A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 105

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

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Mr. Burkman continued with the remnant of his troop until securing his honorable discharge, May 17, 1879, at Fort Laramie. From that time on he was identified with the government service until 1895, when he retired, and he now lives quietly in his comfortable home, sur- rounded by numerous friends who are always delighted

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when they can persuade him to recount experiences and adventures of the days when Montana was still claimed by savages and the development of the Treasure state was yet in its infancy.

JOHN D. MATHESON. One of the pioneer citizens of Billings, and a man who has been identified with the progress and development of the city for thirty years, is John D. Matheson, who was the last territorial probate judge of Montana, was subsequently engaged for a number of years in newspaper work, and now carries on an extensive real estate and insurance busi- ness. Mr. Matheson came from Milton, Ontario, where he had been editor and proprietor of the lead- ing newspaper and mayor of the town, and located in Billings, Montana, when the city was yet in its in- fancy, being one of that group of men whose activities have made it one of the most prosperous municipalities of the state. As a member of the bench he upheld the dignity of his high office, and in his editorial capacity he did much to influence public opinion along proper channels, while in business circles he is known as a man of ability and sagacity and bears a wide-spread reputation for integrity.

John D. Matheson is a product of Canada, born at Simcoe, county Norfolk, Ontario, March 7, 1846. His early education was secured in the schools of his na- · tive place, and after extensive preparation and study he was admitted to practice before the bar of Toronto in 1871. He continued in the active practice of his profession until 1882, in which vear he came to Bil- lings, Montana, and in that year purchased the Billings Post, which he published until 1887, and then became editor of the Billings Gazette. In 1897 Mr. Matheson was instrumental in organizing the Billings Times, and continued as editor thereof for a number of years. He became one of Montana's best known newspaper men, and his opinions, as expressed in his editorials, were widely discussed and had much to do with the influencing of the actions of the citizens in all mat- ters of civic importance. In 1901 he was appointed city clerk and continued to succeed himself in office until I911, since which time he has been engaged in the real estate and insurance business, with offices at No. 205 Stapleton building. Public spirited to a high degree, Mr. Matheson has always had the best inter- ests of his adopted city at heart, and has been active in assisting movements for its welfare, while his abil- ity and good citizenship have earned recognition among his fellow townsmen, who have expressed their confidence in him by choosing him to fill posi- tions of honor and trust. At the present time (1912) he is a valued member of the library board. He has interested himself in fraternal work and is connected with Ashlar Lodge, No. 26, A. F. & A. M., in which he has many warm friends.

In 1872 Mr. Matheson was married to Rebecca Panton, who was born near Milton, Ontario, and five children have been born to them: Edith, the wife of Dr. James Chapple, of Billings; Beatrix, who mar- ried James H. Johnston, a well-known attorney of Billings; William Panton, who is engaged in the real estate and insurance business with his father; John Roy Douglas, a first lieutenant in the United States Army, now stationed at Fort Russy, near Honolulu, and who married Ethel, daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Mason, U. S. A. surgeon on the Panama Canal Zone; and Katherine C., who married James Vredenburgh on June 20, 1912, and lives on their extensive beet sugar ranch, near Park City, Montana.

ANDREW S. SHANNON. Few citizens of Montana can boast of a more active or adventurous career than that of Andrew S. Shannon, of Billings, who, although now living practically retired, is still largely interested in various projects of wide scope and extensive nature.

He has identified himself with many enterprises that have proved of incalculable value to the best interests of the Yellowstone valley, and his activities in behalf of good roads have earned for him the title of "The Pathfinder." Born in Jacksonville, Morgan county, Illinois, November 14, 1851, Mr. Shannon is a son of Robert and Sarah (Gray) Shannon, the former a na- tive of Baltimore, Maryland, and the latter of Indiana.

