A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 4

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

USA > Montana > A history of Montana, Volume III > Part 4

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Mr. Babcock was a very successful merchant,-per- haps none in this section of the state gained a greater success in that business than did he. He was a Repub- lican in his political faith, and while he displayed an interest in the election of good men to the public offices, he took no active part in political affairs beyond the casting of his vote. He was a member of no secret societies or similar organizations, but was especially fond of his home and home life, and the pleasures that other men are wont to find in the convivialities of club and fraternal life, he found in his own home, wherein he enjoyed the most ideal domestic relations. He was fond of travel, and with Mrs. Babcock had visited prac- tically every section of interest in this country, and in 1900 and again in 1907 they made European tours.

Mr. Babcock was a man who possessed unusual artis- tic ability, and his home contained many works of art that he had collected during his travels. He was a man of the most admirable public spirit and was found ever ready to assist in any movement that tended toward the advancement of his city and state. He was noted for the strength of his likes and dislikes, and was an ideal friend, stanch and true in all his friendships, and. indeed, in all the relations of life.

On March 27, 1910, following his death and on the fifty-sixth anniversary of his birth, Mrs. Babcock, in his memory, established the Edward C. Babcock room in St. Peter's Hospital at Helena.

October 13, 1881. at Monmouth, Illinois. Mr. Bab- cock was married to Miss Minnie R. Swain, a native of that place and the daughter of Alexander Hamilton and Mary Louise (Brewer) Swain, the parents being of English, Scotch and Swiss extraction. Alexander H. Swain, father of Mrs. Babcock, established and for thirty years owned the Monmouth Review, a leading Democratic paper of that section of the state. Mrs. Babcock continues her residence at Helena, on Har- rison avenue, her home being one of the handsome residences of the city.

Referring further to the death of Mr. Babcock, the following article appeared in the Treasure State, a Montana publication, which is deemed worthy of per- petuation in this connection: "The effective citizen- ship of such men as Edward C. Babcock of Helena, who died in southern California the other day, does not perish with them. It will remain for all time as a standard for the emulation of his contemporaries and for the guidance of the younger generations who know and value the intrinsic merits of his career. Mr. Babcock. by instinct and training, was a merchant par excellence.

Into the commerce which he held with men, he brought a quality of dignity, of justice, of high toned idea that is too often wanting in the business activities of mankind. Early he found and always held to the idea of excellence, and he expressed it always through the only medium of expression that is open to the pro- fessed merchant. Consideration for others, a ceaseless ·effort to be both fair and generous, a dignified sim-

plicity in his relations with the public, and always a hint of modest, undemonstrative patricianism in the conduct of his private life and personal affairs. His fight, a long and bitter one, against the fatal malady which grew upon him for the last years, was fought with a quiet doggedness none the less admirable for that he himself knew what must be its culmination. Death has few terrors and sometimes brings no regret to those who face him in old age; but it is hard for the young to die bravely, and Mr. Babcock was yet a young man. Helena will always remember him as one of the repre- sentative young business men, his death a distinct calam- ity and his place in the life of the capital city difficult to fill."

The Helena Daily Independent, in an editorial, said of him: "The death of Edward C. Babcock removed from the field of activity a man prominently identi- fied with the commercial interests of Helena for a quarter of a century. Soon after the incoming of the railroads to Montana, Mr. Babcock, with an instinctive longing for the vigorous activities of the west, left his home in Illinois and came to the Treasure state After a brief view of the surroundings, he chose Helena for his home and to the day of his death he maintained allegiance to the city of his adoption.

"For several years the ravages of disease undermined his strength and at frequent intervals he found it neces- sary to follow the advice of his physicians and seek whatever benefits may be had in a changed clime. But during these trips abroad his loyalty to the little city in the heart of the Rockies, which he called home, was most marked, and he longed always to return. Mr. Babcock was a man of exceeding honor and probity. In his daily life and in his intercourse with friends and neighbors he earned their sincere respect and admira- tion. He was a public-spirited citizen and ranked high among the business men of Montana. His death is a distinct loss to this community and his departure will be mourned by a large circle of friends, not only in Helena, but throughout the state."

