A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 127

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

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Mr. Wilson is not so absorbed in his work that he can take no time to play. He never loses an opportunity to participate in a base ball game or to join a foot ball

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eleven. When this is out of the question he is just as enthusiastic as a spectator. Of course, being a good Montanian by adoption, he is a devotee of the rod and gun. Both he and Mrs. Wilson belong to the most pro- gressive class of the progressive city.

RALPH M. HODGENS. Whether the elements of suc- cess in life are innate attributes of the individual, or whether they are quickened by a process of circumstan- tial development, it is impossible clearly to determine. Yet the study of a successful life is none the less profit- able by reason of the existence of this uncertainty and in the majority of cases it is found that exceptional ability, amounting to genuis, perhaps, was the real secret of the preeminence which many envied. So it appears to the student of human nature who seeks to trace the history of the rise of Ralph M. Hodgens, a typical American of the best class. He is yet a young man but has achieved a success that many an older resident of Butte might envy. Mr. Hodgens is presi- dent of the Hodgens-Greene Company, which is the active head of several land and development companies, as well as successful mining enterprises.

Ralph M. Hodgens was born at Taylorstown, Penn- sylvania, on the 25th of March, 1880, and is a son of James and Mary E. (Farrar) Hodgens, both of whom were likewise born in the Keystone state. The father was engaged in civil engineering and farming during the greater part of his active career and was called to the Great Beyond in April, 1903. Mrs. Hodgens, who survives her honored husband, is now living in the old homestead at Taylorstown. The Hodgens family con- sisted of six children, all of whom are living (in 1911) and of whom the subject of this review was the last in order of birth.

After completing the curriculum of the public schools of Taylorstown, Pennsylvania, Ralph M. Hodgens was matriculated as a student in Washington & Jefferson College, at Washington, that state, a member of the class of 1901. He was variously engaged until 1905 when he came to Butte, where he was associated with his brother, Thomas M. Hodgens, in different business enterprises for a short time. In 1909 Mr. Hodgens became interested in the land business in Montana, and in 1911 formed a partnership with Fred T. Greene to incorporate the Hodgens-Greene Company, which con- cern deals in mining and agricultural lands, the head- quarters of the same being at Nos. 401-3 State Savings Bank building. The Hodgens-Greene Company was incorporated under the laws of the state of Montana in 1911. Mr. Hodgens is president of the company and Mr. Greene is secretary and treasurer. An extensive real estate business is controlled and the company is also interested in mines and mining properties in Montana and Idaho.

In politics Mr. Hodgens is an uncompromising sup- porter of the principles and policies for which the Democratic party stands sponsor, and in a social way is affiliated with the Silver Bow, Country Club and the University Club. His religious faith is in harmony with the teachings of the Presbyterian church, of which he is a devout and active member. Mr. Hodgens is unmarried.

At the time of the outbreak of the Spanish-American war, in 1898, Mr. Hodgens gave evidence of his intrin- sic loyalty to the cause of justice by enlisting as a mem- ber of Company H, Tenth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He served throughout the entire period of hostilities, was in the Philippine Islands for nine months and there participated in a number of important engage- ments, including Maycauwan, in which he was wounded. He was mustered out of service at San Francisco in September, 1909. While on duty Mr. Hodgens was a member of the Eighth Army Corps and served under General McArthur. He is genial in his associations, affable in his address, generous in the judgment of

his fellow men, and courteous to all. As a citizen and enthusiast of his town it is but just to say that com- munities will prosper and grow in proportion as they put a premium on men of his character.

EDWARD H. LAMBERT. The father of E. H. Lambert, of Helena, was Edward A .- Lambert by name, and dur- ing his life he was one of the influential citizens of Brooklyn, New York. He was at one tme a banker in the city, and later a stationer. In both of these pursuits he was successful and acquired quite a comfortable fortune. However, later in life, he lost most of his money through reverses and unfortunate investments, so that his children were thrown upon their own re- sources. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 10, 1813, and he took an active part in the politics of Brooklyn, New York, to which city he re- moved after his marriage. He was at one time mayor of the city and was always one of the leaders in its civic affairs. He died in 1885, seven years before the death of his wife. This lady was born in New Hamp- shire, in 1830. Her maiden name was Hannah J. Hib- bard. She was the mother of five children, Edward H. being the oldest.

