A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 34

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

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Mr. Pickett is Republican in his political convictions, but has never been lured by its honors and emoluments to office seeking, his value lying in staunch private citt- zenship. He is connected with an unusually large num- ber of fraternal and social organizations. In the first place he is one of the most enthusiastic of Masons, be- longing to all the bodies of the ancient and august order and having attained to the thirtieth degree. He is entitled to wear the white-plumed helmet of the Knight Templar and, having social proclivities, he has "traveled east" with the Shriners. He now holds of- fices in several Masonic bodies. Other fraternal affili- atioris are with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Woodmen of the World, the Highlanders, the Modern Brotherhood and the Women of Wood- craft. He belongs to the Montana Club and is presi- dent of the Commercial Club of Helena. In the matter of religious conviction he is a Unitarian, belonging to the church and taking an active part in its good enter- prises, as well as being one of the church trustees. He belongs to the state board of education, which is most appropriate, for no one more fully recognizes the value to a community of the best educational opportunities possible or has labored more strenuously to secure the same.

On October 27, 1888, Mr. Pickett established an in- dependent household by marriage, his chosen lady being Miss Annie Glass, daughter of William Glass and a native of Michigan. Their union was celebrated at Cooperstown, North Dakota, and it has been blessed with three children. Natie Theo., born in Cooperstown, North Dakota, is the wife of D. R. Sloan and resides at Big Timber, Montana. Kenneth W., born at Coopers- town, and Ruth, whose life record began in Helena, are still members of the parental household, which is located at 805 East Sixth avenue and which is one of the most attractive and hospitable of Helena's many delightful homes.

Mr. Pickett on both paternal and maternal sides is of English extraction. He is a man of strong con- victions, fearless in defense of what he believes to be right and his name has long been a synonym for hon- orable business dealing. This, combined with native kindliness and genial manners, serves to make him one of the most popular, as well as one of the most suc- cessful and enterprising of Helena's citizens.

WILLIAM D. RUMSEY. Butte, Montana, forms a par- ticularly prolific field for the high class mining engineer and surveyor, and among those who are engaged in that honorable and lucrative department of effort at this point William D. Rumsey has a prominent place. Mr. Rum- sey, who is a native of Buffalo, New York, was born March 24, 1856, and being left an orphan when a small child was taken into the home of an uncle, with whom he resided during his boyhood years. When eight years old his uncle went to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, taking the lad with him. He had made a start in school at Buf- falo and continued to acquire an education in the pub- lic schools of LaCrosse upon his arrival in that city.

Later he entered the Shattuck Military school at Faribault, Minnesota, and prepared for college. He selected as his alma mater the Nebraska College at Ne- braska city, at that time one of the leading institutions of learning in the west, and took a complete scientific

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course there, graduating with high honors. Having finished his education Mr. Rumsey started out on his active business career and had many experiences in various capacities before he finally settled down to the prosecution of his professional work as a mining engineer and surveyor and in which he has achieved so much success.

Leaving college he went directly to LaCrosse, his home city, and connected himself with a wholesale hard- ware firm, starting to learn the business at the bottom of the ladder and climbing up with rapidity until he had attained the best position the firm had to offer and for a number of years acted as their traveling representative. All told, Mr. Rumsey was eight years in the employ of this firm, but at two different periods. During that time he spent one year in Texas, in the year 1876, when he undertook to deliver dispatches for the engi- neering corps on the Texas Pacific Railroad, before the track was built from Dallas west.

Not desiring to continue permanently at that occupa- tion Mr. Rumsey resigned his position on the road and turned his attention to telephone construction work, and secured an appointment as assistant to the superintendent of the company's state construction work, with head- quarters at Madison. Having heard of the splendid opportunities afforded young men in the Treasure state, he thought he might like to locate here, but before doing so decided to make a trip of investigation and accord- ingly went to Helena and looked over the field from that point. He was not quite ready to settle there per- manently, however, and after a few months went back to Minneapolis and took a position with the Coolidge Fuel & Supply Company, as purchasing agent in the timber department for that firm's contract with the Soo Rail- road. His territory in this work extended along the line of construction from Menominee river to Sault Ste. Marie.

