A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 141

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 141

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).

1758

HISTORY OF MONTANA

views, voting rather for the man than for the party, although he has never found it practicable to devote a great deal of time and attention to matters of a public nature. Socially pleasant and courteous, he is fond of out-of-door life and finds much enjoyment in the study of literature. He and Mrs. Strang are members of the Presbyterian church and have numerous friends in church and social circles, Although his residence had been formerly maintained in Great Falls, as well as his office, in the spring of 1912 he moved his office to Floweree, where he might be in a better position to look after his interests there, and has built a fine residence in the town, where the family now resides.

On May 6, 1905, at Colorado Springs, Colorado, Mr. Strang was married to Miss Gertrude Stevens, daugh- ter of John M. and Ella A. Stevens, and two children have been born to them: Gerald V., born on Febru- ary 13, 1908, and Mark Jerome, on August 14, 1909.

CLIFFORD B. HARRIS has been identified with financial matters in Kalispell since 1907, the year in which he formed his first associations with Montana, and in the passing years has extended his operations in various directions, winning reputation as one of the ablest of bankers in Flathead county. Mr. Harris is a native Missourian, born in Harris, Sullivan county, that state, on August 30, 1877. He is the son of Overton and Mary Susan (Jones) Harris, both born and reared in Missouri, and well known and highly esteemed in their section of the country throughout their lives. Overton Harris has been president of the Harris Banking Com- pany for years, as well as the founder of that company. The mother died in 1904 at the age of forty-seven years. Six children were born to them, Clifford B. being the first born of that number.

Mr. Harris was favored with an education rather be- yond that of the average youth, after finishing the com- mon schools of his community being permitted to attend the state university at Columbia, from which he was graduated in 1897, receiving the degree of LL. B. Fol- lowing his graduation, Mr. Harris became associated with his father in the business which he had founded and conducted for so many years, filling the responsible position of cashier, and learning thoroughly the intrica- cies and details of the banking business while thus em- ployed. In 1907 he severed his connection with the Harris Banking Company in his native town and re- moved to Montana, coming to Kalispell on August Ist of that year. He was soon thereafter elected president of the Kalispell National Bank, a well organized insti- tution which had been established on April 27, 1907, just previous to the arrival of Mr. Harris in Kalispell. A few months later Mr. Harris organized the First Na- tional Bank of Polson, of which he became president. J. L. McIntyre is vice-president, William Irvine second vice-president, and A. W. Pipes is cashier. The bank is in a thriving condition, with assets of $220,000, and un- der the management of an experienced financier of Mr. Harris' ability, has made excellent progress in Polson and vicinity, winning the complete confidence of the pub- lic, and in every way proving itself a beneficial institu- tion to the community. Not content with his banking operations, Mr. Harris, on May 2, 1910, organized the Dayton Banking Company, at Dayton, Montana, with assets of $100,000, of which he is president, J. B. Law- lis vice-president, and George Brawith cashier. This also is conducted on the same reliable basis which char- acterizes the management of the other two banks, and is a decided stimulus to the business life of Dayton. The Kalispell National Bank is one of the solid finan- cial establishments of the county, with a capital of $50,000, surplus and undivided profits, $5,771.82; unpaid dividends, $2,500; circulation, $49,400; and deposits, $412.327.61. It has an especial personnel as to its officials and board of directors, all being men of prom- inence and ability in the business life of the city. As

previously mentioned, Mr. Harris is president, while W. N. Noffsinger is vice-president, P. C. McStravick is second vice-president, and O. H. Moerly, a sketch of whose life will be found elsewhere in this work, is cashier.

On September 12, 1897, Mr. Harris was united in marriage with Miss Clara Moore, the daughter of Col. A. B. Moore of Carthage, Missouri, well known in that state, but a native of Kentucky. One daughter has been born to them, Helen Estelle, whose birth occurred on July 25, 1908, at Harris, Missouri.

