A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 38

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

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In politics Mr. Traufler accords an uncompromising support to the principles and policies for which the Democratic party stands sponsor. In 1908 he was hon- ored by his fellow citizens with election to the office of sheriff of Madison county and he was re-elected to that position two years later, being incumbent thereof at the present time, in 1912. As a city official he is conscien- tious and public-spirited and does all in his power to carry out the wishes of his constituents. He is fond of hunting and fishing as recreation and is known as a great baseball fan. He is the owner of a fine auto- mobile and makes many extensive tours of the country in his car. In lauding his home state, he says: "You can't beat Montana-I'll put it up against the world. I have seen the whole United States and I like Montana best of all." Mr. Traufler is a valued and appreciative member of the time-honored Masonic order and he is likewise affiliated with the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He is a man of broad mind and generous impulses, at no time turning down an opportunity to assist those who have been less fortunate in a worldly way than himself. He is a worthy, substantial citizen and one of whom Virginia City has every reason to be. proud. Mr. Traufler is unmarried.

J. PETER MONDLOCH. One of the leading contractors and builders in Butte is Mr. J. Peter Mondloch, a na- tive of Belgium, Ozaukee county, Wisconsin, where he was born on January 12, 1852. He obtained a good district school education in his native county, and then learned the carpenter trade in the shop of Michael Shubert at Hancock, Michigan, where he passed three years, and after mastering his trade in all its details he remained at Hancock, in the copper regions of Michi- gan, to work at the trade on his own account. He remained at Hancock twenty-two years, then came to Butte in 1889. After he arrived in that city he did job work for a time for contractors, and then again set up for himself.

He has prospered from the beginning, and being a workman of skill and artistic taste, he has sought nothing but the best work in his line. Undertaking large contracts for the erection of fine residences and office buildings, and giving special attention to interior finish, he has so impressed the people who have had the benefit of his services that he is generally re- garded as one of the finest and most skillful carpen- ters and wood worker in the city.

His father, John Mondloch, was born and reared in Luxemburg, Germany, and came to the United States in his young manhood. He located at Belgium, Wis- consin, where he became well known and rose to lo- cal prominence. When he arrived in the state, that part in which he took up his residence was yet a howling wilderness, and he helped to redeem it from the wild, smooth its rough face into some semblance of civilization and lay the foundations of its civll, edu- cational and religious institutions. In business he was a shoe merchant until his death, which occurred in Hancock, Michigan, in 1895, when he was sixty-four years of age. The mother's maiden name was Anna Trauffler. She, also, was a native of Luxemburg, and

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came to this country with her parents when she was a young girl. She was married to Mr. Mondloch. in Belgium, Wisconsin, and they became the parents of four children, two sons and two daughters, three of whom are living: J. Peter, the immediate subject of this brief review; Susan, who is now the wife of John Weber and resides in Hancock, Michigan; and Caroline, who also has her home at Hancock.

Mr. Mondloch was married in Hancock, Michigan, in 1883, to Miss Kathrine Cook. Nine children have been born of the union, one dying in infancy and the others being: Anna, whose life began in Hancock; Mary, who came into being at Jericho, Wisconsin; and Edward, Leona, Lorin, Reta, Estelle and Dorothy, all of whom were born in Butte, Montana. Reta died in 1903, at the age of six years. Lorin, Estelle and Dor- othy are students in the high school in Butte.

Mr. Mondloch takes part in the fraternal life of his community as a member of the Yeomen of Amer- ica, and is also a charter member of Carpenters' As- sociation in Butte. In politics he is independent, be- stowing his suffrage on the candidates he deems best fitted for the offices to be filled and most likely to look first to the welfare of the city, county and state, and without regard to partisan considerations. In church connection he is a devout Catholic, with a cordial in- terest in his religious organization and effective and unflagging zeal in its service. He is a man of integ- rity, not only in business affairs, but in relation to all the affairs of life.

