USA > Montana > Yellowstone County > An illustrated history of the Yellowstone Valley : embracing the counties of Park, Sweet Grass, Carbon, Yellowstone, Rosebud, Custer and Dawson, state of Montana > Part 100
USA > Montana > Park County > An illustrated history of the Yellowstone Valley : embracing the counties of Park, Sweet Grass, Carbon, Yellowstone, Rosebud, Custer and Dawson, state of Montana > Part 100
USA > Montana > Dawson County > An illustrated history of the Yellowstone Valley : embracing the counties of Park, Sweet Grass, Carbon, Yellowstone, Rosebud, Custer and Dawson, state of Montana > Part 100
USA > Montana > Rosebud County > An illustrated history of the Yellowstone Valley : embracing the counties of Park, Sweet Grass, Carbon, Yellowstone, Rosebud, Custer and Dawson, state of Montana > Part 100
USA > Montana > Custer County > An illustrated history of the Yellowstone Valley : embracing the counties of Park, Sweet Grass, Carbon, Yellowstone, Rosebud, Custer and Dawson, state of Montana > Part 100
USA > Montana > Sweet Grass County > An illustrated history of the Yellowstone Valley : embracing the counties of Park, Sweet Grass, Carbon, Yellowstone, Rosebud, Custer and Dawson, state of Montana > Part 100
USA > Montana > Carbon County > An illustrated history of the Yellowstone Valley : embracing the counties of Park, Sweet Grass, Carbon, Yellowstone, Rosebud, Custer and Dawson, state of Montana > Part 100
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In 1892, Mr. Johnston married Mary Holt, of Leavenworth, Kansas.
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J. R. WEAVER, one of the well known and popular business men of Red Lodge, is also one of the pioneers of Montana, as he came in with a band of horses in 1881. Those were the days of buffalo and Indians and Mr. Weaver remarks of those days, "Buffalo hunt- ing and fighting Indians was the regular thing." Mr. Weaver located with his horses on Heart mountain and there he has continued to hold headquarters for his stock business since. In 1888 he came to Red Lodge and opened a livery and feed stable and since that time he has continued steadily in the same business and his barn is one of the finest in the state. In equipment of every kind as well as in stock, Mr. Weaver always selects the best and the care and pains taken for the con- fort and safety of his patrons have made him justly popular as a man and especially in his business relations. His barn is one of the landmarks of Red Lodge and there is hardly a resident of the county who does not know Mr. Weaver.
The birth of our subject occurred February 28, 1860, on the home farm in Missouri Bot- tom, Douglas county, Oregon, whither his par- ents had come in 1850. He is one of a family of twelve, ten boys and two girls. The parents, Hans and Harriet Weaver, crossed the plains from Ohio to Douglas county, Oregon, with ox teams in 1850. The father was born in 1812 and the mother in 1818 and they did a noble part in the great work of opening and develop- ing the west. In 1880, our subject left home and came to eastern Oregon, where he lived a comboy's life till the next year, when he jour- neyed to Montana with a band of horses as mentioned before.
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Mr. Weaver was united in marriage to Lottie Strobe, at Red Lodge, July 5, 1896, and they have become the parents of three boys Allen, aged ten, Stanford, aged seven, and John, four years old. Republicanism has al- ways claimed Mr. Weaver and he takes a keen interest in matters of state and nation. He is
a prominent lodge man being affiliated with the Masons, the Odd Fellows and the Eagles.
HON. FRANK HENRY, judge in the Sixth Judicial District Court, in the state of Montana, has the excellent distinction of hav- ing served on the bench continuously longer than any other judge in the state. Much of the time he has been elected without opposi- tion so thoroughly has he won the confidence of the people. All will be pleased to see a re- view of his life in this history and we append the same with pleasure.
Judge Henry was born in Dayton, Ohio, November 15, 1855, being the son of James M. and Elizabeth Henry, whose ancestors were originally from Virginia. The father was a minister in the Christian church in Dayton and held one pulpit sixteen years in that city. He died at Chillicothe. Missouri, in 1882 and his wife had preceded him from the same city in 1880. Frank received a common school education and was admitted to the bar in Chil- licothe. in 1877. The next year he was attor- ney for that city and there practiced his pro- fession till 1883 when he came west to Mon- tana, locating at Livingston in October of the same year. He was elected attorney of Galla- tin county, which then included Park county, in 1886 and removed to Bozeman in January, 1887. He resigned the position in August, 1888, and returned to Livingston. He was ap- pointed city attorney upon the organization of Livingston and was elected judge, Sixth Judi- cial District, October 1, 1889, his name appear- ing on the Republican ticket. The district then included Gallatin, Meagher, and Park counties. He was re-elected in 1892 and 1896 without any opposition. In 1892 the district consisted of Meagher and Park counties. In 1896, Car- bon, Park, and Sweet Grass constituted the dis- trict. In 1900 Judge Henry defeated W. H. Poorman and in 1904 he was again elected
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without opposition. His present term expires in 1908. Since March 1, 1907, the district is composed of Park and Sweet Grass counties.
