A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 52

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

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in the supreme court of the state as justice pro tempore. A number of his opinions have been reprinted and annotated as selected cases, because of his superior judicial estimate in regard to each. Opinions of his are to be found in Volumes 28 to 31, inclusive, of the supreme court reports of the state of Montana.

The judge's political affiliations have always been emphatically those of the Republican party, and yet it must be said that to bound his economic ideal by party lines would be doing injustice to the breadth of his political understanding and his judicial perception. Partisan he is, but withal of a political status much larger than that of any faction, however rational and powerful.

At that period of his life when his legal career was beginning to be merged into that of his public service, Llewellyn Callaway's home was established. At White Sulphur Springs, on December 12, 1894, he married Miss Ellen N. Badger, the daughter of Baker W. and Frances L. (Woodson) Badger, of that place. The children of the judge and his wife are a quartette of two sons and two daughters,-Miriam, James E., Frances L. and Llewellyn L., Jr., the three eldest of whom are now in school.

In fraternal societies Judge Callaway holds rank of exceptional dignity. In the Masonic series he is a member of the blue lodge, the Royal Arch Masons, the Knights Templar, and the Mystic Shrine, and he is at present chairman of the committee on jurispru- dence in the Grand Lodge, a post which he has held since 1905. He was grand master in 1904-05. and is present grand scribe of the Grand Chapter of the R. A. M. He is also grand standard bearer of the Grand Commandery of Montana. In the order of the Eastern Star he is past grand patron. The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks claims him as past exalted ruler, and he was in 1893 the president of the state association of that order.

It is not too much. to say that in every capacity in which Judge Callaway has met the public he has re- flected high honor upon his distinguished family, his home locality and his state. In view of his brilliant successes, past, present and in anticipation of those yet to come, it is quite within reason to look to see him take a much higher place than he has yet achieved.

ROBERT E. GRUWELL. Business enterprise has marked the career of Robert E. Gruwell, a representative busi- ness man of Billings, Montana, ever since his school days ended, and he is an important factor in the great livestock industry of this section, his name being as well known in the eastern markets as it is on the western ranges. He is a native of Montana, born in Deerlodge county. December 28, 1870, and is a son of Oscar C. and Sarah Jane (Bohannon) Gruwell, al.d a grandson of Robert and Melissa (Davis) Gruwell.

In tracing the history of many families, very little can be found differing in great degree from that of thousands of others, but this can scarcely be said of the Gruwell family. The men of this name have never been commonplace; on the other hand, they have been unusually energetic, enterprising and courageous. The grandfather, Robert Gruwell, who once owned a farm on which a part of the city of Quincy, Illinois, now stands, disposed of it for what he considered a satis- factory compensation, and moved to Iowa. In 1849, with his family and neighbors, he started for California, and after reaching Salt Lake. Utah, continued to Los Angeles over what was known as the southern route, his train of sixty wagons being the first to cover this trail, having made the whole distance between April 22 and December 22, 1849. In California he spent the remainder of his life, following farming, mining and stock raising, in 1861 acquiring an excellent farm near San Jose. Both he and his wife were Ohio people,

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solid, thrifty and resourceful, and their children inher- ited many of their best traits.

C. Oscar Gruwell, son of Robert and the father of Robert E. Gruwell, is well known to the people of Montana, both for his years of useful public service and for his business activities in different sections. He now lives retired at Billings, one of the city's most sub- stantial citizens. He was born on December 18, 1837, in Lee county, Iowa, accompanied his parents to Cali- fornia and was educated at Santa Clara College. In those days adventure awaited almost every young man who endeavored to establish himself in business in the territories west of the Mississippi river and Mr. Gru- well had many exciting experiences. After reaching Helena, Montana, in July, 1865, in prospecting he dis- covered and opened a mine, and by its sale was assisted to a transportation business between Helena and Fort Benton. In the following year he conducted a stable at Fort Benton and afterward entered the employ of Car- roll & Steel, of the Diamond R. Freighting Company. He remained with this company as wagon boss, hanl- ing government supplies from Camp Cook to Sun River Crossing until January, 1867, when he went to the Sal- mon River, Idaho, mining fields, and from there returned to Montana, locating in Deerlodge county. Between 1867 and 1870 he was variously engaged, oper- ating hotels, cutting hay for the government at Fort Benton and conducting stables and also dairies. In the fall of the latter year he bought a ranch of six hundred and forty acres, on Flint creek, on which he carried on farming and stock raising until 1883, when he sold it, afterward driving his sheep and cattle to the Big Horn Basin. in Wyoming, where he remained for one year, and then bought a ranch in Custer county. Two years later he sold this property, at the same time purchas- ing land near Junction City, on which he continued to raise stock until 1893, when he secured a tenant and took up his residence in the city of Billings. Here he has been a very useful, public-spirited and active citi- zen. In 1901 he erected the Gruwell business block, one of the best at that time in the city.

