A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 131

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

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Klingten Shakin

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comparatively early age of sixty-tliree, in 1904, deprived Montana and Missoula of one of their representative men. He married Miss Olive Pickering, a native of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, born December 12, 1854. Her family came from England in 1635 and settled in New Hampshire, from where they have sent many distinguished soldiers and scholars into various parts of the country. Mrs. Rankin is still living in Missoula. Six daughters and one son were born to her and her husband, all living except the second daughter, who was born in 1883 and lived but nine years. The girls were all educated at the Montana State University, and then they were sent east to finish their studies at Wellesley, and so reap the benefit of the older environ- ment of which their mother is a native. Harriet Rankin is the wife of Oscar Stedman, but the other daughters live with their mother. Edna Rankin will graduate from Wellesley in 1913. The names of the others are Jeanette, Mary and Grace.

Wellington D. Rankin was born in Missoula on Sep- tember 16, 1884. He received his elementary instruc- tion in the Missoula schools, and upon graduation from the high school entered the Montana State Uni- versity. In 1903 he graduated with the degree of B. S. He, too, was sent to the eastern states to take further training, and spent two years in Harvard University, from which he received his A. B. in 1905. After this he had a year in the University of Oxford, and received further training in literature and philosophy. Mr. Rankin entered the Harvard Law School on his return from England and took a three years' course in that institution, graduating in 1909.

He then returned to Montana as his eastern sojourn had not impaired his fondness for his native place but had rather made him more appreciative of its unusual opportunities. For two years he worked for the law firm of Walsh and Nolan, but on April I, 19II, he began to practice independently in Helena, and · took a suite of offices in the Gold Block. From the first he has been remarkably successful. During his second year in the law school he was admitted to prac- tice in all courts by taking the bar examination of Massachusetts. He is a member of the county and state bar associations, besides belonging to the national or- ganization. In his political views he is a Progressive and in the campaign of 1912 was chairman of the county committee. He is not a member of any secret orders, but he does belong to the Montana Club. He is inter- ested in mining and owns several mines, both coal and gold producing.

On March 2, 1910, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Rankin and Miss Elizabeth Wallace, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Wallace of Helena.

FREDERICK BUBSER. Prominent among the Broad- water county officials who have won a record for long, faithful and efficient public service is Frederick Bubser, of Townsend, for the past fourteen years clerk of the district court of the ninth judicial district, and again elected in 1912. A native of Illinois, he was born, December 25, 1863. in Rockford, Winnebago county, coming on both sides of the house of German ances- try.

His father, the late Christian Bubser, was born and educated in Germany, immigrating to the United States as a young man, he chose Illinois as liis place ot loca- tion, and was there a resident until his death, in 1901. He married Fernandina Albert, who was born in Ger- many and died in Rockford, Illinois. Eleven children were born to them. as follows: Albert, of Chicago, Illi- nois; Elizabeth, wife of Simon Ploegher, of Rockford, Illinois ; Louis B., a plumber in Rockford; Frederick, the subject of this brief biographical sketch; Joseph, who died at Anaconda, Montana, in 1901; Lillian, wife of Frank Schicker, of Beloit, Wisconsin ; Caroline, deceased wife of John Enderle, of Rockford, Illinois; Edward C.,

a carriage manufacturer in Rockford, Illinois; George J., a plumber in Rockford, Illinois, and owner of the Rockford baseball team of the Illinois and Wisconsin League; Frank C., a bookkeeper and accountant at Be- loit, Wisconsin; and Mary, who died in infancy.

Completing his early education in the Rockford, Illi- nois high school, Frederick Bubser worked with his fa- ther for four years, obtaining a practical knowledge of the lumber trade. On attaining his majority, he left home, and having formed a favorable opinion of the future development of Montana came directly to this state in search of a business opening. Locating at White Sulphur Springs, he was there employed as a clerk until the spring of 1888. Transferring his residence in that year to Townsend, Broadwater county, Mr. Bubser continued here as a clerk for five years, when, in 1893, he launched into business on his own account, becom- ing proprietor of the Commercial Hotel. He managed it successfully until the coming of the panic, when he closed out, and accepted a position as a hotel clerk. In 1898 Mr. Bubser was elected, on the Democratic ticket, as clerk of the district court of the ninth judicial dis- trict of Broadwater county, an office which he has since filled continuously, having been re-elected each term by a good majority of the votes polled. Fraternally he is an active member of the Woodmen of the World, in which he has held all the offices.

