A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 49

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

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For the two years that followed Mr. Buck was en- gaged in teaching school in Michigan, but believed that greater opportunities awaited him in the west, and accordingly came to Montana, making the trip up the Missouri river on the steamer "Nile," to Fort Benton. In 1868, he moved to Lincoln gulch, where he spent two years in mining, and then went to Cedar creek with his brothers and spent another year as a miner. At that time (in 1871), Mr. Buck purchased a ranch in the Bitter Root country near Florence, and for two years followed farming and stock-raising, but at the end of that time returned to Cedar creek, his brothers having developed valuable mining interests. During the fall of 1875, Mr. Buck returned to his ranch, but in the following spring, in company with his brothers, Amos and Frederick, bought a general store at Stevensville, and under the name of Buck Brothers conducted the establishment until Amos sold his interests, at which time the firm style was changed to F. & H. Buck. On January 31, 1890, Fred Buck passed away, but the firm name continued the same until an interest was purchased by a nephew, Charles Buck, when the concern became known as H. Buck & Company. In 1911 Henry Buck disposed of his in- terest in the store in order to give his entire atten- tion to the cultivation of his orchard of six thousand bearing apple trees, adjoining Stevensville, one of the finest in the state. As early as 1872, Mr. Buck was one of the first to introduce apple-growing in the Bitter Root valley, and the crabs and other varieties on the

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Bass ranch, and found all over this section, had their parent stock in his orchard. In 1894 he started an orchard of forty acres, given principally to apples, and since that time he has been engaged in experiment- ing in numerous varieties. He has had more than ordi- nary success, and in 1909 was the recipient of the silver trophy cup, first prize for McIntosh apples grown in the state. In addition, Mr. Buck is energetic, eager, enthusiastic, broad-minded and ready to do large things in a large way. Like many others, he has risen step by step, by reason of sterling integrity and busi- ness methods that have been above reproach. However, he has not been content with the mere attainment of success, as education, charity and morality have all found a place in his life. Any movement that has for its object the betterment of his community always re- ceives his hearty support, and during the building of the training school at Stevensville, he gave both of his means and of his services as treasurer to its successful completion. In political matters he is a stalwart Pro- gressive. Fraternally, he is connected with the Ma- sons. Mr. Buck can review a long and active life, back to the days of the outbreak of the "non-treaty" Nez Perces Indians, in 1877, when, on the arrival of Gen. O. O. Howard in Stevensville, Mr. Buck took his own four-horse term and wagon and carried provisions for the soldiers. He remained with the command for about two months, and was discharged at Bozeman.

On April 2, 1878, Mr. Buck was married (first) to Miss Clara E. Elliott, of Hamilton, who died March 28, 1897, leaving two children, Fred E. and Clarence H. On April 5, 1900, Mr. Buck married Miss Nellie Belle Haynes, a daughter of William Haynes, a farmer near Miles City, and a native of Iowa City, Iowa.

HON. CHARLES W. HOFFMAN. Every hamlet has its representative and efficient men, and as the community enlarges and the responsibilities grow greater, here and there come forward from the masses, men of peculiar fitness for public duties and business enterprises. Mon- tana has been rapidly and wonderfully developed, not only because of her natural resources and vast mineral wealth but rather from the fact that she early became the chosen home of men of energy and foresight, of dis- criminating judgment and of a public spirit that has been exercised to win her a prestige wide and permanent. To this class particularly belongs Hon. Charles W. Hoff- man, who, for many years was closely identified with banking and ranching interests and whose public duties made his name familiar from one end of the state to the other. His home has been maintained at Bozeman for more than forty years and Gallatin county has frequently honored him with election to important offices.

Charles W. Hoffman was born at Niles, Michigan, September 2, 1846, and is a son of George W. and Esther Louise (Wheeler) Hoffman, a grandson of Will- iam and a great-grandson of John Conrad Hoffman. This last named ancestor was born in Germany in 1750 and he was the pioneer of the family in America. In 1781 he was married at Halifax, Nova Scotia, to a daughter of Sir John Steinfort, king's commissioner at Halifax, and widow of Colonel Allgood, a British officer. Their two children, William and Leonard Hoffman, were born at Halifax and accompanied them to New York City.

