An illustrated history of the state of Montana, containing biographical mention of its pioneers and prominent citizens, Part 109

Author: Miller, Joaquin, 1837-1913. cn
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis pub. co.
Number of Pages: 1216

USA > Montana > An illustrated history of the state of Montana, containing biographical mention of its pioneers and prominent citizens > Part 109

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HISTORY OF MONTANA.

exclaimed the Baron, "There is the best mate- rial for a divining rod. Let us make one." = was soon made, and the great scientist took it in his hand and in a playful manner, said: "Let ns try its powers." He walked with it around a well, over a stream of water, and over a purse of gold and silver coin, but the divining rod showed no signs and made no demonstrations for the water and none for the gold and silver.

this office by a majority of 265 votes. His duties here, as elsewhere, are promptly and efficiently performed, and he is more than meeting the expectations of his con- stituents.

Mr. Ramsey was married June 17, 1877, to Miss Cora E. Baugh, a native of Toledo, Ohio, and the daughter of William Baugh of that State. They have two children, Marshall G. and Samuel C.

Fraternally, Mr. Ramsey is identified with both the order of Elks and the Masonic lodge. During his resi- denee in Montana he has made some investments in mines and is now a stoekholder in the Keystone and the King and Queen mines, both of which are being operated on a paying basis.

RAS ROCHESTER, the Postmaster and leading merchant of Laurin, Madison county, Montana, is a native of Ken- tucky, horn at Bowling Green, December 10, 1863.

The Rochesters traee their ancestry to England and are able to baek as far as 1558. In England the family belonged to the nobility, had a coat-of-arms, and were prominent in the affairs of their day. The progenitor of the family in America, Nicholas Rochester, was born in Kent eonnty, England, in 1640, and his son, William, also a native of England, was born in 1680. In 1689 father and son came to America and settled in Westmoreland county, Virginia. William Rochester married and had two sons, John and Nathaniel, both born in the Old Do- minion. Nathaniel Rochester removed to New York and became the founder of the city of Rochester. From New York he and his family returned to Virginia and from there went to Kentucky, where they were prominent and valued citizens, taking a part in the affairs of State.

Mr. Rochester's father, William Henry Rochester, was born in Warren county, Kentucky, in 1828. IIe married Miss Mary Moore, a native of Kentucky and a daughter of John R. Moore, of that State. She was ten years younger than her husband. They had a family of thir- teen children, nine of whom reached maturity, Ras being the fifth-born. For many years the father was a suceess- ful merchant, but is now retired from aetive business. The family are Presbyterians.

Ras Rochester was educated in Ogden College, in hls native town, that institution having been endowed by Robert W. Ogden, the second husband of our subjeet's Grandmother Rochester. Leaving college in 1882, he came direct to Dillon, Montana, and for a year worked on

That divining rod was preserved in the study of Professor Cleaveland for many years, and was then presented to the author of this narrative, and it is now in the University of Missouri.

Many may think the possession of the best divining rod in the world for thirty years ought to make one as rich as Croesus; but we are still fortunate enough to work for the good things in this glorious world of ours. Notwithstand-

a farm at Twin Bridges. From there he came to Laurin and accepted a clerkship in the store of Mr. Laurin, be- ginning with $25 and board per month. This store had been established by Mr. Laurin in 1863 and was the pioneer business place for the whole Ruby valley. In 1886 his brother, Charles W. Rochester, and he became partners with Mr. Laurin in the eattle and horse busi- ness. They had large herds of stock and continued in the business a year and a half with excellent success. Mr. Laurin had in the meantime sold out to a Mr. Lapraise, and at the end of the year and a half the firm bought the store of him and resumed business at the old stand. In June, 1888, Charles W. Rochester died. An- other brother, Henry, came out to Montana that summer and he and Ras purchased the whole business, which they continued together successfully until the spring of 1890. At that time Henry sold his interest to his brother and returned to Kentucky, and since then the subject of our sketch has continued in business alone. He carried a $20,000 stock of general merchandise and has a trade which extends into the country for a radius of forty miles. His success since he landed here a poor boy has indeed been phenomenal.

Mr. Rochester was married August 7, 1888, to Miss Minnie I. Chapman, a native of Missouri and a daughter of J. II. Chapman, of that State. They have two chil- dren, a son and daughter, Gatha and William Henry.

In politics, Mr. Rochester is a Democrat. ITis appoint - ment to the position of Postmaster of Laurin was in 1888, and here, as in other business affairs, he has proved him- self most efficient. IIe was on one occasion elected a Justice of the Peace, but did not qualify as his time was wholly taken up with other business.

