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 86
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 86
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 86
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 86
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 86
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 86
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 86
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HON. JOHN BLEWETT, member of the state legislature, resides two and three- fourths miles southeast from Fromberg on a choice estate of three hundred and five acres of well improved and irrigated land. His is one of the excellent estates of the valley and it
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bears the marks of wise improvements. Good buildings are in evidence, an air of thrift is patent to all, and the place is a credit to the county. Mr. Blewett raises diversified crops, has an orchard of ten acres and is just now entering on the sugar beet industry. having become convinced that the beets will be a money-maker for this section.
John Blewett was born in St. Austell par- ish, Cornwall county, England, on December 7. 1858. His father, Edward B. Blewett, was born in England, on May 12, 1832 and was a miner and local preacher. He died of min- er's consumption April. 1861. He had married Miss Hariet Blight, who was born in England, on April 18. 1831. Her death oc- curred in England, in 1902. After completing his education in the common schools, our sub- ject began, May 5, 1875. to work in the mines of North Wales. He continued steadily at that until September. 1878, when he returned to Cornwall and in 1879 came to Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, and engaged in coal mining. In the fall of the year of his arrival he left Penn- sylvania and went to Georgetown. Colorado, did mining and at the beginning of 1880 we find him in Summit county, Colorado, and for seven years following that he prospected. In 1882, with two associates, Mr. Blewett located four claims that were rich in silver and lead. The partners became wrought up over the find, quarreled, and one killed the other. The criminal was sentenced to ninety-nine years and one day in prison at Canyon City and is serving his time yet. Mr. Blewett realized from the property and in 1887 he came on to Butte. After spending some time working in the mines, he was severely attacked with the prospector's fever and securing a team of horses, he started out for new fields. He fin- ally decided to stop at an old deserted camp, known as Copperopolis, in Meagher county. It had been located in 1867. He purchased claims and prospected from 1889 to 1901, when he sold a portion of his holdings to the late Mar-
cus Daly of Anaconda. Then Mr. Blewett went from coast to coast and also back to England searching a place to make a home. Finally he came to his present place and built the home where he now resides. In addition to the enterprises mentioned, Mr. Blewett pays considerable attention to stock raising and has two stallions, one an American Draft and the other an English Shire, both thoroughbreds and fine animals.
The marriage of Mr. Blewett and Clara (Jones) Blewett occurred at Butte, in 1888. Mrs. Blewett, was a widow and her father, J. G. Jones, was born in New York state and followed farming. He came to Ohio in early days and there married. After that he drove on to Iowa and there died October 8, 1901. His wife in maiden life was Miss Anabell Groves, a native of Pennsylvania, whence she came with her parents, when a small girl, to Ohio. She died in 1896. Mrs. Blewett was born in Stark county, Ohio, October 28, 1859, and came with her parents to Iowa when four years old. There she was educated and came to Montana with some acquaintances with horse teams when seventeen. It was in 1879 they reached the Gallatin valley and for seven years she resided there, taking two trips each during that time.
Our subject and his wife have the following named children : Sam, working in the Kendell mines ; Elmer, attending the Mechanical school of Engineering of the Bozeman College: Grace and Laura, both at school in Oskaloosa, Iowa; Edward B., who died at the age of five and one half years. The first two named are the issue of a former marriage of Mrs. Blewett. Mrs. Blewett is a Methodist, but Mr. Blewett does not belong to any denomination.
REV. JOHN G. CLARK is the pastor of the Methodist church in Bridger, Montana, and has his residence one mile east from From-
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berg. He was born in Cheshire, England, on November 9, 1852, the son of John and Emma (Henshaw) Clark, both natives of England. the father having been born in 1831. The father was educated in the schools of his native place and came to Philadelphia in 1852, and while viewing a large fire soon after arriving, he caught a severe cold that resulted in his death. He had come with his wife and some of her relatives to introduce the silk spinning business in this country. Our subject was reared in Philadelphia, graduated from its high school, engaged in business there, after which he went to Newfield, New Jersey, and spent six years in preparation for the ministry, receiving his ordination in 1890. He built the Methodist Episcopal church there and the next year after that he served the Richland cir- cuit in New Jersey, and finished the church at Richland. He then accepted a position on the missionary staff of the Methodist church in Utah under the direction of Dr. T. C. Gliff. Four years of hard labor were spent in that capacity and then Mr. Clark came to the Red Lodge. He served also the White Sulphur and Virginia City churches and the accepted his present position. Dur- ing these years of labor in the ministry, Mr. Clark has also taken interest in the study of fruit culture and recently has been enabled to carry out his ideas. He owns a fruit ranch of forty acres which is one of the model fruit producers of the county. In fact, Mr. Clark is one of the pioneers in the culture of fruit in Carbon county and is deserving of much credit for the demonstration that the county will produce good fruit. He sold last year over five hundred dollars worth of fruit off his young trees, which are just beginning to bear.
