A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 63

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

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EDWARD M. JENIZEN. Although he has now retired from active business pursuits and is living quietly at his home in Harlowton, Edward M. Jenizen was for many years identified with the sheep and cattle busi- ness, and was the owner of a ranch in Fergus county, on which stood the first house ever erected on the Musselshell river, built by him. An evenly balanced business man, he has done much to inspire confidence in the minds of his fellow citizens in his adopted state's future greatness, and the numerous large enter- prises which have claimed his attention have entitled him to a foremost position among those whose activi- ties have been of real benefit to their section. Edward M. Jenizen was born in the city of Pittsburg, Penn- sylvania, March 15, 1856, and is a son of Michael and Rachel (Schultz) Jenizen.

Michael Jenizen was born in France and came to the United States as a young man, settling first in Pennsylvania and coming to Montana during the early 'seventies. He followed ranching and sheep-raising for a number of years, and died in 1889, at the age of seventy-two years. His wife, a native of Germany, met and married Mr. Jenizen in Pittsburg, and is

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buried in that city, where she died in 1864, at the age of forty-seven years. There were seven children in their family, Edward M. being the fourth in order of birth, and two brothers and one sister now make their home in Montana, namely: Charles V., who is mar- ried and resides on a ranch near Franklin; William C., who is married and also resides on a ranch near Franklin; and Margaret, who married William Col- lier and resides at Shawmutt.

Edward M. Jenizen received his early education in the public schools of Pittsburg, and Prater's Academy at LaSalle, Illinois, and also understands bookkeeping, bank clerical work and special correspondence, although these accomplishments were all obtained through prac- tical experience in the school of hard work, rather than in any institution. When still a lad of about fifteen years he began to make his own way in the world, being employed at a heating furnace in a roller mill, at a salary of one dollar and a half per day. He followed this line of work until leaving home, at the age of eighteen years to go to St. Louis, there enlist- ing in the regular army of the United States. In 1875 he secured his honorable discharge at Camp Baker, in Meagher county, Montana, and since that time has been a resident here. In 1878 he went on a survey with Col. De Tolly and Kellog, and covered this whole part of the country, subsequently going to Three Mile, where he was engaged in chopping saw logs and pros- pecting. In the spring of 1879 he went to Helena, where he worked in the Penobscot mine until the fol- lowing fall, then returning to this part of the state and engaging in ranching. In 1880 he erected the first house built on the Mussellshell river, and there continued to carry on sheep and cattle-raising and general ranching, adding from time to time to his holdings until he had upwards of 10,000 acres. In 1907 Mr. Jenizen disposed of his property, cattle and sheep, selling almost the entire tract in one piece, and since that time the land has almost doubled in value, giving an illustration of how the country has grown and developed during the past half decade. In Novem- ber, 1908, Mr. Jenizen was one of the organizers and assisted in opening the First National Bank of Har- lowton, and still retains his interest therein, being a member of the directing board. His confidence in the future of this community has been made evident by his investing in numerous pieces of real estate, and on every occasion he is ready to state his views on the subject. As to the mining, sheep and cattle interests, he feels that they speak for themselves, while he also believes that farming has far passed the experimental stage and is now an assured success. Fraternally he is connected with the Woodmen of the World, the Odd Fellows and the Elks. While he is not a member of any particular denomination, he is an upright Chris- tian citizen, and generously supports all churches. Politically a Republican, Mr. Jenizen takes an active interest in the success of his party, but has constantly refused to accept political favors, although often urged to do so. He is fond of all clean, healthy amusement and sport, and a good bowling match or sparring exhibition will have no more interested spectator.

At Billings, Montana, in 1890, occurred Mr. Jeni- zen's marriage to Miss Louisa Jenizen, who died in 1892, leaving one child: Nicholas E., a graduate of the public schools who is now living on a ranch. In 1897 Mr. Jenizen married (second) Mrs. Catherine McGregor of Billings, who had one daughter by her former marriage: Irene, who attended the Billings public schools, and then took a five-year course in St. Vincent's Academy, Helena, and a special busi- ness course at Marion, Indiana, subsequently spend- ing quite a time in extensive travel. She married George L. Farr, a promient druggist of Lavina, Mon- tana, who also has branch stores at Harlowton and Hedgesville.

