A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 99

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

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ALBERT W. MERRIFIELD. Since 1900 Albert W. Merri- field, of Fort Benton, has served efficiently in the office of county surveyor of Chouteau county, and during this time has made an admirable record for duties faith- fully performed and opportunities promptly seized and fully used. His activities, however, have not been entirely limited to the responsibilities of public service, as he is well and favorably known in financial circles, and holds official positions in several large banking institutions. Mr. Merrifield was born at Amboy, Illi- nois, October 7, 1869, and on his father's side of the family is descended from English ancestors who set- tled in Vermont a number of generations ago, while his mother's people, members of the old and honored Ives family of England, trace their ancestry back to William the Conqueror.

Albert H. Merrifield, father of Albert W., was born in Vermont, and as a youth enlisted in Company F, Eighth Regiment, Vermont Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the close of the Civil war, par- ticipating in many hard-fought engagements and rising to the rank of sergeant. When hostilities ceased he located in Ottawa, Illinois, where for many years he was engaged in the manufacture of pianos and organs, and died in that city in August, 1902, at the age of sixtv-six years. He was married at Amboy to Lucille D. Tooker, a native of Amboy, Illinois, and to them were born seven children, Albert W. being the oldest.

After attending the public schools of his native place and the high school at Mendota, Illinois, Albert W. Merrifield entered the University of Illinois, and on graduating from that institution secured a position in the engineering department of the Illinois Central Rail- road, at Chicago. He spent two years in the service of that road, and then returned to Ottawa, where for four years he worked in the office of the county sur- veyor, securing experience that has been of inestimable value to him in later years, and then engaged in the private practice of surveying. In 1899 Mr. Merrifield left Ottawa for the West, and March 24th of that year arrived in Chinook, Montana, where he became asso- ciated with the county surveyor, continuing with him until his removal to Fort Benton in the fall of 1900, since which time he has acted in the capacity of sur- veyor of Chouteau county. His executive ability, progressive methods and sturdy integrity of character have won him numerous friends and supporters, and he is also recognized as one of the able and representative young business men of his part of the state, being a director and stockholder in the First National Bank of Harlem, the First National Bank of Chinook and the Benton State Bank. In political matters Mr. Merri-

field has always been a Republican, loyally support- ing his party's candidates on all occasions and being counted one of the active workers of the organization in Chouteau county. He holds prestige fraternally as a member of Benton Lodge No. 25, Great Falls Chap- ter and Commandery and Mystic Shrine at Helena, in Masonry, and is also connected with the Fraternal Order of Eagles at Havre. While a resident of Men- dota, Illinois, he served as a member of Company B, Sixth Regiment, Illinois State Militia.

Mr. Merrifield was married at Ripon, Wisconsin, August 9, 1911, to Miss Wanda L. Nohl, daughter of Louis Nohl, a native of Wisconsin. To Mr. and Mrs. Merrifield was born a daughter, Wanda. They are well and favorably known in social circles of Fort Benton.

BENJAMIN W. WILSON. A scion of sturdy old Scotch families and inheriting the shrewdness, thrift and dogged determination of his ancestors, with other traits of mind and character which have helped to make the typical Scotchman successful and prosper- ous in every clime and on every field of action, Ben- jamin W. Wilson, one of the leading mine owners of Butte, has forcibly exemplified in his interesting ca- reer the best attributes and characteristics of his race and most worthily upheld the name and traditions of his forefathers and their record of conquest over dif- ficulties.

Mr. Wilson, who is now the only living representa- tive of his family, was one of its first offspring born in this country. His life began at Traer, Iowa, on February 7, 1875, and there he grew to manhood and obtained the foundation of his academic education. His parents, Andrew and Mary (Brown) Wilson, were born in Scotland and came to the United States at early ages. They found new homes in Iowa, and here they became acquainted and were married. The father owned grain elevators at Traer and carried on a flourishing business in grain until death cut short his labors in the prime of his manhood. He was born in 1849 and died in 1879. The mother died at the age of twenty-eight, when her son Benjamin was an infant. Two other sons were born in the family: Eugene, who died in South Bend, Washing- ton, and Harry, who passed away in Butte, Montana.

