A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 151

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 151

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).

1791

HISTORY OF MONTANA

gold medal, the prize for the best scholar in English, in Montana.

In regard to Mr. Dyke's parents, his father, Josiah F. Dyke, was born in Vermont but is now leading a retired life in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was a farmer. In Ver- mont he married Miss Clarissa D. Bickford, who died in January, 1894, at the age of sixty-eight years. She is buried at Andover, South Dakota. There were four children in the elder Dyke family, of whom Mr. Henry A. Dyke was the oldest.

THE TETON COUNTY ABSTRACT COMPANY. HENRY D. AND JAMES T. ROBISON. Two wide-awake and ener- getic young men that are late additions to Montana citizenship are Henry D. Robison and James T. Robison, the former president and the latter secretary and treas- urer of the Teton County Abstract Company, Incorpo- rated. This company, organized and incorporated in 1909, is capitalized at $10,000 and is the only incorpo- rated abstract company in Teton county. Equipped with a complete set of records of all lands and lots in the county and with the talent of two keen young business men at the head of its affairs, the company has already reached that strength where it commands nine-tenths of the business in their line. It is a part of business genius to be able to recognize opportunity when it pre- sents itself and in this respect these brothers have not fallen short. Both are natives of Elma, Iowa. They are the sons of John G. Robison, who was born in Albert Lea, Minnesota, in 1858, and was but an infant when in 1859 his parents removed to northeastern Iowa and became the first settlers in their section of that state. The father was reared to farming and took up the same occupation as his own life pursuit. He died on April 11, 1900, when in the full strength of man- hood, his age at death being forty-two years. Mary E. Smith, his wife, was born in the state of New York and came with her parents to Sioux county, Iowa, at the age of six years. They also were farmer people. John G. Robison and Mary E. Smith were married at Rock Rapids, Iowa, in March, 1886, and took up their resi- dence together at Elmira, Iowa, where three sons were born to them, the two eldest being the subjects of this review and the youngest being Gaylord G. Robison, now with his mother at Elma.

Henry D. Robison was born October 13, 1888, and grew to young manhood in the vicinity of his birth. He was educated in the district schools of his locality and in the high school at Elma to the twelfth grade. Those acquirements were supplemented by a business course of study at Upper Iowa University, Fayette, Iowa. On November 6, 1908, he severed home ties and removed to Towner, North Dakota, where for eight months he was in the service of the McHenry Abstract Company and applied himself diligently to mastering the essential principles of the abstract business. From there he went to Choteau, Montana, where he at once established and had incorporated the business of which he is now the executive head and which has thrived so remarkably.

James T. Robison was born March 27, 1887, and at- tended the same schools as did his brother, including Upper Iowa University, where he also took the business course. Joining the latter in Choteau, Montana, on September 17, 1909, he at once took up his duties as sec- retary and treasurer of the Teton County Abstract Company and has contributed his share towards its suc- cess. During 1910 he served four months as deputy assessor of Teton county. He is a member of Choteau Lodge No. 44, Free and Accepted Masons, and of its auxiliary, the Order of the Eastern Star, and is patron of the latter order at Choteau. In church membership he affiliates with the Methodist Episcopal denomination. On March 7, 1912, at Mount Vernon, Washington, was solemnized his marriage to Miss Susan J. Crandall, a

daughter of Ervin and Mary Crandall, both of whom are natives of Connecticut.

Both brothers are Republicans in politics. Each is proving up on a 160-acre farm about ten miles northeast of Choteau. They are there not only to avail themselves of the advantages which Montana offers, but to give in return the best of their ability and energy toward the development and progress of the community they have chosen as their home. They are capable, resourceful and enterprising young men and it is such men that are pushing rapidly the growth of this commonwealth.

CLARENCE D. POWELL, M. D .. is a prosperous and talented young physician of Valier, in which place he located in October, 1909, immediately following his removal from North Dakota, where he had been en- gaged in practice for two years. Since coming to Valier he has been especially fortunate in his profes- sion, handling his ever growing practice capably and creditably, and establishing a reputation for ability and winning the unalloyed esteem and confidence of the community at large.