Mr. Bubser is a baseball enthusiast, and is fond of fishing and hunting. He is a member of the Anglers Club, which has for its principal object the stocking of the streams of Broadwater county, and the preserv- ing of game fish, the club in its first year having placed one hundred thousand fish in the streams and lakes.

CHARLES H. MARSH was born in Gallatin county, Kentucky, on the twenty-seventh day of February, 1861. He is the son of William B. Marsh, who was born and bred in Kentucky although in his veins ran the best blood of old Virginia. The breeding of the Virginian together with the determination of the Ken- tuckian gave to him and his descendants a legacy that nothing can take from them and that keeps them for- ever moving onward. Money he never had, but he left to his son something much more worth while, the abil- ity to win both wealth and prominence for himself. The parents of William Marsh had moved from Vir- ginia to Kentucky in the pioneer days of that fair state. When his son was eleven years of age he moved his own little family to Missouri. At that time, railroads were scarce and money scarcer so they made the jour- ney by wagon leaving in the mind of the growing boy a realistic memory of the prairie schooner and the long rocky trail. They settled at Independence where the father procured a farm which he tended in person until he reached the ripe old age of eighty-two. His wife was to him, always, a perfect helpmate-an ideal pioneer mother. She was Miss Maria Hilton of Litch- field, Illinois. When a small child, her parents took her to St. Louis. The next year there broke out that most dread epidemic, cholera. It carried away both parents leaving the little girl helpless and penniless. An uncle in Kentucky took her and reared her as his own. It was here that she met and married her husband. From the first the pioneer life was to her liking. She lived to be eighty-two, passing away in 1908, six years after the death of her husband.

The son, Charles H., attended the public schools of Kentucky and Missouri and later the Kansas City Commercial College of Kansas City, Missouri. In 1884, he left home for the first time, going to Helena, Montana. He started out to do for himself, having neither money, experience nor prospects but the west was on the lookout for ambitious young men. He accepted gladly, the first work offered him-on the ranch. in the Prickly Pear valley. A few months later he heard of great prospects about the placer mines and

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moved on to Jefferson county. Here he drove a four horse team hauling charcoal, but work meant money and money life. He was not above putting his hand to any respectable labor that offered itself. In 1884, he entered the employ of the Northern Pacific Railway. At first he was engine watcher. He remained with the company for fifteen years during which time he became fireman and then engineer, running an engine for twelve years. Even now he retains his membership in the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.

In February of 1911, after he had been running an engine for several years and had found that he might make for himself a home, he returned to Missouri and married the girl for whom he had gone forth to make good. This young lady was May Douglas of Buckner, the daughter of James Douglas, one of the best known citizens of those parts. Mr. Douglas was a soldier of the Confederacy during the late war, and was, at one time, severely wounded. He had joined in the rush for gold in forty-nine, like most of the rest, reaching the far west a trifle too late. On his return he had married Henrietta Dickson of Virginia, who became the mother of May Douglas.

Mr. Marsh took his young bride back to Missoula where, during several years, he had been boarding when off the road. Here they made for themselves a permanent home. In November of the same year there was born to them a daughter whom they called Hilda Frances. In '93 came the son, Walton, named for a brother of Mr. Marsh, and in January, 1910, was born their youngest boy, Douglas, who bears his mother's maiden name.

With the coming of the little ones the father's desire to leave the road increased. He longed to be so situated that more of his time might be devoted to his family. In 1899 he had purchased a half interest in the business of Hays & Haverfield, livery and under- taking. In September of 1901 he purchased the re- maining half, owned at that time by Mr. Hays, and took into partnership with him, his brother, Mr. Wal- ton Marsh. In 1903, he purchased his brother's interest in the business and managed it alone until the son became of sufficient age to aid him. In 1908, he sold the livery business and has since devoted himself en- tirely to the undertaking department. At present, he operates the largest business of this nature in the city of Missoula.