THOMAS T. BAKER, A resident of Montana for more than thirty years, Thomas T. Baker was one of the best known and most highly honored pioneer citizens of this. state at the time of his death, which occurred at his home, in the city of Butte, on the 30th of April, 1906, his passing having been the cause of uniform sorrow in the commonwealth which he had so signally dignified and honored by his character, ability and services. He was a man of specially high intellectual and technical attainments and through his labors in his profession he did much to further the material and civic develop- ment and upbuilding of Montana, where he gained wide reputation both as a civil engineer and mining engineer, in both of which fields of endeavor he was an expert. He was long in the government service in the line of his chosen profession and at the time of his demise was the oldest man in the United States surveying corps. It had been his to serve with distinguished gal- lantry as a soldier of the Union in the Civil war and in all the relations of life he manifested the same high sense of loyalty and personal honor that marked his course during his long and valiant service as a soldier of the republic. A man of exalted character and one who made his life count for good to the world, he left a deep impress upon the history of Montana, and the great heart and soul of the man gained to him friends among all classes, so that when he was summoned to the life eternal his loss was mourned with a sense of deep personal bereavement in the state throughout which he was so well known and to the development of whose magnificent resources he had contributed in generous measure.

Thomas T. Baker was a scion of stanch German stock and his paternal and maternal ancestors estab- lished homes in the historic old state of Virginia in the colonial days, his parents having been natives of that part of the Old Dominion which now constitutes the state of West Virginia, and his father having be- come one of the representative agriculturists of Bar- bour county, in what is now West Virginia, and later moved to Norborne, Missouri, where he resided until his death. Thomas T. Baker, to whom this memoir is dedicated, was born in Barbour county, West Virginia, on the 12th of November, 1839, many years before the present state was segregated from Virginia, and he was the third in order of birth of the thirteen children born to Joseph K. and Matilda (Thomas) Baker. In addi- tion to having been one of the prominent and progres- sive agriculturists of that section the father also served as a freighter during the Civil war for the United States government.

He had barely attained to his legal majority when the Civil war was precipitated on a divided nation, and his sympathies were entirely with the cause of the Union, so that his loyalty and patriotism soon found definite expression, as he had witnessed, at Phillipi, the judicial center of his native county, the first important land battle of the war, the same having occurred on the 3d of June, 1861. On August 23, 1862, he enlisted in Co. F, Fifteenth West Virginia Infantry, in the Union service, and was mustered in as first sergeant of his company. He continued his military career until victory had crowned the Union arms and peace had been de- clared, and was mustered out at the close of the war. with the rank of lieutenant. He lived up to the full, tension of the great fratricidal conflict and endured his quota of hardships and hazards on marches and in camp, in skirmishes and in fifteen important battles. Among the more noteworthy engagements in which he partici- pated and proved his valor was that of Cloyd's Moun- tain (or Farm), in Virginia, on the 9th of May, 1864, where, after one and one-half hours of close and fierce conflict between the opposing forces, fully six hundred gallant men lay dead upon the field of carnage. Mr. Baker also took part in the battles of New River Bridge, Lexington, Lynchburg, Winchester, Halltown and Petersburg.' At Winchester he received a wound which

Thomas . Solar

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incapacitated him for further service for a period of about three months, and he was on the field of Appo- mattox at the time of the final surrender of General Lee at that historic point. He also saw service in the west, where he took part in the campaign in 1876 against the Nez Perce Indians. at Camas Prairie, Montana. Thus in this later military service, a number of years after the close of the Civil war, he again proved his mettle and valor as a soldier.

