A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 23

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

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Mr. Loomis is an Independent Republican and is active in local politics. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and the Redmen and was treasurer of the Redmen Lodge of Philipsburg for five years. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and is active in every movement launched for the best good of the community.

On October 12, 1862, Mr. Loomis was united in mar- riage with Mary E. Buell, daughter of William and Elizabeth Buell, of Fulton, New York. Mrs. Loomis passed away on March 17, 1912, at the age of seventy- two, and is buried in Philipsburg. She was a life- long member of the Methodist Episcopal church, con- sistent in her profession of belief and living a life of faith and charity to the last.

JOHN O. LAGERQUIST. Like many other of Montana's prosperous and respected business men, John O. Lager- quist, of Hamilton, was born across the sea, his birth having occurred, January 21, 1865, near Carlstad, Sweden. Olaf Lagerquist, his father, has never left the fatherland, but is still living. on the old home farm. His wife, whose maiden name was Katherine Larson, died in 1910, leaving three children, as follows : August, assisting his father in the management of the home- stead; Matilda, wife of Olaf Olson, of Skosberg, Sweden, and John O., the special subject of this brief biographical record.

Receiving excellent educational advantages as a boy, John O. Lagerquist left the high school of his native town at the age of sixteen years, after which he spent an apprenticeship of three years at the carpenter's trade, working with an uncle in Stockholm. Then, conform- able to the laws of Sweden, he served two years in the army, being mustered out at the age of twenty-one years. Immigrating to America the following year, Mr. Lager- quist followed his trade for two years in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Coming to Montana in 1888, he was em- ployed as a carpenter in Anaconda for two years. Set- tling then in Butte, he began a career which proved most successful, taking contracts for building houses in that city, while thus engaged superintending the build- ing of the Daly mansion and other important struc- tures on the Daly estate, remaining with Marcus Daly until 1904.

Mr. Lagerquist's next large contract was the erection for the Anaconda Copper Company, of the largest flume

in the world, a gigantic work which he completed suc- cessfully and satisfactorily. Locating then in Hamilton, he, in company with Erick Ericson, built the only inde- pendent planing mill and sawmill in Montana. They conducted it successfully until 1908, when Mr. Lager- quist purchased his partner's interest in the plant, which he is managing alone, carrying on an extensive and re- munerative business under the name of the "Riverview Manufacturing Company." In the manufacture of inside house furnishings, store fronts, stairs, counters, doors, shelving, etc., he employs many hands, endeavoring at all times to meet the demands of his customers promptly. Mr. Lagerquist takes great pride and satisfaction in the fact that he is not affiliated with any trust or combina- tion, being the owner of the only independent plant of the kind in the state. He has acquired considerable property, owning valuable city realty, and being inter- ested to some extent in the mineral resources of Mon- tana. He is independent in politics, with a tendency towards Democratic principles and party. Although not an office seeker, he was elected alderman of the city in 1908. Fraternally, he is a member and past noble grand of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of the Order of Eagles.

In June, 1900, Mr. Lagerquist married Sarah K. Par- sons, a native of Sweden, and of the seven children born of their union, two have passed to the life beyond, and five are living, namely : Elmer, Nancy, Ruth, Victor and George. Mr. Lagerquist is a firm believer in a great and prosperous future for Montana, basing his faith on the fact that everything needful for its growth and advancement can be produced in the state, which is rich and fruitful in its resources.

C. M. PARR. This gentleman, who is one of the lead- ing members of the bar in Butte and is also interested in the mining industry and fruit culture, has lived in three states of the American Union and had a varied and instructive experience in each. He therefore en- tered upon his professional career with a broad knowl- edge of men and the springs of action that animate them, and with extensive information of the country, and the pursuits and customs of its people in different and widely separated localities. For from his youth he has been studious and observant, laying all the lessons of experience to heart and making the most of them for his own advantage. He became a resident of Hamilton, in June, 1912.

Mr. Parr is a native of Jefferson county, Iowa, where his life began on September 2, 1859. He is a son of William and Susannah Parr, both of Pennsylvania. The father was born at Uniontown, Pennsylvania, but both he and his wife passed the greater part of their lives in Iowa, and both died in that state, well esteemed by the people among whom they lived and labored, and known far and wide for their uprightness and useful- ness.