As a public man and a leader in the Democratic party he has gained considerable distinction. He served for four years with the greatest efficiency as commis- sioner for Yellowstone county, and in 1898 was elected state senator and served through two terms. His ster- ling honesty and his determination to live up to his convictions and give his support only to those measures which he deemed beneficial to his constituents, made Senator Gruwell valuable as a statesman.

On October 7, 1867, Senator Gruwell was married to Sarah Jane Bohanon, at Leesburg, Idaho, and seven children were born to them, namely: Frances, who was born in July, 1868, was the second white child born at Fort Benton, and is now the wife of Charles Spear of Billings, Montana; Nettie, who died at Butte, in Feb- ruarv. 1900, was the wife of Dr. Johnson; Robert E., of this review; Oscar, who died at Billings, in his nineteenth year: Dora, who died in May, 1906, was the wife of Arthur Blair, of Butte; Maude, who is the wife of a Mr. Ferris; and Warren, who is in the stock busi- ness in Oneida county, Idaho.

Robert E. Gruwell was given excellent educational advantages, including attendance at Montana College and a course at the Helena Business College, and was then associated until 1897 with his father in the live- stock business in Yellowstone. county. He then turned his attention to merchandising, purchasing Paul McCor- mick's general store at Junction City, Yellowstone county, and continued for about three years under the firm style of Spear & Gruwell, and after disposing of his interest visited Alaska, on a prospecting tour. He remained in the far north for a year and then returned to Montana, taking up his residence at Billings. He resumed his former stock activities, and ever since has

been extensively engaged in buying and selling cattle, sheep and horses,

On October 22, 1900, Mr. Gruwell was married to Miss Helen Orrick, and they have four children: Oscar Orrick, Margaret, Marian and Roberta. Mr. Gruwell is a member of Billings Lodge No. 394, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

HENRY F. WELLHOUSER. The great big historical story of how the continent has been cleared is an epic too boundless for one generation to absorb, but the separate tales of individual heroism, of achievement, of adventure and of unending struggle possess a value that can not be overestimated. Thus it is singularly appropriate that the biographies of Montana's leading citizens should contain the records of the pioneers, those who furnished here the real foundations on which were built the great structure of statehood, the men who made possible the work that has been prose- cuted by the succeeding generations. Prominent in this class may be mentioned Henry F. Wellhouser, citizen and patriot, who after completing a valiant service in the Civil war came to the west as an Indian fighter, and remained to engage in and assist to develop the great industry of stock raising, and who is now living retired in Cascade. Mr. Wellhouser was born at Newark, New Jersey, February 15, 1847, and is a son of William and Mary (Roemer) Wellhouser. William Wellhouser was born at Hessen Kassel, Germany, and during the early forties came to the United States, settling in Newark, where he followed the trade of carpenter until his death, March 4, 1847. His wife, a native of Schwartzburg, Germany, died in 1851.