After the close of the war Mr. Baker returned to the old home, but there he remained only a brief interval, as in September, 1865, he made his way to Iowa and, to gain further educational discipline, entered a prepara- tory school at Lynnville. Thereafter he completed a course in Grinnell College, that state, in which excellent institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1874, his studies having covered not only the pre- scribed scientific course but also that of civil engineer- ing. That he had proved an ambitious and receptive" student is evidenced by the fact that after his graduation he was retained as assistant instructor in chemistry and physics at his alma mater, Grinnell College, for one year. He then, in 1875, came to Montana, and as this was before railroads had entered the territory, he made the overland trip, which many of the pioneers of the present state recall as a far different means of travel than those afforded at the present day. He located in old Virginia City, the scene of the great gold stampede somewhat more than a decade earlier, and there he served one year as principal of the public schools, and he did much to systematize and expand the work of the schools during his administration, which continued for one year. In 1877 Mr. Baker was ap- pointed deputy United States mineral surveyor and in the spring of the following year he removed to Butte, the metropolis of Montana, where he continued to maintain his home until his death, many years later. Here he initiated practice as a civil and mining sur- veyor, the while he still continued in the government service, and his success was of the most unequivocal order, as he was one of the most expert and discrimi- nating surveyors in the state in those early years, even as he was at the time of his demise. He also had the good judgment to develop a broad field of activity in the patenting of claims, both agricultural and mineral, and it is maintained by those familiar with conditions that he personally surveyed more claims for patent than has any other one United States surveyor, his terri- tory having included both Montana and Idaho.

During these years of indefatigable and earnest en- deavor Mr. Baker became concerned in constructive works involving great difficulties, and in every in- stance he proved himself master of the situation, by solving the mechanical and engineering problems and carrying the projects to successful completion. He sur- veyed the aqueduct ditch and superintended the erection of the waterworks system at Glendale and also installed the fine hydraulic plant at the Yogo sapphire mines, in this state. His interposition was frequently secured as an expert reporter on mines and mining properties, and, as previously stated, he was at the time of his death the oldest man in the United States surveying corps.

Broad in capacity, high in ideals, progressive and loyal as a citizen, Mr. Baker was well qualified for leadership in thought and action, and he did much to foster the industrial and civic development and ad- vancement of Montana, in whose history his name merits a place of lasting honor. In politics he accorded un- qualified allegiance to the Republican party and he was specially well fortified in his opinions concerning economic and governmental policies. He never sought or held office aside from the line of his profession, but his admirable administration in the position of county surveyor of Silver Bow county will not soon be for- gotten, as many enduring evidences of his skill and judgment remain as a mark of his eminent service

in this capacity. He ever retained a deep interest in his old comrades of the Civil war and manifested the same by his membership in the Grand Army of the Re- public, in which he was distinctively popular, as was he also in all other relations of life. His heart was at- tuned to sympathy and tolerance and he never missed an opportunity to aid and uplift his fellow men, no matter what their station in life. He was a devout and zealous member of the Presbyterian church, as is also luis widow.

On the 27th of March, 1884, was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Baker to Miss Mary I. Hobart, who was at the time a resident of Port Byron, Illinois. Mrs. Baker was born at Audubon, Illinois, and is a daughter of David Sumner and Abigail (Stimson) Hobart. Mrs. Baker still maintains her home in Butte, and in the loss of her devoted and honored husband she is sustained and comforted by the presence of their two children, --- Jacob H., who is a member of the class of 1914 in the Montana School of Mines, and Julia D., who graduated from the Butte high school in 1912.

MARK B. CONROW. One of Kalispell's foremost legal lights, one of her best educated men, one of her sturdi- est Democrats, is Mark B. Conrow, who has ably served as city attorney and as deputy county attor- ney, who enjoys a wide social popularity and whose moral influence is by no means the least considerable element of his worth to the community.

