A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 94

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

USA > Montana > A history of Montana, Volume III > Part 94

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

WALTER E. CHRISTOPHER. With supreme faith in the future of the Plains valley, with the ability to profit by present conditions, and possessing a desire to aid others to do so, Walter E. Christopher, of the city of Plains, is one of the most progressive and public-spirited men of Missoula county, and to his influence and example is largely due the present activity shown in various lines of the city's industries. He holds prestige among the busi- ness men of his locality as secretary and treasurer of the Sanders County Mercantile Company, and has also proved his worth in various official public capacities. He is a native of Jersey county, Illinois. and was born November 2, 1872, the youngest of the five sons of John and Marv (Baird) Christopher.

John Christopher was a native of Ohio, and all his life was spent in agricultural pursuits, his death occurring in 1902, when he was seventy-three years of age, and burial being made at the old home in Jerseyville, Illinois. His wife, who passed away in 1910, in Iowa, when seventy- two years of age, was brought back to Illinois and buried at the side of her husband. Walter E. Christopher is the only one of his parents' children to reside in Montana. He secured his education in the public schools of Nebraska and a private school at Beatrice, that state, and as a youth was associated with his father in culti- vating the home farm. He was about eight years of age when he accompanied the family to Gage county, Nebraska, and in 1898 came to Montana and secured his first salaried position as an employe of the Missoula Mercantile Company, with which he was connected two years. At that time he came to Plains and identi- fied himself with the McGowan Commercial Company, and after four years there was appointed deputy sheriff of Missoula county, but when he had served something less than a year was elected county treasurer. He

Pm. P. Law,

1603

HISTORY OF MONTANA

acted in that capacity tor a period covering four years, and was then elected state senator for Sanders county. In June, 1911, he purchased an interest in the Sanders County Mercantile Company, and as its secretary and treasurer devotes all his time and attention to its interests. He is a valued member of the Plains Valley Commercial Club, and has also been prominent in Odd Fellowship, acting as treasurer of the local lodge for some time. A stalwart Republican in his political pro- clivities, he is known as one of his party's most active workers in this part of the state, and has declared his intention of continuing to be known as one of the organization's fighters. He is a man of scholarly tastes, greatly enjoying a good speech, or lecture and being equally fond of reading, but outdoor sports have like- wise found in him a stanch votary, baseball, hunting. fishing, riding and driving all coming in for their share of favor. It may not inappropriately be said of Mr. Christopher that he is what is known as a "booster" for his locality, declaring that he stands for Montana in general and the Plains valley in particular, and believing that its future is assured, in that it offers better inducements and opportunities than any place in the northwest today. Men who are thus stanch in their championship have always had a beneficial effect upon their sections, no matter where they have resided, and it is probably for this reason that Mr. Christopher is known as one of the leading men of Plains and is so universally popular.

On February 28, 1907, Mr. Christopher was married at Missoula, Montana, to Miss Benlah M. Wheeler, formerly a resident of Illinois. They have one bright child : Mary Meusetta.

HON. BENJAMIN B. LAW. Many of Montana's most prominent attorneys and public men started their careers in other fields of endeavor and took up the pro- fession of law only when they had earned the means to prosecute their legal studies by applying themselves to other vocations. Among this class may be found in- dividuals who have risen to a high position in public life, prominent among whom may be mentioned Benja- min B. Law, of Bozeman, state representative from Gallatin county, and a man who deserves the high esteem in which he is held for the services he has rendered his county and state. Mr. Law is a native of the Old Dominion State, having been born at Glade Hill, Franklin county, Virginia, December 17, 1879, a son of William D. and Mary A. (Dudley) Law, farming peo- ple of that state, who are still living in Franklin county. Mr. Law's father was born in 1852, and his mother in 1856, both in Virginia, and of their four children three are still surviving; Benjamin B .; James A., of Carbon county, Montana; and Alexander C., of Lewistown, Montana.