Benjamin W. Wilson attended the public schools in his native town and completed his education at the Iowa Agricultural College, from which he was gradu- ated in 1896. Mining had warmly enlisted his at- tention, and he determined to make it his life work if possible. With this end in view he left the scenes and associations of his boyhood and youth and plunged boldly into the wild excitement and arduous toil of the mining camps in the Black Hills of South Da- kota. He prospected all through that region but never struck pay dirt. Thinking he might have a better chance in another locality, he went to Utah, and for some time carried on his prospecting industry in the mining portions of that state. There, also, he was unsuccessful, and then he almost abandoned all hope of ever making a strike that would pay, and in 1899 came to Butte and went to work in the mines here to recoup his shattered fortunes.

After about one year and a half passed in arduous labor in the mines for other persons he once more turned his attention to prospecting and followed it for a time without any good results worth speaking of. He discovered several ore-bearing properties, but after working them a short time abandoned them. At last he located the Bismarck mine in Madison county, about twenty miles south of Jefferson Island, and be- gan its development. He soon found he had discov- ered a bonanza and formed a company for the pur- chase of machinery and the further development of the mine. This property is in the mountains about

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twenty miles from railroad facilities, and by that fact is handicapped to some extent temporarily. But the ore it yields is of very high grade of gold and cop- per, running about twenty per cent., and with enough first quality ore in sight to make all the stockholders in the company wealthy. Mr. Wilson is the principal stockholder and the secretary of the company he formed. The directors are among the best known and most prominent business and professional men in Montana, and the work of developing the mine is proceeding with gratifying progress. The company has installed a mill and mining machinery costing many thousands of dollars, and is losing no time in getting at the wealth they know awaits them, as the reward of their faith and enterprise, in far greater measure than they have yet realized it. Mr. Wilson is also the owner of two ranches, one at Jefferson Island, Montana, and the other on Puget Sound, opposite Ta- coma, Washington.

He is unmarried and mingles freely with his fellow men in social life and through the medium of the fra- ternal and social organizations. He belongs to the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Loyal Order of Moose, the University Club and the Elks. He is a firm be- liever in the principles and theories of government of the Democratic party, but has never taken an active part in political contests. He has, however, given careful attention and excellent support to all projects designed to advance the interests and promote the wel- fare of the city of Butte and state of Montana. He is fond of outdoor life, being especially devoted to hunting and fishing.

Mr. Wilson's paternal grandparents, John and Jean (McCosh) Wilson, were born, reared and married in Scotland. They came to the United States early in their married life and located in Iowa, where they were pioneers and started the American branch of the family. One of their sons, Hon. James Wilson, has been secretary of agriculture during the adminis- trations of Presidents Mckinley, Roosevelt and Taft. They farmed profitably in their new home, labored in- dustriously, lived frugally and gave earnest attention to all the claims of duty in reference to both public and private affairs. After many years of usefulness and upright living in Iowa they passed away there, universally respected as among the best persons in their community.

HARRY W. POWER, M. D. The world instinctively pays deference to the man whose success has been worthily achieved and whose prominence is not the less the result of an irreproachable life than of natural talents and acquired ability in the field of his chosen lahor. Dr. Harry W. Power occupies a position of distinction as a representative of the medical profession in Conrad and Teton county, Montana, and the best evidence of his capability in the line of his chosen work is the large patronage which is accorded him.

Doctor Power was born at Bismarck, North Dakota, July 18, 1879, and he is a son of Maurice N. and Sarah (Casey) Power, the former of whom was born in Massachusetts, of Irish descent, and the latter of whom is a native of Ireland. The father grew up and was educated in his native state and after the inception of the Civil war enlisted as a soldier in Company M, Seventy-fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. He served in the army with valor and distinction for a period of three years and in 1864 he came west as far as North Dakota, settling permanently in that state in 1872. He was a government contractor during his active career but is now living in retirement in the city of Great Falls, Montana, where he has maintained his home since 1800. Of the six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Maurice N. Power, Dr. Harry W. Power was the youngest in order of birth of the four sons. He was educated in the public schools of Great Falls, Montana,

and was graduated in the Neihart high school in 1896. Three years later he was graduated in the University of Colorado, with the degree of Bachelor of Science, and in 1900 was matriculated as a student in North- western University, in the medical department of which excellent institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1903, with the degree of Doctor of Medi- cine.