Edward H. Lambert first opened his eyes upon this stage of action on August 20, 1860. He was sent to the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute after some elementary instruction in private schools. Leaving this institution at the age of fifteen, he went into the house of Mollison Brothers, wholesale wall-paper dealers of New York City, as a wage earner. His duties were to act as mes- senger and collector and to make himself generally use- ful, and the consideration for the services rendered was two dollars a week. Mr. Lambert spent a quarter of a year with this firm and then entered the employ of the Fulton Bank of Brooklyn. In the five years he spent with this concern he filled all the minor positions and established a reputation for an efficiency of no com- mon order. His next position was with the Brooklyn Watch Case Company, the largest establishment of the kind in the world at that time. Mr. Lambert began here as a bookkeeper and in the four years which he was connected with the company, held various office posi- tions leaving only to go west and engage in business on his own account. In 1884 he left Brooklyn and went to Fargo, North Dakota. In that city, he went into the real estate and land business and made a specialty of farm loans. He remained there twenty-one years be- fore moving still further west, and this time his objec- tive point was Helena. Here he formed a partnership with Mr. Palmer, and with him continued in the same line of work in which he had been engaged in Fargo. .The association has lasted until the present time and the business has grown until it is now the largest brokerage and farm loan company in the county. It is incorporated, with Mr. H. B. Palmer, as president and Edwin H. Lambert, vice-president and treasurer.

Mr. Lambert is a Republican, but does not figure in the activities of the local organization. He belongs to the Elks and to the Masons, as well as to the Montana club. From 1880 until 1884 he was a member of the Brooklyn National Guards, the Twenty-third Regiment. His father had given fourteen years to the service of the New York National Guards, being a member of the Seventh Regiment.

Personally, though pre-eminently a man of business, Mr. Lambert is a man of easy and affable manner, which is a true index of an open-hearted and kindly nature. He is the fortunate possessor not only of one of the solid financial establishments of the city of Helena, but of many friends and well-wishers.

CHARLES A. TAYLOR. One of the younger members of the Montana legal profession who has attained prom- inence in his calling, and has been chosen to represent

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the people in positions of public trust, is Charles A. Taylor, county attorney of Yellowstone county. Mr. Taylor, whose field of practice is the city of Billings, is a native of Ross county, Ohio, and was born Feb- ruary 17, 1880, a son of Charles C. and Mary Ellen (Bates) Taylor.

The father died when Charles A. was but three years of age, and but little is known of his life save that he was an industrious and successful business man and an upright and patriotic citizen. He was born in Tennes- see, in 1836, and removed to Ohio prior to the Civil war, in which he served for five years as a member of Company H, First Ohio Volunteer Cavalry. At the close of the war he returned to Chillicothe, Ohio, where he was connected with a railroad as superintendent up to the time of his death in 1883. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and in his political beliefs was a Republican. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Ellen Bates, was born at Chil- licothe, Ohio, in 1848, and her death occurred in 1904, she having been the mother of a family of eight chil- dren, of whom five still survive.

Charles A. Taylor was the sixth in order of birth of his parents' children, and his education was secured in the public schools of Hocking county, Ohio, whence his parents had removed not long before his father's de- mise. He was graduated from Antioch College, at Yellow Springs, Ohio, with the class of 1902, after which he attended the Law School of Harvard Uni- versity, and received his degree with the class of 1905. Almost immediately thereafter he came to Billings, where he engaged as assistant to the Hon. O. F. God- dard, one of the leading attorneys of the state, but in 1906 entered practice on his own account. The char- acter and ability of the young attorney soon attracted attention, and in 1907 he was appointed deputy county attorney under Harry L. Wilson, and subsequently, in 1910, he received the fall election to the office of county attorney of Yellowstone county. An able and conscien- tious public official, he has been fearless in championing the measures and principles which he has deemed to be right, and in the earnest performance of the duties of his office has gained and held the respect and confidence of his fellow townsmen. He is known as an influential worker in the ranks of the Republican party, and his fraternal connections are with Ashlar Lodge, No. 29, A. F. & A. M, and Billings Lodge, No. 394, B. P. O. E., in both of which he has a number of warm friends. He has been an industrious and tireless worker ever since his youth, when as a lad of fourteen years he acted as page in the Ohio state senate.