William Hoffman, grandfather of Senator Hoffman, was born September 29, 1782, and in 1803, in the city of New York, he married Catherine Driscoll. who was a daughter of Adam and Mary Driscoll, native of Nor - wich, Connecticut. Of their eleven children, George Washington, father of Senator Hoffman, was the fourth in order of birth. William Hoffman was a military man. He entered the service of the United States and was commissioned first lieutenant in Captain Gilbert's com- pany, Forty-first Regiment, United States Infantry,

Col. Robert Bogardus commanding, in November, 1813, and served in that arm of the service until his death on November 26, 1845, at Corpus Christi, Texas, his official rank being lieutenant-colonel of the Seventh Infantry, United States army. During this long period of military service he saw much of the danger and hard- ship of frontier campaigning, serving in such frontier outposts as Sackett's Harbor, Sault Ste. Marie, Fort Ni- agara, Fort Mackinaw and during the Seminole war was at Fort Smith, Arkansas. One of his sons, William Hoffman, served forty years as a soldier and was then retired at his own request and received the brevets of brigadier and major-general, United States army. An- other son, Alexander T. Hoffman, was second lieuten- ant of the Sixth Infantry, at the time of his. death after serving in the Seminole war. Satterlee, the youngest son, was killed at the battle of Churubusco, in the Mexi- can war.

George Washington Hoffman, father of Senator Hoff- man, had less taste for a military life than his father and brothers, but became a civil employe of the govern- ment in 1824 and continued until 1830, at Jefferson bar- racks. He was born October 10, 1809, in the city of New York, and thus was but fifteen years of age when responsible duties fell to his share. In 1831 he went into business at Niles, Michigan, where he resided until 1857, when he removed his family to Detroit and became cashier of the Detroit & Milwaukee Railroad. He left Detroit in 1866, having accepted the office of secretary of the Corn Exchange Insurance Company, New York City, but in 1871 returned to Detroit and became state agent for several old line insurance companies and continued so interested until his retirement, his death occurring January 5, 1886. While a resident of Niles, Michigan, he served six terms as town clerk, was also a justice of the peace and in 1840 was elected probate judge. Although not of military fibre, he was a man of sterling qualities and successfully carried through all the responsibilities he assumed throughout a long and husy life.

On September 18, 1834, at Beardsley's Prairie, Michi- gan, George W. Hoffman was married to Miss Esther Louise Wheeler, who was a daughter of Preserved and Polly (Johnson) (McNeill) Wheeler. Five children were born to them, as follows: Catherine Louisa, Caro- line Amelia, Charlotte Williams, George Brown and Charles Wheeler. This youngest son was twelve years old when the family moved to Detroit and he had already made excellent progress in his studies, and two years later, in order that he should enjoy exceptional advantages, he was sent east and continued in school at Burlington, Vermont, until 1862.

An inherited military leaning, perhaps, led the young man then to the west and he joined the forces at Fort Randall, on the Missouri river, and when Fort Buford was established, in 1866, he was appointed post sutler. This was in the period of Indian warfare when the dan- gerons Sioux were constantly on the war path and Mr. Hoffman, with the others at that remote outpost, was constantly in danger from this savage tribe. He re- mained in the west until 1868 and then made a visit to the east but with no expectation of remaining as he had already been appointed sutler at Fort Ellis, Montana. When he returned, however, it was not alone, as he had been married at Buffalo, New York, April 27, 1869, to Miss Elizabeth B. Penfield, who is a daughter of George W. and Jane Eliza (Van Ness) Penfield. Immediately afterward Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman came to Montana and established their home at Bozeman, with which city he has ever since been identified. He has been one of the founders of many of the city's prospering enterprises . and since those early days has been interested in mining, merchandising, farming, ranching and banking. He was president of the Bozeman National Bank until its merger in 1905 with the Commercial National Bank, of which he is a stockholder.

