A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 125

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

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Upon first taking his place in professional life here, Dr. Smith entered into partnership with Dr. W. B. Par- sons, an old resident physician of high standing, and this association continued until Dr. Parsons, owing to advanced age and failing health, retired in October, 1909, and since that time that subject has practiced inde- pendently. On April 24, 1911, he was honored by ap- pointment to the position of first lieutenant of the Med- ical Reserve Corps of the United States army, his splendid record in the Philippines bringing about the bestowal of this signal honor.

Dr. Smith is a very prominent and popular lodge man. He stands high in Masonry and exemplifies in his own living the ideals of moral and social justice and broth- erly love for which the order stands. He is a thirty- second degree Mason and a Knight Templar. He be- longs also to the Modern Woodmen of America, the Moose lodge, the Eagles, and is a member of the Peu- sion Board of the United States government. He holds the office of medical examiner for the New York Mu- tual Life Insurance Company and the Prudential In- surance Company.

He is of a peculiarly genial and interesting person- ality and enjoys high regard in Missoula.

The subject's father, Henry Clay Smith, was born in the year 1833 at Hughsville. Missouri, and he is one of the extensive agriculturists and land owners of that lo- cality. He is a veteran of the Civil war and had an extremely interesting military record. He was a sutler

and was captured at the battle of Shiloh and placed in Libby prison. After an incarceration of eighteen days he was paroled for sixty days. An interesting inci- dent occurred in connection with his imprisonment. The Confederate soldiers who were following those who attempted to escape from the battlefield, were out- distanced by Mr. Smith, who made his escape on horse- back and whereupon decided to return to the battle- field in order to locate his sutler's outfit, consisting of several six-mule teams and the wagons and their con- tents. While searching he was surprised by the rebels and taken prisoner, and while being passed into the stockade Mr. Smith's hat was snatched from his head by the guard, who threw him his own in return. Now, Mr. Smith could not see great humor in this frolicsome at- tention from the fact that in his hat band was secreted $2,000 in large bills. On being paroled the same guard was on duty, and on passing him Mr. Smith snatched his own hat from his head and threw the guard's hat to him. Upon examination he was delighted to find that the guard had not been of an investigative turn and the money was still there. At the time of his imprison- ment Mr. Smith had secreted in various places in his garments about $20,000 in greenbacks and none of them were molested. While on parole he went to Baltimore in the hope of finding his brother and partner in his sutler enterprise. One afternoon while taking a walk in that city he noticed a negro cutting grass with a scythe and on coming closer he found him to be the driver of one of his sutler wagons. Very joyfully the negro explained how, after the battle, he had cut the harness, mounted a mule and dashed away and later had hidden the mules in a nearby cellar. He was cut- ting the grass to feed them with at the time Mr. Smith discovered him. The negro knew the location of the regiment and Mr. Smith found his brother there un- harmed. This interesting old gentleman is now living in ease and plenty on the old homestead near Hughs- ville, Missouri. The mother, previous to her marriage, was Martha E. Mockabee, also a Missourian, and of Kentucky stock. This admirable lady passed to the life eternal in 1877.

Upon being asked his opinion of Montana's future prospects, Dr. Smith spoke as follows: "Montana has a great future. Although her agricultural lands are lim- ited in extent, what there are are the equal of those in the Philippines-the richest in the world, and as for her mineral resources, they are yet in the very infancy of development."

CECIL E. COPELAND. A man of distinctive energy, possessing good judgment and wise discrimination, Cecil E. Copeland, cashier of the Lewistown State Bank, at Lewistown, is amply qualified for the respon- sible position which he is so ably filling, not only through his native and acquired forces, but by train- ing and experience. Coming from excellent New Eng- land ancestry, he was born, November 20, 1877, in Russell. Kansas.

His father, the late Charles P. Copeland, was born, bred and educated in Vermont, his birth having oc- curred at Middletown Springs, Rutland county, in 1853. Foreseeing the great possibilities of the then undeveloped western country, he migrated to Kansas in the seventies, locating in Russell, where he was suc- cessfully engaged in the mercantile and banking busi- ness until his death, in 1905, when but fifty-two years of age. His wife, whose maiden name was Josephine Ackerman, is now living in Pasadena, California. and is the mother of three children, of whom Cecil E. is the oldest.

