A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 24

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

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Having brought with him a carefully selected stock of merchandise for miners, Mr. Jordan came in July of the year mentioned to Alder Gulch, where he started a store. As the venture proved to be less successful than he had expected, he took property at Fish Creek, where he entered upon the activities of dairying and the raising of stock. For thirty-two years he continued this work, the latter part of that time being devoted chiefly to the stock-raising features of his business. In 1898 he disposed of his Fish Creek holdings and removed to Pleasant Valley where, in a beautiful modern residence, he continued to reside throughout his remain- ing years.

Although retired Mr. Jordan was by no means inactive. The many accessory interests of his life did not cease to engage his thought. For the last thirty-five or forty years of his life he was a notary public and also for many years a school trustee. He was always a hard worker and an influential member of the Democratic party, which he ably served at different times during his more active years. Both in 1866 and in 1872 he was a member of the territorial legislature of Montana; and in 1874 he was chairman of the Board of County Com- missioners of Jefferson county.

Mr. Jordan was active and highly honored in his con -. nection with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he had passed all chairs; and with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, in which order he was advanced in the year 1850 to the Royal Arch degree. In 1871 he organized and became the first master of the Silver Star Lodge, at Silver Star, Montana. That lodge was later merged with the Mystic Tie Lodge at White- hall, and of that organization he remained a member until the close of his life. He was senior grand steward of the Grand Lodge in 1872, grand warden in 1873 and deputy grand master in 1885.

The companion of Mr. Jordan's mature life was Cathe- rine Tuttle Jordan, a native of Mansfield, Ohio, where she was born on February 14, 1836, and a daughter of David Tuttle, of Long Island, New York, and Lucinda (Cornwall) Tuttle, of Canada. Mrs. Jordan's father had in his childhood removed with his father from New York to Ohio, had gone later to Indiana and still later to Iowa. In the last-named state they lived for a con- siderable time and eventually accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Jordan to Montana. The marriage of Catherine Tuttle

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and Harrison Jordan had taken place on November 28, 1850, and in the succeeding years they became the par- ents of six children, all of whom they creditably reared to years of maturity. These sons and daughters, each of whom is creditably established in life, are as follows : Celeste Grace, Mrs. William Wesley McCall of White- hall; Violet Josephine, Mrs. Reese Wampler of Gold- field, Nevada; Perneca Etta, Mrs. Arthur Phelps of Whitehall; Ida Isabel, Mrs. F. A. Riggin, of Barr, Val- ley county, Montana; Rev. Walter Marion Jordan, of whom somewhat extended account is given below; and Jasper O. Jordan, who is a rancher on the homestead in Pleasant Valley. The family of Harrison Jordan and his wife also includes a number of grandchildren and one great-grandchild, born during their lives. On November 28, 1900, they celebrated their golden wed- ding, at which a goodly number of their descendants were present.

The family of Harrison Jordan have been eminently connected with the Christian church, with which denom- ination Mr. Jordan became connected at the age of nineteen, while at Yrsa, Illinois. In Montana he was a prime mover in and charter member of the church established at Fish Creek. He also aided in founding the church at Whitehall and for many years gave earnest and efficient service as an elder. He was active and prominent in the Montana Society of Pioneers of which he was a typical member.

On April 29, 1903, Mrs. Jordan, a woman of rare saintliness, passed to the other life, which in antici- pation had for her such a vivid reality; and on October 2, 1910, Harrison Jordan, who had so fearlessly faced many earthly adventures, who had frankly and heartily met the world, who had so loyally kept as his standard the highest spiritual ideal-he, the pioneer of rough and primitive countries, entered a new country and a new home of divine perfection and eternal satisfaction.