ELLWOOD H. FISHER. A residence covering a period of a quarter of a century in Bozeman, during which time he has been connected with some of the leading industries of the city, gives Ellwood H. Fisher prestige among the leading business men of his locality, and as secretary and treasurer of the Owenhouse Hardware Company he is known as one of the directing powers in an enterprise that has added prestige to the city's commercial importance. Mr. Fisher was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, June 26, 1855, and is a son of Manning Force and Harriet (Rittenhouse) Fisher, na- tives of Hunterdon county, New Jersey.

Manning Force Fisher was born in 1824 and secured his education in the schools of New Jersey, from which state he removed as a young man to Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and was there engaged in the coal busi- ness. He subsequently followed the same line of en- deavor in Jersey City, New Jersey, and New York City, and died in 1863, in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was a strong anti-slavery man and a great admirer of Abraham Lincoln, and although his age and illness precluded the idea of his enlisting as a soldier, during the first years of the Civil war he gave his moral and financial support to the Union cause. His wife, who was born in 1829, passed away in 1884, having been the mother of seven children, of whom three are now living, namely: Charles, a resident of Newark, New Jersey; Ellwood H .; and Manning L., of Cleveland, Ohio.

The education of Ellwood H. Fisher was secured in the public schools of Jersey City, and when still a lad he began to clerk in a store in New York City, having lost his father when he was only eight years old. The year 1885 marked his advent in Montana, and for two years thereafter he was identified with the sheep busi-

1310

HISTORY OF MONTANA

ness at Big Timber, Sweetgrass county. In 1887 he came to Bozeman, where he became bookkeeper for the Nelson Story Milling Company, but in 1890 embarked . in business on his own account as the proprietor of a grocery store. Three years later this was merged with the Genepe-Owenhouse Company, a general merchandise house, and in 1905 Owenhouse & Fisher took over the business and incorporated it under the name of the Owenhouse Hardware Company, which has become one of the leading establishments of its kind in Bozeman. Among the articles handled by this firm are Buick au- tomobiles, Parlin & Orendorff farm implements, Deering farm machinery, Advance threshing machinery, Light- ning hay presses, DeLaval separators, Monarch ranges, Cole's "Air-Tight" heaters and Lincoln paints, as well as a full line of carriages and harness, and a large stock of all kinds of light and heavy hardware. Since his earliest boyhood, Mr. Fisher has displayed ability of a high order and a progressive spirit that refused to recognize any obstacle as insurmountable. Self-reliant . and well balanced, his judgment has been recognized by his business associates, among whom he bears the highest reputation for integrity and honest business principles.

On October 4, 1882, Mr. Fisher was married to Miss Clara V. Mecabe, who was born in Jersey City, daugh- ter of Charles P. McCabe, born in Vineland, New Jer .- sey. The mother was a native of Chestnut Hill, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Fisher's parents, who are both deceased, had seven children, of whom four are now living, she having been the third in order of birth. Her father, a wholesale butter merchant for a number of years, was a stanch Republican and a con- sistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. and Mrs. Fisher have had four children: Clara, who died in 1907, at the age of twenty-three years; Charles B .; Helen; and Lillian, who died in infancy.

Mr. and Mrs. Fisher are leading members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which Mr. Fisher has been a Sunday school teacher for a long period, and is now acting in the capacity of teacher of Adner Bible class. In political matters he is a Republican, but has never cared to enter the public arena.

J. W. LENNING, principal of the Benton high school, Fort Benton, Montana, is a worthy representative of his high calling. The teaching profession has only within recent years received the honor which was its due, but lately it has been brought before the people, and they have come to realize that those men and women who have in their charge the training of the children who will in time become citizens of the United States, have perhaps the noblest work of the day. The demands that are being placed upon the profession are becoming every day more severe. To-day a lawyer may prepare for his profession in a shorter time than the teacher, and the teacher must not only be intellec- tually fit for the position, but his moral and physical qualifications must also undergo a searching scrutiny. Therefore when it is said that Mr. Lenining occupies a high place in his profession one must stop and think what this means.

