A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 80

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

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On December 27, 1884, Mr. Marron was united in marriage with Miss Grace V. Bendon, daughter of Nathaniel and Mary C. (McCoy) Bendon, the former horn in Stark county, Ohio, and the latter in Missouri. From Ohio Mr. Bendon moved to Minnesota, and from there to Dakota, still later coming to Montana and settling in Glendive. On December 25, 1903, Mrs. Mar-

ron was married to James W. Gilmore, who was born at Fairlee, Vermont, February 3, 1836. In 1880 Mr. Gilmore, with his first wife and their three children, came up the Missouri river to Fort Benton, and from there traveled overland to Helena, Montana. At a later date Mr. Gilmore located in Dawson county, and was the first man to enter into the sheep business here and made it a decided success. He retired from active business, one of Glendive's most respected citizens, in 1906, and died at his home in Glendive, February 23, 1912, his burial taking place at Reading, Massachusetts. Mrs. Gilmore, who still survives and lives in the com- fortable home in Glendive, is one of the city's oldest and most highly esteemed residents. She has many friends throughout this section, and holds a prominent position in church and social circles.

WILLIAM L. SWENDEMAN. The career of Mr. Swen- deman has conformed to the changing tastes in loco- motion of the ever advancing American people. From bicycles the transition to automobiles was easy, and per- haps in the not very distant future he may handle the latest models of flying machines and be prepared to supply skilled aviators to drive them. Certainly his success in the lines of vehicles he has thus far handled would justify confidence in his branching out into the newest line of space destroyers.

Born in Minneapolis on August 21, 1872, Mr. Swende- man came to Helena with his parents in time to obtain the most of his public education in this city. After working at different occupations, he decided to learn a trade, and so went into the establishment of Lang & Company, tinsmiths and sheetmetal workers. He mastered this trade, and worked for the firm from 1888 until 1893.

When Mr. Swendeman left Lang & Company, he secured a position with a bicycle manufacturing concern, and for a number of years he followed this occupation in various parts of the country. During this period he became known as a bicycle rider of skill and speed, and from 1888 to 1893 held the championship of Mon- tana. As visible signs and tokens of his prowess in this art, Mr. Swendeman has a number of medals won in different contests. In 1895 he returned to Helena and engaged in the bicycle business there. At that period all the world was awheel, and not to ride was to be practically excluded not merely from society, but even from conversation. Mr. Swendeman reaped the benefits of this penchant for wheeling, as he had a first-class establishment. He finally sold out to engage in the automobile business, when the popularity of the bicycle began to wane. He conducts this business with the same address and initiative which marked his earlier venture, and he has the exclusive agency for several popular models. These include the Franklin and the Peerless. The company is now incorporated, and Mr. Swendeman is its president.

Mr. Swendeman might have inherited his taste for machinery and mechanics, as his father was experienced in those lines. Sanfield Swendeman was born in Ger- many in 1842. He came to America with his parents at the age of seven and was educated in Minneapolis. He became a contractor and millwright, and in 1880, when he came to Helena, held the position of foreman in W. Reynolds' machine works. He died in Helena in 1883, and is buried here. He was married at Akron, Ohio, to Miss Lizzie Baum, who was born in Cleveland in 1851. She is now a resident of Helena.

The Elks' lodge is the only society to which Mr. Swendeman belongs. His political sympathies are with the Democratic party. He and Mrs. Swendeman are members of the Congregational church, and liberal sup- porters of all its departinents of work. Mrs. Swende- man's maiden name was Mable Buckner, and she relin- quished it in favor of Swendeman on November 16, 1898, at Battle Creek, Michigan. The only child, Wil-

Thomas kean

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liam L., Jr., died before he reached his second birthday. His little life began on September 5, 1908, and was ended on July 20, 1910. This bereavement is the deep- est sorrow in the happy and prosperous life of Mr. and Mrs. Swendeman. The success which he enjoys is the fruit of Mr. Swendeman's own work and ability. He knows the pleasures of friendship, and is sought after by those who like congenial company, and few of the good things of life have been denied him, as the deserved rewards of his industry and foresight.

