A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 43

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

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He is a Republican in politics and a Congregationalist in church affiliation, although he supports all protestant churches. Martha Blake, the wife of ex-Mayor Pomeroy and the mother of Judge Pomeroy, was born in Indiana. Her marriage to John Pomeroy took place in 1861 and her death occurred in 1872, when the son was six years of age. The father's second marriage was to Miss Isabelle Clark. Charles Pomeroy is the only living member of the first group of four children in the paternal household. Three sons and three daughters, born of the second marriage of John Pomeroy, are still living. One of these is H. G. Pomeroy, of Eureka, an attorney-at-law. The Jackson county home which was the residence of the Pomeroy family for many. years was the birthplace of the subject of this sketch, whose natal day was June 2, 1866.

The country schools of Jackson county, Kansas, and Campbell College, of Holton, Kansas, were the institu- tions from which Charles Pomeroy gained his educa- tional advantages, prior to his professional study. After having been graduated in 1887 from Campbell College, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, Mr. Pomeroy entered the law school of the state university at Law- rence, Kansas, and in 1889, was admitted to the bar of Kansas.

Mr. Pomeroy arrived at Great Falls-in what at that time was the territory of Montana-on July 12, 1889. In that place he began the practice of the legal profes- sion, continuing until March of 1895, at which time he received the appointment of Gov. J. E. Richards as judge of the eleventh judicial district, comprising Flathead and Teton counties. The exercise of this office necessitated the judge's removal to Kalispell. During his incumbency he served the bench faithfully, hut retired after two years to resume his private prac- tice. From that time until September of 1905 he was a partner of C. H. Foot, the legal firm being known as Foot & Pomeroy. At the end of that period the partnership was dissolved and Judge Pomeroy has since conducted independently his extensive law business.

Judge Pomeroy is a member of the county, state and American bar associations, being the only man of his name in the last-named organization. He is still active in public affairs, being an important member of the Kalispell Civic Club, of which he served as president for one year. He is a member of the social organiza- tion known as the Kalispell Club and of many fraternal organizations. He is particularly prominent in the order of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, ranking in both chapter and commandery of the same and having been grand patron of the Eastern Star of

Montana in 1893 and 1894, besides having been honored as grand master of the Masonic Grand Lodge in 1898 and 1899; was the youngest man who had ever filled the last-named office. On July 4, 1899, he was honored by being chosen to lay the corner-stone of the capitol for the grand lodge. The judge is also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and of the Modern Woodmen of America.

Judge Pomeroy has preferred to have few interests outside his law practice, to which he gives his most complete attention. He is, however, actively connected with the Masonic Temple, of which he is secretary. Educational matters receive much thought and con- sideration from him and during his residence in Great Falls, he was president of the board of education of that place. He has always been an earnest Republican, being active in county and state conventions of the same. He is interested in all movements for the betterment of the community.

Mrs. Pomeroy was formerly Miss Estella Granger of Phillipsburg, Kansas. She is a daughter of Henry S. Granger, a native of Iowa. Her marriage to Mr. Pomeroy took place June 18, 1889. They are the par- ents of three children : Mabel, born April 1, 1890, at Great Falls and died July 8, 1900, at Kalispell; Velma M., born July 31, 1891, at Great Falls; and Alice, born February 28, 1895, at Great Falls. Like her hus- band, Mrs. Pomeroy has many public activities. She has served as president of the Century Club, the oldest woman's club of Kalispell and one organized when the town was first established. She has also been honored with the fraternal office of grand matron of the Eastern Star of the state. She is active in other organizations whose purpose is the public good. The Granger family, like the Pomeroy family, is of Revolutionary stock. Mr. H. S. Granger, father of Mrs. Pomeroy, established the first paper, The Clayton County Iowa Herald, at Grands- ville, the first paper between Dubuque and St. Paul. He also was a member of the state senate in Kansas in 1885-1889.