Doctor Powell was born in Rockfield, Indiana, on August 26, 1880, and is the son of Dr. John W. and Sarah E. (Roop) Powell. The father was a native of Illinois and was a prominent physician in central Illi- nois for many years. He was a graduate of Rush Medical College of Chicago, and attained a high degree of efficiency in his profession during the years of his practice. He was ever a citizen of prominence and popularity, in whatever community he was found, and was a leader in every good work aiming at improved civic conditions and general advancement. The Powell family are of English descent, the original John E. Powell who established the family in America, being the father of John W. Powell and the grandfather of the subject. He settled in Utica early in the history of the country and the family later migrated to Illinois. He was a physician, and many of the name have graced the profession with the passing generations. The mother of Clarence D. Powell was a native of Indiana. She died at Finley, North Dakota, in 1907, at the age of forty-nine years. The father died in Peoria, Illinois, in 1897. They were the parents of two children,-Clarence, the first born, and Florence E., who became the wife of A. J. Heimark, a prosperous physician of Finley, North Dakota,

The son, Clarence, as a boy attended the schools of Peoria, Illinois, and was graduated from the local high school with the class of '98. He then attended Shat- tuck Military School at Faribault, Minnesota, for a year, after which he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago in 1901, and was graduated therefrom with the class of 1905. After his gradua- tion Doctor Powell served in Chicago Hospital in Chicago, also in Milwaukee, as an interne, spending almost two years in this valuable training, after which he went to North Dakota and settled at Minnekaukan, in Benson county, where he entered into medical prac- tice. He remained there for two years, enjoying a pleasing practice, and in October, 1909, went to Mon- tana, settling shortly at Valier. He was the first phy- sician to locate in the place, and his success here has heen of a highly pleasing nature. He has won popu- larity and prominence and controls a large and ever increasing practice in the town while he is regarded as one of the solid citizens of the community.

The doctor is well pleased with the state of Mon- tana, and has evidenced his faith in it by acquiring con- siderable property in and about Valier. He owns a valuable farm of one hundred and sixty acres eight miles from town and some city property as well.

On October 10, 1907, Doctor Powell was united in marriage with Miss Mayme Carlon, daughter of Engene Carlon, native of Wisconsin. He is a prominent farmer

1792

HISTORY OF MONTANA

of that state, who has now retired from the strenuous life of the husbandman and is living quietly in the city.

ROBERT FERGUSON, the present popular and efficient incumbent of the office of mayor of Conrad, Montana, has gained a position of distinctive priority as one of the representative members of the bar of Teton county, this state. He has gained success and prestige through his own endeavors and thus the more honor is due him for his earnest labors in his exacting profession and for the precedence he has gained in his chosen vocation. Since June, 1909, he has been a prominent and influ- ential citizen of Conrad, his home having formerly been at Drayton, North Dakota.

In the province of Ontario, Canada, July 2, 1854, occurred the birth of Robert Ferguson, who is a son of Peter and Ellen ·(Robertson) Ferguson, both of whom were born in Scotland. The father immigrated to Canada in the year 1832 and he was engaged in the great basic industry of agriculture in Ontario during the remainder of his liftime. He was called to eternal rest in 1874, at the age of sixty-five years. Mrs. Fergu- son passed away in 1879, aged seventy years. Of the ten children born to them Robert was the youngest.

To the sturdy and invigorating influence of the old homestead farm Robert Ferguson was reared to adult age. He was graduated in the high school at Brussels, Ontario, and was a student in the Rockwood College for two years. At the age of twenty-one years he began to teach school and he followed that calling in Canada for a period of three years, at the end of which, in 1878, he removed to North Dakota, locating at Dray- ton, where he was principal of schools for the ensuing six years. After school hours and during all his spare time he studied law in the offices of H. D. Borden and he was admitted to the bar of North Dakota in 1889. Immediately after that event he initiated the active practice of his profession at Drayton, where he suc- ceeded in building up a large and lucrative law clientage and where he resided until 1908. He was mayor of Drayton for two terms-from 1901 to 1905. From 1908 to 1909 he was in Oregon and in June of the latter year he came to Conrad. Here he is a member of the law firm of Ferguson & Gray and he and his partner have figured prominently in some of the most important litigations in this section of the state. In politics -Mr. Ferguson is a Republican and in April, 1912, he was honored by his fellow citizens with election to the office of mayor of Conrad, on the Citizens' ticket. In addi- tion to his legal work Mr. Ferguson is the owner of valuable farming lands in Teton county, his holdings amounting to 360 acres, a great deal of which is under cultivation. Fraternally, he is a Mason, a Yeoman and an Odd Fellow.

