A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 152

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

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At Abingdon, Illinois, Mr. Givens completed the usual preliminary educational studies and then took up high school work in Des Moines, Iowa, graduating from the high school course there in 1899. Following this he entered Drake University at Des Moines and was graduated from the pharmaceutical department of that institution in 1901. His student days were well inter- spersed with periods of labor, for by his own efforts were provided the means to defray his expenses while obtaining his education. Following his graduation from the university he spent about three years in a clerical capacity in the different cities of Des Moines, Denver and Seattle, and then returned to Des Moines. Shortly afterward he became manager of the interests of the National Biscuit Company at Dubuque, Iowa, and con- tinned with this company five years, a portion of the time as a traveling salesman. He came to Kalispell, Montana, on August 1, 1909, and purchased the estab- lished insurance business of E. S. Bogart. On this foun- dation he has built up the largest individual insurance business in Flathead county and follows this line of endeavor exclusively. He writes all lines of insurance and represents twenty of the strongest American and foreign companies engaged in this business. His offices are in the Conrad Bank Building.

The marriage of Mr. Givens was solemnized at Albia, Iowa, on September 12, 1907, and united him to Miss Elsie Clarkson, a daughter of John T. Clark- son, who is a native of Iowa and is a well known law- yer at Albia. On April 2, 1912, at Kalispell, there was born to Mr. and Mrs. Givens, a daughter, Patrica Ann Givens.

The fraternal associations of Mr. Givens are with the Masonic order, in which he has attained the Royal

Arch degrees, and with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Eliks. He is also a member of the Kalispell Club.

THOR. A. THOMPSON. Though owning but a brief acquaintance with Montana, having located here in 1909, Thor. A. Thompson feels himself permanently estab- lished in Kalispell, and is enthusiastic in his regard for the state and its many attractive qualities. Mr. Thomp- son is a native of Minnesota, born near Long Lake, that state, on March 25, 1879. His parents are Knud Thompson and Anna (Odegard) Thompson, the father a native of the state of Wisconsin and the mother of Norway. In 1880 Mr. Thompson moved to Coopers- town, North Dakota, where he engaged in the merchan- dise business. He has been prominent in county politics there for many years and has held varions county offices of importance, among them the office of county treas- nrer, which he held for two terms. The wife and mother came to America with her parents when she was a child of seven, and they settled at Heron Lake, Minnesota, where her marriage with Knud Thompson occurred. They became the parents of four children, of which number Thor. was the second born.

Thor. A. Thompson was educated in the public schools of his home town, after which he completed a course of study at the University of North Dakota, followed by two years at the University of Michigan, and in 1907 he received the degree of LL. B. at the University of North Dakota. He entered upon the practice of his profession at Cooperstown, North Dakota, and continued there until June, 1909. In that month he removed to Kalispell, Montana, engaging in practice alone, but in July, 1910, he formed an associa- tion with K. Stout, which partnership still endures. The firm is known as Thompson & Stout, and they conduct a general practice in Kalispell. Mr. Thompson is assistant county attorney, and is a Democrat, although not active in local politics.

Fraternally, Mr. Thompson is affiliated with the Masonic order in Kalispell and is a member of the Kalispell Club and the County Bar Association. He is popular and prominent in this district, and is fast mak- ing a name for himself among the legal fraternity.

On March 25, 1909, Mr. Thompson married Miss Maude Longfellow at Wadena, Minnesota. She is a daughter of Walter Longfellow, and was born and reared in Minnesota.

RAYMOND F. WITHROW. The business career of Ray- mond F. Withrow, of Kalispell, Montana. covers little more than a decade but is a fine example of what a young man may accomplish if he has business ability, push, and that tenacity of purpose so essential to a suc- cessful grapple with fortune. He came to Montana in the fall of 1909 and purchased an interest in the business of James Harbert at Kalispell, known as the Fair Store. Into this business he put not only the purchase price in money, but the benefit of years of experience in the mercantile business and the vigor of western energy and progressiveness. He has been identified with the establishment less than three years, but in that period the volume of business has more than doubled, which fact of itself is one of the most convincing arguments . as to Mr. Withrow's worth and status as a business man. Montana heartily welcomes men of this stamp to the ranks of her citizenship.

