A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 46

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

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Mr. Burns married, January 1, 1891, at Livingston, Montana, Ada May McIntyre, of Chatfield, Minnesota, daughter of James and Rebecca (Shear) McIntyre.

ROBERT A. O'HARA. Finely educated and of studious habits, Robert A. O'Hara, of Hamilton, has brought to the practice of his profession, an enthusiastic zeal and a well-trained mind that has won him success at the bar, his technical knowledge of law and its application being unassailable, while as a man and a citizen, he is held in high regard throughout Ravalli county. A native of Indiana, his birth occurred in June, 1867, in Marshall county, where his parents lived for a brief time. His father, Owen O'Hara, was born and reared in Ireland, 1838 being the year of his birth. In 1848, ere attaining his majority, he immigrated to the United States, settling first in Elk county, Pennsylvania, and in 1864 he removed to Marshall county, Indiana. A short time later he settled in Minnesota, and was there employed in agricultural pursuits until his death, in April, 1904. He married Margaret Nugent, who was also a native of the Emerald Isle, and is still living in Lanesboro, Minnesota. Eight children blessed their union, as follows: Peter, a prominent farmer and extensive land owner in North Dakota; Robert A., the special subject of this brief biographical review; James, engaged in farming in Minnesota; Frank, professor of political economy at the Catholic University, Washington, D. C .; John, of Portland, Oregon, editor of the Catholic Sentinel; Rev. Edwin O'Hara, in charge of a Catholic church at Port- land, Oregon; Anna, residing with her widowed mother in Lanesboro, Minnesota; and Mary, residing in Omaha, Nebraska.

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The family moving to Minnesota shortly after his birth, Robert A. O'Hara was brought up on a Minnesota farm, and in the rural schools of his district obtained his early knowledge of books. Entering the University of Notre Dame, in 1887, he attended its law department until 1889. Returning then from Indiana to Minnesota, he was admitted to the bar in November, 1889, and began the practice of law in Saint Paul. Remaining there but a brief time, he came to the newer state of Montana, foreseeing in a large measure the great pos- sibilities it held in future for young men of energy and ability. He located first at Great Falls, and subsequently at Missoula, where he was associated with Hon. F. H. Warely and F. C. Webster, later judges of the district. In October, 1890, Mr. O'Hara came to Ravalli county, settling in Hamilton when it was yet in its infancy, and has since been prosperously engaged in the practice of his chosen profession. As a lawyer Mr. O'Hara has a great natural aptitude for his work, being conscientious, earnest and persistent in the advocacy of his client's cause, and through his successful defence of many im- portant cases has gained the confidence and good will of the citizens of Ravalli county, and won for himself a prominent position in the legal fraternity of both the county and the state.

Possessing excellent business ability and judgment, Mr. O'Hara has made judicious investments, and owns valuable real estate in Hamilton and vicinity. In 1905 he organized the Citizens State Bank, of which he has since been a director and a stockholder. Politically, he is an active member of the Republican party, doing much campaign work, and in 1906 was a candidate for the state legislature, but was defeated at the polls. He was the first mayor of Hamilton and served two terms. Religiously, he is a member of the Roman Catholic church. He takes an intelligent interest in local affairs, and is now serving as a member of the Hamilton board of education.

In 1893 Mr. O'Hara married Miss Frances Hughes, who was born in Chicago, Illinois, and they are the parents of three children, namely: Mary Frances and Geraldine, pupils in the Hamilton high school; and Roberta.

MAX HEBGEN. One of the most important factors in the industrial growth and development of Montana, and one of the largest public utility concerns in the country, is the Butte Electric and Power Company, with its allied power plants, lighting and transmission systems developing more than 110,000 horse power. Among the principal companies under its control are The Madison River Power Company, Billings and Eastern Montana Power Company and the Butte Gas Light and Fuel Company, in all comprising the largest power company in the United States.