It is evident to all that such a magnificent record as this is positive proof in what estima- tion Judge Henry is held by the people of the Sixth Judicial District.
In Davis county, Missouri, in 1881, Judge Henry was united in marriage to Julia E. Bal- linger and they have one son, Merrill, who is married and dwelling on a farm in the Shields river valley, Park county.
MADISON M. BLACK was born Jan- uary 1, 1855, in Laurel county, Kentucky, the son of Leander M. and Mary A. (McHargue) Black. Mrs. Black was born in Laurel county, Kentucky, and died at Bozeman, Montana, No- vember 3. 1895. She was married to L. M. Black at the old Kentucky home, April 13. 1854. Her father, William McHargue, mar- ried Saralı McBroom and moved from North Carolina to Kentucky in 1805. Mrs. Black's grandfather was born August 5, 1845, and died August 7, 1876, and his father came from Ireland to the new world shortly after the May- flower. He settled first in Pennsylvania and went thence to North Carolina. The paternal ancestors of our subject came from English and Scotch stock and were among the first colonists to settle in what is now South Caro- lina, whence they went west to Kentucky, Mis- souri, Colorado and Montana. L. M. Black secured the contract from the government for the supplies of the Army of the Platte during the Civil War and in 1859 went to Denver leaving his family on the old plantation. They heard nothing from him until 1864, when he returned. In 1867 L. M. Black came on to Montana and did freighting and a mercantile business. Also he secured the contracts to furnish the Crow Indians with provisions and other supplies, treated with the Indians
through authority from the Secretary of the Interior and built the first agency. After that he established several trading posts and did a very large business and became one of the lead- ing citizens of Montana. His deathi occurred July 18, 1881.
Referring more particularly to the immed- iate subject of this sketch, M. M. Black, we note that he received a good education, study- ing at Paul's College, Palmyra, Missouri, and came to Montana in 1871. He returned to Lexington, Kentucky, and finished his educa- tion at the Kentucky University there. In 1873 he again came to Montana. He became book- keeper and assistant cashier of the First Na- tional Bank of Bozeman, an institution his fa- ther liad established, later published the Boze- man Times, organized the Bozeman Silver Cornet Band and was president of the same for ten years. In 1875 Mr. Black was proprie- tor of the Northern Pacific hotel in Bozeman and in the same year was one of a party that trailed down some savage Sioux Indians who murdered James Hughes, in which trip the whites suffered much exposure. On August 31. 1875. occurred the marriage of Mr. Black and Miss Rosa G. Fridley, Bishop Tuttle per- forming the ceremony. Their first born, Nellie Agnes, saw the light June 9, 1876 and the last day of the following August Mrs. Black and the baby returned to St. Joe, Missouri. It is memorable that in June of that year the snow lay four feet deep on the level. Mr. Black was handling his father's bull train in 1876 and re- members that on December 27, the thermo- meter registered sixty degrees below zero. On January 5 following. the Indians ran off a large bunch of the freight cattle and Mr. Black organized a party of nineteen and got them all back, but had a very dangerous experience as they closed in and took the stock just as the Indians were about to fight General Miles' command of soldiers. So close was the call Mr. Black termed it into the jaws of death and out again. About this time Mr. Black became
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associated with Mr. Daniels in business and the firm was changed from L. M. Black & Com- pany to Black & Daniels, Mr. Black having taken over much of his father's business. Mr. Black established a post on Pease bottom, op- posite the mouth of the Big Horn river and trafficked with the Indians. He put in a ferry and later sent the first steamboat load of robes and furs to St. Louis. In 1877 Black & Dan- iels moved all their stock to Bozeman. The following year they sold out to W. H. Ran- dall. In September, 1880, Mr. Black was nom- inated by the Democrats for county clerk and was elected, and two years later he was re- elected by the largest majority on the ticket. Two years later he was nominated again but defeated by James Gourley. On March 26, 1887 Black & Nevitt bought out the electric light company. In 1892 they sold out for forty- five thousand dollars. Two years later Mr. Black bought out H. Arment. in the book and stationery business at Bozeman and the same year sold it to W. B. Burkett. Since 1897 Mr. Black has made his home at Fridley, where he is handling his ranch and the townsite. He is also devoting considerable time to an in- vention that is about perfected.
