A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 132

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

USA > Montana > A history of Montana, Volume III > Part 132

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

William R. Hocking is a native of England, having heen born on the 5th of December, 1879. His father was William R. Hocking and his mother was Eliza N. Willoughby, both natives of the "tight little isle." William R. Hocking, senior, came to Montana in 188.1, and soon became well known in mining circles. He it was who sunk the shaft of the celebrated Speculator mine, and he was prominent in many other mining proiects. He later moved with his family to Victoria, British Columbia, and here he lived until his death, which occurred on the 12th of June, 1911, he then be- ino aged fifty-seven.

William R. Hocking received his elementary educa- tion in the public schools of Butte, Montana, and after

his parents went to Victoria he was sent to Victoria College, where he completed his education. After ac- complishing this he began to work, his first position being with the Nickel Plate Mining Company, of Brit- ish Columbia. Much of this work was in the line in which he was most interested, that is, assaying. He had begun to be interested in this work before he left Butte, and, in fact, he had done considerable studying in this subject before leaving the city. His instructors had been the firm of Carney & Hand, the pioneer assayers of Butte, and he could not have obtained a better start anywhere than under the tutelage of these able men. When he went to Victoria to live he con- tinued his studies in assaying, and since that time he has studied the subject constantly. In 1906 he suc- ceeded to the business of A. B. Rombauer and since that time has carried on the assay business which was established in Butte by A. B. Rombauer a number of years ago.

Mining men value Mr. Hocking highly, for they know that he is to be relied upon. He is extremely efficient and spares no pains to make his laboratory just as up- to-date and modern as it can possibly be. He thus has the advantage of all the latest laboratory equipment, and indeed owns one of the best equipped laboratories in the state, therefore is able to give his patrons the best of service, though his profits are considerably de- creased. All who have become acquainted with him rejoice at his success, for it is well deserved.

Mr. Hocking was married in 1900 at Butte, Mon- tana, to Lila Hartman, who was a native of the old Blue Grass state, having been born in Louisville, Ken- tucky. They have one daughter. Lillian. Mr. Hocking is a member of the Elks and of the Silver Bow Club, of Butte.

THE LESLIE BROTHERS. Raymond E. and Emery C., were born in Patten, Penobscot county, Maine, and are the sons of James Warren and Ella C. (Joy) Leslie, both of whom were natives of Maine and both now deceased. The father's death occurred in Bangor, Maine, on May 4, 1911, while the mother died in 1887. James Warren Leslie was a lumberman and real estate dealer, and was active in business up to the time of his demise. He was sixty-one years of age when he died, and he left a considerable estate. They were the par- ents of six children. Raymond E. Leslie was born May 15, 1877, while his brother, Emery C., claims February 24, 1883, as his natal day. Raymond E. was educated in the public and high schools of Patten, finishing in the University of Maine, where he took a four years' course in civil engineering, but before completing his work took a position with an eastern railroad in the engineering department. In July of 1906 he first came to Montana and settled in Helena, to take a position with the C. M. & St. P. Railroad having charge of the location of the line into Helena and Great Falls, and he remained with them as a civil engineer for two years. The possibilities in the real estate business was es- pecially apparent to Mr. Leslie, and in 1908, after a careful study of the conditions, he organized the Prickly Pear Realty Company. The organization was incorpo- rated on May 26, 1910, and in this incorporation James Warren Leslie, father of the brothers, was treasurer. Mr. Leslie was joined by his brother, Emery C. Leslie, in July, 1911. The latter, who had been engaged in farming in Patten and East Corwith, became an active factor in the business and is now treasurer of the com- pany. A cousin, F. C. Leslie, is acting sales manager for the company. The official personnel is as follows: R. E. Leslie, president : J. H. Raftery, secretary; E. C. Leslie, treasurer; R. R. Spain, special representative ; and F. C. Leslie, sales manager. The Prickly Pear Realty Company, (Inc.) is a particularly strong organi- zation, and is fast forging ahead and taking rank among the solid business concerns of Helena. They are dealers

