An illustrated history of the state of Montana, containing biographical mention of its pioneers and prominent citizens, Part 21

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 21

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HISTORY OF MONTANA.

" Although there were in this then distant land of Idaho no telegraph wires or other means of rapid communication, the discovery of new gold fields or a rich strike made within the boundaries of the Territory traveled with the rapidity of a carrier pigeon. Apparently one caught the news from the breezes. No one could give the source of the whisperings that a new find was reported. It was sufficient to the toilers and prospectors that such were the re- ports without investigating whenee they came. These reports grew as they traveled. They were

East Helena Smelting Works; Omaha & Grant Smelting & Refining Company, Omaha, Nebraska; Globe Smelting & Refining Company, Denver, Colorado; Tacoma Smelt- ing & Refining Company, Tacoma, Washington; and all the large smelting and refining works of Montana. As soon as ores of their sampling are shipped the purchaser pays the market or stipulated price and the miner receives his returns without having to await the arrival of the ore at its destination. This proves a convenient method of marketing ore.

June 5, 1894, Mr. Braden received from President Cleve- land the appointment of assayer in charge of the Helena United States Assay Office, and took charge of the office during the succeeding month.

Mr. E. B. Braden is a member of the Order of Elks and is at present filling one of its important offices. An oblig- ing and capable business man, he is on the best of terms with the citizens of Helena.

HON. ALBERT J. SELIGMAN, vice-president of the Amer- ican National Bank of Helena, and one of Montana's suc- cessful business men, dates his birth in New York city, February 24, 1859. His father, Jesse Seligman, emi- grated from Germany when he was seventeen years old and first located in New York city. Subsequently he be- came one of California's pioneers, and in partnership with his brothers was prominently engaged in the clothing business in San Francisco for a number of years. They were also clothing merchants and manufacturers in New York city, and later became bankers in the latter city, doing business under the firm name of W. Seligman & Company, which has become one of the greatest banking firms in the country. In addition to their banking inter- terests in New York the company also carry on business in Montana and other States.

Albert J. Seligman was reared in New York and was educated at the Rensselaer Polytechnic School, where he graduated in 1878. After that he spent three years and a half in Freiburg, Saxony, and Liege, Belgium, studying mining. In 1881 he came to Helena, Montana, purchased stock in several paying mines, and has since been largely

passed from cabin to cabin along down the gulehes and across the flats and bars. Tom would tell Bill that near the bedrock they were getting five cents to the pan. Bill would inform Sam that in the new 'diggings' they were get- ting ten cents right in the grass roots. And thus it kept on inereasing as it traveled until it would reach a dollar or two to the pan.

"In the fall of 1861 reports began to be noised about Oro Fino that new places had been discovered on the head-waters of the Salmon river which were said to be fabulously rich. The

interested in developing this great industry in Montana. Since coming to Montana he has also made investments here for his father. Aside from his investments in mines, Mr. Seligman has been interested in various other enter- prises, and in whatever he has undertaken prosperity has attended his efforts. He has been president of several railroad companies: is president of the Bach, Cory & Com- Fany wholesale grocery firm of Helena, conceded to be the largest house of the kind in the State; and is vice- president of the American National Bank. He is largely interested in stock raising, principally horses and cattle: and has dealt extensively in real estate. In short, ever since coming to Montana he has identified himself with and taken an active part in every measure having for its aim the development and prosperity of the country. Thus he soon acquired the confidence and esteem of the busi- ness men of the State of his adoption, and he was chosen by his fellow citizens of the Republican party, of which he is a stanch member, to represent . them in the Terri- torial Legislature in 1886. He had the honor of being chairman of the Republican State Central Committee during the time of the severe struggle over the election of State Senators. In 1892 he was chairman of the dele- gation from Montana to the Republican National Conven- tion at Minneapolis, and was elected Treasurer of the State Central Committee, which latter honor, however, he declined.

Mr. Seligman is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and was Grand Chancellor of the State of Montana in 1890. He is also a member of the B. P. O. E.

Mr. Seligman was married in 1886 to Miss Lillie Glaz- ier, a native of New York and a daughter of Isaac Glaz- ier, her father having been a member of the firm of I. & S. Glazier, of San Francisco. Mr. and Mrs. Seligman have two children, Jesse and Lorraine. He is prominent in the social circles of Helena, and was chairman of the com- mittee engaged in the erection of the Montana Club building. Jesse Seligman died at Hotel Del Coronado, Coronado Beach, California, on April 23, 1894, of Bright's disease, aged sixty-seven years.

