen years. William LeGrand, the son, the pride of his father and the idol of his mother, was a young man of much promise, handsome, chivalrous, of engaging manner and generous nature, possessing all those loving attributes that are so endearing to par- ents and friends alike. He had all the promise of a life of usefulness and honor among his fellow men and, had he been permitted to live, would no doubt have been a citizen of the fine traits of character and progressiveness that so distinguished his father. He died February 9, 1903.

Bereft of all that was most dear to her, Mrs. Cather- ine B. Cannon, the fond mother and devoted wife, con- tinues to reside at her home in Helena, a beautiful residence on Broadway. She has many friends among the old time citizens, as well as among the newer gen- · eration, and is looked upon as a genuine type of the heroic women of the early history of Montana, who braved all for those they loved and were as undaunted by hardship trouble and danger as was their brothers and fathers. A distinguishing monument to the mem- ory of William LeGrand Cannon and one that is destined to last for ages, is the LeGrand Cannon boule- vard, a beautiful wide thoroughfare leading from the west side of the city to the scenic regions of Ten Mile creek, the Broadwater hotel and Natatorium. This boulevard is pronounced by travelers to be one of the very best from a scenic point of view to be found in the entire world.

Charles W. Cannon survived the death of his two children and lived among the scenes and people he so well loved, until September 4, 1909, when he crossed the Great Divide and his earthly career closed. He was in his seventy-seventh year.

JUDGE DAVID M. DURFEE, a practicing attorney in Philipsburg, Montana, since 1882, was born in the Empire state on July 22, 1855. He is the son of David P. and Margaret E. (Rector) Durfee, both natives of New York state. The father was born in Schenectady county, and there passed his life in farming pursuits. He died in 1887, at the age of seventy-five, and his wife passed away in 1878, aged sixty-one years. They are buried side by side in the old burial place in their home town in Schenectady county. Of the nine children born to them, David M. of this review was the sixth in order of birth.

The early education of David M. Durfee was received in the public schools of his native town, followed by a thorough course in the Union Academy at Schoharie, New York. The first money the boy earned was in the capacity of chore boy on a neighboring farm. While thus employed, he carried on his studies and through careful application to his books fitted himself for the position of a teacher in the schools of New York state. He taught for some years, during that time reading law and making such progress as he might unaided by the advice of professional men or other scholars. He gave up school teaching after a few years and entered the law office of N. P. Hinman at Albany. After three years teaching school in Somer- set county, Maryland, he was admitted to the bar at Annapolis, immediately after which he came west, arriv- ing in Philipsburg in 1882. He here took up the active practice of his profession, and here he has remained in continuous practice since that time. He has made rapid advances in his profession and is regarded as one of the foremost men among the legal fraternity of this section of the state. He was the first county attorney elected in Deer Lodge county in 1886. In 1899 he was elected a member of the constitutional convention, and in the same year was elected to the office of the first district judge of Deer Lodge county. Later he was elected county attorney of Granite county, and is now serving his fourth term in that capacity. Judge Durfe:

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has been mayor of Philipsburg, and in that office, as well as in the other official positions he has occupied and still fills, his services were of a high order, always tending to uplift and enhance the communal life.

Judge Durfee is a member of the Knights of Colum- bus, the Knights of Pythias, the Royal Highlanders and the Order of Redmen. In the latter named society he has filled all chairs and has been great sachem of the state. He is a Democrat, and is ever active and alert in matters of political import, and is rightly regarded as one of the greatest fighters and most valuable men the party claims today in his section of the country.

Judge Durfee has been twice married. His first marriage occurred at Baltimore, Maryland, on Feb- ruary 1, 1888, when Amelia J. Irving became his wife. The marriage ceremony was performed by Cardinal Gibbons of Baltimore, an old and much loved friend of the Irving family. She died in Missoula in 1902, and is buried in Philipsburg. Four children were born of this union, three daughters and one son. They are: Amelia E., a graduate of Bellingham (Washington) Normal College, who lives at home in Philipsburg; Thomas I., a student in the Montana State University at Missoula; Adelaide, a graduate of the Philipsburg high school, at present engaged in teaching; Marie J., a graduate of the Philipsburg high school and living at home.

In November, 1904, Judge Durfee was married to Miss Elizabeth Kelly, a daughter of Patrick Kelly, of San Francisco. The family are communicants of the Roman Catholic church, to which faith Judge Durfee was a convert, and which he has faithfully maintained since the days of his conversion.

Judge Durfee is a man of unwavering public spirit, and is enthusiastically devoted to the state of Montana. He does not hesitate to pronounce Montana potentially the greatest agricultural state in the Union, and pre- dicts that her future will be as much indebted to her farming industry as to her great mineral wealth.

FRANKLIN GRIFFITH. Although not now a resident of Montana, having left the Treasure state in 1909 for the health-giving climate of the Pacific coast, Frank- lin Griffith was for so many years identified with the cattle and horse raising industry of Dawson county that every old pioneer of the eastern part of the state will remember him with pleasure. Given the choice in young manhood of entering upon a business career or devoting his activities to agricultural pursuits and the breeding of stock, he chose the latter, and in after years found no reason to regret his choice, although like others engaged in this line of endeavor he suffered his discouragements and his disappoint- ments, but in the end he triumphed over all obstacles and gained not only material success, but the unquali- fied esteem of those in whose midst he had carried on his life work. Franklin Griffith was born January 16, 1850, in Putnam county, Illinois, and is a son of George and Lydia (Comley) Griffith, natives of Pennsylvania. His father journeyed to the Prairie state in 1836, and settled in Putnam county, where he was married. Sub- sequently he became one of the prominent men of his locality, engaging extensively in agricultural opera- tions and also being the owner of a large flour and grist mill. He and his wife had three children: Hiram, who now resides on Morgan Creek, Dawson county, Montana; Franklin; and Isabel, who married H. E. Beck and resides at Delta, Utah.