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Mr. Hoffman was reared to believe firmly in the prin- ciples of the Democratic party and has never swerved from this allegiance and has always taken active interest in public affairs that marks the useful and efficient cit- izen. As alderman of the city of Bozeman he has been of great service, on many occasions, in municipal matters and equally valuable to the public as county commis- sioner of Gallatin county. He was elected to represent the fifteenth territorial assembly of Montana, and in the sixteenth assembly was a joint member of the council for Gallatin and Meagher counties. He served with dis- tinction as senator in the first state legislature and was reelected to the senate for a second term, and served in the senate continuously until 1904. In 1888 he was appointed quartermaster-general on the staff of Gover- nor Leslie, and was successively re-appointed by Gover- nors White, Toole and Rickard, during the adminis- tration of the latter being retired, at his own request.

To Senator and Mrs. Hoffman two children were born, Eugene B. and Mary L., the latter of whom is now deceased. Eugene B. Hoffman was born December 3, 1870. He is a graduate of the law department of Colum- bia College, New York, and at present is a resident of Washington, D. C., and is connected with the interna- tional law department of the United States. He married Miss Ellen Gottschalck, of Bozeman, and they have three children, two sons and one daughter. Mr. Hoffman has advanced rapidly in his profession and is a young man of brilliant parts. Senator Hoffman is mainly occupied with looking after his farm which lies one mile south of Bozeman, its cultivation and improvement being a constant source of pleasure to him.

WECKFORD MORGAN. After spending many years in agricultural pursuits, the average Montana farmer, be he enterprising and industrious, is loath to turn over his affairs to the hands of others, and so sturdily keeps on tilling his fields and working energetically even at an age when most men would consider they had earned a rest from business cares and activities. When they finally do leave the country for their village or city home, however, they at once take rank with their new community's citizens and are a welcome addition to any section. In this connection a brief record of the life and work of Weckford Morgan, a well-known retired citizen of Bozeman, will not be inappropriate. Mr. Morgan was born in Vermilion county, Illinois, October 1, 1837, and is a son of Josiah and Susanna (Hoskins) Morgan.

Josiah Morgan was born in the state of Virginia, February 22, 1802, and as a young man became a pioneer farmer of Vermilion county, Illinois, from whence he removed in 1849 to Garden Grove, Decatur county, Iowa. He was one of the first county commissioners of that county, and Morgan township is named in his honor. He was a school director for many years, held numerous other township offices, and was known as one of the most substantial farmers and stock-raisers of his community and as an old line Whig and later as an influential Democrat. His death occurred in 1865, while his widow, born March 6, 1813, survived him until April 5, 1898. Of their seven children, six are still living, as follows: Uriah M .; Weckford; Nancy. the widow of James Metier; Phileene, the widow of William McVey; Zade S., and Josiah, Jr.

Weckford Morgan secured only limited educational advantages, the greater part of his boyhood being spent in hard work on his father's farm. He was twelve years of age when he removed with the family to Iowa, and lived on the homestead there until the year 1863, at which time he went overland to Virginia City. From August of that year until the following fall Mr. Morgan was engaged in mining there, and after he had spent the winter on the Iowa farm returned to Montana and located on the Missouri river, between Helena and old Diamond City. There he was engaged in cutting hay Vol. II-11

until the fall of 1867, when he returned to Iowa, and was there married, continued to reside in the vicinity of his old home until 1869. He then removed to Kansas, where he was engaged in farming until 1881, but the dry climate of the Sunflower state made him have but little success in spite of industrious labor, and he eventually came overland to Gallatin county, Mon- tana. Locating about twenty-two miles from Bozeman, he engaged in farming and wheat-raising, and met with such success in his efforts that he was able to retire in 1892 with a handsome competency, and since that time has been living quietly in Bozeman, where he owns a comfortable, modern residence at No. 202 Black avenue, South. Since his advent in this part of the country numerous changes have taken place, and he has done his full share in the development of the valley, being at all times ready to give his aid to movements of a beneficial nature. He is an honored member of the Gallatin County Pioneer Society, and in his political views is a Democrat, but has never held nor cared for public office. During his long residence here he has made numerous friends, and he is held in universal esteem by the citizens of the community in which he has spent so many years of his life.

Mr. Morgan was married December 12, 1867, in Iowa, to Miss Elizabeth J. Morgan, who was born in Wood county, Virginia, near Wheeling, daughter of Oliver and Rowanna (Springer) Morgan. Her father was born May 6, 1813, and was engaged in farming in Wood county, Virginia, until 1852, in which year he became a pioneer farmer and stock-raiser of Madison county, Iowa. There the remainder of his life was spent, his death occurring November 16, 1877. He and his wife had thirteen children, of whom eight are liv- ing, as follows: Sylvester, Beersheba, Louise, David, Elizabeth J., Josephine, Jerome and Albert.