THOMAS KEAN. Forty-two years have passed since the first pioneer came to Glendive, Montana, and to find hin one need not look for hoary age or weakened faculties; on the other hand, Thomas Kean, justice of the peace and president of the Glendive State Bank, is an excel- lent example of the alert and wide awake business man that controls many of the leading enterprises of this section after fostering and founding them and impresses a visitor as one very capable of continuing for many years to come. Thomas Kean was born at Tonawanda, Erie county, New York, August 8, 1848, and is a son of James and Ellen M. (McGuire) Kean.

James Kean was born in Scotland in 1816 and died at Buffalo, New York, in 1872, when aged fifty-six years. When he came to the United States in early manhood he stopped at Tonawanda, New York, and remained there for some years engaged in teaching school. Hc then went into the stave shipping business and Jater removed in the same business to Buffalo, New York. He was married in Erie county to Ellen M. Mc- Guire, who was born in Ireland in 1825, came to Amer- ica with her people in 1829 and died January 14, 1912, in her eighty-seventh year. They were the parents of fourteen children, seven of whom survive, namely : Thomas; Michael and James, who both live at Tona- wanda, New York; John, who is a resident of Los Angeles, California ; Carrie, who is the wife of William Hanna, of Portland, Oregon; Anna, who is the wife of David Johnson, of Chicago, Illinois; and Ella, who is the wife of M. Bowers, of La Salle, New York.

Thomas Kean attended school at Buffalo and no doubt his father intended him to become a shipper of barrels and all kinds of staves, like himself, but the youth took his future in his own hands and ran away from home and in 1865 enlisted as a bugler in Company B, Sixth United States Cavalry, at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The life of discipline, combined with adventure, suited him so well that after three years of service he re-enlisted in the same capacity, in Company C, Seventeenth United States Infantry, and was honorably discharged in 1876 at Fort Wadsworth, Dakota, after eight full years of service. Under the command of General Crittenden, he partici- pated in all the hazardous work of his command, soldier- ing along the border and np through Dakota and Mon- tana in those days, taxing both the courage and strength of officers and men. When his regiment reached the Cheyenne Indian agency in Dakota, on the Missouri river, the old Indian chief, Bull Eagle, endeavored to frighten the soldiers and gave them his ultimatum, that they should get back across the river by sundown or take the consequences. It may have surprised him that his threat caused no apprehension among the military men as, doubtless on many occasions, his commands had turned back bands of prospectors and helpless pioneer settlers and probably their acquiescence did not always save either their lives or property.

It was in 1872 that Mr. Kean came with his regiment up the Yellowstone Valley on the survey of the Northern Pacific Railroad line to Powder river and passed through and early filed his claim on the present site of Glendive. Thus, although not the oldest in point of years among the pioneers of this flourishing place, Mr. Kean has owned property the longest time and is entitled to the distinction named. This property he still controls, it being now sub-divided and known as

the Kean Addition to Glendive. Mr. Kean did not come to Glendive to live until May 14, 1880. During the sum- mer of 1876 he was steward for the officers' club at Fort Lincoln; in the winter of 1876 he engaged as cook for Douglas & Smith, at Standing Rock, and afterward was a cook on the great Dalrymple farm in Dakota. In 1879 he made the overland trip to Miles City, Montana, where he worked until the following spring in a saw mill. While the greater part of his life up to this time had been passed in Dakota and Montana and Indian fighting predominated while he was a soldier, for a time, just after the Civil war, he was with the Sixth Calvary in Texas, taking prisoners of disturbers of the public peace.

After locating at Glendive, Mr. Kean was engaged for a time as foreman of the painting gang on the Yellow- stone division of the Northern Pacific Railroad, after- ward went into the real estate business and served two years as public administrator and one year subsequently as under-sheriff of Dawson county, Montana. In 1910 Mr. Kean was elected to the office of justice of the peace and gives excellent satisfaction. In 1910 he was elected president of the Scandinavian German State Bank, which was re-organized as the Glendive State Bank, Mr. Kean continuing at the head of the institu- tion.