Receiving his elementary education in Russell, Kan- sas, Cecil E. Copeland was graduated from the gram- mar and high schools, and afterwards took a two years' course at the Kansas State Agricultural Col- lege, and for four years attended the University of

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Kansas, in Lawrence, being there graduated with the degree of A. B. An idustrious and ambitious lad, he began earning money when but seven years old, doing light jobs and running errands, and during his school life spent many of his vacations as clerk in mercantile establishments. After leaving college Mr. Copeland remained in Kansas for some time, for three and one half years being employed in a bank at Rus- sell. Coming to Montana in 1904, he visited several parts of the state with a view to making a permanent location, and being especially pleased with the pros- pects in Lewistown accepted an offered position in the First National Bank, with which he was associated six years. Then, at the organization of the Lewistown State Bank, Mr. Copeland was made its cashier, and has since performed the duties devolving upon him in this capacity with marked ability and fidelity. He has a fine personality that spells determination and success, and is deservedly popular as a man and citizen, while his loyalty to the state of his adoption is unquestioned, his belief in a brilliant future for Montana being al- most optimistic.

Fraternally Mr. Copeland is a member of Lewis- town Lodge, No. 37, Ancient Free and Accepted Ma- sons, which he served as master in 1911, and is now, in 1912, the treasurer; of Hiram Chapter, No. 15 R. A. M .; of Lewistown Commandery, No. 14 K. T .; of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and of the Knights of Pythias, in which he has filled all the chairs. He likewise belongs to the Judith Club, a social organization. Literary in his tastes, he has a fine library of his own, and aside from reading, takes pleasure in tennis games, theatricals and music.

Mr. Copeland married, September 5, 1906, Jessie E. Kingsbury, a daughter of Allen M. and May Kings- bury, of Cassopolis, Michigan, and they have one child, Paul F. Copeland.

JAMES MCCLELLAN HAMILTON. With years of hon- orable achievement in the educational field behind him, James McClellan Hamilton, president of the Montana State College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts, at Bozeman, came to this institution in 1904 and for eight years has devoted himself to increasing its prestige and efficiency. He was born on his father's farm in Craw ford county, Illinois, October 1, 1861, and is a son of James and Mary (Burner) Hamilton.

James Hamilton was born in Beaver county, Pennsyl- vania, March 25, 1808, and died in Crawford county, Illinois, November 4, 1875. When quite young his parents moved to Ohio, where he attended school and afterward assisted his father in his farm industries. In 1851 he moved to Crawford county, Illinois, an early settler there, and in his section was a pioneer farmer and stock raiser. He was a man of sterling character, one of the pillars of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics he was a Douglas Democrat but voted for Abraham Lincoln in his second campaign. James Hamilton married Mary Burner, who was born in Lick- ing county, Ohio, September 29, 1821, and died May 28, 1889. Ten children were born to that union, all of whom survived to maturity and seven of these are yet living, James McClellan being the ninth in order of birth.

James McClellan Hamilton received his early edu- cational training in the schools of Crawford county, Illinois. As agriculture did not appeal to him, he worked hard to prepare himself for a professional career and as soon as qualified began to teach school in his native section. Five years later he took a course in Union Christian College, from which he was graduated in the class of 1887, after which he was elected superintendent of the schools of Sumner, Illi- nois. Travel, reading and association with many resi- dents of the west served to arouse an interest that

culminated in his accepting the position of superin- tendent of the public schools of Missoula, Montana, in August, 1889, and for the following twelve years he continued in this office and each year adding to the efficiency of the public school system. In the mean- while, Professor Hamilton had never relaxed his own educational advancement and in 1898 took post-gradu- ate work at Harvard University. After retiring from the Missoula schools in 1901 he accepted the chair of history in the Montana State University, which he con- tinued to fill until 1904, when he came to Bozeman as president of the State College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts. He spent the summer of 1912 in Europe in the study of agriculture. He is held in high regard in educational circles all over the state and fre- quently has been honored by appointment to office and recognition by educational bodies. In 1893 he was ap- pointed a member of the state board of school examin- ers and served until 1901, and in 1902 became a mem- ber of the state tax book commission.