Benjamin B. Law's early education was secured in the public schools of Franklin county, and as a youth of nineteen years he made his way west to Helena, Montana, subsequently securing employment on a ranch in Madison county. He later removed to Bozeman and pursued a course of study in the Montana College of Agriculture, with the idea of fitting himself for farming operations, but after a short period, deciding to enter the legal profession, became a student in the law de- partment of the University of Missouri, at Columbia. He did not graduate from that institution, however, but in June, 1906, located in Bozeman, where he en- gaged in the practice of law. In November of that year he was elected county attorney of Gallatin county, and his services in that office were of such a character as to warrant his re-election in 1908. Having gained the confidence and esteem of the people of his locality, in 1910 he became a candidate for the office of repre- sentative from Gallatin county, was elected after a strenuous campaign, and honorably served in that

distinguished position. Mr. Law has been able to bring about the passage of various measures calculated to be of benefit to his constituents and his community, and known as one of the active working members of the assembly. He continues his profession and has a large and representative clientele, his well-appointed offices being situated in the Golden Rule building. An excellent example of the self-educated, self-made man, he is gain- ing a high position in the esteem of the people of his section, in whose interest he is devoting his best energies. Mr. Law is Democratic in his political views, loyally supporting the issues and candidates of his party. Fra- ternally, he is connected with Western Star Lodge No. No. 4, I. O. O. F .; Bozeman Lodge No. 463, B. P. O. E., and Onawa Lodge, I. O. R. M.

In 1912 Mr. Law was united in marriage with Miss Gladys King, daughter of Ernest W. King, a promi- nent financier, mine promoter and owner and states- man, of Bozeman.

SAMUEL V. STEWART. The name of Samuel V. Stew- art, or "Sam" Stewart as he is better known, is per- haps the most heard name in Montana just at this time, for on the 5th of November, 1912, he was elected by the people of that state as their next governor. His name has long occupied a conspicuous place on the rofl of Montana's eminent lawyers, and during his four- teen years' connection with the bar of the state he has won and maintained a reputation for ability that has given him just pre-eminence among his professional brethren. In the law, as in every other walk of life, success is largely the outcome of resolute purpose and unfaltering industry,-qualities which are possessed in a large degree by Mr. Stewart. His personal popularity was manifested by the enthusiasm with which his nomi- . nation for the gubernatorial office was received by the people and the strength of the vote which he polled at election time.

In Monroe county, Ohio, August 2, 1872, occurred the birth of Samuel V. Stewart, who is a son of John Wilson Stewart and Maria A. (Carle) Stewart, the former of whom died in 1911, at the age of seventy- eight years, and the latter of whom passed into the Great Beyond in 1909 aged seventy-three years. John W. Stewart was born in Marshall county, West Vir- ginia, and at the age of thirty-two years removed to Ohio, whence he went to Kansas in 1883. In the latter state he devoted his attention to farming operations and while greatly interested in local politics and a great booster for the Democratic party he never ran for or held public office of any description. He and his wife were married in Ohio and they became parents of five children, of whom four are living, in 1912, as follows: William R. C. is judge of the North district court and resides in Bozeman, Montana; Harold M. is a prominent lawyer at Bozeman and member of the Montana legislature from Gallatin county, session 1913; Samuel V. is the immediate subject of this article; and Sallie W. resides in Kansas.

Samuel V. Stewart was eleven years of age when the family home was established in Kansas, and in that state he completed his educational training. For some time he was a student in the Kansas Normal College, at Fort Scott, and subsequently he taught school for two years in Kansas. At the expiration of that time he entered the State Normal School, at Emporia, Kan- sas, there pursuing a two-year course of study. He then entered the University of Kansas at Lawrence, in the law department of which excellent institution he was graduated, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, in 1898. Immediately after leaving college he came to Montana, where he was admitted to the bar and where he has since been most successfully engaged in the active practice of law. In connection with his law

1604

HISTORY OF MONTANA

work he is a valued and appreciative member of the Montana State Bar Association, in which he is chair- man of the Grievance committee, in 1912.

The pleasantest incident in Mr. Stewart's profes- sional career occurred in Virginia City when he was a novice in practical legal work. A very important crim- inal case was being tried-he was counsel for the de- fendent and had arrayed against him some of the best legal talent of the state, the same including the late Col. Wilber Sanders. The case was fought with pre- cision on both sides and Mr. Stewart made his first jury address, which, while the case was not completely won, brought about such satisfactory results as to give him full confidence for his future work.