On October 31, 1882, Mr. Kean was married to Miss Isola Jordan, who was born in Massachusetts, and they have had seven children, namely: Mattie, who died in infancy; Charles E., who is a resident of Montana, mar- ried Flora B. Brown; Emma, who is the wife of Anton Patnode; John A. Logan, who was accidentally drowned when aged nine years; and Laura, Catherine and James T. Politics always claim the attention, more or less, of leading men, and Mr. Kean's experience and convictions have made him a Republican. He is a member of Gate City Lodge, No. 37, Odd Fellows, and takes pardonable pride in the membership of this fraternal body in Mon- tana.

HON. WILLIAM OLIVER SPEER has been identified with the best interests of Butte and the state of Montana since 1880, the year in which he first turned his face in a westerly direction. His has been a career thus far of large public usefulness, and the services which he has rendered to his city, county, and district would be impossible to estimate adequately. As city attorney of Butte in his early residence in the city, his work was of a high order, resulting in lasting benefit to the community ; as representative of his district in the terri- torial house of representatives, he again displayed the quality and calibre which have marked his entire career, and as judge of the second judicial district, he has given continuous evidence of the many-sided character and the unfaltering integrity which have made him such a power for good in his community.

William Oliver Speer was born August 26, 1846, in Butler county, Pennsylvania. His parents were Robert and Charlotte (Covert) Speer. The father was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and the mother was of Dutch extraction, her ancestors having settled in the colonies after migrating from the Holland home and taking active parts in the struggle for American independence. Robert Speer was the son of William Speer, who immi- grated from the North of Ireland to the United States soon after the American Revolution and settled in Pennsylvania, where he became a prosperous farmer, and, where after a well spent life in the service of church and state, he was finally called to rest. He was one of the lay members of the Church of the Covenanters and took an active part in forming and establishing the new division of that denomination. His son, Robert, the father of the subject, married in early life and continued to reside in Pennsylvania until in 1855, when he removed with his family to Daven- port, Iowa, there following the trade of carpenter and

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builder until his death, which occurred on January 28, 1896.

Of the seven children born to Robert and Charlotte Speer, Judge Speer of this review is the eldest. He received his education principally in Davenport, and in his school days was known for his studious habits and his keen desire for knowledge. Upon leaving school he read law in the office of Brown & Campbell, well known in their own and adjacent states as coun- sellors of much learning and power. In 1874 the young man was admitted to the bar, and continued for some time vigorously pursuing his legal studies in the office of J. W. Thompson, a leading lawyer and politician of the state of Iowa. For two years he practiced alone, then formed a partnership with N. S. Mitchell, which lasted until the judge decided to come to the west, when in 1880 he located in Butte. Here he began a profes- sional and political career which has become a source of unmixed honor and profit to himself, and of the greatest service to the state.

As one of the most active and enthusiastic promoters of the organization of Silver Bow county, Judge Speer called the first meeting at which the project was con- sidered, and he never ceased in his forceful efforts until the desired end was attained by the creation of that county.

As a stanch Republican he participated effectively in the canvass of 1880 with Hon. W. F. Sanders, and in 1884 he was elected a member of the territorial house of representatives, in which body he was chairman of the judiciary committee. In 1887 he was elected city attorney of Butte and was his own successor in the office the following year. During his incumbency of office he, in effect, re-created the city government, estab- lishing it fully under a systematic municipal form. Prior to this time the ordinances had been conflicting, many of them being incorrectly and carelessly drawn, so that there was a deplorable lack of necessary unity of purpose and harmony of import to make them effec- tive, and thus his services in the office proved not for the time being only, but for all time in the history of the city. In 1890 he was appointed supervisor of the census for the state of Montana by President Harrison. Two years later he was made a nou-partisan candidate for judge of the second judicial district, consisting of Silver Bow county. In politics Judge Speer is a vet- eran in the ranks of the Republican party of Montana, whose principles he has continued to support from the time of the organization of the party in Silver Bow county. On January 10, 1895, Judge Speer was united in marriage with Mrs. Lina H. Koehler, a native of St. Louis, Missouri. Since his retirement from the bench he has devoted himself especially to looking after his business interests, which are of considerable extent. In 1899 he erected the Princeton block, one of the finest residence properties in the city, as well as being the first modern flat or apartment building erected in the state.