After graduation in Northwestern University, Doctor Power was in interne in Mercy Hospital, in Chicago, for one year, at the expiration of which he came to Conrad, Montana, where he initiated the active practice of his profession and where he has since been a promi- nent and influential citizen. He devotes his attention to a general practice but makes a specialty of surgery, having taken post-graduate courses in that particular line on three separate occasions in eastern colleges.

Although not interested in politics Doctor Power is intrinsically loyal and public spirited in his civic attitude and exercises his franchise in favor of the Republi- can party. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America and with the Woodmen of the World, and in his religious faith is a Roman Catholic. Doctor Power is unmarried.

FRANCIS T. RICKARD. Energetic, enthusiastic, and in- dustrious, Francis T. Rickard, of Shelby, is a firm believer in the advancement and progress of Montana, and is ever ready to add his mite toward the making of a bigger and better state, his especial interests, how- ever, centering in and around Shelby, where he is carry- ing on a good business as a dealer in real estate. A native of Washington, he first saw the light of this world, as novelists say, November 17, 1880, in Stevens county, Washington.

His father, the late Conrad Rickard, was born in 1836, in Baden, Germany, and there spent his earlier life. Immigrating to America in 1861, locating during that year at Fort Benton, Montana. Subsequently going up the river until he hit the Teton trail, he followed that rude pathway until he reached Washington, one of the newer territories, of which but comparatively little was known. Settling in Stevens county, he took up wild land, and on the farm which he reclaimed from its original wildness spent the remainder of his life, passing away. March 27, 1891, at the early age of fifty- five years. He married Lulu Culver, who was born in California in 1859, removed with her parents to Wash- ington in girlhood, and is still a resident of Stevens county. Three children were born of their union, namely: Francis T .; Conrad, of Colville, Washington ; and Mrs. Minnie St. Clair, also of Colville, Washington.

Left fatherless while a young lad, Francis T. Rickard began hustling for himself at the age of thirteen years, going to Oregon as a cow-boy. After serving a year in that capacity, he returned to his native state, where he was variously employed for several years, chiefly in some line or agricultural labor. In 1899, Mr. Rickard made his first appearance on Montana soil, and for a number of years thereafter his entire attention was. devoted to cattle, as an employee of the E Cattle Company, one of the foremost organizations of the kind in the state. Returning once more to Washington, Mr. Rickard bought land, and engaged in ranching on his own account. Not satisfied with the pecuniary re- sults obtained from working the soil, he sold his ranch and embarked in the meat business, first in Spo- kane, and later at Colville. Disposing of his market, we next find him in Idaho, later in Oregon. The lure of Montana subsequently called Mr. Rickard to Boze- man, and after living there a short time, he settled in Shelby, Teton county, where he is now prosperously engaged in the real estate business, an industry for which he is well adapted, and in which he is meeting with gratifying success.

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Politically Mr. Rickard is an ardent supporter of the principles of the Republican party. Fraternally he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America; and of the Knights of Pythias. He is a lover of outdoor sports of all kinds, but is especially fond of hunting and fishing.

On February 12, 1900, Mr. Rickard was united in marriage with Miss Mamie Schanz, who was born in Osseo, Minnesota, but was then living in Colville, Washington. Mr. and Mrs. Rickard have one child, Dorothy Hazel Rickard, born December 5, 1905. F