Mr. Lenning was born in Burlington, Indiana, on the 5th of August, 1872. He was the son of D. A. Lenning, who was a native of Kentucky, removing to Indiana, after he had reached manhood. He is still living, having reached the age of seventy-two and is still engaged in active life, being superintendent of mines. He married Philonia Kidd, who was a native of Indiana, the marriage taking place in that state. She died in 1900, at the age of forty-two, and is buried in the state in which she was born. Three sons were born to this couple, of whom J. W. Lenning is the eldest.

Mr. Lenning was educated in the schools in his home town and when he advanced beyond their cur-

riculum, he was sent to the Indiana State Normal. Since taking up teaching he has never ceased to be a student, and since coming to Montana has attended the Montana State Normal and the Montana State University, from which he was graduated in the class of 1901. He has also taken a post-graduate course at the University of California, at Berkeley. Mr. Len- ning had his first experience in teaching in the schoole of Woodside, Indiana. He then determined that the West offered the best opportunities in his profession so he came to Montana, and taught school in White Sulphur Springs, for a time. Upon leaving this place he went to Marysville and later came to Fort Benton. He was made superintendent of the Fort Benton schools in 1904, and has held the position up to the present time. He has made a most efficient executive, and has accomplished much for the schools. He has also won popularity both from the children and from their parents. This is a bit unusual but is due to the fact that while Mr. Lenning has the characteristics that enforce respect when respect is necessary, he also has a delightful sociability, and is the master only during school hours.

Mr. Lenning is unmarried. In politics he is a mem- ber of the Republican party, and his religious affilia- tions are with the Protestant Episcopal church. He is interested in fraternal organizations to the extent of belonging to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. One thinks of the teaching profession as being too poorly paid for a man to make more than a bare liv- ing at it, and indeed this is practically true, but Mr. Lenning has been able to save enough to invest in a very fine ranch in Chouteau county, and has been able to indulge his fondness for out-of-door life on his own property. He is fond of most sports, and attributes his health to the fact that he spends as much of his spare time as possible in the open air.

MAJOR MARCUS D. BALDWIN. Among the men of Montana, Major Baldwin holds a most firmly estab- lished place, and in a history of and biographical work of this nature, it is particularly consistent with the pur- pose of the publication that mention be set forth of his career thus far, and the many worthy and far-reaching results of his activities in the state to which he has given the best years of his life. As lawyer, Indian agent and statesman, his life has been from the beginning of his business career, one of the most strenuous activity, and the results that have accrued from his unremitting labors in the development of the state that has come to mean home to him are of no meager order.

Marcus D. Baldwin was born in Fremont, Ohio, on September 25, 1851, and is the son of Eleazer and Har- riet (Dana) Baldwin. The father was a farmer from the old Green Mountain state, and was also identified there with the manufacturing interests of his locality. He was born in 1813 and died at Woodville, Ohio, in 1900, at the age of seventy-seven years. He came of a long lived family, his mother reaching the age of ninety-four and his grandmother one hundred and one years. His father was a soldier in the War of 1812, and his grandfather was a veteran of the Revolutionary war. The mother of Major Baldwin, Harriet (Dana) Bald- win, born in New York, was a daughter of Joseph Dana of Vermont, and Alcy (Lockwood) Dana also of that state. Israel Putnam, of Revolutionary fame, was a relative of Harriet (Dana) Baldwin. She died in 1883 at, Greenspring Ohio, at the age of seventy-one years.

Marcus D. Baldwin as a boy attended the schools of Toledo, Ohio, and after his graduation from the high school of that city attended Oberlin College, at Oberlin, Ohio, after which he was a student in the Normal school at Republic, Ohio, finishing there in 1871. While he was attending school he passed his vacations at work in the stave mills of his father in Toledo, Ohio, and