A true citizen of Montana is Mr. Conrow, whose entire life has been spent here, save for the years spent in university and professional study. His father, John M. Conrow, has been a resident of the state for nearly a half century, having come from New Jersey, his native state, at the close of the war, to Livingston, Montana. Exchanging the martial experiences of the Civil war for the peaceful employments of cattle rais- ing and ranching, he had come first to Virginia City, having mining and prospecting interests as well as agricultural. In Livingston he later made his home and as a resident of Park county was for three terms asked to represent his district as a representative to the Montana legislature, this honor being succeeded by the state senatorship, which he held for the second term, and which expired in the autumn of 1912. Mrs. John Conrow, the mother of the Kalispell barrister to whom this article is dedicated, was a native of New Jersey, but came across the plains to Montana with a married sister. At the age of seventeen she was living on a ranch twelve miles east of Livingston. Since her marriage to Senator Conrow twelve children have been added to their family, of whom Mark B. is the eldest. In Gallatin county, Montana, he was born on the seventeenth of September, 1875. He was edu- cated in the public schools of the county and of Liv- ingston, where he was graduated from the high school with the class of 1896. This general education was carried to a higher level by his subsequent course in the University of Minnesota, where he also pursued the prescribed course in legal training, receiving the de- gree of L.L. B. Returning to Livingston, he spent the greater part of a year in the law office of Judge Sav- age, after which he was admitted to the bar of Mon- tana from Kalispell. Here he located for residence and practice. In this locality he has remained since 1901 and from that time his practice, which is of a general nature, has been steadily growing in amount and prestige.

Mr. Conrow is a Democrat who endorses the policies of that great commoner, Mr. Bryan. In politics he has always been especially active, frequently serving as del- egate to state conventions with both enthusiasm and faithfulness. His incumbency of the office of deputy county attorney was one most creditable to him and one which was continued for a second term. He has served one term also as city attorney of Kalispell, dis-

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charging the duties of this office with exceptional con- scientiousness and discriminating judgment.

The Kalispell Club claims Mark Conrow as one of its valued members. He is prominent in no less than three of the secret societies of the place, holding mem- bership in the organizations of the Woodmen of the World, the Yeomen of America and Fraternal Order of Eagles. He is a loyal member and supporter of the Christian church. As a member of professional societies, he is connected with the County, State and American Bar Associations.

The marriage of Mr. Conrow to Miss Eileen M. McCormick took place on the twenty-eighth of Novem- ber, 1902. Two daughters came to them, named respec- tively Mary Alice and Margaret Helen. Mrs. Conrow died six years after her marriage. On the nine- teenth of October, 1911, Mr. Conrow was a second time wedded. The present Mrs. Conrow, as Miss Josephine E. Ryan, was a native of Wisconsin and the daughter of John Ryan. The family residence of Mr. and Mrs. Conrow is at 504 Sixth avenue East.

Mark Conrow's office in the new Conrad building of Kalispell is a busy place for he has a very large practice. He espouses no commercial interests, de- voting by preference all his attention to legal science in general and to his specific cases in particular.

ALEXANDER J. JOHNSTON. For nearly forty years has Mr. Johnston been a resident of Montana and during this entire period his business activities have been in connection with operations conducted by that dis- tinguished citizen of the state, Senator William A. Clark. For fully a quarter of a century Mr. Johnston has been the able and popular cashier of the banking house of W. A. Clark & Brother in the city of Butte, and in his field of endeavor he is known as one of the representative members of the banking fraternity in the state. He has naturally had to do with affairs of broad scope and importance, is known as a careful and discriminating financier and executive and is one of the prominent business men and influential citizens of the Montana metropolis, where his circle of friends is prac- tically coincident with that of his acquaintances. His identification with the banking business is the more interesting to note by reason of the fact that nine dif- ferent branches of the Johnston family have been actively concerned with this important line of enter- prise.

Alexander J. Johnston claims the fine old Keystone state as the place of his nativity and is a scion of a family that was founded in America in the colonial epoch of our national history. He was born at Con- nellsville, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, on the 6th of October, 1851, and is a son of Joseph and Florinda (Maguire) Johnston, the former a native of Pennsyl- vania and the latter of Maryland. The mother of Mr. Johnston was a daughter of Major Samuel Maguire, of Cumberland, Maryland. Mrs. Florinda Johnston was also a granddaughter of Col. Samuel Clark, who was an officer in the War of the Revolution and who was a representative and influential citizen of Wash- ington county, Pennsylvania, where the town of Clarks- ville was named in his honor.

