A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 127

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

USA > Montana > A history of Montana, Volume II > Part 127

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Doctor and Mrs. Beatty were the parents of five children: Doctor Albert, the eldest son, who is men- tioned above; Mable, born on Cottonwood creek, in Fergus county, died at the age of six years; John M. is a wholesale cigar manufacturer at Stanford, Mon- tana; Charles H. and Juanita, are still in the parental home and are the youngest of the five. On August 24, 1906, the wife and mother died, since when the doctor married Lena W. Tuttle, the wife of Alex Tuttle, of the firm of Tuttle Brothers of Stanford, Montana, their marriage occurring on January 16, 1910, at Butte, Montana.

The Beatty family affiliate with the Presbyterian church, although the doctor is not a communicant ; he is a member of the Odd Fellows and Sisters of Rebekah Lodge, and in a political way is a Democrat, although he gives but little time to those matters. Work with his bees and fancy poultry constitutes his chief pastime.

He is the owner of a fine ranch, and he has come to be local authority on bee culture, devoting much time to their care.

The doctor has lived in a number of states, and traveled in many, but none of them, in his opinion, can compare with Montana, the chosen state of his adoption.

JOHN B. HERFORD. The citizens of any wide-awake community are usually not slow to recognize the worth and ability of a man, especially if his activities are devoted to the profession of law, and are ordina- rily quick to demonstrate their appreciation of his capacity by electing him to positions of trust and honor. Such has been the experience of John B. Her- ford, a well known attorney of Billings, who has in various public positions showed a conscientious re-

1268

HISTORY OF MONTANA

gard for the duties of his incumbencies that won the respect and esteem of his fellow men.

John B. Herford was born in England and came to the United States in 1875. In 1876 he went to New Mexico, where he handled stock for some time, and subsequently worked on the cattle ranges as a cow hand, in Nebraska, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. In 1883 he located in Montana as super- intendent for the New York Cattle Company, on the Musselshell, and while thus employed began to read law. Mr. Herford was admitted to the bar in 1891, and in 1892 was elected county attorney of Yellow- stone county, subsequently serving three terms as city attorney of Billings. In 1902 he was appointed sheriff of Yellowstone county to complete the unexpired term of James Webb, who was murdered. When the Span- ish-American war broke out Mr. Herford enlisted in Troop M of the Third United States Volunteer Cav- alry, with which he was connected until the cessation of hostilities.

Mr. Herford is a Democrat in politics, but he has numerous friends in the ranks of both organizations. He is a man of broad outlook on life and is thoroughly versed, not only in his profession, but also upon mat- ters of general interest, and he has done much for Billings and Yellowstone county as an official.

In 1886 Mr. Herford was united in marriage with Miss Susan Whitney, daughter of Col. L. Whitney, and three children have been born to them: Helen, Whitney and Brooke.

DAVID R. PEELER, the president of the Bank of Com- merce, of Kalispell, Montana, has proved to the satis- faction of the patrons of the bank and the general pub- lic as well that he is a man of splendid financial ability. He has lived in Montana for a number of years and during this time been connected with various enter- prises, in each of which he held a position of trust. He is a man who never sees an obstacle to any move that he wishes to make, because before the obstacle has had time to worry him, he has planned a way out of the difficulty. With an unusual amount of executive ability, he has carried out schemes that the average man would not even attempt. The bank of which he is now the chief executive is a new institution, and the skill with which Mr. Peeler has launched this new craft on the treacherous seas of finance, has won for him the plaudits, not only of his brother financiers, but also from the critical lips of business men, who always watch the career of a new bank with distrust.

David R. Peeler was born in Howard county, Mis- souri, on the 15th of June, 1853. His father was Alfred Peeler, who was likewise born in the state of Missouri. The grandparents of David Peeler were early settlers of Howard county, Missouri, having located there in 1817. Alfred Peeler was a prosperous farmer, and with the exception of the years which he gave to his country as a soldier during the Civil war, he spent all of his life in agricultural pursuits. He died in 1867 at the age of forty-five. He was married in Howard county, to Sally Williams, who was born in Kentucky, on the 24th of March, 1827. She is yet living, aged eighty-five, and to her union with Mr. Peeler seven children were born, David being the next to the eldest.