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HISTORY OF MONTANA.

matter was discussed by the miners during the day while shoveling gravel and sand in their sluice-boxes. At night they would gather in their cabins and discuss the probabilities by the snapping of log fires. Then it was noised about that the Smith boys from Pierce's bar had left their claims and disappeared in the di- rection of the new El Dorado, and again parties

EDWIN WARREN TOOLE, one of Montana's most emi- nent lawyers, was born in Savannah, Andrew county, Missouri, on the 24th of March, 1839. His parents, Ed- win and Lucinda (Shepard) Toole, emigrated from the State of Kentucky to Missouri in 1837 and settled at Sa- vannah, at which place they reared a large and highly respected family, most of whom are still living and re- siding in Montana. Edwin Toole was a lawyer by pro- fession, was over twenty years Clerk of the District Court of his county, and resigned his position before coming to Montana, some eight years ago. His life has been a most exemplary one, and now in his eighty-sixth year re- tains to a very extraordinary degree his vigorous mental faculties and physical health. All his brothers and sis- ters, six in number, are still living and a remarkable in- cident of longevity. Our subject's mother died in her seventy-seventh year.

Edwin W. Toole, the oldest living son of his father's family, was reared in his native town and was educated in her public schools and in the Masonic College at Lex- ington, Missouri, at which place the Hon. S. B. Elkins and himself represented the Philologian Society, and the Hon. W. Y. Pemberton, now Chief Justice of this State, and the Hon. Jerry Craven, ex-member of Congress from Missouri, represented the Erodelphian Society in their annnal debate at the closing exercises of that insti- tution in 1860. He came to Montana in 1863, where he has since been engaged in the practice of his profession, and during all these years he has been connected, as counsel, with most of the prominent lawsuits of the coun- try, meeting with marked success and gaining a most enviable reputation as one of the most able and talented lawyers of the State. Among the important cases in which he has recently appeared may be mentioned the noted Davis will case, St. Louis Mining Company vs. Montana Company (Limited), involving the extension of the famous Drum Lummon Lode; and Northern Pacific Railroad Company vs. Richard P. Barden et al .: upon the decision of the latter depended the right to millions of acres of valuable mineral lands within the limits of the railroad grant. In this case he was employed by HIon. Martin Maginnis, Land Commissioner for the State, in favor of the interest of the miners and against the rail- road company. He prepared and filed the first and origi- nal brief in the Supreme Court of the United States in the case, and that court, out of its usual course in such matters, makes the following complimentary reference

from Ore Grande and Rhodes creek were mak- ing preparations to start. Later, information was circulated about the camp that two men had just arrived for the purpose of laying in a stock of supplies, and who confirmed the previous reports as to the richness and extent of the new find. The old miners who had had many vis- ions and dreams of wealth to be obtained just

and quotation from his brief and argument: "As justly observed by counsel for defendant in their very able brief, the reservation in the grant of mineral lands was in- tended to keep them under Government control for the public good in the development of the mineral resources of the country and the benefit of the miner and explorer, instead of compelling him to litigate or capitulate with a stupendous corporation and ultimately succumb to snch terms, subject to such conditions, and amenable to such servitudes, as it might see proper to impose. The Gov- ernment has exhibited its beneficence in reference to its mineral lands as it has in the disposition of its agricult- ural lands, where the claims and rights of the settlers are fully protected. The privilege of exploring for mineral lands was in full force at the time of the location of the definite line of the road and was reserved and excepted out of the grant to plaintiff."

During his long professional career he has become largely interested in mines and mining, and is a stock- holder in many valuable mines. He has invested largely in real estate in llelena and elsewhere, and is now an owner of the north portion of the Merchants' National Bank Building, one of the most beautiful and costly buildings in the city.

While Mr. Toole has always been a stanch Democrat he has never desired and at all times declined nomina- tions for office, with one exception. Early in his history he defeated the Hon. James M. Cavanaugh, a great favor- ite of the Irish people, in the nomination of a candidate for Congress. The Irish vote on this account became disaffected and Mr. Toole was in turn defeated at the polls. Since this time he has declined all such honors, preferring to give his whole time and attention to his ex- tensive law practice, and for similar reasons he has never connected himself with any of the secret and fraternal societies of the country. The law and matters growing out of it have therefore wholly absorbed his time, and his faithful and earnest efforts in this direction have secured for him the confidence of the people and high position he holds as a lawyer.