The lure of the west was in Mr. Rumsey's veins since his short sojourn at Helena, so in 1889 he decided to locate in Montana and went to the capital city, and remained there four years. In 1893 he arrived in Butte, opened up offices here and has ever since been one of the most prominent residents of this thriving city. Mr. Rumsey is a man of highly developed public spirit and the state of Montana owes much to his energy and en- terprise. It was he who took upon himself the task of securing data for a correct map of the state of Mon- tana, for publication by the Rand & McNally Company, and to him also belongs the honor and distinction of having made the first maps of Lewis & Clark, Galla- tin, Meagher and other counties of the state. He also most generously supplied the necessary funds for pub- lishing the book entitled Pictorial Helena, which proved such an artistic and effective advertisement feature for that city. He is untiring in his zeal to forward any movement which will redound to the credit of Montana or any of its cities or towns, and is a citizen of whom the state may justly feel proud.

While a believer in the principles embraced in the platform of the Republican party, he takes no active part in political affairs. He performs his duties as a citizen independently and intelligently and is a potent factor in all good works of interest to the community in which he resides. He was reared in colleges of the Episcopal church and contributes liberally to its benevo- lences. His favorite sport is hunting, and he is a lover of high class entertainments, such as the best theatrical performances and music of the best quality. His ac- quaintance throughout the state is extensive and he is held in the highest respect and esteem by all with whom he comes in contact.

WILLIAM N. LINTZ was born March 23, 1869, at Con- stantine, Michigan. He attended the public and high schools until he was eighteen years of age, but helped his father on the farm until he was twenty. When he

came to Montana in 1889 his first employment was for Clark Brothers in Leeton county, now Chouteau county, on their sheep ranch. He remained one season, and then went to Mr. George Miller's dairy ranch in the same county. He was there one season and then set- tled on the north fork of Sun river as a ranchman for himself. He began on a very small scale, was fairly successful, continued for seven years and then sold out and came to Augusta, Montana. Here he began an implement and machinery business, which he continued for two years, and then sold out and became manager for the Augusta Mercantile Company, remaining there nearly two years. He then went to Conrad, Montana, as manager for the H. E. Brockman Mercantile Store, remaining nearly two years. At the end of this time he went to Great Falls, Montana, as chief clerk for the Bee Hive Mercantile Company, and was with that company nearly two years. Removing then to Big Hall Basin, he took charge of the J. P. Lossel & Company dry goods store and was engaged there for eighteen months. In the spring of 1908 he came to Deer Lodge and opened a gentlemen's furnishing, clothing and shoe store on Main street. He has been very successful and his store is modern and up-to-date.

Mr. Lintz is in politics a Progressive. He was secre- tary of the Democratic Central Committee of Lewis and Clark county. Fraternally he belongs to the W. O. W., in which he has held all chairs, and to the M. W. of A. and the L. O. O. M., being treasurer of the last. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity. He is secretary of the Business Men's Association and trustee of the State Merchants' Association. He is owner of city realty.

Mr. Lintz has no one to thank for his successful life and he even earned the money for the cost of his edu- cation. He is progressive in every sense of the word, and is highly respected and prosperous.

He married Miss Mary E. Doty, of Constantine, Michigan, his birthplace, September 26, 1896. They have four children, Ray D., who is in the public schools, Garnet A., Helen and Louise.

The father of the subject of this sketch, George Lintz, is a native of Germany and is a farmer of Con- stantine, Michigan. His mother was Miss Rebecca Martin, who was a native of Indiana. There were six children in the parents' household: Ledah, now Mrs. Harry Young, of Constantine, Michigan; Charles E., a farmer of Constantine; Lillie, now Mrs. William Hoffman, of Craig. Montana; John P., a mechanic of Detroit, Michigan ; George M., a farmer of Constantine.

Mr. Lintz deserves the success he has gained by ability, energy, industry and integrity. There is no man who stands higher and represents more than he in the Business Men's Association.

ALFRED WHITWORTH. Since 1889 Alfred Whitworth has been engaged in the drug business in the city of Deer Lodge, Montana, and the years have told the tale of an eminently successful career, due to innate talent as a pharmacist and to unusual enterprise and initiative as a business man. Mr. Whitworth has ever manifested a deep and sincere interest in community affairs and he has ever been on the alert and enthu- siastically in sympathy with all movements projected for the good of the general welfare.

