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 93
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 93
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 93
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 93
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 93
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 93
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 93
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After selling the mine. Mr. Welcome con- ducted a general merchandise establishment until the day of his death.
The marriage of Mr. Welcome and Mattie Mckibbon occurred at Morris, Minnesota, in 1880. She was born at Port Huron, Michigan, on December 5, 1858, and was the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Easton) Mckibbon. Her father was born in Toronto, Canada, and followed farming. The mother also was a native of Toronto. Mrs. Welcome was nine- teen years of age when she came to Minnesota, and when her husband came west she ac- companied him and was the first woman to come by rail to Livingston, in fact being the only woman on the train. To this couple were born four children, George W., February 14, 1881; Elizabeth, August 6. 1882; Harry, Sep- tember 5, 1884. and Eva, February 17, 1897. On February 14. 1906, George W. married Florence Oliver, the daughter of Edwin B. and Sarah (Tucker) Oliver. In 1902, Eliza- beth married Ira C. Merritt.
Mr. Welcome was a member of the Cath- olic church while his wife is an adherent of the Episcopalian.
FRED AWE, one of the prominent sheep- raisers of the Yellowstone valley, now resid- ing in Billings, Montana, was born in Ger- many, December 25. 1861. His father. Fred WV. Awe, also a native of Germany, came to the United States in 1864. and settled on a
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farm in Illinois, where he remained until his death. He was a well-to-do and prominent citizen. The mother of our subject was also a native of Germany.
It was in DeKalb county, Illinois, that our subject received the rudiments of his educa- tion in the public schools of his vicinity. At the age of twenty-seven years he went to Marshall county, Iowa, where he engaged in general farming. April 7, 1884, he arrived at Billings, and here he engaged in the stock business in which he has continued ever since. He is at present a well-to-do citizen, although at the inception of his career it was uphill work.
In 1883 Mr. Awe was united in marriage to Susie Mendenhall, born in Marshall county, Iowa, where she was educated and grew to womanhood. She came to Montana with her husband, and has materially contributed to his generous success in life. She is the daughter of James Mendenhall, a native of Ohio. He was a pioneer of Iowa, going to that state at an early day. He came to Montana with the Northern Pacific railway and located on the Musselshell. Later he removed to Bridger. where he remained until his death. Her mo- ther, Geraldine (Patsons) was a native of West Virginia, coming to Montana with her husband. Mr. and Mrs. Awe have six chil- dren : Pertha, wife of Emil Keil, living at Billings: William F., with his father; Grace M., in high school; Lola J., and Charles J., in school, and Fred Melvin.
CHARLES A. RAMSEY, a prosperous rancher and poultry raiser, residing four miles west of Billings, was born in Clearmont county, Wyoming, May 15, 1876. His father, John M. Ramsey, was born in Loveland, Ohio. In the pioneer days he came to California, and later to Alder Gulch, Montana. He went to Fort Custer the year of the Custer massacre,
remaining there until 1882, when he came to the Yellowstone valley. His wife, Addie R. ( McDonald) Ramsey, was a native of Canada.
Our subject first entered the famous Yel- lowstone valley in advance of his family. He purchased a ranch where he now lives, four miles southwest of Billings, two years ago. September 28, 1904, Mr. Ramsey was united in marriage to Elanor Sorrel, a native of Kansas. Three years ago she came to Mon- tana. Her father, Jesse Sorrel, was a native of Arkansas. They have one child, Charles R.
HERMAN BAUMAN, one of the well known and leading business men of Livings- ton, is also one of the pioneers of Montana and has seen much of early life in this portion of the west. Like so many of the substantial men who have won success in this land, he is a native of Germany, his birth being on Feb- ruary 25. 1853. His parents, Frederick and Belhelmi (Blumelthal) Bauman, were natives of the Fatherland, also, and followed farming all their lives. Three other sons were born to them, besides Herman, one living in Rose- bud, Montana, one deceased, and one still liv- ing in Germany. After his school days were over, Herman left the old country and landed in New York in 1872. He immediately went to work in a bakery and later went to the vil- lage of Morrisania after which he returned to New York and then joined the United States army, enlisting in Company I, Fifth Cavalry. He was assigned under General Crook and the command immediately started for the front. While en route they had several encounters with the savages but their strength, ten com- panies, availed to repel disaster. His term of five years was served and he was honorably discharged and went to work in a brewery at Cheyenne, whence a year later he journeyed to San Francisco and there took up his trade of baking. In the spring of 1881 he went to
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the Black Hills, Dakota, and the following spring to Miles City, Montana, whence the same year he removed to Billings. The follow- ing winter, he cooked in a railroad camp and after some time in various camps along the line he arrived at Livingston in 1883, since which time, with the exception of one winter in Portland, Oregon, he has remained here. For almost twenty-five years has Mr. Bauman been occupied in Livingston and this long resi- dence, together with a career of industry and business success, entitles him to be classed with the leading business men of the county. In 1885 Mr. Bauman opened a bakery for himself and has conducted the business since, always meet- ing with that success that sagacity and thrift merit and now he is the possessor of some very valuable property in the business center of Liv- ingston and is one of the well-to-do men of the county.
