A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 114

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

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Mr. Drake is decidedly of domestic nature, enjoy- ing, above all things, his little family. Their early education is one of his chief interests. Few evenings find him away from his fireside, the Eagles being the only fraternal order with which he affiliates.

MERLE D. CHATFIELD. Though still in the ranks of the younger business men of Helena, Merle D. Chat- field has a place in the list of the city's old and well- established commercial establishments in the position of secretary and general manager of one of the large drug concerns of the capital, which has both a prosperous history and a promising future. Mr. Chatfield is an Ohioan by birth and his native town in the Buckeye state is Bloomville. He was born on the second of October, 1881, and lived in the city of his birth until he was twenty-one years of age. Until he was eighteen, Mr. Chatfield attended school and immediately after his graduation went into his father's store to study phar- macy. This was a most desirable arrangement from several points of view, for Mr. Chatfield, Sr., was not only one of the leading pharmacists of the district in which he lives, but is also a man of marked talents in a number of lines. Frank Albert Chatfield was born at Painted Post, New York, from which state he moved to Ohio. He received his education in Oberlin College, perhaps the most famous of the western col- leges for its scholarship and high standards. It was the intention of Mr. Chatfield to enter the ministry, and after his graduation from Oberlin he went to Germany, and spent three years in the University of Bonn. Pre- vious to going abroad, Mr. Chatfield was for two years principal of one of the schools in Brooklyn, New York, and it was to take further training that he gave up this work and went to Germany. He was never ordained to the ministry, but when he returned to Ohio he went into the drug business at Bloomville and was thus engaged for a number of years. A man of scholarly attainments and an excellent linguist, he was also a power in public affairs, and few men are Better known throughout east- ern Ohio in the affairs of the Republican party. More than one candidate has been assisted into office by Mr. Chatfield, whose reputation as a stump speaker is of the highest, not only in Ohio but in the eastern states. Among the men for whom Mr. Chatfield has taken the stump is Senator Dick, for whom he has a warm per- sonal regard aside from political considerations. Mr. Chatfield retired from his drug business some years ago, and at present is postmaster of Bloomville. Five of the six boys in the Chatfield family, as well as the mother and father are still living. Francis Chatfield died in infancy; the others are located in Montana and in Ohio in various lines of work. Grier Paul is an elec- trician at Galion, Ohio. Carl Ernest is in Helena, where lie, too, is a druggist. Merrick is a merchant in Orwell, Ohio, and R. W. Chatfield is in the postal service in Tiffin, Ohio. The mother is a native of Bloomville, where she still resides with her husband. Her maiden name was Emma Watson.

When Merle Chatfield had completed his preparation under the excellent training of his father, he went west, locating first in Great Falls, Montana, where he was employed by the Great Falls Drug Company. This. was in the year 1902, and he continued in their employ until he came to Helena, something like a year later. Here he became manager of the Western Drug Company, a wholesale and jobbing concern. His connection with them lasted for three years, and then he again entered

Stewart

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the retail business in the establishment of R. E. Harris. At the end of another three years, Mr. Harris sold out his interests to E. H. Campbell. Mr. Chatfield remained with the business and in 1912, On January 10th, he pur- chased the store, forming a stock company (the Chat- field Drug Store) in which he is secretary and manager. The house is one of the oldest in Helena and it has a large and permanent trade among a most desirable class of patrons. Under Mr. Chatfield's management, even the former high standard has been raised and he has improved the store in a number of ways, ensuring a continuation of its past success on a greater scale than ever before.

Like his father, Mr. Chatfield has the tastes of a stu- dent. His favorite line of reading is in the realm of history, which he regards as the most stimulating and broadening of studies. He has made an exhaustive study of the history of his native state from which he has derived much pleasure and profit. Though a stu- dent, Mr. Chatfield has nothing of the recluse in his makeup, but on the contrary maintains his association with a large circle of friends, being one "who shows himself friendly." His fraternal affiliations include the Eagles, Moose and Modern Woodmen.

Mrs. Chatfield is also an Ohioan. She was formerly Miss Luella C. Geiger of Sycamore, Ohio. On June 22, 1905, she became the wife of M. D. Chatfield, and came as a bride to Helena. Their only child, Emma, was born in this city July 3, 1906, and is now just begin- ning school. Mr. and Mrs. Chatfield are members of the Presbyterian church, and are known among those interested in the advancement of the community along all lines, commercial, civic, educational and religious.

