A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 45

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

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Becoming tired of this occupation, Mr. Neal turned his attention to stock raising, taking up a claim in the same vicinity. He remained there, meeting with fair success, until 1871, when he sold out his ranch property, and moved to Deer Lodge county, where he leased the Dance Ranch. He remained on this ranch three years, when he again took up mining in the section known as Squaw Gulch and worked there two seasons for wages, Next he returned to Deer Lodge county, where he leased the Bratton ranch, which prop- erty he conducted with good success until 1884. At that time he again sold out his ranch and moved to Anaconda. Always an active man, he identified himself with public affairs very soon after locating in the city. and served one term there as street commissioner, at the conclusion of which he moved to Granite county and opened . a general store and boarding house in 1885. This venture prospered and he remained with it five years. In 1890, an opportunity presenting itself for advantageous sale he disposed of his property, again located in the city of Anaconda and became interested in public matters. He was elected justice of the peace. which office he held four years. In 1908 he was elected assessor of Deer Lodge county, and now holds that office. .

Mr. Neal is a Republican, and active in party affairs, notwithstanding the fact that he fought valiantly in the Confederate army. He is a member of the National Union and one of its prominent officers. He owns a handsome home in the city of Anaconda, where he lives with his family and is the possessor of considerable other city real estate.

On August 9, 1868, Mr. Neal was married in Helena, Montana, to Miss Mary M. Pouquett. They have had four children. One son, A. H. Neal is assistant to his father in the assessor's office at Anaconda. Paul R. Neal, another son, is manager of the Atlas Mines in Granite county, Montana. Harry C. Neal, a third son, is clerk for the Atlas Mining Company. Edna, a

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daughter, is now Mrs. Lawrence McPherson, of Port- land, Oregon.

The parents of Henry S. Neal were Abner Neal and Mrs. Rose Elizabeth (White) Neal, of Maryland. Abner Neal was a lawyer of much prominence in Baltimore and Westminster. He was uncle to President Grover Cleveland. A sister of Abner Neal was the mother of Mr. Cleveland. Henry S. Neal enjoys the comforts of a pleasant and cultured home in Anaconda. He appreciates the honor accorded him by his fellow citi- zens, but his chief source of pride is the fact that he has been able to so successfully rear and educate his children, every one of whom has been an honor to their parents.

EDWARD BRASSEY has the distinction of being the oldest white resident of Lewistown. When he first came here there were only five white men in the place so he is able to speak with authority on the progress and development of this section. Moreover he taught the first school ever held in Fergus county and so has been identified with the educational work of the region from its very beginning.

Born in England on October 22, 1844, Mr. Brassey received the thorough and systematic training of the English public schools. His father was engaged in the lumber business and spent all his life in England. He died while on a visit to the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean when he was about seventy years old. His wife was Elizabeth Poyntz, who was born in 1827 and died fifty years later. Edward Brassey is the eldest of the three children of the family. At the age of twenty, Mr. Brassey came to America and spent three vears traveling about the country working at various occupations of a clerical nature. In 1867 he made the trip from Omaha to Montana and finished the journey without serious accident, although the party had many skirmishes with the Indians. Like most settlers of that period, Mr. Brassey had been attracted to Montana by the rich discoveries of gold and he took up his residence in one of the camps in the vicinity of Helena. The location he selected was Eldorado Bar and here he worked at mining in the summer and taught school in the winter. The presence of an Eng- lish public-school man in the raw mining camp was nothing short of a bonanza to the settlers who had brought their families and many a child received a grade of instruction out in the wilds, which was not afterwards equalled in the institutions of cultured and settled communities.

It was in 1881 that Mr. Brassey came to Fergus county. For a number of years he followed ranching along with his work as an educator. Later, as the county became more thickly settled he went into the land and insurance business. At present he is a prac- ticing land attorney besides representing several in- surance companies.