It is to the great commonwealth of Illinois that he owes his nativity, for he was born at Geneseo, Henry county of that state, on July 6, 1878. John W. Withrow, his father, who also was born in Illinois, has given his years of activity to agricultural pursuits but has now retired and resides at Geneseo. He is a veteran of the Civil war, his service having been as a member of Com- pany H, One Hundred Twelfth Regiment of Illinois In- fantry, and he has taken a prominent part in the public

Chas. G. Farnsworth

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and political affairs of his community. having held various county offices. He married Arvilla Allen, a native of Illinois, and to their union were born seven children, of whom our subject is the youngest.

Raymond F. Withrow grew to manhood in Henry county, Illinois, and acquired his education in the public schools of Geneseo, graduating from the high school there with the class of 1898. His first employment was as a clerk in the store of the John Dedrick Company at Geneseo, Illinois, continuing to follow clerical work only eight months, however. At the end of that period he entered business on his own account as the proprie- tor of a clothing and men's furnishing store at Geneseo, Illinois, where he continued in that line six years and was quite successful. Disposing of his interests there, he removed to Chicago where he gained much valuable experience in the establishments of Butler and of Car- son Pirie Scott & Co. In the fall of 1909 he came to Kalispell, Montana, where he purchased an interest in his present business, his associate now being F. W. Tin- kel and the firm style being Withrow & Tinkel. The business was first established in 1898 in a very small way but is today one of the leading dry goods and general merchandise stores in northwestern Montana, with a sales force of eight people.

Mr. Withrow is a member of the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce, and fraternally is affiliated with the blue lodge of the Masonic order. In politics he is a Republican but takes no active part in political affairs.

On November 27, 1000, at Geneseo, Illinois, Mr. With- row was united in marriage to Miss Maude Schnabele, a daughter of P. S. Schnabele. a native of Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Withrow have a daughter, Elizabeth, born at Kalispell on January 1, 1911.

MERLE C. GROENE. In the new country of north- western Montana, one of the able and successful young lawyers is Merle C. Groene, of Whitefish, who has been practicing there for the past three years, and has closely identified himself with the community in sev- eral official capacities.

Mr. Groene was born in Atchison, Kansas, June 12, 1886, and is a son of J. H. and Lucy A. (Hommer) Groene. The only other child in the family is Everet, now a resident of Kansas City. Kansas. Both parents were natives of Kansas, and the father is now engaged in the real estate business at Kansas City, Kansas.

Merle C. gained a thorough preparation for his pro- fessional career, but earned part of his higher education by his own efforts. His youth was spent in Kansas City, Kansas, where he graduated from the high school in 1904, and then entered the University of Kansas, graduating from the law department with the degree of LL. B. in 1909. He suported himself during the greater part of his university life. As a graduate in law he chose Montana for his practical career, and has since attended to an increasing general practice at Whitefish. On his arrival he was appointed city attorney, an office which he has filled ever since. He is also clerk of the school board, and is a member of the county and state bar associations. He is an active worker for the Democratic principles. He is a director in the First National Bank Building Company.

Mr. Groene is affiliated with the Whitefish Lodge No. 64, of Masons and the Eastern Star, and is a mem- ber of the Kalispell Club. His church is the Methodist. He was married at Westphalia, Kansas, on the 19th of January, 1910, to Miss Leah Stephenson, a native of that state and daughter of A. E. Stephenson. They have no children.

CHARLES E. FARNSWORTH. The present cashier and active head of the Anaconda National Bank is a banker of many years' experience, and was identified with one of the large banks of Chicago for twenty-one years be- fore coming to Montana. Though comparatively a new-

comer in this state, Mr. Farnsworth is one of its most loyal citizens, and in business and social circles he has an influential place in the city of Anaconda.

Charles E. Farnsworth was born in Lake county, Illi- nois, December 26, 1866, a son of James B. and Alma (Putnam) Farnsworth. His father, who was born in Vermont, has devoted practically all of his active life- time to school work. For more than forty years he has been a principal in the Chicago and Cook county schools, and few educators in the country have had a larger and more useful career. He was also a soldier of the Union during the Civil war. His interest in religious affairs has been only second to education, and he is one of the prominent laymen of the Congregational church. His wife was also a native of Vermont, and they were married in Lake county, Illinois. Of the three children, Charles E. is the oldest and the only one now living.