At Philadelphia, in 1884, Mr. Clark mar- ried Miss Frances I. Wilcox, a native of New- field, New Jersey. She was well educated in the public schools and has been a devout and worthy assistant to Mr. Clark in his life's work. Her
father, Rev. Chauncy Wilcox, was a Method- ist minister during his life and was a highly educated man. He died in 1885. He had mar- ried Miss Sarah I. Sanderson, a native of Canada, and of English extraction. To our subject and his wife one child was born, Fran- ces.
By a former marriage in early life three children were born to Mr. Clark, namely, Eli- zabeth, William, and Nettie, the latter being now the wife of Robert L. Banta of this county.
JOHN T. AMES, who follows farming and stock raising resides about one mile north- east from Bridger where he has an estate of four hundred acres of irrigated land. The place is well improved and is a good dividend payer. Mr. Ames raises diversified crops and pays considerable attention to breeding sheep and cattle, handling, also, some horses. In connection with his business he manifests wis- dom and skill and is obtaining splendid results both from the farm and from the stock .
Jolm T. Ames was born in Otoe county, Nebraska, March 3, 1874. His father, Ran- som Ames, was born in Lake county, Illinois, and followed farming all his days. He mar- ried Miss Louisa Balfour, who was born in Germany and came to the United States with her parents when a small child, being three or four years of age at that time. Our sub- ject received a good common school education in his native state and then took a course in the business college in Stanberry, Missouri. Then he returned to Nebraska and after farm- ing there for some time came on in 1896, to Billings, Montana. For several years he worked on the ranches and also at carpenter- ing, a trade he had mastered earlier in life, and about 1899 he came to the section of the country where he now resides. One year was spent in working on a ranch and then he rented
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the place. Later he purchased and, as stated above, he now possesses four hundred acres of fine soil, all under the ditch.
In 1905, Mr. Ames married Miss Mary Ellis, the wedding occurring at Red Lodge. The wife's parents are John and Mary ( Roan) Ellis, residents of Carbon county, and Mr. Ellis is engaged in farming. In political mat- ters, Mr. Ames is a Republican although not partisan.
SOLOMON C. TOLIVER. The subject of this sketch is a prominent rancher residing ten miles northeast of Billings, Yellowstone county. He was born in Independence. Vir- ginia, March 19, 1864. His father, Jacob Toli- ver, was a native of North Carolina, near the Virginia line, having land on both sides of the line, and consequently in two states. The school house of his district was in Virginia, as was. also, the postoffice. He followed the avocation of a farmer, and remained there un- til 1887, which year occurred his demise.
The mother of our subject is Matilda (Higgins) Toliver, a native of Virginia, her birthplace being quite near the North Carolina line. At the present writing she is residing in North Carolina.
The earlier education of our subject, Sol- omon C. Toliver, was received in Virginia. In 1884 he went to North Platte, Nebraska, and in that state he was in the employment of the famous scout and popular showman, "Buf- falo Bill," or William F. Cody, at that period a resident of North Platte. It was in 1885 that he came to the Yellowstone valley and en- gaged in the employment of William Deal for the period of one year. Subsequently he worked for Thomas McGirl for the period of seven years. He then purchased a ranch of 265 acres upon which he is now comfortably lo- cated.
In 1889 Mr. Toliver was married to Sarah L. McGirl. a native of Missouri. Her father
was James McGirl, a native of Ireland; her mother, Frances (Dobson) McGirl, was a na- tive of Dobson, North Carolina. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Toliver, viz. : a daughter, that died in infancy and Earl R., now aged ten.