On Christmas eve of the year 1876, Mr. Brassey was married to Miss Lucinda Smith, daughter of John Smith of Eldorado Bar. The wedding was celebrated in Helena. They have two children, both of whom live in Lewistown. Lillian is the wife of James H. Charter and William E., makes his home with his par- ents.

Mr. Brassey is an active Republican Bull Moose and he has long been influential in the ranks of the party. He was public administrator of Fergus county, a member of the city council of Lewistown, register of the United States land office for eight years and is now justice of peace. In addition to these public offices, Mr. Brassey was at one time superintendent of the schools of Meagher county. In every place which he has filled, Mr. Brassey has discharged the duties of the position with characteristic fidelity and efficiency. He feels a proprietary interest in the town which he

has seen grow up from the very foundation and he is eloquent on the subject of its opportunities.

Mr. and Mrs. Brassey are members of the Episcopal church and Mrs. Brassey is one of the most devoted of its attendants. In the fraternal orders of Lewis- town, Mr. Brassey is affiliated with the Elks and with the Knights of Pythias. He has filled all the chairs in both these lodges. As is to be expected of one of Mr. Brassey's training lie is a great lover of books, and not less fond of music. Being an Englishman by birth and a Montanian by choice, he naturally takes kindly to the rod and the gun. Although he is Lewistown's oldest citizen his activities are by no means restricted to the traditional ones of the "oldest inhabitant." He does not spend his time in recounting the exploits of the past, for he is a representative Montanian, whose eyes are fixed upon the future and whose hands and heart are given unreservedly to the present.

JOHN M. EVANS, unlike most of the prominent citi- zens of Missoula, was not obliged to come west alone in his early boyhood to coax the smile of fortune. His father, Philip E. Evans, was a prominent farmer and stock raiser of Missouri, living most of his young manhood near Sedalia. He married Mary B. Powel of Virginia and together they started for the west, immediately after the close of the late war. Their first stopping place was Adler Gulch, Montana. Here they took up a claim which they farmed until the spring of 1870, when they moved to Deer Lodge, where they remained until the death of the father in 1889. He passed away at the early age of fifty-five years. Mrs. Philip Evans, his wife, still lives, a joy to her children, with whom she makes her home.

Thus the son, John M. Evans, the subject of this sketch, may almost be considered as a Montana prod- uct. During his boyhood, he attended the public schools of Deer Lodge and later obtained the appoint- ment to West Point. Here he remained for only one term as that seemed quite a sufficient length of time in which to convince him that the life of the army officer would never be to his liking. Even then, he seemed to realize that his calling in life was to mingle with his fellow men, to work toward the betterment of social and political conditions. On his return from his year at West Point, his parents desired that he should return to their native state for the completion of. his educa- tion. Hence, the following autumn, he left for Colum- bia, Missouri, to enter the state university situated at that place. He was graduated, in 1887, from the law department of this university and returned to, Mon- tana to begin the practice of his profession. For the first vear he practiced in Butte in the office of Judge W. H. DeWitt, but seeing an opening in Missoula and desiring to establish an office of his own, he made the change in 1888. The very next year he was chosen police judge, so soon was his ability recognized. This office he filled for five years and might have held for a much longer time had not President Cleveland, of whom Mr. Evans was always an ardent admirer, asked him to serve as registrar of deeds in the United States land office. At the close of the administration he resumed the practice of his profession, gathering utp without difficulty the loose threads of his practice.

When the first election was held in Missoula under the commission form of government the people were enthusiastic in their desire to place Mr. Evans as one of its heads. They knew that he would bend every effort to give their city a clean, fair and prosperous city government. This time, the people triumphed over all political machines and John M. Evans was elected from a field of eight candidates and by an immense majority. He is still serving in this capacity and although a loyal Democrat, he permits no party politics to enter into his decisions or to bias his judg- ments. In 1902 he was the candidate of the Demo-

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cratic party for congress, and in 1912, on November 5th, he was elected to the United States congress from Montana. For ten years he served his state as vice president of the state board of education.