Mrs. Rosa G. Black died at the old Frid- ley homestead October 18, 1903. She was born in Scott county, Iowa, May 27, 1858, and left besides her husband, two daughters, Nellie Agnes, now Mrs. Harry C. Clark, of Spokane, Washington, and Edith Lillian, now Mrs. Dr. Charles E. Collamer, her birth occurring Au- gust 18, 1878; a daughter was born to Mrs. Collamer December 28, 1906. Mrs. Black's father, Franklin F. Fridley, was born to Jacob and Nancy Fridley, in Augusta county, Vir- ginia, October 22, 1824. The family went to Ohio in 1828, to Iowa in 1843. where the parents died. In 1849 Mr. Fridley went to California and did well mining and returned the last of 1850 via the isthmus. On April 15. 1851 Mr. Fridley married Miss America J. Mounts, who was born near Albion, Illinois,
October 25, 1830, and died at Bozeman, Sep- tember 22, 1892. Mr. Fridley brought his family from Iowa to Montana in 1864. He located where Fridley is now. His death oc- curred September 8. 1892, and his wife fol- lowed him September 22, 1892. They were both highly esteemed people.
HON. ALBERT L. BABCOCK. One of the leading merchants and bankers of the thriving and progressive city of Billings, which his energy, foresight and business capacity, have aided in building, Albert L. Babcock pre- sents in his career of business enterprise and public usefulness a fruitful theme for the pen of the biographer. He is a native of Albany, New York, where he was born December 22, 1851, the son of William C. and Julia (Law- rence) Babcock, both natives, also, of the Em- pire State, and descended from families long prominent in its civic and military history. In 1856 they removed to what was then the "far west," and located at Pontiac, Illinois, and near there engaged in successful farming for a number of years. The father finally retiring from the farm, engaged in business at Pontiac and soon after, on February 14. 1876, dying there.
While living and working on the farm near this little interior town and attending district school during the winter months, Mr. Bab- cock was reared and educated. until the age of fourteen years, when he hegan an apprentice- ship in a country newspaper office and learned the printer's trade which he followed for a time. This calling, not being altogether to his liking, he finally abandoned it and sought em- ployment in a country hardware store and tin shop, beginning at the bottom and was soon promoted to salesman behind the counter. When twenty-one years of age he had saved a few hundred dollars which he combined with the savings of a young friend and with very little capital embarked in business in 1873.
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which he continued with success, though quite limited, until the spring of 1882, when, be- lieving the opportunities more favorable in the undeveloped west, decided to locate at Billings, and opened a small hardware store and tin shop, the business of which grew from year to year until 1892 when it was converted into a stock company under the name of the A. L. Babcock Hardware Co., which has developed into one of the largest hardware and agricul- tural implement houses in the middle west, their trade extending for a great distance in every direction throughout eastern Montana and northern Wyoming.
In 1895, Mr. Babcock erected the Yellow- stone Valley flouring mill with a daily capac- ity of 200 barrels. The flour is sold largely throughout Montana and northern Wyoming and a considerable quantity is sold in competi- tion with other hard wheat products to points on the west coast. The A. L. Babcock Hard- ware Company and the Yellowstone Valley Mills, now incorporated under the name of the Billings Milling Co., in all their departments, give employment to a large number of men. In 1895 also, in company with others, he built the Billings Opera House and was its manager until it was destroyed by fire in 1906. In 1895 he also organized the Billings Telephone Com- pany and was its president from its inception until disposed of to the Bell Telephone Co.
Four years prior to the beginning of these enterprises, in the year 1891, he founded the Yellowstone National Bank and served two years at its first vice-president, and in 1893 he was elected its president, an office which he has held continuously since that time and to which institution he gives his principal atten- tion. In addition to his principal commercial enterprises known as the A. L. Babcock Hard- ware Company, and the Billings Milling Com- pany, of Billings, of both of which corpora- tions he is president, he is now conducting a
general store at Pryor, Montana, and at Brid- ger, Montana, he is engaged in the agricul- tural implement business under the name of A. L. Babcock & Co., and is also vice-president of the Bridger Coal and Improvement Co. of Bridger, Montana. Mr. Babcock is largely interested in real estate, being president of the Billings Realty Company, which company owns large tracts of valuable lands adjoin- ing Billings. Mrs. Babcock is at present erecting the Babcock theatre, store and office building on one of the principal corners in Billings, occupying a space 150x140 feet. The Babcock theatre will be one of the finest in the Northwest. These are the numer- ous and active enterprises, but all their multi- tude of interests and details receive close per- sonal attention from Mr. Babcock, and their success demonstrates the versatile character of his business capacity and the wide range of his mental activities.
