A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 120

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

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GRANVILLE GIBSON COLTHRON is a native Missourian who early in life became so attracted by the charm of western life that he has made his home in the state of Montana for the past thirty years or thereabouts, and is now successfully engaged in the stock breeding busi- ness, which industry he carries on at his ranch in the vicinity of Billings. He was born in Pike county, Mis- souri, May 11, 1860, being the son of Thomas and Sarah Jane (Todd) Colthron, both of whom were natives of the state of Virginia. Thomas Colthron was born January 25, 1836, and he still lives. Of his union with Sarah Jane Todd eight children were born, six of whom are living, and Granville Gibson Colthron, our subject, was the second child.

Thomas Colthron was a pioneer of Calumet township, Pike county, Missouri, and literally hewed for himself a farm out of the wilderness of that section, and his early pioneer days were marked by unceasing toil and many hardships. He built himself a two-story log house on his farm in the early days of his residence there, and so well did he build and so firmly that the old house stands there today in a splendid state of preservation, and is occupied by one of his children.

With the opening of the Civil war Thomas Colthron enlisted in a Missouri regiment and served his full term in the service of his country. At the conclusion of his term of enlistment he was honorably discharged and returned to his home in Pike county, where he once more took up the old familiar rounds of daily life on his farm in Calumet township. As a citizen for many years of Pike county, he has occupied a place of prominence and has always ranked high in the es- teem and trust of his fellow men. He is of Democratic persuasion, and has always been more or less inter- ested in the political activities of his district. In 1900 he retired from active business, and since that time has spent his time variously with his children.

Granville Gibson Colthron spent his boyhood in the family home in Calumet township, and attended the village school. When he reached the age of nineteen .years he became engaged in farming on his own re- sponsibility, which occupation he followed for a few years. He became dissatisfied with the conditions there, and in 1883 when he was twenty-three years old he went to Billings, Montana, arriving there on May 3rd. For six months he was driver of the stage coach carrying the mail between Billings and Bull Mountain, in the employ of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Following this, he went to Bozeman, Montana, where he followed the care-free life of the "cowpuncher" for a period of ten years. It was then that he learned the ranch busi- ness in its smallest detail, while employed by the well- known Ranch 79 and the 3-V-Ranch. During these years he lived carefully, saving his wages and buying cattle of his own, and in 1894 he engaged in the butcher business with his father-in-law, Andrew J. Wilkinson, at Billings, Montana. This occupation held him for about two years after which he bought a ranch in Still- water and took up farming. The move was unsatisfac- torv, however, and he shortly returned to Billings after selling his ranch, and became actively engaged in the ice business. In the space of a year he changed his interests from the ice business to the livery trade. and he remained in that occupation for five years. Later he sold out the entire business and put the proceeds into a ranch of one hundred and seventy-five acres of farm- ing land seven miles from the city of Billings. He went into the business of breeding fancy horses and cattle, and thus far his efforts in that line have been rewarded with a very pleasurable degree of success. He has on his place about a hundred head of thor- oughbred horses of different strains, and a handsome herd of standard Hereford cattle in goodly numbers.

In addition, Mr. Colthron has' built himself a fine home in Billings where he lives with his family, the

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close proximity of his ranch making it possible for him to make his home in the city.

On February 16, 1892, Mr. Colthron was married to Miss Flora Wilkinson, who, like her husband, was born in Pike county, and who is a daughter of Andrew J. Wilkinson, with whom Mr. Colthron later engaged in the meat business in Montana.

Mr. and Mrs. Colthron are the parents of two chil- dren-a daughter, Helen, and a son, Thurston.

ALBERT BOURBONNIERE. Among the successful busi- ness careers in the commercial records of Montana, one that receives unequivocal recognition and admira- tion is that of the well-known wholesale and retail merchant of Anaconda, Albert Bourbonniere. One of the most prosperous men of the state and head of the Bourbonniere Wholesale and Retail Meat Company, he has made his success as the result of his own well -. directed efforts. He has been a business builder, has worked on substantial lines, and has attained a position of influence and esteem wherever known.