HORACE GREELEY POMEROY, prominent lawyer of Eureka, secretary of the Eureka Townsite Company, and its legal representative, member of the lower house of the state legislature for Flathead county in 1909, the eleventh session, and city clerk and attorney for Eureka since its organization into a town, is, of necessity, one of the busiest men of the community. He has been a resident of the state of Montana since 1899, but a practicing attorney only since 1906, and in the six years of his identification with the business interests of the city and county, he has forged to the fore with a surety that has been astonishing to his warmest admirers. Mr. Pomeroy was born in Jack- son county, Kansas, near Holton, on March 6, 1876, a son of John Franklin Pomeroy and Isabella C. (Clark) Pomeroy. The father was born in Massa- chusetts and he and his wife still live in Holton, Kansas, he being now in his eighty-first year. He came to Kansas in 1858, when he was about twenty-six years of age. He was a Kansas volunteer throughout the Civil war, and saw much active service at that time. The mother was born in Indiana. When a small child her parents migrated to Kansas, and there she was reared. She is now seventy years of age. They be- came the parents of the following children: Delia, deceased; Franklin C., who resides in Holton, Kansas, on the old homestead; Horace G., of this review; Alice Lyall, of Chicago; Harriet S. Billard, of Santa Fe, New Mexico; Clara Belle Dunn, of Holton, Kan- sas; and John A. Pomeroy, also of Holton, Kansas. John Franklin Pomeroy was twice married. First, December 30, 1862, to Martha Jane Blake, of Indiana, and unto this union but one child is living-Judge Chas. W. Pomeroy of Kalispell, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this work.

The district schools of the farming community where Horace Greeley Pomeroy was reared furnished his schooling during the early years of his life, and he later attended Campbell College at Holton, Kansas, where he took a course in civil engineering. Follow- ing his graduation in 1898 he took up school teaching at St. Clere, Kansas, teaching there the winter after leaving college, and the next year going to Kalispell, Montana, where he taught school near Columbia Falls for a three months' term. He then went into the law offices of Foot & Pomeroy as stenographer in De- cember, 1899, and continued with them in the study of the law until 1906, being admitted to the bar in June of that year. Immediately thereafter he went into the county clerk's office as deputy, remaining until January, 1907. His next move led him to Eureka, Montana, where he engaged in the active practice of his profession, and here he has enjoyed a very suc- cessful career since that time. Since locating in Eureka he has been the legal representative of the Eureka Townsite Company, one of the big concerns of the city, and he is also secretary of that company. In 1908 Mr. Pomeroy was elected to the lower house of the state legislature for Flathead county, which then included Eureka, and since 1909, the date of the organization of the town, he has been its city clerk and attorney.

Mr. Pomeroy was married on February 15, 1902, to Miss Maude A. Ferguson, of Kalispell, Montana.

He is a Republican in his political convictions, and both he and his wife give evidence of their advanced ideas by their affiliation with the Christian Science religion.

Mr. Pomeroy is a man of quiet and homelike in- stincts, but possesses a wide circle of good friends throughout the state and wherever he is known. He has built up for himself a reputation for fair dealing and general integrity that is one of his chief assets, and he has succeeded in his profession far beyond the usual measure of success for a man of his age and experience.

NELS C. NILSON was born in Denmark, on June 25, 1866, and there lived until he reached his majority. He is the son of Chris C. and Mary Nilson, both natives of Denmark. The father, who has followed farming in his native land all his life, is still actively engaged in that business, and is hale and hearty at the age of seventy-nine years. The mother died in 1909, aged sixty-five years. They were the parents of ten chil -. dren, eight of whom are now living. Nels C. was the fourth born in this family, and of his brothers and sisters, four are now living in Kalispell.

Mr. Nilson attended the public schools of his native land until he was in his 'teens, after which he was ap- prenticed in the cabinet making trade, in which he con- tinued until he was twenty years of age. When he was twenty-one he immigrated to America, and locating in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he secured a position in a furniture shop, where he remained for ten years. He then removed to Litchfield, where he became established in a similar business, and there continued for nine years. In 1899 he left Litchfield and came directly to Kalispell, and for four years after his coming here he engaged in contract work. He then established the Flathead Woodworking Company in 1903, with quarters in a building 24 x 60 feet at first, but which later de- veloped into a shop of generous proportion, with all modern equipments and conveniences, including electric motors, etc., and with fourteen woodworking machines. The business has grown apace since its inception, and Mr. Nilson is recognized as one of the leading busi- ness men in the city today. He carries on a thriving business in his shops and is one of the representative and influential men connected with industrial enter- prises in Kalispell.