Mr. Babcock is a zealous and ardent Re- publican, and has been active and prominent in the councils of his party. He has been chair- man of its county central committee during a number of campaigns, and has been its choice for representative positions from time to time, having served as chairman of the board of commissioners of Yellowstone county from 1885 to 1889, and, upon the admission of Mon- tana as a state in 1889, Mr. Babcock was elec- ted to the state senate as the first senator from Yellowstone county; and served in the lower house from 1892 to 1894, and again in the senate from 1894 to 1898. He was an influen- tial member of the committee on arid lands, and on other important committees. He has served on the military staffs of Governors White, Toole and Rickards with the rank of colonel.
Fraternally he is identified with the Ma- sonic order, including lodge, chapter, com- mandery and Mystic Shrine. In this order he
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has filled several local chairs in the various bodies, and was chosen grand commander of Knights Templar of the state of Montana in 1894. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, serving as the first exalted ruler of Billings lodge.
Col. Babcock was married September 12, 1877. to Miss Antoinette Packer, of Pontiac,
Illinois. They have one son, Lewis C., a gradu- ate of Shattuck Military School of Mennesota, and of the University of Chicago, and, al- though young in the business, he has taken an active position in the Yellowstone National Bank. He is at present cashier and a member of. the board of directors of this growing bank- ing institution.
PART IX
CHAPTER I
PRESS OF THE YELLOWSTONE VALLEY.
PARK COUNTY.
Park county has a newspaper history covering a period of twenty-five years. During that time there have been es- tablished within its borders eight weekly, two daily and one monthly publications, besides several campaign papers, which had only short lives. All of the news- papers have been published in Livingston with the exception of Wonderland, at Gardiner. Of these, three weeklies survive, the Enterprise and Post at Livingston and Wonderland at Gardiner.
It was on December 19, 1882, that the first paper published within the boundaries of the present Park county, then a part of Gallatin county, was taken from the press. This pio- neer paper was the Livingston Gasette, a six- column folio, all home print, under the man- agement of C. A. Carson, A. G. Carson and J. W. Allen. In their salutatory these gentle- men said :
The first number of the Livingston Gazette is be- fore you. As the initial number indicates, it will be run in the interests of Livingston and the upper Yel- lowstone valley, and will at all times be found defend- ing those interests and upbuilding the good name of its citizens. In politics we are independent, but at all times shall have and express an opinion on public af- fairs and the acts of public servants, whether they be of high or low degree.
Owing allegiance to no man or clique, the columns of the Gazette are our property, and will be run in the
interests of the public. Relying upon your hearty sup- port, we remain respectfully,
C. A. CARSON, A. G. CARSON, J. W. ALLEN.
For some reason or other the Gazette was not a success, and after only a few numbers it was numbered among the things that had been.
Its place was taken by the Livingston Tribune, which might be said to have been the successor of the Gazette. The first number was printed February 3, 1883, by C. A. Carson, who was one of the founders of the Gazette, and M. J. Meehan. The first number of the Tribune presented a good appearance and was replete with statistics showing that Livingston was the center of the earth from a physical, mineralogical, esthetical, financial and geo- graphical point of view. Livingston was at that time just beginning to take its place on the map. On July 1, 1883, Mr. Carson disposed of his interests to W. S. Eberman and R. Dickinson, and they in conjunction with Mr. Meehan became publishers. We find that on August 30, 1884, Messrs. Meehan and Eber- man, the publishers, are disposing of the plant to Wright & Hendry, who in June, 1883, had launched the Daily Enterprise. The latter firm assumed control September 1, united the plants and subscription list and discontinued the pub- lication of the Tribune. The Tribune was Re- publican in politics.
The third paper to make its appearance was
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a daily, the Livingston Enterprise, which was established June 4, 1883, by Geo. H. Wright and J. E. Hendry. The first two numbers of this paper were little leaflets-two-column fo- lio -- owing to the non-arrival of paper and the desire of the publishers to get the paper early on the market. The third issue, however, was a five-column folio, which form it maintained during its life. The Enterprise was an even- ing paper and its subscription price was $12 per year, or ten cents a copy. Wright & Hendry at once began the erection of a building for an office -- the sixth frame building in Livingston. On June 25. 1883, the Enterprise was made a morning paper, but was changed back to the evening edition November 13 of the same year.