Robert Shannon was a young man when he moved to Indiana, and not long after his marriage he located in Morgan county, Illinois, where he remained until 1854. At that time he settled in Blue Earth county, Min- nesota, where he became a pioneer, took up government land, and at the time of the Indian outbreak of 1861 served as a member of the militia. His first property was located near what is now known as Amboy, but in 1865 he moved to a farm six miles out of Mankato and in 1882 or 1883 he went to Hamlin Park, a suburb of the city of St. Paul, where he spent the remainder of his life in retirement, his death occurring when he was eighty years of age. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in politics he was a Whig until 1856, when he transferred his allegi- ance to the Republican party, and worked hard for that organization during the candidacy of Abraham Lincoln, of whom he was a great admirer. He and his wife, who survives him and makes her home with her son, the Rev. William A. Shannon, of Minneapolis, being in her eighty-fourth year, had eight children, of whom seven are now living, as follows: Elizabeth, who mar- ried Rudolph Crandall, of Hillsboro, Oregon; Charles. E., residing at Guthrie, Oklahoma; Andrew S .; Rev. William A .; John W., of Stevensville, Montana; David M., a resident of the state of Idaho; and Cyrus N., a passenger conductor in the employ of the Great North- ern Railroad Company.

Andrew S. Shannon was given excellent educational advantages, attending first the common schools of Blue Earth county, Minnesota, and subsequently going to the State Normal School and a business college in St. Paul, after which he secured employment in a drug store in Mankato. After clerking for two years he purchased the interest of the proprietor and until the spring of 1880 conducted this establishment with a partner, un- der the firm name of Shannon & Webster. He then sold out and started for Fort Benton, via Bismarck, Dakota, but subsequently changed his mind and went to the Black Hills and then on to old Fort Pierre, where he was interested in a drug business under the firm style of Shannon & Hull. He was at this point in 1881 when the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad built into Pierre, that city being the capital of South Dakota, and in the spring of 1882 disposed of his interests there and started overland, via Deadwood and Miles City, for Coulson. At that time there was but one small shack in the pres- ent city of Billings, that being the headquarters for the civil engineering department of the Northern Pacific Railroad. On April 15, 1882, Mr. Shannon and his part- ner, W. E. Hull, opened the first drug store in Coulson, and until the last of August their place of business was a small tent. At that time they removed their stock to the building of Judge J. R. Goss, on Montana avenue, and almost immediately thereafter sold the stock to H. H. Bole & Company, Mr. Shannon at that time pur- chasing a herd of cows. With William Talcott he lo- cated the herd on Golden creek, one mile south of A. B. Lamont's ranch, and he was there engaged in the dairy business until the spring of 1884, when he moved across the divide to Raisor creek, to what was known as the Shannon Road ranch, but of this he disposed in 1893 to purchase the Henry Frith ranch near Huntley. On this property Mr. Shannon made a number of im- provements, including irrigation, and met with more than ordinary success in his undertakings, but in Jan- uary, 1898, he decided to try his fortunes in the Alaskan gold fields, and accordingly made his way to Skagway.