The public interests of his home locality have ever had the close, intelligent. and serviceable attention of Judge Speer, and no movement that he believed might be of advantage to the community has ever failed to enlist his earnest and vigorous support. It was mainly through his instrumentality that the Northern Pacific erected its commodious station at Butte, only after four years of persistent effort on his part, in conse- quence of which he is often referred to as the father of that depot.

The sun of Judge Speer's life is yet at its meridian, and he has seen the vast development of a portion of the mineral and agricultural resources of the state, whose riches have not yet been fully inventoried, while he can see in anticipation something of the added greatness which will inevitably be given to the state of his adoption in the years to come. Certain it is that he must feel something of the comfort that must ever

spring from the knowledge that he has borne his share in the development of the state to its present condi- tion, and in making possible its further unlimited growth in which he hopes to have a part.

DAVID R. MEAD has been for many years an impor- tant figure in the financial and commercial world of Montana. He was born in Illinois, in 1848, a son of Alexander J. Mead, who was a native of Pennsylvania and had settled in Illinois in pioneer days.

David R. Mead grew up in Illinois and received his education in the public and high schools of Geneseo, Illinois. At the age of twenty he came out to Minne- sota and there at Winona went into the railroad busi- ness, as an employe of the North Western Railroad Company. He spent eight years there, but not being wholly satisfied he drifted west, and in 1880 came to Montana. He located in Glendive, where he was one of the earliest settlers and a pioneer in many of the town's important commercial interests. He became a merchant, rancher, banker and dealer in horses, cattle and sheep. In 1883 he helped to organize the Mer- chants National Bank of Glendive, of which he is now vice-president. As a merchant he has handled general merchandise, lumber and machinery and has always been active in many other industries of this section.

Mr. Mead was married in 1883 to Miss Alice H. Bingham, of Winona, Minnesota.

FIDEL HUBER. America has been likened to a great melting-pot into which all the nations of the earth are cast in a constant tide of immigration, the result being the American citizen, virile, progressive, with his fine ideas of freedom and independence. It is generally acknowledged that one of the most desirable elements which enter into the great crucible is the German, the nation having everything to gain and nothing to lose from the assimilation of this brainy, honest and gen- erally admirable stock. Among the Fatherland's con- tribution to Dillon is Fidel Huber, who has resided here since 1880. He is senior member of the firm of Huber Brothers, jewelers, the pioneer jewelry house of Beaverhead county.

Fidel Huber was born in Germany, April 24, 1864. At the age of about eight years he came with his uncle to America and went directly to Corinne, Utah, reach- ing there in 1872. There he remained for about five years, and in this time young Fidel began to learn the jewelry business from his uncle, John Kiepfer, who was established in business there. At this period the Utah Northern was being built into Montana and Mr. Huber followed the road with the stock of Mrs. L. Kupfer until they reached Dillon. Their arrival in this place was in November, 1880, and the business was at that time owned by Mrs. L. Kupfer, and managed by Fidel Huber. In 1890 Mr. Huber's brother, Fred, joined him and the firm of Huber Brothers was formed, the business of Mrs. Kupfer being taken over. The busi- ness has been most successful ever since that time. When the Huber Brothers started here they had a very small concern, but it has grown and improved and today is second to none in the state. The following article from the Dillon Tribune gives a page of their history and is herewith inserted in this article.

"The pioneer in any line of business is interesting because of the stages of development through which the undertaking has passed. It is made up of a series of changes and vicissitudes that try the courage and manhood of man, and which none but the fit survive. The pioneer jewelry house of Dillon-Huber Brothers -has grown from a small concern to one of Montana's best and stands today a model of business integrity and fair dealing. Its rank is shown by the fact that when the state of Montana presented the battleship "Montana" with a silver service, all the jewelry firms in the state were invited to bid, but the contract was

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awarded to Huber Brothers of Dillon, first because of the quality of their goods and second because of their reasonable prices. This has been their position in Dillon for thirty years-leaders in quality, service and unvarying courtesy of treatment. Huber Brothers from the first arranged to carry as large and valuable a stock as the market would support. They have added to their business as the demand warranted, until now they carry all the lines demanded and handle them in large quantities and of the finest qualities. A finely arranged store building is so perfectly lighted that every detail in a remarkably full stock of jewelry, diamonds, hand-painted china, clocks and watches and a complete line of umbrellas, guns, ammunition and appurtenances can be displayed to the advantage of the goods and the satisfaction of the purchaser.

