A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 11

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

USA > Montana > A history of Montana, Volume III > Part 11

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

generous credence in business circles of the city. He is a Republican, although he takes no active part in political matters. His interest is not extended to the intricacies of machine politics, but he fulfills his duty as an honest citizen by voting at the proper times.

Mr. Doll is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Woodmen of the World; at one time he was council commander in the Woodmen. He is a man of quiet tastes, and he finds the greatest pleasures in life in the successful conduct of his busi- ness and in the maintenance of his home. He is fond of music, and the expression of that art is encouraged in that home.

On March 6, 1901, Mr. Doll was united in marriage with Miss Cora M. Lincoln, daughter of Lemuel and Jennie T. Lincoln of Missoula. Two daughters were born to them, Jennie May, deceased, and Cora Winona.

The family home is at 610 West Spruce street, while his place of business is located at 221 West Cedar street.

HON. FRANK J. MORGER. No man can attain the honor of occupying the highest office within the gift of a municipality unless he is possessed of more than average ability and is capable of so handling affairs as to redound to the public good. Naturally a man's success in life is measured by his prestige in business, political or social circles, and when he has figured prominently in all, then he may be said to have accom- plished much. Frank J. Morger, former mayor of Fort Benton, Montana, was chosen for this present high office largely because of the ability he had shown in handling his own affairs, and the efficient manner in which he is discharging the mayoralty duties fully vindicates the confidence reposed in him. Mr. Morger was born in Jones county, Iowa, March 3, 1863, and is a son of Franz Joseph and Jemima Jane Morger.

Mayor Morger's father was a native of Switzerland, from which country he came to the United States as a very young man, locating in Jones county, Iowa. At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in an Iowa infantry regiment, serving throughout the Rebellion and participating in a number of hard-fought battles. At the close of hostilities he located in Nebraska, where he was engaged in farming until his death at the age of forty-four years, his demise being probably hastened by the hardships he had endured while fighting under the flag of his adopted country. His wife, a native of Pennsylvania, accompanied her parents to Iowa in early life, and still survives her husband, being eighty-two years old and a resident of Colorado.

Frank J. Morger accompanied his parents to Nebraska, and in 1873 went with his mother to Colorado, where he attended the public schools of Longmont for three years. He commenced work at an early age, and until eighteen years old was engaged in various occupa- tions, at that time going to Fort Fetterman, Wyoming. During the next six years he worked as a cowboy with the Northeastern Cattle Company and the C. Wright Cattle Company, and in 1886 came to Fort Benton, Montana, securing employment with the Milner Cattle Company, in Chouteau county, a firm with which he was connected for ten months. He continued in the same line with the St. Louis Cattle Company for a number of years, but in 1898 engaged in the liquor business in Fort Benton, in which he continued four years, selling his interests to engage in the cattle busi- ness, with a ranch on the Shonkin river, which he carried on for seven years with much success. Selling out at the end of that time, Mr. Morger returned to Fort Benton and bought an interest in the general mer- chandise business of Davis Brothers, the firm name now being Davis Brothers & Morger. He is interested in various business ventures and holds a directorship in the Benton Drug Company.

On November 24, 1892, Mr. Morger was married to Miss Ruby Estella Davis, daughter of William Davis, an early pioneer settler of Fort Benton, and they have had five children: Earl Romatus, born on October 12, 1893, and Myrtle Lenett, born on August 15, 1895, both attending high school; and Frank Fenton, born on December 7, 1896; Mary Jane, born on January 10, 1897, and Walter J., born on April 15, 1901, all attend- ing the Fort Benton graded schools. The family is well known and highly esteemed socially, and Mr. Morger is a popular member of the Odd Fellows, having passed all the chairs in his lodge. In 1910 Mr. Morger became the independent candidate for mayor of Fort Benton, and the large majority by which he was elected testified to his general popularity and the recognition of his executive ability. He gave the city an admirable administration, and in his official capacity displayed the same conscientious attention to detail and earnest enthusiasm that have made his business ventures so successful. He has a wide acquaintance throughout the county, and numbers among his friends some of the most prominent and influential men of the section. The family attends the Methodist Episcopal church.