Mr. Harris is a Democrat, with reference to his po- litical affiliations, but has never taken more active part in such matters than any good citizen might be expected to assume. He is a man of excellent character and of sterling value to any community in his capacity as a cit- izen, possessing, as he does, many admirable traits in- herited from his English and Scotch ancestors, who were early settlers of Virginia and Kentucky, and among whom were numerous pioneer settlers of Mis- souri. The town of Harris, Missouri, was named after the grandfather of Mr. Harris, A. M. Harris, who was also a banker and a man of considerable note in his time. The family is one of the oldest in American history and many of the name have been prominent in affairs of national import.

OSCHAR H. MOBERLY. Since Oschar H. Moberly came to Kalispell in March, 1907, and assisted in the organizing and incorporation of the Kalispell National Bank, he has held the position of cashier of that bank. He has in that capacity shown himself to be a man of resource and .ability, and has come to fill an important position in the affairs of the community, winning to himself the esteem and confidence of all with whom he comes in contact, and in every way showing forth the qualities of an admirable citizen and a capable business man.

Mr. Moberly was born in Sullivan county, Missouri, on February 24, 1875, and is the son of John T. and Agnes (Haley) Moberly. The father was a native of Kentucky and was of English ancestry. He moved to Missouri in early life, settling in Sullivan county some time in the fifties. He was among the "forty-niners." to California, but soon returned to his Missouri home. He was a well-known stock raiser there for years, and died at his home in Sullivan county in 1890, when he was sixty-five years of age. The mother was born in South Carolina, and was of Irish parentage. She died in 1882 when she was in her forty-fifth year. They were the parents of eleven children, Oschar H. being the youngest of the family. He was educated in the schools of Humphrey, Missouri, and later attended Westminster College at Fulton, Missouri, leaving in his junior year, when he was twenty years of age. His first employment was in the capacity of a salesman for H. C. Humphrey of Webb City, Missouri, and for two years was thus employed, having charge of the dry goods department as buyer and manager. He next went to Chicago, where he entered the employ of Car- son, Pirie, Scott & Company in their wholesale de- partment as assistant buyer and manager. He remained with the Chicago firm for a period of six years, enjoy- ing splendid success, and then removed to Pontiac, Illinois, where he purchased a stock of goods and en- gaged in the retail dry goods business. After two years he disposed of the business and went to Montana, reaching Kalispell in March, 1907, when he straightway became associated with a number of the prominent business men of the place in the organization of the Kalispell National Bank, of which he has been con- tinuously engaged as cashier since its incorporation, as previously mentioned.

On April 24, 1905, Mr. Moberly was united in mar- riage with Miss Estelle Harris, the daughter of O. Harris, a native of Missouri. One daughter has been

Jane Babcock,

1759

HISTORY OF MONTANA

born to them, Mary Susan, whose natal day is Feb- ruary 10, 1909.

Mr. Moberly is a Democrat, politically speaking, and is a member of the Christian church. He is a member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity, and of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of Kalispell. He is president of the Kalispell Club and a member of the Chamber of Commerce, also a director of the fair association. Mr. Moberly is a man of progressive spirit and great civic pride, and in him Kalispell has made a valuable acquisi- tion, men of his stamp being zealously sought for by every city of aggressive and progressive tendencies.

JAMES C. BAILEY has been postmaster at Whitefish since February, 1911, and in that position has given service indicative of his splendid ability. From his youth he was identified with railroad work until he was appointed to his present position by President Taft, and he has been connected with some of the years of his railroad activities. Mr. Bailey was born in Ogdensburg, New York, on February 6, 1864, and is the son of Cyrus A. and Anna (Dwyer) Bailey. The father, who was a native Vermonter, went to New York state as a child, and there he passed his life in the contracting and building business. He was a prominent and popular man in his community, and lived to reach the age of eighty-five years, his death occurring in Ogdensburg in 1909. The mother was a native of Ireland, born in Sligo. She came to America with her parents as a child of four years, and the family settled in New York state. She died in 1872 when she was in her thirty-seventh year. They be- came the parents of eight children, of which number James C. of this review was the fifth born.