1729

HISTORY OF MONTANA

in Montana farm lands, irrigated and unirrigated orchard tracts, homestead locations and farm loans, and the business is conducted on the most careful and conservative basis, thus insuring safety to its patrons and to the firm. Raymond Leslie has never entirely discontinued his civil engineering labors, and continues to make use of his ability in that line in the interests of the company. He has held the position of chief en- gineer of the following roads: Bangor & Aroostook Railroad Company, Fish River Railroad Company, Great Northern Paper Company, Iowa & St. Louis Railway Company, Kenefick Construction Company, Missouri Pacific Railway Company, St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Company, Munesing Railway Com- pany, Marquette and South Eastern Railway Company, Chicago, Indianapolis & Evansville Railway Company, Carter Construction Company, Arkansas Valley Rail- way Company, American Beet Sugar Company, Mon- tana Railroad Company, Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Co., of Montana, United States Geological Survey, Missouri Valley Irrigation District, Billings & Cooke City Railway Company, and Stillwater Power Company. He is a Democrat in his political affilia- tions, and his brother Emery is a member of the Mac- cabee fraternity.

Raymond E. Leslie was married in Indianapolis, In- diana, on January 2, 1905, to Mrs. Charity Todd, a native of Marquette, Michigan, and they reside at 209 Seventh avenue.

Emery C. Leslie was married in the same year that his brother joined the ranks of the Benedicts, his mar- riage occurring on April 26th, at Milo, Maine, when Miss Mattie Buswell became his wife. She was born at Milo, Maine, and there reared. They live at 514 Eighth avenue. Mr. Leslie is a Unitarian and is a So- cialist in political belief.

Concerning the ancestry of the Leslie brothers, their paternal ancestors originated in Austria many genera- tions ago, and immigrated to Scotland. The founder of the American branch of the family came to this country in the "Mayflower" and changed the name of the family to Leslie, which has been the patronymic of the family in America since that time.

HON. RUSSELL E. SHEPHERD. The career of the Hon. Russell E. Shepherd, of Billings, has been one of great activity and uncommon success, due to the exercise of good judgment and the exhibition, under all circum- stances, of the strictest integrity. Educated to follow the law, he attained distinction in that profession, and when he turned his attention to financial matters the same suc- cess attended his efforts. As president of the Merchants National Bank of Billings, of the Billings Land and Irrigation Company, and of the Two Leggins Land and Improvement Company, he has sustained an eminent position in the world of finance, while the confidence and esteem in which he is held by his fellow-citizens has been demonstrated at various times by his election to public positions of honor and trust and he is now serv- ing as president of the city council and alderman from the Fifth ward.

Mr. Shepherd was born December 15, 1860, at Sacket Harbor, Jefferson county, New York, and is a son of Thomas B. and Augusta O. (Easton) Shepherd. The former was a native of New Brunswick, born in 1834, and educated at that place. As a young man Thomas B. Shepherd removed to New York, where he entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church, and for many years labored faithfully in the service of his Master, holding charges at Syracuse, Au- burn, Rome, Oswego and various other points in the Empire state. He is now retired and living quietly at Oswego. Rev. Mr. Shepherd married Augusta O. Easton, who was born in Lewis county, New York, in 1836, and she still survives, having been the mother of six children, of whom Russell E. is the eldest.

Vol. III-28

Russell E. Shepherd received his preliminary educa- tion in the public schools of Ilion, New York, and in 1883 was graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan. Shortly thereafter he located at Austin, Mower county, Minnesota, where he was engaged in active practice until 1906, and during that period held various public offices. For two years he was county attorney of Mower county, served as alderman from the Second ward of the city of Austin for one term, and for several years was.a member of the board of education. He came to Billings, Montana, in 1906, and subsequently became interested in the Billings Land and Irrigation Company, of which he is now president. In 1908 he was one of the organizers of the Merchants National Bank of Billings, and at that time his associ- ates chose him as president of the concern, a position which he has since held. During that same year he was one of the factors in the building of the canal of the Two Leggins Land and Improvement Company, of which he is president at this time. In 1884, while a resi- dent of Austin, Minnesota, Mr. Shepherd became a member of Austin Lodge, F. & A. M., and he has since become a member of Ashlar Lodge, No. 29, of Billings ; Austin Chapter, No. 8. R. A. M .; Aldemar Command- ery, No. 5, K. T., of Billings, and the Mystic Shrine of Minneapolis. He also holds membership in Billings Lodge, No. 392, B. P. O. E.