Never very active politically, Professor Hamilton has never shirked the responsibilities of good citizen- ship, on the other hand he has always given support and lent influence to the forces of law and order. Fra- ternally he belongs to Covenant Lodge No. 6, I. O. O. F., at Missoula, Montana; to Bozeman Lodge No. 18, A. F. & A. M .; to Zona Chapter No. 12, R. A. M .; and to St. Johns Commandery; and is also a member of Bozeman Lodge No. 463, B. P. O. E. He belongs to the Greek letter fraternity of his college, the Sigma Chi,

On June 6, 1888, Professor Hamilton was married to Miss Emma Shideler, who was born in Indiana, September 13, 1863, and died in Montana, August 12, 1909. She was a lady of lovely character and many accomplishments.

ROBERT M. SPROAT was born in Scotland of Scottish parents, and was there reared and educated. He passed his life there until 1904, in which year he came to America, coming direct to Montana and settling in Utica, Fergus county, where he worked as a cowboy for four years. From that humble position he has risen to the station of an independent merchant, and is now located in Valier, where he is engaged in the conduct of a general merchandise business.

Mr. Sproat was born in Scotland on February 12, 1863, and is the son of William and Elizabeth (Gra- ham) Sproat. The father was a farmer in Scotland, where he was born, lived and died, his death occurring in 1872, when he had reached the age of fifty-eight years. His wife died there in 1907 at the age of eighty- four. They were the parents of six children, Robert being the fifth born. He was educated in the public schools of his native land and in Kirk Cudbright Academy, attending to the age of sixteen, after which he devoted himself to farm life. When he came to Montana in 1904, fresh from Scotland, he applied him- self to the first duty at hand, which chanced to be that of a cowboy, and for four years he diligently took his part in the life of the West in that capacity, being employed on C. N. Beldon's ranch near Utica. From there he removed to Sand Coulee, Montana, and was soon engaged in the general merchandise business on his own responsibility, and was associated with Joseph Hawthorne as his partner in business. The firm was known as Hawthorne & Sproat, and he continued in that business until 1910. In that year he sold his in- terest in the establishment and removed to Valier which his shrewd Scotch judgment told him was the better place for such a business as they were conduct- ing. Since that time he has been established alone in business in Valier and is making good with the project, and enjoys a gradually increasing trade, the while he has won the entire confidence and esteem of the com- munity at large. He has already become active in

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civic affairs and served one term as chairman of the first school board in Valier. He has the further dis- tinction of having purchased the first lot in Valier. Mr. Sproat is a Republican, and a staunch member of the Presbyterian church. He came to Montana on money which he borrowed, and in the few years of his residence here has made most worthy progress in a financial way. In addition to his thriving and ever extending business, Mr. Sproat has become the owner of a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of desert land, the same amount of homestead land, and his wife owns an additional tract of the same acreage, all near to the city of Valier.

On August 28, 1904, Mr. Sproat was united in mar- riage with Miss Eliza M. Naysmith, a native of the state of Illinois. Three children have been born to them: Robert, born at Sand Coulee, Montana, on Sep- tember 29, 1905; William, born at Belt, Montana, April 15, 1907, and who died in October, the same year; and Agnes, born at Great Falls, on January 29, 1910.

JAMES P. SNIDOW. The banking interests of any com- munity are so important and play such a prominent part in the financial life of the people that they cannot be too carefully conserved, and naturally the greatest care is taken in the selection of those in whose hands the affairs of these institutions are placed. Huntley, Montana, located as it is in the midst of a great com- mercial, industrial and agricultural section, handles large amounts of money, and its bank officials must be men of experience as well as of unblemished business records. The Huntley State Bank has been fortunate in securing for its vice-president and manager, James P. Snidow, who in every way has shown himself worthy the confidence of his associates and the general public. Mr. Snidow, like many of the successful business men in the Yellowstone valley, is a product of the farm, having been born in the country near Madison, Monroe county, Missouri, July 10, 1865, a son of James Martin and Martha (Ash) Snidow.