JOHN J. BUCKLEY was born at Delhi, New York, in April, 1853. In this town his father, Horatio M. Buck- ley, practiced medicine for half a century. He was born in the state of New York, but not in Delhi, where he practiced his profession until his death, but in the town of Unadilla. His mother's native place was Frank- lin, New York, and her maiden name was Elizabeth Case. Both belonged to families who were well known in the state, and who had served in the war for Inde- pendence.

Dr. Buckley was educated in the public schools of Delhi and also in the Delaware Academy in the same town. He early decided to follow the profession in which his father had attained success and honor and studied for this work in Columbia University. In 1878 he graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, connected with that institution. For a short time after this, he practiced with his father in Delhi, but the newer country attracted him, and so he went to St. Paul and opened his office there. He remained here until 1883, when he went to Fargo, North Dakota, and after three years in that city, came to Missoula, as Chief surgeon for the western division of the Northern . Pacific Railway, having charge of the line from Billings, Montana, to the coast.

For seventeen years Dr. Buckley was in the employ of the railroad, and then in 1903, he left the railroad service and took up practice for himself. His specialty is surgery, and he also gives a great deal of attention to electrical treatment. He belongs to the American Medical Association, as well as to the State and County Associations. His work for the railway won him wide recognition and he has served as vice-president of the National Association of Railway Surgeons.

The Masonic order has an influential member in Dr. Buckley. He belongs to all the Masonic bodies of Mis- soula, and to the consistory in Fargo, and he is a thirty-second degree Mason. Politically, he gives his allegiance to the Republican party. Another organiza- tion in which the doctor is deeply interested is that of the Sons of the American Revolution.

ROBERT T. BOATMAN. As one of the representative agriculturists and stockmen of his native county, Mr. Boatman merits special consideration in this publica- tion, and he is one of the well-known and highly esteemed citizens of Madison county. as well as a scion of one of its leading pioneer families. His extensive ranch is situated in the beautiful Centennial valley and is about twenty-two miles distant from Monida, which is his post-office address. Reared under the pioneer conditions of the great West, Mr. Boatman has had

1333

HISTORY OF MONTANA

many interesting experiences in connection with activi- ties in Montana and other sections and through his well ordered enterprise has contributed to the civic and material development and progress of the state in which the major part of his life has been passed.

On the old homestead ranch of his father, near Laur- ien, Madison county, Montana, Robert T. Boatman was born on the 21st of April, 1866, and he is a son of George T. and Harriet L. (Johnson) Boatman, the former of whom was born in Kentucky, about the year 1831, a representative of one of the old and honored families of the South, and the latter of whom was born in Ohio, about 1835. The marriage of the parents was solemnized in the state of Missouri, and there they con- tinued to reside until 1865, when they came to Mon- tana, making the journey across the plains with ox teams and arriving at Alder Gulch, the site of Virginia City, in September of that year. There they passed the winter, and in the spring they removed to an embryonic ranch situated between Laurien and Sheridan, Madison county. There the father entered vigorously upon the work of developing his pioneer ranch and there he re- mained until the autumn of 1887, when he sold the property and removed to the village of Dillon, where he and his wife still maintain their home and where they are numbered among the sterling pioneers of this favored section of the state. In addition to reclaiming a valuable farm George T. Boatman was at one time owner of the Silver Springs flour mills, which he oper- ated about seven years. Through industry and good management he gained success and independence, and his loyalty to the state of his adoption has been marked by the deepest appreciation of its manifold attractions and advantages. Of the eight children Robert T., of this review, was the fourth in order of birth and the first to be born in Montana. Of the other children three sons and four daughters are now living.