In regard to the reputation and work of Mr. Stewart as a lawyer the Butte Miner, in an editorial headed "Montana's Next Governor," in an issue of October 21, 1912, has the following: "Mr. Stewart is a lawyer by profession. He has practiced for the past fifteen years in old Virginia City, the capital of Madison county, and has acquired there a large clientele, composed of the best citizens and most successful merchants of the county. In his profession he is recognized as a close, careful student of the law, an accurate drawer of papers, and keen examiner, and an eloquent pleader before a jury. His professional standard of ethics is high, and his ideals of public responsibility are deep and abiding."

In his political convictions Mr. Stewart is aligned as a stalwart in the ranks of the Democratic party, which organization he has served as chairman of the state central committee, having been elected in 1910. Now the crowning honor that the state could bestow upon him has been given him and as her governor he will · have a broader field in which to exercise the powers that are so evidently his. The following which was published in the Butte Miner before the election is quoted to show the feeling of the people of the state : "The convention that nominated Mr. Stewart made a wise selection, as subsequent events have proved. He made his foray for the nomination backed by a host of old-time friends and admirers, and he won the place in as clean a fight as was ever made for a nomination at the hands of a political party in Montana. That he had opposition in the convention only sharpened his courage for the fray, and made acceptable the honor when it came to him. Sure of a comfortable majority the day he was nominated, Mr. Stewart has been mak- ing rapid strides and substantial gains all over the state. Sam V. Stewart is the ideal type of man for governor of a great and strong state like Montana. His physical presence is commanding, and he looks the leader of men that he really is. Tall, straight, hand- some, of powerful physique, strong features, splendid voice, easy and graceful of poise, eloquent of speech, clear and lucid of thought and expression, he appeals to the people as few men in public life are able to do."

In Masonic circles Mr. Stewart is a member of blue lodge and a Shriner, and he is likewise affiliated with the Elks, in which he is past exalted ruler, the Fra- ternal Order of Eagles, of which he was state presi- dent in 1910, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Woodmen of the World, and the Lamb's Club, of Helena. His religious inclinations are toward the faith of the Presbyterian church. As a sportsman Mr. Stew- art indulges in fishing and hunting trips, attendance at baseball and football games, and he takes considerable recreation in driving and automobiling. He says that he is a great believer in Montana and does not think there is a state in the Union with as great or as varied natural resources. He is an energetic, progressive citizen, and the following appeal that was made in his behalf during the recent campaign is indeed true: "A vote for Samuel V. Stewart is a vote for the best interests of this state. a vote for the continuance of the Progressive administration now coming to a close,

a vote for the best man aspiring to the position, and a vote for the further prosperity of the great Treasure state."

At Booneville, Missouri, April 27, 1905, was solemn- ized the marriage of Mr. Stewart to Miss Stella Baker, a daughter of William and Emma Baker, prominent residents of Booneville. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Stewart, whose names are here entered in respective order of birth,-Emily, Marjorie and Leah.

PRESTON M. BOSLEY has been a resident of the state of Montana since 1898, and has in the years that have elapsed since then experienced much of success and prosperity financially and in other ways, equally, if not more important. As a boy his opportunities were of a meagre order, the death of his father when he was nine years old sending him forth into the world at an early age as a breadwinner. As a prominent rancher and a lawyer of no little ability, he has won to himself in Harlem a position consistent with his ambitions, but out of proportion to his early advantages.

Mr. Bosley was born at Princeton, Mercer county, Missouri, on the 19th day of November, 1856, and he is the son of Abraham G. and Percilla (McCrea) Bos- ley. The father was a farmer, and he died on Decem- ber 18, 1865. The second marriage of his mother caused Preston Bosley to leave home at the age of fourteen, and thus his schooling did not extend beyond the gram- mar school period. He made his own living in various means thereafter, in the meantime taking up the study of law through the medium of Sprague's Correspond- ence Schools, which for years past has done so much for the ambitions but impecunions youth of our country, and in this wise acquired a goodly working knowledge of the law as applied to the land business. In 1898 he settled on a farm in Montana in Chouteau county, now Blaine county, and at the same time took up the prac- tice of law in Harlem, specializing on land cases. He was particularly successful in both departments of h's business, and has since then purchased another ranch, and it is his intention now to give up his legal practice in the near future and devote his entire time to the man- agement of his ranches. In addition to his ranch prop- erty Mr. Bosley is the owner of a pleasant home in Harlem.