On June 30, 1908, Mr. Taylor was married at Five Mile, Ohio, to Miss Stella Shannon, who was born in Brown county, Ohio, daughter of Jacob D. and Belle (Myers) Shannon, natives of Ohio, where Mr. Shan- non is engaged in mercantile and agricultural pursuits. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have two children, namely: Mary Kathleen and Charles Richard.

NICHOLAS A. ROTERING. Although a comparative- ly recent acquisition to the bar of Silver Bow county, Nicholas A. Rotering is sufficiently far from shore to be under full sail in his profession, and has given abundant evidence of his ability to steer his barque to its desired haven. His life story is one like thousands of others among us everywhere, differing only in de- tails, but in all essential features forcibly illustrating the wonderful possibilities of American life and the no less wonderful versatility of the American mind. Beginning the battle of life for himself at an early age in one responsible and oftentimes very trying capacity, and thereby earning the money required to prepare himself for a more ambitious calling and career, he is found, after a few years, engaged in work of a totally different kind, and making an excellent record in that as he did in his former vocation.

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Mr. Rotering was born in Buffalo county, Wiscon- sin, on February 18, 1878. His parents, Nicholas and Rosa (Greenwald) Rotering, are farmers in that county, and he was reared to the age of seventeen years on the farm, attending the district school of the neighborhood, and the high school at Arcadia, Wiscon- sin, for the foundation of his academic education. The father is a native of Prussia, Germany, and came to the United States when he was but seventeen years old. He located in Buffalo county, Wisconsin, and at once engaged in farm work, to which he has ever since adhered, working for some time for other per- sons, but for many years owning and cultivating a farm of his own. He is now about sixty years of age, but still very active and energetic. The mother, also still living and now fifty-three years of age, was born and reared in Wisconsin, and has passed all her life to this time in that state.

Following the stimulating example of his father, Mr. Rotering took up for himself the struggle for advance- ment among men at the age of seventeen, teaching school for a number of years as his first independent occupation, but while doing this passed his vacations working on his father's farm. His professional prep- aration was finished at Madison, Wisconsin, College of Law, from which he was graduated in 1903. He then went back to the farm and remained at home with his parents until 1905, when he came to Butte to begin the practice of his profession. The first two years of his professional work in Butte were passed in the office of John A. Smith, Esq., and at the end of that period, in 1907, he opened an office of his own in the Silver Bow block, in which he is still located.

From the beginning of his independent legal career Mr. Rotering has been very successful. Early in his professional life in Butte he had so impressed the bench and bar of the city with his ability that Mayor Nevin, in 1909, appointed him assistant city attorney, and that office he is still filling with great acceptabil- ity to the officials of the city and to the general public as well. He is entirely fair and broad-minded in the performance of his official duties, impelled always by a high sense of responsibility in respect to the city, but, at the same time, always keen for preserving the rights and protecting the interests of the other side from unwarranted invasion and all forms of imposi- tion.

Mr. Rotering is earning the success he is achieving at the bar. He is a diligent and thoughtful student of legal science, and is painstaking and conscientious in preparing and conducting his cases. He feels deeply his duty to his clients, and as he enjoys the intellect- ual contests inevitable to the trial of cases, he there- fore omits nothing available on his part that may aid him in securing success. And yet, while realizing that the law is a jealous mistress, he does not allow his profession to engross the whole of his time and energy to the exclusion of everything else, but seeks alike, as he has opportunity, the pleasing recreations of social life, the exhilarating sports of the diamond and other fields of athletic competition, and the sterner conflicts of politics.

He is an ardent working member of the Democratic party politically, belongs to the Alumni Association of his law college and the Silver Bow Bar Association socially and fraternally, and is allied with the Catholic church in religious affiliation. On June 23, 1909, he was married in the city of his present home to Miss Anna Harrington, the daughter of John and Margaret (Harnett) Harrington. By this marriage he has be- come the father of one child, his daughter Rosa Jean- nette, who was born in Butte, Montana, on May 3, 1910. He and his wife have hosts of friends, who make their pleasant home a favorite resort and always

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find it pervaded with an air of refinement and generous and genuine in its cordial but unobtrusive hospitality.