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Mr. Shannon's brother, Charles E. Shannon, had pre- ceded him to that point during the fall of 1897, but had arrived too late to make the trip down the Yukon, but after Andrew S. had joined him they made a trip to Lake Bennett, accompanied by Mark Newman. After returning to Skagway, Mr. Shannon went to Juneau by steamboat to purchase goods, and on the way down received the first sad news of the fate of the sixty passengers lost on the Linn Canal between Sitka and Juneau. Mr. Shannon purchased a large stock of gen- eral merchandise, consisting principally of provisions, and on his return to Skagway bought three horses and moved the goods by relay to Lake Bennett, the journey taking about three months to accomplish. After the opening of navigation the brothers found that Lake Bennett had been side-tracked, but Andrew S. made another trip to Skagway and purchased a large supply of potatoes, oranges, lemons and fancy canned goods, and had them taken to Lake Bennett by pack horses. In the meantime Charles E. had purchased a scow, ten by thirty-four feet, and on this they loaded all their goods and followed the stampede through Lake Bennett, Tagish, Marsh Lake and Lake La Barge to Thirty Mile river, down through the Lewis river to the Yukon, and then on to Dawson City, the current of the river carry- ing the scow through. They arrived at Dawson City July 8, 1898, and at once retailed their stock of goods at handsome prices, the potatoes bringing as high as $100 per sack, while oranges and lemons were sold for $35 per case. When they had disposed of all their goods with the exception of what they wished to keep for themselves, the Shannon brothers, with C. M. Bair, purchased a gold claim which they worked with small profit during the summer. Mr. Shannon's brother then went down the Yukon river and up Forty Mile river to Wade creek, where he staked a claim for himself and Andrew S., subsequently returning to Dawson City and then going to Fort Cudoha located at the mouth of the Forty Mile river, where they remained until the ice had formed on Forty Mile river. During the winter they worked the new claim and also did some prospect- ing during the summer of 1899, but in 1899 Charles E. Shannon returned to his home in Duluth, Minnesota, Andrew S. remaining to work the claims. During the late fall the news came of the discovery of gold at Nome, and this started a stampede for that place. Mr. Shannon, not having found gold in any paying quantity, came back to Lake Bennett over the same route he had previously traveled, but on reaching this point found the White Pass Railroad finished from Lake Bennett to Skagway, and was able to make the trip by rail in about two and one-half hours that had taken him three months to negotiate with his horses and sled. About April 1, 1900, he arived home, and soon thereafter sold his cattle and horses on the range, which had been looked after by his sons, Avery and Andrew, and located in Billings, intending to retire from business. The active spirit which had characterized his whole life, however, would not allow him to long remain idle, and he soon purchased school lands in Pease Bottoms, Rosebud county. In 1903 he incorporated the Ranchers Ditch Company and contracted for and put in the ditch of fourteen miles, covering 6,000 acres of land, and in IgII he organized the Rosebud Lake Association. This association purchased what was known as Armstrong lake, located eighty miles from Billings in the Bear Tooth mountain district in Carbon county. The region was cleared and improved, and has since become one of the favorite spots for summer outings in the state. Mr. Shannon spent the summer of 1911 in building an automobile road through the canon, with a descent of eight miles, this being one of the most beautiful rides from Billings or any part of the state by automobile. The interest manifested by Mr. Shannon in good roads has made him come to be known as "The Pathfinder," and he has also served his community as county sur-

veyor and as school director for four years. Frater- nally he is connected with Star Lodge, No. 40, I. O. O. F., and was active in the building of the home of this order in Billings, and in political matters he gives his influence to the Socialist party.

On October 29, 1874, Mr. Shannon was united in mar- riage with Miss Christina E. Spencer, who was born in Indiana, daughter of Joshua and Henrietta (Vanuester- house) Spencer, the former a native of Kentucky, who died in Billings at the age of seventy-six years, and the latter born in Holland and died in Minnesota in 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Spencer had three children: Mrs. Shannon; May, the wife of Frank A. Brown, of Yel- lowstone county, Montana; and William, who resides at America, Oklahoma. Mr. Spencer was one of the pioneers of St. Paul, Minnesota, where for many years he was engaged in working at the trade of cabinet maker. In 1884 he came to Billings and engaged in a merchandise business, but later retired. In political matters he was a Republican. Mr. and Mrs. Shannon have had four children, namely: William A., who is married and makes his home in Florida; Lillian, the wife of A. A. Newman; Andrew, who is carrying on operations on a ranch in the Bull Mountains, Yellow- stone county; and Edwin, in the manager's office of the Union Pacific Railroad at Cheyenne, Wyoming, is married and has a son, Howard E.

Mr. Shannon and his wife reside in their handsome residence at No. 310 South Twenty-ninth street, and are widely and favorably known in Billings. He has always been a public-spirited citizen and one who could be relied upon to serve the best interests of his com- munity. An able organizer, with the capacity and abil- ity to carry out whatever project he promotes, he has been interested in some large and extensive enterprises which have served to place him among the prominent business men of his city and to establish a position for himself among those whose activities have served to make the Yellowstone valley one of the prosperous commercial and industrial centers of the west.

