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 65
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 65
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 65
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 65
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 65
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 65
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 65
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In 1889, Mr. Northway married Miss Ida M. Thompson, who was born in Dwight, Illi- nois, in 1871. One child has been born to this union, Glen Ellwood. Mrs. Northway is a is a consistent member of the Presbyterian church, but her husband is not a regular com- municant with any denomination. In frater- nal matters Mr. Northway is allied with the Eagles and the K. P. He is one of the well known men of the county and stands high in the esteem and good will of all.
JOSEPH G. HOOPER is at present fol- lowing the occupation of general farming about seven miles southwest of Greycliff on lower Deer creek. The Crow reservation opened
Referring to the earlier portion of our sub- ject's life, we note that he was born in Devon- shire, England, April 27, 1857. His father, William Hooper, was a miner by trade and is now a resident of Ishpeming, Michigan, aged eighty-five. He married Elizabeth Gribben, who died in 1904, aged sixty-five. When Joseph was two years of age, his parents moved to Michigan during the first copper ex- citement and later moved to New Jersey. They lived in addition to these two states, in Penn- sylvania and Massachusetts and some others. Consequently, Mr. Hooper does not look to any special place as the scene of his childhood days. He followed his father's steps and when fifteen worked his first shift underground as a watchman in Berks county, Pennsylvania, since which time he has mined in various por- tions of the United States. When twenty he went to Ishpeming. Michigan, and spent four years in the iron mines of the Upper Penin- sula, then he journeyed to the Black Hills, Dakota, where one year was spent. Leaving there on January 28, 1883. he journeyed by team to Miles City, a trip of fifteen days. Dur- ing this trip they were camped one night on the banks of the Mizpah River and while there the ice broke up in the river and formed a gorge a little below their camping place, which resulted in surrounding them with water in a very short time. Being a little distance from
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the wagons, they were kept without food for three days. Finally they reached Miles City, whence he went by rail to Butte and engaged in mining. Later, he mined in Phillipsburg. Granite and other places. These labors occu- pied him until the time the Crow reservation was opened, when he came here, as stated above.
On December 17, 1881, Mr. Hooper mar- ried Miss Lizzie Gerry, who was born in Aus- tralia and reared in Ishpeming, Michigan. Her father. John Gerry, died in 1882 and his widow is still living, aged sixty-eight. Mr. and Mrs. Hooper had two children, one of whom died in infancy and the other between three .and four years of age.
In politics, he is a Republican, but not es- pecially active, though interested in the ques- tions and issues of the day.
WILLIAM H. ALLEN, M. D. It is pa- tent to all that the grave issues of life and death as well as the proper enjoyment of life are more closely bound up in the physician's life than in that of any other class of men or women. Thus it is that the public mind in- stinctively demands that these professional men above all others should be of unquestioned principles of uprightness, excellent character and deep erudition. Answering to these just requirements, there is, too, no other class of men who can step forth and so vitally assist the human race as the physicians, and the re- sult is that today 'we are accustomed to re- gard with much appreciation the true and skill- ful man who gives his efforts to ameliorate the suffering of his fellows and teach them how to better preserve intact the powers given by a beneficent Creator. That Doctor Allen measures well to the demands of the discrim- inating public is evidently manifest inasmuch as he has under his care a large and ever in-
creasing practice and is held in very high es- teem by all who know him.
December 5, 1856, marks the day of his birth, and the event occurred in East Smithfield, Pennsylvania, which also. is the native place of his par- ents, William H. and Cornelia (Wood) Allen. In 1630 came the progenitors of the Allen family to cast their lot with the struggling colonists and from that time onward they manifested the same spirit that so pervaded the atmosphere of the New World that General Gage was astounded into believ- ing it was a birthright inherited by each one Lorn this side of the Atlantic. Many members of worth descended from this family, but one man has so impressed his personality upon the pages of history that every truly American family treasures as a household word that name of Ethan Allen. The family came from the north of Ireland to these shores, but were of Scotch descent. The Wood family were of English ancestry, and they, too, were among the early colonists. Mostly both lines have been people of agricultural pursuits. At Newton, a few miles from Boston, is lo- cated the farm which the first Allen coming to the New World settled on and it is still in the name of the family. Our subject's grandfa- thers both removed to Bradford county, Penn- sylvania, about 1825. settling on farms ad- joining, where they spent useful careers and remained until the time of their departure to the world beyond. In William H. Allen, the father of Dr. Allen, we find a man of stanch and superb character, one who always was found on the side of advancement, upbuilding, sound principles and with courage to stand in support of the same. His fostering care was of inestimable service in starting and main- taining schools and encouraging higher educa- tion. When the final issue came and the clash of arms must prove the value of true princi- ples, he, imbued the same stanch spirit as his
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illustrious ancestor, hesitated not to take up arms and stand for his country and its flag. He fought until overpowered by disabilities, when he was removed from the field and sent home. He had been one of the first men to engage in the oil business in Pennsylvania and after the war he removed to Waverly. New York, where he took up merchandising and there remained until the day of his death, January 31, 1906. He had always taken a keen interest in political matters and was often times chosen for offices, as county commis- sioner and so forth, but he never sought office.