JEREMIAH F. CRIMMINS was born at Troy. New York, March 27, 1841, the son of Michael Crimmins, a native of Cork county, Ireland. The mother in maiden life was Jo- hanna O'Brien, a native of Cork county, Ire- land, and in the family were thirteen children, only three of whom survive. Besides our sub- ject are Richard, at Drummond, Montana, and Mary Keliher in Troy, New York. Our sub- ject went to Rome in that state when nineteen and learned the blacksmith's trade. He re- mained in Rome three years, mastering every part of that intricate trade and then traveled. In 1873, we find him in Florence, New York, and the same year he married Miss Alice Con- niff of that city, her parents being Michael and Mary Conniff. For three years Mr. Crim- mins and his wife remained in Florence and two children were born to them there, William R. and Elizabeth. In 1876 they removed to Deadwood. South Dakota, and the next year went to Fort Custer, Montana, where he worked at his trade. In 1881, Mr. Crimmins moved to Junction City. Montana, and remained there until the fall of 1890. Mr. Crimmins has been engaged in various things besides blacksmith- ing, as stock-raising, merchandising and so forth, while from 1894 to 1898 lie was postmaster in Forsyth. He has traveled very much and been in almost every state of the union. Also we find him in various places in Montana and once he was in Alaska. In 1903 he opened a shop again in Forsyth and is still conducting a blacksmith business here.
On December 22, 1905, a daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Crimmins, Alice M.
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and their son, William R., died at Forsyth on January 22, 1905. Their daughter, Eliza- beth, was married to Elmer E. Powell in 1895. He is a railroad conductor and they reside at Los Angeles, California.
Mr. Crimmins is a Republican and he and his wife are members of the Catholic church.
ANDY BILLMAN knows Montana by personal experience since the very early sixties when Alder Gulch saw its palmiest days, and during all the succeeding years he has resided here, being now one of the substantial and highly esteemed men of the Yellowstone Val- ley. He lives about two miles west of Living- ston on a quarter section of land which he homesteaded nearly a quarter of a century ago. Sixty acres of this are under the ditch and the place is a valuable one. Mr. Billman was born in Fostoria, Ohio, on January 24, 1838, the son of Andrew and Elizabeth E. (Gunther) Billman, the former born in Pennsylvania Jan- uary 28, 1800, and the latter in the same state on January 1, 1805. The father followed farming and pump-making. The children were ten in number, six boys and four girls, our subject being the fourth one. He received his education from the primitive schools and in the fall of 1853 started in life for himself, working principally on the farms. Three years later he left Ohio for Iowa and after spend- ing three years in that state, he started in the fall of 1859 for Pike's Peak. They were forced to spend the entire winter on the plains, reaching the foot of the mountains in April, 1860. For three years subsequent to that Mr. Billman was prospecting and placer mining in various portions of Colorado, then he se- cured an outfit and drove through Montana via Fort Bridger and Soda Springs, Idaho. That winter was spent digging gold in Alder Gulch, and in the spring of 1865 he came over to the Last Chance where Helena now stands.
He prospected during the summer and in the spring of 1866 joined a party going into the Gallatin valley. He prospected in various por- tions of the Yellowstone valley around Emi- grant Gulch and since that time he has made his home in this valley. For several years he spent his entire time in prospecting, trapping and hunting, but in 1876 made a trip into the Black Hills, Dakota. He secured some rich claims but owing to the impossibility of get- ting water on them and having no dumping facilities, he gave them up and returned to the Yellowstone valley. In 1877. Mr. Billman began raising stock and more or less he has followed this ever since. He took a squatter's right on Fleshman creek in 1881 and later sold that and moved on the island about two miles above Livingston. It was in 1883 that he took his present place as a homestead and a portion of that year was spent in traveling by team from his home to Puget Sound and return. Since the time of settling here, Mr. Billman has continually labored for the ad- vancement of the country and has done stock raising and farming, wherein he has been blessed with good success.
Mr. Billman married Mrs. Sarah E. Wright, the widow of Captain Joseph Wright, who edited the first paper published at Boze- man, and the wedding occurred in 1884. Mrs. Billman was born in Galena, Illinois, on March 9, 1850, the daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Robinson) White, natives of Ireland. The mother was born April 3, 1823, came to Amer- ica in 1825 and is now residing at Bozeman hearty and able to care for her house- hold duties. To Mr. and Mrs. Billman two children have been born, Bessie, now the wife of H. L. Woods, and Della, still at home with her parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Billman are members of the Methodist church, and politically he is a Re- publican. Mr. Billman has had many thrill- ing and trying experiences on the frontier. He has in his possession a steel arrowhead which
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was shot into his right side. He also has a leaden ball in his right shoulder. This was re- ceived from an engagement in the Judith Basin in 1874. It was amusing and yet very for- tunate for Mr. Billman that when he was wounded he had no hair on his head, for the Indians being utterly unable to scalp him, let him live. Mr. and Mrs. Billman are typical westerners and hospitable to a fault, genial, kind and broad minded as the people of the frontier become. They have hosts of friends throughout the country and they are highly esteemed people.