Mr. Nilson is a member of a number of fraternal societies, among them being the Modern Woodmen of America and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a member of the Christian church, the faith of his fathers and in his political views, is in the ranks of the Independents. He is a member of the Kalispell Club, and is prominent in the political, business and social activities of the city.

On September 25, 1889, Mr. Nilson was united in marriage with Miss Bertha Collier, of Cumberland, Wisconsin. They have become the parents of five chil- dren, as follows: Leo Nilson, the eldest, was born on July 13, 1892, in Litchfield, Minnesota; he is now en- gaged in business with his father ; Estella, born in 1894, is a student of voice, and is making splendid progress with her studies; Gladys was born in 1897, and is at present attending the high school in Kalispell; Clifford, horn in 1890 and Nettie, born in 1901, are both attend- ing school in the city.

ROBERT ALLEN COOLEY, B. S., professor of zoology and entomology at the Montana State College of Agri- culture and Mechanical Arts, head of the biology de- partment and state entomologist of Montana, has raised himself to a distinguished position in the field of science. Professor Cooley was born June 27, 1873, on his father's farm in Deerfield. Franklin county, Massachusetts, a son of Alfred and Charlotte Maria (Clapp) Cooley.

Alfred Cooley was born in 1844 on the old home

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stead place in Massachusetts, where he was engaged in farming up to April 1, 1912, and since that time has been living a retired life. His wife, one year his junior, also lives on the old homestead, and they have been the parents of six children, as follows: Cora E., the wife of Charles S. Phelps; Katie, who passed away at the age of twenty-seven years; William H., who married Lula Boyd; Alfred, who died in infancy; Robert Allen; and Fred B., who married Florence Adsit. The family is connected with the Congregational church, of which the parents are active members, and in his political proclivities the father is a stalwart supporter of Republican principles.

Robert Allen Cooley first attended the graded schools in the vicinity of the home farm, and subsequently graduated from the Deerfield high school and Deer- field Academy. In 1895 he was a member of the grad- uating class at the Massachusetts State Agricultural College, at which time he received the degree of Bach- elor of Sciences, and subsequently received the same degree from the Boston University. On being grad- uated he was given the position of assistant entomol- ogist of the experiment station of the Massachusetts State Agricultural College, at Amherst, and in 1899 came to Bozeman, as a member of the faculty and pro- fessor of zoology and entomology at the Montana State College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advance- ment of Science in Zoology and is also a member of the American Association of Economic Entomologists and Entomological Society of America, the Phi Sigma Cappa Greek letter society, and Bozeman Lodge No. 18, A. F. & A. M. In his political views he is a Republican.

On June 7, 1899, Professor Cooley was married to Miss Edith M. Cooley, who was born at Sunderland, Franklin county, Massachusetts, daughter of George and Abigail H. (Smith) Cooley. Her father was born at that same place, November 6, 1839, and still resides on the old homestead, where he has spent his whole life with the exception of the time he was in the Union army. He served three years as a member of Com- pany F, Thirty-seventh Regiment, Massachusetts Vol- unteer Infantry, which was attached to the famous Sixteenth Army Corps, and during that time participated in all its movements, including numerous skirmishes, a forced march of forty-five miles to the battle of Gettysburg, and twenty otner hard-fought battles, among them such bloody fights as Chancellorsville, Wilder- ness, Cold Harbor and Spottsylvania. He is now a popular comrade of his local Grand Army of the Re- public post. His wife was born in Buckland, Frank- lin county, Massachusetts, and they had a family of five children, four of whom are now living, while Mrs. Cooley is the third in order of birth. Professor and Mrs. Cooley have three children: Charlotte, Robert Allen, Jr., and Genevieve. The family residence is at No. 810 Central avenue, South, and is a center of cul- ture and social refinement.

H. W. DOUGLAS. By birth a New Englander, by na- ture a gentleman, by instinct and development a public- spirited man, the life of Postmaster Douglas is one of particular interest. He was born in Voluntown, Con- necticut, on August 6, 1855, his parents being B. C. and Abbie A. (Salisbury) Douglas, the latter being a native of Augusta. Maine.

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A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 99

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