To Mr. and Mrs. Weckford Morgan there have been born ten children, namely: Bruce, who died when he was seven years of age; Bertha, the wife of Perry Knowlton; Kate, who died in infancy; Oliver, who died in 1912, when thirty-seven years of age, he having been one of the first to graduate from the Agricultural College; Josiah, who served in the Spanish-American war, and died at the age of twenty-seven years; Ger- trude, the wife of Allen Cameron, postmaster of Boze- man, a sketch of whose career will be found on another page of this volume; Emma Belle, the wife of Charles Cameron, residing in Bozeman; Herbert, residing in San Diego, California; Claude died in infancy ; and Zade Springer, who graduated from the Valparaiso (Ind.) University, now in the employ of the Milwaukee Rail- road.

FRANK L. REECE. The present clerk of the district court at Helena has spent thirty years of his life in Montana, and his family is among the older residents of this state, dating back to the days of pioneer settlement and development.

Frank L. Reece was born in Wales, September 3. 1864, a son of Dr. Thomas and Mary E. (Charles) Reece. The mother was a daughter of Henry Charles. Dr. Thomas Reece was born in Wales in 1833, and he and his wife were the parents of three sons. The oldest, Thomas H. Reece, died in Butte, Montana, in 1908. Edward D., who was born in Wales in 1866 is now a resident of Seattle. Frank L., is clerk of the district court and the second of the family. Dr. Reece in 1868 sold his practice and closed up his business affairs and came to America. The following year he established his home in Helena, Montana, where he resumed the practice of his profession.

Dr. Reece was one of the early physicians of Helena. and a man highly esteemed for his thorough professional ability and his quiet unassuming citizenship. He was never interested in political life but enjoyed his Masonic relations, having been past master of the Royal Arch

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Masons, in his native country, and active in the order in Montana. Dr. Reece died at his Montana home in 1881, and his widow passed away on the eighteenth of February, 1906.

Frank L. Reece was two years of age when the family came to America, and during his boyhood in Montana began his education under private tutors, later attend- ing the public schools. At the age of sixteen years he left school and has since then been self-supporting. From 1884 to the fall of 1901 he was connected with the United States land office, and when he left that office was chief clerk. In association with Mr. S. W. Lang- horne, he became an authority on the land and mining laws of this state and is still regarded as one of the most capable advisers on all matters and subjects con- nected with the interpretation of these laws of Montana. For five years, Mr. Reece was a justice of the peace in his community and in 1906 was elected on the Repub- lican ticket to the office of clerk of the district court at Helena.

Mr. Reece is a member of the Elks' Club, the Fra- ternal Order of Eagles, and the Woodmen of the World. His father and mother had long been members of the Congregational and it is with that denomination that his own church affiliations remain. Outside of his career in public business he has given considerable attention to horse ranching and is general manager of the House Mining Company at Maryville, Montana.

Mr. Reece was married on May 12, 1891, to Miss Marguerite Southerland, a daughter of John Souther- land, who was a native of Canada. Mr. and Mrs. Reece, who have no children, have an atractive resi- dence on Benton avenue in Helena.

WALTER COOPER. Since earliest youth, when as a lad of twelve years he became self-supporting, the career of Walter Cooper, one of the most prominent figures in the business world of Bozeman, and Eastern Montana has been strikingly illustrative of well-defined purpose, stead- fast endeavor and persistent adherence to principle. As the years have passed it has been marked by successful business ventures, large accomplishments in various fields and the gaining and maintaining of a reputation for probity and integrity in all the walks of life, while the benefits derived from his activities in the line of public service have been of incalculable value to the state and community in which he has resided for more than forty years. Mr. Cooper is a native of the Empire State, having been born in the town of Sterling, Cayuga county, New York, the third son of Andrew H. and Sarah E. Cooper, of Argyle, Washington county, New York.