In 1887, in the city of Winnipeg, Canada, Mr. Fergu- son was united in marriage to Miss Annie Milne, a daughter of James Milne, who was born and reared in Canada, as was also his wife, whose maiden name was Amie Milne. Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson are the proud parents of four children, whose names are here en- tered in respective order of birth: Vernon L., Maggie, Robert L. and James M. The Ferguson family are devout Presbyterians in their religious faith.

ALBERT BESANCON is of French parentage, as his name clearly indicates. His father, of French-Huguenot stock, was born in northern France, where he passed his young boyhood, coming to Pennsylvania in his youth. He spent several years in lumbering on the Alle- gheny and Ohio rivers, and later gave seven years of his life to the French and English armies, part of the time in Syria and China, but five years of the time being passed with an engineering corps in northern Africa. At Buffalo, New York, he married Catherine Bonhatol. an attractive young French woman of Huguenot an-

cestry, and they made their first home in Buffalo. Find- ing greater opportunities in Connecticut, they soon changed their residence to that state. Martin Besancon was a contractor and engaged in the charcoal and smelt- ing business at Cornwall, Connecticut. The family re- mained in Cornwall until 1883, but he was discontented in the East and longed, for the freedom of pioneer life in the West, and in 1882 he secured a small piece of land in Marshall county, Minnesota, and removed with his family to that place. The remaining years of his life he devoted to farming in northern Minnesota and later in western Washington, but his success, because of distances, poor crops and the severe climate during his early ventures in farming, was of a mediocre order, and he was unable to give his children more than the commonest educational advantages.

Albert Besancon was born at Cornwall Bridge, Con- necticut, on February 21, 1875, and when in 1891 his mother died, the boy at the age of sixteen began to make his own way in the world. Motherless, with only a common school education, and with no other prepara- tion for the trials and vicissitudes of life, the boy began his own education, and from that hour, by dint of supreme effort, he knew not failure. He realized from the first that education would be his greatest and most valuable asset in the battle of life, and this he set out to gain for himself. His determination never wavered, though beset with many hardships. He first completed a business course in a commercial college, then spent six years in the University of North Dakota, from the law department of which he was graduated in 1901, all of which he accomplished with no means other than what he was able to earn during that time and prior to his college career. His record, too, was a credit both to himself and to his alma mater. For more than eight years he practiced law in North Dakota, becoming one of the leading members of the bar and one of the foremost Democratic politicians of the state.

For two years Mr. Besancon was assistant states at- torney and afterward held many an elective office of honor in the party ranks. In 1908 he was the choice of his party at a state convention for lieutenant governor, but did not seek the office, knowing the futility of at- tempting to be elected to the office at that time upon the Democratic ticket.

In 1909 Mr. Besancon moved to Missoula, Montana, and upon locating there almost immediately became recognized as a leading member of the bar. So soon did his ability become known that in 1910, having been a resident of the state for but a year, he was the candi- date of his party for the office of county attorney. He has gained prominence in his profession, and the fu- ture promises him even greater success than he has known in the past.

The popularity of Mr. Besancon is not confined alone to political and legal circles. The Masonic order is proud to claim him as one of its leading members, and the Modern Woodmen have chosen him as their counsel for five years and sent him to represent them at their head camp in Buffalo, New York, in 1911, and also at Chicago in 1912. He is also a member of a number of other lodges and fraternities.

In 1906 Mr. Besancon was married to Miss Selma A. Peterson, a native daughter of Bismarck, North Da- kota. Three years after their marriage they moved to Missoula, Montana, and they are now well known in the leading social circles of the city. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Besancon: Catherine S., Robert M. and Albert P., none of them as yet being old enough to attend school.

Mr. Besancon is a successful product of the new West, but it may perhaps be more to the point to say that it is such products of honest, capable and energetic young men that have brought success in such generous meas- ure to the great new West.

