A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 112

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

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Doctor Houston was married at Chicago, August 12, 1903, to Miss J. Edna Van Goulder. She is a native of Minnesota and her father was Milton Van Goulder. Doctor and Mrs. Houston are the parents of two chil- dren : Gretchen was born August 26, 1907; and Irma, on May 8, 1909.

JOHN C. FRIEND. As treasurer of Lincoln county since 1910 and assistant treasurer since the county was created until his election to the office of treasurer, John C. Friend has for some time held a position of im- portance in the official life of Lincoln county, and as such has won to himself a secure place in the confidence and esteem of his fellowmen in this section of the country.

Mr. Friend was born in Jewell county, Kansas, in December, 1874, and is the son of Joseph and Lois (Stephenson) Friend. The former was born in Penn- sylvania, and as a young man came to Kansas, later removing to Nebraska. In still later years he removed to Montana, settling at Gateway, Montana, and there, at the age of sixty-four years, still hale and hearty, he is engaged in dairy farming and fruit raising, enjoy- ing to the full the delightful climate of the great west- ern state, and prospering most agreeably. His wife, who was born in Iowa, still lives, and shares his for- tunes, now in her sixtieth year. They became the par- ents of two children: E. C. Friend, who lives in Flat- head county, and John C. of this review.

The public schools of Kansas and Nebraska gave to John Friend his book learning, and at the age of fifteen years he left school and was employed as a clerk in various mercantile establishments in and about his home town. He advanced in his work, and had held managerial positions for some time when he accepted a similar position with a firm which had a branch in Lincoln county, and he was established at Eureka, Lincoln county for six years after coming to Montana in 1901. When Lincoln county was created Mr. Friend was appointed to the office of assistant county treasurer under Mr. Brandenburg, and he con- tinued in that position until 1910, when he was elected to the office, a position which he has since filled with all acceptability to the county and in a manner wholly creditable to his already secure reputation in the district.

In 1898 Mr. Friend married Miss Laura Evans in Nebraska, and they have become the parents of six children : Gladys, Merlin Leroy, Florence Verna and Mabel Ella are students in the Libby schools, the latter named being the first child born in the town of Eureka, Montana, her birth occurring in October, 1905. The two younger members of the family, Ver- non and Frances Willard, were born in Eureka in 1907 and 1908, respectively.

In addition to his services as assistant treasurer and treasurer of Lincoln county, Mr. Friend served as deputy assessor under Michael Therrault for Flathead county, his services there being of the same high order as in Lincoln county. Mr. Friend is a member of the Court of Honor, Springfield Lodge, and in his political affiliations is a Democrat. He is one of the leaders in the public life of his community, and is distinctively of the progressive type of men who have done so much for the growth and upbuilding of the newer sections of the state.

WILLIAM W. TAYLOR, M. D., has been a resident of Kalispell since 1903, in which year he first established his practice in this district, and where he has come to have a prominence and popularity equalling that of any

of his confreres. His ability is of a high order and has been recognized wherever his services have been called forth, and he has served in the capacity of local physician and surgeon for the Great Northern Rail- way at this point in 1907 and 1908. He has been president of the Montana State Medical Association and also of the Flathead County Medical Society in 1910, in both of which organizations he is active and prominent.

Born in Dodge county, Minnesota, Dr. Taylor is the son of Robert and Pamelia (Lord) Taylor, both natives of Pennsylvania. The father was born in 1838 in that state, and he came west after the Civil war period. During the war he served as chaplain of the Second Michigan Cavalry, and when he was dis- missed from the service he came to Minnesota, where he engaged in the practice of law, a profession which he followed from then until his retirement from active business life. He is still a resident of Dodge county, and enjoying life at the age of seventy-four years. The mother of Dr. Taylor died in 1904 when she was in her sixty-fourth year. She was a sister of Judge. Lord of the supreme bench of Minnesota, who became famous as a result of his connection with the never-to- be-forgotten Younger and James outlaw cases in Minnesota a quarter of a century agone.

Three children were born to Robert Taylor and his wife. They are: George, now the county auditor of Dodge county, Minnesota, Robert D., a prominent attorney of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Dr. William W., the youngest of the family and the subject of this review.