Shortly after coming to Missoula, he was married, in Helena, Montana, to Miss Helena G. Hastings, a native daughter of sunny California. They are now the parents of two sturdy sons, Beverly P., and Philip C. Evans. These lads are enthusiastic little citizens of their state and their city-the sort of material that is building up a powerful west.

Mr. Evans is interested in a number of secret organ- izations. Although a member of the Masonic order, it is to the Knights of Pythias that he has devoted most of his time and service. For four years he was head of the order for the state of Montana and for eight years has been a delegate to the supreme lodge. Mr. Evans' chief interest at the present time, aside from his ambitions for his sons, seems to be to make Missoula a city that will stand among her peers for progress and clean government.

HON. THOMAS C. POWER. One of the most success- ful business men in the northwest and one whose con- structive ability and far-reaching enterprises are con- ducted on a gigantic scale, is the Hon. Thomas C. Power, of Helena, Montana. His influence in the up- building of the state has been conspicuous and never flagging from the time of his advent into Montana as a permanent resident in 1867. Three years before that time he had touched the eastern boundaries of the state and was from that time on identified with it as a whole- sale shipper of goods and merchandise from points in Nebraska.

Identified with the west from his early youth, Mr. Power has known its needs and been able in a large measure to supply them and not only that, but to map out a line of future activity and usefulness that would and did redound to his own credit and to the credit of the people and to the state at large. He had few advantages in early life, but made the most of those which were available, which, coupled with a will and a determination to excel in his particular line of endeavor, served to carry him to the highest pinnacle of success. He has been above all a leader in thought and action in all of the many indispensable things that were essential in establishing a great state of the Union, and his name is engraved on the scroll of fame in endurable work and achievement well conceived and nobly wrought that will benefit his fellow man for genera- tions.

Mr. Power was born in Dubuque, Iowa, May 22, 1839. His father, Michael W. Power, was born in Ireland, and his mother, who was Catherine McLeer before her mnar- riage, was born in Hagerstown, Maryland. Michael W. Power came to the United States when a boy and settled in Iowa, at that time one of the frontier districts, new and undeveloped, and in 1836 was married to Miss Mc- Leer in the village of Peru, a suburb of Dubuque. By occupation he was a farmer and also conducted mer- chandising for some years, besides engaging in lead mining. He was a true type of the industrious and en- terprising emigrant from the Emerald Isle and did his full share in introducing civilization into what is now one of the most prosperous states of the Union. He died near the site of his original settlement in the fiftieth year of his life. Mrs. Power survived her husband for years, reaching the age of seventy-five years before passing into the beyond. They were the parents of four children : John W .; Sarah E .; Mrs. T. L. Martin, of Helena ; and Thomas C. Power.

The childhood and youth of Mr. Power were passed on the farm in Iowa, and he being the eldest of the children his services were early requisitioned for farm work. In the country schools of those days he received the rudiments of an education and being of a studious

