A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 81

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

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He is a Republican and has always taken an active interest in politics. He was appointed governor by President Harrison in 1889 and served until the organ- ization of the state, having been the last territorial governor, and for a short time he served as state gov- ernor, until the new officers were installed. He has been mayor of Dillon more than two thirds of the time since the town was incorporated. He was a member of the territorial legislature in 1882, was speaker of the house of representatives, 1002-1904, inclusive, and mem- ber of the state senate, 1904-1908, inclusive. He was commissioner for Montana to the World's Fair at Chi- cago in 1893 and was commissioner to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis 1904-1905.

Governor White is a member of the Dillon Social Club and of the Dillon Commercial Club, having been president of the latter at one time. He is fond of good horses, of automobiling, baseball, football and music. He spends his winters in California.

He was married in February, 1879, in Oneida county, Idaho, to Miss Elizabeth Davis, daughter of Emrys and Margaret Davis, of Oneida county. There are four children of this marriage. Carolyn was born in August, 1881, and resides with her parents. Emrys D. was born in August, 1883, is married and resides in Dillon, and is assistant in his father's bank. Ralph W. was born in March, 1892, and resides at Redlands, California, where he has an orange grove. Margaret W. was born in March, 1892, and is now attending school at North- ampton, Massachusetts.

Governor White's father was Benjamin White, who was born at Plymouth, Massachusetts, and was a direct descendant of Peregrine White, the first white child born among the Pilgrims who landed from the Mayflower. He was a cotton manufacturer and was connected with one of the first cotton mills erected in Rhode Island. He died in Middleborough, Massachusetts, at about ninety years of age and is buried there. The mother, Caroline Stockbridge White, was also born in Massa- chusetts. She died in Middleborough when about eighty-five years of age. The father and mother are buried side by side. In the elder White's family there were two children, both boys. The subject of this sketch was the younger. His brother, George M. White, still resides in Massachusetts.

Governor White and his wife are inclined toward the

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Episcopal church. Mrs. White takes much interest in church matters and is very active socially.

Governor White is a man who has made a very extra- ordinary record and is universally esteemed for his honor and honesty. There is not a man in Montana who is more honored, trusted and respected than Governor White. The people of Dillon and of Beaverhead county may be said without exaggeration to regard him almost with worship.

GEORGE M. BEASLEY. The next to the oldest wool buyer in the state of Montana, for more than a quarter of a century, one of the extensive sheep raisers of Dawson county, and well known in realty circles of the state as a man who has handled more real estate in large tracts than any other dealer, George M. Beasley has had an eventful and useful career, and is entitled to a place among the leading citizens of Glendive. He was born at Champaign, Champaign county, Illinois, October 13, 1860, and is a son of Washington West and Nancy (McNeil) Beasley, the former born in Hills- boro, Highland county, Ohio, January 14, 1831, and the latter a native of Ohio. Washington West Beasley left his native state at the age of twenty years and re- moved to Illinois, taking up his residence in one of the first houses built in the city of Champaign, where he was a pioneer farmer and stock raiser. In 1875 he removed to East St. Louis, Illinois, where he followed the live stock commission business until 1880, and at that time came to Custer county, Montana, locating first at Hathaway. He was engaged in the sheep busi- ness in that locality until 1893, his son, George M., being his partner, and then went to Big Timber. While on a business trip to Maravillas (or Maranatio), Mex- ico, his death occurred March 25, 1911. While residing in Champaign, Illinois, he was made a member of the Masonic fraternity, and was interested in the work of that organization throughout his life. In political matters a Republican, he was active in the ranks of his party, and served as a member of the state legislature for one term. He and his wife, whose death occurred in 1877, had seven children, of whom one died in in- fancy, the others being: John, residing in St. Paul, Minnesota; Charles, who lost his life by drowning when twenty years of age; Belle, the widow of George E. Newman, residing at Big Timber, Montana; George M .; Frank W., who died August 5, 1911, at Manilla, where he was engaged in mining; and Nat C., a resi- dent of California.