Their son, C. M. Parr, received his academic educa- tion in the public schools of Burlington, Iowa, and in 1885, came west as secretary to the superintendent of the Oregon Short Line Railroad. His residence dur- ing this employment was at Pocatella, Idaho, and there he remained three years, acquiring a good knowledge of the railroad business and also of western country, as his duties obliged him to spend much of his time in travel. The life had variety and spice enough in it to give it zest for him, but he had aspirations to become something more than a clerk, and bent his energies toward the goal of his desires.

In 1888 Mr. Parr came to Butte and the next year was appointed court reporter for the fifth judicial dis- trict of Montana. This position proved to be the very avenue to his ambition that he needed, and he made progress toward the destination he aimed at during every hour he occupied it and with all the powers and facilities at his command. While he occupied the office

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he studied law with diligence and acuteness, and on completing his preparation in 1893 was admitted to the bar. He has ever since been actively engaged in the practice of his profession, with a steadily growing clientage and a steadily rising and extending reputa- tion as a lawyer and counselor.

In obedience to the bent of his mind and his interest in the welfare of his state and country, Mr. Parr has always been very active in political affairs. For a num- ber of years, during the infancy of the party in this country he was a leading Socialist in his locality. But he is now affiliated with the Republican party and is loyal and serviceable to its principles and candidates from the conviction that their supremacy will afford the best guarantee of good government, local, state and national.

Mr. Parr has, however, allowed neither professional claims nor political contentions to employ all his time and faculties. He has a business turn of mind, as well as a professional one, and he has given it scope also. He has bought a fine fruit farm, the home of the late Marcus Daly, three miles from Hamilton, Ravalli county. Mr. Parr intends to move to this farm at an early date, and make it his future home.

In the fraternal life of the community, Mr. Parr has taken an active part as a Woodman of the World and a Modern Woodman of America. In the former of these two fraternities, he holds the rank of past commander of Camp No. 153, Butte, and in both his membership is highly valued because of his enterprise in their be- half and the intelligence with which his efforts are di- rected. While he seeks no prominence in them, he has an earnest desire to make them as influential for good and as useful as possible, and he works for them effec- tively with these ends always in view.

On July 1, 1891, he was united in marriage with Miss Olive May Sweet, the daughter of Oliver and Mary E. Sweet. The father was a pioneer in this part of Mon- tana, locating in the Alder Gulch, in 1865. He joined the Vigilantes, and gave them the aid of his best powers in their efforts to suppress lawlessness and rid the region of road agents and other criminals, when the arm of the law was too short and too feeble to deal effectively with them. Mr. Sweet also figured con- spicuously in the Indian wars of this section, always holding himself in readiness to obey any call to duty for the safety and well-being of its people. Mr. and Mrs. Parr have one child, their son Chadwick. The father is considered not only one of the leading lawyers of Butte, but one of the best and most progressive citi- zens of Montana, and is esteemed in accordance with this high rank, which, however, is well deserved and has been fairly won.

JAMES D. KERLEE, now a prominent ranchman of Montana, was born in Franklin county, Missouri, on the tenth day of February, 1855. At the outbreak of the Civil war, Mr. Kerlee moved his family from their town home onto a farm some miles distant, hoping that in this manner he might be able to escape the depriva- tions of guerilla warfare to which Missouri was a prey. In the district school near this farm, Bert received his early education. After peace was once more restored and the family had returned to town, he was permitted to study for a few months at a time, the schools of Missouri at that date being far from the educational system seen there to-day. As a child, he was like many another boy, interested in engines and trains, the dif- ference being that with him the interest grew instead of waning. As soon as his years would permit, he en- tered the service of the railroads, becoming an engineer on reaching his majority. It was during his service in this capacity that he first became familiar with the opportunities and advantages of the Treasure state. On the twenty-seventh of May, 1877, he was joined in mar- riage to Miss Mary Hibber, a life-long friend and

neighbor in Franklin county. To her he confided his belief in the northwest and his ambitions to make it their future home. So great was her confidence in his judgment and so perfect the sympathy and understand- ing between them, that together they started out al- most penniless for the new home in the far west. Money they did not have, but perhaps their good spirits, their perfect health and their determination to succeed, each for the sake of the other, was of more lasting value to them. Even at this time, in 1888, they were the parents of four little ones for whose future the move seemed a wise one.