Born on a farm at St. Tysant, Canada, on the 29th of July, 1858, he had the advantages of the public schools up to the age of thirteen, and then went to work, following various occupations in Canada until he was twenty-five years of age. He then came west and for two years was a grocer's clerk in Butte, Mon- tana, during the following year was in the livery business for himself at Walkerville, and then returned to Butte and established a grocery business, which he con- ducted successfully until 1888. In February of that year, having sold his business in Butte, he established in Anaconda a wholesale meat concern, which was the beginning of the business which has been developed under his management to the present large and important establishment among Anaconda's largest mercantile houses. This is not the only enterprise to which he has given his time and energies since taking up his residence in Montana. He has been interested in mining, owning some valuable properties in the min- ing districts, and also has ranch lands and city real cstate. Along with material prosperity he has won many friends, and both in private life and business affairs enjoys a wholehearted esteem.

In politics a Republican, in the fall of 1910 he was called upon by his fellow citizens to serve a six years' term as county commissioner, an office in which he is giving efficient service to the people. In Masonry he has taken twelve degrees, and is also affiliated with the Elks. In earlier years he was much given to the sports afield.

Mr. Bourbonniere was the son of Demas and Vita- line (Morin) Bourbonniere, both natives of Canada. His father. now deceased, was a substantial farmer. and his mother still resides on the old home farm. Their children, besides Albert, were as follows: Louis, of North Adams, Massachusetts; Alexander, who is a farmer in Canada; Joseph, deceased, who was a prom- inent publisher at Fall River. Massachusetts ; Charles, also a resident of that city; Eulalia, now Mrs. Daud- lin, of Connecticut; Rose, the wife of Louis Elbert, of North Adams, Massachusetts : and Marian, married and a resident of Rockston Falls, Canada.

GEORGE W. HUSTED. By reason of more than 15 Husted is entitled to be named as the oldest druggist in Livingston, where he is also known as a man of the highest integrity and business probity, and a citi- zen who has ever had the welfare of his municipality at heart. Practically the whole of Mr. Husted's career has been spent in the line of endeavor in which he is now engaged, and his years of experience have made him thoroughly conversant with every branch of phar- maceutical work, thus assuring his patrons of expert attention. Mr. Husted is a native of Sauk Center, Stearns county, Minnesota, and was born April 21, 1865, a son of Wilson and Abigail ( Pease) Husted.

Wilson Husted was born in Steuben county, New York, in 1821, and there assisted his father in his farming and woolen mill operations. In 1852 he made his way to Blue Earth county, Minnesota, locating near the present site of Garden City, where he was a pioneer. Subsequently he removed to Douglas county, Minnesota, and while there enlisted in the First Minne- sota Volunteers to repulse the attacks of the hostile Indians. He was later at Fort Ripley, Kansas, under the command of General Sibley, and for a time was de- tailed to take horses north to recuperate after the close of the war. When his service was completed he re- turned to his Douglas county home, but in 1869 went to Pennsylvania, where he spent two years, then again locating in Douglas county, and there he died in the faith of the. Baptist church, in 1874. He was a stal- wart Republican in politics, but never held office. His wife, born in Porter county, Pennsylvania, in 1825, died in 1909, having been the mother of seven children, of whom George W. is the only survivor.

The early education of George W. Husted was se- cured in a log schoolhouse near his father's farm in Douglas county. He was but nine years of age when his father died, and as a youth started to learn the drug business in Alexandria, Minnesota. He was only eigh- teen years old when he first came to Livingston, and after he had worked for a time in a brickyard was able to send for his mother. In 1884 thev located on a tract of land three miles up the canyon from Living- ston, where they engaged in dairying and gardening, although a part of the youth's time was spent in work- ing in a drug store in Livingston. After about seven years Mr. Husted and his mother removed to the Crow Indian reservation, where they had a drove of cattle, but he still gave the greater part of his atten- tion to the drug business, having formed a partner- ship with Judge Bender in the spring of 1875, under the firm name of Bender & Husted. This association continued until July, 1895, when Mr. Husted purchased the interests of his partner, and since that time has carried on the business alone, thus being the oldest pharmacist in Livingston. He has a well-equipped, fully stocked establishment at No. 119 W. Park street, where may be found all articles usual to a first-class pharmacy. In the filling of prescriptions he has built up a large trade, his absolute accuracy having won the confidence of the people. Although the drug busi- ness demands the greater part of his time, he still engages to some extent in stock raising and has been successful in exhibitions of an agricultural nature. In his political views, Mr. Husted is Republican. He takes an active interest in fraternal work, and belongs . to Livingston Lodge No. 246, B. P. O. E., and Yellow- stone Lodge No. 10, K. P.