In 1904, he was elected coroner for his county and is now serving his fourth term. Although an active Re- publican in his political persuasion he has seemed to all parties the most fitting person for this position.

He is an active Mason and a member of the Shrine, a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, F. O. E., and Royal Highlanders.

A little more than a quarter of a century ago, Charles H. Marsh came to Montana, alone, without influence and penniless. At the present time, he is at the head of one of the thriving business concerns of the city, is popular in political and lodge circles and is in a position to give to his children most of those opportunities that he so longed for during his own youth. Opportunity knocked at his door, perhaps, but she did not knock loudly nor more than once. Even so he must have heard.

ALBERT F. FURSTNOW. Probably no business man in Miles City has brought the name of that city before a greater number of people than has Albert F. Furst- now, more intimately known, perhaps, as "Al," whose saddles and horse furnishings are well known all over the world, he having been engaged to fit out expedi- tions of various kinds, and in every instance demon- strating the superior quality of his product. Mr. Furstnow is one of the most progressive and enter- prising citizens of Miles City, one who has prospered

in business and has earned success by his natural abil- ity, sagacity and well-established reputation for in- tegrity and honorable dealing. He was born in Fond du Lac, Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, February 22, 1862, and is a son of Charles A. and Albertine L. (Colby) Furstnow, whose father held a prominent of- ficial position in Germany for many years.

Charles A. Furstnow was born in the province of Brandenburg, Germany, on February 28, 1826, and in his native country was a close friend and neighbor of Carl Schurz. After the latter had participated in the the revolutionary movements in the Palatinate and at Baden, in the early part of 1849 and had been forced to flee to Switzerland to escape arrest, Mr. Furstnow accompanied him and came to the United States in 1852. Mr. Schurz locating at Madison, Wisconsin, while Mr. Furstnow settled at Fond du Lac, being there engaged in the saddlery business, a trade which he had learned in his native country. He continued to be so engaged until 1896, when he formed a partner- ship with his son, August H., under the firm name of Charles A. Furstnow & Son, and engaged in the manufacture of jewelry, in which he continued until his death, on November 28, 1910. He was a member of the Evangelical church, was a prominent Odd Fel- low and had other fraternal connections, and in his political inclinations was a Democrat until the elec- tion of President Cleveland, when he became a Re- publican. He was married to Albertine L. Colby, who was born in the city of Berlin, Germany, on De- cember 24, 1837, and she passed away December 24, 1906, having been the mother of five children, as fol- lows: Charles A., born in 1853, who lost his life in a railroad accident on June 26, 1870; Emma, the wife of Charles Lucke, of Chicago; Albert F., of this re- view; August H., engaged in the jewelry business at Fond du Lac; and Herman, president of the Furstnow Ring Company, manufacturing jewelers of that city. ,

Albert F. Furstnow was educated in the public schools of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and there learned the trade of a saddler with his father, with whom he continued until 1887. In that year he went to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he continued to work at his trade for about a year, and then traveled on to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he entered the employ of G. H. and J. S. Collins and was eventually promoted to the posi- tion of foreman of their business establishment.

In 1884 he first came to Miles City, Montana, to enter the employ of E. Gottlich, with whom he con- tinued for some time, and here he made the first fine flower-stamped saddle manufactured in Miles City, for Lord Sidney Padgett and Leight Remington, of the Remington Arms Company. Discontinuing his connection with the Gottlich establishment, Mr. Furst- now re-entered the service of G. H. and J. S. Collins, becoming foreman of their shops at Omaha, Nebraska, and while in their employ outfitted Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show for the Paris Exposition. After spending another year at Cheyenne, Mr. Furstnow went to San Francisco, but in 1892 returned to Miles City, and until 1894 was connected with the Robbins & Lenoir Saddle Company. That year marked his venturing into busines on his own responsibility, in which he has since continued. He is the designer and manu- facturer of the original Al Furstnow Saddles, which are known for their excellence and beauty in this and other countries. He has stock saddles to order and carries a full line of up-to-date horse furnishings of every variety. His large and perfectly equipped es- tablishment is located in his own building at No. 506-08 Main street. This fine two-story double brick build- ing he built for his own use in the business. It is one of the fine buildings of the city, and has a solid plate glass front for show purposes, and in his windows is displayed the finest exhibition of saddlery, harness and leather trappings that will be found in the state of

FURST NOW

AL. FURSTNOW'S SADDLERY.