Franklin Griffith grew to manhood on his father's farm in Putnam county, Illinois, and received his early education in the common schools of his native vicinity. Later he attended the normal school at Carbondale for a short time, but, preferring farming to a busi- ness life, returned home and there remained until 1882. In that year he came to Glendive. Montana, and with his brother Hiram conducted a dairy for one year,

but subsequently settled on a ranch located seven and one-half miles east of Glendive. There he established himself in the cattle business, with which he was soon carrying on a successful horse business, and was ad- vancing rapidly, when the severe winter of 1886-7 nearly caused his failure, and all but wiped out his little cap- ital. Nothing daunted, however, he continued to make his home on the same ranch, where he gradually rebuilt his business, dealing extensively in cattle and horses, and shipping great numbers to the eastern markets. He still has a large band of horses on this property, under the charge of Helland Brothers, approximately 300 head. In 1909, on account of the failure of his wife's health, Mr. Griffith took her to California. The old homestead, however, with its memories and the friends that surround it, have always the first place in their hearts, just as they still have a warm place in the memories of those who knew them here. Mr. and Mrs. Griffith are remembered as kindly Christian people, as charitable neighbors and as excellent friends.

In 1884 Mr. Griffith was married to a former school- mate, Izadora Beck, daughter of Lewis I. and Cynthia (Winters) Beck, the former a pioneer of 1829 in Put- nam county, Illinois, where he was a farmer and saw mill owner, his mill being first operated by twelve horses and later by steam.

Mr. and Mrs. Griffith now have a pleasant home at Haywood, a suburb of Oakland, California. He was reared in the faith of the Quaker church, or Society of Friends, and true to his early training, has never used alcoholic liquor nor tobacco in any form. His wife is a faithful member of the Baptist church, and like her husband has the entire esteem and respect of all who know her.

ARTHUR ARMITAGE NEEDHAM. The Englishman is preeminently a colonist. With the same attributes of character and standards of life which have made the greatness of America he has sought the uttermost parts of the earth in finding scope for his capabilities. If England's area were measured in millions instead of in thousands of square miles, we should hear wondrous tales of the vast schemes of internal development of that country, but as it is, the whole world has reaped the benefit of English ideals, and nowhere than in America is this more evident. It was the English colonists who set their stamp upon the civilization of our country, and from those times until now the little island has contributed to our highest and most desir- able citizenship. Of such ancestry is Mr. A. A. Need- ham, the son of one of the early settlers of Salt Lake, and himself one of the pioneers of Montana. John Needham, his father, was born in Preston, England, and it was there that he was married to Mary Ann Booth, who was a native of the same district, her birthplace being between

Manchester and Preston. When the family first came to America Mr. Needham was in the mercantile business in St. Louis. with a branch establishment in the frontier town of Council Bluffs, Iowa. For some time Mrs. Needham was in charge of this latter store, and this was in the days when the wagon trains were crossing the prairies -then as trackless as inland seas-to and from the gold country beyond the western mountains. Mrs. Needham bought the first lot of goods that came over- land through her place of business, and a little while afterward, Mr. Needham disposed of his interest in St. Louis and in Iowa, and with his family boarded a "prairie schooner" and made the trip to Salt Lake City. There were several families in that caravan, drawn by teams of oxen, and not all who started were permitted to finish the journey. More than one of the emigrants lost their lives in skirmishes with the Indians. Upon arriving in the Mormon city Mr. Needham again went into the mercantile business, and he followed this until his family of seven boys and five girls were grown,

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after which he retired. Both he and Mrs. Needham ended their days in Salt Lake. Mr. Needham passed away in 1899, some eighteen years after the death of his wife.

Arthur Needham was the youngest of the family, and was born in Salt Lake City on July 15, 1860. Al- though he early decided to follow the same course which his father had, and to engage in business rather than in one of the professions, he finished the course of the public schools of his native city and also spent a year in the Normal there. From the time he was twelve Mr. Needham put in his vacations and his spare time in working in the stores of Salt Lake. His first position was with Siegel Brothers, a clothing firm, and from there he went to Auerbachs, where he remained as long as he stayed in the city.

At the age of twenty Mr. Needham set up his own household and the lady whom he selected to preside . over his home was Miss Matilda Tuckfield. She was born in Swanzy, Wales, and her father, John Tuck- field, in Lancashire, England. He was a mechanician, and immigrated to America when Mrs. Needham was a child of six. In Salt Lake he conducted a foundry and machine shop, following the trade for which he had been trained in his birthplace. His wife, Marion Powell Tuckfield, died in Salt Lake in 1881. Her hus- band survived her thirteen years, and both are laid at rest in the city of their adoption.

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A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 101

Author: Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald, 1883- Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1002

Author: Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald, 1883-
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1002