They took up a claim which adjoins the present site of the town of Darby, in the fertile Bitter Root valley. Since the first year, Mr. Kerlee has proved himself a successful farmer and ranchman. He is now one of the best known and most highly respected men of his com- munity. Ten children have been born to them, all of whom have been well educated and established in life's battle and most of whom now live with their own families, within easy reach of the father and mother.

Edward J. Kerlee, the oldest of the sons, is a clerk in the nearby town of Darby, while William assists his father on the ranch. Ella Cora is the wife of John K. Williamson, himself a rancher in the Bitter Root valley. Lilly May, married Warner Laird, a merchant at Darby, who has taken into partnership with him her younger brother, Lewis B. Kerlee. The firm is Laird and Ker- lee. Benjamin, the elder brother, is a farmer in the same valley. Bessie and Rosalie are the only two members of the family who have wandered from the state of Montana. The former is now Mrs. Roy P. Monroe, of Weippe, Idaho, and the latter, Mrs. Dick Henderson, of Miller, South Dakota. Floss Kerlee re- sides with the parents on the home ranch while Emma Grace, the youngest of the family, is married to Dr. Hayward of Darby.

Mr. and Mrs. James D. Kerlee have undergone many hardships and known the real meaning of the word privation. When they first took up the claim that has since become their valuable and well-equipped ranch home, they were eighteen miles from a post office or a trading post. Here, under these difficulties, they raised this family of ten children, all of whom have been spared to them and permitted to grow into useful citizens-a family of ten without the proverbial "black sheep." Under these trying circumstances every one of the ten received a good common school education, some of them pursuing courses of higher learning and eight of the ten still live within a few miles of the paternal home. It has been granted Mr. and Mrs. Kerlee to reap a por- tion of their harvest here and now, and, with the opti- mism that helped them over the rough places in the long ago, they appreciate now the extent of that harvest. The growing city of Darby is rapidly approaching their very gates, their ranch is all that could be desired and the voices of their sturdy grandchildren gladden their declining years.

Mrs. Bert Kerlee is the daughter of Nancy Cooper Hibber, who died in her native state of Missouri in 1872, and of William T. Hibber. Mr. Hibber was a Missouri farmer and Civil war veteran. Fight- ing for the Federal government, he was wounded in the famous battle of Vicksburg and taken pris- oner by the Confederates. For three months he lived in their stifling prisons with no food but corn bread, sorghum and mule meat. After being finally exchanged and mustered out, he returned to his Frank- lin county farm, but his wounds left him a cripple for life. Late in life he moved from Franklin to Mary's county, Missouri, where he passed away in 1905, having lived to the full-allotted age of man. Mayhap the les- sons of endurance and good cheer learned from the father, who so bravely carried the mark of his country's service, helped the daughter to face hardships of her early life in the west.

Caleb In. Sanger

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CALEB M. SAWYER. The name of Caleb M. Sawyer, of Anaconda, Montana, is one which is known, at least to lawyers, throughout the whole of the country, for he lias been engaged for the past eight years in one of the biggest legal battles that this country has ever witnessed. In this great fight, which he has led in be- half of a community of farmers against a great corpora- tion, he has been actuated solely through humanitarian- ism and a spirit that cannot endure injustice. Mr. Sawyer has been a resident of the state of Montana for nearly a quarter of a century and during his long residence in the state has given nearly the whole of his time to the practice of his profession, though he could have held various political offices had he so desired. His chief aim in life has been, not to see how much money he could pile up nor how many cases he could win regardless of the justice in the question, but how much he could aid the downtrodden and the poor. He should be known as the poor man's lawyer, for no per- son suffering under injustice calls on him for aid in vain.