The public schools of Ogdensburg afforded such educational advantages as Mr. Bailey was permitted to receive in his youth, and after completing the course of study thus prescribed, he took service with the rail- road company now known as the New York Central, where he was employed for a short period. His next work was in Wisconsin, where for three years he was employed by the C., M. & St. P. Ry., and with the C., St. P., M. & O. Ry., for thirteen years as con- ductor. After severing his connection with that com- pany he went to Bayfield, Wisconsin, where he bought a hotel and for four years remained there as its pro- prietor. He eventually sold the hotel and such other interests as he had there and in 1907 came to Montana, locating in Whitefish, there entering the service of the Great Northern Railway, and he continued with them until his appointment to the position of post- master, which came to him in February, 1911, and which post he is still holding. He has discharged the duties of his position in a manner highly creditable to himself, and wholly acceptable to the public, thus prov- ing the wisdom of the appointment.

On May 6, 1888, Mr. Bailey was united in marriage with Miss Nellie E. Dowd, at Wabasha, Minnesota. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. M. W. Dowd, originally from Connecticut, but now residents of Whitefish, where they make their home with their daughter and her husband. No children have come to the Bailey home.

Mr. Bailey is a Republican, active and interested in all party affairs, and a leader in local politics. Fra- ternally, he is a member of the Masonic order, and is identified with the blue lodge of Whitefish. He is also a member of the Order of Railroad Conductors, in which he holds the office of chief conductor.

RICHARD L. IGEL, M. D. As in the early years, with its wonderful treasures, Montana attracted the sturdiest and bravest of the pioneers, so now with its remarkable developed resources and its still greater possibilities as the state of the future it is becoming the home of

the best and strongest representatives of the pro- fessional and business activities. It was a discrimi- nating choice, after extended travel and experience in many states and countries, that led Dr. R. L. Igel to Montana. He is one of the leaders in his profession, and as one of the physicians who began practice in Stanford about the time the new town was founded he has gained an extensive business, and is one of the influential and progressive citizens of this locality.

Doctor Igel was born at Cape Girardeau, Missouri, June 30, 1871, the fourth child and youngest son in a family of six, whose parents were Richard L. and Emma (Schuesler) Igel, now residents of Leavenworth, Kansas. Doctor Igel has one sister in Montana, the wife of Col. Frederick Harper, of Helena. The father, who was born in Germany and came to America a boy of fourteen, is one of the oldest druggists in the country, having been actively identified with the busi- ness for sixty-four years, and is still connected with greatest railway systems in the United States in the . that line in Leavenworth. He and his wife were mar- ried in Madison, Indiana, and for the past thirty-five years have been residents of Leavenworth.

Doctor Igel was about five years old when the family moved to Leavenworth, and that was his permanent home until 1907 when he took up his residence in Mon- tana. His early training and preparation for his pro- fessional career were very complete and diversified. After graduation from the Leavenworth high school, he became an interne in the soldiers' home in that city. He next entered the Kansas State University, where he was graduated after extended work in the depart- ments of pharmacy, chemistry and assaying. Under his father's supervision he had been brought up to a knowledge of drugs, and in Montana has been engaged in the drug business in connection with his regular profession. On leaving the university he became an interne and hospital steward in the United States peni- tentiary at Leavenworth. With this broad experience, he then entered the University Medical College of Kansas City, where he was graduated Doctor of Medi- cine in 1901. Going abroad, he did post-graduate work in Europe, especially at the renowned clinics of Vienna, and on his return was engaged in practice at Leavenworth until 1907. In that year he located in Montana, first at Mondak, then at Lewistown, and permanently established himself at the new town of Stanford before the town was formally founded. His drug store is now located in his own building, which has a hospital annex, and he has all the facilities for attending to his large and increasing practice.

Doctor Igel was married at Kansas City, Missouri, November 21, 1906, to Miss Margaret Bradley. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Bradley, were natives of Ireland. One daughter has been born to their union, named Gretchen. Doctor Igel and wife are members of the Episcopal church, and he affiliates with the Ma- sonic order and the Woodmen of the World. A good citizen, casting his vote regularly, and an adherent of the Democratic party, he is not actively concerned in practical politics. He is a thorough and systematic reader, not only in his profession but in general litera- ture, and is interested in all the intellectual diversions. The outdoor sports, hunting and fishing, baseball and football, make a strong appeal to him, and both per- sonally and for people in general he is an advocate of a wholesome, broad course of living and thinking.