The Blue Lodge of Masons claimed him as an active member and his record was of a man of high spirit, with life's work well done. Our subject's paternal grandfather was born in Massachusetts.
The Doctor was nine years of age when the family went to Waverly, New York, and there he secured a fine high school course. In 1880 he graduated from the University of Buffalo, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine and immediately he went to practicing, having be- gun when he was but twenty-three years old. At first he located at Athens, Pennsylvania, with a relative, Dr. E. P. Allen, but soon re- turned to his birth place and there continued his profession. It was 1886 when he turned his face toward the west, locating first in Phil- ipsburg, Montana, where in connection with the practice of medicine he became interested in mining. He was physician for the Hope Mining Company, and in 1891 he removed to Horr, becoming physician for the coal and coke companies, remaining until 1897, when the height of the country, which produced ill health, compelled him to seek a lower alti- tude. At Joliet he was successful until 1904, when he went to Red Lodge, but soon returned to Joliet, where he is occupied with the prac- tice of his profession at the present time. In addition to this work, the Doctor has occupied himself considerably with the oversight of his
stock and fruit ranch near Joliet where he has a fine property.
On January 20, 1882, Dr. Allen married Miss Edith L. Dodson, of Wilkesbarre, Penn- sylvania, the daughter of John Dodson, a na- tive of England. Mrs. Allen was educated and reared in her native place and her family were among the earliest settlers of that section. To the Doctor and his wife the following named children have been born: Edgar, in Bozeman College; Jean M., in the high school, and Cornelia, deceased. Dr. Allen is a mem- ber of the Masonic order and of the A. O. U. W.
CYRUS B. MENDENHALL deserves to be mentioned among the most prominent pioneers and leading men of the great state of Montana as will be seen by a perusal of his life's sketch. He has had a very active and in- teresting career and has always held a prom- inent part among men, though not aspiring to public position. His business ability has been shown to be unerring and capable of handling heavy enterprises and while he has suffered losses that would have forever put out a less determined and active man, he has but sur- mounted them to show that it is not the Inck . but the man that makes the winning in this world of pushing business and whirling adven- ture. We hail, therefore, with pleasure the opportunity to epitomize his career and make it lasting for the benefit of younger men who will journey along life's pathway.
Cyrus B. Mendenhall was born in Ohio, July 28, 1830, and now resides one-fourth mile east from Hunter's Hot Springs, in Park county. His father. Thomas G. Mendenhall. was a miller by trade and erected the first grist mill in Muskingum county. Ohio. He was born May 9. 1797, followed milling for some years and then preached the gospel till his death, October 21, 1878. He had mar-
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ried Miss Elizabeth S. Hollenbach, who was born October 25, 1791, and died August 31, 1879.
Our subject was educated in the public schools of Indiana and Illinois, whither his parents had removed when he was yet a lad. On October 1. 1850. being then twenty years of age, young Mendenhall stepped out into the responsibilities of life for himself and for a time worked for wages in Indiana. Later he returned to Illinois and went to farming. Also he operated a threshing outfit. Two years later he went to Iowa and purchased land at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. Then he went to work in real earnest and kept at it until he had thirteen hundred acres of land under the plough. In 1866 he came west crossing the plains to Virginia City where he established a merchandise business. Not lik- ing it, however, he soon sold out and returned to Iowa. With one hundred and fifty-one others, he bought a fleet of fourteen boats and descended the Yellowstone and the Missouri to Sioux City. The boats were constructed out of whip-sawed humber and after they ar- rived at the Missouri they traveled day and night and completed the trip in six weeks from the day they first turned their boats in the current.