Left an orphan when only four years old, Mr. Well- houser was reared in the Newark Orphan Home until fourteen years of age, at which time he was bound out to a farmer, with whom he remained until January, 1864. At that time he enlisted in Company F, Fifth Regiment, New York Heavy Artillery, with which he served . for seventeen months under General Sheridan. He participated in the battle of Harper's Ferry, Virginia, in 1864, Maryland Heights, July 4th, 5th and 6th of that year; Opyuam Creek, Winchester, September 19th, Fish- er's Hill, September 22d, and Cedar Creek, October 13th, where he was taken prisoner, and continued to be de- tained in Libby Prison, Richmond, Virginia, until Febru- ary 15, 1865. When released he was so emaciated from lack of proper food and care, and so weak in body from ill treatment, that he had to spend two months in the hospital before he had recuperated sufficiently to rejoin his regiment. He was discharged June 10, 1865, at Fort Stone, and on July 10 following was mustered out of the service at Harper's Ferry. The greater part of Mr. Wellhouser's service was in the service in the Shenandoah valley, in the campaign against Early, and he proved a faithful, willing and gallant soldier. When he had completed his three months' service he learned the plumber's trade, but received only five dol- lars a week for his work, and decided to apply himself to something that promised greater remuneration. On August 1, 1866, he again entered the service of his country, enlisting in the Thirteenth Regiment, Regular United States Infantry, with which organization he came to regimental headquarters at Fort Shaw, Montana. He continued in the service three years, during which time, on January 22, 1870. he had a brush with the Blackfoot Indians in which 180 of the hostiles were killed, while the soldiers lost only one man in four companies. Mr. Wellhouser received his honorable dis- charge March 18, 1870, and at that time took em- ployment on the ranch of a Mr. Ford until December, when he removed to the Missouri river with two army comrades, locating near the town of Cascade. Engag- ing in the timber business, he worked in the woods un- til the following spring, and then returned to ranch- ing and worked for Nimrod Ford during the summer.

Henry. J. Willhousen Cascade mont

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Subsequently he went to Helena, and there was en- gaged in the manufacture of charcoal used in black- smithing, and for a long period continued to work in and about Helena. In 1874 he left for the east, and until the spring of 1877 remained in New Jersey, then re- turning to Sun river, where he worked for Nimrod Ford in 1877, 1878 and 1879, and in the latter year took up a ranch in that locality, purchased dairy stock, and engaged in the dairy business on his own account. During the fall of 1881 he returned to New Jersey, where he was married, and on March 29, 1882, brought his wife back to Montana with him, and continued the dairy and stock business until March, 1886. Sell- ing out this property, he then moved to Antelope Creek, three miles west of Cascade, taking up land on pre- emption and residing there until February 1, 1910, be- ing engaged in raising cattle and hogs, and also carry- ing on diversified farming on his tract of 320 acres. His next venture was in the City Stables, which he purchased, but seeing a good opportunity of dispos- ing of this acquisition at a profitable figure, and feeling that he had earned a rest, he sold this establishment April 20, 1911, since which time he has lived a retired life. Mr. Wellhouser is a stockholder and director in the Cascade Lumber Company. In political matters he is a Republican, and takes a keen interest in the success of his party's candidates, although never him- self an office seeker. He belongs to Sheridan Post No. 18, Grand Army of the Republic, is a member of the Montana Pioneers, and attends the Methodist church. He is junior commander of his Grand Army post. .

On February 2, 1882, Mr. Wellhouser was married at Lyons Farms, Union county, New Jersey, to Miss Sarah M. Frazee, born in Washington Valley, May 31, 1851, daughter of Moses and Susanna Frazee, and a member of an old and prominent family, her great- grandfather, Joseph Frazee, being the American founder. Four children have been born to this union: Howard F., born on Sun river, December 17, 1883, who died November 20, 1886; Jay Grant, born August 1, 1885, engaged in ranching in Mid Canyon, married Sadie Augerbright, and has one child, Bertha Mabel; Frank H., born on Antelope creek, April 25, 1888, mar- ried Laura Craig, of Craig, Montana, and has a son, Henry F .; and Henry Miller, born December 25, 1889, on Antelope creek, single.

Mr. Wellhouser's life is strikingly illustrative of the reward that comes after years of faithful endeavor. Thrown upon his own resources at a time in his life when most boys are receiving the solicitude and care of loving parents, he bravely did what he believed was his duty to his country and himself, nor did he fail when the real test of manhood came. As he was a faithful, brave and gallant soldier, so he became a good and loyal citizen, performing the duties of peace as well as those of war. Now, looking back over a long and useful career, in the evening of life he can have no regrets. His activities have benefited those about him and he is honored and esteemed as a man who has not lived his life in vain.