1311

HISTORY OF MONTANA

during the winter months of the succeeding year he taught school and read law. So well ordered were his studies and so well he applied his energies that when he was twenty-one he was admitted to the bar of the state of Ohio. He began his practice in Fremont, and was very soon elected to the office of city attorney, an office which he held for six consecutive years, and for six years was examiner of school teachers for San- dusky county, Ohio. At the end of that time he left Fremont and went to Paulding, Ohio, there continuing in the practice of his professien until 1885, when Presi- dent Cleveland appointed him Indian agent for the Blackfeet, Blood and Piegan Indians, and he came to Montana in that year to assume charge of the agency. The work of the young man in that exacting position was of a character that gave eloquent testimony of his many excellent qualities and the promise of continued successes in the years to come. He succeeded in inter- esting the Blackfeet Indians in the science of agriculture and cattle raising, and under his wise guidance and un- derstanding and sympathetic treatment, they have reached a state of practical independence and com- parative civilization, highly commendatory to the labors which Major Baldwin performed among them. His treatment was such, as to secure their friendship, good will and confidence and he still continues to be their friend and legal adviser. Northern Montana has been free from Indian depredations ever since he took charge of these Indians, and the early settlers felt secure as to life and property during his administration of Indian af- fairs. In the winter of 1886-7 he was instrumental in effecting a treaty with the Blackfeet, Piegan and Blood Indians, whereby eighteen million acres of the most fertile land in Montana was restored to the public do- main. This land embraces the territory lying east of the crest of the Rocky mountains and north of the Marias and Missouri rivers, and is today the home of thou- sands of settlers, while cities and villages are well dis- tributed over the area. Railroads traverse it in a man- ner to afford transportation to the people and their products, and the country thereabout is in a splendid state of development. In 1889 Mr. Baldwin resigned his post in the Indian service and came to the Flathead valley, where he fitted out a party to explore the coun- try lying between this valley and the Marias Pass, as well as to' obtain information as to its agricultural and timber resources. After spending several weeks in this undertaking he visited James J. Hill, and gave him a report of his observations. Mr. Hill, without delay sent an engineer over the route described by Mr. Bald- win, and his report corroborated that of Mr. Baldwin. `Within two years from that time the Great Northern Railway was operating its main line through this ter- ritory to the Pacific seaboard. The first brick block in Kalispell was built by Mr. Baldwin and his partner, and it was through his efforts that Kalispell township was created and organized and the city of Kalispell incor- porated.' He took an active part at Helena in having the Flathead county created, the same making a division of Missoula county, and Kalispell became the county seat of the new county. He drafted the articles of in- corporation for the Flathead Fair Association and was one of the incorporators thereof, serving also as a mem- ber of its executive committee for several years. This fair association is perhaps the most successful in the state, and has proven a great benefit to Northern Mon- tana.

Since locating in Kalispell Mr. Baldwin has continued in law practice. He is a member of the bar of the supreme court of the United States and is president of the Flathead County Bar Association. He is also a member of the board of trustees of the Flathead County High school, which has a high standing among the schools of Montana.

Major Baldwin is an ardent sportsman, and this trait had much to do with his making his home in the Flat-

head valley, as it is so well stocked with game as to be known as the "Sportsman's Paradise." His activity in stocking the lakes and streams of this valley with game fish led to his appointment as a member of the fish commission for the state of Montana, and the fine state fish hatchery on Flathead lake is mainly due to his work in this behalf.

Major Baldwin was a law partner for a number of years of Hon. W. D. Hill, who was chairman of the committee on territories, at the time when Montana was admitted to the state, and in further connection with his public work, it may be said that it was largely through his instrumentality that the land office came to be located at Kalispell.

Major Baldwin is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and his politics are those of a Democrat. He has been honored by his party in his election as a dele- gate-at-large by the Democracy of Montana to attend the National Democratic Convention held at Baltimore, Maryland, on June 25, 1912. In addition to his legal activities in this section of the state, the major has been for twenty-three years, and now is a member of the firm of Baldwin, Tuthill & Bolton of Grand Rapids, Michigan, manufacturers of saw mill and wood work- ing machinery.

On October 31, 1874, Mr. Baldwin was united in marriage with Miss Sarah E. Rogers, of Shelby, Ohio. She is a daughter of Jacob and Harriet (Spangler) Rogers, an old Revolutionary family of Pennsylvania, her ancestors on both sides of the house having been prominent in colonial days and having given service in the Continental army. Her great-grandfather, George M. Spangler, was an ensign in the Revolutionary war and served in the battle of Bunker Hill. He moulded bullets for Gen. George Washington, and the major has in his possession some of the bullets cast by Ensign Spangler. Mrs. Baldwin is a member of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and through the service of Ensign Spangler, who was an officer of the New Jersey Flying Camp, male descend- ants of that patriot are entitled to membership in the Order of Cincinnatus.

