A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 133

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

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Dr. Daniel McH. Mckay was born in Marysville, Nodaway county, Missouri, the date of his nativity being November 24, 1875. He resided in that place until about nine years of age, when his parents came to Montana, arriving on March 4, 1884, and locating in Meagher county, where they were to make their permanent residence.

Dr. Mckay finished his public school education in the high school of White Sulphur Springs and then set out for St. Louis, where he attended the Marion Sims Medical College, and continued as a student there for four years. He graduated there in 1897 and re- ceived his degree. When it came to the point of begin- ning his career in the profession of his choice, Dr. Mckay returned to Montana and located in Carbon county, where he practiced for thirteen years. In 1910, he came to White Sulphur Springs and has taken his place among the representative citizens. He enjoys the confidence of the entire community; acute in his perceptions, widely read in his profession, and skilful in applying his acquirements to practical use, his value as a physician and surgeon is of the highest char- acter. He is by no means of the type which is content to let well enough alone and since leaving college has taken a number of post-graduate courses, which have materially widened his abilities.

Dr. Mckay earned his first money as a boy of about the age of sixteen, working on various Montana ranches during summer vacations. In identifying himself with his present profession he is following in the paternal .footsteps, his father, Dr. D. McH. Mckay, Sr., having practiced in Montana for many years. He was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia and is a graduate of the Col- lege of Physicians and Surgeons of Keokuk, Iowa. He resides at present at White Sulphur Springs. He mar- ried Hester Thoroughman in Missouri and the demise of this admirable lady occurred March 19, 1902, at the age of sixty-eight. There were but two children in the elder Mckay family. The subject's elder brother, Edgar T., resides in White Sulphur Springs and enjoys the esteem in which all the members of the family are held.

Dr. Mckay is a Democrat, having paid allegiance to the party of. Jefferson, Jackson and Bryan, since his earliest voting days. His professional duties, however, consumes so much of his time and strength, that the honors and emoluments of office have never appealed to him. He is a disciple of Izaak Walton and likes the kindred sport of hunting, but quite as highly esteems a quiet hour in his library in company with his favorite authors. Aside from his professional reference books, he has an excellent general library. He feels for the state which has so long been the scene of his activities a remarkable loyalty and will admit no drawbacks, his enthusiasm being of purer ray serene than that of the Englishman who sings,

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"With all thy faults I love thee still, My country."

Dr. Mckay was married in Carbon county, Montana, February 21, 1900, his chosen lady being Lucy J. Holt, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. O. Holt, of Boulder, among the pioneers. They share their attractive household with a quartet of interesting children, as follows: Hester A., Daniel McH., Jr., both at school; and Emmet H. and Marion C., who are not yet of years sufficient to attend school.

CHARLES H. CONNOR has been actively identified with the blacksmith and wagon making business since his boyhood, and for the most of the time has been en- gaged in independent business ventures in the line of his trade. He has been a resident of Montana since 1884, and of Chotean since 1893, in all of that time having conducted a thriving business in the carriage and wagon industry.

Mr. Connor was born in Morgan, Orleans county, Vermont, on February 19, 1852, and he is the son of Charles Chase Connor, native of New Hampshire. He also was a blacksmith and carriage maker as well as being a wheelwright, and he moved to Illinois in 1857, settling in Mount Pleasant, Brown county. He was an active Republican and in his religious views was a First Day Adventist. For four years he was postmaster of the Mount Pleasant office, and was in every way a prom- inent and highly respected citizen of his community. He died at his home in that place when he was sixty-nine years old. The mother was Electa (Bean) Connor, a Vermonter by birth. She died in September, 1884, aged fifty-two. She was the mother of six children, the sub- ject of this review being the first born. Two of the six died in infancy.