E. WILEY HILL. At this point attention is directed to a brief history of the career of E. Wiley Hill, one of Butte's most prominent merchants and business men. Mr. Hill was born at Milan, Texas, on the 6th of Feb- ruary, 1864, and he is a son of R. J. and Ellen Augusta (Kellogg) Hill, both of whom were born in Texas, the former at San Antonio, in 1844, and the latter in 1851. The father was a valiant soldier in the Civil war and during the greater portion of his active career was a prominent merchant. He was summoned to the life eternal in 1909, at the age of sixty-five years, and his cherished and devoted wife died in 1881, at the early age of thirty years. Concerning the three chil- dren born to Mr. and Mrs. R. J. Hill: Walter C. is a resident of San Antonio, Texas, where he is in the employ of the San Antonio Sewer, Pipe & Tile Com- pany; Lulu is the wife of a merchant and influential business man at San Antonio and they have two chil- dren; and E. Wiley is the immediate subject of this review.

In early life E. Wiley Hill did not have the advan- tages of the higher branches of education, as he lived in one of the isolated sections of the Lone Star State. He was a regular attendant at the district school, how- ever, and took advantage of every opportunity to broaden his mind and store up a fund of useful infor- mation. At an early age he was obliged to leave school and go to work and, living as he did in a stock-rais- ing section of the state, he naturally became a cow- boy. He was in the employ of the Banner Cattle Com- pany for a period of ten years and during that time had many thrilling experiences, bravely meeting the hardships and privations which went to make up the lot of the cow-punchers in the early days of the cattle industry in the southwest. Mr. Hill came to Montana in the early days of Butte and on the 5th of September, 1897, opened the Montana Cash Grocery, being asso- ciated with David Davenport in that particular enter- prise. That store is still doing a very thriving business, but it is not now conducted by Mr. Hill. In 1900 he disposed of his business interests in Butte and went to the Pacific coast, where he remained for the ensuing two years. In 1905 he returned to Butte, where he purchased the grocery concern of L. M. Brookes. That store was then a small struggling establishment, but under the able guidance of Mr. Hill it has prospered and expanded so that it is one of the leading retail groceries in the city. In addition to his grocery business Mr. Hill is also interested in the sale of auto trucks, being Butte agent for the McIntyre Auto Truck Company, a prominent eastern concern. Mr. Hill is a business man of keen judgment and good foresight. He has worked hard and persistently for the success which is now his, and it is gratifying to note that all his deal- ings have been characterized by fair and honorable methods.

Mr. Hill is independent in politics and, in a fraternal way, is affiliated with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Eagles, Moose and Lions. He is fond of out-of-door sports and takes much pleasure in automo- biling, hunting and fishing. As a citizen he is loyal and public spirited, and his generous attitude toward his fellow men makes him beloved amongst all classes of people.

J. N. HARVEY. The First National Bank of Chester was organized in 1909 as the First Bank of Chester, and in 1910 a national charter was secured and the present title adopted. H. E. Delaney was the first president and J. J. Dunnegan the first cashier, while the present officials are L. D. Prigsley, president, H. F. Smith, vice president, and J. N. Harvey, cashier. This bank. which does a general loan and banking business with the local citizenship and the farmers and

stockmen of a large scope of country adjacent, has had a very successful career. Its home is a substantial brick building, which was the first structure of the kind erected in Chester. The bank has been a very impor- tant factor in the growth and prosperity of the town, which is now a community of excellent stores and many comfortable residences, the city's population be- ing now about one thousand.

Mr. J. N. Harvey, who has been identified with this institution practically from the beginning, is one of the rising young business men of northwest Montana. He is a native of the Northwest, having been born in Benson, Minnesota, December 8, 1882, and received his education first in the public schools and then in the business college of Wilmar, Minnesota. His busi- ness career began in 1902 as clerk in a general store at Benson, and then in a similar capacity at Starbuck, that state, where he remained three years. From Starbuck Mr. Harvey came out to Montana and located a land claim near Chester, becoming one of the devel- opers of the natural resources of this section of the state. He later moved into town and became book- keeper for the First Bank, from which position he was promoted to cashier, and has since taken the leading part in the management of this institution. He is one of the popular citizens of this locality, with a thorough knowledge of business, and has been able to draw a large patronage to his bank.