Until coming to Montana Mr. Farnsworth spent prac- tically all his life in Chicago, where during boyhood he attended the public schools and the Lake View high school. For two years he taught school, but decided not to follow the same profession as his father. After a year in the wholesale house of Marshall Field & Com- pany, he became cashier and bookkeeper for W. A. Olm- sted & Company, a school supply house. A year later he entered the service of the Fort Dearborn National Bank, one of the old and solid banking houses of Chi- cago, with which he continued in increasing grades of responsibility for a period of twenty-one years. Resign- ing in 1909, he came to Anaconda to take charge of the Anaconda National Bank as cashier and active head.

Mr. Farnsworth was married in Chicago, November 8, 1894, to Miss Mary Roberts, a daughter of Clark and Elizabeth Roberts, of that city. Mr. and Mrs. Farns- worth are the parents of two children, Jeannette and Mary Frances, both of whom are attending school.

Outside of business Mr. Farnsworth has always taken a keen interest in the varied social activities. As a mem- ber of the Presbyterian church, he has held different official places, and was superintendent of one Sunday- school in Chicago for twenty-four years. His wife is also an active member of the same church. In politics he is a Republican but has taken no share in party work. Music has appealed to him most of the fine arts, and he was a choir leader in Chicago for twenty years and holds a similar position in Anaconda. He is also interested in the general athletic sports and is very fond of driving good horses. During his brief residence in Montana his impressions have become very decided. "I do not have the honor of being a pioneer," says he, "but I want to say with all candor and honesty I am sorry I did not come sooner. To me Montana is a wonderful state. There is a charm and delight about it that is inspiring, and I have great faith in its future."

SIMON S. STACEY. Now a prosperous merchant of Whitefish, proprietor of the oldest jewelry business in the town, Mr. Stacey arrived in America fifteen years ago with a cash capital of forty-two dollars and fifty cents, and has won his own way to success.

Simon S. Stacey is a native of England, born June 15, 1878. His father is Thomas Stacey, an English farmer. The mother, whose maiden name was Betsey Ann Smeeth, died in England in March, 1886, aged thirty-eight. The first eighteen years of his life Mr. Stacey spent in his native country, where he attended school, and arrived in America in the spring of 1897, first settling in Hanson county, South Dakota. He made the journey to America alone, and during the first years he was working not only for his living but also to complete his education. He spent some months in farm labor to pay for his schooling in the Wesleyan College of South Dakota, and then during a residence of five years in Davidson county, South Dakota, devoted

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three years to learning the jeweler's trade with H. G. Nichols, of Mitchell.

Mr. Stacey has been a resident of Montana since 1909, having located at Whitefish in September of that year and bought out the established jewelry business of J. A. Robinson, who had the distinction of being the first jeweler in town. In this line of business he has built up a good trade, and has a large patronage and esteem.

In political opinion Mr. Stacey is Republican. Fra- ternally he is a member of the Whitefish Lodge No. 64 of Masons, and has held several chairs in the White- fish camp of the Modern Woodmen of America. He is one of the active members of the local Chamber of · Commerce, and is a trustee of the Methodist church in Whitefish. Mr. Stacey's place of business is 209 Cen- tral avenue and his residence is on the same street. At Lake City, Minnesota, September 26, 1906, he was united in marriage with Miss Laura L. Paine. Her ancestry is English and German, and her father, Charles Paine, was born in Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Stacey are the parents of two children: Ellyn Elizabeth was born at Minot, North Dakota, October 27. 1907; and Charles Thomas was also born in Minot, July 20, 1909.

WILLIAM W. DUNLAP has been a citizen of note at Dixon since 1909' and is here engaged in the hay, grain and oil business, in which enterprise he is achiev- ing unusual success. He is also engaged in various real estate transactions and is the owner of consider- able property of value in this section of the state. His enthusiasm in regard to the splendid opportunities offered in Montana for material advancement knows no bounds.