YEGEN BROTHERS. Should a

search be made throughout the length and breadth of the Yellowstone Valley, no fairer or finer example of self-made men could be found than the Yegen Brothers, merchants and financiers of Billings. Brought by chance, in early manhood, in touch with the mercantile business, they seized upon this circumstance as upon an opportunity, mastered the rudiments with a thoroughness that has characterized their every action in life, and upon this practical knowledge builded their exceptional business career. One by one they saw the possibilities as they opened before them, and each possibility became to them a probability and was made a certainty. They mastered in turn the details of the restaurant, bakery, grocery, dry goods and hardware business, and inci- dentally became financiers and have been chosen for their judgment to advise and direct great institutions in the financial world of Montana. Their careers are so interwoven with the history of Billings that it would be almost impossible to make reference to any chapter in the growth of this section without mentioning their names. Their wonderful success, however, has not been a matter of chance, nor has their present high position been attained without the overcoming of nu- merous obstacles and discouragements, and that to- day they stand among Billings' most successful men is due only to the persistent effort and industry that have characterized their entire activities.

Hon. Christian Yegen and Peter Yegen are natives of Klosters, Switzerland, where the former was born November 19, 1857, and the latter August 7, 1860, their parents being Conrad and Emerita (Prader) Yegen, natives of the Swiss republic, who after hon- orable and industrious lives passed away in that coun- try in 1885. Their family consisted of four sons and

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three daughters, of whom the following are living: Christian and Peter, of Billings; Margaret Alleman and Dorothea Plattner, living in Switzerland; Eliza- beth' Copman, of Wyoming; and John Plattner, who resides in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Christian Yegen was educated to follow the pro- fession of his father, that of teaching, but chose a business life instead, and in 1879 came to the United States and located at Bismarck, North Dakota, whence his brother John and sister Dorothea had preceded him. He learned the trade of bread making with his brother and in the next year took a small farm, which he conducted alone until 1881, when he sent for Peter, who had been farming in a small way in the old coun- try. With the help of their sister they then fol- lowed farming for another year, when they invested their small capital in a little restaurant at Glendive, Montana, and subsequently removed to Terry Station, where they conducted the section house. Buffalo meat was still to be had in plenty, and the brothers and sis- ter made a specialty of a meal consisting of buffalo meat, sauer kraut, cranberries and bread, at seventy- five cents. This proved very popular with the rush of people who were coming to this section, and so successful did they become that in 1882 they landed in Billings with $3,000, which they invested in a small bakery. This also proved a success until the railroad moved on, when business took a sudden slump, and as a climax the partners all fell sick at the same time, and when they had recovered found that they had not only lost their business and their capital, but that they were $400 in debt. This probably would have been enough to discourage many people, but these sturdy Swiss were made of stern stuff and demonstrated their con- fidence in the future of Billings by again establishing themselves in a bakery business hore, their baking being done in the mornings and the product peddled in the afternoons. At first five dollars constituted a good day's receipts, but soon they were averaging thirty dollars daily, and inside of a year they were able to purchase their first building, for $2,700, and began to branch out into a new field, adding a small stock of groceries. Their location at that time was on the south side, not far from their present establishment, but they soon found the need of more space. and sub- sequently removed to a two-story structure. twenty- eight by eighty feet, on the site of the present magnifi- cent establishment of Yegen Brothers. In 1893 an ad- dition was built, about the same size as their former building, to be used for hardware, and in the next year a fifty-five foot addition was added to the grocery. So rapidly did the business grow that in the following year they were compelled to build another structure as large as all the other buildings, and this they stocked with dry goods, choosing a well-assorted stock of the finest kind. Still they found that their grocery needed more room, and they extended the hardware building back fifty feet and added another story, this being in 1898. After this they erected a cold storage plant, thirty by thirty-four feet, in 1900. It was in 1900 that the Yegen Brothers entered the banking business, opening a savings institution in Billings, which was the first of its kind in the city and immediately at- tracted a host of depositors. During that year they erected a building seventy-five by one hundred and thirty feet to accommodate their increased trade in hardware and implements, and in 1903 they opened savings banks at Anaconda and Gardiner. Subse- quently, during the following year, they purchased the wholesale grocery business of Millis & Company, to- gether with the spacious warehouses of that concern, adding this new interest to their already immense en- terprise. In 1895 the brothers had purchased their sister's interest, and in 1902 the firm of Yegen Broth- ers was incorporated, they being the sole owners of the business outside of a few shares of stock sold to several trusted employes. They have platted two

additions to the city of Billings, and take a lively interest in anything that will develop the resources of the community. Although their business activities have kept them extremely busy, they have found time to manifest their public spirit in many ways.