JOHN Z. CLEM, who is most successfully engaged in the real estate, insurance and abstracting business in Virginia City, Montana, was born in Washington county, Maryland, November 30, 1862, and he is a son of Luke and Susan (Barkman) Clem, the former of whom was born in Virginia and the latter in Maryland. Luke Clem · was reared to maturity in the Old Do- minion state and as a young man went to Maryland, where was solemnized his marriage and whence he and his family removed to Doniphan county, Kansas, about the year 1876. He served in the Union army until after the battle of Antietam and participated in many important engagements marking the progress of that great conflict, until his honorable discharge, in 1863, as the result of a disease contracted that affected his right knee. During the greater part of his active career he was engaged in agricultural operations in Doniphan county, Kansas, and there his demise oc- curred in October 1905, at the age of seventy-six years. His cherished and devoted wife passed to the life eternal in February, 1895, aged sixty-three years. They became the parents of nine children, of whom John Z. was the fourth in order of birth.

In 1876, at the age of fourteen years, John Z. Clem accompanied his parents from Washington county, Mary- land, to Kansas, where he completed his preliminary educational training in the district schools of Doni- phan county. Subsequently he attended and was grad- uated from the commercial department of the Campbell Normal University, at Holton, Kansas, and thereafter he taught school in various cities in Kansas for the ensuing eight years, at the expiration of which, in 1889, he came to Montana, settling in Melrose, where he taught for the next three years. In 1892 he lo- cated in Sheridan and there conducted a hotel and en- gaged in mining operations until 1901, when he was appointed deputy county clerk. At this time he es- tablished his residence at Virginia City, the county seat of Madison county, and in 1902 he was elected county clerk, in which office he served with the utmost effi- ciency for three successive terms. After retiring from the office of county clerk, in 1909, he opened offices in Virginia City and established his present real estate, insurance and abstracting business. With the passage of time he has succeeded in building up a large and lucrative trade and he has met with unlimited success in his different lines of enterprise.

Mr. Clem was married, in Butte, Montana, De- cember 24, 1891, to Miss Rose A. Darby, who was born in Alder Gulch, near Virginia City, and who is a daughter of Patrick and Catherine Darby, prominent residents of Virginia City. Mr. and Mrs. Clem are the parents of two boys, namely, Byron L. and John G., both of whom are attending school. In their reli- gious faith the Clem family are Lutherans and Mrs. Clem is an active worker in behalf of all that affects the good of her church.

Fraternally Mr. Clem is affiliated with the time- honored Masonic order and has been master of the blue lodge at both Sheridan and Virginia City. He is a valued and appreciative member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Mrs. Clem is connected with the Order of the Eastern Star, in which she is past worthy matron. In politics Mr. Clem is a stalwart supporter of the principles and policies promulgated by the Republican party, in the local councils of which he has long been an active worker. He is chairman of the Republican central committee of Madison county and is likewise a member of the state central committee. In public life his service has been limited to the office of county clerk but his friends predict high political honors for him in the future. When celebrations are held in Vir- ginia City he has been called upon to act as marshal. He is fond of baseball and athletic sports in general and makes regular trips into the mountains for hunting and fishing. He says: "Montana has a great future along agricultural lines and so far as mineral wealth is con- cerned we have just scratched the surface. The future development in all channels will be astonishing." Mr. Clem is recognized as a citizen of sterling integrity of character and high business principles. His life has been exemplary in all respects and he is honored and esteemed by all with whom he has come in contact.

E. FRANK CROSBY. A busy helpful useful boyhood, under a practical and hard working father, served to develop many a youth into reliable and independent manhood, and this discipline seldom failed to produce men of physical strength and sane and sober ideas con- cerning the responsibilities of life, if, as in the case of E. Frank Crosby, one of the leading citizens and promi- nent sheep men of Custer county, Montana, the father was wise, judicious and fatherly. E. Frank Crosby was born in Adams county, Wisconsin, September 1, 1852, and is a son of Edward and Fidelia (Bailey) Crosby, and a grandson of Joshua and Nancy (Johnson) Crosby. The Crosbys came to America at an early day, three brothers, Simon, Solomon and Joshua Crosby, being the pioneers, and they were born either in Ireland or Scotland.