WILLIAM McKEEN, another one of Missoula's respected citizens, was born in New Brunswick, Canada, November 16, 1828. ITis grandfather, Robert McKeen, emigrated from Scotland to America not long before the Revolution- ary war and settled in New York. IIe was loyal to his king, and on that account found it more congenial to re- move to New Brunswick. Hle and his good wife lived to the ages of seventy-five and eighty years respectively. Both were members of the Episcopal Church. They reared a family of eight children, of whom Jacob, the youngest, was the father of our subjeet. Jacob MeKeen was born on the St. Johns river, near Fredericton, New Brunswick, in 1800, and in 1822 he married Miss Jennie

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ing the testimony for the divining rod, the prospector can lose nothing by leaving it ont of his outfit.

Magnetism is sometimes used in prospecting, and may be made very useful in finding those minerals which are magnetic and attract the needle. The lodestone, or magnetic oxide of iron, often attracts the surveyor's needle so as to point out the position of such leads of iron ore. Sometimes these leads of magnetite so affect the needle that lines cannot be run by the compass or theodolite in their vicinity.

But the best instruments for prospecting are

Hawkins. Her parents were both natives of Holland and had emigrated to New York about the same time his parents did. After their marriage they settled near Fred- erieton, where Mr. MeKeen carried on farming operations and was also largely engaged in the lumber business. They were the parents of two sons and one daughter. Both he and his wife were members of the Episcopal Church, and he was also a Royal Arch Mason. Also for a time he was Captain of a volunteer company at his na- tive place, and his sword and epaulets are still highly prized by his children. He died in the seventy-sixth year of his age, and his widow is still living, having reached the advanced age of eighty-nine.

William McKeen is the youngest in the above named family. Ile was reared in his native place, and began life there on his own account as a lumberman, in which business he has ever since continued. Ile now owns a sawmill in the Bitter Root valley, where he furnishes employment to from forty to sixty men and where he is making and selling large quantities of lumber. IIe has manufactured as much as nine million feet of lumber in a single year.

In 1887 Mr. MeKeen purchased his commodious resi- dence on Front street in Missonla, where he and his fam- ily reside. He was married November 1, 1859, to Miss Ann Hammond, who was born August 2, 1834, daughter of Andrew B. Hammond, of New Brunswick. The IIam- monds trace one branch of their ancestry back to William Penn. Mr. and Mrs. MeKeen have had five children. The oldest, Hattie E., is the wife of Dr. H. H. Hanson, of Missoula. Charles M. died in his seventh year. Bertha is the wife of John Roberts, and resides in Wales. Helen J. married Mr. Havelock Coy, a lawyer of Fredericton, New Brunswick. Mr. and Mrs. Mc Keen are members of the Episcopal Church in Missoula, and, politically, Mr. McKeen is identified with the Republican party. In busi- ness he has been successful, has acquired a competency, and as a man of the highest integrity and reliability has gained the respect and esteem of all with whom he has had dealings.

good eyes-eyes educated to distinguish the minerals sought. When one is prospecting for quartz, he wants a good eye for the indication in the rocks and for the fragments of quartz lying on the foothills and mountain sides as he travels over them. A stray piece of quartz will challenge his attention as a fragment from some lode. When such fragment is found, the first question is, Where did it come from? Is it water worn and rounded, or angular, with sharp corners? If water-worn and rounded it has traveled by stream or glacier, and the pros- pector must seek its lode above on the line of

HON. JASON W. STREVELL, attorney at law, Miles City, is a native of the State of New York, born near Albany, in February, 1832, a son of Harvey and Elizabeth (Lewis) Strevell. Ilis father, born in 1800 and died in 1890, was a farmer, and in politics an active Democrat. His mother was a Whig and strongly opposed to the institution of slavery. Young Jason received an academic education at Rensselaerville, New York, studied law in the office of Peckham & Tremain at Albany, same State, then the leading law firm of the State of New York, and was ad- mitted to the bar in Albany, in 1855. He began the prac- tice of his profession in 1856, at Pontiac, Illinois, where he remained twenty-four years, enjoying a successful career in his profession, becoming deservedly popular, and was also prominent in politics. He represented his district in the lower house of the Legislature as a Repub- lican for four years, and in the Senate also for the same length of time. In 1876 he was the Republican Elector when R. B. Hayes was elected President of the United States. He was zealously opposed to slavery and well posted on the subject, owing to the teachings of his mother.