mind and a natural lover of books, he determined to supplement his early advantages in education with a term at college. He completed a three years' course in the Sissinawa Mound College in Wisconsin, during which he gave special attention to the sciences and civil engineering. After his term at college he engaged in teaching school and followed this occupation for some time. In 1860, however, he found an opportunity to embark in an enterprise more to his liking and gave up the business of teaching school to join a surveying party in the Dakotas. This wild life on the plains ap- pealed to him and he was never more in his element than when with the surveying and engineering squads, exploring new land and setting monuments for the guid- ance of future settlers. He followed the business of surveying for the government and private parties for a period of two years, finally joining an expedition that ascended the Missouri river. In 1867 he opened a gen- eral merchandise store in Fort Benton for the accom- modation of the settlers and the military garrison, and also traded extensively with the Indians for furs and pelts. Finding that there was a good profit in the freighting business to inland points and having large consignments of goods to deliver, he added freighting to his rapidly growing business. At that time all freight to Fort Benton, which was transported thence to all the various settlements and mining camps in the southern part of the state, came by steamboat from shipping points tributary to the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. As this business appeared lucrative and profitable Mr. Power conceived the idea of building steamers to enter that trade and he, together with I. G. and George A. Baker, of the firm of I. G. Baker & Brother, of Fort Benton, built the 'steamer Benton. The venture proved all that was anticipated for it and in 1876 Mr. Power had constructed and launched on the upper Missouri river the steamer Helena, and followed this with an- other boat called the Butte. No one in the territory was quicker to see and grasp an opportunity for extending his business than was Mr. Power. The overland ex- press and passenger service between Fort Benton and Helena was very extensive, especially during the au- tumn, when a large number of miners left for the eastern states by way of Fort Benton and the steamboat and Mackinac routes. During this period he operated stage lines between Helena and Fort Benton, and Fort Ben- ton and Billings, which proved successful enterprises. He also greatly extended his merchandise business by establishing stores at Helena and other localities. In 1878 he established his home in Helena and has been a resident of this city ever since. Mr. Power's efforts in behalf of his home town have been far-reaching and effective in all directions looking to its advancement. He was among the first to recognize its future possi- bilities and showed his faith by investing large capital in substantial and enduring business blocks which are a source of pride to the citizens and which are of use and beauty as well. One of the buildings erected by Mr. Power is occupied by the American National Bank, a fiduciary institution of which he is president and one of its principal founders, and which ranks with the best institutions of the kind in the country. Mr. Power pos- sesses a genius for large affairs but always has an eye to the progress and welfare of his home city and has contributed greatly to its growth and prosperity. He was a leading factor in the successful construction of the water works of the city, now owned by the munici- pality by purchase. He is identified with stock growing activities to a large extent and is interested in some of the best equipped stock farms in Montana.

Mr. Power has been more or less connected with poli- tics since he first entered the state and has been a con- sistent Republican and counted as one of the party leaders and an adviser whose careful judgment and keen perceptions have assisted in turning many contests into victory when defeat seemed almost certain. He has

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been a candidate for office on several occasions and has known defeat but once. In 1878 he was elected to the first territorial constitutional convention and in 1884 was chosen delegate to the Republican national conven- tion. He was defeated for governor owing to the strength of the opposition in 1888, but on the admission of the territory as a state he was one of the logical candidates for the office of United States senator of his party and was elected by the Republican party leaders after a spirited contest on the part of other aspirants, but without any especial effort on his part. He and Hon. Wilbur F. Sanders were. the first United States senators from Montana, being chosen to the offices in 1889. He served six years in the upper house of con- gress and proved one of the most practical statesmen and legislators in that distinguished body. He was a member of the most important committees while in the senate and was enabled to do effective service and to shape legislation relating to the northwest. He was a member of the committee on public lands, mines and mining, transportation, railroads, and others of equal importance. He brought about the appropriation for the locating and building of Fort Harrison; the federal building in Helena, the first of its kind in the state; the fish hatchery near Bozeman; the Indian school on Gun river, near Great Falls; and various land bills assist- ing early settlers of the whole northwest, also assisting the growth of the Bozeman Agricultural College by se- curing needed appropriations. On the expiration of his term in the senate Mr. Power returned to Helena and since that time has devoted his energies to the super- vision of his wide and far-reaching interests, at the same time taking an active and always perceptible in- terest in the affairs of the ctiy and of the Republican party.

Mr. Power was married to Miss Mary G. Flanna- gen of Dubuque, Iowa, in 1867. One son has been born to them, Charles Benton Power, now connected with his father in his vast business enterprises, and who was educated at Georgetown College, Washington, D. C., and at Columbia College, New York City. Too much praise cannot be accorded to Mr. Power for his long life of endeavor successfully conducted in the upbuild- ing of a great state and to the conservation and foster- ing of civic enterprise and that right and beneficent use of private capital for great undertakings for public and semi-public use. As a business man of honor and in- tegrity he ranks among the highest in the land and in the field of politics his sagacity and wisdom stamp him as a leader of force and character. Not only in the various spheres which have been mentioned has Senator Power achieved distinction, but in the common affairs of life he discharges every duty and contributes largely of his means to religion and charity. In private social relations he is companionable and most agreeable as a neighbor and friend. By force of character and un- bending will he has been able to follow a career of his own choosing to a successful conclusion and history ac- cords to him a place as one of the strong characters who stand out in bold relief in the great northwest.