In 1877 Mr. Bauman married Anna Brrtsh, a native of Germany and the daughter of Johanah and Marie Brrtsh. Mrs. Bauman is a member of the German Lutheran church, but her husband is not affiliated with any denomination. Politically Mr. Bauman is in- dependent and votes for the man and not the party. Mr. Bauman is a man who believes and puts into practice the principle of taking the enjoyment of life while he is passing along and he has fitted himself a home that is really ideal. Although right in Livingston, when one sits on his doorstep it is easy to imagine yourself in the midst of a fine country estate, so thoroughly has the proprietor brought out this feature by the wealth of shade and orna- mental trees, lawns, running water and so forth. One of the attractive points of the place is a splendid fishpond supplied from cold springs on the grounds and the multitude of various kinds and sizes of trout are charming to the eye, and owing to the coldness of the water are delightful to the palate at all times of the year.
LEVI PRUETT is one of the well known old timers and has wrought steadily for all these years in the interests of this portion of Montana, where he is living, being now lo- cated three and one-half miles east from Joliet, on the rural free delivery route. He owns a fine quarter section of excellent land, all under the ditch and gives his attention to farming and stock raising, and has gathered around him considerable property in addition to what is mentioned. He was born in Indiana, in August, 1843, the son of Samuel and Fran- ces (Cox) Pruett, natives of Virginia and immigrants to Kentucky, where they were mar- ried. Later they went to Indiana, thence jour- neyed to Daviess county, Missouri, and finally to Mercer county, in that state, where the father died in the spring of 1864, his wife having preceded him six years. The early education of our subject, which was rather limited owing to the fact that he was most of his younger days on the frontier, was secured in the prim- itive schools of the day and thus fitted he be- gan the battle of life. When nineteen years of age he enlisted in the army and fought principally to repel the invasions of the bush- whackers, especially those led by the James and Youngers. Also he was engaged against General Price, and from Jefferson City to Fort Scott, he was engaged in the running fight which occupied forty-seven days and nights with the exception of one-half day and one night. This was a terribly trying ordeal, and while the numbers engaged were not so large a sin the great battles of the war, still the hardships and trying tests for those wno were in it were as hard as could be met. Just before Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, Mr. Pruett was mustered out and again took up the calling of a farmer. In 1873, he trans- ferred his residence to Texas and farmed there for three years, returning to Missouri in 1876. On April II. 1882, he started overland from Montana, and arrived at Bozeman on June 26
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following. He remained there until 1886, farming, and then went to Judith Basin, which was his home until 1889, being occupied in farming and stock raising in this latter place. After that we find Mr. Pruett freighting in Billings and in 1898 he came to Clarke's Fork and remained one year, then coming to Rock creek and securing the land where he now re- sides.
The marriage of Mr. Pruett and Miss Ca- therine Blakley occurred in Daviess county, Missouri. Mrs. Pruett is the daughter of John W. and Susan A. (Dowas) Blakley. The former came from Kentucky from his na- tive state, Virginia, then went to Missouri and died in Daviess county, that state in 1878. The latter was born in Kentucky and came thence with her husband to Missouri and died there in 1883.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Pruett are named as follows : Sallie, the wife of P. R. Miller, who is a liveryman in Fromberg, Car- bon county ; Suasa A., the wife of O. E. Rob- erts, their wedding having occurred at Bill- ings and their present residence being Gabo, Carbon county ; Penelope, living at Havre, Montana; Jennie, the wife of E. Hill, a lum- berman at Newport. Washington, their wed- ding having occurred at Fromberg; Katie, liv- ing at Joliet ; Reeves and Harry, living with their parents.