In October, 1879, he located in Miles City, Montana, where he has ever since been engaged in the practice of his favorite profession, having an extensive patronage, as well as the confidence and esteem of all the citizens. Soon after locating here he saw the need of a Sabbath- school, as he was a devout Presbyterian, and he at once set about organizing one, rather enlarging the insignifi- cant nucleus of one already in existence. A year pre- viously George M. Miles had opened a school, and Mr. Strevell came to his aid, and the two soon saw their la- bors producing favorable results. Mr. Strevell had been reared under the influences of the Dutch Reformed Church, but became zealous in the work of the Presby- terian Church, as the latter had representatives almost everywhere, and with hoth his time and money he ac- complished great good in the Sabbath-school field, in which he is widely and favorably known.

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such stream or glacier. Ores have thus been traced to their source for hundreds of miles. But for gold and silver quartz in those monn- tains, the source of these stray specimens must be sought in the gulches on which they are found. But if the specimen has not been worn and rounded and has sharp angles, it has not traveled far from its lode, which must be sought above in the mountain side. It may be traced by following a line of like specimens up to their source. Where the line of specimens ceases, the prospector may expect to find the vein, by the croppings or other indications of the lode. If the rock is bare, this part of the work is soon done; but if covered up it must be cleaned off by sinking a shaft and following

lle was Probate Judge of Custer county in 1881-2. In 1858, in Illinois, he married Miss Elizabeth Kelly, a daughter of Dr. John Kelly, of Lake City, Minnesota, who is a prominent physician. Her mother's maiden name was Esther Bishop, and her residence at Scranton, Penn- sylvania. Her brother, Lewis Bishop, was a Colonel of volunteers in the war of 1812, and their ancestors partici- pated in the war for independence. Judge Strevell and wile have had two children, one of whom is deceased. Charles N., the surviving one, is a merchant in Ogden, Utah; and Helen M. married George M. Miles, a prom- inent merchant in Miles City, and died in 1887.

Judge Strevell is a stanch Republican in his political views, and is one of the substantial, public-spirited citi- zeus of Miles City, a man well qualified for the highest position withiu the gift of the people of the country. He is zealous in all good works. He is a member of the Board of Trustees for the State Reform School Iceated near Miles City, and is now chairman of the board. He has had all the business he could attend to during his Jong public career, and stands high in the confidence and esteem of all who know him.

DONALD BRADFORD first came to Montana in 1884, but after remaining a short time he returned to the East. His residence here, although brief, had given him a favorable opinion of the State, and in 1886 he came back to Montana and took up his abode at Helena, where he has since made his home and the headquarters of his operations.

Donald Bradford was born in Springfield, Illinois, Sep- tember 14, 1861. During the earlier years of his life he attended the common schools of his native State and Mississippi, and his education was completed in the Uni- versity of Virginia. He determined to follow the pro- fession of law, and upon locating in IIelena he entered upon a law practice, which, however, he abandoned at the

the indications or fragments of quartz. When the lode is found, the work of the prospector is finished and the development begins. Such a discovery is called a " prospect," and the holes dng to discover it are called " prospect holes," or " prospect shafts." They may be seen on hill and valley all over the mountainous parts of Montana.

Prospecting for placer gold is generally more laborions, but it keeps the prospector more stationary. When he finds a gulch that suits his notions, he sinks shafts to bedrock and tests the gravel as he goes down by washing and panning it. Experience in mining and a knowledge of glaciers are most helpful in prospecting a gulch and its benches, or "bars"

end of one year in order to engage in more congenial pur- snits. The large areas of land susceptible of irrigation and which would under cultivation produce large erops attracted Mr. Bradford's attention, and he entered into enterprises to render these lands available for farming. HIis first venture was the construction of the big Dear- born canal, conveying water from the Dearborn river to adjacent lands and furnishing irrigation to an area of 75,000 acres hitherto unworked to any extent. Other ex- tensive irrigating enterprises have also been promoted by him, and he is largely interested in Helena real estate, and farming lands adjacent to the city, as well as prop- erty elsewhere.

In 1890 Mr. Bradford was the Democratic nominee for Mayor of Helena, and was triumphantly elected over a candidate who had been deemed invincible by the mem- bers of the opposing party. In addition to this office, he has been secretary of the Helena Board of Trade, has or- ganized the Chamber of Commerce and the Commercial Club, and is president of the Northeastern Abstract Com- pany. Ile is a member of no secret organizations, but is an active and prominent member of the Montana Club. He belongs to the Episcopal Church. Although a young man, he is prominently identified with the interests of Montana and is an active promoter of measures looking to the prosperity of the State.

Mr. Bradford was married in Springfield, Illinois, in 1888, to Miss Esther Fox, and they have one child.