William W. Taylor was born on October 18, 1872, and as a boy at home he attended the schools of his native town, and was graduated from the high school in Kasson, Minnesota, in 1890. Leaving the high school he immediately thereafter entered the Univer- sity of Michigan, and was graduated therefrom with the class of 1896, receiving his degree of B. S. Con- tinuing his studies in the medical department of the University of Minnesota, he was graduated in 1900, receiving his M. D. degree at that time, after which he became house surgeon or interne in Asbury Hospital in Minneapolis, where he remained for the space of one year. Leaving Minneapolis, Dr. Taylor came to Butte, Montana, where he engaged in general practice for two years, at the same time holding the post of assistant surgeon for the Heinze Mining Company. In 1903 Dr. Taylor severed his connections with Butte and removed to Kalispell, where he established a gen- eral practice, and where he has since continued, busily engaged in the wide and ever growing practice which has come to him with the passing years. In addition to the prominence Dr. Taylor gained in his profession as outlined in an opening paragraph, he has won fur- ther distinction in Kalispell as the incumbent of the office of coroner of Flathead county in 1905 and 1906, a position which he fills creditably and whose duties he discharged with the utmost fidelity and wisdom.

Dr. Taylor is a member of the Kalispell Club, and in his churchly relations, he affiliates with the Presby- terian church.

On July 27, 1903, Dr. Taylor was united in marriage with Miss Mary Wickes of Boulder, Montana. She is the daughter of Rev. T. A. Wickes and his wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Woodbridge Wickes both well-known native residents of the state. Rev. Wickes, who is now retired from active ministerial duties, is at pres- ent a resident of Missoula, Montana. The town of Wickes was named after an uncle of Rev. Wickes, the family having been long identified with this section of the state, and being active in its development and advancement in many ways. Dr. and Mrs. Taylor have one child, William Woodbridge Taylor, born in Missoula on April 16, 1907. The family enjoys the most unequivocal popularity in Kalispell, where both

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are appreciated for their many genuine traits of char- acter and pleasing personalities. Dr. Taylor is a man who is devoted to his home and home life, and de- serves much quiet enjoyment from his books in what- ever leisure time he is privileged to claim from his professional cares and duties.

WILLIS C. WELLS doubtless comes naturally by his talent for the dairy business, for in view of his many accomplishments in the business, it seems permissible to speak of his ability as a talent. His father has been for years one of the prominent dairy men of the great . agricultural state of Wisconsin, and the son, reared amid those environments, partook generously of the spirit of the work, and when the time came for him to choose his work in life, the dairy business seemed to offer a better opportunity than any other field of endeavor. Thoroughly educated in the work by his years of training in the University of Wisconsin, and amply fortified by later experience of a broad and varied character, he came to Montana and established a business which has come to be one of the big enter- prises of Kalispell, and which is a reflection of the many splendid qualities of the man who controls and operates it.

Mr. Wells was born in southern Dodge county, Wisconsin, on November 11, 1879, and is the son of Mathias and Alberta (Cuttingill) Wells, both natives of the state of Vermont. Mathias Wells, who was born in Yalesville, Vermont, in 1841, enlisted in the Union army at the age of twenty, and served two and a half years in the Seventh Wisconsin Regiment, hav- ing come to Wisconsin as a boy in his teens. He met and married his wife in Wisconsin, and they both live on the Wisconsin farm where Mr. Wells has been en- gaged successfully for many years in the dairy business.