Mr. Pruett is a Republican and evinces a lively interest in politics. Mrs. Pruett is affil- iated with the Christian church.
FRANK McKINNEY, one of the success- ful stockmen of Rosebud county, dwells eigh- teen miles southwest from Birney where he has a nice ranch of two hundred and eighty acres, about half of which is under a good irrigating ditch. He devotes his time to both general farming and stock raising and has placed him- self among those who have been rewarded
with good and continued success in all his labors. Mr. Mckinney is a man of extended experience in the various portions of the west, especially on the stock ranges extending from Kansas to the Canadian line. Commencing when a lad of seventeen years to ride the range and handle stock, he has uninterruptedly continued more of less in this occupation since and has held every position from the ordinary cowboy to the foremanship of some of the largest out- fits in the entire west. In every relation he has succeeded in winning the approbation of those who depended upon him and his success lies in his untiring care of everything that is placed in his hands and in the excellent wis- dom with which he has managed all his busi- ness.
In Champaign county, Illinois, our subject first saw the light and his father, John Quincy McKinney, also a native of Illinois, was num- bered with the agriculturists of that favored region. He was a veteran of the Civil War and in 1884 took his family to western Neb- raska where he engaged in the stock business until 1892, in which year he moved farther west, settling in the Willamette valley, Ore- gon, where he resides at the present time, en- gaged in farming. He married Miss Jennie Stephenson, a native of Missouri. Our sub- ject was reared and educated in Illinois, pur- suing his studies in the common schools. He was seventeen when he came to Neb- raska and he at once engaged in range work. He was with the O. W. outfit in 1889 and rode all through Wyoming for them. When this company came to Hanging Woman creek. Montana, Mr. Mckinney came with them and continued until 1893 when he became foreman for the entire outfit. In this capacity he re- mained until 1900, when he purchased the ranch where he now resides and commenced raising cattle for himself. Mr. Mckinney could relate many thrilling experiences in the range work and has passed through much hardship and labor in these ardous callings
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but has ever shown himself master of the situ- ation and is today one of the substantial men of the county.
BETUEL MYREBO, born in the south- ern portion of Norway, July 10, 1880, now lives on a fine ranch, and productive, four miles out from Linley, on Butcher Creek. His father, Maurits, a native of the same place as our subject, is a farmer, and is still living in Norway. The mother, Guri, is also a native of the same country, where she resides at present.
Reared and educated in the Fatherland, having attended studiously the public echoois in his vicinity, at the age of seventeen came to the United States, and soon after made his way to Columbus, Montana, where he found employment on various ranches in the neigh- borhood. In 1903 he purchased the farm where he now lives and is engaged profitably in the stock business. Our subject has four brothers : Peter, a rancher in Carbon county ; Martin, proprietor of a saloon in Linley ; Gus- tave, and Laurits, in Norway. He has two sisters, both in Norway: Bertha C. and Gena.
WILLARD B. PADDEN resides some nine miles southwest from Camp Crook, his ranch being well in the southeastern portion of the state of Montana, which commonwealth has been his scene of labor for some years past. A succinct and detailed account of his life is fittingly to find place in the history that deals exclusively with the state and valley where he has lived and accomplished a good work.
In Iowa, on August 1, 1868, William B. Padden was born, his parents being Thomas J. and Sophia A. (Folsom) Padden, natives of Ohio and Indiana, respectively, and pioneers in different portions of the west. The widowed mother still resides in Montana, but the father
has gone to the realities of the world beyond, his demise occurring on February 27, 1895. When a boy, Thomas J. Padden went with his parents from Ohio to Canada and thence they removed to lowa, where he was occupied in farming. He came west to Montana in 1883. He came to South Dakota by rail, thence across that territory to the Black Hills by team and finally to the ranch in Montana where our subject is now residing. He fol- lowed stock business and farming until his death, as mentioned above. The mother came from her native state to Iowa with her parents and was a companion of her husband in all his journeys. Our subject was educated in the various places where the family lived during his boyhood days and in 1885 he came on to Montana with a band of cattle. He located where we find him at the present time and since those days he has continued steadily oc- cupied in ranching and stock raising. He has a nice large ranch all under irrigation and well improved. It is one of the valuable and choice estates of the county and is kept in excellent shape by the careful and thrifty proprietor. His is one of the places that pays annually good dividends and he is one of the men who have built Custer county as it is at this day. Mr. Padden's stock consists of horses and cat- tle, he having never paid attention to raising sheep.
