A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 54

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

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In the public schools of his native place Joseph Mc- Kinnon received his early educational training. At the age of eighteen years he went to work in the coal mines of Nova Scotia and there followed mining for the en- suing four years, at the expiration of which he removed to Montana, settling at Great Falls on the Ist of April, 1891. He worked in the smelters at Great Falls for the following two years and in 1893 he located in Meagher county, where he engaged in mining operations for the next two years. In 1896 he came to Butte and here has resided during the long intervening years to the present time, with the exception of six months spent in the Klondike, where he was prospecting. At Butte he followed mining until 1910 and he was eminently successful in his various enterprises. In December of the latter year he was elected secretary and treasurer of the Miners Union, No. I, and as the incumbent of that important position he is achieving splendid results for the Union and its respective members. In politics Mr. Mckinnon maintains an independent attitude, pre- ferring to give his support to men and measures meet- ing with the approval of his judgment, rather than to vote along strictly partisan lines. He does not take an active part in local politics but contributes in generous measure to all movements projected for the good of the community and city at large. Fraternally, he is a member of the Scottish Clan, of which he is recording secretary, and he is also affiliated with the Fraternal Brotherhood. He is strictly a self-made man and as such his fine success in life is the more gratifying to contemplate. He is popular amongst all clases of people and commands the confidence and esteem of all who know him.

At Butte, on the 7th of July, 1908 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Mckinnon to Miss Anna Mc- Donald, a daughter of Alexander McDonald and a native of Canada, where her birth occurred on the 29th of January, 1872. Mr. and Mrs. McKinnon have one son, Alexander John, who was born in Butte, May 8, 1910. In their religious faith the Mckinnon family are devout communicants of the Roman Catholic church, to whose various charities they are most liberal con- tributors.

ANKER P. HENNINGSEN, president of the Henningsen Produce Company, at Butte, the leading house in its line in the Northwest, was born at Woyens, Germany, on the 26th of July, 1874. He is a son of Fritz A. and Agnes ( Paulsen) Henningsen, both of whom were natives of German, the former born in 1849 and the lat- ter in 1851. The father was actively engaged in the produce business with his son, Anker P., of this notice, for a number of years, but is now living in virtual retire- ment in Superior, Nebraska.

Anker P. Henningsen attended school in Denmark and Germany, and was a youth of fifteen years when he preceded his parents to America. His parents came the following year and for about three years after their arri- val in this country the family home was maintained in the city of Denver, Colorado, thereafter in Superior, Nebraska. While in Denver Mr. Henningsen was inter- ested in the produce business, but in 1891 he came to Montana to manage the affaris of the Henningsen Prod- uce Company, which had been established about two years previously at Butte, and is now one of the largest and most prosperous commercial houses in the state.

The company manufactures butter, ice cream and cheese, and handles poultry and eggs, and also does an extensive cold-storage business. This concern operates a number of houses in the northwestern states thus dis- posing of a large amount of produce outside of the state in addition to the large local trade. In connection with the produce business the company has the best equipped creamery and cheese factory in the state, the same being fitted out with the latest improved machinery and mod- ern cold-storage facilities, and turning out many thou- sand pounds of butter daily.

Fritz A. Henningsen retired from active participation in the business during the past year and since that time the affairs of the company have been conducted by A. P., W. F. and F. A., Jr. Anker P. Henningsen is a busi- ness man of splendid executive ability and untiring energy and holds prestige as one of the most prominent produce men in the northwest.

At Butte, Montana, on July 15, 1899, Mr. Henningsen was united in marriage to Miss Phyllis M. Bailye, a daughter of Thomas and Martha ( Woodwiss) Bailye of Butte. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Henningsen have been born seven children, as follows: Doris, Anker B., Arthur, Robert, Frederick, Phyllis and Ardean.

Mr. Henningsen is a Knight Templar Mason, and a member of Bagdad Temple, Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of both the Silver Bow and the Butte Coun- try clubs, the Chamber of Commerce and other busi- ness associations. In his political views he is nonparti- san and his religious faith is in harmony with the ten- ets of the Episcopal church, of which his wife is a com- municant.

