A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 41

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

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is a Democrat in his political views, and his fraternal connections are with West Lodge No. 40, A. F. & A. M., and Bear Tooth Lodge No. 534, B. P. O. E. Mr. Ingram is a skillful farmer, and applies to his business the intelligence acquired by reading and observation, being up to date in every way. As a public official he is conscientious in the discharge of his duties, and holds the full confidence of the citizens of Carbon county.

On May 17, 1893, Mr. Ingram was married to Miss Marie Stemler, who was born in Iowa City, Iowa, daughter of Christian and Marie Stemler, and their interesting family consists of three children: Helen Marie, Laura Roxie and Floyd Mason.

ALONZO F. RICE. It would be difficult to reach any- thing like an accurate estimate of just how many of the successful business men of Butte today owe their success in life to the early training they obtained in the Butte Business College, at the hands of Alonzo F. Rice, proprietor of that institution since 1889. In the years of his successful handling of the affairs of the college Mr. Rice has perhaps done more for the young people of Butte in a material way than any other known medium, and the splendid attainments of tlie college as to growth amply attest the splendid esteem in which it is held by the people of Butte and that section of the state.

Alonzo F. Rice was born in Holden, Missouri, on July 30, 1867, and is the son of Franklin J. and Mary A. (Sanders) Rice, both of Nashville, Tennessee. Franklin J. Rice was a prominent farmer and a veteran of the Civil war, and died when Alonzo F. was about ten years of age. In his youth Mr. Rice attended the public schools of Holden, and after his graduation therefrom he took a course in the State Normal School followed by a thorough business course at Central Business College at Warrensburg, Missouri, and an- other at Sedalia, Missouri. His education completed, he came to Montana and secured employment with the Hecla Mining Company of Glendale, Montana, and in conjunction with his regular duties, Mr. Rice conducted a night school for the benefit of the illiter- ate miners. After one year thus engaged, he came to Butte and opened the school which has resulted in. the present expansive institution of business training. He began in 1889 in a small and humble manner. His means were limited and the demand was not great for such a school. At first he was the only teacher, and all he taught was the elementary rudiments of business training, but with the passing of time and the recog- nition of the demands of the times on the part of the people, he was able to enlarge the school in many ways, both as to space and with reference to the number of subjects taught. At present the school conducts a number of departments, among them being the Eng- lish course, the Commercial course, the Shorthand course, the Combined course, comprising all the sub- jects included in the Shorthand and Commercial courses, separately; a private department, in which absolutely individual and private instruction is given to those who wish to take up elementary subjects, and also advanced instruction; and the Normal and Col- lege Preparatory course. Thus it will be seen that the Butte Business College is no infantile project, or a college in name only, but rather a well organized, mod- ern institution with a thorough and comprehensive cur- riculum, calculated to prepare every student who enters therein in such a manner that he will go forth well equipped for the particular line of endeavor that he has been fitted for. Not only does the Butte Business College carefully look to the preparation of its stu- dents, but when they have finished the prescribed course, lucrative positions are readily forthcoming for them, the record of the college in Butte being of such high order that no business man of the city would hesitate to place a graduate of the Butte Business College. At the present time the school has an enrollment of over

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four hundred day students and over two hundred and fifty night students and occupies the entire fifth floor of the Owsley block and is completely and thoroughly equipped in the most appropriate and modern manner consistent with the needs of such an institution.

When the school was first organized, Mr. Rice was assisted by Mr. E. L. Kern, but at the end of two years Mr. Kern withdrew, leaving Mr. Rice in com- plete charge of the school, which had already begun to expand. Under Mr. Rice's able and efficient man- agement the school continued to grow apace, and kept steadily abreast of the most rapid growth of the city, as it arose from a mere mining camp to the metropolis of the state. In 1897 Mr. Rice found that the unremitting responsibility and necessarily close confinement attendant upon the successful manage- ment of such an institution were beginning to make heavy inroads upon his reserve of health and strength, and he accordingly became associated with C. V. Ful- ton and E. W. Gold, who became equal partners with him in the business. The college was then incorpo- rated under the laws of the state of Montana, and the partnership endured for a few years, when Professor Gold withdrew from the firm, and the business was conducted under the name of Rice & Fulton. After some little time, Professor L. A. May bought an inter- est in the school, and the business now is conducted under the firm name of Rice, Fulton & May, and the city of Butte may be congratulated upon its posses- sion of so worthy a place of instruction, and one which has done so much for the youth of Montana as the Butte Business College has already accomplished.

