A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 10

Author: Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald, 1883-
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 970

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Mr. Graham laid the foundation of an independent household by his marriage October 24, 1901. Both he and his wife are highly esteemed by all who know them and have a wide circle of friends in the city of Helena.

WESLEY P. FRANKLIN. Possessed, as a general rule. of great industry, energy and enterprise, the average Montana ranchman is usually loath to retire from active participation in the industrial affairs of his commu- nity, even when he has earned well-merited rest through long years of continuous labor, but when he finally turns over the management of his operations to younger hands and moves to the nearby city. he. invariably be- comes one of its most valued citizens and is welcomed as a recognized addition to his new community's popu- lation. Wesley P. Franklin, a highly esteemed retired citizen of Big Timber, was for many years engaged in the sheep and cattle business in Sweet Grass county, and throughout his career was known as a man of the most upright principles and highest integrity. He was born in Owen county, Indiana, March 15, 1837, and is a son of John and Mary ( Puett) Franklin. John Frank- lin was a native of North Carolina and as a young man removed to Owen county. Indiana, where he set- tled as a pioneer farmer. During the spring of 1850 he went to McLean county, Illinois, and there the remainder of his life was spent in farming and stock raising, his death occurring when he was fifty-seven years of age. He belonged to the Christian church all his life, and in political matters was a stalwart Whig. His wife, who was a native of Tennessee, survived him for a long period, attaining the remarkable age of ninety-nine years, and they had nine children. of whom four are living: Elizabeth, the widow of Seldon MI. Paine: Noah: Nelson, and W. P. Franklin.

The education of Wesley P. Franklin was secured in

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the public schools of McLean county, Illinois, and as a youth assisted his father in the work of the home farm. When his father died he began farming and stock raising on his own account, and in 1886 came by way of the Northern Pacific to Montana, and located near Big Timber, where he first took up a squatter's claim on Fish creek, about thirty miles from the town, There he engaged in the sheep business with his son, Herschel P., who had come to the state before him and had managed the business since 1881. They remained on Fish creek until the fall of 1886, then removing to what was known as the Puett ranch, a tract of 480 acres which they purchased in 1889. To this they added by purchase, homestead, pre-emption and desert claims until they had 9,330 acres, and car- ried on the sheep business until 1898, when all the sheep were sold and they turned their attention to raising cattle. They also did an extensive business in buying and selling cattle until 1900, when Mr. Frank- lin retired from the business and moved to Big Tim- ber. He now has large interests in the A. F. & K. Elevator Company, in addition to owning 4,000 acres of fine ranch land situated about fifteen miles from Big Timber, and is known as one of his city's most substantial business citizens.

On March 21, 1858, Mr. Franklin was married to Miss Hannah Puett, who was born in Georgetown, Illi- nois, and is deceased, having been the mother of four children: Mrs. Estella Mowdy, a widow; Herschel P., now living in Melville, Montana, married Miss Lee of Indiana; Lillian, the widow of Dr. J. C. Graham; and Daisy, who married Charles Scrogin, of Lexington, Illinois. On January 13, 1909, Mr. Franklin was mar- ried (second) to Miss Bessie Bryan, a native of Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania. Mr. Franklin is a Democrat in his political views, but his business interests have demanded all of his attention, and he has never found time to enter the public arena. He is a consistent member of the Christian church, and is esteemed and respected by all who know him, as a man whose career has been an upright and honorable one, and who has had at all times the welfare of his community at heart.

LOUIS A. ESCHLE is a man of unusual enterprise and initiative and has met with such marvelous good for- tune in his various business projects that it would verily seem as though he possessed an open sesame to unlock the doors to success. Self-made in the most significant sense of the word, he has progressed stead- ily toward the goal of success until he is recognized as one of the foremost business men and citizens of Butte, where he has resided since 1888, and where hè conducts one of the finest and best equipped plumb- ing establishments in the entire state.