"An especially strong appeal is made to the artistic and the collection of rare filligree work, delicate Dres- den and Havilands and a thousand and one articles of splendid workmanship and fine texture mark the stock as one to be appreciated by a connoisseur. To one whose taste in these lines has been developed there is food for many an hour's examination. As a regular adjunct to the jewelry business a fully equipped op- , tical department is maintained. Mr. Fred Huber is a registered optician of long experience and attends promptly to this important feature of his work."

Fidel Huber received his early education in the pub- lic schools of Corinne, Utah. His father, Vinzenz Huber, was born in Germany and lived there all his life. He was a railroad contractor and lost his life in an accident at St. Gotthard Tunnel, the large tunnel be- tween Italy and Switzerland. This sad event occurred in 1890, when his years numbered fifty-six. The mother, whose maiden name was Marie Kupfer, was a native of Germany, where she resided all her life.

Mr. Huber takes a keen and helpful interest in the many-sided life of Dillon. He is a prominent Mason, belonging to all the bodies of the august order from the blue lodge and to the Shrine, and he has filled all the chairs in all except the Shrine. Politically he is independent, supporting the man and the measure he believes to best represent the interests of the peo- ple, irrespective of party. Various public positions held by him have been alderman, member of school board, member of the Normal college board and city treasurer. He has proved fully equal to the responsibilities of all these. He is a self-made man, self-reliant, and unswerv- ing in the face of duty. He believes Montana to be the coming state of the west and his ideas on the future of Beaverhead county are roseate indeed. He has seen its growth in the past and knows that the future contains numerous good things where the past contained one.

Mr. Huber has three sisters and one brother, all of whom reside in Dillon, as follows: Fred Huber, junior member of the firm of Huber Brothers; Lena Fassler, Bertha and Anna Huber, all natives of Germany. The four maintain a beautiful and elegantly appointed home in Dillon, all living together. It is a popular gather- ing place and the scene of gracious hospitality. The subject is senior warden in the Episcopal church and takes great interest in church affairs. He has the reputation of being one of the most able and substan- tial business men in this part of the state.

HON. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN WHITE was born in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, December 3, 1838, and resided there until he was nineteen years of age. He then left home and went as a seaman in a merchant vessel to Australia and China. In 1858 he made a trip around the Horn to San Francisco and located in California. There he remained until 1866. While in California he followed mining and ranching, and during one winter he was on a steamer plying between Portland and San Francisco. In 1866 he left California and went to

Oneida county, Idaho, where he engaged in the salt business and remained until 1879. During this period he was elected county clerk and recorder. When the Utah Northern Railroad came into Montana he became connected with it as freight forwarder, reshipping to all points in Montana. He maintained the largest wagon freight service in the history of the west, his company having two thousand wagons in use. They maintained a bank, a commissary, and everything necessary for com- fort and convenience in their business.

Governor White reached Dillon in the fall of 1880 and has resided here ever since. He opened the first bank in Dillon and in 1884 he organized it into the First National. His one desire and ambition was to build up this bank and he has succeeded. The First Na- tional Bank of Dillon is not only finely equipped and up to date in every way but is positively the strongest finan- cial institution in Montana. He has been president and active head of it for thirty years. During his resi- dence in Montana Governor White has had various other interests, but he devotes most of his time to the bank.

He earned his first money as a boy of fourteen hauling logs out of the swamps for his uncle. He earned thirteen dollars, and with this amount purchased a watch. He received his early education in the public schools of Massachusetts, and then he went to Pierce Academy in Middleborough, Massachusetts, where he was graduated.

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A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 80

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