As a boy, Willis Wells attended the district schools of the town wherein he was reared, and he became vastly interested in the dairy business, through his knowledge of it as a lad on the home place. When he was ready for the university, he entered the agri- cultural department in the University of Wisconsin, and there, under Professor Henry and other men of note in that branch of study, young Wells was trained in the dairy business. He was graduated from the university in the spring of 1895, and thereupon engaged in business in the north central part of the state of Wisconsin. He continued there for a year and a half, when he received an appointment as instructor in the butter making department of the university. In 1897 he severed his connection with the university and took charge of a dairy in Edmond, Wisconsin, there re- maining for a year and a half, whence he went to Arcadia, Wisconsin, and engaged in similar work. He then went to Carona, South Dakota, and after a stay of nine months in the dairy business there he came to Montana, locating immediately in Kalispell, in December, 1901. He worked in various capacities in Kalispell for five years, then went to the Hazelwood Dairy Company where he remained for some time, after which, in 1910, he came to Kalispell to work for the Kalispell Dairy Company. After nine months in the service of the company, he, with Mr. McGee, leased the property for a six months' period. Later, Mr. Wells bought out the interest of Mr. McGee, and he has since renewed the lease and has conducted the busi- ness independently. He is now the sole proprietor of the business, and has a large force of men in his employ. The business has extended in many directions since Mr. Wells assumed control, and is now one of the most prosperous and thriving dairy businesses in the state. The establishment is conducted on thoroughly modern and sanitary lines, and the most complete and up-to-date equipment is in use in the plant. In the short time of his association with the business, Mr. Wells has, by his progressive spirit and ready initia-

tive, assumed a place of prominence in the business world of the city, and is regarded as one of the lead- ing men of the community.

Mr. Wells is a Republican, but has never given more than ordinary attention to affairs of a political nature. He is a member of the Methodist church, as is his wife, and both enjoy a high social standing in the city which they have made their own. A man of quiet and homelike inclinations and disposition, Mr. Wells is partial to the charms of home life, rather than other forms of amusement, and in his fine home in Kalispell is to be found enjoying the society of his family, when the cares of business no longer claim him.

On April 8, 1896, Mr. Wells was married to Miss Theoline H. Solond, at Blair, Wisconsin. They have become the parents of two children,-Mabel, born in Wisconsin in December, 1899, and Lawrence, born in Carona, South Dakota, in March, 1900. Both are in attendance at the grade schools of Kalispell at present.

HERBERT V. ALWARD. Since 1908 Herbert V. Alward has been incumbent of the highly responsible position of cashier of the First National Bank of Kalispell, Montana. His entire active career has been devoted to the banking business and he is known throughout this city as a substantial, reliable citizen whose word is as good as his bond.

Mr. Alward was born in the province of New Bruns- wick, Canada, in the year 1880, and he is a son of Free- man and Sarah (Keith) Alward, both of whom were born and reared in Canada, where the former died in August, 1910, at the age of sixty years, and where the latter is still living, in 1912. The father was a farmer during the greater portion of his active career and he and his wife became the parents of five children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the first in order of birth.

To the public schools of his native place H. V. Alward is indebted for his rudimentary educational training. From 1899 to 1901 he was in the employ of the Bank of Nova Scotia, at Sussex, New Brunswick, and in the latter year he came to Montana, locating in Missoula, where he secured a position in the First National Bank as paying teller. In 1906 he was one of the first twelve to graduate in the American Institute of Banking, and soon thereafter he entered the employ of the Sea Board National Bank, where he worked in the collection de- partment until January, 1908, when he came to Kalis- pell as cashier of the First National Bank, which posi- tion he has since filled with the utmost efficiency.

In the city of Kalispell, in September, 1910, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Alward to Miss Kate Montelius, whose birth occurred in Montana, and she was reared and educated in Kalispell. Mr. and Mrs. Alward are popular in connection with the best social affairs of their home community and their home is recognized as a center of refinement and generous hospitality.

In a fraternal way Mr. Alward is an Elk and he is exalted ruler of that organization and he is likewise affiliated with the Masonic order, in which he is senior warden. In politics he is a Progressive Republican and in religious matters he and his wife are devout communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church, in the various departments of whose work they are most zealous factors. Mr. Alward is well known throughout this section of Montana and it may be said concerning him that the circle of his friends is coincident with that of his acquaintances.

ALEX BENSON. The state of Montana has inevitably attracted to itself a great many men of power and abil- ity in all walks of life. Missoula, one of her prominent cities, claims her share of these men, and among those who have added much to the advancement of the city and to the enlarging of her enterprises, Alex Benson

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ranks foremost. Veteran of the Spanish-American war, in which he served with all credit and honor, a mail carrier in the service of "Uncle Sam" and finally iden- tified with the wholesale bakery business, Mr. Benson, still in the flower of his youth, has had a diversity of experiences calculated to nicely round out the splendid character which nature endowed him with.