No estimate of the character of Mr. Toole would be either complete or just unless it considered him in his hreefold capacity of citizen, lawyer and business man. First of all, as a citizen, he is a man of great public spirit and is in feeling and character a typical Western man. From the beginning, Mr. Toole has seen, with a vision clearer than most men, not only the probabilities

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HISTORY OF MONTANA.

over the ridge were soon worked up to fever heat. Horses and mules to pack supplies were in great demand. Any kind of an animal would bring four times the price it would have brought a few months before.

" Like other contagions this mining fever is catching, and when it strikes you the only rem- edy is to go. You do not stop to consider the

but also the possibilities of this great West; and what a quarter of a century or more ago he so clearly saw, and what so confidently expected, he has diligently labored to realize. Endowed by nature with what has been hap- pily termed "a legal mind," his mentality is such that the law alone seems to afford it the fullest intellectual scope. A diligent student from the beginning of his career, he has acquired an unusually profound knowledge of the law, which a well disciplined memory places absolutely at his command. In the practice of law he is noted for the great care given to the preparation of his cases, the ability with which they are argued and the ingenuity with which they are tried. From his first appearance at the Montana bar, down to the present time, he has main- tained the reputation of being the equal of the best of his colleagues in the mastery of the law, and is regarded as a most formidable adversary in the practice of his profession. There is an ease and method in his plead- ings which gives them wonderful effectiveness and has stamped him as an able and forcible advocate. His atti- tude toward the younger members of his profession, and especially those who have ability and worth, is particu- larly kind, helpful and gently paternal and always en- couraging. In consequence few men have warmer friends among the lawyers of the State. In his conduct of busi- ness enterprises he has derived decided assistance from his intimate knowledge of law. It is this ready applica- tion of knowledge which has proven of service, and it is this ability on his part to command at all times the re- sources of his mind and experience that makes him the virile factor he has proved to be in all his positions and connections. It is pleasant to record that the community in which Mr. Toole resides is in no way backward in recognizing these facts and gives honor where honor is due.

V. CHARLES RINDA, one of IIelena's respected pioneers, is a native of Vienna, Austria. His father, Antone Rinda, came to America in 1853 and settled first at Dubuque, Iowa, whence three years later he removed to Minne- sota. Ile settled on a farm in the latter State and spent the rest of his life there, his death occurring in the sev- entieth year of his age. His wife died in Dubuque. Four of their five children are still living, the subject of our sketch being the second born.

V. Charles Rinda received his early education iu his na- tive place, and after their coming to America he continued his studies in Dubuque, He then learned the trade of

hardships, but only have the wish to reach the promised land, and acquire the glittering metal that whuld serve to make the folks at home happy. How many of such hopes have been blasted? Yet those hopes and expectations were the incentives which caused the pioneers to push ont into the snow-covered mountains and broad valleys and lay the foundation for civilization.

saddler and the carriage-making business, but soon after- ward turned his attention to the boating business and was engaged in steamboating on the Mississippi river. In 1862 he worked for Mr. Banprie, a well-known man in the West and one of the first settlers of St. Paul. After leav- ing his employ Mr. Rinda went to St. Louis and from there came up the Missouri river in the spring of 1864 to Oma- ha, crossed the plains to Soda Springs on Snake river, prospected for a short time and went to Idaho City and then back to East Bannack on the Salmon river. He then mined and prospected for a short time. In 1867 he came to Helena and remained here until the fall of the follow- ing year, when he returned to his home in Minnesota. Ile remained, however, only a short time, for the next year we find him back in Montana again. He spent a portion of the year 1870 in Missoula county, but in the fall he returned to Helena and has since continued to reside here. All these years he has been engaged in prospect- ing and mining. He was one of the discoverers of the Jay Gould mine, the East Pacific and other properties, and made considerable money. In 1876, in company with Mark Sklower, he purchased the International Hotel, built additions to it, and ran it until 1881, being success- ful in the enterprise. In 1881 they purchased the ground on which the Grand Central Hotel stands. Mr. Rinda built the foundation of the hotel, then induced Mr. Reed to take an interest in the enterprise, and together they completed the erection of the building, which they opened May 7, 1885. Mr. Rinda conducted it alone until 1892, when he sold a half interest to his partner for $45,000, and since then Mr. Rinda has been partly retired from active business. He still, however, has large mining in- terests, being the owner of several quartz mines in Jeffer- son county, the best among them being the Fohner, Moorse and Shuster. He also has large copper mining interests at Ridersburg.

Mr. Rinda was married in 1871 to Miss Emma Will. Two children were born to them in Helena: Mamie and Theodore W. Mrs. Rinda died in 1873, and in 1875 Mr. Rinda married Miss Charlotte Allbright, whose untimely death occurred when her only child, Allbright, was fifteen months old. In 1878 Mr. Rinda was again married, the maiden name of his present wife being Addie N. Rodda. They have had four children: Blanche N., Charles J., Bennie and Harrison, the last named dying at the age of four years.