THOMAS PETTIGREW STEWART. Well known through- out the state of Montana as a forceful speaker on politi- cal questions as well as a clever and brilliant lawyer, Thomas Pettigrew Stewart, of Anaconda, is rapidly becoming one of the most influential of the younger men of the state. As a lawyer his arguments are noted for their clever, yet by no means shallow thought. 'le has much personal magnetism which is nothing inore than a sympathetic understanding of other men, and this characteristic has been invaluable to him in his professional life. He has already held more than one public office, to which he has been elected on his merits alone, for he came to Montana as a stranger and practi- cally unknown and everything that has come to him he has had to work for. In his upward fight for recog- nition he has won hosts of friends and these have been a more valuable asset to him than money.

Thomas P. Stewart was born on the 30th of October, 1872, in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, the son of Gilbert Stewart. His father was born in Scotland, and was a member of the famous clan whose name he bears. His mother was Jessie Pettigrew, also of Scotch birth. Gilbert Stewart moved to Kansas in 1878 and there he now lives at Maple Hill. He spent his life as a farmer, but is now retired, his wife having died in Maple Hill, in 1908. Nine children were born to Gil- bert Stewart and his wife, of whom five are living. David is a merchant in Maple Hill, Kansas; Thomas P .; Robert lives in Beardsley, Kansas, where he owns a ranch; George and William are deceased; John is a stockman of Kansas City, Missouri, and Jessie makes her home with her father in Maple Hill, Kansas.

Thomas Stewart was only a lad of six when his par- ents moved to Kansas. He grew up on his father's farm, going to the country schools in the winter months and during the remainder of the time helping his father and elder brother with the work of the farm, for money was scarce and good help was scarcer, and even his little strength was very useful. Unlike many farmers' boys he did not stop school as soon as he was big and strong enough to earn good wages in farm work, but continued to attend the country schools until he was

eighteen years of age, when he was graduated. He then entered a business college at Topeka, Kansas, and thence went to Baker University, at Baldwin, that state. He was graduated from the latter institution with the degree of B. A. in 1899. He then entered the Uni- versity of Kansas at Lawrence, where he took up the study of law. He remained for just about a year when he received an appointment to the census bureau at Washington, District of Columbia. He remained in the government service for two years but during all of this time never lost sight of his ambition to become a member of the bar. To this end he attended night lectures in the law department of the Columbian Uni- versity, which is now George Washington University. The work which he was doing in the day was of that kind which leaves the brain feeling like a sponge out of which everything, even ambitiou, had been squeezed, and yet each evening he went doggedly to the lectures or to his law books, until finally he attained his goal and was graduated from the university with the de- gree of LL. B. Returning to his home state he was admitted to the bar of the state of Kansas in 1902. De- ciding that the west offered a better field for a new and untried lawyer, he determined to go out to Mon- tana. He therefore came to Anaconda, arriving on the 12th of October, 1902. He had no easy time of it, for Montana was not as it had been a decade or so be- fore, a comparatively fresh field for any of the pro- fessions, but the determination which he showed in making his way through school came to his aid now, and it was not long before people were talking of the clever young lawyer. In 1907 he received his first pub- lic recognition, when he was appointed deputy county attorney. In the fall of 1910 he was elected to the po- sition of county attorney on the Republican ticket, and this position he now fills.

As a member of the Republican party, Mr. Stewart has made himself a valuable aid during the various campaigns in which he has participated. A convincing and sincere speaker, his talks from the political plat- form have had a widespread influence. Like most men who have any insight into the future at all, he has great faith in the state of his adoption, and has invested considerable money in real estate. He is the owner of an attractive home and of the property where he has his office. In the fraternal world he is a member of the Elks, of the Scottish Clans and of the Modern Woodmen of America.

On the 19th of May, 1907, Mr. Stewart was married to Miss Celia L. Barteau, a native of Minnesota. They have one son, Sidney Gilbert Stewart.

Starting out in his first year at school with only a small amount of money, yet with his mind made up that somehow he was going to get the education he desired, Mr. Stewart accomplished it, paying his bills through his own efforts alone. Beginning life in an untried country, inexperienced in his profession, yet with his mind made up that he would win recognition and suc- cess, he realized his aim. With this record we have the keynote of Mr. Stewart's character and in a way of his success. He does not know how to surrender, but will fight to the last gasp, and often persistence will win a case where brilliant arguments might fall short. But Mr. Stewart has none of the hardness which is often associated with men of this type and he is ever willing and glad to give of his time and money toward the upbuilding of the city and the improvement of the state of his adoption.