Professor Rice is justly regarded as a man of some importance in Butte, and he is prominent in social, political and fraternal circles. He is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Woodmen of the World, and of the Silver Bow and Country clubs, being especially fond of all outdoor sports. He is a Republican in his political faith, and has been active in the interests of the party in a general way, although his close attention to the affairs of the col- lege prevents him from giving more than casual atten- tion to those matters.

On April 25. 1909. Professor Rice was united in marriage with Miss Mollie V. O'Leary, the daughter of John C. and Alice O'Leary of Big Timber, Mon- tana. They have one son, Frank Vernon, born Decem- ber 23, IgII. Mrs. Rice is a member of the Catholic church, while her husband has retained his member- ship in the Methodist church, in which he was reared.

WILLIAM R. LEET. Prominent among the public- spirited citizens of Chouteau county whose executive ability and sterling integrity have caused them to be elected to positions of trust and responsibility, is William R. Leet, the efficient county treasurer, who has during his ten years of residence in Fort Benton won the unqualified esteem and confidence of the citizens of this community. Mr. Leet was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, July 13, 1856, the third in order of birth of the four children of Joseph T. and Angeline (Jackson) Leet.

Joseph T. Leet was born in the state of New York. and there was engaged in various occupations until his thirtieth year, when he removed to Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, and engaged in farming, in con- nection with which he carried on a successful mer- cantile business. Later in life he moved to Minnesota, and his death occurred at Ortonville, Bigstone county, in 1892, when he was sixty-five years of age. He was married in New York to Angeline Jackson, also a native of that state, and she survived him only one year, being sixty-five years old at the time of her demise.

William R. Leet was eight years old when the family moved to Minnesota, and there he completed his educa- tion in the St. Paul Business College at the age of

twenty-one years. At that time he secured a position with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, and during the following thirteen years acted as agent for that company at Mellette, South Dakota, and Wheaton, Minnesota. Subsequently he was employed by the Great Northern Railroad at Chinook, Montana, in 1889, and until 1902 continued to hold a position with that road, then coming to Fort Benton, to take charge of the duties of clerk and recorder, serving as such three terms of two years each. The able manner in which he conducted the affairs of the county in those posi- tions made him his party's choice for treasurer of Chouteau county in IgII. His election followed and that the voters' confidence in his ability has been justi- fied is evidenced by the universal esteem in which he is held. While a resident of South Dakota, Mr. Leet was initiated into Masonry, and still holds membership in the blue lodge and chapter there. His political belief is that of the Republican party, and he is known as an active worker in the ranks, wielding an ex- tensive and beneficial influence throughout Chouteau county. With his family, Mr. Leet attends the Presby- terian church.

In April, 1880, Mr. Leet was married at Millbank, South Dakota, to Miss Laura Niles. They are widely known in social circles of Fort Benton, where both have many warm, personal friends. Mr. Leet is, in fact, one of the most popular officials Chouteau county has had. His long service in public office is sufficient evidence of his ability and fidelity to duty, but it is due to him to say that he has in his public capacity displayed only the same traits which have characterized his private life-strict attention to the details of his work and thoughtful and intelligent management, quali- ties which could not fail to bring about satisfactory results. He keeps thoroughly posted on public events and matters of general interest, and is highly esteemed as an intelligent, substantial citizen of the city in which he has spent the last ten years of his life.

CHARLES N. THOMAS. The United States com- missioner at Cut Bank, Montana, Charles N. Thomas, has had a long and varied experience in various lines of activity, having been identified with the cattle inter- ests of Montana for some years, and acting in numer- ous official capacities. His birth occurred April 13, 1862, at Sherbrooke, near Montreal, Province of Quebec, Canada, and he is a son of Daniel and Leonora (Eadie) Thomas. Daniel Thomas was born in 1838, at Mel- bourn, Quebec, and at the age of eighteen years went to Australia, where he was engaged in mining for six years. Returning to Canada, he prepared for the notary's profession by suitable legal study, and was a notary public and register at Sherbrooke until his death in 1893, at the age of fifty-five years. His wife, also a native of Canada, passed away in 1886, when forty-eight years of age. Charles N. was the oldest of their five children. His sister, Miss Laura Leonora, has been a resident of Cut Bank since 1900.