ALBERT I. CLEMENTS. With supreme confidence in the future of Montana and an earnest desire to assist others in securing the success that has met his efforts, Albert I. Clements, more familiarly known as "Bert." continues to remain one of the most progressive and enterprising ranchmen of eastern Montana, where he is widely known and has many friends. Mr. Clements is one of those self-made men of whom the west has always been so proud, his youth having contained all

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those incidents of lack of opportunities, absence of ad- vantages and presence of plenty of hard work that have marked the careers of many of Montana's most successful citizens, and, like them, Mr. Clements is grateful to the section which gave him his chance and today is one of its most enthusiastic admirers.

Albert I. Clements was born May 21, 1865, in Ontario, Canada, a son of William and Mary Ann (Dill) Clem- ents, the former a native of England and the latter of the state of Delaware. 'William Clements came to the United States in his boyhood days, in 1843, first locat- ing at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he was mar- ried. He then removed to Canada, and there he and his wife had five children, namely: William; Laura, who is now deceased; Esther, who married a Mr. Gaffield, of Glendive; Albert I .; and Walter, who died at the age of eighteen years. In 1869 the family moved to Montcalm county, Michigan, where the mother died two years later, and where the father still resides. He engaged in farming after coming to this country.

Reared to agricultural pursuits and educated in the Michigan public schools, at the age of nineteen years Albert I. Clements embarked in farming for himself, returning to Canada, where he spent the summer months in agricultural pursuits and the winters in the lumber camps. In 1889 he returned to the United States, loca- ting in South Dakota, where he remained for one and one-half years, then returning to Michigan for the winter. In 1891 Mr. Clements came first to Montana and for three years worked on cattle, sheep and horse ranches, in the meantime saving what he could from his wages with the intention of entering business on his own account. This ambition was realized in 1894, when he embarked in ranching in a small way, and so ably has he conducted his affairs that the youth who arrived in Montana with but seventy-five cents is now the owner of 1,400 acres of land, of which 200 acres are in wheat, flax and oats, and 500 acres are tillable. He has devoted a great deal of attention to breeding English Shire horses, and has a drove of about 125 fine animals, one of the best in this part of Montana. In addition to a handsome modern residence, Mr. Clements has a barn thirty-six by sixty feet and a granary twenty-four by thirty feet, with suitable and well-built outbuildings for the shelter of his farming implements and equip- ment. His ranch, situated forty miles north of Glen- dive, the county seat of Dawson county, is one of the well-appointed and conveniently situated ones of this part of the state, and the general air of prosperity which pervades the whole property testifies eloquently to the presence of able management. Mr. Clements has been eminently successful in his operations, but this success has not come without a full measure of hard toil, per- severance and courage, the overcoming of obstacles and the usual discouragements and disappointments that fall to the lot of everv struggling youth. Throughout it all he has maintained a cheerful, optimistic spirit and genial manner that have attracted and held friends. and his section of the county has no more popular resident.

GEORGE DONALDSON has been a resident of Montana since 1804. and in that time has been engaged in the sheep raising business, an industry in which he has amply demonstrated his adaptability to western meth- ods, and his splendid business capacity and judgment as well. He owns from four to five bands of sheep. each numbering between three and four thousand head, and is acknowledged to be one of the most suc- cessful men in that business in the state.

Born in Ontario. Canada, on February 23, 1869, George Donaldson is the son of Alex and Jeannette ( Mitchell) Donaldson, the father a native of Glasgow. Scotland, and the mother of Ontario. They met and married in Ontario, whither the father. Alex Donald- son, had come as a young man from his native land, and they. reared a family of seven children, George

being the sixth born. The father carpenter and contractor throughout his life, and he died in March, 1899, while the mother still lives at the old home with one daughter. Four sons of these worthy parents came to the United States, and three of that number still live here. Albert is engaged in the mer- cantile business at Billings, Montana; James is the owner of two Montana sheep ranches, but he makes his home for the most part in Maine, giving some at- tention to his western interests from time to time.

George Donaldson had reached years of manhood before he came to the United States, and his education was that of the common schools of the Dominion. He left home on March 16, 1886, and engaged in farming in western Canada, but circumstances were uupropi- tious, and a few failures were sufficient to turn his in- terest to the United States, where his brothers were already making good in business. He came to Mon- tana in 1894 and started in the sheep raising business, and his success from the start was exceptional. He has continued to be thus identified, and has added to his holdings in land and live stock with each passing year until he is now known as one of the leading men in the state in that business.