On October 1, 1884, Mr. Shepherd was married to Miss Nellie Kelton, who was born at Red Wing, Min- nesota, daughter of Corless W. and Delia A. (Goodwin) Kelton, natives of Vermont, Mrs. Shepherd being the youngest and only survivor of her parents' three daughters. Her father came to Minnesota when it was still under territorial government, and was for many years engaged in contracting and building on the pres- ent site of Red Wing. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Shepherd : Ruth, Helen and Irene. The family is connected with the Episcopal church. Mr. Shepherd is a man of marked administrative ability, and the enterprises he controls are prosperous and thriving ones, their increase and growth being contin- uous and steady. He is one of the men to whom Bil- lings owes the distinguished position it holds in the galaxy of flourishing municipalities, and the prominence he has attained in business, social and public life gives him foremost rank among Montana's representative citizens.

JOHN R. SWEARINGEN. The standard by which to judge a community is the character of its prominent citizens. Progress is rarely, if ever, the result of chance, but always the execution of well-laid plans based on a thorough comprehension of the laws of business. It is only by keeping in view the lives of men who are ever associated in the busy marts of commerce that we can judge of the importance of development and the possibilities of progress. Thus it is that from the commercial more than the literary or political side the most valuable lessons of life are to be extracted. In this connection, as a gentleman whose business qualifications have proven of the best, as indicated by the numerous enterprises he has brought to a successful issue, a brief biographical sketch is given of John R. Swearingen, president and manager of the Montana Sash and Door Company of Billings, Montana. Mr. Swearingen was born on his father's farm in Blue Earth county, Minnesota, February I, 1861, and is a son of Abraham and Amy (Allen) Swear- ingen.

As a young man Abraham Swearingen moved to Blue Earth county, Minnesota, from his native state of Illinois, and took up a homestead among the pioneers of the state. At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in a Minnesota regiment and went to the front, but at the time of the Indian uprising he returned to Minnesota and took an active part in

1730

HISTORY OF MONTANA

subduing the hostilities. He stood in the third tier of soldiers when thirty-eight Indians were hung for their depredations in Mankato. On securing his honorable discharge from the service, after a brave and meritorious service, Mr. Swearingen returned to his farm and developed one of the valuable properties of his locality. Subsequently he became interested in the manufacture of brick and finally disposed of his farm and moved to West Union, Iowa, where he identified himself with the furniture business and later with the lumber business at Perry, Dallas county, Iowa, but about fifteen years ago retired from business activities. Mr. Swearingen, who is now in his eightieth year, is an honored member of Perry Post, Grand Army of the Republic. He was married in Blue Earth county, Min- nesota, to Miss Amy Allen, a native of New York state, and she died in 1908, at the age of sixty-eight years, having been the mother of two children: Allie, who died at the age of six years, and John R.

John R. Swearingen attended the common schools of Blue Earth county, Minnesota, and West Union, Iowa, and at the latter place was also a student in Professor S. S. Ainsworth's private school. When only fifteen years of age, and while still pursuing his studies, the youth displayed marked business ability in the flour and feed line, and when he was sixteen years old he secured a position with the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railroad as bill clerk. While acting in this capacity he learned telegraphy, and at the age of eighteen was made operator and agent at Oelwein, Iowa, for the same railroad, being the youngest agent on the line at that time. Deciding that there was no future for him in the railroad business, after three years in the service Mr. Swearingen resigned and accepted a position with Burch & Kenyon, who were engaged in the lumber business, and with whom he continued for about three years. At the end of that time he decided that he had mastered the details of the business sufficiently to engage therein on his own account, and accordingly established himself as a lum- ber merchant at Perry, Iowa, where he continued to be located from 1883 until 1901. The latter year marked his selling out and the disposing of his string of yards through Iowa, and his next connection was with the firm of the Huttig Manufacturing Company, of Musca- tine, lowa, who made sash, doors, etc., and Mr. Swear- ingen was made vice-president.

In 1906 a business was established in Billings, and on February 1, 19II, this latter business was re-organized under the firm name of the Montana Sash and Door Company, with a capital stock of $500,000, Mr. Swear- ingen being president and manager and R. C. 'Cardell secretary. The Billings company is doing a large and lucrative business throughout the Yellowstone valley and has handled numerous contracts of an extensive nature. Under Mr. Swearingen's able management the business has grown steadily, and it is now considered one of the substantial industries of the city. In fra- ternal circles he is well known in Masonry, belonging to Ottley Lodge, No. 41, A. F. & A. M., of Perry, Iowa; and Gerard Commandery, K. T., No. 56, and Palmyra Chapter, R. A. M., also of that city, he being one of the organizers of the commandery, and he also belongs to Des Moines Consistory, S. R., and Za Ga Zig Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Des Moines. He is a member of Billings Lodge, No. 394, B. P. O. E., and is vice-president of the Billings Club. In political matters he is a Republican, but has not actively entered the political field.