At Firstnow Miles City Mont

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Montana. His products, especially the Al Furstnow saddles, are used throughout the civilized world, es- pecially in the western states and in old Mexico, and many shipments go to foreign countries, their export trade being particularly heavy. Mr. Furstnow also carries a complete stock of imported bags of all kinds, and in his stock may be found the latest designs in wardrobe trunks. No city in the United States has a better or more costly assortment of leather goods of every description, and his display of these goods would do credit to any establishment of the kind in the country. The building is equipped with the latest machinery and appurtenances known to the trade, and they are in every way prepared to turn out the finest of work. Mr. Furstnow employs none but the most skilled artisans, and this fact, combined with the ex- cellence of the raw material used in his shops, assures the purchasers of the best possible products.

Mr. Furstnow is a Republican, and his fraternal re- lations are represented by his membership in the Miles City Lodge, No. 537, B. P. O. E., and Crusader Lodge, No. 7, Knights of Pythias, in both of which he is prominent and popular.

On December 20, 1885, he was united in marriage with Miss Ida J. Sexmith, who was born in Belle- ville, Ontario, daughter of John and Susan (Valon) Sexmith. The father, who was a lumber merchant in Fond du Lac for many years, died at the age of eighty-two years, while the latter passed away at the age of sixty-five. They had twelve children, of which number Mrs. Furstnow was the youngest. To Mr. and Mrs. Furstnow three children have been born: Edna, Alta and Charles. The second daughter, Alta, is deceased, having passed away at the age of twenty- three years.

COL. JAMES A. McGOWAN. Many men have had the memory of their lives and work perpetuated in monuments of stone or bronze, and these will endure for many years, but think of the glory of leaving behind one a monument that one has himself erected, a monument that has been one's life work, and one which will result in the happiness of many people for many generations. No, this is not a great university, or a church, or a library, but a town. Such is the monument that stands to the memory of Col. James A. McGowan, the founder and developer of the town of Plains, Montana. This thriving town owes its very existence to him, and every progressive step that has been taken in the life of the town has been taken at the behest of Colonel McGowan. He was ambi- tious, a shrewd business man, far-seeing, confident of the future of the country, the very spirit of progress, and since his motto was "Every dollar that I make here I will reinvest in Plains," the growth and development of the town is not to be wondered at. In all of his business dealings, perhaps his most striking character- istic, was not his keen insight into the hearts of the men with whom he was negotiating, or the magnitude of the plans which evolved themselves in his brain, but his honorable and honest methods. The very presence of such a man in the business world is a benediction. The object lesson which he offered, of an honest man steadily gaining in wealth and power, was of inestimable benefit, not only in encouraging young men just starting out in life, to turn aside from the tempting places that would lead them out of the straight path of honor, but also in giving to those men who were successful, but who had won their success by wandering from the straight and narrow path, an impulse to turn away from the pleasant places and try again the road that had seemed so hard to their weak feet. To accomplish such a work as this is enough for any man, but the good that he did can not be described in detail and in the space of this brief sketch, it is impossible to pay him the trib- . Vol. II-28

ute which he deserves without being suspected of adulation.

James Alexander McGowan was born in Malone, Franklin county, New York, on the 5th of March, 1852. He was a son of a farmer, James McGowan, who like so many others was not permitted to die in peace on the farm, but met his death on the battle- field. fighting for the preservation of the Union. He served throughout the greater part of the war, being killed at Fort Blakely, on the 5th of April, 1865. His wife's maiden name was Mary Annie Rogers, and she survived her husband many years, dying in 1898. Colonel McGowan's elementary education was ob- tained in the public schools of New York state, and his higher education was had in the Wesleyan Semi- nary at Eau Claire, Wisconsin, from which institu- tion he was graduated in 1868. Upon leaving school he entered a lumber office, and inside of three years had acquired a pretty general knowledge of the ways of the business world. He then determined to start out for himself.