The paternal grandfather of Mr. Cooper was of Irish descent, while on his mother's side the family originated in Scotland. Argyle, New York, was founded by Don- ald McGillvra, the great-grandfather of Mr. Cooper, and was named by him for his birthplace, Argyle county, Isle of Mull, Scotland, where he was born in 1723, and whence he came to Canada as a private soldier in the British army. He served with General Wolfe during the latter's campaign against the French, participating in the struggle of the Plains of Abraham, September 13, 1759. This sturdy Scotch soldier gained an enviable reputation for courage and stability, and was honorably discharged with the rank of lieutenant September 14, 1763, the original discharge being still in the possession of the family. After completing his service he went directly to New York City, where he remained three years, and then located at the town of Hebron, Wash- ington county, continuing to reside there a number of years. At the outbreak of the Revolution, he joined the army of patriots and fought gallantly in the struggle for independence, and in 1789 again settled in Washing- ton county, founded the town of Argyle, and there died in 1812, aged eighty-nine years.

George

Cooper, paternal grandfather of Walter

Cooper, and Daniel McGillvra, son of Donald, emigrated from Washington county to the town of Sterling, Cay- uga county, New York, where they arrived April 27, 1827, being among the early settlers of that section. George Cooper served in the War of 1812, being sta- tioned at Fort Oswego, where he was taken prisoner by the British squadron under Sir James Yeo, who captured the fortress in 1814. His son, Andrew H., father of Walter Cooper, was born at Argyle, Washington county, New York, in 1813, and married Sarah E. McGillvra, daughter of Daniel McGillvra, at the town of Sterling, Cayuga county, October 30, 1832. She was born in Washington county, November 29, 1814. Mr. Cooper lived in the near vicinity of Sterling until 1845, when he emigrated with his family, consisting of wife and four sons to Shiawassee county, Michigan, and there his death occurred June 24, 1851, when he left a widow and six sons.

When he was eight years of age, shortly after the death of his father, Walter Cooper was sent to Lansing, Michigan, to live with a maternal aunt, his mother sub- sequently returning to New York with her second and three youngest sons. After he had continued to reside with his aunt for something more than three years, young Cooper became dissatisfied, and when he was only twelve years of age ran away to make his own way in the world, and during the three years that followed he worked as a farm hand during the summer months and in the logging camps in winters. During the fall of 1858 he started West, reaching Leavenworth, Kansas, in the month of November, and there devoted himself to whatever occupation presented itself until February, 1859, when he joined a party that crossed the plains to Pike's Peak. In the spring of 1860 he became a mem- ber of an expedition that was organized at Denver, Colorado, for the purpose of prospecting in the San Juan mountains, but failing in the object of the expedition he visited Old Mexico, returning to Colorado in the winter of 1861. Mr. Cooper spent the summer and fall of 1862 near Colorado Springs, acting at times as scout for the First Colorado Regiment, and in November, 1863, started for Montana (then Idaho), arriving at Virginia City in February, 1864, and engaging in mining

in Alder Gulch. In May he became interested in a freight train, with which he started for Fort Benton to meet the steamboats, expecting to return to Virginia City with freight, but during that vear the water was so low in the Missouri river that little freight reached Fort Benson and he was forced to return with his teams empty. Arriving at Virginia City in August, he disposed of his train, fitted out a team with supplies for winter, and passed the winter of 1864-5 in the Missouri river valley, spending his time in hunting. In the spring of the latter year he engaged in mining and until the fall of 1869 met with varying success, at that time settling in Bozeman, Gallatin county.

The year 1870 saw Mr. Cooper engaged in a mercantile business at Bozeman, and he also interested himself ex- tensively in the fur business in 1872, giving this branch. of the business such energy and attention that, as a re- sult of his efforts, Bozeman in three years became second in importance in Montana as a shipping point for furs, robes and skins. Mr. Cooper invented and patented many improvements in fire-arms, and at one time manu- factured the most famous long range hunting rifle ever used in the west. He was selected one of the incor- porators of the city of Bozeman in 1883 and was a mem- ber of the first city council, and was nominated for mayor of the city in 1888, but declined on account of business reasons. On the organization of the board of trade, in 1883, he became its first president. In 1884 he was elected to the constitutional convention as delegate at large, and was made chairman of the committee on Rights of Suffrage and a member of the committee on address, and was again elected to the constitutional con- vention in 1889 on the admission of Montana to the-

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A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 49

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