While a resident of Oelwein, Iowa, in 1881, Mr. Swearingen was married (first) to Miss May Red- field, who died in February, 1883, leaving one daughter, Mabel, a graduate of St. Catherine Hall, an Episcopal school at Davenport, Iowa, and now the wife of Arthur Peddecard, of Perry, Iowa. Mr. Swearingen's second marriage occurred December 20, 1888, when he was

united to Miss Florence Cardell, who was born at Malcolm, Iowa, daughter of Leander and Emma L. (Chapman) Cardell. Leander Cardell was born in Warren, Vermont, in 1835, was educated in Vermont, and during the gold excitement went to California, making the trip around the Horn. After spending three years in California as a miner he returned to his native state, but subsequently removed to lowa and became a pioneer farmer and stockraiser of Poweshiek county, where he resided until 1880. In that year he removed to Perry, Dallas county, where he engaged in the real estate and loan business until 1895 and then retired from business activity. A prominent Republican, he took an active interest in political matters, rose to a high position in the ranks of his party and served as a member of the Iowa state legislature. He was a faithful member of the Congregational church in the. faith of which he died in 1907, when seventy-two years of age. He married Emma L. Chapman, a native of Ohio, who survives him, and they had a family of five children, three of whom died in infancy, while the sur- vivors are: Robert C., secretary of the Montana Sash and Door Company of Billings, and Florence, who married Mr. Swearingen. Mr. and Mrs. Swearingen have one daughter, Irene, who in 1909 graduated from the National Cathedral, an Episcopal Institute of Wash- ington, D. C., taking the highest honors ever secured by a student up to that date.

JOHN HENRY NIBBE. One of the well-known young professional men of Billings who is rapidly acquiring an enviable reputation as a legal practitioner is John Henry Nibbe, whose activities in the field of law and jurisprudence since coming to this city in 1906 have established him firmly in the esteem and confidence of the community. Mr. Nibbe was born on his father's farm in Goodhue county, Minnesota, January 9, 1883, and is a son of John Henry and Elizabeth (Dahling) Nibbe, and a grandson of Jacob Nibbe.

Jacob Nibbe was a native of the province of Han- over, Germany, from whence he immigrated to the United States, becoming a pioneer of Goodhue county, Minnesota, where he spent the remainder of his life in agricultural pursuits, dying in 1902. He and his wife, who was also a native of Germany, and who passed away in 1878, had six children. John Henry Nibbe, Sr., was a child when brought to America by his parents, and his education was secured in the com- mon schools of Goodhue county, where he was reared to the vocation of a farmer. He remained under the parental roof until he had attained years of maturity, and at that time began farming on his own account in Goodhue township, where he is at present the owner of a half-section of valuable land. He has made modern improvements, has a fine residence and is one of the leading agriculturists of his district, and is especially interested in raising high grade cattle. He was one of the organizers and the first president of the Farm- ers Grain Elevator Company. Politically a staunch Re- publican, he has held numerous township offices during the past thirty years, and is the present president of the town board of Goodhue. The family is connected with the German Lutheran church. Mr. Nibbe was born in Hanover, Germany, July 27, 1853, and was mar- ried in Goodhne county to Miss Elizabeth Dahling, who was born in that county October 19, 1859. They have had fifteen children, all being alive except one and named as follows: John Jacob, a merchant of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; Frederick Carl, who is engaged in business at Lidgerwood, North Dakota; Louise, the wife of Daniel I. McHugh; John Henry, Jr .; George E., who died May 28, 1907, at the age of twenty-two years; Clara M., the wife of B. L. Johnson, living at Goodhne, Minnesota; and Lydia, Anna, Margaret, Peter, Clarence, Florence, Raymond, Blanche and Walter, all residing at home.