DANIEL MATTHEW KELLY. A brilliant and able young lawyer of Boulder, Montana, is Daniel Matthew Kelly, who has been located in this city since 1908, and whose splendid standing as a lawyer when in Whitehall, Montana, was stamped with highest approval by his elevation to the office of county attorney of Jefferson county. He is now associated in the practice of the

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law with his brother, James Edward Kelly, their part- nership constituting a combination of strong legal talent.

Mr. Kelly is one of the good citizens given to Mon- tana by the Hawkeye state, his birth having occurred on August 19, 1880, in Blackhawk county, near Water- loo, Iowa. He received his early education in the country school and subsequently entered Tilford Col- lege at Vinton, from which institution of learning he has graduated at the age of twenty-one years. Having come to the conclusion to adopt the law as his pro- fession, he attacked his Blackstone at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. He first came to Montana in 1902 and for two years taught school in Madison and Beaver- head counties. He subsequently returned to the Uni- versity of Iowa, where he finished his professional studies and in 1905 received the well-earned degree of LL. B. In the fall of the year mentioned he re- turned to Whitehall, Montana, and there first hung up his professional shingle. In the fall of the following year, in evidence of the high regard in which he was held, he was elected county attorney and served two terms in this office with satisfaction to all concerned. He removed to Boulder, at the beginning of his first term, with whose opportunities and future prospects he was much impressed, and here he is now located, secure in the possession of a large and growing clientele. He and his brother, James Edward Kelly, are in partnership.

Mr. Kelly, immediate subject of this brief record, is a man of strong character, and believes in doing his duty regardless of conditions, surroundings or influ- ences, as was demonstrated during his first term in office. In May, 1907, the North Coast Limited, on the Northern Pacific Railway, was held up by masked men and Engineer Claw was killed. Towers, Hastings and Gruber were arrested for the crime, and in the hard- est fought criminal case in the history of Montana, Mr. Kelly carried matters to a successful issue and secured convictions in each case. While he has no offi- cial connection with the county at present, he is occa- sionally called in as special prosecutor. Recently, in November, 1911, he convicted the two Pipestone Springs murderers. He has a fine legal mind, is of much promise, and stands for the success of good government.

Mr. Kelly was married June 3, 1908, to Lillian Wade, daughter of Samuel and Martha Wade, of Whitehall, Montana. Mr. and Mrs. Kelly maintain a charming and hospitable home and are held in high esteem. Mr. Kelly is Catholic in religious conviction and is affil- iated with the Catholic order, the Knights of Columbus. He is an out-of-door man and very fond of fishing and camping. He has always taken a loyal interest in Democratic politics and has ever been ready to go anywhere, to do anything for the success of the cause. He had no legal residence prior to settling in White- hall, and it is somewhat remarkable that he had been there but one year when he received the nomination to the county attorneyship.

Mr. Kelly's father, Patrick Daniel Kelly, was seventy- four years of age on November 1, 1911. He was born in Ireland, County Cork, came to America as a young man and he and his worthy wife still live on the farm which was the birthplace of their twelve children. The family consisted of nine boys and three girls, Mr. Kelly being the fifth boy. The mother, whose maiden name was Catherine Barry, was born in London, Eng- land, and is about sixty-four years of age at the pres- ent time. They are prominent and highly respected citizens and very proud of their children, who though early thrown upon their own resources were only made the stronger by it.

VICTOR E. LANSTYAK has for a number of years been a leading and influential citizen of Deer Lodge, Mon-

tana, and his activity in business affairs, his co-opera- tion in public interests and his zealous support of all objects that he believes will contribute to the material, social and moral improvement of the community keeps him in the foremost rank of those to whom the city owes its development and present position as one of the most prosperous towns of Montana. His entire life has been characterized by upright, honorable principles and his admirable success in a business way is the direct out- come of his own well applied energy. He conducts the leading merchant-tailoring establishment in the city of Deer Lodge and owns a vast amount of valuable city realty.