George M. Beasley secured his education in the schools of Champaign and East St. Louis, Illinois, and at the early age of eighteen years began his business career as a shipper of cattle from the latter city to New York City, for T. C. Eastman, a position which he held for about three years. He then engaged in business on his own account, buying and selling cattle for about two years at East St. Louis, but in January, 1882, moved to Custer county, Montana, locating at Hathaway, where he joined his father in the sheep busi- ness and continued therein until 1893. He then embarked in the same line on his own account on the range, feeding at different points, principally at St. Paul, but retired from the feeding business in 1909. He is still in the sheep business, however, but not on the range. In 1887 he engaged in buying wool for the old firm of Nichols & Dupree, of Boston, Massachusetts, and during that same year started to ship sheep to Rosenbaum Brothers & Company, Chicago, and it is characteristic of the man's life that he is still dealing with these same two firms or their successors. The only man older in the wool buying business is Mr. George Sharpe, but Mr. Beasley is the largest receiver of wool on consignment in the state. At the present time he carries on large transactions in real estate, and in 1910 completed the pressed brick office building in Glendive known as the Beasley Block, a handsome structure for

stores and offices. He is a Republican in his political views, one of the strongest Progressive men in Mon- tana, and a great admirer of Colonel Roosevelt, but has never cared for public office. Like his father, he has greatly interested himself in fraternal work, belong- ing to Glendive Lodge No. 31, A. F. & A. M., although he first became a Mason at Libertyville, Illinois, in 1894. He is also connected with St. Paul Lodge No. 59, B. P. O. E., at St. Paul, Minnesota; and Modern Woodmen Lodge No. 1253, at Ivanhoe, Illinois.

. On December 8, 1887, Mr. Beasley was united in marriage with Miss Emma Stoher, who was born in Burlington, Wisconsin. One child has been born to this union: May, who married, January 14, 19II, Edward A. Shabel, of Glendive, manager of the Good- rich-Call Lumber Company of Minnesota for Montana and Western North Dakota and a director in the company.

JOHN J. FOLEY. The story of the life of John J. Foley is one of pluck and a determination to win in the face of difficulties that would have proved disas- trous to nearly anyone save a man with the Irish blood in his veins, the blood which makes a man hang on to the skirts of success like a bull dog on to the coat tails of a man with a bone, till in despair the man gives the dog the bone. In the same way Mr. Foley clung to the belief that he must some day cease to be the "under-dog," and he was in time rewarded for his faith. It must be confessed, however, that he can not lay his final victory to Fate, but to his own strength of character and to his personality, which made him so popular among the citizens of Butte that he was elected clerk of the district court. He has proved worthy of the trust of the people and has filled the office to the satisfaction of judges, lawyers and liti- gants. He is only a bit over thirty, and being now firmly planted on the road to success, he will very likely take many steps further in the same direction.

John J. Foley was born in the state of Michigan, on the Ist of December. 1879. His father, Patrick Foley, was born in Ireland, but was only a child when he was brought to this country by his father, Patrick Foley. Patrick Foley, senior, settled in Calumet, Michi- gan, and here young Patrick grew up. He was put to work in the mines as soon as he was old enough to be of any use, this being at the age of nine. He con- tinued to work in these mines after he became a man, and in 1879, hoping he might better himself, he came out to Montana to look over conditions. Finding them immeasureably better than in the east, he decided to remain, and built a home, bringing his family out the following year. They arrived on the 16th of October, 1880, when John J. Foley was not yet a year old, so he knows nothing but the west and might be considered a westerner as truly as some who were born in this country. Patrick Foley spent the remainder of his life in Butte, where he died in 1905, at the age of sixty-one. He was an active Democrat, always ready to fight for his party. The mother of John J. Foley was Catherine Sullivan, also a native of the Green Isle. Her parents immigrated to America when she was six years old. They settled in Calumet, Michigan, and here is where she met and married young Patrick Foley.

A tragic event occurred in the life of John J. Foley when he was scarcely more than a babe. He was a child of four at the time, and like all children at- tracted by a crowd, he wandered over to where a group of curious people were gazing at the first ore car that had ever been seen in that vicinity. With a child's fearlessness he walked up close to the strange object and then in some way he was rolling under- neath the cars, and when they finally picked him up it was found that he had lost his right arm. With this great handicap, particularly severe to a man who

Gro. M. Beasley

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depends upon his hands to earn livelihood, John Foley's cheerfulness has never failed. Perhaps there is a good deal of truth in the saying that God afflicts those who are best able to bear it, that the strong ones of the earth are those who must suffer. At any rate few men would have fought the fight that John Foley did.