Charles N. Thomas graduated from the schools of Woodstock, Vermont, and from Sherbrooke Academy, receiving an excellent education. At the age of eighteen years he came to Montana on the steamer Josephine, from Bismarck, North Dakota, and first settled at Fort Benton. but after a short stay went to Alberta. Canada, and joined the northwest mounted police, of Alberta Province, the next five years being spent in patrolling the border between the United States and Canada, and for services rendered during the Reil Rebellion in 1885, was awarded a medal by the British government. He then became a clerk in the Canadian Indian department at Fort McLeod, but in 1889 came to the Piegan Indian reservation as clerk of the Browning office of the agency. and continued in that capacity under all the heads of the United States Indian office from Mr. John B. Catlin up to and including Mr. W. R. Logan, being

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located at various points in the state until 1900. From 1891 until the spring of 1901 he was also engaged in the cattle business on the south branch of the Milk river. In 1900 he was appointed one of the census enumerators for Montana, and for a short time thereafter was con- nected with the Great Northern Railroad, but in 1901 came to Cut Bank and was immediately elected justice of the peace, giving such universal satisfaction in that office that he succeeded himself three terms and on November 5, 1912, was again elected to serve two years. In 1909 he was appointed United States com- missioner by Mr. Hunt, and holds this position at the present time, being one of the most popular commis- sioners this section has ever had. In addition to dis- charging his official duties in an efficient manner, Mr. Thomas carries on a large ranch just five miles from Cut Bank, a very valuable property, where he makes his home, and also owns land in Teton county, one mile from Cut Bank.

Mr. Thomas was married at Birch Creek, in 1887, and has two children living: George and Nora. A Republican in his political views, he served Teton county for two years in the capacity of deputy asses- sor, and at all times has been recognized as one of the strong party workers in this section. He has inter- ested himself in fraternal work, being a popular member of the Masons, the Odd Fellows, and the B. P. O. E. of Great Falls, and his religious connec- tion is with the Episcopal church. During his long residence in Montana, Mr. Thomas has made and re- tained many friendships, and as a man who is devoting his activities to advancing the welfare of his community well merits the esteem and respect in which he is uni- versally held by his fellow citizens.

CUTHBERT PEAT, who was for some time one of the two commissioners elected to administer the public affairs of the city of Missoula, in connection with the mayor, when the new commission form of city govern- ment went into effect, has had a varied and interest- ing career. He took up the battle of life at a very early age, and went far from his parental fireside to do it. He has from that time on made his own way in the world without the aid of family influence or out- side circumstances of any kind whatever, and although his road has been rugged and at times beset with diffi- culties, his progress has been continuous and the gains he has made are substantial and enduring.

Mr. Peat is a native of London, England, where his life began on July 18, 1869. His parents, John H. and Mary E. (Bedell) Peat, were also English by birth and rearing, and in 1880 they moved their family to New Brunswick, Canada. The father still makes his home there, and lives retired from active business, while the mother died in Portland, Oregon, in July, IQII.

Cuthbert Peat secured what education he got in the schools in his native city, as after his removal with the family to Canada he had no further opportunities to attend school. The circumstances of the family were such that he was obliged to look out for himself, and he undertook the task with the resolute and manly spirit that has characterized him through all his sub- sequent years. At the age of twelve he removed over to northern Maine and in that sparsely populated region he worked for ten years in the lumber camps and mills, and in other lines of mechanical industry, the farm taking his attention in the summer seasons.

In the winter of 1889-90 he came to Montana and secured employment at Hodges' Mill, at Riverside, in the Bitter Root Mountain region. But he remained there only a short time, and then went to Bonner, where he was employed in various mechanical occupa- tions for nine years. In 1900, Mr. Peat moved to Missoula, and during the next eleven years he had

charge of the furniture warehouse of the Missoula Mercantile company.