HENRY M. PARCHEN. No man living in the state to- day is more thoroughly identified with its history and progress than is Henry M. Parchen. For nearly half a century he has lived in Montana, and has seen it grow from a sparsely settled mining and stock-growing re- gion to the proud position of a flourishing and progres- sive state, possessing all of the advantages enjoyed by the oldest settled regions of the United States. In the growth and upward march of the state Mr. Parchen has been a recognized force in advancing all that was good and enduring in commerce and government. Possessing high ideals and an integrity that is unbending, he has always maintained a position that has a decided ten- dency to foster and to elevate the standards of com- mercial affairs in his own community. His prescience and unfaltering belief in the ultimate destiny of Mon- tana as a great commonwealth enabled him to so shape his affairs that he was sure to prosper as the state prospered and grew in population. He occupies today an enviable position in the business and social life of the city of Helena, and may feel justly proud of the fact that he was one of the citizens who laid the foun- dation stones, broad and deep, and aided in directing its course toward civic righteousness and honor.

Mr. Parchen is of German descent and was born in Prussia, June 13, 1839, the son of George and Mary Parchen. The father and grandfather were prosperous citizens of the community in which they lived, and fol- lowed the business of millers and were owners of grist mills. In 1848 the parents were imbued with the spirit of unrest that was prevalent among their countrymen at that time and determined to seek their fortune in a new land. They chose America as the object of their destination and settled in Townline, near Buffalo, where they lived until 1861. They then removed to Richard- son county, Nebraska, where the father purchased a farm and took up the life of a practical farmer, at which he continued until his death, in 1895. Of the four

children born to George and Mary Parchen, the young- est was Henry M. He remained with his parents until he was fourteen years of age and attended the common schools and then took a thorough business course in the Bryant and Stratton Business College at Buffalo, New York. On leaving school he was employed as a clerk at Townline until 1857, when he removed to Marshall county, Indiana, remaining there until 1858, when he went to Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1862 he deter- mined to try his fortune in the gold fields of Colorado and went to Denver, which was then but a small, in- significant town, but which possessed a live and hust- ling population. The times were exciting and many thrilling incidents occurred during the residence of Mr. Parchen in that city. He secured a position as bookkeeper in the Planter's House, one of the leading hotels of the town, and remained there until the follow- ing spring, when he assumed charge of the Massasoit House at Central City, which he conducted for some time. In 1864 the gold fields of Montana were produc- ing an immense amount of yellow metal and Mr. Par- chen, having acquired a taste for the life and activity of the mining camps, and with a view to bettering his fortunes, started for Montana, and, arriving in Virginia City, was employed as a bookkeeper in the mercantile house of Erfurt, Busch & Company for about one year. He then joined Dr. Wernigk and Louis Keysser, and the three proceeded to Helena and established a drug and grocery store. Later on the firm was changed to Parchen & Paynter, the new partner in the concern be- ing W. S. Paynter. The business prospered exceedingly in the hands of the new firm and was greatly extended by the establishment of branch houses in Deer Lodge and other important points. The business of the firm was conducted on a large scale, both wholesale and re- tail, and became one of the recognized substantial and growing institutions of the territory. In 1874 the in- terest of Paynter was acquired by purchase and Mr. Parchen became the owner. The business has since been conducted in the firm name of H. M. Parchen & Company. By this consolidation Mr. Parchen became the leading retail and wholesale dealer in drugs in the northwest and this position he has maintained until the present day, greatly extending and amplifying his busi- ness as time and the conditions of the trade warranted. By his established reputation for integrity in all his dealings he has reached the acme of success in the business and financial world and his present wholesale and retail establishment in Helena will compare favor- ably with similar concerns in any city of the world. The Parchen Drug Company is the name of the firm at the present time, and is composed of Henry M. Parchen and his two sons, Henry G. and Albert D., and Adele M. Parchen, his daughter. Their business is carried on in a fine three-story brick building on the corner of Main street and Broadway, and they own and occupy in addition to this fireproof warehouses on Broadway and Jackson streets. They are also the manu- facturers of pharmaceutical preparations and standard remedies and have a wide and increasing demand for these products. Their goods are distributed in all parts of Montana, Idaho, Washington and Wyoming.