June 6, 1895, Mr. Padden married Miss Mary A. Brown, a native of South Dakota. Her father, Albert P. Brown, was born in New York state, came west to Iowa, located in Yankton, Dakota, later, and after a stay, also, in Rapid City, South Dakota, he came on to Montana and took up stock raising.
At the present time he is residing in Mis- souri. He married Hannah Hobson, who was born on the Atlantic. Her parents had lived in this country and were taking a trip to the old country for a visit, and the birth occurred on the way over. They were natives of Eng- land. To our subject and his wife the follow-
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ing named children have been born: Easton, Henry, Thomas, and Verna. All were born in Montana. Mr. Padden is a member of the K. P. and also affiliates with the Modern Brotherhood of America. He always mani- fests an interest in school matters, politics and any measure for the general building up or improvement of the country, while in his labors and association he is always characterized with uprightness and has many warm friends throughout the country.
GEORGE R. DOW is one of Montana's hustling pioneers and has been a pathfinder in many localities of the west. He is now resid- ing on the Yellowstone river ten miles up from Livingston, where he is engaged in farm- ing and gardening. His birth occurred in New Braintree, Massachusetts, October 31, 1831, and he received a common school education in his native place and there remained until the year he removed to Minnesota and took a pre-emption within three miles from where the city of Rochester now stands. Later lie returned to his home in the east and in 1856 came west to Iowa and in the spring of 1865, he started across the plains with the Page & Salisbury freighting outfit. They made their way to southwestern Colorado and wintered near the New Mexico line and on July 7, 1866, left that country for Montana, arriving at Bozeman on December 3, 1866. The trip was an especially hard one as the Indians were out on the warpath all over and theirs was the last private conveyance over the road for a long time after they arrived. From the Chey- enne river to Fort Smith they were beset on every hand and their fiercest encounter was on the Powder river where they lost three men. Wintering at Bozeman, he took a ranch in the spring and in the fall opened the first butcher shop in Bozeman. He sold out in the spring of 1869 and purchased a ranch in the west
Gallatin valley, and in the fall homesteaded the land where the state agricultural college now stands. This he sold in the fall of 1870 and went with the stampede to Cedar creek in Missoula county. In the spring of 1871 he followed another stampede to where Cook City now stands, and from there he went to the Snake and with eight others constructed three rafts to make their way down that stream. They went over to the Jackson Hole country and from there to Salt Lake and thence Mr. Dow went to Little Cottonwood and struck the first pick in what is now the Duke of Well- ington mine, then prospected further and lo- cated the Lexington mine. In 1872 he returned to Montana and has devoted most of his time since then to ranching, while also he has pros- pected now and then a good deal.
In political matters Mr. Dow is independ- ent, but he is a supporter of the present ad- ministration and voted the last general elec- tion the Republican ticket straight.
M. B. RADEMAKER, deceased. January 6, 1859, the subject of this memoir was born in Peru, Indiana. His father, Theodore, was a native of Germany, and a tailor by trade. In early days he came to the United States and settled in Indiana, coming from Cincin- nati, Ohio. The mother, Marie, was also a na- tive of Germany.
The public schools of Germany afforded our subject the elements of a good education. In 1882 he came to Billings, Montana, and was with the Northern Pacific railroad as a blacksmith. Later he was a waiter in a hotel, finally engaging in business with the proprie- tor of the Mercantile House. His health fail- ing, he sold out, dying June 20, 1902.
December 10, 1884, he was married to Mary Miller, born at Jefferson Island, Mon- tana, October 20, 1867. She came with her parents to Bozeman in 1878, where she re-
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ceived a good education. In 1883 she removed to Billings, and was among the earliest set- tlers of that city. Her father, Soren R. Miller, was a native of Denmark, coming to Ogden, Utah, in 1861. Here he resided three years, coming to Madison county, Montana, in 1864. Soon after he moved to Jefferson Island where he secured a ranch. From there he moved to Bozeman, and thence to Billings. Her mother, Anna M. (Martin) Miller, also a native of Denmark, accompanied her husband to Mon- tana. She died June 1, 1901. Mrs. Rademaker has one brother living, James M. Miller. Mar- tin Miller, another brother, died June 9, 1905, having been struck by lightning. She has two sisters, Anna Montana, wife of Charles O'Neil, deceased; Trudence L., wife of James O. Terril. Mr. and Mrs. Rademaker have two children : Dora Pearl, a graduate of the Bill- ings High School, and now a student at the Carlton College, Northfield, Minnesota; Grace Amelia, a graduate of the Billings High School. At present Mrs. Rademaker is pro- prietress of the Rademaker Hotel, one of the finest hotels in the state.