JOHN J. WALK, one of the leading citizens of Billings and prominent among the prosperous stock and mining men of Yellowstone county, is a native of the State of Indiana, where he was born, in Harrison county, in 1847, son of Joseph and Olive (Crandall) Walk. His father's ancestors were from Holland, but his grandfather, Abraham Walk, was born and reared in North Carolina,

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HISTORY OF MONTANA.

as the miners call them. It is generally very easy to prospect a bar, but there is great diffi- culty in prospecting a gulch or valley where the water is abundant. There are many gulches where there is every reason to believe the gravel on bedrock is very rich; but the bedrock water is so abundant that those gravels cannot be easily reached and prospected. To remove this water and enable the prospector to test the gravel on bedrock is often very expensive, as many of our Montana miners can testify from hard ex- perience.

Expensive hydraulic machinery is sometimes necessary to remove the water. Streams and even considerable rivers are at times turned from their channels for the purpose of working the gravel and sands of their beds. But the

where he married, and in 1812, with his wife, moved in a cart to the then Territory of Indiana. IIe took part in the battle of Tippecanoe under General Harrison. Jo- seph A. Walk, our subject's father, was born and reared in Indiana and reared a large family. Two of his sons, Andrew and Martin, served in the Federal army during the late war, in the Army of the Potomac, in the Third Indiana Cavalry. Francis M. served during the war in the Twelfth Indiana Battery, which was stationed for a time at Fort Negley. Later he was transferred to a steam war vessel on the Mississippi river.

John J. Walk grew to manhood in Indiana, where he received a common-school education. In 1866 he went to Kansas, where he was engaged for four years in farming and stock-raising. In 1870 he went to Colorado and de- cided to engage in stock-raising, but concluded first to secure a helpmate. Accordingly, February 16, 1871, he married Miss Emma Davis, at Middletown, Missouri. She was the daughter of Samuel Davis. Her father, a native of Pennsylvania, was a prominent farmer and stockman. IIe had two sons, Frank and James, in the Federal army, and one (Hiram) a Lientenant in the Con- federate army, under Sterling Price. Frank was shot from his horse and killed by a bushwhacker while the animal was drinking, near Paris, Missouri. The father still survives, being now eighty-four years old.

Immediately after marriage, in 1871, Mr. Walk and wife crossed the plains in a wagon, and he purchased a lot and erected on it a residence, in Pueblo, Colorado, where he owned an entire block; but in December, that year, sold out, at a profit, and located at River Bend, on the Kansas Pacific Railroad; and that winter he and his brother-in-law, Ephraim Davis, killed 650 buffalo (!) for their hides, and made considerable money. The follow-

prospecting of these gravels under streams and other waters is often done by raising the gravels through the water by sand pumps or other means. The work of removing the water be- longs to mining rather than prospecting.

Mines are sometimes discovered by accident, by persons when they are not looking for them.

A man while hunting discovered a valuable iron mine in Maine; an Indian, while climbing a mountain side in South America, pulled down a tuft of roots which liberated a reservoir of native quicksilver; and the waters in the race of Sutter's mill exposed the golden sands that caused the greatest " stampede" the world has ever known, a stampede that brought men from the east, the north, the south, from Europe and Asia, a stampede that collected the most ener-

ing spring Mr. Walk purchased a small herd of cattle and was soon extensively engaged in the cattle trade, which he continued with success until September, 1879, when he sold out and went to Oregon, where he purchased a large herd of cattle, which he drove overland to Montana, in 1880, locating them on White Beaver, Yellowstone valley, in the fall of that year. In the spring of 1881 he moved his herd to ('lark's fork. The winter of 1880-1 was severe, and he lost thirty-five per cent of his cattle. In the fall of 1881 he engaged in butchering and supplying meats to the construction forces along the line of the Union Pacific Railroad, and conducted the business during the ensuing winter. In 1883 he purchased another large herd of cattle in Oregon, which he drove through the country and located on the Lake Basin range. The winters of 1884-5 were mild, and his loss of stock light. The summer of 1886 was unusually dry, and there was but little grass, and the cattle entered the following winter in had condition, and the winter proved to be the most severe before or since. The result was a fearful loss of stock, the average loss being abont sixty-five per cent, from which stockmen have never fully recovered. In 1886 Mr. Walk had his cattle on the Crow Indian Reser- vation. The winters of 1887-8 were mill and cattle prospered, but he had difficulties with Indians, who killed and consumed many of his cattle. At the same time he paid a heavy tariff to the Government for the the right of pasture. The winters of 1889-90-91 were mild.