A native of old New Hampshire, Mr. Sawyer was born at East Andover on the 19th of August, 1854. He is a descendant of early New Hampshire settlers, his great-grandparents having settled there in the young days of the colony. His father, Daniel E. Sawyer, was also born at East Andover. He was a well edu- cated man, beng a schoolmate of Benjamin Butler, of Civil war fame. In 1856, Daniel Sawyer moved west and settled in Minnesota. He was an ardent and indeed a rabid Republican, and after coming to the west he was elected to a number of minor offices. He was greatly interested and very active in behalf of the public schools, accomplishing a good work along these lines. On the recommendation of Benjamin Butler and of his cousin, U. S. Senator Philetus Sawyer, of Wisconsin, Mr. Sawyer was appointed superintendent of the Yellow- stone National Park by President James A. Garfield. He served under President Arthur in this capacity and two years under President Cleveland, or until the United States soldiers were placed in charge of the National Park. In his religious affiliations he was a member of the Episcopal church and he was always a loyal worker in both political and religious fields. His wife was Julia M. Gibbons, who was born in Scotland and was left an orphan at an early age.

Caleb M. Sawyer was only a baby when his father moved to the west, so, to all intents and purposes, he is a western man. He received his collegiate education at the Wesleyan Methodist Seminary at Wasioja, Dodge county, Minnesota. After the completion of his general education he was placed in the office of the Honorable F. M. Wilson at Red Wing, Minnesota, where he spent a number of years in the study of law. He was admitted to the bar of the state of Minnesota in October, 1887, and during the following year re- moved to Montana. In 1889 he was admitted to the bar in Montana. He immediately began the practice of law in Anaconda, Montana, where he has practiced ever since. He has a flourishing practice though much of his time of late years has been given to work on the case above mentioned. In 1899 he was admitted to the United States district and circuit courts for the Ninth district. Ten years later, in July, 1909, he was admitted to practice in the United States circuit court of Ap- peals and on the 12th of July, 1909, he was admitted to the United States supreme court.

Like his father, Mr. Sawyer is a stanch Republican, but he has never cared for political preferment, the only office of any kind which he has ever held, being that of city attorney for Anaconda, which post he oc- cupied for three years, from 1900 to 1903.

Mr. Sawyer, ever of progressive ideas, became one of the leaders of the Progressive movement in Montana, and was a delegate to the National Progressive Con- vention at Chicago, that nominated Col. Theodore Roose- velt for the presidency. At the state convention Mr.

Sawyer received the unanimous vote of 593 delegates for the office of attorney general of Montana. He takes considerable interest in fraternal organizations, being a member of the Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Fraternal Order of Eagles.

Mr. Sawyer was married on the 21st of February, 1876, to Zell O. Dickey, their union taking place at Pine Island, Minnesota. She was a daughter of Sylvester Dickey, and received her education in preparatory schools in Minnesota and she had so well handled her opportunities that she was able to teach school herself, which she had done very successfully for five years prior to her marriage. In 1866 her father was a mem- ber of the house of representatives in Minnesota, and at various times held many minor offices in Goodhue county, Minnesota. Mrs. Sawyer had four brothers who served throughout the Civil war; Jasper, Edgar, Joseph and W. B. Dickey. The latter was a member of the First Minnesota Regiment, and later of the Second Minnesota. He was also state senator from Goodhue county, Minnesota, for a number of terms. Mrs. Saw- yer has a nephew who has recently been in the public eye. This nephew, Bruce G. Dickey, was one of the five commissioners appointed by President Taft as financial advisers and aides to W. Morgan Shuster, when the latter was made treasurer general of Persia. He remained with Mr. Shuster until the latter was dri- ven from Persia and in Mr. Shuster's recent book, "The Strangling of Persia," he pays a tribute to the as- sistance that Mr. Dickey was able to render him. He was inspector of taxation for Persia until 1912, when he returned to this country to take charge of his father's estate, Mr. Dickey, previous to his residence in Persia, had held various posts in the Philippine Islands, un- der the appointment of different presidents. Mrs. Sawyer's father and all of her brothers were close and loyal adherents of the Republican party.