A native of the fine old Gopher state of the Union, Louis A. Eschle was born in the city of St. Paul, Minnesota, the date of his nativity being the 22nd of September, 1866. He is a son of Henry and Mary (Wey) Eschle, both of whom were born and reared in Germany, whence they immigrated to America. Henry Eschle was one of the early settlers in St. Paul, Min- nesota, having come to that place when it was populated by not more than half a dozen white men. He was a contractor and builder of note and figured prominently in public affairs. He was a soldier in many of the Indian wars of early Minnesota and at the time of the inception of the Civil war gave evidence of his intrin- sic loyalty to the cause of the Union by enlisting as a soldier. in the Second Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. He served through the entire period of the war and participated in many of the most important engagements marking the progress of the war, having been several times wounded. He was summoned to the life eternal in 1881, at the age of fifty-six years. Mrs. Eschle came to St. Paul when young and there was solemnized Vol. III-3

her marriage; she passed away in 1909, at the age of seventy-six years.

The seventh in order of birth in a family of ten children, Louis A. Eschle received his early educational training in the public schools of St. Paul. At the age of thirteen years he entered upon an apprenticeship to learn the plumber's trade in the shop of Wilson & Rogers, at St. Paul, the largest plumbing concern west of Chicago. He served an apprenticeship of six years and during that time mastered the business in all its branches, becoming an expert plumber, gas and steam- pipe fitter. He was employed in the shop of Wilson & Rogers for three years as a journeyman and in 1886 he came to Montana, locating first in the city of Helena, where he secured a position with the plumb- ing concern of Dutton & O'Brien. He remained with the latter concern for one vear and then was in the employ of Stark & Brown for one year, at the expira- tion of which he decided to open a plumbing shop of his own. Coming to Butte, in 1888, he established his present business, beginning in a modest way and grad- ually spreading out the scope of his operations until he now does business throughout the state. His suc- cess is due entirely to his own persistency and well- directed endeavors and as such is the more gratifying to contemplate. In connection with his work he is a valued and appreciative member of the Master Plumbers Association.

At Helena, Montana, in November, 1889, was sol- emnized the marriage of Mr. Eschle to Miss Ida S. Ganote, who was born and reared at Jeffersonville, Indiana, who is a daughter of George Ganote, a repre- sentative citizen at Union Store, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Eschle are the parents of two daughters,-Juanita and Lulu, both of whom are attending school at Butte.

In his political proclivities Mr. Eschle is aligned as a stalwart in the ranks of the Republican party. He has no time for active participation in public affairs but is ever ready to do all in his power to advance the gen- eral welfare of his home community. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Woodmen of the World. Mr. Eschle is exceedingly fond of the national game of baseball and at one time played on a nine at Butte. He is popular with all classes of people and by reason of his exemplary life and fair and honorable dealings is accorded the unalloyed confidence and high regard of his fellow citizens.

JOHN W. VAN DOREN. Ranking among Livingston's prominent men, who have been honored politically and who have achieved a high standing in the realm of business and finance, stands the subject of this sketch, John W. Van Doren. A native of New Jersey, he was born January 1, 1846, a son of Henry O. and Letitia Van Doren, also natives of that state, who spent their lives in agricultural pursuits, the father passing away when eighty years of age and the mother when John W. was but a child. They had five children, of whom three survive : David, John W. and Martha.

John W. Van Doren was reared on his father's farm, and when he could be spared from the duties thereof, during the winter months, attended the district schools of his native vicinity. In 1869 he removed to Knox county, Illinois, where he first worked as. a farm hand for about two years, and after his marriage removed to Montgomery county, Kansas, and continued to en- gage in agricultural pursuits for the next three years. Returning to Knox county, Illinois, he was engaged in farming and stock raising until 1886, in which year he came to Park county, Montana, where the cattle business occupied his energies until 1900. He then established his home in the city of Livingston, where he has a comfortable modern residence at No. 723 East Calendar street. He disposed of his farm in 1905. In political matters Mr. Van Doren is a Democrat, and stands high in the counsels of his party in Park