His elementary education was obtained in the Butte public schools, and later he attended the Butte Busi- ness College, where he took a commercial course. He realized that he would probably make more money in the mines than as a bookkeeper, but how could he do such work? He therefore prepared for the business world, and secured a position as bookkeeper with Cooney Brothers. Later he went to the Hennessy Company in the same capacity, but finally he gave up mercantile work and went into the mines. He made a success, despite his unfitness physically, and for five months worked underground. He was then given the position of watchman, which work brought him to the surface again. For three years he held this po- sition, meanwhile growing in popularity and winning friends right and left.

In politics he had always been a Democrat and, like his father, an active worker for his party, so that with his popularity, his general capability and trustworthi- ness, it was not surprising when he was nominated in 1908 for the office of clerk of the district court. It was still less surprising when he was elected, and since that time he has held this office of responsibility.

Mr. Foley is a loyal member of the Knights of Co- lumbus, of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, and of the Robert Emmet Literary Association. In all of these societies he takes a decp interest and is an ac- tive member. He was married on the 28th of July, 1909, to Margaret G. Stewart, a native of the state of Minnesota. Two sons have been born to them, John T., on the 19th of June, 1910, and Francis J., born Janu- ary 15, 1912.

VOLNEY C. WHITING, a well-known and highly repre- sentative citizen now living retired at Whitehall, Jeffer- son county, has been a resident of the state of Montana for nearly a third of a century. Mr. Whiting was born February 13, 1852, at Lockport, New York, the son of William C. and Caroline (Lawton) Whiting. The father was a shoemaker by occupation and in 1854 came west from New York, stopping for a short while in the state of Michigan, and thence to Pardeeville, Colum- bia county, Wisconsin. He enlisted in 1864 in Company E, Second Wisconsin Cavalry, and was taken prisoner and confined in a Mississippi prison. His health became impaired as a result of the prison life, and so continued until his death, though he lived to an advanced age, and died at Stillwater, Minnesota.

Volney C. Whiting went to work as a wage earner at the carly age of fourteen years, and thus received but a very meager education, attending school two winters only after he reached that age. He was employed as a farm laborer until his marriage, after which for three years he conducted a farm on shares in Columbia county, Wisconsin.

In the spring of 1880 Mr. Whiting was one of a party of five to leave the village of Poynette, Wisconsin, for Montana, one member of the party being his brother- in-law, William J. Alexander, now of Whitehall. The party made the trip up the Missouri river to Fort Ben- ton, and thence by wagons, with their household goods, to Butte, via Deer Lodge. They arrived in Butte in June, 1880, and there Mr. Whiting at once engaged in teaming, in which business he enjoyed a pleasing meas- ure of success. On May 28, 1884, in company with Mr. Alexander, previously referred to, they engaged in a grocery venture, with establishment located at 64 West Park street, in Butte, doing business under the · firm name of Whiting & Alexander. The new firm pros- pered from the start, and they built up an enviable repu-

tation for integrity and reliable business dealings. For fifteen years the business was continued here, when they disposed of it and removed to the T. T. Black ranch in the South Boulder Valley in Madison county, twelve miles from Whitehall, which ranch the firm had acquired several years previous. Here the firm of Whiting & Alexander became extensively engaged in the raising of vegetables, berries and small fruits of all descriptions, their products being disposed of in the Butte market and acquiring a high standard of excel- lence, a tribute to the knowledge and reliability of the individual members of the firm.

Messrs. Whiting and Alexander continued success- fully to operate their ranch, which they had enlarged from time to time, until in October, 1911, it consisted of 1,643 acres, when they disposed of it. Mr. Whiting purchased property in Whitehall and has there erected a fine home, and is engaged in looking after his private interests. For a number of years he has also been suc- cessfully engaged in mining operations in Silver Bow, Deer Lodge and Madison counties.

In 1876 Mr. Whiting was married in Poynette, Wis- consin, to Annie E. Alexander, only daughter born to John and Mary (Cutsforth) Alexander, and a sister of William J. Alexander, of Whitehall. Mr. and Mrs. Whiting have three daughters, as follows: Lillian M., married to George Wotoring, a merchant, and residents of Boise, Idaho. They have two daughters,-Elizabeth and Margaret. Mabel C. is the wife of Alexander Hus- band, and they reside at Tooele, Utah, where Mr. Hus- band holds the responsible position of cashier of the International Smelting and Refining Company. Grace P., the third daughter, is the wife of Major W. Smith, of the well known real estate firm of Wilson, Smith & Company, of Butte. They have two children, Volney and Woolridge.