At Leavenworth, in the state of Kansas, occurred the birth of William W. Dunlap, the date of his nativ- ity being the 16th of July, 1865. He is a son of Ben- jamin H. and Nancy (Dickens) Dunlap, both of whom were born and reared in Ohio, where their marriage was solemnized. Going to Oklahoma, Mr. Dunlap was there engaged in mining and real estate oper- ations for a number of years and where he finally turned his attention to farming. He died in 1907, at the age of seventy-four years, and is buried at Whitesboro, Texas. Mrs. Dunlap survives her hon- ored husband and is now a member of the household of one of her daughters at Whitesboro, Texas. Mr. and Mrs. Dunlap were the parents of four children, of whom the subject of this review was the third born.

When eight years of age, William W. Dunlap ac- companied his parents on their removal to south- western Kansas and thence to northern Texas some years later. His rudimentary educational training was obtained in the public schools of Kansas and Texas, but as schooling facilities were of the most meagre order in the country where he lived, he did a great deal of home study under the tutelage of an elder sister. When he was ten years old he began to clerk in a store and earned a salary of fifteen dol- lars per month. With this money he purchased his first ready-made suit of clothing. When fourteen years of age he was earning two and a half dollars a day. He subsequently went into the railroad service, working in the commissary department of the M. K. & T. Railroad, under Kilpatrick Brothers with head- quarters at El Paso. At the age of eighteen he went into Mexico, where he followed mining for some

seven years, and thence went to Crede, Colorado, re- maining there during the great boom and following placer mining in Crede for the ensuing fourteen years. At the end of that time he went to the southeastern part of New Mexico, in the Roswell district, there engaging in ranching for three years. In June, 1909, he came to Montana and settled at Dixon. His first

work in Dixon was in the lumbering business, and he established the first lumber yard here, and for two years did the largest retail lumber business west of Missoula. In 1911 he disposed of his lumber interests and started his present business, that of dealing in hay, grain, oil, etc. He negotiates a number of real estate transactions during the course of a year and has some ranching property in the vicinity of Dixon. Mr. Dunlap is a business man of unusual shrewdness and is possessed of remarkable executive ability. His methods are of the fair and honorable type and he commands the unqualified confidence and respect of all with whom he has had dealings.

In politics Mr. Dunlap is an uncompromising Dem- ocrat but he does not participate actively in public affairs. He is affiliated with the Masonic order at Dixon, and is vice-president of the Dixon Commer- cial Club. He is exceedingly fond of out-door life in general, and is something of a reader, giving much time to the study of history. It is Mr. Dunlap's ex- pressed belief that Montana will develop faster in the next ten years than she has in the past forty, and he avers that Montana has given to him a feeling of con- fidence and content such as he never experienced before.

JOHN ALBERT BRASSETT, M. D., who has been engaged in the practice of medicine in Kalispell since October, 1909, is one of the leading physicians in this city, and en- joys a wide general practice in Kalispell and the vicin- ity. He is a Norwegian by birth, born in Norway on April 17, 1874, and is the son of John and Margerite (Langaunet) Brassett, also natives of Norway. The family immigrated to America in 1887 and settled in Norman county, Minnesota, and there the father en- gaged in general farming, in which place he still lives. The mother died in Norman county in 1896, aged fifty years. She left six children, John Albert being the fourth born.

Jolın Albert Brassett was educated in the public schools of Norman county, attending them until he reached the age of eighteen, at which time he entered Concordia College at Morehead, Minnesota. He later studied in Dixon College at Dixon, Illinois, for two years, and thereafter he engaged in school teaching. continuing in that work for seven years in Minnesota and Dakota. Giving over his educational labors, the young man entered Hamlin University at Minneapolis, where he engaged in medical studies, and was grad- uated from that worthy institution with the class of 1906, receiving then his degree of Doctor of Medicine. He spent one year in St. Joseph's hospital in St. Paul as an interne, after which valuable experience and training he entered into active practice in his home town, Halstad, Minnesota. He remained there for two years, enjoying a pleasing degree of success, after which he removed to Kalispell, becoming established here on the 12th of October, 1909. Since that time Dr. Bras- sett has been busily engaged looking after the practice which he has established in the comparatively brief time of his residence here.