William and Chloe (Frely) Snidow, the paternal grandparents of James P. Snidow, natives of Virginia of German parentage, left that state for Missouri in 1837, traveling overland with an ox-team and settling in Monroe county at a time when wild game as well as wild savages were still to be found in large numbers in that then frontier state. Mr. Snidow took up 320 acres of land, 120 of which were in timber, while 200 were prairie land, and the latter he broke with ox-teams, developed and cultivated, and in time became one of the prominent and prosperous farmers of his locality. An earnest, upright, Christian man, he attended with his family the old Baptist church, and in his political pro- clivities was an ardent Democrat. He and his wife had a family of three sons and four daughters, and James Martin was the oldest. He was born September 21, 1825, in Cabell county, Virginia (now West Virginia), and was twelve years of age when he accompanied his parents to the new country, his education being secured in the early district schools when he could be spared from the work that was constantly going on at the homestead. On October 16, 1853, he was married in Monroe county, Missouri, to Miss Martha Ash, who was born in April, 1832, in Indiana, daughter of George and Naomi Ash, the former born in 1800 and the latter in 1803, in Kentucky, where they were married. The Ash family located in Indiana at an early day, and in 1831 traveled overland to Monroe county, Missouri, where they became pioneers, Mr. Ash becoming the owner of a vast amount of property. He died in 1863, his widow surviving until 1891, when her death oc- curred at the age of eighty-eight years. They had eleven children.

James M. Snidow remained under the parental roof for one year after his marriage, and in 1854 purchased a farm in Monroe county, Missouri, but subsequently

purchased another and disposed of the original tract. The remainder of his life was spent in agricultural pur- suits in that section, where he specialized in fruit growing and stock raising, and he also at various times was the owner of some very valuable horses. Pro- gressive in all things, he invariably used the latest and most highly improved machinery in his operations, and as he was a skilled natural mechanic was able to repair any parts of his machinery which became broken. He was recognized as an able agriculturist and an ex- cellent judge of land and crop conditions, was a faithful member of the Baptist church and a great Bible student, and like his father a zealous Democrat, although he never cared for public office, although he was often urged to allow his name to be used as a candidate for political honors. He died June 28, 1908, his wife having passed away August 2, 1895, and both were sincerely mourned in their community, where they had countless friends. To them there were born ten chil- dren, as follows: Laura E., who married Cyrus D. Lusk, a resident of Randolph county, Missouri; Naomi, whose death occurred at the age of twenty-two years; Martha J., who died when she was thirty-one years of age, the wife of W. D. Gerrard; William G., who makes his home in the West; Christian M., who met an accidental death by drowning when he was twenty-one years old; Thomas Ash, one of the leading business men and capitalists of Billings, near which city he is the owner of a ranch of 1,500 acres; James P .; Henry L., who died in infancy; Jasper, who also died as an infant; and Victor R., who died at the age of twenty-seven years.

James P. Snidow acquired an education which at that time was considered far above the average at the dis- trict schools of Monroe county, supplemented by the training which he received at Prof. Ripley's College, Shelbyville, Shelby county, Missouri, and the Missouri State Normal School, at Kirksville. He then started teaching school in the winters and working on the farm in summers, alternating between a pursuit which tended at once to fix his knowledge and inculcate habits of exactitude and self-restraint, and an occupation well calculated to develop his physical strength. After two years, however, he left the parental roof-tree, intent upon hewing out his own way to success, and until 1904 was engaged in farming and stock raising in Missouri. In the year mentioned, he came to the Yel- lowstone valley, located in Billings, and became inter- ested in the sheep business with his brother, Thomas A. Snidow. In 1905 he became manager of their sheep ranch at Youngs Point, near Park City, in the Yellow- stone valley, but in August, 1910, gave up ranching and turned his attention to finance, being vice-president and manager of the Huntley State Bank, positions which he is ably filling at the present time.

Among his associates, as in the community at large, Mr. Snidow is noted for his uncompromising integrity. His sympathies are keen and broad, leading him to co-operate in every scheme calculated to advance the general good or to ameliorate the condition of his fel- lowmen. While he is an ardent Democrat in his polit- ical views, he has thus far chosen to remain in the walks of private life, where he can more readily carry on his business enterprises. Mr. Snidow is unmarried.