David Peeler was educated in the county schools of Howard county, Missouri, and in the State Normal School. At the age of twenty, he left school and during the following year, 1874, removed to California, and during his early residence in this state, attended the Heals Business College of San Francisco, from which he was graduated. He settled in Bridgeport in south- eastern California and there took up clerical work in the mercantile business. He was thus engaged for a period of nine years, and finally believing that he could better himself by a move, came to Montana. This was in 1883 and he soon obtained a position as superin-

tendent of the Drum Lumon mills at Marysville. .. He proved an able man for this difficult and responsible position, and remained in this connection for twelve years, being also personally interested in the mines and mills of this section. In 1896, in the summer he came to Kalispell, and became identified with the First National Bank of this city. He had been successful before but he now held a position in which his particu- lar gift was brought into full play. He was the or- ganizer of this bank, which was established in 1891, and was elected president. The prosperity of the bank in- creased from year to year during the twelve years that Mr. Peeler was its chief executive, and it was with much trepidation that the directors accepted his resig- nation, for he was apparently an indispensable official. He was already planning his next endeavor, which came to fruition in 1910 with the opening of the Bank of Commerce of Kalispell. This institution was the prod- uct of his brain, and he was the first president, having held the office from the 30th of June, 1910, the formal date of opening, up till the present day. In addition to his banking business, Mr. Peeler is a director and is deeply interested in the Lincoln Logging and Lum- ber Company, a thriving corporation of Fortune, Mon- tana.

The other officers of the Bank of Commerce beside Mr. Peeler are C. B. Roberts, vice-president and R. P. Austin, cashier. On the 20th of February, 1912, when the bank had been in existence only a little over a year and a half, the capital stock amounted to $100,000, the deposits to nearly $250,000, and the total resources to over $350,000.

Mr. Peeler has taken considerable interest in politics being a devoted adherent of the Democratic party. As president of the board of education for Flathead county, he has accomplished much for the younger generation of this county, and has devoted both his time and his. brains to seeing that the funds of the county be handled in the most economical and advantageous way. Recently in the election of April, 1912, the citizens of Kalispell have set their seal of approval upon him by electing him mayor of the city, for a term of two years, The honor of being appointed state commissioner for three exposi- tions, the Pan-American, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Portland, also fell to Mr. Peeler. In addition to his important interests in Kalispell, he also has large lumber interests in Lincoln county, and owns consider- able real estate.

Mr. Peeler was married at Salt Lake City, Utah, on the 24th of October, 1888, to Miss Mary J. Winston, the daughter of P. J. and Mary Winston. Mrs Peeler is a native of Nebraska, and she and her husband are the * parents of four children. The eldest of these, Sadie, is the wife of R. J. Bland, and lives in Kalispell, having been born in Marysville, Montana, in July, 1889. Lillian J. Peeler, who was born in Marysville, in 1891 is now in the bank, assisting her father. Alfred W., who is now a bookkeeper in the Bank of Commerce, was born in Marysville, on the 15th of June, 1894.' The youngest, David R. Peeler, Jr., was born in Kalis-' pell, on the IIth of April. 1904.

Mr. Peeler has earned his living since he was four- teen years old, and his life has been a steady advance from the beginning. Perhaps one of the most striking things about his career is the lack of envy that is felt towards him, sure proof that his money has been gained by honest methods and that he has deliberately trampled on no one in order to attain success.

JAMES O. PATTERSON. One of Fort Benton's wealthy ranch owners and notable public men, whose landed property consists of six thousand acres, is James O. Patterson, who came to Montana in 1883. The place of his nativity and youthful development was Mary- land, where he was born in Harford county in 1865. His father was of a Scotch-Irish family who settled

S. O. Patterson.

1269

HISTORY OF MONTANA

in Baltimore in the Revolutionary period and his mother of a French line, bearing the name of De La- Roche. Mr. Patterson's maternal grandfather, George Frank Frederick De LaRoche, was an aide of Marquis DeLafayette when that French noble came to this country to give his military assistance to the cause of American independence. Mr. Patterson has in his possession a walking stick which was at one time pre- sented to De LaRoche by General Lafayette. The mother of Mr. Patterson, Jane Belt (De LaRoche) Patterson, was born in Washington, in the District of Columbia. She was educated in the schools of Balti- more, Maryland, and South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and was graduated from the schools of the latter named place, after which she went abroad and studied art in Paris. In Mr. Patterson's home today are to be seen many of her paintings, and it is noteworthy that Mrs. Patterson was the recipient of several medals in rec- ognition of her ability and accomplishments. She was a member of the Charcoal Club of Philadelphia, and was always an active and earnest church worker and member, for years a member of the Altar Guild. James O. Patterson, the father of the subject, who bears the same given names, was a native of Baltimore. Both have died since their coming to Fort Benton in 1883. Eight children were born to them, one of whom died in infancy, and James O. Patterson was the sixth of that number.