In 1872 Mr. Mendenhall went west again, this time settling in Colorado where he ener- getically followed cattle raising. In 1881 he sold his large herds in the Centennial state and bought again in Western Montana, drove east, crossing where Livingston now stands. His herds then numbered four thousand eight hundred cattle besides seven hundred horses. In 1884 he passed on with his stock to the Missouri to avoid the sheep and in the winter of 1885 he lost over sixteen thousand cattle, besides horses. This more than broke him in business and he was confronted with a ter- ribly serious condition of affairs. Prior to this catastrophe, however, he had purchased the Hunter's Hot Springs, and now he gave
his attention to conducting them and he did well at this till 1894, when he sold a portion of his holdings in the spring. In 1899 he sold the balance of his holdings in the springs and devoted himself to his land, which he had ac- quired in the mean time. He handles a small band of stock but gives his almost exclusive attention to farming. Mr. Mendenhall now owns more than three thousand acres of fine land and has five miles of river front. His place is excellently supplied with water and he has one of the choice estates of the county.
On May 9, 1859. Mr. Mendenhall mar- ried Miss Emeline Dean, who was born in Ohio on February 18, 1839. To this marriage the following named children were born: Ida E., March 2, 1860; Hattie M., November 14, 1862; Conaway B., May 26, 1864; James R., January 11, 1866; Alfred V., August 17, 1867: Charles R., May 7, 1875; Inez B., Au- gust 1, 1876. In December, 1897, Alfred was thrown from a horse and killed. In Au- gust, 1879, at Laramie City, Wyoming, Mrs. Mendenhall was called to the world beyond. She was a noble and beloved woman and left many mourning friends besides her family.
September 22, 1881, Mr. Mendenhall mar- ried Susan A. Cooley, the daughter of Robert W. and Eliza M. (Stone) Cooley, both na- tives of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Susan A. Men- denhall's great-grandfather, Dimon Bostwick, and Mr. Mendenhall's great-grandfather, John Hollenbach, were neighbors and took home- steads in Bradford county, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Mendenhall's grandmother is supposed to be the first white child born in that county. Mr. Mendenhall is a Christian but belongs to no denomination, preferring to stand on the authority of the Bible alone. Mrs. Menden- hall is an Episcopalian. He is a Republican in politics.
Although Mr. Mendenhall has seen nearly four score years, still he is hale and hearty and enjoys the activities of life as in his younger days. He is one of the highly respected citi-
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zens of Park county and is one of the busy men of business life.
NATHAN CHANCE, who has the dis- tinction of having the thriving village of Chance named after him, is one of the pros- perous stockmen and farmers of this vicinity. being possessed of one of the choice ranches in the neighborhood. Mr. Chance is a pioneer in the true sense of the word and has been on the frontier all his days. He was one of the very first settlers on Clarkes Fork, the land being all unsurveyed at that time, and he has labored with display of wisdom and keen for sight all the days since his first set- tlement here. During the days of his life previous to settling in Montana he spent much time in New Mexico and Texas and has seen every phase of frontier life and endured its hardships in their roughest forms. Notwith- standing all this, he is a man whose ardor for the frontier has never abated and whose keen enjoyment of the wild is as fresh and vigorous as when he first stepped out into the expanse of unsettled ranges.
Nathan Chance was born in Wayne coun- ty, Iowa, on October 13, 1855, the son of Absalom and Nancy A. (Owens) Chance, na- tives of Indiana. The father came to Wayne county, Iowa, in very early days and took gov- ernment land under the pre-emption right. He remained in the cultivation and improvenient of his farin home there for many years and about thirty years since, he went on west to Kansas, where he resided until his death. He had served in the Civil War in an Illinois reg- iment. being under General Sherman and par- ticipating in some of the most severely con- tested engagements of the entire war.