WILLIAM A. HULBUSH, M. D. An energetic, skillful and eminently capable young physician and surgeon of Teton county, William A. Hulbush is making rapid strides in his professional career, since taking up his residence at Cut Bank having gained the confidence of the people by the exactness and thoroughness of his medical work, and built up an extensive and remunera- tive practice. A son of William T. Hulbush, he was born July 17, 1884, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

A native of Indiana, William T. Hulbush remained a resident of the central states until 1889, when he was induced to come to Montana. Locating in the Chauteau country, he took up a large tract of land and engaged in general ranching, including stock-raising, on an extensive scale, becoming one of the more successful and prominent ranchers of his community. He is still in the prime of life, and having accumulated a compe- tency, is now living retired from active pursuits at his pleasant home in Chinook. He married, in Indiana, Louise Acker, who was born in that state forty-eight years ago, and of their union five children have been born, as follows: William A., with whom this brief sketch is chiefly concerned; Nora, Ida, Walter, and Charles, who was the second child.

Laying a good foundation for his future education in the public schools of Montana, where his parents settled when he was but five years old, William A. Hul- bush began preparing himself for a professional career, and in 1908 was graduated from the medical depart- ment of the University of Indiana with the degree of M. D. Returning then to Montana, Dr. Hulbush spent a brief time at Hobson, where he gained experience of much value to him. In 1910 he located at Cut Bank, where he has already acquired a good practice, his wis- dom and skill in dealing with difficult cases having

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placed him among the physicians of repute in this sec- tion of the state, and won him a generous patronage. On the 5th of November, 1912, he was elected the coroner of the county. He is also surgeon of the Great Northern Railroad at Cut Bank.

Clear headed and broad minded, with decided views on public questions, Dr. Hulbush is closely allied with the Progressive Republicans, and is.now serving as an alderman, representing the Third ward in the city coun- cil. Although his professional cares prevent his spend- ing much time in mere recreation, the doctor is fond of outdoor sports, more especially of hunting and fishing. His religious views coincide with the Methodist Episco- pal creed.

Dr. Hulbush married, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, May 17, 1910, Bertha Krug, a daughter of Jacob and Eliza (Stube) Krug, early settlers of that city, and into their household one son has been born, William Russell Hulbush, whose birth occurred July 3, 1911.

CHARLES A. HAMANN. As the mayor of Eureka and president of the Farmers & Merchants' State Bank of this city, Charles A. Hamann has won to himself a degree of popularity which perhaps exceeds that of any other citizen of the community. Twenty-three years of residence in the state has thoroughly familiarized him with conditions prevailing, and he has had a worthy share in the growth and development of the state since his earliest connection with it. Mr. Hamann was born in Holstein, Germany, on August 4, 1862, and is the son of Andrew and Kathrine (Kolatzky) Hamann, both of whom were native Germans, living their lives in the land which gave them birth. The father was born there in 1819, and died in the year 1881, when he was in his sixty-second year. He was a land owner and a man of considerable prominence in his section of the country, well known and highly respected. The mother was born in 1821 and died in 1891, aged seventy

Charles A. Hamann attended school in Germany up to the age of seventeen years, and in the year 1879 he came to America alone, locating first in the state of Illinois. He went to work on a farm and was en- gaged in various capacities during the years that elapsed between then and 1889, when he went to Montana. He first settled in Missoula, after which he located in Flat- head county and there went into the cattle business. He later engaged in farming, and his operations in that business were for years carried on where the city of Kalispell stands today. Mr. Hamann continued with that business until 1908, prospering with the passing years, and in that year he came to Eureka and built the splendid building in which the Farmers & Mer- chants' State Bank is now located. In the same year the bank was organized, with Mr. Hamann as presi- dent, Mr. Dupuis as vice-president, Elzear Demers as second vice-president and L. J. B. Chapman as cashier. It has since continued to do business in a manner highly pleasing to its promoters, and has won the con- fidence and patronage of all within its territory.

Mr. Hamann has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Kate Reid, whom he married in Illinois in 1885. She died in Flathead, Montana, four years later. In 1891 he married Miss Lillie P. Elliott at Missoula, Montana. No children have been born to them.

In 1910 Mr. Hamann was honored by the citizens of Eureka by his election to the office of mayor, and he succeeded himself to the office in 1912. He was elected on the citizens' ticket, and in the years of his regime thus far has proven himself an able administrator of the affairs of the city, and altogether capable of hold- ing whatever offices his fellow townspeople give him charge. Mr. Hamann is fraternally identified with the blue lodge, chapter and commandery in the Masons, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Mod- ern Woodmen of America, all of Kalispell. He is one of the prominent and well-known men of his city and county, and is a leader in business and political circles throughout the county.