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county. He has served as alderman of the city for one term, and during the past eleven years has acted effi- ciently as a member of the school board. He was one of the leading spirits in the organization of the First State Bank of Livingston and one of the original members of the directing board of this well-known institution, later became vice-president, was then presi- dent for several years, and at the present time acts in the capacity of vice-president. Other large enter- prises have had his support and co-operation, among them the Shields River Telephone Company, of which he was one of the organizers. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Mr. Van Doren was married in Knox county, Illi- nois, December 6, 1870, to Miss Harriet Wagner, who was born in Canton, Fulton county, Illinois, daughter of Jesse and Nancy Wagner, natives of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Van Doren's parents were married in their native state, and in 1840 removed to Fulton county, Illinois, and engaged in farming, later going to Knox county, Illinois, where Mr. Wagner carried on farming and stock raising until some years prior to his death, when he retired from business activities. He died at the age of eighty-eight years in Knox county, and his widow survived him but two years, having also reached the age of eighty-eight. They had a fam- ily of eight children, of whom but two survive; John, living in Kansas; and Harriet, who married Mr. Van Doren. Mr. and Mrs. Van Doren have three children: Thirza, the wife of Harry Blair; Dr. Halsey, who is a dentist, working in Livingston, who married Mon- tana Meyers; and Bessie, the wife of Charles Landis. In conclusion it may be said of Mr. Van Doren that as a man he is honorable, upright and conscientious; as a citizen untiring in his efforts for the advancement of Livingston; and in business possesses acumen, keen insight and great general ability. These have been the characteristics and guiding principles of his life, and to them is due the fact that he is one of his section's most respected and highly esteemed citizens.

JOHN HAWKE, through persistency and a determina- tion to forge ahead, has gained a high place for him- self in the business world at Butte, where he is con- ducting an extensive and prosperous livery business. At the present time, in 1912, he is a member of the city board of aldermen and his citizenship has ever been characterized by loyalty and public spirit of the most insistent order.

A native of England, John Hawke was born at Corn- wall, that country, on the 3d of January, 1867, and he is a son of Henry and Matilda (Veal) Hawke, both of whom are now deceased, the former having passed to the life eternal in 1882 and the latter in 1881. The father was a farmer by occupation and he passed his entire life in England, where he reared to maturity a family of six children, five of whom are living at the present time, in 1912.

As a youth John Hawke attended school in the vicin- ity of his home in England and when fifteen years of age he became a farm hand on one of his father's es- tates near Cornwall. Soon thereafter he came to America with an older brother and the two located at Warren, Warren county, Pennsylvania, where John was variously engaged until March, 1886, in which year he came to Montana. After his advent in this state, Mr. Hawke worked on the construction of the Blue Bird Mill at Butte for a time but in September, 1886, he removed to Granite, this state, where he eventually became interested in the occupation of stage driving. He ran a stage from Philipsburg to Granite for three years prior to 1890 and in that year engaged in the livery business at Granite in connection with his work as stage driver. In 1894 he removed his livery business to Great Falls, where he remained until Oc- tober, 1895, coming at that time to Butte, where he has

since maintained his home and business headquarters. He is conducting a splendid livery business in this city and it may be said concerning him that his suc- cess is on a parity with his well-directed endeavors. He has money invested in a number of other business enter- prises in Butte and as a financier holds prestige as a man of splendid executive ability and good judgment.

In his political convictions Mr. Hawke is allied as an unswerving supporter of the cause of the Republican party, in the local councils of which he is an active factor. In the spring of 1911 Mr. Hawke was elected alderman from the Fourth ward to serve for a term of two years. In the Masonic order he is a valued member of Silver Bow Lodge No. 48, Free and Ac- cepted Masons, and Deer Lodge Chapter No. 3, R. A. M., and in a social way he is a member of the Butte Driving Club. He is well known and popular amongst the best citizens of Butte.

At Butte, Montana, on the 20th of September, 1888, Mr. Hawke was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Champion, a daughter of Joseph Champion, who came to this city from England in the pioneer days. Mr. and Mrs. Hawke are the parents of six children, as fol- lows: Nora Jane, Gertrude Ellen, Hazel Pearl, Ruby Elizabeth, the latter attending the Butte Business Col- lege; Lillian is in high school; and John is a pupil in the Mckinley school.

WILLIAM F. KESTER. At the head of the Montana Implement Company, William F. Kester is actively identified with the manufacturing and mercantile inter. ests of Great Falls, and is contributing his full share towards the industrial development of the city. A native of Ohio, he was born, December 8, 1865, at Arcanum, Darke county, coming on both sides of the house of thrifty German ancestry.