On November 5, 1876, Mr. Bosley was united in mar- riage with Miss Antoinette Everett; the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hosea B. Everett, former residents of Ohio, but now living in Harlem. Mrs. Bosley is a sister of Senator T. M. Everett of Harlem. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bosley, named as follows : Ella, the wife of Judson F. Sharples of Coburg, Mon- tana: May, married to Edward Forbes of Harlem ; Hosea G., a student of McAllister College in St. Paul, Minnesota, the ministry being his goal; Gertie J., the wife of H. C. Willetts of Browning, Montana; Everett F. and Lucy, both students at McAllister College in St. Paul.

Mr. Bosley is a Republican, and has been prominent in Harlem politics. He has served the city on its board of aldermen for three terms, and is in every way an exemplary citizen, at all times keeping in mind the best good of the community and exerting every effort to bring about better conditions in the communal life. As a man, he is justly proud of his success in life, and is particularly pleased over the fact that he has been able to give to his children the advantages of higher educa- tion, which he was not permitted to share in. It is a happy circumstance that all are worthy of the care and forethought their parents have expended on them, and they may reasonably be expected to reflect honor upon those parents in the years to come.

Mr. Bosley is a member of the Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Masons and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which latter named order he has filled all the offices of the local lodge.

1605

HISTORY OF MONTANA

JAMES EDWARD TOTMAN. Numbered among the more prominent and successful representatives of the lumber trade of Montana is James Edward Totman, who, as superintendent and general manager of the Anaconda Milling plant, at Hamilton, stands in the front rank among the leaders of that great industry. A son of the late Henry Totman, he was born June, 1849, at Platts- burg, New York, in the beautiful region bordering on Lake Champlain.

A native of New York state, Henry Totman was identified with the lumbering interests of the country during his entire life. Leaving Plattsburg in 1852, he removed with his family to Coopers Plains, New York, where he remained four years. In 1857 he went to Wis- consin, locating first at Green Bay, where he was for a year engaged in lumbering. Going then to Stiles, he remained there three years and was afterwards in busi- ness at Oconto, Wisconsin, until his death in October, 1867, while yet in the prime of life. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Jackson, was born in New York, and at her death, which occurred at Oconto, Wisconsin, in 1885, was laid to rest beside her husband in the cemetery of that city.

Gleaning his first knowledge of the three "R's" in the schools at Coopers Plains, New York, James E. Totman subsequently continued his studies in Wisconsin, at- tending school at Green Bay, Stiles and Oconto. While living in the last-named place he entered Beloit (Wis.) College, but ere graduating his plans were necessarily changed on account of the death of his father. Immedi- ately returning home, he engaged in the lumber busi- ness, which he conducted successfully until 1877. Going in that year to La Crosse, Wisconsin, Mr. Totman ac- cepted a position with C. L. Coleman, for five years superintending his lumber and milling plant. In 1882 he went with Sawyer and Austin of La Crosse, and had charge of the lumber and milling interests of the Sawyer & Austin Company for twelve years at Winona, Min- nesota. He came to Hamilton in 1898 as superintendent of the milling plant of the Anaconda Milling Company, holding a position of great importance, trust and re- sponsibility. His entire life has been spent in the lum- ber industry, and it is safe to say that no man in the great northwest is better informed as regards the lum- ber business of our country than he. Mr. Totman has acquired valuable interests in the agricultural lands of Ravalli county, and is a firm and enthusiastic believer in the future greatness of the Bitter Root valley.