In his boyhood days Robert T. Boatman learned the lessons of practical industry in connection with the operations of the pioneer farm, and he attended the common schools of his native county until he had at- tained to the age of fifteen years, when he initiated his independent career by going to British Columbia, where he remained seven years. He assisted in driving a herd of cattle into northwest Canada, and for two years thereafter he was engaged in freighting operations, after which he was in the employ of I. G. Baker & Com- pany about five years, with headquarters at Fort Ben- ton, Montana, from which point he freighted supplies into Canada. In the winter of 1887-8 he returned to Madison county, Montana, and here he continued to be successfully engaged in the buying and shipping of horses until 1907. Since that time he has given his at- tention to agricultural pursuits and the raising of live stock. From 1898 until 1907 he had charge of the Home Park ranch, in the upper Ruby valley, and in his inde- pendent operation he now has a fine ranch of four thou- sand acres, in the Centennial valley, where he conducts a large and prosperous business in the feeding and sale of cattle and in the raising of the various crops best suited to the soil and climate. He is well known in his native county, is alert and progressive as a business man and citizen, and is one of the representative farm- ers and stock-growers of Madison county, where his circle of friends is limited only by that of his acquaint- ances. The section of Madison county in which he lives, known as Centennial valley, was transferred into Beaverhead county bv the legislature two years ago

In politics Mr. Boatman is found arrayed as a staunch supporter of the cause of the Republican party, and he is affiliated with Virginia City Lodge No. I, Free and Accepted Masons; Virginia City Lodge No. 7, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows; and with the lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Pine Bluff, Arkansas. From the time of his birth until the present Mr. Boatman has maintained his home contin-

uously in Montana, save for the interval of about seven years passed in British Columbia.

In the year 1906 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Boatman to Miss Elizabethi J. Peterson, who was born in the Upper Ruby valley of Madison county, and whose father, Ferdinand Peterson, was one of the hon- ored pioneers of that section of the county, whither he came from Oregon and where both he and his wife continued to reside until their death. Mr. and Mrs. Boatman have two children-Thornton T., who was born on the 10th of February, 1907, and Harriet E., who was born May 10, 1910.

PATRICK F. SCOTT is the son of Thomas Scott, a loyal native of the good old Emerald Isle. His mother was Catheryn Flannery, a clever Irish woman. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Scott were the parents of eight children of which their son Patrick, himself born in Ireland, is the oldest. They arrived in America just at the outbreak of the Civil war and the father with the instinct of the Irishman to be in the midst of all action, enlisted in a Pennsylvania regiment and fought for three years for the cause of the Union, the coun- try to which he looked for his future welfare. At the close of the struggle he, with his little family, followed the westward tide and found themselves itt Idaho, where the father engaged in ranching and stock rais- ing. He lived this free and wholesome life until he passed away at a good old age. His wife is still living on the Idaho home.

As Patrick Scott was the oldest of eight little chil- dren for whom his father must provide, it was neces- sary for him to become a wage earner at a very early age. After his tenth year he made his own way in the world although he lived under the paternal roof until he was almost twenty-six years of age.

Born in the north of Ireland, on the 15th day of April, 1869, and brought to America while still in his infancy, he spent the first six years of his life in Pennsylvania. At a very early age he began to earn small amounts by running errands for the neighbors and helping with light work. In 1876, when the family settled in Idaho, he was sent, for a time, to the pub- lic schools of Utah. Later, he became a pupil in the first Episcopal school established in northern Utah. At the age of seventeen he became a helper or "cub" in the blacksmithing and iron trade. It was here in a small town on the southern border of Idaho that fie learned the trade at which he has worked ever since. While still only a "cub" he received one dollar a day, a large wage for those times and one more proof to his father of the wisdom of rearing his children in the west. This money was, according to the old coun- try custom, turned into the family coffers.

In 1886, being then twenty-six years of age, it seemed to . Mr. Scott time that he began living his own life. So saying, he crossed into Montana of which state he has been a resident ever since. His first venture was at Granite. From there he went to Butte and later to White Sulphur Springs. Later he tried Belt and Niehart, and in 1897 came to Fergus county, settling in Utica. For two years he managed a shop at Utica and then moved to Kendall in 1901 and managed a shop there for nine years, and three years ago came to Lewistown and opened up a blacksmithery of unusual proportions. His business is large and lucrative.