On October 1, 1901, Mr. Donaldson was united in marriage with Miss Belle Grant, the daughter of Francis W. and Mary ( McPherson) Grant, native born Scots, Mrs. Donaldson on also having been born in Edinburgh. She came to America with her parents, locating first in Toronto, Ontario, when she was about three years old. Two sons have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Donaldson, George Harold and Grant Calvin, both born in Miles City. Mrs. Donaldson is a member of the Presbyterian church, which place of worship Mr. Donaldson also attends, although he is not a member. He is a staunch Republican, and popular and prominent in local affairs of a political nature, as well as being a citizen of worth and value to any community.

JOHN PETERSON, owner of the property formerly known as the Martin Barrett Ranch of Horse Prairie, which is located about forty miles from the county seat of Beaverhead county, is a native of Smoland, Sweden, born there on the 8th of September, 1873. He is the son of Peter and Anna (Anderson) Peterson, natives of Sweden, who passed their lives there. The father was a farmer by occupation and he died in his native land some twelve years ago, although the mother still lives.

In the land of his birth John Peterson attended the common schools practically up to the time of his coming to America, that event taking place in 1889, he being sixteen years old at the time. He first located at Alta Vista, Kansas, where a brother and a sister had previously located, and here for some eighteen months he worked on a farm, receiving twelve dollars a month during the summer and fall months and working for his board in the winter. In 1891 he came to Montana and in the Big Hole basin he was for four years employed in ranch work, earn- ing from twenty-five dollars to forty dollars a month. He was of a saving and industrious nature, determined to reach an independent state, and at the end of that time he felt himself sufficiently advanced in experi- ence to undertake the purchase and management of a ranch of his own. He accordingly purchased a tract of six hundred and forty acres, or one section, and afterward continually added to . the place until he owned some eight thousand acres. He later sold that property for $100,000 and in the spring of 1911 he bought the Martin Barrett ranch. This ranch com- prised approximately the same acreage, but since Mr. Peterson acquired the property he has added to his holdings until the ranch has about ten thousand acres, all in use in the raising of stock. Mr. Peterson has about four thousand head of cattle on the place, to-

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gether with an enormous number of horses, and his is known as one of the best stock ranches in the state of Montana.

When it is recalled that Mr. Peterson came to Amer- ica a little more than twenty years ago as a penniless youth, his high standing today among the wealthy ranchmen of the state of Montana must be accepted as the evidence of his possession of splendid business ca- pacity, as well as energy and pluck. He is a Demo- crat, and he and his wife are members of the Lutheran church.

In 1907 Mr. Peterson married Miss Thilda Swenson, like himself a native of Sweden, and one son has been born to them, Herman, born August 8, 1909.

JUDGE R. LEE McCULLOCH. Distinguished not only for his own upright and noble life, but for the illus- trious and patriotic ancestry from which he is descended, Judge R. Lee McCulloch, of Hamilton, Ravalli county, is eminently deserving of honorable mention in a work of this character. A son of the late Colonel Robert McCulloch, he was born January 29, 1869, in Tipton, Monitean county, Missouri. His paternal grandfather, Capt. Robert McCulloch, was born in Albemarle county, Virginia, December 2, 1781, and died in Cooper county, Missouri, June 12, 1853. He served as a brave soldier in the War of 1812, being captain of a company of Virginians. His wife, whose maiden name was Patsy Mills, was also a native of Virginia.

Col. Robert McCulloch was born November 23, 1820, in Albermarle county, Virginia, where he received a good education, while attending school being known by the students as "Old Formality." Venturesome and daring as a young man, he was ever quick to respond to the lure of the new and wild, in 1848 making a busi- ness trip to Santa Fe, Mexico, ere the territory of New Mexico was organized. In 1849, with a band of emi- grants, he crossed the plains to the gold regions of California, where he was engaged in mining and pros- pecting for nearly three years. In 1852, accompanied by fifty-three compainions, he recrossed the plains, com- ing eastward as far as Missouri, on the return trip acting as captain of the little band and being chosen for the position on account of his experience, good judgment and courage.