Joseph Johnston passed his entire life in Pennsyl- vania and was for many years engaged in the banking business at Connellsville, a line of enterprise in which his father and paternal grandfather likewise had been engaged in that state. He was one of the honored and influential citizens of Fayette county and con- tinued to reside at Connellsville until his death, at the age of seventy years, his widow preceding him by several vears and both having been consistent members of the Presbyterian church. They became the parents of four sons and three daughters, and of the number the subject of this review was the second in order of birth. The eldest son, Dr. J. C. Johnston, hecame

one of the leading representatives of the medical pro- fession in Montana and his death occurred in Butte, where he had been established in the practice of his profession for several years; Samuel M. Johnston, another of the sons, is now assistant manager of the Montana Hardware Company, one of the important concerns of Butte; and E. Wilson Johnston was for a time a resident of this city, whence he went to Jerome, Arizona, as a mining engineer in the employ of Senator William A. Clark, and there he lost his life in the caving in of a mine.

Alexander J. Johnston was reared to adult age in his native town, to whose public schools he is indebted for his early educational discipline, which was supple- mented by an effective course in Chambersburg Academy, at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. As a youth he gained practical experience by working in his father's banking institution and in the same he continued to be employed the greater part of the time until he sought a new field of endeavor in Montana, of which state he may consistently be termed a pioneer. He arrived in Butte, this state, on the 18th of November, 1876, as a young man of twenty-five years, and on the follow- ing day he entered the employ of Senator Clark, with whose interests he has since continued to be actively identified. His first employment was in a subordinate position in a quartz mill and after a period of eight months Senator Clark gave him a position in the bank of which he is now cashier. He began at the foot of the ladder and won his advancement through ability, integrity and efficient service. He came into the Clark Bank in July, 1877, and passed through. the various grades of promotion until he was given his present responsible executive position, that of cashier, of which he has been the incumbent since July, 1887.

Mr. Johnston has not only figured as one of the enterprising and substantial business men of Butte but has also been known as one of the loyal and public- spirited citizens of the state of his adoption,-a com- monwealth in whose development and progress he has shown the deepest interest. Though never showing any desire to enter the arena of so-called practical politics, he accords a staunch allegiance to the Demo- cratic party, and his religious faith is that of the Pres- byterian church. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and holds membership in the Silver Bow Club, of which he was at one time treasurer and in whose fine club house he has maintained his home for the past several years. Mr. Johnston is a popular factor in the representative social activities of the city. He is unmarried.

JOSEPH ' WEGGENMAN, the secretary and treasurer of the Sanitary Meat Company of Helena was born in that city on St. Valentine's day of the centennial year of our nation's independence. When he had finished the public school course at Helena, he engaged in the cigar- making trade for three years. He was then identified with Hinky Brothers, and later with James Blake, learn- ing with them the details of the meat business. Subse- Quently he became the manager of the Helena' Packing Company. After a number of years in their employ, Mr. Weggenman went into business with Thomas Moran of the Sanitary Meat Company, a brief description of which will be found in the sketch of Mr. Moran. Mr. Weggen- man's thorough acquaintance with all branches of the trade has been of inestimable value to the Sanitary Com- pany, enabling them to avail themselves of the ordinary methods and to improve upon these in various details. Mr. Weggenman is one who possesses not only energy but initiative, and this combination has brought him to the front in his undertakings. A communicant of the Roman Catholic church, he is a member of the Knights of Columbus, and evinces his loyalty to the land of his: ancestors by his connection with the Sons of Hermann.'

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HISTORY OF MONTANA

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He supports the policies of the Republican party, but is not prominent in political affairs.

Mr. Weggenman's domestic circle includes his wife, Lile (Hebert) Weggenman, and their four children: Hebert, Harold, Vincent and Homer Weggenman. Mrs. Weggenman is also a member of the church of Rome.

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A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 63

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