Mr. Husted was married March 24, 1894, to Miss Gertrude Lewellin, who was born at Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, daughter of Charles E. and Elizabeth (Henry) Lewellin. Her father, who is now deceased, came to Montana in 1889, and was associated with Marcus Daly in surveying the Aldredge mines. His widow survives him and resides in Livingston, being a well-known member of the Episcopal church, as are also her three daughters. Mr. and Mrs. Husted have two daughters: Wiletta G. and Mildred W.

ROBERT DAVIS ALTON, M. D., is a native of Carbon- dale, Pennsylvania, and was born February 9, 1860, a son of Davis and Helen Caroline (Williams) Alton. His father, a native of New York, and a graduate of Williams College, removed to Pennsylvania as a young man, and prior to the outbreak of the Civil war was engaged in railroad building in Kentucky. When hostilities began he joined the Union service, in the paymaster's department, and at the close of the struggle removed to Sandusky, Ohio, where he

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was engaged in the practice of his profession until his death in 1867. His wife, a native of Connecticut, survived him until 1884 and died at the age of fifty- four years. They had two children: Jesse W., who at the time of his death, when forty-four years old, was engaged in business in Cleveland, Ohio; and Robert Davis.

The early education of Robert D. Alton was secured in the schools of Burlington, New Jersey, and in 1882 he was graduated from the medical department of Wooster College, Cleveland, Ohio. Subsequently he took post-graduate work in Chicago and New York City, and in 1883 came to Livingston, Montana, where he has since been engaged in a general practice. He has a large and representative practice, and as a close and careful student has advanced in his profession along with the progress made in the science of medicine. He takes an active interest in the work of the Park County Medical Society, the Montana State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, of all of which he is a valued member, and has also shown himself an advocate of education by serving as a member of the school board. Fraternally, the doctor is connected with Livingston Lodge No. 32, A. F. & A. M., Livingston Chapter No. 7, R. A. M., and St. Bernard Commandery No. 6, K. T. His politics are those of the Republican party, but he has not cared to enter the public arena as an office seeker.

On February 15, 1888, Dr. Alton was married to Miss Anna Mintie, who was born in Wisconsin, daugh- ter of Fergus L. and Elinor (Russell) Mintie, natives of that state, the former of whom died at the age of sixty years, while the latter still survives and makes her home in Livingston. Mrs. Alton has one brother, Arthur. Mr. Mintie served as a lieutenant in a Con- necticut volunteer regiment during the Civil war, after the close of which he removed to Wisconsin and en- gaged in the lumber business. He subsequently fo !- lowed the same line in Kansas, and his career was finished at Oswego, Oregon. A prominent Republican, he represented his district in the Oregon legislature, and was also well known in Masonry, having reached the Shriner degree. Dr. and Mrs. Alton have had one son : Robert M., who is now a law student in the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor.

COLONEL FRANCIS M. MALONE. With an unblemished record for integrity in his business dealings, and hold- ing prestige as a veteran of the Civil war, Colonel Francis M. Malone, of Miles City, is one of those whose names are indelibly associated with the progress of Montana since the commencement of its phenome- nal development in recent years. Colonel Malone was born at Toronto, Vermilion county, Indiana, July 31, 1838, and is a son of William L. and Nancy (Winn) Malone. His father was a native of Center county, Pennsylvania, where he was born in 1803, and when a young man removed to Health township, Vermil- ion county, Indiana, where he took up government land and spent the remainder of his life, dying in May, 1878. Mrs. Malone, mother of the Colonel, was born at Zanesville, Stark county, Ohio, and died at the age of thirty-five years, having been the mother of a large family, Francis M. being the second in or- der of birth.

Colonel Malone spent his boyhood days under the parental roof, attending the district schools in winter and working on the home farm in summer until he was eighteen years of age, at which time he went to Moweaqua, Shelby county, Illinois, and secured em- ployment as a farm hand. There, on August 12, 1861, he enlisted in a company which tendered its services to Governor Yates, but the quota then being full, it was sent with three companies from Chicago and one from Bureau county, Illinois, to Quincy, where it was enrolled and mustered into the service of what