Mr. Totman has been twice married. He married first Miss Annie B. Duekelow, of New York. She passed to the higher life in 1902, leaving two daughters, namely: Bessie, now wife of Dwight Hughes, of Mis- soula, Montana; and Eva, now wife of George Beck- with, a prosperous ranchman on the Flathead reserva- tion. Mr. Totman married for his second wife Mrs. Mary L. (Fillmore) More, widow of Daniel More. Fraternally, Mr. Totman holds a place of prominence in the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons, hav- ino taken the York and Scottish Rite degrees, and being a member, also, of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He and his family occupy one of the finest residences in Hamilton, it having been erected specially for him by the Anaconda Milling Com- pany.

HORATIO E. MOODY. Intelligent, wide-awake and en- terprising, Horatio E. Moody, of Concord, has built up a substantial and remunerative business under the name of the Concord Feed Company, his unfailing courtesy and prompt attention to the wants of his cus- tomers having secured him a liberal patronage. Of English descent, he was born, May 22, 1880, in Johnson county, Kansas, and was there brought up on a farm.

His father, Frederick W. Moody, was born in Eng- land in 1842, and sixteen years later came to America with his parents, Thomas and Elizabeth Moody, who

settled in Kansas, and there spent their remaining days, the mother dying in 1898, aged four score and four years, and the father in 1904, at the venerable age of ninety-seven years. But a beardl'ess youth when he arrived in Kansas, he assisted his father in the pioneer labor of upturning the sod, and transforming a part of the wild prairie into a garden spot. Soon after attaining his majority, he began farming on his own account in Johnson county, Kansas, where he was an early settler, and has remained there ever since. In- dustrious and far-seeing, he has been very successful in his operations in spite of the many drawbacks suf- fered in that state by the agriculturists, from time to time increasing the acreage of his estate, being now one of the more prominent and wealthy farmers of his community. He married Harriet Owens, who was born in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1848, and to them nine children has been born, namely; Arthur; Mrs. Elsie Byler; William; Mrs. Katie McGee; Edith; Horatio E .; Frederick T .; Francis; and Percy.

Acquiring a practical education in the rural schools of his native county, Horatio E. Moody also became familiar with the various branches of agriculture while young, and in 1898 went to Texas in search of fortune, where he worked on a ranch for a year. Not at all satisfied with his future prospects in the lone star state, he came north to Montana, and for a brief time worked in Billings. Going from there to Cascade, Mr. Moody was employed on a ranch in that vicinity for four years, after which he came to Chouteau county in search of a more desirable position. Entering the employ of J. B. Long, owner of the ranch where now the town of Concord stands, he continued with him until Mr. Long removed. Embarking then in business on his own account, Mr. Moody, in 1910, opened his large feed barn in the new town of Concord, and in its management has met with well-merited success, the feed and hay business which he established under its present name of The Concord Feed Company being one of the foremost enterprises of the kind in the county.

One of the most popular of the younger citizens of Concord, Mr. Moody believes in the town and its pros- pects, and is ever ready to say a good word in its favor. Fond of outdoor sports of all kinds, he is a most genial companion, and has won a large circle of friends. In his political affiliations he is a Progressive Democrat, and ever ready to advance the interests of his party. Religiously he is a member of the Christian church. He has never married, but is still heart whole and heart free.

ROYAL S. WOOD. One of the men who identified them- selves with the new country of northwest Montana and have come to possess an important share in its business and civic prosperity is Mr. Wood. an enterprising and successful young business man of Galata.

Royal S. Wood was born at Oxford, Nova Scotia, January 11, 1878, a son of Rufus O. and Mary E. (Reed) Wood. Rufus O. came to Montana for his health in 1909 and went to Lethbridge, Alberta, where he died in May, 1909, at the age of sixty-seven. He had a long and prosperous business career, and in Nova Scotia conducted a sawmill and also was a dealer in lumber, flour and feed. The mother was born in Nova Scotia, and is now living at the age of sixty-five in Lethbridge.

The first twenty years of his life, Mr. Wood spent in Nova Scotia, where he gained his education in the public schools. In 1898 he moved to Montana, and became a rancher in Chouteau county, and was con- nected with the then principal industry of this part of the state for seven years. He was later a resident of Great Falls until 1910, in which year he located in Ga- lata. Here, in partnership with the pioneer business

1606

HISTORY OF MONTANA

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

A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 94

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