In 1892 he sold his entire stock interest and engaged in mining in Boulder mining camp, Park county, where he now owns valuable free-milling gold quartz property. May 9, 1892, he began operating a stage line between Big Timber, on the Northern Pacific Railroad, and Boulder

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HISTORY OF MONTANA.

getic people of all raees within the Golden Gate, and made California one of the grandest commonwealths of the world. But Professor Dana, the geologist of the Wilkes' expedition around the world, had already mentioned the Pacific coast as a hopeful field for those in search of the precious metals. This was one of the motives which impelled our Government to the acquisition of California.

There is a great variety of ores in Montana. The most of them have been worked with profit; a few have not yet appeared in sufficient quan- tities, as the ores of tin; and some are abso- Intely injurious when associated with other ores; as zinc when associated with the ores of lead and silver.

An ore of antimony has been very success- fully worked in one place about fifteen miles

mining camp, a tri-weekly line on which he had a con- tract for carrying the mail. Ilis coach was drawn by four horses, had a capacity for sixteen passengers, and he had twenty-two head of horses to operate the line. In July, 1893, he sold out to Dow Woln, of Boulder river, who is bound to fill all contracts until June 30, 1894. In Octo- ber, 1893, Mr. Walk decided to engage in the sheep in- dustry, when he purchased 1,400 head and placed them on a ceded portion of the Crow Indian Reservation. In partnership with J. J. Nickey he constructed the Grand ITotel at Billings, at a cost of $38,000, which had been in charge of Mr. Nickey for three years. In 1883 Mr. Walk erected his elegant residence in the Foster addition, North side, at a cost of $4,000. He and his wife have two inter- esting daughters, now attending the Sacred Heart School, at St. Charles, Missouri. They are Elith E., aged eigh- teen years, and Alice E., fifteen years. Mrs. Walk is a member of the Congregational Church, and he is a member of the K. of P., and politically he votes inde- pendently.

JEFFERSON MCCAULEY, a respected farmer and stock dealer of Big Hole valley, came to Montana in 1864, arriving at Virginia City, July 14. Briefly, a sketch of his life is as follows:

Mr. McCauley was born in northwestern Pennsylvania, February 10, 1843, son of David McCauley, a native of the north of Ireland. David MeCauley came to America when a child. ITis father had died in Ireland before Vey started for this country and his mother died on the · yage: - o David lauded in America an orphan. Ile wastrated in Pennsylvania, and was there married to Miss Mary Eaton, a native of Allegheny county, that State,

from Thompson Falls. It has also appeared with the galena in many of our mines.

Bismuth appeared in the mines in Emigrant Gulch.

Tellurium is found in the mines in Tucker Gulch at Butte, on Mill creek, at Maiden, and at Neihart. Some of these ores have been very rich in gold. One shipment from Tucker Gulch yielded 8325,000 per ton.

Cobalt and nickel are found in the Bell Stowe mine on Thompson river.

Black sand, abundant in some of our placers, always contains gold, and at times as much as $200 per ton.

Beautiful erystals or corundum are abundant in some of our placers. These crystals form bean- tiful gems of the varieties known as Oriental Ruby and Oriental Topaz, Oriental Emerald

and of English descent. After their marriage they re- moved to Venango county, Pennsylvania, where he owned a farm and where he resided until the time of his death, which occurred in 1870. His wife died in the thirty-ninth year of her age. They were industrious, respectable farmers and were members of the Presbyterian Church. Five of their seven children are still living.

Jefferson McCauley was the fourth born in the family. Ile was reared on his father's farm and received his early education in the public schools and later attended an academy. When he was eighteen he started ont to make his own way in the world as a schoolteacher. After he had taught two terms he decided to learn the trade of blacksmith, and at that business worked for three years in Pennsylvania. Then he made the journey hy rail to St. Joseph, Missouri, and thence across the plains with mule teams to Montana, via the Bighorn and Yellowstone rivers. Hle and three other young men purchased their team and outfit in partnership and made the trip to- gether. After his arrival at Virginia City he leased a mine, but soon found he could make more at blacksmith- ing than mining; so he purchased a shop and soon found himself in the midst of a prosperous business. The price for shoeing a span of horses at that time was $12, and he received $10 for making a miner's pick and fifty cents for sharpening one.

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An illustrated history of the state of Montana, containing biographical mention of its pioneers and prominent citizens, Part 109

Author: Miller, Joaquin, 1837-1913. cn Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis pub. co. Number of Pages: 1216

Author: Miller, Joaquin, 1837-1913. cn
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis pub. co.
Number of Pages: 1216