His father, Henry Kester, a native of Germany, lived in the Fatherland until twelve years old. Being an ambitious and venturesome boy, he then bade farewell to relatives and friends, and came alone to America, hoping in this land of promise to improve his material condition. Going directly to Eaton, Ohio, he continued his studies in the public schools for a short time, and later learned the trade of a carriage maker, which he followed successfully until his death, in 1889. He married Wilhelmina Kester, who was born in Germany, and came to this country with her parents in girlhood, and is still a resident of Eaton, Ohio. Eight children were born of their union, Wil- liam F. being the fifth child in order of birth, and the only one living in Montana.

Educated in Eaton, Ohio, William F. Kester at- tended the common and high schools regularly until sixteen years old, after which he served an apprentice- ship of three years at the trade of a carriage black- smith. He subsequently did journeyman work at Eaton for six years, the pecuniary result of his labors being not at all satisfactory. In May, 1886, borrowing money with which to pay his expenses, Mr. Kester came to Montana and for about seven years followed his trade in Helena, meeting with fair success. Early in the spring of 1893 he came to Great Falls with a view of making a permanent settlement, and a few weeks later embarked in business on his own account as a carriage maker and blacksmith, beginning in a small way at the corner of Second avenue and Second street. Overcoming all obstacles, he became quite suc- cessful in his undertakings, and in 1895 added an im- plement department to his plant, and organized his business as the Great Falls Carriage Works. Pros- perity smiled upon his efforts to such an extent that in 1898 the business was incorporated under the name of the Montana Implement Company, and is now one of the largest of the kind in Northern Montana, Wil- liam F. Kester being president of the organization, while Mrs. Estella Kester, his wife, is vice-president,

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secretary and treasurer. Mr. Kester is a man of ex- cellent business judgment and ability, and- has made wise investments of his money, owning not only city property of value, but large tracts of ranch lands. He likewise has interests in other organizations, being vice-president of the Northwestern Automobile & En- gineering Company of Great Falls; president of the Merchants Association; and is now a director of the State Merchants' Association, which was organized in 1907, and of which he was the first president.

Independent in his political opinions, Mr. Kester invariably casts his ballot in favor of the best men and measures regardless of party prejudices. He was formerly actively interested in military tactics, and while a resident of Helena was for six years a member of Battery A, Helena State Militia. Socially he be- longs to the Electric City Club; and fraternally he is a member of Lodge 214, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Great Falls; and of Queen City Lodge, No. 42 Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Helena. Literary in his tastes, he is fond of reading, and for recreation prefers hunting and fishing to any of the other outdoor diversions.

Mr. Kester married, at Midcanon, Montana, Decem- ber 8, 1895, Estella Wantz, who was born in Indiana, a daughter of James P. Wantz, who came with his family to Montana in 1882, being a pioneer settler of the state. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kester, namely: Estella Ruth, whose birth oc- curred at Great Falls, Montana, March 8, 1906; and Wilhelmina Katharine, born at Great Falls, September I, 1908. Mr. and Mrs. Kester have a pleasant home at 505 Fourth avenue, North, it being an abode of plenty, comfort and peace.

FREDERICK A. TINTINGER. During an industrious career Frederick A. Tintinger, of Cascade, Montana, has gained a strong position by the ability with which he has conducted his business, making steady progress in the peaceful accumulation of the fruits of his voca- tion, and today holds prestige among the business men of his adopted community, as well as in the public arena. Mr. Tintinger was born in Kossuth county, Iowa, April 30, 1875, and is a son of Nicholas and Mary (Delnoa) Tintinger, natives of France.

Nicholas Tintinger came to the United States as a boy in 1838, first settling in Illinois and in 1860 becom- ing an early farmer and stock raiser of Kossuth county, Iowa. In the fall of 1886 he came to Montana and in 1887 located in Big Timber, where until his death, in May, 1910, when he was eighty-three years of age, was engaged in the sheep and cattle business. His wife, who also came to the United States in 1838, still survives her husband, and makes her home at Big Timber, being seventy-five years old. Of their ten children, Frederick A. was the ninth in order of birth.