Six children were born to Major and Mrs. Baldwin, of which number two are deceased,-Harriet, born at Shelby, Ohio, died while the family were residents of the Blackfeet reservation in 1886, at the age of ten years, and Elsie died in 1883. Their four living children are: Mark R., born at Shelby, Ohio, in 1878. He was the first soldier to enlist in Company H of the First Montana Regiment, for service in the Spanish-American war, and served in the Phillipines with credit. He mar- ried Miss Nettie M. Stufft of Kalispell, their marriage taking place on February 26, 1903. Two children have been born to them,-Dan and Stanley, both born at Kalispell.

Philip Baldwin was born at Paulding, Ohio, in 1881. When he was eighteen years of age he went to Manila, Philippine Islands, and served for six months in the quartermaster's department, For the past eleven years he has been in the government service in the custom house at Manila, where he is employed as an expert in textiles and fabrics. He is a member of the Columbia Club of Manila.

Kokoa Baldwin is the wife of Charles D. Conrad, the vice-president of the Conrad National Bank of Kalispell. Mrs. Conrad was born on the Blackfeet reservation in 1888, she being the first white child born thereon. They have two children,-Kokoa and Charles E. Mrs. Con- rad, like her mother, is a member of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

The youngest child of Major and Mrs. Baldwin is Charles Spangler Baldwin, born August 12, 1893, in Flathead county. At the present time he is attending the high school in Kalispell.

The family are members of the Episcopal church, and also of the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolu-

1312

HISTORY OF MONTANA

tion, to which they are eligible for membership on both the maternal and paternal claims, an unusual occurrence, and a circumstances of which they are justly proud.

WILLIAM J. MULLIGAN. One of the best known and most popular railroad conductors connected with the passenger service of the Northern Pacific is William J. Mulligan, of 903 Kendrick avenue, Glendive, Montana, who has also been prominently connected with fraternal work in this city, and a member of a family which has long been identified with the interests of the Treasure state. He was born at Camp Douglass, Utah, January 4, 1870, and is a son of William J. and Mary (O'Hara) Mulligan. His maternal grandmother, Margaret O'Hara, a native of Florida, came to Montana in 1866 and is now living at Fort Ellis, being in her eighty-second year; she was a nurse during the Mexican and Civil wars, and at one time was superintendent of Leavenworth Hospi- tal. Her home now is in Billings, Montana. The grand- father of Mr. Mulligan served in the Civil war, and after the close of hostilities re-enlisted in the army and participated in a number of battles and skirmishes with the Indians. He assisted in building Fort Ellis and while there took part in the trouble with the Cheyennes.

Mr. Mulligan's father was born in Ireland in 1846 and came to this country in his youth on a sailing vessel, landing at New York City, where he enlisted in the New York state cavalry, later becoming bugler for Gen. Phil Sheridan, and when the Civil war closed became a member of the regular army, his service taking him to Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Dakota and Montana. During the twenty-five years that he was in the service of his adopted country he acted in various capacities and was at one time a member of the band of the Second United States Cavalry, but eventually retired from the service at Fort Ellensworth, Vermont, and since 1908 has been living in Sacramento, Cali- fornia. His wife, who was a native of Fort Smith, Arkansas, died at the age of fifty-six years, having been the mother of eleven children, of whom four sons and four daughters still survive, and of these, William J. is the eldest. As a brave and faithful soldier, ready at all times to perform his full duty, Mr. Mulligan was honored and respected by his comrades and officers, and had the added distinction of being one of those to assist in putting up Custer monument.

A large portion of the boyhood of William J. Mulli- gan was spent at various forts throughout the west. When he was a small lad he was at Fort Cheyenne, Fort Saunders, Fort Steele and Medicine Bow, and on coming to Montana resided at Fort Custer and at Fort Keough, near the present city of Miles City, where he attended the first school erected there. His parents then accompanied the army to Fort Walla Walla, Fort Wingate and finally to Fort Ellensworth, Vermont, where his father left the service and retired.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 4

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