He saw that the contracting business not only offered opportunities in itself, but that it offered a chance to see the great west, which he had come to believe held vast possibilities. He therefore came west with the building of the Northern Pacific railway. It was while he was a contractor that he first came to Mon- tana, having in hand a large contract through the extreme western part of the state. He was success- ful in this task, but when the road was built across the state, he had become so interested in the future of the country, and so infatuated with its possibilities, that he decided to remain, and therefore settled at Plains, Montana. This little town was at that time what S. M. Fox would call "deliciously frantic," for it was the outfitting center for the Coeur d'Alene mining district, and was one of the booming towns of the west. Mr. McGowan, however did not care for Thompson. He did not settle at Thompson Falls, but at Plains. He did, however, buy some property at Thompson Falls, and in 1884 he moved to "Wild Horse Plains" valley. Here he opened up a tiny store, one of the first in the section. This modest establishment was on the site of the handsome brick structure that houses the big department store of the McGowan Commercial Company, which is one of the finest stores of its kind in the west. When he first became a merchant, his stock of goods could be placed in one wagon; now the ribbons and laces alone would make a good sized load. Colonel Mc- Gowan had only been there a short time, when the advantages of the place for a town site became plain to him. He now had one thought in his mind-to make a real town of Plains. His love for the place grew daily and his enthusiasm was so great that he influenced others with considerable ease to settle in the valley. He was not only interested in developing his business, but in developing the surrounding coun- try. He could now think of no other place where he would prefer to live, and from this time forth every- thing in which he had a hand was done with the expectation that in the future Plains would be a real town. No slipshod structures; everything was per- manent. He was the first man to turn a sod in the valley, and the first to raise a crop. He imported the first self-binder and threshing machine, and often remarked in later years: "The proudest moment of my life was on the day that I cut the first swath around my grain field with the self-binder. I was as proud as a king and much happier." His exam- ple inspired others to agricultural pursuits, and soon Colonel McGowan had a large colony gathered around him. With one idea, the future of Plains, he worked and toiled, facing defeat, opposition, and actual enmity, and triumphed over all. As the Plainsman says in this connection: "He was altogether respon-

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sible for its beginning; was the inspiration back of the development of its surrounding valleys, and in late years always did more than any other one man for every legitimate undertaking that was for the town's benefit."

In politics Colonel McGowan was a Republican, and when the progressive movement came into being he became very prominent in his advocacy of the move- ment. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the direct primary and of the direct election of senators. Al- though very active in politics, he did not care for the emoluments of office. The only public office that he ever held in Plains was that of justice of the peace, to which he was elected as the first magistrate of the town. He only held the office a short time, and refused to consider such honors afterwards. He was the leader in the effort to obtain the segregation of the western end of Missonla county, and the forma- tion of a new county. He fought for this measure through two sessions of the legislature, and finally won. There followed a contest for county seat, be- tween Plains and Thompson. The older town secured the honor, and the Colonel McGowan showed his broad- ness of mind by never ceasing in his efforts to advance the good of the county, as a whole, in spite of the fact, that he had just been in a furious struggle with a large number of people whom he was now seeking to benefit.

His generosity and charitableness were well known. He was not only willing to give to every individual who asked, but he gave liberally towards the erection of every church that has been built in Plains. Colonel McGowan married Delia Farmer, a daughter of James and Sarah Farmer. Her parents lived formerly in Ohio, moving to Wisconsin in pioneer days. Her father was a farmer, and was known throughout the country, for his ability as a walker. He thought nothing of walking to town, a distance of miles sev- eral times a day, much preferring this to riding. He served throughout the Civil war, fighting for the Stars and Stripes, and after the war returned home to spend fourteen years in peaceful pursuit of his agricultural life, dying there in 1879, at the age of sixty-seven. The mother died at the age of eighty- seven, and they lie side by side in the old Wisconsin graveyard.

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A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 131

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