Mr. Peat has for years given some thought to the trade union movement, and he has given freely of his aid along those lines. He has also taken an earnest and intelligent interest in political affairs as a firm and faithful member of the Republican party, and has been energetic and effective in his work for that great body. His official career has not, however, been based on partisan consideration, as the people, without regard to party lines, have recognized his ability and called him into their service. During the last five years he has been a member of the local school board, and in the past two years has been its chairman. This is not a political office in essence, nor is the one he held in the municipal government as commissioner of pub- lic safety. He was chosen to those offices for the sole and only reason that the people believed him to be the right man for the place, and during his incum- bency of those positions he demonstrated to the utter- most that their faith in him was not misplaced. As a member of the school board, his services were of the highest order. The interests of the taxpayers and of the rising generation were always uppermost in his mind when in the performance of his duties in his official capacity, and his record was envied and ap- plauded by all, when he retired from the chairman- ship of the board. The newspapers pointed him out as an exemplary official, and words of praise were freely accorded him, regardless of party lines or par- tisanship. The Missoulian, under date of April 22, 1912, paid him the following editorial compliment, which so aptly expresses the general sentiment with regard to him and his service that it is here presented in full : "The retiring chairman, Mr. Peat, leaves the position with a record which is altogether creditable. He has given strength to the schools and he has added dignity to the office which he has so ably filled. The work of the Missoula schools was never upon a higher plane than it is right now; never was there a better standard and never was it more vigorously regarded. This is the enduring stamp which Mr. Peat has left upon the city school system as a result of his years of service at the head of the board."

In connection with his public service in other lines, it is worthy of mention that while he was superintendent of the department of public safety and charity, his record was of the most praiseworthy order. The in- creased receipts of the police department during that time were $935, while the decreased expenses were $1,940.97; and the decreased expense of the fire depart- ment was $1,158.31, and the decreased expense of the health department $407.50. These figures will serve in a measure to show that the activities of Mr. Peat in his public capacity were not alone confined to abstract matters, but he was able to show results in dollars and cents, as the result of his careful adminis- tration of the office of which he was incumbent. His service has been of a most praiseworthy nature, and the pleasing thing to record in this connection is that praise has not been withheld, and that his constituents have not hesitated to give free and forcible expression to their satisfaction.

Mr. Peat was married in New Brunswick, Canada, on March 29, 1889, to Miss Elizabeth Hetherington, a native of that province. They have four children : Lucile, Katherine, Mildred and Arthur.

FRANK W. METTLER is an Illinoisan by birth, and almost by descent, for his father was only one and a half years old when he became a resident of that state. The Mettler family came originally from Germany. In fact, one of Mr. Mettler's forbears came with the Hes- sian mercenaries in the Revolutionary time, and having come to fight the country, remained to be one of its loyal citizens, and to be the grandsire of a soldier

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of the Union army, the father of Frank W. Mettler. James I. Mettler was born in New York state, in 1840. Like most citizens of Illinois at that time, he was engaged in farming. In May, 1864, he entered the cavalry service, and his discharge of May, 1865, shows that he served in the Sixteenth Regiment, com- manded by Col. C. M. Prevost, and in the company of Captain Hall. Mr. Mettler continued to reside in Illinois, until 1895, when he moved to Great Falls, Montana. Here he was connected with the Great Falls Iron Works, for eleven years, or until his death in 1908. His wife was Anna Augusta Snure, born in Nounaduk, not far from Niagara Falls on June 25, 1839. Her family also emigrated to Illinois, and she was married at Rockford in 1866. She died at Great Falls in 1906.

Frank Mettler was born in Lee county, Illinois, on March 3, 1869. He was educated in the public schools of that district and graduated from the Dixon high school in 1883. For five years following his gradua- tion, he taught school in the rural schools of Illinois. He intended to enter the legal profession, and he was following the time-honored path to it, by starting as a pedagogue. As a further aid to the accomplishment of his purpose, Mr. Mettler learned stenography, and for two years followed that as a means of livelihood in Chicago.