Alfred Whitworth was born in Lancashire, England, March 16, 1865, and he is a son of Jeffrey and Sarah (Boyd) Whitworth, both of whom were born in Eng- land in 1839. The father came to America with his family in 1866, and settled in Salt Lake City, Utah. His wife, who still survives him. yet resides there. Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Whitworth became the parents of three children,-Frank E. is a prominent druggist in Salt Lake City; Violet is a popular and successful teacher in the public schools of Salt Lake City; and Alfred is the immediate subject of this review.

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An infant of but one year of age at the time of his arrival in the United States, Alfred Whitworth was reared to maturity in Salt Lake City. He received his educational training in St. Marks Episcopal School, the only institution of learning in that place in those early days outside of Mormon schools. The first work he performed for wages, was as office boy in the of- fice of Philip T. Van Zile, then prosecuting attorney for Utah territory. At the age of thirteen years he took up the study of pharmacy, and he resided in Salt Lake City as a drug clerk until 1885, when he went to Hailey, Idaho, where he was employed as a druggist for the ensuing two years, at the expiration of which he came to Montana, locating in Deer Lodge, here working as a drug clerk for the next eighteen months. On July 1, 1889, he decided to launch forth in the drug business on his own account and on that date opened a store which now ranks as one of the oldest of its kind in Deer Lodge. His business has increased steadily in the scope of its operations and the drug store is as finely equipped in every particular as any that can be found in many of the large eastern cities.

In politics 'Mr. Whitworth is a stanch supporter of Republican principles. He served for six years as a member of the State Board of Pharmacy, under ap- pointments of ex-Governor Richards and ex-Governor Toole. His strict application to business and up-to- date methods, as coupled with a gentlemanly and genial disposition, are the prime reasons for the splendid suc- cess achieved by Mr. Whitworth. In fraternal circles he is affiliated with the Woodmen of the World and with the time-honored Masonic order, having been master of Deer Lodge, No. 14, of the latter organiza- tion in 1892 and 1908, high priest of Valley chapter No. 4, Royal Arch Masons, for five years; and poten- tate of Algeria Temple (Helena), Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, in 1906. In religious matters the family are devout communi- cants of the Protestant Episcopal church, in the dif- ferent departments of whose work they have ever been most zealous factors.

On June 30, 1897, at Deer Lodge, Mr. Whitworth was united in marriage to Miss May E. Wollfolk, a daughter of Rev. L. Wollfolk, a pioneer preacher of the Baptist faith in Helena, Montana. Mr. and Mrs. Whitworth have two children, Dorothy and Walton Marshall, who are attending school in Deer Lodge. Mr. Whitworth's chief pleasure is in automobiling with his wife and family. The attractive family home is located at No. 702 Milwaukee avenue, and is a cen- ter of refinement and generous hospitality.

JOSEPH S. BILYEU. There are numerous instances in the history of Montana where men whose educational advantages have been extremely limited, rise above their associates through sheer native ability and strong will. A man who has attained much more than local reputa- tion in the cattle business is Joseph S. Bilyeu, of Wib- aux, who, handicapped in youth by lack of schooling, identified himself with stock raising, and through per- sistent industry won for himself a place among the leading ranchers of Dawson county. Mr. Bilyen was born in Christian county, Illinois, February 27, 1863, and is a son of Sampson and Sarah (Workman) Bil- yen, natives of that county. Sampson Bilyeu died in 1866 when twenty-eight years of age, while his widow survived him until 1887 and passed away in her fortieth year. They had two sons, Joseph S. and Jackson, the latter of whom died when twenty-eight years old.