Wright & Hendry bought the National Park Pioncer, a weekly publication which had been established the preceding June by W. D. Knight, on August 26. 1883. Before this event they had not published a weekly edition, but now they continued the publication of the National Park Pioneer, making it the weekly edition of the Enterprise, and later changing the name to conform with the daily. With this purchase the Enterprise and Tribune were the only papers left in the city.
The publication of a daily paper in Mon- tana at this time was quite a venture, and there were very few towns which had assumed the importance of being able to support daily papers. With the suspension of the Boseman Daily Chronicle in June, 1884, there were only five such towns in the territory-Butte, Hel- ena, Fort Benton, Livingston and Miles City.
The proprietors of the Enterprise bought the Livingston Tribune September 1, 1884, leaving the former a clear field. The daily Enterprise was an excellent paper, considering the small field in which it operated, and did much toward the development of Livingston and the surrounding country. Hard times came upon the little town after the boom days of 1883, and on November 8, 1884, the last number of the daily was published. Wright
& Hendry announced that the suspension was only temporary, and that publication of the daily would be resumed in the spring. But conditions had not improved to any ap- preciable extent in the spring, and the intentions of the publishers were not carried out. They then devoted all their attention to the weekly edition, which be- came one of the leading newspapers of Mon- tana. The weekly Enterprise was a seven col- umn folio.
The firm of Wright & Hendry was dis- solved October 21, 1885, Mr. Wright continu- ing the business. Mr. Hendry, who withdrew to engage in newspaper work in other parts of the territory, was a young man with excep- tional ability in newspaper work and well liked and well known throughout the whole of Mon- tana. He died some time after his removal from Livingston. Under the manage- ment of Wright & Hendry the Enterprise was, nominally, an independent paper, but invari- ably supported the Democratic nominees. When Geo. Wright became sole owner and publisher hie conducted the paper as a Republican organ, and in the campaigns of 1886 and 1888 the Enterprise worked for the success of the Re- publican nominees. On June 1, 1889, the paper was enlarged from a seven to an eight column folio.
During the prosperous days of 1889 Mr. Wright again undertook to issue a daily edi- tion, which was begun on September II of that year. The venture was not a financial success, and the daily was discontinued February 8, 1890. The weekly was enlarged June 4, 1892, to a six column quarto, all home print, and it has retained that form ever since. During the campaign of 1896, when the free silver senti- ment took possession of the members of all parties in Montana, Mr. Wright made the Enterprise a supporter of Bryan and Sewall, but conducted it in the interests of the Republi- can county ticket. In the following campaign, however, the Enterprise abandoned the regular
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Republican party, and lent its support to the Silver Republican tickets of both state and county.
On April 29, 1899, Geo. Wright, who had presided over the destines of the Enterprise for sixteen years, sold out and engaged in other work. He was an excellent newspaper man and is deserving of a large share of the credit for the prosperity of Livingston in the early days. He is now in business in Spokane, Washington. Mr. B. F. Hoover, who had recently come from the east, was the buyer of the Enterprise. He announced that the paper would be Republican under his management, but had been in charge only a few months, when he was killed by the accidental discharge of a shot gun, which he was cleaning. This accident happened August 24, 1899. C. H. Campbell, administrator of the Hoover estate, then took up the publication of the Enterprise, but on September 16th we find Alex Living- ston's name at the head of the editorial col- umn. One month after this the Enterprise was purchased by a syndicate of residents of Liv- ingston and vicinity-the Enterprise Publish- ing company. Judge Frank Henry became manager of the Enterprise, which, it was an- nounced, would be a supporter of the Silver Republican party.
Alex Livingston purchased the stock of Mr. Henry, July 11, 1900, and became the general manager of the Enterprise Publishing company, no radical change in policy resulting from this change. Mr. Livingston disposed of his stock and retired from the management early in October, being succeeded by Frank Wright, brother of the founder of the paper. During the campaign 1900, beginning October 8th, the Enterprise was issued three times a week. It supported Bryan and Stevenson for president and vice-president, and worked for the election of the Independent Democratic state and county tickets. In the following spring the paper renounced the Silver Repub-
lican movement and became a straight Re- publican paper.
Frank Wright, who had been manager for some time in the employ of the Enterprise Pub- lishing company, purchased the paper June 28, 1901, and has since been the owner and pub- lisher, conducting it as a republican paper. In June, 1902, he purchased the plant and good will of the Park County Republican, leaving the Enterprise and Post the only papers in Park county.
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