Until he was sixteen years of age Charles Connor at- tended the public schools of Mount Pleasant, but his education did not cease with that schooling, as he gave much time to evening study for a number of years there- after, and in various other ways continued his education. On leaving school his father taught him the wagon-mak- ing and wheelwright business, and after several years of work, was taken into the business as his father's part- ner. The establishment was then located at Clayton, Illinois, and was one of the largest concerns of its kind in that section of the country. He continued with his father in the business there for ten years, then sold his interest and removed to Bloomfield, Iowa, where he worked for Wallise & Langenstein for three years. He moved on to Montana, arriving in Helena on September 4, 1884. He made his home in Helena for nine years, seven years of that time being in the employ of the Weisenheim Carriage Company and two years with other concerns. He then moved to Choteau, his iden- tification with this place beginning on April 12, 1893, where after a space of six weeks in the employ of J. E. Webb, the pioneer wagon-maker of the place, Mr. Con- nor traded his Helena property for the business of Mr. Webb. It was a small one-story shop, 20x34 feet, and since he became the owner he has enlarged it consider- ably, the present shop being 50x120 in size, and a two- story structure. In addition to his smithing business, Mr. Connor engaged in the undertaking business in Cho- teau, in which he has been especially successful. He has established a branch of the business at Conrad, where he has a fine, up-to-date place, thriving under the efficient management of R. A. Eahrart.

Mr. Connor is serving his sixth year as coroner of the county, being last elected by a majority of 320. He is a Republican and takes an active part in the political affairs of the city and county. In addition to his other property holdings, Mr. Connor is the owner of a fine homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, where he raises horses to some extent.

Fraternally Mr. Connor is a member of the Independ-

ent Order of Odd Fellows, being affiliated with the order since 1872, and secretary of his lodge for nine consecutive years. He was a member of the Illinois State Guards for a year and a half before moving to Iowa. In his religious belief he is a member of the Christian church.

On May 5, 1889, Mr. Connor was united in marriage at Bozeman, Montana, to Miss Mary J. West, the daugh- ter of John West, a native of Tennessee. Two sons have been born to their union, Alden R., born in Helena on December 31, 1891, and Vivian S., born in Chotean, October 19, 1893.

JOHN R. TOOLE.

"His life was gentle; and the elements

So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up And say to all the world, 'This was a man!""

When he was 35 years old John R. Toole became a citizen of Montana. He was born July 3, 1849, in Aroostook county, Maine. The years of his boyhood and youth were passed in Madison, Wis. There he was educated and, at the age of 25, he started west- ward. In Utah he engaged in mining operations and, five years later, Idaho attracted him. He won an excellent name in the management of mining proper- ties and his association with men then engaged in large operations in Butte resulted in the transfer of his residence to Montana, and in 1884 Anaconda be- came his home. At once hie assumed charge there of important interests connected with the operations of the Anaconda Copper Mining Company. During sev- eral years he was a trusted specialist in the exploration of mining properties in Montana and elsewhere.

Mr. Toole's ability in an executive way firmly estab- lished him in the good will of those with whom he sustained business relations. He enjoyed the warm esteem and the complete confidence of Marcus Daly, then the central figure in Montana's mining operations. He rapidly took a place of influence in Anaconda and shared generously in the promotion of its municipal and civic affairs. He displayed tact and good judg- ment and a willingness to help every useful work; he served unselfishly in every good cause. His genial traits commended him to the good will of his towns- men. They placed the utmost confidence in his integ- rity, they listened cheerfully to his counsel; his per- sonal worth won their respect,

Mr. Toole took, during several years, an active share in politics. He served two terms in the territorial legislature; he was an influential member in the con- vention that framed the constitution of Montana. Un- der statehood he was a leader in three legislative ses- sions. During the excitement that marked Montana's early career in statehood Mr. Toole was conspicuously prominent in political and public affairs. He was recog- nized as an adroit organizer; he was an intrepid fighter; he put the courage of his convictions into every struggle, and he had the satisfaction of scoring an unusual number of successes. His singular good fortune is that, when the trouble ceased and Montana was at peace, there was cordial recognition, by those with whom he had clashed, of honorable methods and fair fighting. First and last, through it all, Mr. Toole had, in fact, no relish for politics or liking whatever for publicity or controversy. He was glad to escape from the arena of contention.