1793

HISTORY OF MONTANA

MARTIN VETLESON is the son of Forjus Vetleson, a Norwegian Lutheran minister of the gospel who was born in Dane county, Wisconsin, in the early part of the nineteenth century. His ancestors came from Scandinavia to America settling at once in Wisconsin. The elder Mr. Vetleson passed away some years since and is buried beside his wife in the Otter Tail, Minne- sota, cemetery. His entire life was devoted to the propagation of his faith in what was then known as the Northwest. Mrs. Vetleson, the mother of the sub- ject of this sketch, was, prior to her marriage Miss Ingeborg Norman. She was a native of Wisconsin although of Norwegian ancestry.

Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Vetleson, all of whom are now well settled in life. Carrie, the oldest daughter. married Mr. M. Berg, a prominent farmer of northern Minnesota. William offered his services to his country in the late Spanish-American war and was made a sergeant during his stay in the Philippines. He is now in Friendly Inn, Alaska, where he is interested in the fishing industry as well as in some mining property. His next younger brother, Alexander Vetleson is an expert mechanic of Seattle, Washington. Anna, the second of the girls, is now Mrs. Rygh of Minnesota while the youngest brother, Bejamin, is ranchman and a mechanical engineer of near Three Forks, Montana. All of the sons, having still the nomad blood of the norseman red in their veins, have songht their fortunes in "a far country," while the daughters, marrying at an early age have settled near the old home.

Martin Vetleson, now a United States commissioner and a prominent citizen of Three Forks, Montana, was next to the youngest in his father's family of seven children. He was born at St. Fergus, Minnesota, on the fifth day of July, 1884. For some years he studied at Park Region Lutheran College, a denominational school with which his father was, during his activity in the ministry, more or less connected. After com- pleting his preparatory normal course he entered the legal department of the University of North Dakota and was admitted to the bar of the state in June of 1907. For two years he practiced law at Rugby, North Dakota, then, charmed by the allurements held out to the young and ambitious man by the sister state of Montana, he left Dakota for Three Forks, arriving in the spring of 1909. Hardly was his practice well estab- lished, however, when, on the second day of June, 1910, he was appointed United States commissioner, a posi- tion that he fills with great credit to himself and to the administration. He is actively interested in Re- publican politics both state and national. In April of IQII, he was elected police judge of Three Forks.

He has always kept up his membership in the Luth- eran church to which his father devoted the best of his life. Mr. Vetleson is a member also of the Knights of Pythias and the Montana State Bar Association.

EDWARD J. FREDERICSEN has been identified with the teaching profession since 1897, his labors until 1909 being confined to various cities in Minnesota and North Dakota, but since the latter named date in Sand Coulee as principal of the schools of this city and clerk of the school board. His experience in the educational field has been one of considerable scope, and he has enjoyed exceptional success wherever he has been located. As an educator of progressive ideas and the exponent of all that is recognized as fitting in educational methods, Prof. Fredericsen takes prominent rank among his fellows, and his qualifications are conceded by all.

Prof. Fredericsen was born in Hastings, Minnesota, on August 20, 1879, and is the son of N. C. and Mary (McNamara) Fredericsen. The family comes from an old and honored German house, the paternal great- grandfather of Mr. Fredericsen of this sketch having heen Count von Moltke, commander of the German Vol. III-32

army, who was banished from his native land for political reasons. The castle of the family was known as Frederickshofen, and the son, on coming to America, adopted the name of Fredericsen, the American adapta- tation of the German Frederickshofen. The maternal ancestors of Mr. Fredericsen were of Irish descent, and the mother was a second cousin to President Hayes. N. C. Fredericsen was born and reared in Minnesota. He was a farmer and a man of no little prominence in his community. He was president of the school board of his town for twenty-eight years, and was town treasurer for a number of consecutive terms. He died on March 17. 1907, at Princeton, Minnesota, when he was fifty-four years of age. His wife, Mary McNamara, was a native of Illinois, and she is now residing in

Princeton. Three children were born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Fredericsen. Edward, of this review, was the first born, and as a boy and youth he attended the Guardian Angel school in Hastings, Minnesota, the town of his birth. He later attended the Univer- sity of Indiana at Valparaiso, from which he was duly graduated with the degree of B. S., and he took post graduate work at the State Science School of North Dakota. Following his graduation he taught for one year, after which he removed to North Dakota, and took a position as principal of the Wishek school. His next school was at Wyndmere, North Dakota, where he also held a principalship. He remained there for four years, then removed to Hannaford, North Dakota, where he remained for two years. In July, 1909, he went to Montana, locating at Sand Coulee, where he has since been principal of the schools, and clerk of the school board. His work here has been all that could be desired, and he has given every evidence of exceptional ability in his chosen profession.