Mr. Whiting is a Republican in politics, but not a strict partisan, voting for the men and measures that he deems best, regardless of party affiliations. He is a member of Butte Lodge, No. 22, A. F. & A. M., of the chapter, council and commandery at Butte and of Alge- ria Temple of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine at Helena.

Mr. Whiting is a self-made man in the very finest usage of the term. He has known reverses of fortune, and from a small beginning built up a flourishing busi- ness, the manipulation of which, as a result of his excel- lent business methods, his unfailing acumen and splen- did judgment, has won him a competency and enabled him to retire at middle age and enjoy the fruits of his labors.

WILLIAM J. ALEXANDER. For upwards of a third of a century William J. Alexander has been a resident of Montana, and his life was one of ceaseless activity until October, 1911, when he withdrew from more active business interests and is now living retired at White- hall, Jefferson county, where he is numbered among the well known and substantial citizens.

Mr. Alexander was born in Sandusky county, Ohio, ncar what is now the city of Bellevue, on April 12, 1853. He is a son of John and Mary J. (Cutsforth) Alexander, the father being a native of Sandusky county, Ohio, while his grandfather was a Pennsylvania Ger- man, and a pioneer of that section of the Buckeye state settled largely by Pennsylvanians.

When William J. Alexander was but a small boy his parents removed to Three Rivers, Michigan, and soon afterward his father enlisted at Burr Oak, Michigan, as a private in a Michigan regiment of infantry. He was taken prisoner in the south and confined in a Salisbury, North Carolina, prison, and died there. His widow later in life married Robert Tomlinson, and died in Butte, on March 12, 1912, at the age of eighty-one years. Two . children were born to Mr. and Mrs. John Alexander.

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The elder was William J., and the other, Annie E., is now the wife of Volney C. Whiting, of Whitehall.

William J. Alexander was twelve years old when his mother took up her home at Poynette, Columbia county, Wisconsin, and as soon as he was able he went to work that he might contribute to the support of the family. His educational advantages were of necessity of a lim- ited order, but he thoroughly learned the invaluable lesson of industry and self reliance, as well as the full value of a dollar. He continued as a farm laborer until his marriage, after which he resided on rented farms in the vicinity of Poynette, Wisconsin, until the spring of 1880, when he came to Montana as one of a party that included among other men Volney C. Whit- ing, his brother-in-law. Their destination was Butte, where a brother of Mrs. Alexander, W. H. Young, was residing. The trip to Montana was made up the Mis- souri river to Fort Benton, and thence to Butte by way of Deer Lodge, and Mr. Alexander's sole possessions consisted of his household goods, three horses and a wagon. He arrived at Butte in June, 1880, and imme- diately engaged at teaming, which he continued for four years. He then became interested in mercantile lines, on May 28, 1884, entering into a partnership with Volney C. Whiting. They conducted a grocery busi- ness at 64 West Park street, in Butte, under the firm name of Whiting & Alexander, and this partnership has continued to the present day. While the line of busi- ness has changed, it has always sustained its well earned reputation for strictly honorable business methods, and the partners are widely known for men of substance and the highest integrity. Their business relations have ever been most cordial and each has found in the other those qualities that have contributed to the formation of a bond of deepest friendship and regard. Mr. Alex- ander has been for many years successfully interested in mining operations in Silver Bow, Deer Lodge and Madison counties. In 1912 he erected a handsome home in Whitehall, on property adjoining that of Mr. Whit- ing.

Mr. Alexander was married in Poynette, Wisconsin, to Ella Young, of that place. She died in Butte on May 24, 1884, the mother of four children, the first of whom died in infancy. The son, John W., who is engaged in the ranching business near Pony, Montana, married Ella Rundell, and they have two daughters. Martha A. Alexander, the third child, died at the age of twenty years, and Ella also died young. In Febru- ary, 1893, Mr. Alexander contracted, in Butte, a second marriage, when Martha, the daughter of Rev. Slator C. Blackiston, of Butte, became his wife. Rev. Blackiston was for many years rector of St. John's Episcopal church of Butte, and the family is one of prominence and popularity in that city. Three children have been born to this second union. Edward Blackiston, the eldest, attended the public schools of Butte, and was graduated from the Houston School for Boys at Spo- kane, Washington, in 1912. The others are Nanruth and Margaret William.