In 1889, Mr. Mettler came to Montana in the month of December, and entered the employ of McConnell & Clayberg as a stenographer and clerk. During the fifteen months that he spent with this firm, he put in his spare time reading law. In March, 1891, he began the work that was of such value to him in his chosen profession, that of a court reporter. The district in which he was to work was that of Judge Du Bose, comprising five counties in the northern part of the state. While here, he finished the study of law and in 1898 was admitted to the bar. He did not at once begin to practice, but continued to work as a court reporter for another year, and then in June, 1899, he went to Nome in the very first of the time of the gold excitement. Mr. Mettler was one of the first arrivals in this new El Dorado. It was his intention only to spend the summer up there, but he became engaged in mining and also in the practice of law, and the summer lengthened into a year, before he returned to Montana. The first fee he received in Alaska was paid in gold dust, which was the principle medium of exchange at that time. Mr. Mettler's own mining ventures were successful, and he sold them out at a profit and re- turned to Montana in July, 1900.

Immediately upon his return, he was drawn into the current of the political activities of the Democratic party. He became the secretary of Walter Cooper, the chairman of the state committee. Their headquarters were at Helena, during the campaign, and after that was over Mr. Mettler went to Butte and there entered the employ of the law firm of McHatton & Cotter. He was associated with them until March, 1901, when he was appointed assistant attorney general, under James Donovan, elected the preceding fall. He served until the end of the term and was then appointed a second time under Albert J. Galen. After four months he resigned and took up private practice at Helena with Mr. Galen, and the success of the firm of Galen & Mettler has been very substantial. Mr. Mettler is interested in a large number of mining. properties, among them being the Little Rockies Gold Mining Company, of which he is president. This company has its properties in Choteau county, and its offices in Great Falls.

On May 12, 1906, Mr. Mettler was united in marriage to Miss Anna E. Theinhardt, of Helena. Her father, John Theinhardt, is now deceased, and her mother is Mrs. F. O. Wilson.

Mr. Mettler is a member of the Theosophical Society and has been president of the Helena branch of that society since it was organized about ten years ago. He is also a member of the Lambs Club and of the Woodmen of the World, and this with his connection with the Bar Association and his work for the Demo- cratic party, completes the tale of his affiliations. Both as a lawyer and business man and as a friend and neighbor, he is one of the representative men of Helena and of Montana.

JAMES McTAGGART. Probably there is no better known or more progressive citizen in Belgrade, Mon- tana, than postmaster James McTaggart, who in addi- tion to holding his government office for more than seven years, has been a school trustee for a period extending over eight years, and chief of the Belgrade fire department for five years, and in each capacity has shown himself to be an upright, conscientious, faithful and efficient official. Mr. McTaggart is a native of County Huron, Canada, and was born December 15, 1868, a son of Oren and Ruth (Ashley) McTaggart, Canadians. His father, born in 1815, spent his life in farming in his native land, where he died in 1910, at the advanced age of ninety-five years, while Mrs. McTaggart, who still survives, has reached her eighty- seventh year. There were thirteen children in the family, of whom ten are still living, and James was the seventh in order of birth.

The education of James McTaggart was secured in the public schools of County Huron, and he was reared to sturdy manhood on his father's farm. On leaving the parental roof he went to Seaforth, Ontario, where he learned the trade of baker, and when he had com- pleted his apprenticeship came to Bozeman, Montana, November 27, 1889. For three or four years he was engaged in the bakery business here, but subsequently removed to Chestnut, Montana, where for a short time he worked as a carpenter. Later he returned to Boze- man, and in 1902 came to the. vicinity of Belgrade, where about two years were spent in farming, and he then became deputy sheriff of Gallatin county, under Sheriff T. J. Fowler, stationed at Belgrade, Montana. Mr. McTaggart acted in that capacity for about one year, and in February, 1905, was appointed postmaster of Belgrade. In July of the same year, when it became a third class office, he received the appointment, and on December 16, 1909, succeeded himself in the office, which he acceptably fills at the present time. Mr. McTaggart was first elected school trustee in 1904, and has served continuously in that office to the pres- ent writing. While a resident of Bozeman, he was a member of the volunteer fire department for ten years, and for the past five years has been chief of the de- partment in Belgrade. His politics are those of the Republican party, and he is known as one of the most reliable and active workers in the Gallatin valley. Fraternally, he is a member of Belgrade Lodge No. 68, A. F. & A. M., and the Woodmen of the World.

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A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 41

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