JAMES STONECHEST. July 1, 1909, James Stonechest came to Libby, Montana, to assume the responsibilities of the office of county assessor, to which he had just been appointed and to which he was elected in the fall of 1910. He is financially interested in a number of important business enterprises in Lincoln county and is a member of the board of directors in the First National Bank of Libby. He is loyal and public-spirited in his civic attitude and is always on the alert to forward those enterprises and measures which are calculated to benefit humanity and advance prosperity.

In Wayne county, New York, June 15, 1869, oc- curred the birth of James Stonechest, who is a son of John and Mary Jane (DeBurck) Stonechest, both of whom were born in Holland, whence they came to America in the year 1848, settling in Wayne county, New York, where was solemnized their marriage in the year 1855. The Stonechest family removed to Michigan in 1888 and settled on a farm in the vicinity of Kalamazoo, where the father was summoned to the life eternal in 1906. Mrs. Stonechest is still living, in 1912, and she maintains her home in the city of Kalamazoo, where she is beloved by all who have come within the sphere of her gentle influence.

The fourth in order of birth in a family of eight children, James Stonechest was educated in the public schools of Wayne county, New York, and subse- quently he attended the Normal Business College in Fremont, Nebraska. He left the parental home at the age of seventeen years and for a short time resided in Woodstock, Minnesota, where he was employed for one year on a farm, receiving a salary of sixteen dollars per month for his services. In 1887 he went to Fremont and for the ensuing two years was en- gaged in a sash and blind factory and attending school. In 1889 he emigrated west to Montana and in the fol- lowing year settled permanently on the Kootenai river near Troy, where he was for a time interested in pros- pecting and mining and where he later turned his at- tention to the logging and contracting business, sup- plying logs to mills. He was engaged in the timber business for a period of ten years and at the expira- tion of that time, July 1, 1909, he came to Libby to take up his work as county assessor, to which position he had just been appointed. In the fall of 1910 he was regularly elected to this office and he is still filling that incumbency at the present time, in 1912. . He is a heavy stockholder in the First National Bank of Libby and is the owner of valuable real estate in this city.

At Troy, Montana, December 20, 1896, was solem- nized the marriage of Mr. Stonechest to Miss Nora May Johnson, a daughter of William and Mary Johnson and a native of the state of Washington. Mr. and Mrs. Stonechest are the parents of three children, whose names are here entered in respective order of birth,- Mildred Virginia, John and Myrtle May, all of whom are attending school in Libby. In religious matters the Stonechest family are devout members of the Pres- byterian church, to whose various charities and good works they are most liberal contributors.

Mr. Stonechest owns allegiance to the Democratic party in a political way and he is an active worker in behalf of the progress of the party. Fraternally, he is a valued member of the time-honored Masonic order and of the Modern Woodmen of America. He left home as a youth with a capital of but twenty-five dol- lars. His persistency and determination have won him a high place as a business and public man and he is popular with all classes of people, the circle of his in- timate friends being coincident with that of his acquaintance.

WILLIAM LA VERNE PERRY. As general manager for the Kalispell Bee since 1910, William La Verne Perry has been identified with the business interests of this city for the past two years, and has established a repu- tation for efficiency in his line of work that has given' him a secure footing in the community. Mr. Perry was

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born in Auburn, New York, in 1870, and is the son of Edgar and Mary (Boley) Perry, the father being a native born New Yorker and the mother a native of old England. Edgar Perry came west early in the sixties and worked at his trade as a sheet metal worker for some time, and also was engaged in prospecting and mining. Later he was identified with the retail hard- ware business, from which he retired in 1902 and has led a quiet and uneventful life since then. The mother died in 1877 in Nebraska when she was thirty years old. Two children were left motherless at her death,-Clif- ford and William.