The directing head, general manager and chief en- gineer of all the Butte Electric and Power Company's interests is Mr. Max Hebgen, who for nearly a quarter of a century has been identified with electrical. interests, and is regarded as one of the ablest men in the country in such circles. A native of Wisconsin, Mr. Hebgen was born in 1870, and in 1890, came to Butte to take a position with what was then the Butte Electric Light- ing Company. Later, as superintendent of that com- pany, he turned on the first incandescent light in the city of Butte. The Butte Electric Lighting Company was succeeded by the Butte General Electric Company, which was merged with the Silver Bow Electric Com- pany into the Butte Electric and Power Company. Mr. Hebgen was advanced from superintendent to general superintendent and then to general manager, a posi- tion requiring keen business ability and rare capacity for organization as well as superior technical knowl- edge.

He is a member of the Silver Bow and University clubs of Butte, also of the Montana Club of Helena.

MILTON HAMMOND, who as its chief stockholder, founded the State Bank of Darby, (Mont.), in 1911, was elected its first president, but has resigned that position. He is considered a leading pioneer of that part of the state. He has also accumulated, during the past few years, much choice agricultural land in the Bitter Root valley. Mr. Hammond claims that there is not on this continent a spot so fertile as this little valley, shielded from the northern blasts by her pro- tecting mountains and watered by their inexhaustible streams. Even the dry-farming statistics show that some pieces of land in the Bitter Root have yielded as high as thirty-three bushels of wheat to the acre, while other whole farms have averaged twenty-one bushels. Mr. Hammond's enthusiasm for the northwest, Mon- tana in particular, has been one of the chief factors in his popularity and success. His own sincerity is so unquestionable that he readily gains the confidence of other men of means. The growth of the State Bank of Darby is due largely to him and his influence.

Mr. Hammond was born in Victoria county, New Brunswick, on the twentieth day of February, 1847. After attending the schools of that place until the age of nineteen, he began his life in the lumber camps, where he worked in almost every capacity; in fact, there are few phases of the lumber business with which he is not acquainted. In 1869, he left New Brunswick for Maine, where he continued in the same line of work for ten years before going to Stillwater, Minnesota, to accept a reliable position in the huge lumber mills at that time situated there. For almost another decade he worked for the company at Stillwater, when the Black Foot Milling Company made it worth his while to leave Stillwater for Bonner, Montana. Until 1897, he was general manager of the property at Bonner, at which time he left the lumber business for a less stren- uous life. After having been so active, however, he found it almost impossible to go into retirement. After choosing Darby for his home, partly for her own prom- ise and largely for the charm of her surroundings, he erected there the city's first hotel. For almost fifteen years he occupied himself with the active management of this house. Under his wise supervision it necessarily flourished until, in 1911, he disposed of the management that he might establish the State Bank of Darby, as stated.

Mr. Hammond was married during his sojourn in Maine, to Miss Sarah Kendall, a native of that Yankee state, but of Scotch parentage. Her father's ancestors were the bold. Kendall clan of Scotland, who fought so bravely for their native rights.

Mr. and Mrs. Hammond are now the parents of three children. Albert Edward Hammond, their only son, is the young civil engineer of whom the entire continent is proud. It is he who built the famous "Taft tunnel" near Butte. This is generally conceeded to be the long- est tunnel in the world. Under young Mr. Hammond's careful instructions the work of excavation was begun from both ends simultaneously, and so accurate were his estimates that it lacked but one-eighth of one inch of being absolutely true at the point of meeting. He now makes his home in Seattle, Washington. Of his two sisters, the elder, Pearl, is the wife of John Mc- Grath, who resides in Hanna, North Dakota. Myrtle, the youngest of the family, married Mr. Perry Hopkins, a ranchman in the Bitter Root valley.

Milton Hammond, the subject of this sketch, is him- self the son of George Hammond, who although born, like his son, in New Brunswick was an Englishman by inheritance. Most of the sixty-three years of his life were spent as a blacksmith in his native town, all of it in the land of New Brunswick where he was finally laid to rest by the side of his good wife who had been before her marriage, a Miss Johanna of the same prov- ince. To their union were born seven children, two of whom are now deceased. Anna Hammond, the oldest

Max Helgen.