JOSEPH T. SIMPKINS, born in Salem county, New Jersey, August 12, 1870, now a leading ranchman in Carbon county, resides one mile east of Tony, on Volney Creek. His father, Alfred F., was born in New Jersey, is a veteran of the Civil War, and is still liv- ing on a farm in New Jersey. The mother, Amanda (Dolbow) Simpkins, is a native of the same state, where she at present resides.
The public schools afforded our subject a good business education, and in 1893 he came to what is now Carbon county, Montana, where he took up the homestead claim upon which he now lives. This was in 1897, and he has since remained here.
The same year he was united in marriage to Carolina Gambett, a native of Missouri, born in Putnam county, where she was reared and educated. She was three months crossing the plains by team, and in 1878 she settled in the Gallatin valley, and was there married to a Mr. Lay. The wife's father, George Gam- bett, was a native of England, coming when a young man to Missouri. He was a soldier of the Civil War, during the progress of which he died. The mother, Christina A. (Young), was a native of Indiana. She went to Mis- souri with her parents while a child.
SAMUEL J. HOPPLE, who is well and favorably known throughout the Yellowstone valley, is most eligibly located on a fine ranch eight miles west of Billings. He was born in Perry county, Pennsylvania, May 4, 1838, the son of David and Sarah ( Moule) Hopple, both natives of the Keystone state. The fa- ther was of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry ; the mother of German origin. David Hopple re- mained a Pennsylvania farmer up to the time of his death.
It was in the public schools of Perry coun- ty that our subject received an excellent busi- ness education, and in 1859 he came to Chi- cago, even at that early day a promising city, and for the period of two years he farmed in that vicinity. He then secured employment on a railroad as a brakeman, the Illinois Cen- tral, and for eighteen years he never lost a day's pay. Subsequently he removed to Den- ver, Colorado, where he was employed on the Denver & Rio Grande road. He had been su- perintendent of the city railway previous to his experience with the Denver & Rio Grande. In 1880 our subject came to Glendive, Mon- tana, with Superintendent Ainsley, of the Northern Pacific road, and was conductor of a passenger train two years. He ran the first passenger train through to Billings, Living- ston, Bozeman and Helena, and the first train across the summit of the Rocky mountains. This was previous to the completion of the tunnel. It was in 1882 that he located the ranch upon which he is now living. But since then he has been in the government service three and one-half years as mail carrier.
June 13, 1880, he was married to Miss Reno Feyler, a native of the Pine Tree state. At an early day she came to Montana with rel- atives. She is the daughter of Rufus and Eme- line Feyler. Mr. and Mrs. Hopple are the par- ents of four children : Harry S., with his fa- ther on the ranch; Mable E., at home, Myr- tle and Bert F.