GEORGE HERBERT. One of the old and honored resi- dents of the Yellowstone valley, now living somewhat retired at the age of eighty years on his 160-acre tract of land near Laurel, has during a long and active career experienced the vicissitudes that have attended the careers of many of Montana's pioneers, although at the present time no citizen is held in higher esteem in his section or has more friends than George Herbert. He was born in 1833, in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, the eighth in order of birth of the eleven children of John B. and Martha Herbert, natives of Germany and England, respectively.

Mr. Herbert secured his education in the public schools and worked on his father's farm until he was seventeen years of age, at which time he went to

Franklin county, Kentucky, and there attended school for six years. He spent the following four years in working on a Kentucky farm for wages, and continued to follow that vocation until 1863 in the neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri, from which section he went to Salt Lake City. After spending two years in driving stage between Muddy Station and Green River, Mr. Herbert removed to Virginia City, Montana, and sub- sequently located in Alder Gulch, where he was en- gaged in mining for gold. He was successful in these operations, but later lost his fortune in mine specula- tions. In the fall of 1866 he went to Norwegian Gulch, thirty miles west of Virginia City, where he mined un- til 1868. In July, 1867, in company with four others, he made a trip to what is now the Yellowstone park, spending about three months prospecting. This was one of the earliest prospecting parties to visit that local- ity, and the journey was attended by many dangers from the Indians, as well as many hardships and pri- vations. In 1870 he prospected at Cedar creek, but without success, and the same year came to Gallatin valley and purchased 'some land which he cultivated until 1879, in which year he sold it, and removed to his present location in 1880. While farming, in 1874, prior to leaving the Gallatin valley, he joined a gold- hunting expedition to Big Porcupine, on the Yellow- stone, and had constant trouble with the Indians. The expedition had to be fighting them nearly all the time. On one occasion it was attacked by 1,500 of them in one body, but succeeded in repulsing them. In 1880 Mr. Herbert came to Laurel, as has been noted, and took up 160 acres of land, through which the Northern Pacific now runs. He erected good buildings, and for many years followed agricultural pursuits, but of recent years has lived a somewhat retired life. He has seen numerous changes since the days when he was com- pelled to ride heavily armed to resist the attacks of highwaymen bent on holding up the stage, and can remember vividly an experience he once had with desperadoes, the robbers coming out second best in the encounter.

Mr. Herbert was married in 1881 to Miss Nancy Seright, who was born in Illinois, and six children have been born to this union: George, Arthur J., Emma, Martha, Joseph and Henry, all of whom were given good educational advantages. Their mother died in 1889. In politics Mr. Herbert is an old line Democrat, but being personally acquainted with Mr. Lincoln be- fore he was elected president, voted for him on per- sonal grounds. In religious matters he favors a uni- versal church. During his long residence in his pres- ent locality he has made numerous friends, who know him as a whole-souled, big-hearted man, thoroughly typical of the generous West.

SHELBY IRVINE. Born and reared in the state of Montana, Shelby Irvine is a distinctly western product and his nature partakes freely of those characteristics of breadth and freedom which have rendered that state so charming to all who have come within its influence. Himself the son of a man who was for years identified with the big mining interests of Montana, Shelby Irvine has, since reaching man's estate, been connected withı mining affairs, and for fourteen years has been affiliated with the Boston & Montana Mining Company, his pres- ent position with that company being that of cashier. Beginning as a surface laborer, he has advanced rapidly from one position to another until two years ago he was appointed to his present responsible position, which he has since filled with a high degree of efficiency and with satisfaction to all.

Born at Deer Lodge, Montana, May 24, 1871, Shelby Irvine is the son of Edwin H. and Anna E. (Forbis) Irvine. The father was a native of Kentucky, born in that state on the IIth of October, 1837. He died on December 12, 1898, at Butte, and is there buried. He

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was an early pioneer of Montana, and was engaged in mining and real estate up to the last few years of his life. He came to Montana in 1864 and settled in Vir- ginia City. His mining ventures were eminently suc- cessful and he was connected with some of the best paying enterprises in the state up to the time of the panic of 1893-94, when he lost practically everything he possessed. He owned a one-third interest in the Eve- line mine and was identified as a stockholder in many another mining enterprise of note in the days previous to the panic. Mr. Irvine was always active and fore- most in the good works of Butte, and in his duty as a loyal citizen he was faithful to the uttermost. He was one of the founders of the Christian church in Montana and was an earnest member of that body in Deer Lodge and Butte. At the time of his death he was president of the Montana Christian Association.