A native of Austria-Hungary, Victor Emanuel Lan- styak was born February 1, 1879, and he is a son of Joseph and Barbara (Shidelszky) Lanstyak, both of whom were likewise born in Austria-Hungary. Mr. Lanstyak, of this notice, attended school in his native land until he had reached his twelfth year, when he entered upon an apprenticeship to learn the trade of merchant tailoring. At the age of sixteen years he had completed his apprenticeship and he then went to Kasav, in the state of Abavj, Austria- Hungary, where he worked for one year, at the expiration of which he went to Lipto, in the same country, remaining there for another year. Subsequently he went to the city of Vienna, where he worked for a year and he then went to Budapest, where he remained for two years. In 1900 he returned home for a brief visit and then came to the United States, settling in Cleveland, Ohio, where he was engaged in the work of his trade for six months, at the end of which he went to Alliance, Ohio. He re- mained in the latter place for one year and in 1902 came to Montana, locating in Hamilton, where he became manager of a tailoring business which he established for Ed. Doran. Nine months later he purchased the business and after continuing the same for two years at Hamilton removed his stock of goods to Deer Lodge, establishing a place on Main street. With the passage of time he has managed to build up a splendid patronage and he now holds distinctive prestige as the leading merchant tailor in Deer Lodge.

Inasmuch as Mr. Lanstyak came to the United States a poor boy, unfamiliar with the English language and without influential friends of any sort, his admir- able success in life is remarkable. He is the owner of seventeen thousand dollars worth of realty in Deer Lodge, all of which has been accumulated through persistency and thrift. In politics he is a stanch sup- porter of Republican principles and in religious mat- ters he and his family are devout members of the Cath- olic church, to whose charities and benevolences they are most liberal contributors.

On August 7, 1901, in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Lanstyak to Miss Mary Smith, a native of Austria-Hungary, whence she came to the United States in 1900. Mr. and Mrs. Lanstyak have one daughter, Mary Helen, whose birth occurred on the 14th of February, 1909.

ROBERT ERNEST RUNDELL is the second of eleven chil- dren born to Robert and Elizabeth Ann Rundell, na- tives of Cornwall, England. Mr. Rundell, senior, has held the same clerical position for more than twenty years and is trusted and honored by his employers. Both he and his wife are devout church workers. Mr. Rundell himself filling the pulpit on occasions. Of his eleven children all but the son who bears his name live within easy distance of their parents in Cornwall.

The son Robert was born in the Cornish home on the seventeenth day of September, 1880. He received his only education in the elementary schools of England. When thirteen years of age he was apprenticed to a smithy. He worked at the trade during the morning hours and attended school in the afternoons. For his services he received thirteen cents a day compensation.

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As soon as he became of age he left his native home that he might join his uncle, James Bate, who had pre- ceded him to America by some fifteen years. Mr. Run- dell was loyal to his home in the British Isles and de- voted to his family and childhood friends, but work was scarce and wages low. It seemed to him that little or no opportunity was offered there for the advancement of an ambitious young man.

Early in 1902 he reached Butte, Montana, and formed a partnership with the uncle before mentioned. They are now the proprietors of a large blacksmith estab- lishment situated at 230 South Wyoming street. Amer- ica has not dissappointed him in the prospects she held out, and Mr. Rundell has never failed to make the best of every opportunity.

Almost all of the time spent away from his place of business is devoted to some order of the Masonic lodge. He realizes the truth of the statement that a man who lives up to the beliefs of blue lodge Ma- sonry will be a Christian without the help of the Bible. With Mr. Rundell, himself, his masonry is almost his religion. Not only has he taken the first degrees, he wears also the double eagle and is an active member of the Shrine, which has been well called "The Good- fellowship Club" of the order.

He affiliates with the Methodist church and belongs to Mountain View Methodist church of that denomina- tion. Almost his only relaxation from business aside from his Masonic association and an occasional even- ing at the theater is the rare day that he spends fishing in the nearby mountain streams. Mr. Rundell makes his home with his uncle and business partner at 517 South Wyoming street.

Mr. Bate came to this country in 1886, having been born in England on the eighth of March, 1868. For two years after his arrival in America, he lived in Champion, Michigan. Hearing much talk of the gold and silver found in Montana, he came west in 1888 and leasing some property worked diligently for four years. His efforts in mining, however, were never rewarded with marked success and on the coming of his nephew to Butte he was glad to join him in organizing their now lucrative business, under the firm name of Run- dell and Bate.