Mr. Harvey's parents were Lars N. and Guri (Har- vey) Harvey, both of whom were natives of Norway. The father was a young man when he settled at Ben- son, Minnesota, and there followed farming until his death in 1899 at the age of fifty-four. He was a re- spected and substantial citizen. The mother came to America with her parents, who first settled in Wis- consin. She is now sixty-one years of age, and still a resident at Benson. The son of J. N. was the fifth in their family of eight children.

Mr. J. N. Harvey was married at Benson, July, 1909, to Miss Anna Simonson, daughter of Paul Si- monson. Their one child, Albert G., was born in Ches- ter, October 28, 1910: Mr. Harvey is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church, in politics is Repub- lican, affiliates with the Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica. He is a live and public-spirited citizen, and is treasurer of the Chester Commercial Club. His recrea- tion is mainly in the outdoor life, hunting and fishing.

EDMUND M. NILES. Intellect and industry are never incompatible. There is more wisdom, and will be more benefit, in combining them, than scholars like to believe or than the ordinary people of the world imag- ine. Life has time enough for both, and its happiness will be increased by the union. To this combination add those other important qualities, enterprise and energy, business tact and public spirit, and the sum total is the make-up of that class of men in which Edmund M. Niles, of Livingston, stands in prominent relief. Mr. Niles was born at Diamond Bluff, Pierce county, Wisconsin, January 3, 1869, and is a son of Edwin and Eliza (Buck) Niles.

Joseph R. and Betsy Niles, the paternal grandparents of Edmund M., natives of Maine, came from that state west in 1854 and located on the banks of the Mississippi river, ten miles above the present site of Red Wing, Minnesota. About one vear later thev re- moved to Pierce county, Wisconsin, and there spent the remainder of their lives in agricultural pursuite. Edwin Niles was born in Somerset county, Maine, in 1840, and was fourteen years of age when he left the east for the new home in the forests of Minnesota. He remained under the parental roof until he attained his majority, when he engaged in farming and stock- raising on his own account, hewing a home from the virgin wilderness. He became a prominent farmer of his day, was elected to numerous township offices as

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a Republican candidate, and was active in the cause of education and the work of the Baptist church. His wife, a native of Ohio, died in 1880, having heen the mother of five children, as follows: Ellie M., the wife of M. L. Sparks; Edmund M .; William R .; Harry L .; and Millie E., who met her death in 1891, at the age of thirteen years, in a steamboat accident on Lake Pepin.

The early education of Edmund M. Niles was se- cured in the public schools of Diamond Bluff, Wiscon- sin, and he subsequently attended Parker College, at Winnebago City, Minnesota. In 1896 he was graduated from the law department of the University of Minne- sota, and then located in practice in Twin Valley, Min- nesota, where he remained until 1905. In that year he came to Livingston and has since been engaged in a general practice, having a large and representative clientele and maintaining handsome offices in the Garner-Niles block. A Republican in politics, while living in Minnesota he served as county attorney of Norman county, for the terms of 1900 and 1902, and was one of the organizers of the Citizens State Bank of Twin Valley, Minn., of which he was president until 1905. He is a member of the Delta Chi Greck letter fraternity.

On September 22, 1896, Mr. Niles was married to Miss Mary E. Dennison, who was born at Amboy, near Mankato, Minnesota, daughter of Admetus and Mar- garet (Farley) Dennison. Mr. Dennison was born at Albany, New York, and came to Blue Earth county, Minnesota, as a young man in 1860, there taking up government land and developing a home from the wilderness. He was one of the pioneers of his section and participated in a great deal of Indian trouble dur- ing the early days, at one time seeing thirty-eight hos- tiles hung at Mankato. He was a staunch Democrat, and served as deputy sheriff of Blue Earth county and in various other capacities. His death occurred in 1910, in the eighty-sixth year of his age, while his wife passed away in 1884. They had four children: Alida C., wife of Wilbur Day; Mrs. Niles; William H .; and Grace M., wife of Frank L. Buell. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Niles: Grace E., Russell D., Wendel E., Kenneth B. and Donald.

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A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 127

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