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JOHN FRASER, who resides on a gard- ening farm of five acres one mile west from Livingston, is one of the oldest settlers in this part of the country. He was born in Wil- liamston, on December 9. 1833, the son of John and Jeanie (Fraser) Fraser, natives of Invernesshire, Scotland, of the same name but no blood relation. The father was a black- smith and came to Canada in 1832. Having operated a shop eighteen months at Williams- ton, he sold out and took a farm of two hun- dred acres in Kenyan township, where he re- mained until his death in 1875, aged then eighty-three. The mother died the next year, aged eighty-seven. . Our subject has three brothers and six sisters, all of whom are dead except the youngest brother, who resides on the old homestead in Canada. As our sub- ject was taken on to the frontier by his fa- ther and there assisted in opening a farm, he had little opportunity to gain an education. In 1868, he left the old homestead and lo- cated a farm of one hundred acres near Lan- caster and there remained until 1874, when he came to Montana by way of Utah, having as a companion, Hugh McMillan, his cousin. They hired passage from Utah to Bozeman and shortly after arrival, our subject entered the employ of the government and assisted to remove a sawmill from the upper agency to a point on the Yellowstone river sixteen miles west from Columbus. It is of interest that they built the boat, upon which they moved the machinery, where Livingston now stands. After completing the stockades, cabin and sta- ble of logs, they were located by the Sioux Indians. This was about the latter end of June, 1875, and for a year and more there was one steady fight and everything had to be done under cover of rifles. During this time they lost three men, James Hilderbrant, one whose name is lost and a Mexican. On one raid the Indians stole forty-four horses and left only three in the post. This attack was made early in the morning and continued un-
til four in the afternoon, when a cannon that was in the stockade, was brought to bear upon them and a bursting shell scattered them. Later their opinion of the affair was heard through the friendly Crows and was that the whites had a gun that would shoot today and kill tomorrow. After spending two years in the wilds, Mr. Fraser returned to Bozeman, then the center of civilization of this part of the state and did carpentering for several par- ties and Major Pease. Being unable to get his pay, he took lumber, which he constructed into a raft and floated down the Yellowstone to where the old town of Miles City stood. He erected some buildings and a corrall and sold the balance, having the honor of bringing the first lumber into that city. Fort Ellis was moved that year to within three miles of Miles City and settlers with their families began to come in. Our subject took a homestead ad- joining the town where he remained until the fall of 1899, when he removed to Livingston. In the fall of 1883 Mr. Fraser brought his family out as the country was then compar- atively safe from Indians, the road having come in.
Mr. Fraser married Miss Ann McMillan, the daughter of John and Creste McMillan, natives of Canada and descendants from Scotch ancestors. Mrs. Fraser was born on June 15, 1841, in Canada and there was reared and educated. To our subject and his wife seven children have been born: James, Jan- uary 12, 1861 ; Flora, April 9, 1862; Hugh, October 12, 1864; John, February 1, 1865; Archie, July 21, 1868; John A., February 21, 1870; and Dan, November 3, 1872.
Mr. and Mrs. Fraser are both stanch mem- bers of the old Scotch Presbyterian church.
In politics Mr. Fraser is a well informed Republican and takes an active part,
Their home place is all under ditch and. produces a nice dividend annually. Our sub- ject's only daughter married Dan McPher- son, a Canadian, and died September 22, 1899.
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leaving three children : Florence, Hattie J. and Alexander.
J. W. HUTTON, a native of the Buckeye State, born in Jefferson county, June 2, 1836, is at present eligibly located on a fine ranch one-half mile south of Tony, Carbon county. His father, John M., was born in Westmore- land county, Pennsylvanit, but removed to Ohio with his parents when he was a small lad. Of that section of the state his family were pioneers. By trade he was a shoemaker, but usually had considerable farming property. He went to LaSalle county, Illinois, in 1856, where he remained until his death in 1872. He was throughout his life a distinguished political leader, first a Whig and later a Re- publican. At one period he was one of the commissioners of LaSalle county. Originally his family came from Germany and were among the early settlers of Pennsylvania. The mother of our subject, Mary E. (Beckett) Hutton, born in Westmoreland county, in the Keystone State, removed to Ohio with her parents at an early day, dying in 1880. Her people were of German origin and pioneers of Pennsylvania.
The elementary schooling of our subject was received in Morgan county, Ohio. He went to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, in 1854, and here he was engaged in the lumber business, contracting for logs. Many hardships were endured by the lumbermen of Wisconsin in those days. From this point Mr. Hutton re- moved to LaSalle county, Illinois, where he followed farming until 1872, thence going to Polk county, Iowa, where he followed the bus- iness of contracting and building. He had erected a large number of mills and houses, be- fore going to Iowa, in Wisconsin.
It was in 1885 that Mr. Hutton came to Custer county. Montana, and here he located a ranch on the Rosebud river, where he re-
mained until 1901, coming thence to his pres- ent location. He purchased 160 acres of land which he has greatly improved and has it un- der irrigation.
Mr. Hutton was married in 1857 to Irene Cooley, a native of Ohio. While still a young girl she came with her people to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, where she was married. Her fa- ther, Elan Cooley, was a native of New York. Her mother's name was Ruth Backer. Our subject has two brothers living: L. K., in Omaha, Nebraska, and James C., residing at Springfield, South Dakota. Another brother, William B., was claimed by death. He has two sisters, Mrs. A. E. Snedaker and Mrs. Mary E. Pickens.
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