Joseph S. Bilyeu was only three years old when his father died and was taken at that time to Kansas by his mother. He attended school only a very short time, as it was necessary that he go to work to earn his own living at an early age, and when he was only fourteen he became a cowboy. For some time he worked in Kansas, the Indian territory and Texas, and in 1880

came up the trail to Ogallala, Nebraska, which at that time was a large shipping point. In the spring of 1883 he went overland to Oregon, with the outfit of E. S. Newman, who had purchased 25,000 head of cattle, and after assisting to brand these animals followed the trail over the mountains to the Powder river, in Custer county, Montana, with the Newman outfit, the journey taking about four months. During the summer and fall of 1885 he drove cattle through to Medora, Billings county, North Dakota, to the slaughter house of Mar- cus DeMorse, making three trips in all, and in Janu- ary, 1886, engaged with Sanborn & Loud as foreman, continuing with this concern until the fall of 1888. At that time he went down the trail to Utah for Joseph Scott, owner of the H-S outfit, and there rounded up a band of cattle which he drove overland to Powder river, and in the spring of 1889 came to Wibaux. He subsequently went down the trail for H. S. Boin to receive 3,000 head of Texas cattle, driving them over- land to Dawson and Custer counties, and in the spring of 1890 became manager of the O-X outfit of Towers & Gudgel, who had about 35,000 head of cattle. Mr. Bilyeu continued to hold this position until the firm of Towers & Gudgel ceased operations in 1899, when he purchased a band of cattle and embarked in the business on his own account. He has continued to en- gage in the business to the present time and has had at different times as high as 3,000 head. Through en- ergy, ability and close application, Mr. Bilyeu has achieved success, and he may take a pardonable pride in the fact that whatever he has attained has come as a result of his own efforts. Although his schooling was limited, close observation and study have made him a well informed man, able to converse intelligently on all the leading topics of the day, and with a broad gent- eral knowledge. In political matters he is a Democrat, but public life has never appealed to him, and his cattle interests have received his entire attention.

On December 23, 1894, Mr. Bilyeu was married to Miss Lucy Wills, daughter of Simpson Murry and Sallie P. (Warrener) Wills, natives of Clark and Bath counties, Kentucky, respectively. Mr. Wills is known as one of the leading owners and breeders of standard-bred horses and cattle in eastern Montana and as one of the leading citizens of Wibaux. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bilyeu, one of whom died in infancy, the others being Marie and Beatrice.

LOUIS ARNOLD. For a score of years Mr. Arnold's name has been a well known one among the retail shoe dealers of Helena, as he has conducted one of the principal stores in that line of the retail business since- 1889. It was in that year that he came to this country from Giessen, the State University city of Hesse Darmstadt, Germany. He was not twenty-five at the time, as he was born on May 2, 1865, but he was pre- pared for the matter he undertook. After attending the public school in his native town he was appren- ticed to a manufacturer of boots and shoes, and al- though when he came to Helena he could not speak the English language, he did know shoes and shoe- leather, from the tan-yard to the ash heap. So it came about that he made a success of his store, and had it not been for the depression of 1893 he would probably have experienced nothing but prosperity in his busi- ness career. Some unfortunate investments involved him in financial difficulties in that time when hard times were general and he was obliged to close his store for a time. However, he was a man who could lose money without losing nerve, for he realized that he had lost nothing of the powers by which money is made, and he set himself to work at once to retrieve his loss. Al- most immediately he started up again, and from that time his prosperity has been uninterrupted. He carries an excellent stock, and his store is one of the city's very best.

дочерь в Влучи

yours Truly Leur Davis

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HISTORY OF MONTANA

John Arnold, the father of Louis, was a farmer who passed his life in the land of Germany, where he was born in 1821. He ended his earthly pilgrimage in 1884, and his devoted wife, Mary Hellering Arnold, mourned him for six years before she joined him in the other world, at the age of seventy-two. Louis was the youngest of the family, which consisted of one daugh- ter, Susan, and three sons, John, Henry and Louis.

Mr. Arnold believes in the preservation of the ideals and the customs of the Fatherland, realizing that a man will be all the more loyal to the land of his adoption if he treasures his heritage from that of his birth. He belongs to the Sons of Hermann and to the Germania Verein, of which he is treasurer. The Woodmen of the World is the only lodge with which he is affiliated. He is an attendant of the Lutheran church, and a member of that denomination. In polit- ical views he holds with the Socialists. This party has derived the most of its doctrine from the great German leaders, and it has been a potent influence in German statecraft. We are indebted to the Socialists for some of our best ideas on child labor, and the care for the dependent, and old age, and while it seems doubtful if their doctrines would be practicable in toto, their leaven is valuable, and they number in their ranks some of our best citizens. Mr. Arnold is un- married, and he is not greatly devoted to society, His favorite diversion is hunting, or perhaps fishing, which is a sport for a philosophic individual.