Mr. Parchen has always been identified with every movement looking to the progress of his city and state and its steady advance and development has been largely due to his influence and exertions. It was due to the influence of Mr. Parchen and his five associates, that the three branch railroads connecting Helena with surrounding mining camps were built by the Northern Pacific Railway Company and which have proved so beneficial to the miners and to the commercial growth and expansion of the business of Helena. He is pres- ident of the Penn Yan Mining Company, whose prop- erty is located near Wickes, Jefferson county. He is interested largely in mines and is a heavy realty holder in and about Helena. He has been foremost in the or-

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HISTORY OF MONTANA

ganization of many industrial enterprises of a public nature in this part of the state that have had a direct and lasting benefit. As one of the founders of the Helena Board of Trade he was honored by being named as its first president and its usefulness was greatly en- hanced by his untiring and unflagging efforts, until today the Helena Commercial Club, a direct descendant of the former organization, is regarded as one of the strongest and most useful of the kind in the northwest for the promotion of the general welfare. He is also interested in stock growing on a large scale and is the owner of a vast tract of land in Cascade county, on which are ranged herds of cattle and sheep, he being part owner of the Cascade Land Company.

In early life he was affiliated with the Democratic party and voted for Stephen A. Douglas for the pres- idency in 1860, but since the second election of Lincoln he has been a staunch and consistent adherent to the principles of the Republican party and has been hon- ored by the party by election to positions of honor and trust. For three years he was county commissioner of Lewis and Clarke county and was a member of the Twelfth legislative assembly. Fraternally Mr. Parchen is prominently identified with the Masonic order, both the York and Scottish Rite, and for thirty-nine years has served as grand treasurer of the Grand Lodge of Montana. He is also a member of the Montana Club.

In 1872 Mr. Parchen was united in marriage to Miss Emma D'Achuel, a descendant of one of the old French families of St. Louis, where she was born. She is a gracious, very intelligent and progressive woman and is held in the highest esteem by a large acquaintance both in and out of the state of Montana. Mr. and Mrs. Parchen have four children who share with them their beautiful home, which is one of the most elegant in the city, surrounded with spacious grounds and adorned with shrubbery and shade trees. It is a home where hospitality is dispensed with lavish hand and where friends and visitors are entertained in a manner fitting and appropriate to the surroundings. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Parchen are Adele M., Henry G., Albert D'A. and Ruehling A.

Mr. Parchen has earned a vacation from his arduous duties, carried on for half a century, but is still as active as ever, although he can now relax to a great extent, knowing that his business affairs are in the hands of his sons, who are the brightest and most ca- pable of young men, and have been carefully educated and trained to carry on the great enterprises established by their father. Several years ago Mr. Parchen de- termined to pay a visit to his native land, and, accom- panied hy his wife, son and daughter, returned to the place of his birth in Prussia. There they were agree- ably surprised and pleased to find a number of rela- tives, who were delighted at their visit and took every pains to make their stay most agreeable. They ex- tended their trip around the world, taking in all the great seaports and cities, returning to their home in Helena possessed with a vivid and pleasant memory of many lands, many peoples and many cities.

JOSIAH FRANCIS BECK, one of the earliest settlers of Butte and one of its best known citizens and largest property holders, was born in Indiana, Indiana county, Pennsylvania, on December 16, 1834. He was of Ger- man ancestry, the German rendering of the family name being von Beck. His father, William Beck, was a pros- perous farmer of Indiana county, and the Becks were among the earliest settlers in that section of the state. His mother, Elizabeth Rowe, was likewise descended from an old Pennsylvania family.

Frank Beck, as he was better known to his friends in Butte, was reared to farm work and received his early education in the district schools of his native vil- lage. He later took an academic course and a special business course at Duff's Business College in Pittsburg,