The death of Edwin H. Irvine was felt keenly in the city where he had made his home for so many years, and he is still remembered with tenderness by a large circle of old-time friends. Anne E. Forbis, his wife and the mother of the subject, was a native of Kentucky, like her husband, and was born there on April 7, 1839. She was the daughter of Jonothan F. Forbis, who came to Montana in 1864 and engaged in stock-raising. He died in Helena in 1877. Mr. and Mrs. Irvine became the parents of seven children; four sons and three dangh- ters. They are: Forbis F., a resident of Cardwell, Jefferson county, Montana; Ella, the wife of Wiley Mountjoy, of Cardwell, Montana; Agnes, who married Galen Wood, of Seattle, Washington; May, widow of W. H. Haviland, also of Seattle, Washington; Kathe- rine, the wife of J. O. Bender, resident of Holywood, California; Edwin, died at the age of four years, and Shelby, who was the fifth in order of birth.

Shelby Irvine was educated in the public schools of Deer Lodge, Montana, and in the University of Ken- tucky, finishing his studies at the age of twenty-one. When he returned from college he entered the real estate and mining business with his father,. with whom he was thus associated for about four years, after which he entered the employ of the Boston & Montana Min- ing Company in a humble capacity and he has continued with them up to the present time.

Like his father, Mr. Irvine is a man highly respected in his community, and occupies a high place in the esteem of all who come within the influence of his per- sonality. He is a member of the Christian church, in further accord with the precepts and examples of his honored father, and his sturdy Scotch ancestry stands forth in his worthy citizenship and his high moral char- acter.

On April 12, 1893, Mr. Irvine was united in marriage with Miss Lillian De Mordaunt, a native of Virginia City, Nevada, and a daughter of Julius and Delphine (Colby) De Mordaunt, the latter being of Russian extraction, and the scion of a family of noble birth. Two children have been born of their union. Willis De Mordaunt Irvine, born in Butte, on the 16th of Sep- tember, 1894, and Mildred D. Irvine, born October 18, 1895.

HENRY BURMEISTER. Although Henry Burmeister had been a resident of the west for a number of years previous to 1881, it was not until that year that fortune deigned to smile upon him. His business experience since that time has been the exact opposite of his expe- riences of former years, and he became one of the pros- perous ranchmen of the state, sheep raising being his main activity, but is now retired from business and makes his home in Great Falls, where he is the owner of valuable realty properties.

Born in Hanover, Germany, on November 27, 1841, Henry Burmeister is the son of John and Katherine Burmeister, both natives of Germany, where they passed their lives and died, the father passing away in 1850

and the mother in 1868. Henry Burmeister was edu- cated in the public schools of Germany, and when he was fifteen years old left school and engaged in .farm work. In 1862 he was drafted into the service of his country in a military way, and he became a member of grenadiers in the city of Hanover, in which he served until 1867. He came to America in 1867, and he first settled in Cook county, Illinois, where he en- gaged in farm work for a year, but left the farm to go to Burlington, Iowa, there securing a position first as brakeman on the railroad, and then as fireman, in the employ of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad .. He remained thus employed until the winter of 1870, when he came to Helena, Montana, and there secured work in the mines. He worked in the mines for two seasons, then went to the Prickley Pear valley, in the vicinity of Helena, there securing a position as fore- man of the ranch of John Thomas. He remained there until the spring of 1876, when he wearied of the quiet life and joined one of the first prospecting parties bound for the Black Hills. His success as a prospector was nil, and in 1879 he returned to Helena, and once more he united himself with John Thomas as the foreman of his ranch, in which work he was successful enough. He then operated the ranch for a time on shares, con- tinuing until 1881, when he moved to Chestnut valley, five miles south of Cascade, and there became asso- ciated with F. S. Reed in the sheep business. They started with one thousand head of sheep, with a winter pastorage of three thousand and two hundred acres. Success has ever since attended his efforts, and he and his partner became known far and near as being among the biggest sheep men of the Montana region. When he had accumulated a competency, however, Mr. Bur- meister was willing to retire from active business, and he is now making his home in Great Falls, where he is enjoying to the full the results of his years of stren- uous activity.

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A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 52

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