Dr. Brassett represents the energetic and ambitious type of man who will succeed in life, no matter how untoward may be the conditions attending. He worked his way through college, his teaching experiences sup- plying the necessary money for his studies, and has ever been of that same independent and resourceful nature. He is a member of the State, County and American Medical associations, and is recognized as one of the leading members of his profession in the county. He is a Republican of the progressive stamp, and takes an intelligent interest in the political affairs of the city and county. He is a member of various fraternal societies, among them being the Knights of Pythias, of Halstad, Minnesota, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Modern Brotherhood, the Court of

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Honor and the B. P. O. E., in all of which he frater- nizes with the Kalispell lodges. He is medical exam- iner for the last three named societies, and also for the Bankers' Life Insurance Company of America. Dr. Brassett is a member of the Lutheran church, the church of his parents, in which he was reared.

On June 1, 1900, Dr. Brassett was united in mar- riage with Miss Minnie Larson, the daughter of B. B. Larson, a native of Norman county, Minnesota. They have one son, Arnold Harrison, born November 6, 1911.

WHEELER H. MELVIN, M. D. In a new community the services of none of the professions are so much required as those of the physician. Practically at the founding of the now thriving town of Chester, there located among the merchants and other citizens, Dr. Wheeler H. Melvin, who has offered his skill to this community and has not only been a successful physi- cian but has gained a large influence in the citizenship of this locality.

Dr. Melvin was born in Vernon county, Wisconsin, May 20, 1882, and received his preliminary education in the public schools at Cashton, Monroe county, of his native state. His preparation for the profession of medicine was in the College of Physicians and Sur- geons, at Chicago, then the medical department of the University of Illinois, where he was graduated M. D., June 6, 1905. His first practice was in Taylor, Wis- consin, for three months, and then for three years in Beach, North Dakota. In 1909 he established his office in Chester, and has since attended an increasing practice and has acquired some good property in this vicinity.

Dr. Melvin's father was Winfield Scott Melvin, who was born in Ohio in 1846 and has been a resident of Wisconsin since the fifties, being one of the substantial farmers of that state. The mother was Hannah (Sni- der) Mfelvin, a native of Pennsylvania, whence her family emigrated to Stevens Point, Wisconsin. She died in 1891 at the age of thirty-two. The doctor was the third of their six children, the others being named as follows: Philo H .; Mrs. Nellie Stewart, of Lothair, Montana ; and Misses Katie, Beulah and Ruby.

Dr. Meivin married at Beach, North Dakota, Octo- ber 16, 1906, Miss Etta May Caldwell, and to them on April 29, 1912, was born a son, Wheeler William Scott Melvin. The doctor is a member of the blue fodge in Masonry and the Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica, and belongs to the American Medical Association and is secretary of the Chester board of health. He is a Progressive Republican, and his wife has mem- bership in the Congregational church.

JOHN T. SAUNTRY. Men of efficiency and character are the type of workers the business, industrial and edn- cational worlds of today are eagerly seeking, and each individual ascends the ladder of fortune to that height which his own ability and merit enable him to reach. Recognizing the need and the value of edu- cation, especially along practical lines, in preparing the youth for his work in life, John T. Sauntry chose teaching as his line of useful endeavor and since 1909 has been at the head of the Kalispell Business College. Professor Sauntry is himself an example of efficiency and cannot but inspire those who come under his charge to put forth their best efforts in their work. He has thoroughly prepared for the responsible duties he has assumed. After having completed a common and high school education in South Dakota he became a student at the Nebraska Normal School, Wayne, Nebraska, where he was graduated in 1904. Following this, he spent some time as a student in Valparaiso University. Valparaiso, Indiana, and then returned to Wayne, Nebraska, to take charge of the commercial department of the normal school. After five years

there he came to Kalispell, Montana, in June, 1909, and a few days after his arrival he purchased the Kalispell Business College from the original founder, H. F. Al- brecht. The college was established in 1901. Its present membership numbers forty-six students, with an aver- age enrollment of fifty, and the institution has grown considerably both in the size of its classes and in the scope of its work since Professor Sauntry took charge of it. The school was first opened in a little building at the corner of Second street and First avenue East, from whence it was removed to another building, and finally to its permanent home, a new building on the corner of Sixth and Main streets erected purposely for use as a business college. The Kalispell Business Col- lege is the largest college in this' section of Montana and the building it occupies is the largest devoted to this use in the state. Professor Sauntry is a young man of vigor and marked ability and very progresssive in his educational views, and what he has already accomplished presages for the college a most prosper- ous and useful future. It is men of such character that Montana welcomes and values as citizens.

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A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 152

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