and was graduated from that school in 1856. It may be stated here that the young man made his business edu- cation in this college possible by teaching school for a number of terms, beginning when he was but sixteen years old. From 1858 to 1861 he taught in Kentucky, it being his intention then to follow the law or medi- cine. It was more by accident than design that he arrived at Pike's Peak in 1861, he being in St. Louis on a visit when he met his only brother, Daniel R., who was then preparing to go to Colorado. Mr. Beck joined his brother's party and they went up the river to Nebraska City, there joining a wagon train to Denver, making the trip in twenty-six days. Denver at that time consisted of but a few streets, a number of fron- tier hotels and scattering stores. Soon afterward the party moved on to Central City and Russell Gulch, then the best camps in Colorado. Mr. Beck stopped there a few weeks, where he occupied himself at min- ing and was later employed at various other camps, continuing in prospecting until the summer of 1863. He then went to Denver and was employed as night clerk in a hotel there. In the fall of that year a fire occurred in the hotel with which he was identified, and he barely escaped with his life, and after that expe- rience he decided to return to the east for a visit. In the spring of 1864 he outfitted at Omaha, and with two yoke of oxen and a huge wagon loaded with a supply of sugar, bacon and flour, he made his way safely back to his old camps in Colorado, selling his provisions on the way for fabulous prices. About this time news of the gold strike in Alder Gulch was made public and Mr. Beck immediately set out for Virginia City, reaching there on June 11, 1864. With E. H. Lockwood he bought a claim at the upper end of the gulch, which they worked with profit. In December of that year he came to Butte and spent the winter at work upon some claims his brother had located there during the pre- vious summer, and in the summer following he and Thomas Hall worked at dry digging, hauling the dirt to the creek with whatever means they had at their disposal, and at the end of three months, when the water failed them, they had cleaned up the tidy sum of better than $5,000.

Silver Bow was then the county seat of the larger Deer Lodge county, and Mr. Beck being one of the best penmen in the vicinity, he was made deputy clerk and recorder, an office which he held for several years. When the county seat was removed to Deer Lodge city in 1865, Mr. Beck went along. But the continued con- finement of office work was displeasing to a man of his nature and in 1866 he resigned his position and returned to Butte. That year the Highland Gulch excitement came up, and, as before, Mr. Beck was among the first on the ground. His claims did not prove inordinately rich, and when he finally gave up prospecting there he found himself in debt. Thereafter he traveled to other points in the state, but in 1874 came back to Butte and worked for a number of years at shaft building and other carpenter work. As much of his savings as he could spare from his work he invested in local real estate, which grew in value enormously, rendering him a wealthy man at the time of his death.

When Butte organized a city government Mr. Beck was elected the first marshal, and at the same time Henry Jacobs was chosen mayor and Charles S. War- ren, police judge. Later Mr. Beck held such positions as deputy sheriff, deputy county treasurer and city treasurer, always taking an active and intelligent it- terest in local and state politics. Eventually, however, he gave up office holding in order that he might de- vote his time more fully to his real estate interests.

Mr. Beck was a Democrat all his life. He main- tained no set religious views, but he was a generous contributor to all sects and liberally supported all charitable enterprises and movements for the communal welfare. He was never known to withhold his hearty

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John F. Jebay

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HISTORY OF MONTANA

influence and splendid financial support from any worthy cause. In all his dealings he acted the part of a con- scientious and upright man, and none was held in higher repute than he. His kind and genial disposition made him an amiable companion and a friend whom all were proud to claim.

Fraternally Mr. Beck was affiliated with various as- sociations. He was a charter member of Red Mountain Lodge, No. 12, of the Masons, organized in 1869, and he later joined Butte Lodge, No. 22, of which he was the first master elected in 1877. He was also a charter member of Damon Lodge, Knights of Pythias. He was a member of the Society of Mountain Pioneers, and for years was president of the Rod and Gun Club of Butte. He was particularly fond of dogs, of which he owned several valuable ones at all times, and found great pleasure in hunting and fishing, all outdoor life appealing to him as a true lover of nature.

Mr. Beck died in Butte on April 28, 1909, and is buried in Mount Moriah cemetery.

JOHN F. TEBAY. The late John F. Tebay, a success- ful and well-known citizen and stock-grower of Jeffer- son county, was a Montana pioneer of marked pros- perity. He came to this state from Illinois, his native state, but was a representative of English families. William Tebay and Mary Furthergole, his parents, were both born in England, both came early to America and settled in Kendall county, Illinois, where they were mar- ried at the little town of Bristol. William Tebay be- came a farmer in that vicinity and was otherwise en- gaged during his lifetime in mercantile business in Chi- cago, while that city was yet young. He conducted a store on Dearborn street, just across the river on the north side. He died in the Illinois metropolis in 1849, and his burial place was a plot of ground in the section that has since become Lincoln Park. Mary Further- gole Tebay lived until 1884, spending her later days in Montgomery, Illinois. They were highly regarded at a time and in a locality which ranked character as the true aristocracy.