Locating in Cooper county, Missouri, Colonel Mc- Culloch was there a tiller of the soil until the tocsin of war was heard throughout the land. In quick response then to Governor Jackson's call for Missouri troops to resist the Federal forces, he cast his lot with the south, was made captain of a company which he raised, and in October, 1861, joined the command of Gen. Sterling Price, at Springfield, Missouri. He was immediately commissioned colonel of the Second Regi- ment of Missouri Cavalry, which he commanded throughout the conflict. Noted for his courage and skill, Colonel McCulloch was at the front in many of the battles fought west of the Mississippi, General Price giving him the credit of saving the Battle of Pea Ridge. At Corinth, Mississippi, the colonel was detached from Price's command, and afterwards served under Generals Jackson, Armstrong, Lee, Van Dorn, Chalmers and Beale, each of whom, following the example of General Price, selected him for the point of danger on the battle- field. He also commanded a brigade under General For- rest. He was twice wounded by the enemy, once at Tupelo and again at Harrisburg.

Returning to Missouri at the close of the war, Colonel McCulloch was engaged in farming near Tipton, until a short time after the birth of his son, R. Lee McCulloch, when he removed to Cooper county, settling on a farm in the vicinity of Booneville, where he remained until his death in 1907, at the venerable age of eighty-six years. He was quite active' in public affairs, holding various offices of responsibility. He was collector of

Cooper county three terms, being elected to the office in 1872, 1874 and 1876; was county sheriff two years, and state registrar three successive terms of four years each. Courageous and skilful in war, Colonel McCulloch faithfully carried out his duties as a loyal, public-spirited citizen in times of peace, as a public official being honest and efficient.

Colonel McCulloch married, in 1852, Louisa Weight, daughter of Judge Weight, a prominent citizen and law- yer of Cooper county, Missouri, and one of the early surveyors of that county. She died in Missouri, and, with her huband, was buried in the cemetery at Boon- ville. Of the children born of their union three are living, namely: Mittie, wife of George Williams, of Dallas, Texas; Miss Bettie McCulloch, residing with her sister, Mrs. Williams; and R. Lee McCulloch, the subject of this sketch.

Acquiring his education in his native state, R. Lee McCulloch attended school in Boonville, Pilot, and Louisiana, and was subsequently graduated from the law department of the University of Missouri, in Columbia, with the class of 1891. Immediately beginning the prac- tice of his profession in Missoula, Montana, he remained there five years, meeting with most encouraging success. On March 1, 1896, he located in Hamilton, Montana, and for three and one-half years was in partnership with Chester M. Crutchfield, but has since been alone. In the fall of 1908, Judge McCulloch was elected county attorney on the Democratic ticket, and after serving ably and acceptably two years in that office was reelected, in 1910. The position, however, he soon resigned to fill, by appointment, the unexpired term of District Judge H. L. Meyers, who was at that time appointed United States senator. In this capacity, Judge McCul- loch is district judge of three counties, Missoula, Ra- valli and Sanders, and is filling the position with com- mendable fidelity and ability, having been re-elected to this bench November 5, 1912. In 1900, he was appointed adjutant general by Governor Toole, and served accept- ably. A Democrat in politics, the judge was defeated for the state legislature in 1894. He is active in cam- paign work, being a ready and fluent speaker and quite popular as an orator. Fraternally, he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons, in which he has taken the third degree. He has accumu- lated considerable property, owning valuable agricul- tural and timber lands in Montana, and numerous min- eral claims.

On April 19, 1899, Judge McCulloch was united in marriage with Miss Leonora Miles, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, and to them four children have been born, namely: Robert Miles, Lenore Barnard and two children deceased.

ALFORD A. ARNOLD, now deceased, was a resident of the west from 1885 until the day of his death. His life was one replete with experiences which do not ordinarily fall to the lot of man, the circumstances of his birth being different from that of most mortals. He was a twin, born on the ocean, on January 10, 1851, but he claimed American birth owing to the fact that the ship had reached the place where she was flying the Stars and Stripes when he and his twin sister were ushered into the world. He was one of the five children of his parents, there being three brothers besides his twin sister, Rose. The brothers were: John, a resident of California; Harvey, who enlisted in an Ohio regiment during the Civil war and died in Andersonville prison; and Samuel, now deceased.