Several years ago Mr. Toole assumed the office and duties of president of the Big Blackfoot Milling Com- pany, which has vast business in connection with the operations of the Anaconda Copper Mining Company, centered at Missoula. During ten years he was presi- dent of the Daly Bank & Trust Company at Anaconda. He gave up the responsibilities of that office, but he continued to be an officer and stockholder in that bank. In recent years Mr. Toole also has engaged in rail-

John R Pool

Wah Lauterbach

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HISTORY OF MONTANA

road construction and has completed several large contracts.

Spite of the routine of large responsibilities, Mr. Toole finds in recent years more or less of leisure for the things that are most congenial for a man of his men- tal turn. Life's higher and better pursuits have an unfailing attraction for him. He is an industrious and a discerning student of the subjects that tend toward intellectual and spiritual uplift. Mentally of reflec- tive bent, he has a keen appreciation of that which is helpful and a fondness, in reading and study, for the things that mean infinitely more than mere material · well-being. He is blessed with the temperament of an optimist; he can take a broad view of matters relat- ing to mankind's good; he is willingly helpful; he is a delightful companion, a sturdy advocate of that which he believes to be right, a loyal friend, an upright, high-minded citizen, a genial gentleman whose impulses are right. In his beautiful home in Missoula are cen- tered his affections; in Montana is not found a more attractive fireside than his.

In 1882 Mr. Toole married Miss Anne Hardenbrook, a daughter of Dr. Allen Hardenbrook, long a high- ranking physician and one of Montana's pioneers, whose declining days are spent at his daughter's home. The family circle includes six children: Nora, the eldest of the number, is the wife of J. M. Clifton of Missoula ; Thula is the wife of George Weisel, of Missoula; Allen H. is a railroad contractor in Idaho; John How- ard is a student in the University of Virginia; Brice attends the Missoula high school, and John R., Jr., is a member of the parental household.

MAXMILIAN LAUTERBACH. Montana, like many of her sister states, claims innumerable men who have achieved honorable distinction in their chosen field of activity, carving out their fortunes with no other assets at their disposal than the splendid courage, determination and energy that was inherent within them. The case of Maxmilian Lauterbach is not, therefore, cited as an exceptional one, but as another pre-eminently worthy of mention among that long list of conquerors in the industrial and financial world. Such as he have made possible the phenomenal development which Montana and other western states have experienced in the past twenty years, and it is highly consistent with the spirit and purpose of this publication that specific tribute be paid to him in this work. From the day laborer Max Lauterbach has risen to the position of one of Mon- tana's leading stockmen, and his accomplishments along industrial and financial lines could not be recited with a minimum of words.

Maxmilian Lauterbach, familiarly known as "Max," was born in Bavaria on May 16, 1859, and is a son of Michael and Katherine (Grimm) Lauterbach. Up to the age of thirteen years the boy attended the public schools of his native country, the last two years of that time being spent in the home of relatives who took charge of him and sent him to school. When he was thirteen he was apprenticed to the baker's trade, and having completed the term of his apprenticeship worked for some time at the trade. He was employed in vari- ous German cities, in Munich among others, and his work in the bakery business occupied his attention un- til he was about twenty years old. It was then that the stirrings of ambition within him began to make them- selves felt, and the clarion call of opportunity which America has sent out to ambitious men since she has existed as a nation was all-sufficient to cause him to leave his home and native land, abandon the work he had continued in for years, and seek a better chance in America. Thus it was that Max Lauterbach found himself in the city of New York in 1879, on the 24th day of August, with the sum of three silver dollars in his pockets. He was a stranger. No words could am- plify that statement for one who has experienced the

weight of depression that attends the advent of the lone person into a new country, without a knowledge of the prevailing tongue, and without money-that open sesame to every door. But Max Lauterbach was not one to stand idly about in his discomfiture. His German blood and training came readily to the surface and he philosoph- ically set about making a living in his new surround- ings. In December, 1879, he enlisted for service in the United States military department of the regular army, and in the following spring was sent with his regi- ment to the Bad Lands of North Dakota, thence to Colorado, and still later to Idaho and Utah. While he was stationed at Idaho he was sent to a military school at Omaha, Nebraska, for seven months. Mr. Lauter- bach saw some service in North Dakota and Colorado, and when his term of enlistment expired, he was dis- charged from the regular service on December 7, 1884, coming to Montana in the same year and locating at Dillon in 1885.