William La Verne Perry was educated in the public and high schools of his native town, and after his gradu- ation from the high school in 1886 he entered Cayuga Military Academy at Aurora, New York. Upon fin- ishing his studies in the academy he removed to the west, locating in Great Falls, Montana, arriving there in 1889. He accepted a position as bookkeeper which he retained for a brief period and then took employment as a range rider. After a short time he took up a home- stead from the government and engaged in ranching. He eventually proved up on his homestead and still owns that property. He followed farming for about six years, during which time he devoted himself more or less to learning the printer's trade, doing considerable newspaper work as well as operating his farm. On January 15, 1910, Mr. Perry removed to Kalispell, where he became associated with the Kalispell Bee as general manager, and under his direction and management the paper has reached a state of completeness which makes it one of the best news sheets in the county. It is a semi-weekly paper, Democratic in its tendencies, with a circulation of 2,750-larger than any other paper in the county. Previous to his connection with the Kalis- pell Bee, Mr. Perry was identified with newspapers in Havre, Glasgow, Libby, Hamilton and Missoula.

Mr. Perry is a member of the Kalispell Club and the Typographical Union. On December 5, 1906, he mar- ried Miss Effie Schroeder of Missoula, Montana.

JOHN GRIFFITH BAIR. A member of the Montana bar throughout the period of stateliood and collector of customs for the districts of Montana and Idaho, Mr. Bair is an able representative of his profession, has always enjoyed a successful practice and as a citizen has performed a useful and honorable part in his com- munity and state.

John Griffith Bair was born December 4, 1858, at Gerrardstown in Berkeley county, in what was then Virginia, and is now West Virginia. He belongs to a family which has been in America since the early times of colonial settlement and while so far as known none of its members attained to conspicuous prom- inence in public life, it is also possible to assert that none were without the qualifications of honest character and excellent industry, so that they led careers quiet but worthy, and were people of usefulness "in their community and highly respected by all who knew them.

The founder of the family in America was John Bair, wlio came from Germany about 1760, living in the colony of Pennsylvania. When the Revolutionary war came on he engaged on the side of the colonists in their struggle for independence. The parents of Mr. Bair were William and Eleanor Virginia (Griffith) Bair. The father was born at New Bloomfield, in Perry county, Pennsylvania, whence he moved into Berkeley county, Virginia, about 1855. His occupation was that of blacksmith. He was a member of the Lutheran church and his death occurred at Bedford, in Lawrence county, Indiana, in 1881. The mother, who was born in Berkeley county, Virginia, a descendant of the old family Griffiths on her father's side and that of Sei- berts on her mother's side, is now living in Bedford, Indiana.

Mr. Bair, though he has always enjoyed success and

has competed on even terms with his contemporaries, began life without special advantages in education, and has had to earn most of his equipment. His education was academic in character and for a number of years he was engaged in teaching school in Indiana. He fitted himself for the law while teaching and in 1889 came out to Montana and settled in the town of Choteau in what is now Teton county, where he has been engaged in the general practice of law since 1889, still having his law office in the town of Choteau. A Republican in politics since he attained his majority, and being now what is called a Taft Republican, Mr. Bair was on June 15, 1909, appointed collector of customs for the district of Montana and Idaho, this appointment coming from the president. He has been one of the most popular Federal officials in Montana, and for many years has enjoyed a large and influential acquaintance with the public and prominent men of the state. Mr. Bair was a delegate from the state of Montana to the national convention of the Republican party held in Chicago in 1908, and voted with the rest of the Montana delegation for the nomination of Wil- liam H. Taft.

Mr. Bair was when a young man a member of the Methodist church and his preference is still for that denomination. In 1882 he became a member of Bedford Lodge No. 14, A. F. & A. M., at Bedford in Lawrence county, Indiana. On coming to Montana he became a charter member of Choteau Lodge No. 44, A. F. & A. M., at Choteau, Montana, and he has also in this state taken the degree of the Royal Arcli, being affiliated with Chapter No. 9, R. A. M., at Great Falls. He has also attained the Knights Templar degree, being now affiliated with Black Eagle Commandery at Great Falls. He is a member of Algeria Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Helena, and in September, 1912, was elected grand master of the Masons of Montana, a position which he still holds.