The general education of Mr. Patterson which he received in the Baltimore public schools was supple- mented by a course in Knapp's Institute. At the age of eighteen he began life by coming west and enter- ing upon the arduous occupation which his father's ranch afforded. After three years of work, in which he acquired a generous fund of experience and infor- mation on the subject of ranching, he established him- self independently by going into the sheep raising business for himself. The ranch where this enterprise was carried on was located at Lost Lake and at the time he formed a partnership with T. C. Power & Brother, of Fort Benton. They continued in association for eleven years. In 1897 Mr. Patterson purchased the Powers interests and has ever since continued as chief executive. In 1906 the business was incorporated as the Lost Lake Live Stock Company. With James O. Pat- terson as its president and manager; Fred Thies, a nephew, as secretary and treasurer; and J. H. Patter- son, another nephew, as vice-president, the company is flourishing as one of the leading cattle companies of Montana. It was incorporated for $100,000. Mr. Pat- terson is also interested as a stockholder in the Fort Benton Opera House, and is interested financially in the Montana Life Insurance Company, which has its head- quarters at Helena. His ranching business still con- tinued to claim a goodly portion of his time and atten- tion and his herd is of choice Hereford stock, noted throughout the country. His cattle command the high- est figure at all times, many shipments going direct to Chicago for export. Mr. Patterson recently sold a right-of-way through one of his ranches to the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, who will soon run their line through and it is expected that a town will be reared on his property.

On February 16, 1898, Mr. Patterson and Carrie Hurst, a native of West Virginia and a daughter of John W. Hurst, were united in marriage. Five chil- dren were born to them, as follows: Shirley H., born January 28, 1899, and died on April 26, 1909; Katherine D.,,,born August 7, 1900, and died June 21, 1910; Eugene Carrie, born December 24, 1902, now attending the grammar school of Fort Benton; James O., Jr., born January 20, 1905, also in school; and Jane C., who was born on April 12, 1908, and died on April 11, 1909. The mother passed away on February 11, 1910, and is buried in' Riverside cemetery, in Fort Benton, where also are

buried her children and Mr. Patterson's parents and brother John.

James Patterson is a valued member and supporter of the Episcopal church, of which he is a member of the ' board of trustees. Politically he is independent, but has a deep interest in public affairs of a practical nature and has served his municipality as an alderman. He is, however, a home man, caring but little for out- side diversions. He is one of Fort Benton's most highly esteemed citizens and ranks high among the successful and respected ranch owners of Montana.

ALBERT J. INGRAHAM, after an experience of about ten years in the West devoted to various lines of work, principally mining, gave up the life to devote himself to farming in the Flathead valley. That his efforts were crowned with a pleasing measure of success can not be doubted, judging from the appearance of his . farm, located eight miles from Kalispell, in one of the most fertile spots in the valley. He has found his farm amply sufficient to occupy the best part of his time and attention, and lives in the prosperous content of the successful husbandman.

Mr. Ingraham was born in Will county, Illinois, on April 10, 1860, the son of Nathan and Ruth (Good- man) Ingraham. The father was a native Ohioan who . migrated to Illinois in 1846, and shared in the pioneer development of that great state. He was a civil engineer by profession, and was for years occu- pied as assistant chief engineer on the canal from Chicago on the Illinois river. He was a Civil war veteran and served in the Nineteenth Illinois Regi- ment attached to the staff of General Thomas in the engineering department. He died at his home in Will county, Illinois, at the age of eighty-seven years. The wife and mother, who was also a native of Ohio, died in Illinois. They were the parents of three children, Albert J. being the youngest of the family.