was then the First Kansas Cavalry, afterwards changed into the Seventh Kansas, known as the John Brown, Jr., Regiment, Captain Brown, of Ashtabula, Ohio, commanding a company in the regiment. Subse- quently the company was ordered to Fort Leaven- worth, Kansas, and there the regiment was organized as the First Kansas Cavalry, Colonel Malone being mustered in as captain of Company F, September 14, 1861. The regiment took part in the campaign along the borders of Missouri, and in the early part of 1862 was ordered to Shiloh, but its destination was subse- quently changed to Columbus, Kentucky. It partici- pated in the opening of the railroad to Corinth, Mis- sissippi, reporting to General Rosecrans, and being assigned to a brigade commanded by Colonel Philip Sheridan. The organization was in many hard-fought battles with the Sixteenth Army Corps, commanded by General A. J. Smith. They re-enlisted as veterans November 19, 1864, being the first regiment in the brigade in Mississippi granted a furlough to return honie, and from Fort Leavenworth the regiment was ordered to St. Louis. From there it was sent to re- port to General Canby at New Orleans, but was taken off the boats at Memphis, Tennessee, and ordered to report to General A. J. Smith, being subsequently sent out against General Forest after participating with General Smith in many of the engagements he was in. Captain Malone was promoted to the rank of major, August 12, 1863, and was made lieutenant- colonel November 17, 1864. He was commissioned colonel of the regiment by Governor Crawford, but not having the required number of men could . not muster in. After the close of the Civil war he par- ticipated in Indian engagements and was permanent post commander at Fort Carney, Nebraska. but was ordered to Fort Leavenworth, and was there mus- tered out September 29, 1865, with his regiment. Dur- ing the battle of Shiloh, Colonel Malone fought with the Thirty-second Illinois, being on detached duty at that time, and he was also with his own regiment in all of its battles, which included: Litttle Blue, Santa Fe, Independence, Columbus, Kossuth, Rienzi, Bald- win, Inka, Corinth, Ruckersville, Jumpertown. Cold- water, Holly Springs, Oxford, Germantown, Coldwater Station, Salisbury, Leighton, Tupelo, Florence, Swal- low's Bluff, Harrisburg, Byhalia, Wyatt, Memphis, Ripley, King's Creek, Lafayette, New Albany, Ellis- town, Tallahatchee River, and Hurricane Creek. The regiment, which belonged to Washburn's Division of the Sixteenth Army Corps, lost fifty-eight killed and 115 from disease. During the engagement at Wy- att, Mississippi, the Union forces were fighting des- perately against odds, but were handicapped by be- ing subjected to a withering fire from a block house occupied on the left by the Confederates. Colonel Malone, at that time major, informed General Phil- lips that with five hundred men he believed he could take the Confederate position, and after a brave and gallant charge at ten o'clock at night this was ac- complished. While riding near the fort, however, Major Malone's horse fell backwards into a deep well, pulling him with it, and it was not until after the battle had finished that he was discovered, badly injured. His men succeeded in drawing him out of the well with ropes, a matter of some forty feet. The horse, however, was left to its fate. Colonel Malone's army record entitles him to the respect and esteem of all who appreciate the great service ren- dered by the heroes of the war between the states. A brave and gallant soldier, ever ready to lead his men into the thickest of the fight and never asking them to go where he would not himself venture, he won the admiration of the ranks and the esteem of his fellow officers.

After being mustered out of the service, Colonel Malone engaged for a time in railroad contracting in

Gal and Mr. F. M. Malone

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Illinois, and subsequently identified himself with lead mining in Kansas and near Joplin, Missouri. During 1878 and 1879 he was in the gold and silver fields of Leadville, Colorado, then returning to Indianapolis, Indiana, and engaging in the live stock commission business. Subsequently he was employed by the Chi- cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad as traveling freight agent, with headquarters at Indianapolis, and in 1883 came to Miles City, Montana, as representative of the company's live stock department. He was later made general agent for this road to cover all the territory to Puget Sound and Seattle, Washington, with headquarters in Helena, Montana, a capacity in which he served until being retired on half pay, in March, 1907. The following year he was retired with-

out pay. Colonel Malone has been extensively en- gaged in the sheep business for a number of years, and at the present time is a member of the firm of Malone & Thomas. At the time the battleship Maine . was sunk in Havana Harbor, he offered his services to the United States by wiring to the Hon. Thomas H: Carter, United States senator from Montana at that time, and on April 1, 1898, received a compli- mentary reply in which the senator stated he would take pleasure in transmitting the message to the Secretary of War. A stanch Republican in his politi- cal proclivities, Colonel Malone was a state commis- sioner to erect the State Insane Asylum at Anna, Il- linois, and the State Normal School at Carbondale, Illinois; was presidential elector from Montana in 1892, and a delegate from the state to the Republi- can convention at Chicago in 1908. He is a member of Pana Lodge, No. 226, A. F. & A. M., Pana, Illi- nois; Pana Chapter, No. 115, R. A. M .; Miles Com- mandery, No. 11, K. T., Miles City; and Algeria Tem- ple, A. A. O. N. M. S., Helena. He also belongs to the Military Order of Loyal Legions of the United States, Commandery of the State of Minnesota, St. Paul; and is a member of Miles City Lodge, No. 537, B. P. O. E.