On the first day of September, 1886, at Heltonville, Indiana, Mr. Bair married Miss Mary Ramsey. Her early ancestors in this country were the Ramseys and Elstons. They came from Scotland to America, some time in the eighteenth century, and since early in the nineteenth century both the Ramseys and the Elstons have lived in central Indiana. Mrs. Bair's education was attained in the common schools of Lawrence county, Indiana. Her father was Joseph Ramsey, who died in 1879, and the maiden name of her mother was Euretta Elston, who is now living with her son, T. W. Ramsey, in the state of Washington. Mr. and Mrs. Bair have no children of their own, but have in their home their nephew and adopted child, the son of Mrs. Bair's brother, Arthur Bailey Ramsey, who was born in Walla Walla, Washington, in April, 1905.

GILBERT A. CHEVIGNY, DENTIST. Numbered among the more skillful and successful dentists of Butte is Dr. Gilbert A. Chevigny, who during his residence in this city has made for himself an enviable reputation both in the professional and social circles of his adopted home. Coming on both sides of the house of French lineage, he was born September 14, 1866, in Holbrook, Norfolk county, Massachusetts.

His father, Louis Charles Chevigny, was born in Canada, where his grandparents settled on immigrating to America from France. A man of excellent business ability and judgment, he migrated to Massachusetts, and for many years was engaged in the manufacture of shoes at Holbrook, although he is now living in Brock- ton, Massachusetts, retired from active pursuits. Fra- ternally he is a member of Norfolk Union Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons, of Ran- dolph, Massachusetts; and Satucket Chapter Royal Arch Masons of Brockton. He married, February 8, 1859, Lydia Perrault, a charming young miss of twelve years, being his junior by nine years. Miss Perrault descended on her mother's side from one of the earliest settlers

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John H. Hanlon

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HISTORY OF MONTANA

in New England, Coporal Gill who was of Scotch par- ents, and a soldier of the English army. In the early part of the eighteenth century the Abenakis, a tribe of Indians, under the leadership of the French, attacked the inhabitants of eastern Massachusetts, near a place called Gillton or Gilltown, and after massacreing most of the inhabitants, captured many of the children and took them to their homes in Canada, some three hun- dred miles away, which distance was traveled on foot. Among these captives was one of the Gill children, a boy of twelve years of age, and a girl, Miss Jane, about eight years old. They were forced to make their home with the Indians and after they grew up to mature age, were persuaded by them to marry, which they did; and from their off-spring the Canadian Gill family tree continued to grow, and from this family of Gills, Miss Perrault is one of the descendants. At the time of her marriage the parents of Lydia Perrault were both ill with an incurable disease, and during the following two years they both died, leaving three children, as follows : Stillman Perrault, now deceased, whose home was in Chicago, Illinois; and Charles Perrault, of Randolph, Massachusetts; and Caroline, wife of John Carr, who is now master carpenter of the Plymouth Cordage Company, in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Al- though a mere child herself at that time, Mrs. Chev- igny assumed charge of her young sister, and brought her up with her own children, of which she had, when but twenty-five years of age, eight. At the age of thirty-five years she was a grandmother, and when, in February, 1909, she and her husband celebrated the golden anniversary of their wedding, she had for five years been a great grandmother. Elaborate plans had been made for the celebration of that event, but on account of illness of Mrs. Chevigny had to be given up.

Mrs. Chevigny was a life-long resident of Massachu- setts, her birth having occurred in that state in 1847, and her death in April, 1911, at her home No. 35 Rut- land street, Brockton, Massachusetts. She was a bright, energetic woman, much respected throughout the city in which she had spent so many years of her life, and had a host of warm friends. She was a regular mem- ber of the Church of New Jerusalem, and an active member of the New England Order of Protection. Of the eight children born of her union with Louis Charles de la Chevrotiers, whose title had descended to him through many generations of French ancestors, five are now living, namely; Gilbert Arthur, of Butte, Montana, the special subject of this sketch, Charles F., and H. H., a well-known dentist of Montello, Massachusetts; Eliza- heth May, a teacher in the Brockton schools; and Mrs. Charles Merrill of Easton, Massachusetts. The oldest son, Louis Philip Chevigny, died several years ago, leaving one daughter, Mrs. Isabel Packard, whose son. Calvin Porter Packard, was Mrs. Lydia Chevigny's first great grandchild. Charles F. Chevigny is married and he has one child, Rita Chevigny. Henry Herbert Che- vigny is also married, but has no children.

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A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 43

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