Mr. Scott says that a book which could hold his opinions of Montana would be a large volume indeed. He believes her to have more natural resources on the surface than any other state of the Union, not to mention her other attractions.

While living in Sulphur Springs, Mr. Scott met Miss Margie Shorey, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Shorey of that little city. Miss Shorey became Mrs. Patrick Scott on the 15th day of October, 1894, thus proving that his sojourn in White Sulphur Springs

1334

HISTORY OF MONTANA

was not in vain. Of their seven children only two are sons. All seven were born within the confines of the Treasure state, although their birthplaces are rep- resented by several different towns. Mabel, the oldest of the family, is the only one now of school age. The others are Justin, the eldest son; Margie, named for her mother; Bernice; Catherine; John, who bears the name of his maternal grandfather, and Ida, the baby of the home.

Mr. Scott is very active in the Knights of Pythias lodge, having filled all of the chairs of the order.

He is devoted to the rod and the gun as no loyal son of Montana could help from being. In his youth, Mr. Scott was quite a baseball player and has never lost his love of the sport. He is now one of the most enthusiastic fans of Lewistown. His favorite pastime, however, is keeping, riding and driving fine horses. As a cattle herder on his father's ranch, he learned how to handle horse flesh and his fondness for these, the most interesting of animals, gives him much pleasure.

FRANK H. PINGS has been a resident of the state of Montana since 1886, and in all the years that have elapsed he has been actively identified with the con- tracting and building industry, and has in that way added his full quota to the material growth and advance- ment of those places with which he has been variously connected. He is a native of the state of Wisconsin, born in Roxbury, Dane county, that state, on Decem- ber 15, 1864. He is the son of Cornelius and Theresa (Brandstatter) Pings. Both were natives of Germany. The father came to America at the age of sixteen, in the year 1848, and settled in Wisconsin, where he worked in the copper mines at first, but the greater part of his life was spent in farming in the fertile Wis- consin agricultural district. The mother came to Amer- ica a young girl in company with friends of the family, and they settled in Michigan. There she met Cornelius Pings and married him in 1861. She was born in 1831 and is still living. They became the parents of eleven children, Frank being the third born of that number.

Frank Pings was educated in the country schools of Dane county in Wisconsin to the age of sixteen years. Following his sixteenth year he was employed in the carpentering business, and in a few years of constant application to the details of the work, he had mastered the trade, and from that time until 1898 he gave his full time and attention to the building and contracting business. In 1886 Mr. Pings removed to Montana and settled in Helena, where he followed his regular busi- ness, remaining there until 1893. In that year he lo- cated in Marysville, continuing for three years, after which he spent another year in Helena in the same business. In 1898 Mr. Pings went to Teton county where he homesteaded a tract of government land, lo- cated within four miles of Black Leaf postoffice, which he has since proved up on. He and his brother. Anton Pings, own thirteen hundred acres of ranch land in this section of the country and are engaged in the cattle business, which is proving a most fortunate ven- ture for them both. Frank Pings located in Conrad be- fore that place boasted a single building. They pitched a tent and lived in it for a time, until building activities were commenced, and it was they who built the first buildings in the town. They built the first bank build- ing and the first store building the latter for F. D. Kingsbury & Company, merchants, and they continued in contracting there until 1910, in which vear Mr. Pings engaged in the lumber business, and he is the sole pro- prietor of the Pondera Lumber Company. He also deals in all kinds of farming machinery and conducts the largest business of its kind in the town of Conrad.

Mr. Pings has the distinction of being the first mayor of Conrad and has just completed his second term, being succeeded to the office on May 1, 1912, by Mr.

R. Ferguson. He has also served three years as a trustee of the schools, and much of the credit is due to him for the present modern building which houses the school children of the town. Mr. Pings is a Demo- crat and has always been active in affairs of a po- litical nature wherever he has been located. He is a member of the Woodmen of the World, Conrad lodge, and is a member of the Catholic church.