Nathan was educated in the public schools of Wayne county and when he had attained man's estate he engaged there in farming for a time, until his adventurous spirit led him, as
we have mentioned above, in 1875, to try the west in the southwest of the United States. It was in 1892 when he came further north and finally drifted into the Clarkes Fork country. He at once discerned that this was a country of much promise and so decided to cast his fortune with it. He has never regretted it and today is convinced that this is one of the choice spots in the entire west. The country was open to select from when his wagon rolled into it and so he showed excellent skill and judgment in choosing his ranch, which is one of the best ones of the valley. He assisted in organizing the first school district and was in- strumental in fostering the cause of education to a good extent. Shortly after coming to this point, he erected the building where the postoffice of Chance is now located and it was through his efforts that the office was estab- lished, the name being given in honor of him.
On November 19, 1875, Mr. Chance mar- ried Miss Ellen McDaniel, who was born in Appanoose county, Iowa, her parents being Hiram and Martha (Evans) McDaniel, na- tives of Tennessee and Missouri, respectively. The father came to Iowa in very early days and took government land. To Mr. and Mrs. Chance two children have been born: Lillie, wife of David Simpson, and Quincy, who is at home with his parents.
ALBERT A. RICH, who follows ranch- ing and stock-raising, has headquarters at Hunter's Hot Springs, in the vicinity of which place he owns a fine estate of eight hundred acres and a large amount of live stock. He is one of the thrifty men of Park county and has made his holdings since coming to the territory of Montana thus demonstrating both his energy and the resources of this ex- cellent state.
Albert A. Rich was born in Saint Law- rence county, New York, November 9, 1845,
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being the son of Albert G. and Jane ( Sev- rance) Rich. The former was born in Saint Lawrence county, also, the date being April 17, 1819. He followed railroad contracting and died on the tenth day of January, 1860. The mother was born May 5, 1817, was mar- ried January 12, 1843, and died in 1851. Mr. Rich's ancestors on both sides of the house are Americans from many generations back. On his father's side they came very early. Henry Rich was a supporter of the unfortunate mon- arch, Charles I and remained stanch to his king until the latter's untimely end in 1649. Then the conquering power confiscated the property of Mr. Rich and he hasted away to America and thus founded the Rich family on this side of the ocean.
Our subject passed through the public schools of his native county and then finished his education in the Saint Lawrence Academy. After this he remained at the home place un- til 1872 in which year he decided to put into action his desire to see the west. He came on west and via Ogden landed in good time at Bozeman. For the subsequent five years he was occupied in the arduous work of freight- ing and farming and was about the country considerable seeing the various resources of the different localities. Finally in the summer of 1880 he came to the Hot Springs and lo- cated a homestead which is a part of his now fine estate. Since that time he has steadily given his attention to farming and stockrais- ing and the success that always follows dili- gence and wisdom has come to him in abund- ant measure.
On December 31, 1878, Mr. Rich married Julia L. Hamilton, the daughter of Charles and Lucina (Lenard) Hamilton, natives of Saint Lawrence county where, also, Mrs. Rich was born March 17, 1855. Three children are the fruit of this union, namely: Rex R .. born August 20, 1880; Florence C., born Au- gust 5. 1884, and Eliza L., born November 24. 1890.
In political matters Mr. Rich has always been a Republican.
JESSE MARSH. residing on one of the finest and most eligible ranches in the Yellow- stone valley, six miles west of Billings, was born near Fort Wayne, Indiana, May 25, 1852. He is the son of Abraham and Silma (Twigg) Marsh, the former born near Dayton, Ohio; the latter being a native of Maryland. The birth of the father was in 1824. When still a young lad he removed with his parents to Indiana where they settled on a farm. He was a Civil War veteran, a member of B company, Tenth Iowa Infantry. Previous to the war he had re- moved to Missouri, but with the opening of hostilities he passed over to Iowa and en- listed. Following the close of the war he re- turned to Iowa and engaged in farming near Des Moines. Later he removed to Missouri and thence to Wyoming, where he remained until his decease. The mother had died when our subject was at the tender age of four years.
Jesse Marsh enjoyed the privileges of the district schools in his neighborhood and laid the foundation of a good commercial educa- tion. In 1867 he went to Dakota where he worked for wages. Thence, in 1874. he re- moved to Dawson county, Nebraska, where for twenty years he was engaged in farming. It was in 1895 that he came to Bozeman, Mon- tanà, remaining there one year. To his present location he came eight years since.