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daughter, is the wife of Calvin Brown, a miner of Denver, Colorado. The subject of our sketch is the next in point of years. Carolina married John Archi- bald. Both Mr. and Mrs. Archibald are devoting their lives to missionary labors in far India, working under the auspices of the Baptist church. Jennie Hammond makes her home in Denver with her sister, Mrs. Brown. The youngest of the girls, Melvina, is the wife of George Brown, a ranchman. They also reside near Denver. Milton Hammond is therefore the only son of the fam- ily; his brother, Justice, having passed away several years since. It is to him, naturally, that the sisters look for advice and counsel, particularly in financial affairs. Perhaps no citizen of Darby has a wider or more gen- eral acquaintance and none is more deserving of the respect in which he is held in the community.

JAMES A. SHOEMAKER. The enthusiastic enterprise which overleaps all obstacles and makes possible almost any undertaking in the new and vigorous west, is pleas- antly exemplified in James A. Shoemaker, by the cir- cumstance of birth a Pennsylvanian, but since 1890 a citizen of Montana. Loyalty to Montana seems almost to approach a religious faith with many of those resid- ing within its boundaries and Mr. Shoemaker is of this number. His relation to the community has been in several capacities, and for some years he was state manager of the National Surety Company of New York. Since 1903 he has been identified in one way or another with the Montana State Fair Association, and since I910 he has been secretary of the same, and an exceed- ingly competent one. In 1906 he was elected sheriff of Lewis and Clark county and in 1908 became a mem- ber of the state legislature, as a member of that body proving an able and discreet legislator, taking an active and influential part in the general deliberations.

Mr. Shoemaker was born in Lawrence county, Penn- sylvania, October 18, 1866. He is the son of David D. Shoemaker, also a native of the Keystone state, whose demise occurred July 18, 1871. He was a farmer by occupation and a veteran of the Civil war, and his death was directly due to injury received in the service. He was a prisoner at Libby, Belle Island, and Salisbury, and he was not released until five months after the close of the great conflict. He was captured at Peters- burg, and his long incarceration so undermined his health that he never recovered from its effect and passed away in comparatively young manhood. He was a mem- ber of Company A, Seventy-sixth Pennsylvania Volun- teer Infantry, known as the Zouaves, and held the rank of corporal. Six months after enlistment he was wounded and upon recovery re-entered the service, and participated in some of the principal campaigns, being in all the battles of the Army of the Potomac with the exception of the time spent in the hospital or in prison. The remains of this gallant patriot, who offered him- self a sacrifice to the cause in which he believed, are interred in Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, in Slippery Rock cemetery. He was born in 1839. The mother, whose maiden name was Mary M. Evans, was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1841, and the demise of this worthy lady occurred in her native state in January, 1891. Two children were born to this union. The sub- ject's brother, Jonathan Evans Shoemaker, is two years younger than himself, his birth date being August, 1868, and the scene of his nativity Lawrence county, Pennsyl- vania. Since 1894 he has devoted his life to the foreign missionary service of the Presbyterian church and at the present time is stationed at Ningpo, China.

James A. Shoemaker received his primary schooling in Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, and subsequently entered Piersol's Academy at West Bridgewater, Penn- sylvania, where he remained a student for two years. In 1884 he removed to Iowa and for four years attended Parsons' College at Fairfield, Iowa. The ensuing two years he spent at Chicago, as a student in the College

of Dental Surgery, and graduated from that institution with the class of 1890. However, he has not practiced dentistry to any great extent.

Mr. Shoemaker came to Montana April 22, 1890, and by May 14 had arrived in Helena, coming to this city to accept a position with the Consolidated Water Com- pany, holding the office of cashier and assistant secre- tary until February I, 1901. In that year he became associated with the Mutual Life Insurance Company, of New York as a superintendent of agents, and until 1906 acted as superintendent of agents for the state of Montana. He proved a remarkably effective encumbent of this office, but his entering public life made it im- possible for him to attend to duties so extensive. His services as sheriff of Lewis and Clark county and member of the lower house of the state assembly have been above alluded to. On April 1, 1909, he accepted a position as state manager of the National Surety Company of New York, and he retained the same until March, 1910, when he resigned to accept the office of secretary of the Montana State Fair, which he holds at the present time. For seven years previously, Mr. Shoemaker was general superintendent of the Montana State Fair Association. He takes a public-spirited interest in all matters affecting the welfare of the city and is the stalwart champion of good education, which makes his office of director of Helena school district, No. 2, most appropriate. He is one of the standard bearers of the Republican party and has always been active in national, state and local affairs. He is one of the men who exert very definite influence in party councils.