Mr. Bate, like his nephew, is very active in Masonic life. He is a member of the blue lodge, the consist- ory and the Shrine, and is at present the master of the Rose Croix chapter of Butte, number two. There arc few offices in these orders that he has not filled. Both he and his wife are members of the Eastern Star, Mrs. Bate being also interested in the work.

He was married in Butte to Miss Clara Stanaway, a young English girl who had come to this country with two of her sisters. After the death of their parents the girls set out alone to join a brother who was making good in Butte. In a short time after her arrival she had consented to become Mrs. John James Bate. Mr. and Mrs. Bate have but one child, a daughter, Claressa, born October 7, 1892. Miss Claressa has now completed the work of the Butte public schools and is attending the business college of the same city. Her father at- tended the English public schools but was apprenticed at the age of thirteen to a ship builder. On coming to Butte he realized his lack of education and himself took a brief course at this same business college. Mr. Bate and his family are members of the Church of En- gland, but are not among those who devote much of their time to church affairs. As a family they are fond of books, Mr. Bate spending his leisure in reading or joining his nephew in his hunting and fishing expedi- tions in the mountains. He is also a lover of horse flesh, fond of both riding and driving. Perhaps his greatest indulgence is the fine horses he continually keeps for these purposes.

Mr. Bate is the son of Henry Bate, a ship builder who spent his entire life on British soil. He died on

the twenty-fifth of May, 1909, at the good old age of seventy-eight. Susan Jane Bate, the mother, was born in England on September the twentieth, 1842. She is still living in Cornwall, where her son visited her in 1911. It was a pleasure to Mr. Bate to visit his mother and his boyhood home in company with the wife, who herself had also many friends in the mother country. Mrs. Henry Bate, well and hardy at the age of seventy- nine, is the mother of eleven children, eight boys and three girls, the son James being the eighth child.

Mr. Rundell and his uncle have built up in Butte a business that is a source of income to themselves and a credit to the city of their adoption.

JOHN N. GREDEN. The metropolis of Montana is favored in having as one of its efficient and popular executive officers John N. Greden, who is serving as city auditor, a position to which he was called not through political influence but by reason of his special eligibility. His administration of the important af- fairs entrusted to him has been such as to justify fully the confidence thus reposed in him and is a valued factor in the directing of the municipal activities of the city of Butte.

Mr. Greden claims the fine old Hawkeye state as the place of his nativity. He was born at Sioux City, lowa, on the 24th of October, 1870, and is a son of John P. and Margaret (Tholl) Greden, both of whom were born in Belgium. John P. Greden came to the United States with his parents when he was fourteen years old. They were pioneers in Ozankee county, Wisconsin, John P. Greden following agricultural pur- suits there and mining in the Lake Superior region. In 1869 he removed to Sioux City, Iowa, and resided there until 1903, being engaged all of that time as a stationary engineer. In 1903 he located at Wilburton Oklahoma, and died there soon after his arrival. To the excellent public schools of his native city Mr. Greden is indebted for his preliminary educational dis- cipline, which was there effectively supplemented by a thorough course in the Sioux City Business College. After leaving this institution he was engaged in va- rious lines of clerical work in Sioux City until 1896, when he went to British Columbia, at the time of the great inrush of settlers and prospectors in that section of the country. There he was concerned with prospec- ting and mining operations until 1902. and he met with excellent success in his various efforts. His establish- ing of his home in Montana was not a matter of pre- meditation. He came to Butte to attend the wedding of one of his sisters, in 1902, and as his mining experiences in British Columbia caused him to be specially in- terested in this line of industry and in the sinelting en- terprises, he naturally wished to view the operations of the largest smelter in the world, the same being lo- cated at Anaconda, this state. Incidentally he found lucrative employment at Anaconda, and there he held an executive office position for five years in the em- ploy of the Anaconda Copper Mining Company. When the purchasing department of the company's business was removed to Butte he was transferred to this city, in the capacity of cashier of the department. This responsible office he retained until May, 1911, when the new city administration of Butte made overtures to secure his services in the office of city auditor, as his record and his ability as an accountant and executive had marked him as the most eligible and available candidate for the exacting municipal office, which was tendered him, as already stated, without reference to political affiliations or influence. He accepted the ap- pointment and has since given a most careful, discrimi- nating and effective service, which has proved of marked value to the city. Of genial and courteous nature, his service in public office has gained to him in the interim a wide acquaintanceship in his home city, and here his circle of friends is coextensive with that of his ac-

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A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 114

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