LEVI DAVIS. The abstract and title business is one of vast importance, affecting as it does the ownership of lands, and no stable settlement of any section could he brought about without its assistance. A well-known business man along this line in Montana is Levi Davis, who has the honor of having put out the first set of abstracts in Montana and is the principal owner of the Montana Abstract and Title Insurance Company, which he established at Butte in 1900 and still conducts. Mr. Davis was born in Henry county, Indiana, November 29, 1841, and is a son of Neziah and Tamar (Brown) Davis.

Neziah Davis was born in Grayson county, Virginia, and his wife, in Ohio, the families on both sides dat- ing back to Quaker ancestors who came to America with William Penn. Neziah Davis was a miller by trade and followed that occupation after moving to Indiana, but after settling in Iowa, in 1857, engaged in farming until his death, in 1863, when aged fifty-six years. His widow survived until 1894.

Levi Davis attended school in Indiana and later in Iowa and in the class of 1863 was graduated from the Iowa State University. Afterward he taught school for four years and in the meanwhile applied himself to the study of law, in 1871 being admitted to the bar. For the next eight years he practiced law at Sac City, Iowa, and retired from practice in order to ac- cept the position of cashier in the Sac County Bank, where he continued until 1887. Being threatened with a breakdown in health, he resigned his bank office and went to California and there engaged in out-door work on a fruit farm for one year, which method completely restored him. In November, 1889, Mr. Davis came to Montana, locating at Deer Lodge, where he went into the abstract business and remained until 1896, when he removed to Anaconda and from there, in 1900, to Butte, where he is numbered with the representative busi- ness men and the reliable citizens.

Since coming to Montana Mr. Davis has taken no active part in politics and has never sought office here. In Iowa he was quite active in public affairs and served as county superintendent of schools in Marshall county, and in Sac county was county clerk and county re- corder, chairman of the board of school directors and for more than ten years was treasurer of Sac City. He cast his maiden vote for Abraham Lincoln for presi- Vol. 111 -- 8

dent and in national affairs has been a Republican ever since, preserving his party fealty during the threatened party disruption on the silver issue, although in Mon- tana that was an unpopular stand to take at that time.

In 1865 Mr. Davis was united in marriage with Miss Helen V. Criss, who was born in Illinois and died in 1897, in Montana. She is survived by three children, namely: Nettie, who is the wife of J. W. Smurr; Arthur E., who is a graduate of the Montana School of Mines, is now a ranchman but until recently was in business with his father; and Jesse E., who is in the fire insurance business at Seattle, Washington. Mr. Davis was married (second) to Miss Martha K. Hance, who was born in Ohio. They attend the Christian Science church. Although Mr. Davis has reached his seventieth year, he is hale, hearty and vigorous, the type of man who exemplifies in his person and in his preservation of every faculty the value of temperance and wholesome living, to which he attributes his health and consequent happiness.

HERMAN A. TOWLE is senior member of the well- known jewelry concern of Towle, Winterhalter & Hanafin, which is located in Butte, and which was in- corporated under the laws of the state of Montana in 1908. The jewelry establishment conducted by this company is one of the finest of its kind in the entire northwest and controls an enormous trade. Mr. Towle holds prestige as one of the prominent and influential citizens of Butte, where he is esteemed by all with whom he has come in contact and where his sterling integrity of character has won him the entire confi- dence of his business associates.

A native of the fine old Hoosier state of the Union, Herman A. Towle was born at Mishawaka, St. Joseph county, Indiana, the date of his birth being the 24th of October, 1861. He is a son of Samuel Sargent and Charlotte Simons (Leroy) Towle, both of whom are now deceased. The father was born in Lockport, New York, in 1809, and in 1835 removed from the Empire state to Mishawaka, Indiana, where he devoted a num- ber of years to the tanning business. During the latter years of his life he was a prominent and prosperous farmer and he was called to eternal rest in 1875, at the age of sixty-five years. The mother passed away in 1888.

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A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 34

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