PAUL BABCOCK, successful lawyer of Culbertson, Montana, where he has been located since 1907, was born near Spring Valley, Minnesota, on December 9, 1875, and is the son of Seth C. and Sarah A. (Cole) Babcock, both natives of New York, and still residing in Spring Valley, where they have spent the best years of their lives thus far. The father was a farmer, now retired, and is a veteran of the Civil war, having served

1760

HISTORY OF MONTANA

through the war as quartermaster in Company A of the Twenty-ninth Wisconsin Regiment. They became the parents of five children, all of whom are living but one. They are: Howard B., an attorney of Sisseton, South Dakota; Rev. George Babcock, of Rushmore, Minnesota; Julia B., the wife of Dan Hall, of Alden, Minnesota, and Paul, of this review.

In the fall of 1898 Paul Babcock entered the law office of his brother, Howard, located at Sisseton, South Dakota, and was admitted to the bar of South Dakota on July 25, 1901. Thereafter he remained with his brother until 1907, in which year he came to Culbert- son, where he has since continued, and where he has built up a thriving practice, winning to himself the esteem and confidence of the entire community, and becoming known for a citizen of worth and a man of splendid character and integrity.

Mr. Babcock is a Republican, active and interested in the councils of his party, and a helpful member of the political fraternity in his district. In 1912 he was a candidate for the office of county attorney of Valley county, on the Republican ticket. He is a Mason of the blue lodge and chapter, and is also a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Since coming to Culbertson, Mr. Babcock has interested himself in the acquisition of city realty and agricultural lands in the county, and is now the holder of some valuable prop- erty. He is fast forging ahead in the ranks of the rising and progressive younger set in this section of the state, and his future is unclouded by any untoward present conditions.

R. S. WARK, who is now a civil engineer and surveyor of well established reputation, was born in Adair, Iowa, on the sixth day of February, 1884. At the carly age of seventeen he had completed his high school education and was ready to make the choice of his life profession. Having been used to a life in the open and possessing a natural aptitude for science and mathematics, he very naturally chose to become a civil engineer. To perfect himself along this line he entered, in the autumn of 1901, the Iowa State Agri- culture College at Ames, of which Secretary Wilson, our national secretary of agriculture, was for so long a time the successful president. No institution of learn- ing in all the middle west supports engineering schools of higher standards. From the Iowa State College, then, Mr. Wark obtained his degree in June of 1905, being then only twenty-one years of age. His extreme youth, however, did not weigh as against his ability when it came to the matter of procuring employment in his chosen profession. His first position was with the Denver, Northwestern & Pacific Railway Com- pany in the capacity of surveyor. This position he re- signed that he might make an extended trip through- out the great northwest and examine the country for himself. When short of funds, he accepted employment in the engineering department of the Union Pacific Railway, working from Denver to Salt Lake City, Utalı, and Green River, Wyoming. After another six months he changed to the St. Louis, Rocky Mountain & Pa- cific Company that he might see yet another section of the country. This time, he worked throughout New. Mexico, thus obtaining a valuable knowledge of the state and surrounding conditions. At the expiration of the year he came to Three Forks, Montana, then merely a postoffice and railway station. Here in April of 1907. together with a company of engineers from the Chicago & Milwaukee Railroad, he platted and surveyed the new addition to Three Forks. So great was his belief in the future prospects of this infant city that he immediately chose it for his future home. settling there permanently as a resident engineer and surveyor. Having seen much of the big west and being bv nature a keen observer, Mr. Wark believes that the possibilities of Montana are greater than those of any

other state and that Gallatin county is the garden spot of Montana. So far as one may judge in the brief period of five years Mr. Wark has no reason to change this opinion. The town has made marvelous growth and shows every sign of continuing to do so, while he, as an engineer, is in constant demand.

He numbers one more young man from the east to swell the already large colony of Montana bachelors.