Up to the age of thirteen Albert J. Ingraham at- tended the country schools in Will county, but when he reached that age left home and from then until he was fifteen was a student in the schools of Cherokee county. In 1875 he removed from Kansas to Colorado, and his first occupation there was driving a mule team. He later worked in the mines, doing such work as a boy of his age might find, and thus continued for a number of years at one occupation and another. In 1883 he settled at Miles City, Montana, but remained there only a short time, removing to northern Idaho, where he engaged in placer mining on his own re- sponsibility. It was in the spring of 1884 that he determined to give his attention to agriculture. He accordingly took steps toward the securing of a home- stead in the Flathead valley, and located on a tract of land eight miles from Kalispell, where he has developed one of the fine agricultural properties of the valley.

Mr. Ingraham is a veteran of the Spanish-American war, having served in Company H, of the First Mon- tana Regiment in the Philippines. He was a sergeant and participated in twenty-three engagements. He was honorably discharged from the service on October 4, 1889. Mr. Ingraham has taken a prominent part in the public life of his county for years, and in Novem- ber, 1910, was elected to the office of sheriff, which he still holds. He is a Democrat and has always taken active participation in the affairs of the party in county, state and national politics, being a man of con- siderable weight and influence in the public life of his district. At present, Mr. Ingraham is president of the board of managers of the Soldiers' Home, and has been a member of the board for eleven years. He has also filled the office of school trustee for about four years. Fraternally, Mr. Ingraham is a member of the Odd Fellows, the Elks and the Modern Wood- men of America, and has passed through all chairs in

1270

HISTORY OF MONTANA

the Odd Fellows. He is a member of the Kalispell Club, also.

Mr. Ingraham was married in Kalispell on March 30, 1889, to Miss Carrie Ditty, the daughter of Wil- liam Ditty. They have one child,-Philip Ingraham, born May 30, 1890. The home of the family is main- tained at Kalispell.

JOHN R. BARTA AND WILLIAM F. BARTA. Especially worthy of note among the enterprising and popular residents of Butte are the Barta Brothers, leading repre- sentatives of the younger members of the legal pro- fession of the city, who are now in the full vigor of manhood's prime, and may well look forward to a long future career of usefulness, both in the sphere of pro- fessional activity and in the public and social affairs of life. John R. Barta is a native-born citizen, his birth having occurred in Butte, May 27, 1883, while William Barta was born July 31, 1885, in Kansas.

Their father, John A. Barta, was born and reared in Bohemia, his birth occurring April 20, 1846. The only member of his family to leave the Fatherland, he immigrated to America in 1866, a stalwart youth of twenty years, locating first in Iowa. In 1869, he journeyed to the wilds of Montana, a territory rich in mineral fields awaiting development, becoming a pio- neer settler of this part of the Union. He was here for many years variously employed, keeping a hotel, prospecting or mining, in either line of industry keep- ing in close touch with the more prominent men of the state, with many of whom he had an intimate acquaint- ance. He was for a number of years identified with the mining operations of Montana, and instituted one of the first mining suits brought into the courts. He moved from Helena to California, locating at Los Angeles, where his death occurred June 1, 1911. He married Nettie Nagues, who survived him, and is now living in Helena, Montana. Her great-grandfather on her mother's side, John Rule, emigrated from England to Wisconsin, and in the development of the mining in- terests of that state took a prominent part, being one of the leaders in that line of industry. Several of her uncles served as soldiers during the Civil war, and one of them being captured by the enemy on the battle- field was for a time confined in Libby prison. Four children were born of the union of John A. and Nettie Barta, namely: John R. and William, the subjects of this sketch; Clyde B., deceased, who was born in Ana- conda, Montana; and Benjamin, deceased, whose birth occurred in Boulder, Montana.

Thus far the lives of John R. Barta and William F. Barta have been very similar in many respects. Both obtained their elementary education in the schools of Butte, and both were graduated from the Helena, Mon- tana, high school, John R. receiving his diploma in 1900, and William the following year. Both attended the University of Michigan one year, and afterwards spent three years at the Detroit College of Law, in Detroit, Michigan. Returning then to Montana, the Barta Brothers opened a law office in Butte, and in the practice of their profession have met with well merited success, their patronage being extensive and lucrative. They were for a time unfortunate in busi- ness, losing heavily through speculations on the coast, but since returning to Butte have been exceedingly prosperous in their law business and transactions.