NATHANIEL J. HUMPHREYS is one of the sturdy ones who came west years since and cast his lot with the territory now em- braced in Rosebud county. Things are very different in these days, now that the march of civilization and her establishment here by these same early pioneers who dared to open the country, has chased back the wilderness scenes and transformed everything to conform to the well inhabited portions of the globe. It was in 1884, twenty-two years ago, that Mr. Humphreys first set foot in Montana, stopping first in Custer county. He came from a wealthy and very old American family, but the ravages of war had left its sad trail across their estates and he chose to start single handed and without resources, except the same
courage and spirit that led his forefathers to step from the shores of England to the wilder- ness of Virginia as early as 1640 and fell the forest to make fields to support their families. It won its meed in those days and is now es- teemed by all who read of the grand accom- plishments of the devoted patriots and colon- ists who flung fear to the winds and set their faces to build a nation. This courage and spirit, we say, won for them and it has won the some for our subject, a descendant of those early worthies. He wrought for wages and rode the plains with all its hardships for years but finally in 1893, he engaged in the cattle business and has followed it successfully since that time. He is one of the well-to-do cattle owners of the valley and nine miles south from Birney his home place is one of the choicest irrigated farms in the Tongue river valley.
On December 29, 1897, Mr. Humphreys married Miss Sarah F. Taliaferro, a native of Mississippi. Her father, Charles Adams Talia- ferro, was also a native of Mississippi and comes from a strong, old family. His ancesters came to Virginia in 1640 and the family holds its records back to the days of William the Conqueror and some of them were followers of that noted character. Charles A. Taliaferro married Miss Elizabeth M. Rice, a native of Mississippi, whose parents and grandparents were early settlers of that state.
Nathaniel J. Humphreys was born in Fort Gibson, Mississippi, August 6, 1865, the son of Daniel B. and Katherine Watson Shelby (Jeffers) Humphreys, natives of Mississippi. Daniel Humphreys was a first lieutenant in the Confederate army. His paternal ancestors came from Wales in early colonial days and his grandfather, Ralph Humphreys, was a col- onel in the Revolution. The son of Ralph Humphreys, Benjamin G., was a colonel in the confederate army under Lee. Our subject's mother was a direct descendant of Evan Shelby, of Revolution fame. Thus it is seen that both Mr. Humphreys and his wife come
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from long lines of ancestors who have achieved worthy deeds both in military and other lines for their nation and for the establishment of the country of the free. They were nearly all associated with the southern portion of the colonies and both are found to possess many of those pleasant traits found in their perfec- tion in the genial and broad minded south- erner, whose hospitality and kindness were the meed sought by admiring friends and dis- pensed with like reciprocation so customary in the sunny land of the south.
SOREN R. MILLER, a prominent and prosperous farmer of the beautiful Yellow- stone Valley, is at present living nine miles northeast of the city of Billings. He is a pio- neer of this western country and as such is well known and esteemed. He is a native of Denmark, born August 13, 1833. His parents were Rasmus and Martha C. (Peterson) Mil- ler, both natives of Denmark. The father Rasmus Miller, came to Utah in 1860, and seven years later removed to Montana. Here he remained about two years, and then returned to the state of Missouri, where he died.
Until he had arrived at the age of twenty- seven years our subject remained in Denmark, but in 1860 he came to the United States, lo- cating first at Ogden, Utah, where he worked for wages at the trade of wagon making, in which he was quite proficient. To Jefferson county, Montana, he came in 1864, one of the earliest of pioneers, and settled on Jefferson Island. He thus became the original settler in this vicinity. Fifteen miles distance was his nearest neighbor. At this period he was en- gaged principally in the live-stock business. It was in 1878 that he came to Bozeman, and here he continued to live until 1883, when he came to his present location.
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