His father, Alexander G. Wark, was born in New Brunswick on December 6, 1854. His parents brought him to the United States while still in his third year and settled in Princeton, Illinois, where he was edu- cated and reared to manhood. After his marriage to Miss Emma Stickle, a young woman born in Illinois, they purchased for themselves a farm in Adair county, Iowa, and he became one of that most wholesome and useful type of man, the successful Iowa farmer. They still live in Adair, where all of their five children were born, Mr. Wark owning many acres of the world famous Iowa corn land worth at least two hundred dollars per acre.

The oldest son, Roscoe, manages the Adair county farms, while the three daughters, Vera, Helen and Eva, are still at home with the parents.

The son, W. R. Wark, who has wandered so far from the Hawkeye home has strayed also in his political views, being still a Republican but of the Progressive school.

JOHN E. LANNING is an Ohioan, as he was born at Dresden in that state on March 12, 1881. But though born in the eastern section of the country, he received his training in the west, as his parents moved to Ogden, Utah, when he was but a child, and he received his elementary education in the public schools there. He graduated from the Ogden high school in 1899, and then went to Chicago, and entered Armour Institute. He spent four years as a student here, graduating from the engineering course in 1903. As soon as he finished his academic training he went to work for the Lanyon Zinc Company at Iola, Kansas, in the engineering de- partment of their plant, and he kept this position for a year and a half. At this period, he was tendered a place with the Minneapolis Machinery Company at Salt Lake City, his work being to do engineering for them, and he also worked in the drafting department for a year. This same firm sent Mr. Lanning to El Paso, Texas, to take charge of their interests there, and the following year, 1907, they transferred him to Butte, where he was to open up an office for them and to have charge of the business generally. The venture has been a great success under the able management and direction of Mr. Lanning, and this company has a num- ber of the large machines used in the different factories and workshops of this region. Mr. Lanning is a skilled mechanician, and has added practical training to that of the college. He is thoroughly grounded in every branch of his profession and he has the enthusiasm for his job and for making it the very best that can be, which is an unfailing recipe for success. By his own work he has risen to a high place in his profession, and as this is the steel age, the opportunities for the trained and practical engineer are unlimited. The demand for men of this sort is always in excess of the supply, and will always be, for however common train- ing may become, the native qualities which make it valuable will continue to be the difficult things to find, and the, men who have them will always be found at the top.

I. N. Lanning, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Ohio, but later removed to the west and engaged in mercantile business. At present he has re- tired from commercial work and is living in Florida. He is fifty-eight years of age. The mother of John Lanning was also an Ohioan, who died at the early age of twenty-three, in the year in which her son was born.

1761

HISTORY OF MONTANA

The only other surviving member of the family of Mr. Lanning is his sister, Mrs. Florence Beauvina, who now lives in Ogden, Utah.

On Christmas day of 1907, Mr. Lanning was married to Miss Vivian Brunner of El Paso, Texas. The wed- ding occurred in the bride's native city, where her parents had long resided. Her father, John Brunner is still conducting one of the leading mercantile estab- lishments of El Paso. His wife, and the mother of his daughter, was taken away by death in November, 1911.

Mrs. Lanning is a devoted worker in the Woman's Club of Butte, and is very popular socially, as is also her husband. He belongs to the University Club. Both are valued members of the Presbyterian church, and they are in every respect representatives of the best citizenship of Butte. Mr. Lanning is a Republican, but not a politician. Like most good Montanians, he is enthusiastic on outdoor pursuits. Though still only a young man, he has established himself in the com- mercia! and the social life of the city, and is counted as one of its substantial citizens.

NORTON H. PEARL. Mr. Pearl is a young man of signal ability and fine qualities of personality who has devoted himself to the work which is agreed by our best thinkers to be the most important one before the world at the present time; that of education. Mr. John W. Pearl, his father, was a native of New York state, who removed to Eastport, Michigan, shortly before his marriage to Miss Addie Z. Harris, of that city. He was a miller and also carried on a mercantile business and accumulated considerable property. Norton is the oldest of the three children in the family. The mother died in 1883, and at present the two sisters live in Michigan with their father, who is in the employ of the government.

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 141

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