Mr. Benson was born in Sweden on March 26, 1877. He is the son of Isaac Benson, a sailor and farmer who lived and died in his native land. He was seventy- two years old when he died, and his wife, who immi- grated to America after his death, died in Minneapolis at the age of fifty-nine years. Ten children were born to Isaac Benson and his wife. Alex was the youngest of that number. Two brothers are in Montana. Swan is in the employ of his brother Alex, and Otto, who is married, is the owner of a fine ranch and orchard near Missoula. Alex Benson was about fifteen years of age when he came to America with his mother. They first settled in Illinois, remaining there about four years, during which time he worked on a farm. He then went to St. Paul and for two years he was em- ployed there in various capacities during the summer months, and attending business college in the winter. When the Spanish-American trouble came up Mr. Ben- son enlisted in the Third United States Infantry at Fort Snelling, and he served three years in the Philip- pines, going out via New York and Suez canal and returning via Japan and San Francisco. The young soldier participated in many engagements, good fortune remaining with him through the entire period of his service, and he escaped without injury and but little illness. The term of his enlistment at an end, Mr. Benson was honorably discharged, and he spent several months thereafter in travelling about the country. He was in California, Illinois, Michigan, and finally came to Montana, locating in Missoula. The first year of his residence in the city he was engaged in various oc- cupations, including railroad constructing, mill work, etc. The young man, however, had an ambition to rise above mere manual labor, and he took the first oppor- tunity available and went through the civil service ex- amination for mail carrier. He passed successfully, thanks to his winter studies in St. Paul some years previous, and he was the first man to carry mail on a rural route in western Montana, also the first man in that section to successfully pass the test of the govern- ment. For two years he continued in the mail service, and then resigned to engage in the bakery business. His first establishment was the little retail shop on west Main street, where the Royal cafe now is, and from the beginning his success was phenomenal. The business increased so rapidly and assumed such pro- portions that he was soon forced into larger quarters, and in 1908 Mr. Benson bought a site on Blaine street where he erected his present factory,-a two story brick 30 x 56 feet. He now conducts a wholesale bak- ery, and the plant is known as the Garden City Whole- sale Bakery. Machinery, ovens and all equipment is strictly modern and complete in all its details. The business, which is the outcome of the small retail shop established a few years ago, is regarded as one of the solid and representative enterprises of Missoula. and the success of the business is the direct result of the energy and splendid business ability of its owner and proprietor. Mr. Benson is a man who has never been afraid of work, and this attribute of character is one which has been an important factor in his most unequivocal success. The fine, up-standing quality of the man is evidenced by the fact that when he came to this country as a boy of fifteen with his mother,-his father died when he was seven years old,-he borrowed passage money from a brother, which he paid back out of his first earnings in America. The life and work of Mr. Benson has been characterized by a similar independence, wherever he has found himself. His

schooling was not of the most complete order, but he seized many an opportunity for learning that a less ambitious youth might have passed by unnoticed. He received some training in the public schools of his homeland before coming to America, and also attended school some when in Illinois, which elementary train- ing he supplemented by attending a business college in St. Paul during the winter months of the years he lived there before enlisting in the army.

Mr. Benson is an Independent in politics, and while he believes that it is every citizen's duty to vote, he goes no further in a political way. He is connected with a number of fraternal organizations, among which is the Odd Fellows, the Rebekahs, the Modern Wood- men of America, in which latter society he lias been clerk of the order and holds certificate of merit from the grand knight; he is the only clerk holding such a certificate in Missoula, as the practice was suspended after he received his; he is a member of the Royal Highlanders and a member of the Scandinavian Broth- erhood. He has filled all the chairs in this latter named order and has attended three grand lodge conventions. He is a member of the chamber of commerce and takes a strong interest in any movement tending to pro- mote the civic welfare. Mr. Benson is particularly attached to Montana and regards it as the finest coun- try in the world for a man without greater capital than ambition and grit, and feels that it offers quite as many attractions to those who are better situated with regard to this world's goods.