On reaching America, the family located at Cleveland, Ohio, and when Alford A. was but eighteen months old the father died, leaving his widow with five young chil- dren. Alford A. was reared by one Paul Carey, a farmer near the city, and when the war broke out the Carey home was used as a recruiting station. There the White Horse Cavalry was recruited, and the head

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of the house enlisted with them, leaving his farm to the management of his young charge and his wife. So well did the boy discharge the duties entrusted to him that when Mr. Carey returned home at the close of the war he found that a heavy mortgage had been cleared away from the place, and there was a substantial bank balance to his credit.

Mr. Arnold then secured employment in a paper mill, it being his wish to go his own way, independent of others, and during his experience in that place he met with a number of accidents, more or less serious. He had but a meagre education, his boyhood years having been devoted to farm work, with but little opportunity for the pursuit of knowledge. In 1885 he made his way to Deadwood, and in 1891 made his first appearance in Miles City. Here he met and married Mary Schairo, a daughter of Bernard and Elizabeth Schairo, both natives of Germany. Mrs. Arnold was the sixth born of the eight children of her parents, who came to America in 1835 when the mother was about twenty years old. They married in Canton, Ohio, and there settled on a farm in the then new country, and there they passed the remainder of their lives, the father dying just pre- vious to their fiftieth wedding anniversary, and the mother six years later. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Arnold settled on a ranch and engaged in the cattle business for several years. They then came back to Miles City where they bought the Eureka Hotel, with a number of other pieces of city property. They rebuilt the hotel, improving it in every way, and today the property is valued at $20,000. They managed the place for some years and were particularly successful in the business, always keeping an attractive, up-to-date and pleasant place.

Mr. Arnold died on August 27, 1909, and his loss was deeply felt in the circles where he was known. He was a Republican, and was a member of the Odd Fellows, his affiliations being with the Canton (Ohio) lodge. One son, Arthur, was born to them, and he is now eighteen years old, in school at Miles City. Mrs. Arnold is a member of the Catholic church.

WILLIAM B. RODGERS has been identified with the legal profession in Montana since 1891. He is not a native of the state, but was born in Coles county, Illinois, the son of John White and Margaret Eliza- beth (Gillenwaters) Rodgers, both natives of the state of Illinois. The father was born in Morgan county, Illinois, in 1831, but soon removed with his parents to Coles county, where he passed the remainder of his life. He died in 1883, at the age of fifty-two, his widow pass- ing away in the following year, in the forty-ninth year of her life. They became the parents of five chil- dren, of which number William B. of this review was the third born. Two brothers of Mr. Rodgers are in Montana. Hiram W. is a lawyer and is associated with William B. in the law business, under the firm name of Rodgers & Rodgers. Henry G., also an attorney, re- sides at Dillon, Montana.

The early education of Mr. Rodgers was received in the public schools of Coles county, but at an early age he determined to obtain a college education and entered upon his studies at Lincoln University, Illinois. To obtain sufficient funds for this purpose he alter- nately taught school and attended college. Later he entered Cumberland University at Lebanon, Tennessee, from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1891. Shortly after his graduation, Mr. Rodgers came to Montana, locating first in Philipsburg, where he began the practice of law. His stay in Philipsburg was brief, lasting something more than one year, when he was elected county attorney of Deer Lodge county. He moved to Deer Lodge and remained there about five years, carrying on the practice of his profession in a private way in conjunction with his duties as a county official. In 1897 Mr. Rodgers removed to Ana- Vol. III-12

conda, and after a year in that place he was appointed United States district attorney by President Mckinley, which brought about his removal to Helena. He acted four years in that capacity, and in 1902 he returned to Anaconda, which has represented the scene of his principal activities since that time. He has represented his district in the state legislature, in addition to filling the offices previously mentioned, and while acting as representative he was appointed to serve on practically all of the important committees. Upon his retirement from the office of United States district attorney, he ceased to actively participate in politics and since that time he neither desired nor sought public office, al- though at all times he has taken a deep interest in the public welfare. He has been a Republican in politics, and an ardent believer in the principles and policies of that party. He takes great interest in his profes- sion, at one time being president of the Montana State Bar Association, and a large and constantly growing business requires all of his attention. For three years he has been and is now vice-president for Montana of the American Bar Association.

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A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 54

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