The two daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer are Bessie, who was born in October, 1877, and Bertha, whose birth took place on March, 1879. The latter is now the wife of Frank N. Heckman, who is a suc- cessful merchant in Spokane, Washington.

As has been mentioned Mr. Sawyer's strongest per- sonal characteristic is pity. He himself often speaks of luis mother's tender-heartedness, and it is very likely that he inherits this characteristic from her, for while she could only extend her charity to the feeding of dumb animals or of a stray wanderer, Mr. Sawyer has been fighting for years to save their homes and means of livelihood to hundreds of people. In the month of May, 1904, Robert L. Clinton, an attorney of Butte, Montana, and Mr. Sawyer took upon them- selves the task of saving the homes of the farmers of the Deer Lodge Valley Farmers' Association from the fumes of the Washoe smelters, which, pouring out their poisonous breath day after day, have practically de- stroyed the ranches and farms of the once rich and flourishing Deer Lodge Valley. The first fourteen months of the great fight were given to taking the testi- mony before the standing master in chancery in Butte, Montana. These two lawyers were matched against an army of the cleverest lawyers in the country, for their opponents were a corporation with untold wealth behind them. The records in this first part of the case amounted to over twenty-five thousand pages. The stenographer who took the testimony for Mr. Sawyer and his part- ner was paid over twenty-three thousand dollars, suf- ficient evidence of the enormous amount of evidence to be handled. The arguments of the opposing counsel continued for twenty days. It was then taken before the district court where twenty more days were spent in arguing the case. From this court it went to the United States circuit court of appeals for the Ninth district of the state of Montana. The court was sitting at San Francisco, and here the case was again argued. There were forty-seven days of argument in the suit

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which was finally brought into the United States supreme court, where it is now pending. The case is technically known as the Fred J. Bliss against the Washoe Copper Company and the Anaconda Copper Mining Company, and is claimed to be the biggest case ever received in the court.

The case has been notorious because of the personal interest taken in it by the president of the United States, by the attorney general, by Secretary Wilson of the agricultural department and by other prominent men. It was really the cause of the defeat of Thomas H. Carter for United States senator from Montana in 1910. This battle has not only been a legal battle but a polit- ical one as well, and is destined to become a historical one. Some idea of the immense amount of work that Mr. Sawyer has done in this case may be obtained from the fact that, in his arguments before the standing master in chancery and the United States district court, he averaged nine thousand words an hour.

Mr. Sawyer is a firm believer in the strength of the men of Montana. Being active in politics and an at- tendant at many of the state conventions of the Repub- lican party, he had an opportunity of meeting and knowing many of the finest men in the state. To one of these friends of his he gives the credit for much of his success, namely, Wilbur F. Sanders. He has said that to him he owed the solution of many a knotty problem in law and his kindly advice helped him across many hard places. He once paid Mr. Sanders the following tribute which reflects the fine character of the speaker himself: "I honored him as one of our greatest men politically, and one whose honesty and integrity were beyond question, and he who received his friendship was endowed with a greater gift than money could buy. I honored and respected him as a states- man and loved him as a citizen."

Mr. Sawyer may not receive any reward in a sub- stantial way for this great work to which he has given the best of his later years, but he will have his re- ward in the grateful thanks of a helpless people; for. although he should lose his cause, those farmers and ranchers in that gas-poisoned valley will never forget the man who putting aside his own affairs was willing and glad to do what he could to rescue them from ruin and often death, for they had sunk their all in their valley homes.

LOUIS L. CURL. In the vast extent of Montana there are sections that seem particularly well adapted to the growing of sheep and immense fortunes have been made in this industry. By no means, however, has this ever heen easily accomplished, for there are few lines of business in which knowledge gained through practical experience, good judgment and untiring vig- ilance are more demanded. Custer county, Montana, has many prosperous sheep raisers at the present time and a visit to the great sheep ranch of Louis L. Curl, where his five thousand head of sheep pasture and grow, proves that within forty miles of Miles City, this industry may be very profitably conducted. Mr. Curl came to Montana in 1888. He was born in Linn county, Oregon, January 25, 1865, and is a son of Thomas and Josephine (Ray) Curl.

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A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 23

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