SHARPLESS WALKER. Taking rank among the fore- most citizens of Miles City, Montana, and a leading member of the bar of Custer county, Sharpless Walker in his personal life and professional achievements re- flects credit on the state in which he lives, also on an old and honorable family of Delaware. He was born at Hockessin, New Castle county, Delaware, May 26, 1875, and is a son of William H. and Anna P. (Short- lidge) Walker, and a grandson of John Walker.

Grandfather John Walker was born in England and when he came to the United States he settled on what has remained the old family homestead in New Castle county, Delaware. He was both farmer and merchant. On the old homestead his son, Wm. H. Walker, was born in 1828 and still resides there, having passed all his active life as an agriculturist. He is a Republican in his political sentiments. He married Anna P. Short- lidge, who was born in 1834, in Chester county, Penn- sylvania, and eight of their family of nine children sur- vive, namely: Eugene, Phoebe, John, Julian, William H., Jr., Swithin, Elizabeth and Sharpless. William H. Walker and wife and family are members of the Society of Friends.

Sharpless Walker was carefully reared in a home where an old Quaker atmosphere of steadiness and sobri- ety prevailed. Until twenty-one years of age he remained upon his father's farm, where he was born, attending school in winter. After acquiring an education, includ- ing a commercial course, he was associated for a year with one of his older brothers in the farm machinery, hardware, coal and lumber business and then went to Philadelphia and studied law in the offices of Jno. Houston Merrill, a noted attorney and son of General Merrill, who was once stationed in Montana and had property interests therein. This connection procured for Mr. Walker the acquaintance of Judge Strevell, at- torney for General Merrill, and in 1901 he came to Miles City and entered the employ of Strevell & Porter, then the leading law firm of eastern Montana. In 1902 he was admitted to the bar, and in 1904 began the prac- tice of the law for himself. In the following year he was appointed city attorney of Miles City, and in 1906 he was elected county attorney of Custer county, and twice re-elected. As a prosecuting officer Mr. Walker was notably successful, and his legal opinions affecting county

Sharples Walker , Miles City, Month

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affairs acknowledged to be accurate and reliable. Aside from the recognition of his professional ability by political preferment, he has built up a lucrative civil practice, and his future is one of promise.

On August 15, 1906, Mr. Walker was married to Miss Gladys James, who was born at Marshall, Michigan, and is a daughter of David and Jane (Hasbrouck) James. They had two children: Mrs. Walker and Muriel. Mr. and Mrs. Walker have a son and daughter: James Eugene and Ruth Ada.

Mr. Walker is identified with Miles City Lodge No. 537, B. P. O. E .; Aerie No. 885, F. O. E., and Crusader Lodge No. 7, K. of P. His political sentiments and convictions make him a Progressive Republican, he hav- ing been for a number of years an ardent supporter of the political principles advocated by Robert M. LaFol- lette.

PERLEY N. BERNARD. A man of important place and reputation in both educational and political circles is the Hon. Perley N. Bernard, who is a prominent figure in Kalispell and throughout Lucas county, and is furthermore well known in his former capacity as a member of the Montana state legislature as well as that of his present office of secretary of the Chamber of Commerce.

Of a Maryland family in his paternal line, Mr. Bernard is of Ohio descent by maternal lineage. His father, John A. Bernard, had come to Ohio at a very early age, had lived there until the time of his mar- riage to Miss Alice Brower and had, in 1863, become a pioneer agriculturist of Iowa.

The family settled in Mahaska county of the last- named state; and in that rural home was born, on May II, 1859, the son who was named Perley N., the youngest of ten children, as well as last in the line of five boys. In the country schools he received his early education, later pursuing a course of study in Amity College at College Springs, Iowa. His educational efficiency was further increased by a professional teach- er's course at Fort Scott, Kansas. His first pedagogical service was given in the schools of La Bette county, Kansas. After one year of teaching he had made so evident his comprehension of educational problems and his ability to deal with them, besides having made him -. self personally and politically acceptable to such an ex- tent, that he was elected superintendent of public in- struction for the schools of Hodgman county, Kansas.

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A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 112

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