On May 30, 1889, Mr. Pings was united in marriage with Miss Anna Schwab, of Helena, Montana, the daughter of Joseph and Katherine Schwab, who are natives of Michigan. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Pings, of which number six are living. They are: Genievieve, Hilda, Cornelius, Joseph, Vin- cent, and Francis.

FRED E. FRENCH. Among the many men in Montana who have started in life with practically nothing and have attained success in spite of the handicap, Fred E. French should be given a prominent place. He has been a resident of the state of Montana for twenty- six years and in this time has taken an active part in the upbuilding of the state and of the towns in which he has lived at various times. In partnership with his brother he now owns and operates one of the largest laundry plants in this section, and has succeeded far beyond his expectations. He has devoted himself to making this business succeed in a way that has won the admiration of the business men of the town, but in doing so he has never forgotten that there was a more important duty than attending to his business and that was his duty to society as a citizen of a great commonwealth. The public services which he has rendered to the town have always been given with a generosity and a real interest in the welfare of the town and her people that many men with more time to spare would do well to imitate.

Allegan county, Michigan, was the place of the birth of Fred E. French, the date being the 4th of March, 1861. He was the son of William H. French, who was a native of New York state. The father was a pioneer settler in the state of Michigan, moving here about 1849, and settling upon a farm in Alagan county. He was primarily a farmer, but in those days men were able to turn their hands to practically anything, and he took a prominent part in many of the pioneer activities of the day. Among these was the first railway built in Michigan, which he helped to construct. With the outbreak of the Civil war he laid down his peaceful farmer's life to enlist as a private in the Twenty-first Michigan Infantry. He served in this regiment for three years, taking part in the battles of Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mountain and in many other minor en- gagements, and he was one of those who followed General Sherman on his famous march to the sea. The death of the brave old veteran occurred in 1897, at the age of sixty-nine, in the old home in Barry county. He married in Alagan county, Michigan, in 1854. Sarah E. Hooker, who was a native of Connecticut. She only lived two years after the death of her husband, dying in 1899, at the age of sixty-nine. Nine children were born to this union, five sons and four daughters, and of these three are residents of the state of Montana. The latter are Fred E., William H., and Mrs. Carrie Hanlon, all of whom live in Kalispell. Fred E. was the fourth child and his brother William was the youngest.

The education of the French boys was had in the common schools of their native state. At the age of eighteen Fred E. French said good-bye to his school days and spent the next three years on the farm, help- ing his father. He then determined to start out for himself and thinking it wise that everyone should know some trade, he selected the barber's, at which he soon became an adept. He followed this trade for eighteen years, and in 1886 he came to Montana. On his arrival

F. H. Dings.

1335

HISTORY OF MONTANA

in the western state he first settled in Helena, and there engaged in business with William Hartwig, a partnership which lasted for two years and in which Mr. French gained much valuable experience. The next three years he was in business alone, and at the end of this time he removed from Helena to Great Falls, and there engaged in business. He was quite success- ful in Great Falls, and remained here for nine years, but determining that Kalispell offered greater oppor- tunities of the sort for which he was looking, he re- moved to the latter place in 1900. Immediately after his arrival he organized the business in which he is inter- ested at present, the American Laundry Company. This is the second business of its kind to be established in Kalispell and is operated on the co-partnership plan, the firm being known as the French Brothers, Fred E. and William H. being the sole proprietors. When the business was started it was quite modest but has grown to large proportions. It is housed in a building 25 by 142 feet and the equipment is of the latest and most up-to-date machinery. No small part of the profit from this business is derived from the out of town trade, for the laundry receives patronage from as far west as Troy and as far east as Shelby. It is distinctly a profitable concern and this is due in large measure to the quality of workmanship that Mr. French insists upon, and the pains which he takes to satisfy his cus- tomers.

In politics Mr. French is an independent voter, pre- ferring to vote for the man he thinks is best suited for the place rather than anyone whom his party should select. He was alderman of the city of Kalispell in 1904, serving two years, and was one of the builders of the present city hall. In his fraternal relations he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Modern Woodmen of America. He is also a member of the Kalispell Club and of the Chamber of Commerce.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 11

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