Edward Crosby was born in the state of New York, in 1820. He was a young man when he started out to seek his fortune in the great West that then was par- tially an untraveled wilderness, and about 1830 stopped in the little border settlement in the Illinois swamp that has developed into one of the great centers of the world, the magnificent city of Chicago. Then the Indian trader's store was the most conspicuous building and it required remarkable foresight to see in the marshy lands surrounding it any promise of future development. Mr. Crosby pushed farther west and after reaching Jeffer- son county, Wisconsin, decided to stop there, clearing up a virgin tract of land and placing it under cultivation and also engaging in lumbering. He married Fidelia Bailey, the daughter of another settler, who had come from Pennsylvania, and afterward moved to Adams county. There he repeated his former activities, clear- ing up wild land and lumbering and then disposed of this property and moved to Dunn county, where for the third time he cleared land and put it into favorable con- dition for successful farming. In 1880 Edward Crosby removed to Brookings county, South Dakota, where he entered a homestead and also a timber claim, and there

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the remaining five years of his life were spent. He was the second son in a large family born to his parents, five sons and two daughters surviving to marry and rear families of their own. His father, Joshua Crosby, was born in New York and possibly was a grandson of one of the original settlers. His mother, Nancy Johnson, was born in England. To Edward and Fidelia Crosby eleven children were born, eight of whom reached maturity and seven of these survive, namely: E. Frank; Edward, who lives in Wisconsin; Susan, who is the wife of Jacob Giles, living in Minnesota; Darwin, who is a resident of Michigan; Nellie, who is the wife of William Hoffman, living in Dakota; George, whose home is at Ekalaka, Montana; and Belle, who is the wife of August Schiebe, a farmer in Wisconsin.

E. Frank Crosby had but indifferent school advantages, as his father required assistance in his enterprises, but the youth attended during the winter sessions whenever possible and laid a good foundation. He grew up strong and robust else he could never have endured the hard work incident to lumbering in the Wisconsin for- ests year after year. For seven summers he was on the log drive and became so expert in the dangerous busi- ness of riding logs on the great rafts annually sent down the river that his name became known from one end of the stream to the other. Much to his surprise, in 1876 he was invited to attend the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia and enter the log-driving contest arranged as an educational feature, but did not accept. He was just twenty-one years of age when he entered a home- stead for himself, in Dunn county, Wisconsin, which he held until 1878, when he sold and located a tree claim and also a homestead in Brookings county, South Dakota, and in 1889 was interested also in the mercantile business in Hamilton county, Dakota, after which he came to Custer county, Montana. He selected a beau- tiful site on Powder river, forty miles southeast of Miles City, where he and family have an ideal summer home. Like other successful men in Montana, he has been in- terested extensively in horses, cattle and sheep, the latter being his main industry at present. When he first went into the horse business he drove them overland by way of the Black Hills over the government trail of 500 miles and also bought cattle and drove his herds over the trail and continued in this business for about five years. Afterward he engaged in the cattle busi- ness on the range, later gradually adding sheep and the prosperity which has attended him in all these industries and undertakings justifies his friends in numbering him with Custer county's progressive and solid men.

On November 17, 1873, Mr. Crosby was married to Miss Martha J. Davis, who was born in Wisconsin, and is a daughter of Elias H. and Mary Ann (Alex- ander) Davis. The father of Mrs. Crosby was born in Michigan and afterward was one of the pioneeers in Adams county, Wisconsin, where he engaged in farm- ing and hotel keeping, later moving to Dunn county and in 1878 moved to Brookings county, South Da- kota. There he lost his wife, whose native country was Ireland, and after that affliction he came to Miles City, Montana, and made his home with Mr. and Mrs. Crosby until his death, which occurred in 1906. Of his four children Mrs. Crosby was the second born.

Mr. and Mrs. Crosby have had eight children born to them, namely: Emmett, who married Clara Wil- liams; Harvey, who married Lizzie Doonan; Libbie, who is the wife of L. D. Brown, residing at Concord, New Hampshire; Sylvia, who is the wife of Lee Newell, of Custer county, Montana; Montie, who mar- ried Flora Yates, is a resident of Custer county ; William, who lives in Rosebud county, Montana; and Bessie and Carsie, who live at home. Mr. Crosby is a Knight Templar Mason, having membership in Yel- lowstone Lodge, No. 26, A. F. & A. M .; Miles City Chapter, No. 14; and Miles Commandery No. 11, and Mrs. Crosby and Miss Bessie are members of Custer Chapter, No. 25, O. E. S. In politics Mr. Crosby is an

independent Republican. The first public office he ever held was that of township assessor in Otter Creek township, Dunn county, Wisconsin. He afterward was deputy sheriff in Hamilton county, Dakota. In 1900 was elected assessor of Custer county, Montana, and was reelected in 1902 and in this campaign ran far ahead of his ticket, leading even President Roosevelt in the county. In 1904 he was again reelected to the same office.