July 4, 1874, he was united in marriage to Sarah Wellet, a native of Linn county, Iowa, where she had grown to womanhood, and where she received an excellent education. She accompanied her parents from Iowa to Dakota in 1871, and here she was united in marriage to the subject of this sketch. Her father, John A. Wellet. a native of Ohio, removed, first to Iowa, thence to Dakota and thence to Nebras- ka. To Mr. and Mrs. Marsh have been born
JESSE MARSH
J. L. SELWAY
A. M. CRAWFORD
FRANCIS M. MC CARTY
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seven children, viz: William J., married to Eliza Houte, Edward, married to Lena Dan- ford, Robert A., Carrie (deceased), Mrs. Lily Allen, wife of Robert Allen, Minnie, a student at the Montana State Normal School and Daisy, a student at home. Mr. Marsh is known as one of the leading men in the com- munity in which he resides and is highly es- teemed. Politically, he is a Republican and is fraternally affiliated with the Masons and the F. O. E. Mr. Marsh is vice-president of the Yellowstone Ditch company.
J. L. SELWAY, who resides near the Powder river bridge in Custer county, is to be credited with being about the first, if not the first man to bring sheep into Custer county, or what is now Custer county. In 1881 he came across the country and the mountain ranges from Beaverhead county with a band of sheep, locating on the Powder river near Powderville, but finally making final location on Pumpkin creek. For six years he remained there, handling the sheep he had brought with him, having taken them on shares, and then he returned to Beaverhead county and still pursued the stock business. Just what success he had in this first venture in the sheep business in this section we are not told, but evidently it was good, for in due time, after continuing the stock business in southwestern Montana until 1902, he came back to Custer county and remained two years, and in April, 1904, he located the ranch where he is residing at the present time. He owns two hundred acres of good soil and is constructing a reservoir which will enable him to irrigate it all. When the water is turned on the land it will become very valuable and the estate under the careful management of Mr. Selway will be one of the choice ones in this part of the county. Mr. Selway has a large band of sheep and is hand- ling them in addition to his ranch work.
As to the earlier portion of the life of our subject, we see that he was born in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, July 31, 1861. His father, John R. Selway, was born in England, came to the United States when eleven years of age, followed farming in Wisconsin and in 1866 came on west to Montana. The trip consumed six months and was made by means of ox teams. He settled in Beaverhead county and engaged in stock raising and ranching until his death in 1902. He had married Miss Jane Reynolds, a native of Wales and an immigrant to this country with her parents when she was two years old. She died in Michigan in 1890. Our subject was only five years of age when the journey across the plains was taken, but he remembers much of the trip and in Beaver- head county he was reared and educated, the common schools contributing the latter train- ing. Then followed the incidents that we have already related and at the present time we see Mr. Selway at work reclaiming the desert land and in due time to make of it by his skill and careful attention to improvement one of the fine and valuable estates of the county. He is to be commended for his tenacity and his in- dustry in the lines he has followed and the fact that he brought sheep here across the moun- tains for a long distance and maintained a sheep ranch here amid difficulties speaks much for his resourceful character and the suc- cess he has gained.
A. M. CRAWFORD, residing upon a handsomely located ranch one mile and one- half west of the city of Billings, was born in Maryland, January 17, 1853. He is the son of J. S. and Elizabeth (Hinkle) Crawford, the later a native of Maryland. The father of our subject was born in Pennsylvania, of Scotch- Irish ancestry. When about twenty years of age he removed to Maryland. Here he en- gaged in farming. The second day following
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the assassination of President Abraham Lin- coln, J. S. Crawford started for Illinois, and in the latter state he remained until his death. His father, and paternal grandfather of our subject, was James Crawford, a native of Pennsylvania.
The mother of A. M. Crawford, Elizabeth, was of German ancestry. Her father, Jesse Hinkle, was also a native of Maryland, but his father, the maternal great-grandfather of our subject, was a native of Germany.
When yet a child our subject was taken by his parents to Illinois. Here he received an excellent education, partly in public schools of his vicinity and eventually graduating from the State Normal School of Illinois. He then took a course in law at the Bloomington, Illinois, Law School, but subsequently came west and was admitted to the bar in Montana in 1901. Previous to this Mr. Crawford had taught school several years in Illinois. It was in 1878 that he came to Helena, Montana, and in 1882 he removed to the Yellowstone Valley.
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