Frederick A. Tintinger received his early education in the schools of Kossuth county, supplementing this by a course in the Engelhorne Business College, Hel- ena, Montana, and subsequently attending the high school at Great Falls, from which he was graduated in 1891. On completing his studies he entered the sheep and stockraising business in Sweet Grass county, Montana, where he owned three sections of land at the time of his retirement from that industry in 1908. At that time he sold his stock and ranch and moved to Cascade, where he entered the real estate and insur- ance field, in which he met with immediate success, and his interests have continued to grow. He is also owner of the City Stables, a successful livery business. In political matters, Mr. Tintinger is an ardent Dem- ocrat, and has taken a great deal of interest in matters of a public nature, and in 1910 was the Democratic nominee for the office of state representative. With his family, he attends the Roman Catholic church in Cascade.

Mr. Tintinger was married at Big Timber, Montana,

July 9, 1896, to Miss Grace Bain, daughter of Lee Bain, and a native of Iowa. Six chidren have been born to this union: Lillian and Lloyd, born at Big Timber; Carl, born at Stanford; Mamie and Russell, born at Big Timber; and Ethel, born at Cascade. While resident of Big Timber, Mr. Tintinger was a member of the National Guard for three years. Since he left home as a lad of fifteen years, he has worked industriously at whatever occupation he devoted him- self to, and all of his enterprises have turned out successfully, marking him as a man of diversified abil- ities. In the conduct of his business he has so man- aged his affairs that the most ultimate good would result to his community, whose interests he has always held at heart. A high type of American citizenship, he is eminently worthy of holding a place among his community's representative men.

JOHN DOLL has been a resident of Montana since 1886 and has been identified with the blacksmith and wagon making business in the state since that time. Since 1888 he has been the proprietor of a shop of his own in Missoula, and in the passing years he has built up an extensive and lucrative business. He is an expert wagon-maker, having been apprenticed to the trade in his young manhood, and he learned his trade from beginning to end. The establishment which he con- ducts today is second to none in the state in its equip- ment and in the class of work it produces.

Born in Germany, February 23, 1863, John Doll is the son of Stephen and Luzia (Schoanberg) Doll. The father was born and reared in Germany and there passed his entire life. He was a blacksmith and farmer and was comparatively well-to-do. He died in 1890 at the age of seventy-three, and is sur- vived by his widow. John Doll, the subject of this review, was the only one of the family to come to America. As a boy in the Fatherland he attended school in his early years, and he also learned the finishing work .in the stone cutting trade. When he was thirteen years of age he was earning about $2.00 per week, which he always turned over to his parents. In addition to this work he helped his father about the farm and in the shop, and on the whole led a useful and busy life. When he was nineteen years old he came to America, settling first in Minnesota. It was there he learned the blacksmith trade. For three years he was apprenticed to one Gerhard Richter, receiving for his labors the first year $75.00; the second year, $125.00; the third year he received $20.00 a month, and at the end of that year he left Minn- eapolis and went to Spokane, Washington. There he secured employment at his trade in the construction department of the new railroad then being built from Marshall Junction to the Palouse country. He worked with this firm for several months and in 1886 came to Montana, where he has continued ever since with- out a break. Mr. Doll first settled at Thompson Falls in Sanders county, and there he was employed at his trade for about one year, He then came to Mis- soula and after a few months work on a salary basis he resolved to try his fortunes in the business in which he had been so well trained, and which seemed to offer such an opportunity to a capable man in Mis- soula. Thus was launched the present business which John Doll so ably conducts. He started on a small scale, as befitting his German caution and wis- dom, but as the town reached out, the blacksmith shop and wagon factory has broadened perceptibly, until today it is one of the finest establishments of its kind in the state. It is thoroughly equipped with the most modern machinery, and is in every detail quali- fied to properly handle the splendid trade it has drawn to itself.

Mr. Doll is fitly recognized as one of the solid men of Missoula today, and his judgment is accorded

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A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 10

Author: Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald, 1883- Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 970

Author: Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald, 1883-
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 970