CONSTANT RIMBOUD. Among Butte's industries there is probably none other whose product ranks with the very highest class in the country as does that of the steam cleaning and dye plants conducted by Constant Rimboud. He has at different times for twenty-five years been a resident of Butte, coming to the city first in 1889. His connection with his present line of busi- ness began in his native country of France about a third of a century ago, and during the intervening years he has not only kept fully abreast of the prog- ress and improvement therein, but has himself introduced a number of innovations that have materially con- tributed to the present highly developed state of this industry.

As previously mentioned, Mr. Rimboud is a native of France, having been born at Savoie, near the Switzer- land line, on the 15th of September, 1859, a son of Francois and Helen (Rimboud) Rimboud, both of whom are now deceased. The parents were both born in France, where they passed their lives, the father dy- ing in 1879, and the mother surviving until 1899. Francois Rimboud followed the business of a farmer for a number of years. Concerning his family, but two are living at the present time, namely: Edward, who is a prominent farmer and hotel keeper in France, and Constant, the immediate subject of this review.

Constant Rimboud was reared to manhood under the invigorating influence of the old homestead farm in France and attended the neighboring schools until he had reached the age of twelve years. At that time he went to work as a farm hand and continued as such for the ensuing eight years. When about the age of twenty he went to Paris and there began to learn the trade of a dyer. He remained there about two'years, during which he improved his time in the way of learning the business which has proven the foundation of his subsequent success.

Believing that the United States afforded a better op- portunity for one of his limited means, he concluded to try his fortunes in that country. He came to America in 1885, and at once proceeded to Eureka, Nevada, where he was employed at various occupa- tions for the next three years. Leaving there, he went to Sacramento, California, and from that city went to Tacoma, Washington, and in 1889 came to Butte. Three years later he removed to Helena, Montana, and there establishing the Parisian Dye Works, which he conducted with admirable success for the next six years. Eventually disposing of his interests in Helena, he returned to Butte in 1898. and from this place went to Anaconda. In 1900 he disposed of his business in that city and again became a resident of Butte, where he has since remained and now controls the most ex- tensive business in his line in this section of the country.

On the 12th of September, 1902, Mr. Rimboud was married in Butte to Mme. Maria Paumie, the widow of C. Paumie, who for many years was prominently identified with the business interests of Butte, and with his wife, now Mrs. Rimboud, established the Parisian Dye Works in that city. The superior knowledge of the business, combined with the excellent qualifications of both Mr. and Mrs. Rimboud form a combination that has placed their interests among the most sub- stantial in Butte. This comprises not only the original plant of the Parisian Dve Works, at 60 West Galena street, in the Paumie block, but a branch house at 23

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East Quartz street. Mr. and Mrs. Rimboud have no children, but Mrs. Rimboud, by her former marriage, has a son and a daughter, the latter, Yvonne Paumie, being connected with the Parisian Dye Works. The son, Camille, is now head of the Regal Cleaning & Dying Company, of Salt Lake City.

In politics Mr. Rimboud is not allied with any par- ticular organization, voting for the best men and measures regardless of any political affiliation. In re- ligious matters both he and his wife are devout mem- bers of the Roman Catholic church, in the various departments of whose work they are most zealous fac- tors.

HENRY G. RICKERTS, agent of the Diamond Coal and Coke Company at Butte, is a native of Pomeroy, Meigs county, Ohio, where his life began on April 20, 1870. His parents, John L. and Lucy (Hauser) Rickerts, were born in Germany and came to the United States at early ages with their parents. They were married in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and later removed to Pomeroy, Ohio, the father dying in that city in 1889, at the age of sixty-five years. The mother died at Helena, Montana, in 1901, aged seventy-five. The father first lived in Philadelphia after his arrival in this country, but some years after leaving school moved to the Ohio city named, in which he conducted a flourishing bakery until his death.