Mr. Shoemaker, like all well-balanced men, has suf- ficient social proclivities to make his fraternal relations a source of pleasure. He is a prominent Mason, belong- ing to Morning Star Lodge, No. 5. He is a life member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and is also connected with the Montana Club. He belongs to the First Presbyterian church of Helena, and takes an active part in its affairs, being chairman of the board of trustees and superintendent of the senior de- partment of the Sunday school.

On April 27, 1893, Mr. Shoemaker was married at Sharon, Pennsylvania, to Miss Carrie J. Marshall, daugh- ter of Thomas J. and Maria W. Marshall. Mrs. Shoe- maker, who is prominent in social and philanthropical affairs in the city and who presides graciously over an attractive household, is a native of Pennsylvania. Three children have been born to their union: James Marshall, born July 23, 1895, is a student at Annapolis Naval Academy, having been admitted July 25, 1910, and now being midshipman. John Evans, born August 6, 1898, is in attendance at the Helena high school; and Charles Sherman, born December 19, 1899, died August 5, 1900. All were born in Helena. The Shoemaker residence is in Kenwood.

The subject is of Dutch, Welsh and Irish descent. The founder of the paternal side of the house came from Holland to the United States early in the eighteenth century and located in the Keystone state. The maternal family, the Ralstons, came to this country from the north of Ireland in 1731, and made location in eastern Penn- sylvania. The Evans family came from Wales early in the nineteenth century and located in southeastern Pennsylvania. Members of both families fought in the colonial and Revolutionary wars, and patriotism has distinguished them in all generations. Mr. Shoemaker is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution.

Mr. Shoemaker finds his greatest pleasure at his own fireside, his tastes being essentially domestic. Aside from this most admirable one, he has no particular hob- bies. He is a self-made man, that product of which America is so justly proud and of which she has nur- tured so many fine examples.

L. Q. SKELTON, cashier of the Bank of Boulder and mayor of that city, was born on a farm near the village

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of Augusta, Carroll county, Ohio, on September 21, 1863, and was the third child in a family of nine sons and daughters of Jason and Mary Skelton, poor but worthy and estimable people of that community, both of whom are now deceased.

L. Q., as he was always familiarly called, was edu- cated in the village school, Damascus Academy, a Quaker institution, the University of Ohio at Athens, and the Northeastern Ohio Normal College, working at whatever he could find to do in vacation seasons to enable him to continue his studies as far as was prac- ticable. He taught school after leaving college, study- ing law in the meantime, and married Flora Manfull, of Angusta, Ohio, after which he moved to Montana and located at Boulder in 1890. There he took charge of the city schools, such as they were at the time, and organized the high school, building up the entire system to a splendid state of efficiency, and continued in charge until he resigned in 1895 to assume a responsible posi- tion in the Bank of Boulder. Since that time Mr. Skel- ton has held every position in the bank except that of president, and he is now cashier of the institution, a position which he has held for many years. The Bank of Boulder is known to be one of the soundest and most stable banking institutions in the state of Montana, and does a business of half a million dollars. It practically represents the life work of Mr. Skelton, of which he may be justly proud.

Mr. Skelton is a staunch Republican, and has always been prominent in the public affairs of his town and county, being mayor of Boulder at the present time. He affiliates with the Episcopal church, in which he is bringing up his only child-a daughter, Miss Mary Isa- belle-and is a Free Mason. Aside from the latter, he has no other fraternal connections.

In his successful career, Mr. Skelton effectively illus- trates the possibilities open to an energetic boy, be he ever so poor. He has demonstrated that such a boy may come to be a scholar of wide learning-a pleasing speaker-a large, many-sided public man of high char- acter and ample means.

JOHN HENRY PRICE. The proprietor of the Crown W Ranch, is a recognized judge of horseflesh, and has built up a large business in this line from a humble start. He is a native of Sussex, England, and was born in March, 1858, a son of David and Annie (Mor- gan) Price, natives of Wales, both of whom are de- ceased.