John F. Tebay, the son of William Tebay, and Mary, his wife, was born in Oswego, Illinois, on the ninth day of October, 1840. In the public schools of that place he received his education and as a boy assisted his father with his different enterprises. When he was nineteen years of age he attempted to find a fortune at Pike's Peak, but being unsuccessful, returned home after three months. He did not, however, give up the idea of financially finding himself in the west. Five years later, in 1864, he ventured forth upon an overland trip, with a horse-team, to Montana. When he reached Fort Kearney, Nebraska, he found it advisable to wait until a train of teams could be formed in order to in- sure protection from the Indians during the remainder of the journey. He was obliged to remain at the fort for two weeks, by the end of which time seventy-five wagons had arrived. Forming a train, all started toward Salt Lake City, which they reached without experienc- ing any excitement from Indian attacks, although trains preceding and following them were caused not a little trouble of a serious nature. From Salt Lake they pro- ceeded to respective points in Montana. Mr. Tebay's objective point being Virginia City, which he reached on September 10, 1864. Not long afterward he removed to Jefferson Island, in Jefferson county, where he took pre-emption and homestead claims, later a part of his ranch property, which at the time of his death com- prised 1,600 acres. In establishing this ranch Mr. Te- bay made dairying his major enterprise. During the first winter of his residence and business at Jefferson Island he sold butter at $3.00 a pound; it then dropped to $1.50; remaining stationary for four or five years, and when finally the rate dropped to $1.00 per pound Mr. Tebay discontinued dairying and specialized in cattle- raising. From 1875 to 1880 he pastured 1,400 head of

cattle on the Musselshell river, later selling the entire herd.

At the time of initiating his cattle business Mr. Tebay had gone east by steamboat from Fort Benton in the autumn of 1867; in the spring of the following year he had returned with sixteen horses and a load of freight. From that time he steadily continued his stock- growing, usually wintering from 500 to 1,000 head of cattle and from 300 to 500 horses. At the time of his death he owned this extensive ranch of 1,600 acres, another of 320 acres near Whitehall, valuable farm property in Franklin county, Iowa, real estate in the city of Helena and holdings of a similar kind in Mont- gomery, Illinois. In Whitehall he also owned two large brick business buildings and a number of dwellings. The fine brick residence which was the family home- stead at the original ranch, together with the other buildings surrounding it, indicated the progressive spirit of the owner of that property, for it was counted one of the best in the county.

Mrs. John F. Tebay was one of two daughters of Joseph and Lucina (Young) Hager, of New York. Alice Hager was born February 22, 1849, in Kendall county, Illinois, and her marriage to Mr. Tebay oc- curred on August 5, 1880. Mr. and Mrs. Tebay be- came the parents of three children, all of whom were reared to maturity. James Boyd Tebay is engaged in ranching near Whitehall. Miss Kate Tebay'became Mrs. John V. Huffman, of Whitehall, and is the mother of one daughter, Alice Huffman. Miss Claire became Mrs. John M. Crow, whose husband has taken charge of the Tebay homestead estate near Whitehall. Mr. and Mrs. Crow are the parents of one son, John Franklin Crow.

John Tebay, the creator of the prosperity outlined above and the progenitor of the family he has left to enjoy it, closed his earthly activities on February 9, 1903, and was buried at Whitehall. Mrs. Tebay, who with his son and daughters survives the husband and father, is residing near Whitehall. :

JOSEPH HAINDS. Success has been worthily attained by Joseph Hainds, who is today accounted one of the most prosperous and influential citizens of the Beaver- head valley. To his energy, enterprise, careful manage- ment and keen discernment his present station in life is attributed. For many years he followed ranching in this county, but retired in 1908 and is now free to enjoy in leisure the fruits of his former industry and thrift. Mr. Hainds is one of the Montana pioneers-a stock impossible to surpass in courage, integrity and ability, not even by the Pilgrim fathers, and today he enjoys not merely the respect, confidence and good will of an entire community, but also its affection, as one of that fine company who paved the way for lat- ter day prosperity and good government, and in all the years has fostered it.

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A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 24

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