After settling in Dillon, Mr. Lauterbach worked for the Oregon Short Line Railroad for some little time, for a wage of two dollars a day, and after a little was able to engage in the sheep and stock business in a small way, his savings from his military and railroad service making the venture possible. From then on his success was assured. His undertakings met with the most pronounced success, and he added to his holdings from time to time until at one period in his career he was the owner of as high as 8,300 acres of ranch land in Madison county, with flocks accordingly. He did not retain this acreage, however, and today his land hold- ings do not exceed 2.500 acres, but sufficient for his purpose. His principal ranches were, and are yet, lo- cated in Madison county. He has real estate inter- ests in many places in Madison and other counties, and altogether his property accumulations place him among the wealthy men of the county. All this has been accomplished since 1885, when he was working at a daily wage in Dillon.

Mr. Lauterbach early embraced the cause of the Re- publican party and has always been an ardent supporter of its principles until the campaign of 1912, when he gave his aid to the Progressive party, a fact which may be partly accounted for by reason of his great admira- tion for Theodore Roosevelt.

In 1884 Mr. Lauterbach was united in marriage with Mrs. Josephine (Gunderson) Fritz, a native daughter of Christiania, Norway. Mr. Lauterbach is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, but has no fra- ternal affiliations beyond those orders. He maintains a high place socially and in a business way in and about Dillon, and is everywhere regarded as one of the live and progressive men of the county, who has demon- strated the high order of his citizenship in manifold ways.

HARRY W. MILLARD. The late Harry W. Millard, for many years identified with the coal mining business of Montana, was a native of England. He came to America in his young manhood, locating in Montana, and was one of the first settlers in Belt. As a young man in England he had worked in the mines, and in Montana he saw an opportunity to become an inde- pendent miner. He accordingly preempted a forty-acre tract of coal land from the government, for which he paid the sum of twenty dollars per acre, and engaged in mining in a small way. His operations increased with the passing years, however. The present output of the property is about thirty-five tons daily. Mr. Millard died in 1911, leaving the management of his property to his sons. He was one of the prominent men of this section of the country, and in addition to his mining interests was engaged in the ranch busi- ness, his ranch at one time being represented by what is now the town site of Belt. He was a member of

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the Belt school board for years, and was in every way an estimable and valued citizen, his death proving a distinct loss to the community which had represented his home and the center of his business activities for so many years.

Mr. Millard married Margaret Atkinson, of Coal Valley, Rock Island county, Illinois, and they became the parents of eleven children, all of whom are living.

Henry W. Millard, the fifth born of that number, has been the manager of the business since 1900. He was born in Belt, Montana, on September 20, 1884, and was educated in the public schools of this town. His education was of a rather meagre order, however, as he left school in his sixteenth year, when he was a ninth-grade student. He immediately entered the busi- ness which his father had been engaged in for so many years, and soon became so proficient in his knowledge of details that he was made manager of the works, a position in which he has continued since then. Mr. Millard is identified fraternally with a num- ber of societies, among them being the Modern Wood- men of America. He is a member of the Belt Com- mercial Club and of the Episcopal church. He is a Republican, but takes no active part in the political affairs of the county.

Mr. Millard was married in Great Falls, Montana, to Miss Helen McHardie, the daughter of W. A. Mc- Hardie. Three children have been born to them: Ralph Leroy, Fern Minnie and Harry William.

Mr. Millard occupies a place of confidence and esteem in the community which represents the town of his nativity, and is a citizen of a high order, assuming at all times his share of the civic burdens, and proving himself in all things the worthy son of a worthy father.

DR. EDWARD A. LONG is a westerner by birth as he began his course in this sphere of existence at Renton, California, on February 17, 1874. He resided there until he was eight years of age when his parents decided to go back to the east. A two-year stay across the range convinced the elder Longs that they had the western habit and so they came to Montana in 1884 and have since that date made their home in the Treasure state.