AUSTIN C. GORMLEY. In 1909 there was removed from the scene of eminently useful and distinguished services one of Great Falls foremost citizens, Austin C. Gormley, attorney-at-law. Mr. Gormley was a man of splendid legal attainments and was one of the . most gifted orators in this section of the state. Very truly might it be said in this case, "Death loves a shining mark," and he was in the very prime of life when summoned to the Great Beyond.

Mr. Gormley was born in Helena, Montana, April 23, 1867, the son of James and Julia (Cook) Gormley. For several generations liis forbears resided in New England, that cradle of so much of our national his- tory. His father was a native of New Jersey, however, and he came to Montana among the pioneers, following

in the new country, mercantile pursuits and later min- ing. He died in Virginia City, Montana, in 1879, when about sixty years of age, and there the remains of that excellent citizen are interred. He married his wife in Springfield, Illinois, and she survives, making her home in White Sulphur Springs. There were five children in the elder Gormley family, the subject of this brief memoir being the third in order of nativity. There is also one sister in Montana, Mrs. Richard Collins, who resides in this city, the mother making her home in her household.

Austin C. Gormley was a young lad when his parents removed to Virginia City, Montana. In that place he grew to young manhood and secured his education in the public schools. In 1886, when nineteen years of age, he matriculated in the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, that state, and there finished a collegiate course, graduating with the class of 1891. After re- ceiving his degree of LL. B. at Ann Arbor he also took post-graduate work before going to White Sul- phur Springs, where in the manner of young lawyers, newly-fledged, he proudly displayed his professional shingle. Here he encountered great success, profes- sional honors, general respect and domestic happiness. He was county attorney of Meagher county for two terms, acquitting himself in this important capacity with the greatest credit. In 1897 he removed to Great Falls and was county attorney of Cascade county for another two terms. He was one of the leaders of the Democratic party and took an active interest in poli- tics, his oratorical gifts making him particularly valuable as a campaigner. He was a practical orator, schooled in all the principles of platform address, rich and fluent of speech and possessing the rare ability to baptise himself in his subject and carry his audience with him to each climax. His popularity always preceded him to any gathering and he acquitted himself amid the enthusiastic acclaim of a satisfied audience.

Mr. Gormley made his first money as a boy in the printing business, following this on a modest scale for a number of years and saving enough in this way to begin his college education. As his father's circum- stances were modest it was necessary for him to work his way through the celebrated institution of learning, which was his alma mater. When first a student at Ann Arbor his gifts as an orator became known in an inter-collegiate contest in which he won the prize for Michigan.

Fraternally Mr. Gormley was an Elk. He was an eager, but discriminating reader and a man of remark- able culture. His loyalty to his native state knew no bounds and he was ready at any time to lend his support to all altruistic movements, to all that in his judgment looked towards the general advancement and welfare. He was a staunch advocate of the cause of the laboring man and labor had no warmer friend in the state. Instinctively he took the side of the un- fortunate and down-trodden, his charity being bountiful and his tender heart ever alive to the world's cry of pain.

Mr. Gormley was married at White Sulphur Springs, August 9, 1898, Irene Spencer, daughter of Almon and Margaret Spencer, of this city, becoming his wife. The Spencers are an old pioneer family. This union, which was in every respect, the fruition of his youthful dreams, was blessed by the birth of two daughters : Margaret and Doris, both in school. Mrs. Gormley's father was born in Canada and came to Montana in 1863, locating in Meagher county, and engaging in mercantile business until his death in February, 1909, at the age of seventy-one years. The wife and mother, whose maiden name was Margaret Stitt, survives and makes her home in White Sulphur Springs.

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A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 45

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