Christian Yegen was married August 27, 1893, to Miss Laura B. Clark, daughter of W. R. Clark, for- merly of Bozeman, Montana, and now a resident of Vancouver, Washington. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Yegen: Laura, Dora, Mildred, Vir- ginia and Christian. In September, 1890, Peter Yegen was married to Miss Marguerite Trepp, a native of Switzerland, whose parents reside in Lewiston, Mon- tana, and they have had three children: David, Peter and Elizabeth.

In political matters the brothers are Republicans. In 1892 Christian Yegen was elected alderman, a position in which he served for two years, and later he was sent to the lower house of the state assembly. In 1896 he was elected mayor of Billings, and in 1904 was his fellow-townsmen's choice for the office of state sena- tor. In all his official capacities he has displayed fine ability and has discharged his duties with the same conscientious thoroughness that was such an important factor in building up his private interests. At present Mr. Peter Yegen is a member of the library board.

As business men the Yegen brothers are recognized as possessing the utmost ability, push and energy, and as citizens none stand any better. In the accomplish- ment of building up their present vast industry they have had very little leisure time, and today, even, they are harder workers than any of their numerous em- ployes, and their success in life is largely attributed to the close personal attention they have always given every detail in their business.

HOWARD W. PIERCE. An authority as regards the ad- vancement of the mechanical, manufacturing and com- mercial industries of our country has recently said that the future history of the automobile industry will not differ from the history of the sale and manufacture of other commercial articles which have become necessities in the every-day life of the nation; that farm imple- ments, locomotives, electric motors, typewriters and sewing machines have become established articles of commerce, and that the automobile has in the same manner become a fixed industry. No person has a greater realization of the wonderful growth of this comparatively new industry than Howard W. Pierce, of Butte, who, as president and general manager of the Silver Bow Automobile Company, is now carrying on an extensive and renumerative business, handling the productions of three of the leading motor companies of the United States.

Mr. Pierce is a Montana boy, his birth having oc- curred, January 6, 1882, in Wickes, Jefferson county. His father, William H. Pierce, was born in Iowa, of English ancestry. Coming to Montana in 1879, he was engaged in business as a lumber manufacturer and dealer, in Jefferson county until 1911, when he settled on a farm in Dowagiac, Michigan. He married Lil- lian Hubbell, who was born in New York state, of New England stock, one of her ancestors having crossed the Atlantic in the Mayflower, landing in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. She died November 14, 1904, at a comparatively early age. Four children were born of their union, as follows : Mrs. E. P. Dawson, of Butte; Gertrude, deceased; Mrs. George Patterson, of Kala- mazoo, Michigan, and Howard W., twins.

Acquiring his early knowledge in the public schools of Boulder and Butte, Mr. Pierce attended the Butte Business College and School of Mines, and was sub- sequently employed in mechanical work of different kinds. A man of decided business ability and acumen, he organized, in 1908, the Silver Bow Automobile Com- pany, which was incorporated in March of that year,

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and was made general manager of its establishment, which was located at the corner of Montana and Mer- cury streets. In this position, Mr. Pierce proved him- self so efficient that in February, 1911, he was elected president and general manager of the company. On October 12, 19II, the company moved to its present advantageous location at the corner of Park and Idaho streets, where it has one of the finest automobile estab- lishments in the state. Mr. Pierce has here built up an extensive business, occupying fifteen thousand square feet of floor space, and as a dealer in the Pierce-Arrow, Stevens-Duryea and Chalmers machines, controls a busi- ness that amounts annually to nearly a quarter of a million dollars.

In politics Mr. Pierce is Independent, voting for the best men and measures regardless of party affiliations. He belongs to the Machinists' Union, and is a member of the Silver Bow and of the Country clubs.

On June 14, 1905, Mr. Pierce was united in marriage with Louise Gieser, who was born in St. Louis, Mis- souri, a daughter of George Gieser, and they have one child, Margaret Pierce, born in Butte, February 28, 1908.

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A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 105

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