Mr. Alexander is a Republican in national issues, but locally is not bound by party ties and makes it a point to support the best men and issues. Fraternally he is a member of Butte Lodge, No. 22, A. F. & A. M. He is a member of the chapter, council and commandery, and has taken the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite. He is also a member of Algeria Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine at Helena. Mr. and Mrs. Alexander and their two oldest children are members of the Episcopal church.

It is obvious to all that Mr. Alexander's splendid suc- cess has been the results of his own well directed efforts. and like his relative and long-time business associate, Mr. Whiting. is enjoying a competence acquired by industry, economy, fair dealings and good business judgment.

WILLIAM J. JOHNSON. Anaconda has one of its most prosperous and public-spirited citizens in the person of Mr. Johnson, who is the founder and active head of the firm of Johnson & Tuchsherer, the only whole- sale liquor house in this city. His business career had a humble beginning as water boy for a railroad labor crew, and from that he has progressed and built up a very creditable success.

William J. Johnson was born at Oswego, New York, October 21, 1862. His parents were Christopher and Catharine (Gwin) Johnson, and his father was a na- tive of Ireland and came as a boy to America, settling at Oswego, where he became identified with the Oswego Starch Works, the largest of the kind in the world, and was an officer in the company when he died- in 1900. The mother was a native of Kingston, New York, and she is also deceased. William J. was one of six children, the other five being: Anna, widow of William Hartnett, of Oswego, John and Alice, de- ceased; Thomas, of Oswego; and Catharine, wife of Leo LaSalle, of Anaconda.

At his native city of Oswego Mr. Johnson spent the first fifteen years of his life principally in attending the public schools. Then as water boy for a railroad gang he began earning his own way, and for five years fol- lowed railroading in various capacities. He then came to Montana and entered the employ of his uncle, Wil- liam P. Gwin, who had a livery business at Butte, and in 1884 was taken in as partner. Mr. Johnson, after selling his interests at Butte, became a resident of Anaconda in 1888, and for nearly twenty-five years has been identified with this city in increasing busi- ness and civic capacities. He first established a retail liquor store, and has developed this into the only wholesale house of the kind in Anaconda.

He enjoys a large acquaintance and friendship among the prominent men of the state and for a number of years has taken an active share in the affairs of his home city. For two terms he served as alderman, and in 1908 was elected on the Democratic ticket for the office of county commissioner, which he still occupies. In 1912 he was a delegate to the Democratic national convention at Baltimore, and supported Champ Clark, for whom the Montana delegation was instructed, for 45 ballots or until the nomination of Mr. Wilson was made unanimous. His home is one of the finest in the city, and he owns other valuable real estate. Mr. Johnson was married at Butte, January 8, 1888, to Miss Maud Teitsworth, who was born in Wisconsin. They are the parents of three children, Edward C., Anna Maud and Alice Maud. The family have membership in the Catholic church.

EDGAR B. HEAGY, who occupies a representative posi- tion among the business men of Anaconda, Montana, where he owns and operates a meat market, is by na- tivity a Hoosier but has spent practically his whole life in Montana and is unswervingly loyal to it. Its pro- gressiveness, large opportunities, the energy it imparts to endeavor and the recognition it gives to merit are some of the characteristics of the state which to Mr. Heagy give it prestige above all others.

At Anderson, Indiana, on the 20th of January, 1872, Edgar B. Heagy was born to George Heagy and his wife, Martha Mallory. The father was also born in Indiana, was a farmer by occupation, and died in his native state in 1874, when Edgar B. was but two years old. He is interred at the city of Anderson, One other child, a daughter younger than Edgar, had been born to this union but is now deceased. In 1880, when but eight years old, Mr. Heagy accompanied his mother to Montana, settling in Deer Lodge valley, about seven miles from Anaconda, but in 1890 they removed to An- aconda, and there the mother passed away in 1892, when forty years of age. She was buried at Ana- conda.

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A history of Montana, Volume II, Part 81

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