CHARLES M. MANSURE. When Charles M. Mansure first came to Polson, it was a wild prairie, without hu- man habitation or other signs of human life. He has seen it grow from a wilderness into the thriving and prosperous town it is today, and his fortunes have rrown with the town. In 1909 he started the hardware business which has developed into a fine establishment with the months that have sped, and his place is one of the leading hardware stores in the northern part of the state at this time. He has also become interested in the

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ranch business and owns a fine ranch a few miles dis- tant from the city.

Mr. Mansure was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on the 2Ist day of December, 1873, and is the son of William H. and Elizabeth (Hughes) Mansure. Both were na- tives of Missouri, the father being born in Millville, that state, in 1841, and the mother was born in 1848. At one time Mr. Mansure was a very prominent citizen in St. Louis. He was a banker, and was a member of the St. Louis Board of Trade for a number of years after the Civil war, through which he fought with Gen- eral Price. At present he is living a retired life in Chillicothe, Missouri.

As a boy and youth, Charles Mansure attended the public schools of Chillicothe, and he finished his educa- tion at Mexico City, Missouri. Upon leaving school he became a clerk in a bank at Chillicothe, where he re- mained for four years. Soon thereafter he engaged in the immigration business in Oklahoma and Texas. He was thus engaged for nine years and enjoyed excellent success in that business. His next move brought him to Montana, where he chose the present site of Polson for his location. He homesteaded two lots on the town- site, and since that time his fortunes have been identical with those of the town of Polson, and he has ever been one of the leading citizens of the place. In September, 1909, he organized the Charles M. Mansure hardware business, then a small and limited concern, but one which has expanded with the flight of time until it is today one of the leading hardware establishments in this section of the state. Mr. Mansure has contributed his full share to the growth and development of the town, and has demonstrated his faith in the future of the place by acquiring a generous portion of town and ranch property, which he is confident will appre- ciate in value steadily. He is a Democrat in his political convictions and was the first mayor of the city of Polson, elected to the office in 1910. He is a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is a helpful and active adherent of that organization. Mr. Mansure is a sportsman of some note, hunting and fishing being among his chief diversions. He is unmarried.

EDWARD F. MAGINN, M. D. Every profession has its prominent men, some made such by long member- ship, others by proficiency in their calling. Dr. Ed- ward F. Maginn, of Butte, is made conspicuous among the physicians of that city, not so much by the length of time he has devoted to the calling-for he is yet a young man-as by the eminent success he has already made in it. During the seven years that he has been located in Butte he has succeeded in building up a large and representative practice, and has gained a name for himself in the profession as an authority on diseases of the stomach and abdominal surgery. Like many of Montana's leading professional men, Dr. Ma- ginn is a native of the east, having been born in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, November 20, 1878, a son of Bernard B. and Elizabeth (Hunt) Maginn, the former a native of 'Poughkeepsie, New York, and the latter of Pennsylvania. Bernard B. Maginn was for many years a successful contractor and builder in Chi- cago, where his death occurred in 1903, when he was fifty-two years of age.

Edward F. Maginn received his preliminary educa- tional training in the public schools, and later attended the University of Chicago. He then entered Rush Medical College, from which famous institution he was graduated with the class of 1903, receiving the de- gree of doctor of medicine. He was subsequently en- gaged in hospital work and practiced in Chicago for two years, where he also taught in the College of Physicians and Surgeons on diseases of the stomach. Dr. Maginn came to Butte during the latter part of 1905, and has here since been in the active practice of his profession, proving himself a useful, active citi-

zen, and standing in the front rank of the men who have made the medical fraternity in this city what it is. The Doctor is a great reader and close student, keeping himself well abreast of the times and thor- oughly posted on all advancements produced by scien- tific research in the prolific fields of medicine and surgery. He specializes in diseases of the stomach and abdominal surgery, and has at various times been called in consultation in important cases. Taking a great interest in the work of the various organizations of his profession, he is a valued member of the Silver Bow County Medical Society, the Montana State Medical Society, the American Medical Association, and the local organization. He is fraternally connected with the Knights of Columbus, and is well known socially as a popular member of the Silver Bow, Country and University Clubs. Dr. Maginn maintains a high re- gard for the ethics of his profession, and in every way has sought to advance its interests. He has, how- ever, found time also to take an interest in the welfare of Butte, and all movements of a beneficial nature will find in him a hearty sympathizer and liberal supporter.

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A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 125

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