Jacob S. Long was a Canadian, born in Hamilton, Ontario. He immigrated to the states when a young man and in La Salle, Illinois, met the young lady who became his wife. This was Miss Elizabeth Miles, known to the citizens of Lewistown, and Mrs. Elizabeth Long, as she has made her home with the doctor since the death of her husband in 1892. The only other member of the Long family is Arthur, now acting as assistant to Dr. Edward Long. The father settled in Butte City when he came to Montana and there engaged in mining until his death at the age of forty-five.

Edward Long received the most of his education in Butte. He secured his first salaried job there too. This was distributing papers for the Anaconda Standard, for which he was paid two and a half dollars a week. When he finished the public school work, Mr. Long began the study of dentistry and later set up an office of his own in Butte. After a few years there Doctor Long went to Neihart and began a tentative practice there. He decided that he did not care to locate there permanently and so came to Lewistown, where he has been for fourteen years. In this time he has built up one of the largest practices in this district and has es- tablished a reputation for expert work which is a just measure of his professional ability. He is counted one of the leading practitioners in the county and both as a citizen and a doctor stands in the company of the foremost.

In 1899 Doctor Long was united in marriage to Miss Mabel Lathrop of Lewistown. She is the daughter of Edward and Anna Lathrop of this city and a young woman fitted in all respects to preside over the doctor's home. Their only child, Miss Retha Long, is going to

school in Lewistown. Mrs. Long shares her husband's fondness for music at the theater as well as for reading. A fine library is one of the attractive features of their home, and the books are not merely articles of furni- ture, but bear evidence of frequent usage. Doctor Long particularly enjoys a base ball game although there is no sport of which he is not fond.

In church matters, both Doctor and Mrs. Long prefer the Catholic faith, although they are not members of that communion. The doctor belongs to the Elks and to the Red Men. He is not at all interested in politics for his profession is not one which invites participation in that interesting game, and his work is the main consideration with Doctor Long. His success has been of his own building and he worked without assistance. He has acquired a competence and attained eminence in his chosen calling and this while still in the ranks of the young men.

WILLIAM WALSH. Born in Jo Daviess county, Illinois, a region of mines, the State Mine Inspector of Mon- tana has literally spent his entire life in and around mines. His father, also William Walsh, was a native of Ireland, who came to America before his marriage and settled in Boston. From there he went to Illinois, and spent the greater part of his life at mining opera- tions, working in Illinois and Michigan, and also in the coal mines of Iowa. His religion was the Roman Catholic faith, in which his seven children were also brought up. He was a man who was interested in politics and public affairs. While living in Jo Daviess county he acted as county commissioner, was school trustee, and held a number of minor public offices. His politics were Democratic and he worked ardently for the success of his organization. At the age of seventy- seven he passed away at Maquoketa, Iowa, in the year 1879. His wife was Julia, daughter of James O'Brien, a native of Ireland, who came with her parents to America when she was sixteen years old. Her marriage to Mr. Walsh took place in Boston and she survived her husband eleven years. At the time of her death she was living in Butte with her son, William Walsh, the subject of this sketch.

The date of William, Junior's, birth was June 22, 1859. There were four in the family older than he and two were born later. He went to school in Galena, Illinois, completing both the common school course and that of the high school, graduating in the class of 1876. His first position as a wage earner was in the coal mines of La Salle, Illinois, and he began as a driver. He did not remain in the coal mines for a long time. but went into the lead district in northern Illinois. For thirty-five years he was a practical miner and in that period he acquired experience in every branch of work "in the ground." From Illinois with her coal and lead veins, he went to Michigan and there worked in the copper mines. Then he learned the ways of the iron mines of Wisconsin. Coming to the west, he worked in the silver mines of Colorado, and also in the lead mines in that state, then to Utah, another silver state. In Montana he worked in both the silver and the copper mines. while his experience as a gold miner was gained in Colorado, Idaho and Montana.

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A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 133

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