Prof. Fredericsen is connected with a number of fraternal organizations, among them the Modern Woodmen of America, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He has occupied all the chairs of each of these orders. He is president of the Public Library Association, a position in which his superior talents are of peculiar value to the town.

On September 24, 1904, Prof. Fredericsen was united in marriage with Miss Ellen Douglas Lowell, the daughter of J. A. Lowell, a native of Hastings, Minne- sota, where the marriage took place. One child has been born to them, Marcella Ruth Fredericsen, whose birth occurred on November 4, 1911, at Sand Coulee.

ROBERT INSKEEP RIZER, M. D. The medical profes- sion of Montana is known for the high merit and ability of its members, and foremost among its representatives is Dr. Robert Inskeep Rizer, of Anaconda. Dr. Rizer came to this state a few years ago, thoroughly equipped by training in one of the best of American schools, and by his ability and fine personality has won a front rank among the physicians and surgeons of the state.

He is a native of Boone, Iowa, where he was born on January 25, 1883, and where he obtained his educa- tion in the public schools, graduating from the high school with the class of 1900. For his professional school he chose one of the most exacting in its entrance requirements, and was a student for two years in the regular academic department of the University of Chi- cago before entering the Rush Medical College of Chicago, where he was, graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1906. For two years he was an interne in the Chicago Presbyterian Hospital, and for a similar period was first assistant to Dr. B. W. Sippy of that city.

Dr. Rizer came west and began practice at Anaconda in 1909. As one of the busiest men in the city, with a reputation for ability in his work and sterling citi- zenship, he has already won a positon that many older men might envy. He manifests a keen interest in the

1794

HISTORY OF MONTANA

civic and social life of his home city, and is especially fond of athletics and motoring as diversions.

On the 15th of June, 1910, he was married in Chicago to Miss Ruth Lackersteen, daughter of the late Dr. Mark Lackersteen, of Chicago, a former surgeon in the English army. They are the parents of two sons, Robert I. Rizer, Jr. and Dean Kirby Rizer. Dr. and Mrs. Rizer are members of the Episcopal church. In politics he is a Progressive. He is a member of the Anaconda Club, the Anaconda Rod and Gun Club and the Anaconda Automobile Club, also a member of the Deer Lodge County Medical Society, the Montana State Medical Society and the American Medical So- ciety. He is local surgeon for the Anaconda Copper Mining Company and the Butte, Anaconda and Pacific Railroad.

Dr. Rizer's parents were Mason S. and Elizabeth (Brown) Rizer. The mother, who is now deceased, was born in Logansport, Indiana. The father, who is a Virginian by birth, is a prominent railroad man, being superintendent of the eastern division of the Chicago and Northwestern Railway. There are three children in the family: Fred W., who is a civil engineer of Chi- cago; Charles M., a yardmaster of the Lake Shore Railroad; and Dr. R. I. Rizer.

EDGAR EUGENE GIVENS. One of the most successful young men of Kalispell, Montana, is Edgar Eugene Givens, whose business activity is in the field of insur- ance. Though he has been a resident of this Montana city but a few years, his enterprise, energy and laudable ambition have brought him into prominence in its busi- ness ranks and he has come to be recognized as one of the wide-awake and forceful men of Flathead county. A son of Thales E. Givens, he was born in Abing- don, Illinois, on the 9th of August, 1880. His father is a native of the same state, born near the city of Quincy, but he now resides in Mountain View, Okla- homa, where he is vice-president of the Farmers and Merchants Bank. In Cleveland, Ohio, occurred the nativity of Olive (Lesh) Givens, the mother of Edgar Eugene. To the union of these parents came three children, of whom our subject was the first born.

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 151

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