In their political affiliations the Barta Brothers are both stanch Republicans, active in party affairs, and as forceful and effective speakers are very influential in campaign work, stumping the state in favor of the party's candidate. In 1909 Mr. John R. Barta was assistant county attorney, and candidate for district judge on the Progressive ticket in 1912, and in 1908 was a candidate on the Republican ticket for county attorney of Broadwater county, and in Silver Bow county in 1912, but was defeated at the polls.

John R. Barta married Mav 25, 1907, in Seattle, Washington, Margaret Schindler, a daughter of John Schindler, who was born in New York City, and during his earlier life was there engaged in business as a hat manufacturer. Mrs. Barta was born in New York City, September 28, 1885, and was there educated. Mr. William F. Barta has not yet become a benedict.

JUDGE GEO. M. BOURQUIN, United States district judge for Montana, appointed thereto by President Taft, executed the oath and assumed the duties of the office on the 9th day of March, 1912. Judge Bourquin was born on the 24th day of June, 1863, on the banks of the Allegheny river, near Tidionte, Warren county, Pennsylvania. He is of French ancestry, his father, Justin Bourquin, having been born in Switzerland, and his mother, Celestine Bourquin, nee Ducray, born in France. In their youth they came to America, met and married in the United States and became the parents of ten children of whom George was the ninth.

Justin Bourquin was by vocation a blacksmith and farmer. As a boy Judge Bourquin attended the country schools of Warren and Crawford counties in Pennsyl- vania; at the age of seventeen he taught therein, and at eighteen, in 1881, he went to Aspen, Colorado, where several of his brothers had already. located. In that vicinity and at Leadville he was alternately engaged as cowboy, miner and smelterman, until in June, 1884, he came to Butte, Montana. He first worked in the silver mills at Walkerville, a suburb of Butte, then was employed as a hoisting engineer at various Butte mines. Republican in politics, in 1888 he was the can- didate of his party for the office of county clerk and recorder of Silver Bow county, but was defeated,- his first essay in politics. Active in the state campaign of that and the next year, in June, 1890, he was ap- pointed by President Harrison receiver of public money in the United States land office at Helena, Montana. This office he held four years.

Having commenced the study of law in 1889, in 1894 he was admitted to the bar of Montana, first practic- ing in Helena, and then, after 1899, in Butte. In 1904 he was elected judge of the district court of the state for Silver Bow county and served therein four years, then resumed law practice in Butte, in which he con- tinued until his appointment to the Federal bench, as before stated.

In 1891 Judge Bourquin was married to Miss Mary M. Ratigan, of Butte, Montana, and three sons have been born to them: George R., Marion M. and Justin J., all of whom are living. They reside in Butte, which city represents the official residence of the Judge. Of fraternal orders the Judge is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Woodmen of the World.

JOHN F. DERSHAM. One of the modern ranches of eastern Montana. which shows the adaptability of the section for the raising of cattle and sheep, is the Brock- ett creek ranch, situated twenty-two miles north of Terry, in Dawson county, the owner of which, John F. Dersham, is recognized as one of the progressive and enterprising stock-raisers and sheepmen of that part of the state. Like many of the successful men of the Treasure state, Mr. Dersham is a native of Iowa. hav- ing been born in Hardin county, September 5, 1859, a son of Henry and Barbara (Rickel) Dersham, natives of Pennsylvania.

The second in order of birth of a family of seven children, John F. Dershan grew to manhood on his father's farm, and received his education in the com- mon schools of his native vicinity. He was twenty- 'five years of age when he migrated to Montana, and for the next seven years was employed in bridge con- struction work and as brakesman in the passenger ser- vice of the Northern Pacific Railroad, then joining the United States Government surveyors in the south-

Pro. M. Bourquin.

1271

HISTORY OF MONTANA

ern part of Montana and northern Wyoming. In the fall of 1886 he located on Seven Mile creek, in Daw- son county, being for three years engaged in ranching there, and then went to Cedar creek and continued to follow the same vocation. Mr. Dersham came to his present property, Brockett creek ranch, twenty-two miles north of Terry, Montana, homesteading 160 acres and leasing a large additional tract, and he now has large numbers of cattle, horses and sheep, and in 1912 had over 6,000 of the latter. His ventures have been uniformly successful, industry, perseverance and in- tegrity in business matters having gained a just re- ward, and his standing among his business associates and the public at large is high.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 127

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