Henry G. Rickerts graduated from the Pomeroy high school in 1888, and almost immediately afterward se- cured the office of assistant postmaster in his home city. His tenure of this office lasted only eight months, as he was called to it to fill an unexpired term. When he gave it up he was compelled by the death of his father to seek another engagement at once. He then secured a position as clerk and salesman in a Pomeroy clothing store, which he filled for a period of five months.

By the end of that time the persuasive voice of the great west, which he had heard with attention for some years, became irresistible, and he yielded to it, coming to Montana and locating at Elkhorn in Jefferson county in 1889. There he worked for a brother-in-law, who had a general store, three years, making a good im- pression on the people and winning such general pub- lic confidence and esteem that he became a favorite with them for the office of district clerk of Jefferson county. He was prevailed on to accept the nomination / for this office on the Democratic ticket and was elected to it. The term was four years in extent and at the end of it he was reelected for another, but he filled out only about half of this one.

In 1898 he was offered the nomination for the office of clerk of the supreme court, and agreed to take it. After his nomination he resigned the old office to make the race for the new one, and in this he was success- ful also. He filled the office to the end of the term of six years, then, in 1905, was made temporary cus- todian of the law library. He worked on the Helena Record until December of that year, and in the mean- time was also actively employed by the Amalgamated Copper Company. After leaving his position with the Helena paper he devoted his time exclusively to the service of the Amalgamated Copper Company until 1907, when he came to Butte to take the management of the Diamond Coal and Coke Company, a subsidiary of the Amalgamated Copper Company, and this posi- tion he has been filling ever since.

On September 2, 1903, Mr. Rickerts was married in Ilelena, this state, to Miss Louise Schleider, of that citv. They have one child, Helen Louise.

Mr. Rickerts takes an active part in the social and fraternal life of his community. He belongs to Silver Bow Lodge in the Order of Elks, the Silver Bow Club of Butte. and the Lambs Club of Helena. He is a Knight Templar Mason and a member of the Temple of the Mystic Shrine in Helena.

AMos M. FLUENT. Born and reared to the age of twelve years in one of the populous and progressive counties of the great Empire state, then passing thir- teen additional years in Iowa, one of the imposing agricultural states of the Middle West, and afterward mingling with human life as it is seen in all its pictur- esque and voluminous variety in North Dakota and Montana, Amos E. Fluent, secretary of the Miners' and Smelters' Union of Butte, has had a much more comprehensive and many-sided observation of Amer- ican manhood, its industries and its products, than comes within the range of most men's experience.

Mr. Fluent was born in Bath, Steuben county, New York, on March 13, 1857, and remained there until 1869, attending a public school from the time when he was old enough to start until the family left that part of the country. He is a son of Amos B. and Matilda Emerson (Butler) Fluent, natives, also, of the state of New York, the former born in 1814. They were married in their native state, and engaged in farming there until the loud-sounding voice of the mighty west called them to its fruitful fields with the promise of better returns for their labor. In 1869 they moved their family to Floyd county, Iowa, and located on a farm near Charles City, the county seat.

They found that part of the great Hawkeye State still wild and largely unpeopled at the time, and easily took rank among its most valued pioneers. For the father was a man of force and intelligence, well in- formed as to public affairs, and able to render the in- fant township and county in which he took up his residence valuable services in connection with the establishment and further development of their civil, educational and religious institutions. He died on his Iowa farm in 1879 at the age of sixty-six years. The mother survived him seven years, passing away in 1886 at the age of sixty-nine. ·

Their son, Amos M. Fluent, continued his schooling in the district and more advanced schools of his new location, and after due preparation entered the Uni- versity of Iowa, from the academic department of which he was graduated in 1873. He then matriculated in the law department of that institution, and in 1876 received the degree of LL. B. from that department. He did not, however, enter at once upon his professional career, but passed six years as a teacher in the public schools of the state. But the time devoted to this pur- suit was not lost. His occupation provided for his im- mediate wants and enabled him to lay his plans with deliberation and accuracy for his future work, and also gave him extensive and definite knowledge of himself and human nature in general.

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A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 38

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