John Henry Price was the third in order of birth of his parents' eight children, and secured excellent edu- cational advantages, graduating from the noted Oxford College with the class of 1882. A lover of fine horses from his earliest boyhood, in 1887 he came to the United States, and in 1890 engaged in the horse business in Custer county. This venture at first proved anything but promising and from 1893 to 1898 Mr. Price met with numerous disappointments and had to overcome a number of serious obstacles, the principal of which was finding a market for his animals. He did not allow himself to become discouraged, however, and kept steadily forging ahead, his enterprise and perseverance eventually winning a much deserved success. At pres- ent he is breeding from imported animals, having four- teen or fifteen head of Hackney and Shire stallions. One of his specialties is the breeding of polo ponies, for which he finds a market in Boston, New York, Phila- delphia, Chicago and other large cities in this country, while a large number are shipped to the English and French markets. Not only does he supply the United States with animals for its army, but the fame of these Montana bred horses has grown to such an extent that the armies of other countries have been will- ing to pay him fancy prices for his stock.

At the Crown W, a large ranch situated near Miles City, every improvement known to the business of horse

breeding may be found in charge of men who thoroughly understand their business. Under the capable manage- ment of Mr. Price the venture has grown into one of the leading enterprises of its kind in this part of the country, and its reputation for a high standard has been constantly maintained. Personally Mr. Price is pleasant and affable and easy of approach. He favors no political party, and has not identified himself with public matters, although he shows a lively interest in public issues and is ready at all times to assist move- ments having for their object the betterment of his community. He has never married, but keeps bachelor apartments at Knowlton.

DR. JAMES FRANCIS SPELMAN. Some men must give of their brain, some of their muscle in service to their fellow men, but a doctor must give both. To be a success he must be not only a man of unusual physical and intellectual powers but he must also possess will power above the average in order to endure the strain under which he constantly works. Just as this is true of every physician so it is even more noticeable in hos- pital work. The city specialist with his downtown of- fice who only sees patients by appointment is as far away from the general surgeon with a great hospital practice on his hands as is the former from the six- hour-a-day business man. Dr. James Francis Spel- man, of Anaconda, Montana, is a fair example of the type of surgeon above mentioned. With one of the largest surgical practices in the state of Montana, he is so conscientious and thorough in his work that the demands made upon him in a professional way are more than he can fulfill. He is chief surgeon of the Ana- conda Copper Mining Company, and this in itself is a big enough task for any man, but in addition to this he has other professional work and has never lacked the time to interest himself in public affairs. In short he is a perfect example of the product of today, one of those men who accomplish enough for two ordinary men in their lifetime, and yet always seem to have time for one thing more.

James Francis Spelman was born in New York City, on the 18th of April, 1868. He is the son of Michael Spelman, who was a farmer and stockman of Pawnee, Oklahoma. His mother was Katherine Rogan, who was born in the Emerald Isle, and who is now dead. To Michael Spelman and his wife seven children were born, only two of whom are now living, Dr. Spelman and his brother John, who is an engineer for the Butte, Ana- conda and Pacific Railway Company.

After the preparatory education of Dr. Spelman was completed he was sent to the University of Pennsyl- vania to take up the study of medicine. He was grad- uated from this school, which at that time, as now, was one of the best medical schools in the country, in 1890. He received an appointment as house surgeon at the hospital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and there he remained for six months following his graduation. In the fall of 1890 he turned to the west, and coming out to Anaconda decided to settle here. He began to practice here and it was not long before his ability and skill as a surgeon was recognized by his appoint- ment as surgeon for the Montana Union Railway Com- pany. This occurred in 1896, and since that time he has been tendered the office of surgeon for the Butte, Anaconda and Pacific Railway Company and of the Anaconda Copper Mining Company's hospital. This hospital is one well known throughout the state and, indeed, throughout the northwest, for it is a splendid institution of its type. That it has won this reputation is due in no small degree to the unremitting toil of Dr. Spelman. The capacity of the hospital is one hun- dred beds and it is open to all creeds and nationalities, as well as to any reputable physician or surgeon who may choose to take advantage of its facilities. Not only, therefore, as a surgeon does Dr. Spelman merit

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A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 46

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