On March 8, 1860, Colonel Malone was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Casey, who was born at Moweaqua, Shelby county, Illinois, daughter of Levi and Sarah Casey. Mr. Casey, whose birth oc- curred at Vanburensburg, near Vandalia, was the first white child born in Bond county, Illinois, and the greater part of his life was spent in agricultural pur- suits in the Prairie state, where he died at the age of seventy years. Elizabeth was the oldest of five chil- dren. On March 8, 1910, Colonel and Mrs. Malone celebrated their golden wedding at Wibaux Hall, Miles City, when they were the recipients of many handsome presents from their numerous friends in the city. As to the personal worth of Colonel Ma- lone, it may be said that no man's character, in this respect, will stand a severer scrutiny, for in all the transactions of life his conduct is marked by the most scrupulous integrity, and he guards his honor with that sensitive care which has ever kept it far above suspicion.

THOMAS JEFFERSON PORTER. One of the representa- tive members of the Montana legal profession, who has been a resident of Miles City for more than a quarter of a century, is Thomas Jefferson Porter, whose long and useful career has been characterized by his con- nection with many important cases in litigation. He is a native of the Buckeye state, having been born No- vember 17, 1858, near Gallipolis, Gallia county, Ohio, and is a son of James V. and Mary A. (Leaper) Por- ter.

James V. Porter, also a native of Ohio, passed his life in farming and stock growing. Clinton Porter, the paternal great-grandfather of Thomas J., went from the north of Ireland to England, and from thence, dur- ing the Revolutionary war, came to America in com-

pany with his brothers. They left the English port as stowaways in pork barrels, coming to this country be- cause they sympathized with the colonists in their at- tempt to throw off the yoke of British oppression, but while on the trip across the ocean they were discovered and one of the brothers was pressed into the service of the English navy. He was able to desert, however, and joined his brothers in giving aid to the American patriots. The family were shipbuilders by vocation, and after immigrating to Marietta, Ohio, built two small vessels for Aaron Burr and Harman Blenner- hassett, with which they started down the Ohio river, the great-grandfather of Mr. Porter losing his life on this trip, while attempting to pass over the falls of the Ohio. He is buried in Louisville, Kentucky. The other boat was delivered to Colonel Burr, and it is a matter of record that this traitor to his country's cause never made payment for the vessel. The great-grandfather of Mr. Porter left two sons: Thomas J., the grand- father of our subject; and James D., who was known as the "Kentucky Giant," and resided at Louisville. The mother of Mr. Porter was born in Steubenville, Ohio, a daughter of John L. Leaper, who was a steam- boat captain up to the time of the Civil war, when he entered the Union army as captain of the Seventh Ohio Cavalry, serving under Generals Hayes, Garfield and Mckinley, and being mustered out as colonel of his regiment. James V. and Mary A. (Leaper) Porter had eight children, of whom Thomas Jefferson was the eldest.

The early education of Thomas J. Porter was secured in the public schools, and this was supplemented by a three years' attendance at the State Normal School, Lebanon. In the fall of 1876 he engaged in teaching, a profession which he followed for three years in Ohio, and then returned to the normal school and completed the prescribed course, graduating with the class of 1882. His success as an educator resulted in his soon becoming superintendent of the public schools of Jack- son, Tennessee, and there he organized and perfected a methodical and properly graded school system and also conducted the first summer normal school of Tennessee. After continuing at Jackson for two years he returned to Lebanon, Ohio, and taught two years. For some time he had desired to enter the field of law, and with this end in view had spent all of his leisure hours in careful study, being well prepared to enter the offices of John E. Smith, a prominent attorney of Lebanon, with whom he continued until the fall of 1886. He was then admitted to the bar of the state, and during the same year came to Montana as principal of the Miles City schools, bringing with him a letter of introduction from President Mckinley to ex-Gov- ernor Potts, who had for twelve years been the incum- bent of the gubernatorial office in the territory of Mon- tana. At the end of his second year at Miles City, Mr. Porter resigned the superintendency of the schools and entered into a professional partnership with Judge J. W. Strevell, this alliance continuing for many years, during which the associates built up a large and profit- able clientele.

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A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 120

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