1731

HISTORY OF MONTANA

John Henry Nibbe, Jr., was educated in the common schools of Goodhne township, at the Lake City (Min- nesota) Commercial College, and the Valparaiso (Indi- ana) University, where he graduated in the literary and law departments in 1904. He first spent one year in practice in St. Paul, Minnesota, and after spending a few months in Butte, Montana, came to Billings in June, 1906, and has since acquired a large and repre- sentative clientele. He is regarded as a lawyer of ability and has been retained in some very important cases since his arrival in the city. Fraternally he is connected with Ashlar Lodge, No. 29, A. F. & A. M .; Billings Chapter, No. 6, R. A. M .; Aldemar Com- mandery, No. 5, K. T., and Algeria Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Masonry; Billings Lodge, No. 394, B. P. O. E .; and Billings Star Lodge, No. 41, I. O. O. F. In political matters he is a Progressive. During his residence here he has made numerous acquaintances, and his friends are legion. His offices are situated in the Belknap Building.

A. B. MELZNER. Not only is prestige his, as one of the representative younger members of the bar of Mon- tana, but Mr. Melzner also has the credit of having redeemed an important county office from the status of malfeasance and ineptitude and made it a worthy and valuable department in the governmental affairs of Sil- ver Bow county. He is now serving his second term as public administrator of the county mentioned, and it is certain that popular favor will retain him in the same if he consents to remain the incumbent after the expira- tion of his present term, in January, 1913. The office of public administrator in this county had, prior to his accession, come to be looked upon merely as an agency for political maneuverings and petty graft, and those who had served in the same had merely used the posi- tion as a means to an end, with utter disregard of the responsibilities it is designed to carry. Mr. Melzner has made a radical change in the administration of its affairs and has made the office a conservator of the rights and interests of the people. He has saved and recovered to different estates thousands of dollars, and previously such funds had been largely employed for political purposes and unjustified personal aggrandize- ment. He has been fearless and determined in the dis- charge of his duties and has naturally gained the enmity of certain large railroad and mining corporations, which he has antagonized by his successful efforts in securing proper redress, through due process of law, in cases where the lives of employes of such corpora- tions have been sacrificed when in discharge of their assigned duties. He has thus protected the interests of many families that would otherwise have been left in indigent circumstances, and he finds deep satisfaction in the work thus accomplished, though he has sacrificed personal expediency to the interests of justice and hu- manity. He has made the office a credit and not, as formerly, a disgrace to the county, and naturally has a strong hold upon popular confidence and esteem in his home city of Butte and the county in which it is sit- uated.

A B. Melzner is a scion of stanch German stock and of families that were founded in the state of Wiscon- sin in the pioneer days. There his paternal grand- parents established their home upon their immigration from Germany in 1847, and there the maternal grand- parents had settled in 1840, they likewise having come from Germany. Mr. Melzner was born at Lake City, Calhoun county, Iowa, on the 28th of December. 1881, and thus became a slightly belated Christmas guest in the home of his parents, Conrad and Katherine (Horn) Melzner, both natives of Wisconsin, where the former was born in 1854 and the latter in 1856. The father was a harnessmaker and continued to be identified with the work of his trade throughout his entire active career, during much of which he was engaged in business on

his own responsibility. He settled in Iowa upon leav- ing his native state and thereafter resided for some time in South Dakota, but he passed the closing years of his life in Waterloo, Iowa, where his death occurred on the 25th of May, 1906. His widow now maintains her home at Lake Mills, Jefferson county, Wisconsin, and of their children two sons are living.

He whose name initiates this review was a child at the time of the family removal to Yankton, South Da- kota, and in the public schools of that city he received his early educational discipline. He was graduated in the Yankton College as a member of the class of 1900, and in 1902 he was matriculated in the University of Iowa, from which he was graduated in 1904 and re- ceived his degree of Bachelor of Philosophy. In the meanwhile he had formulated definite plans for his future career, and in harmony therewith he entered the law department of the celebrated University of Wis- consin, at Madison, the beautiful capital city of the state. In this institution he was graduated as a mem- ber of the class of 1906, and from the same he received his coveted and well-earned degree of Bachelor of Laws. Mr. Melzner wisely decided to make Montana the stage of his professional endeavors, and on the Ist of August, 1906, shortly after his graduation, he estab- lished his home in Butte, the metropolis of the state. He was forthwith admitted to the Montana bar and in initiating the active work of his profession he formed a partnership with Lonis P. Donovan, who had been his classmate in the University of Iowa, and also in the law department of the University of Wisconsin. This effective alliance continued until the Ist of January, 1909, when Mr. Melzner retired to assume the duties of his present official position, and in the meanwhile the firm of vigorous and able young lawyers had built up a substantial practice and gained marked success.

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

A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 132

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