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In those days of excitement I imbibed the feel- ing of unrest. Visions of a rich claim and inde- pendence and plenty overcame all other consid- erations. I must go; but how? I consulted with John Miller, an old friend and a brother of Joaquin. He was one of God's noblemen. A better man than he never lived. True, generous, kind-hearted, with a nature as gentle as a wo-

Mr. Rinda is a member of the A. O. U. W. and of the American League of Honor, and in politics is a Republi- can. Active and enterprising, he has done his full share in the upbuilding and improving of Helena.

HON. EUGENE A. STEERE, Superintendent of Public Instruction for the State of Montana, was born in Coop- erstown, Otsego county, New York, March 25, 1857. He is of English descent. His father, Joseph L. Steere, also a native of Otsego county, was born in 1823; his mother, whose maiden name was Roxana Cole, was likewise a native of the Empire State. Both are worthy members of the Christian Church, and their lives have been char- acterized by useful activity. Six of their eight children are still living, Eugene A. being the next to the youngest of the family.

Professor Steere, the subject of our sketch, spent the first eleven years of his life on his father's farm iu New York, attending the public schools and doing chores. In 1868 his parents removed with their family to Sparta, Wisconsin, where his father purchased a farm and where he still continues to reside. At Sparta young Steere com- pleted a high-school course, and from there went to the State University of Wisconsin, where he graduated with honor in June, 1881. From that time until 1887 he was em - ployed as principal of the Kilbourn City schools, meeting with marked success in that position. In 1887 he came to Montana to take charge of the high school at Butte City. During the three years he was principal of the school there he did much toward bringing its standard up to the present high standing. At the expiration of three years he accepted the superintendency of the Dillon schools, his services there, as elsewhere, being character- ized by great enthusiasm and rendering satisfaction to both pupils and patrons. During the whole of his career as an educator he has taken deep interest in teachers' institutes and associations. Ile is a member of the Nation- al Teachers' Association, and attended its meeting at St. Paul in 1890, where he read a paper on "The High School and Mass Education." At that meeting he was elected Vice-President of the Association. In 1891 he was elected President of the Montana State Teachers' Association. The deep interest he took in these associations and the time he devoted to them and to the general work of edu- cation in Montana gave him prominence as one of the most capable educators in the State, and in 1892 he was chosen by the people for the important office of State Superintendent of Instruction. In this office he is NOW

man's. In time of danger he never flinched. He was the straightest of straight goods. His value was attested when he laid down his life with 60,000 others at the battle of Gettysburg in defense of his country and his country's flag. I knew this man before whom I laid my plans. IIe signified his willingness to join me provided we could secure transportation.

serving in a most creditable manner. There is no ques- tion but that the public school system of Montana will be greatly benefitted by his efforts

August 11, 1885, Professor Steere married Miss Susie Couvillion, a native of Wisconsin and a daughter of Jos- eph Couvillion, a descendant of one of the French fami- lies who were among the first settlers of Detroit, Michi- gan Professor and Mrs. Steere have two children, Metta Elizabetli and Joseph Maynard.

Professor Steere is an Elder in the Presbyterian Church at Dillon, is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and his political affiliations are with the Republican party. IIe has made many warm friends since coming to Mon- tana.

JOHN T. MURPHY is a native of Missouri, his birth hav- ing occurred in Platte county, February 26, 1842.

William S. Murphy, the father of John T., was a native of the State of Pennsylvania. He married Miss Amelia Tyler, who was also a native of Pennsylvania, and they became the parents of two children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the first born.

John T. Murphy was reared to farm life In Missouri and received his education there. In 1859, when seven- teen years of age, he started out in life on his own re- sponsibility, coming as far west as Colorado, and there securing employment as a clerk. In 1860 he went to Nevada City, Colorado, and engaged in business on his own account. He conducted a general merchandise bus- iness there for a year and a half. Then he sold out and engaged In the wagon transfer business. In 1864 he came to Virginia City, Montana, with a wagon train of mer- chandise, and after selling out he returned to Nebraska City, Nebraska. The following spring he loaded a wagon train with merchandise, also shipped goods by steamer on the Missouri river, and brought all to ITelena, where he opened a store July 1, 1865. His stock brought good prices in gold-dust, and he did a prosperous and remun- erative business. As his trade and capital increased he established several branch stores, and conducted a suc- cessful mercantile business until the fall of 1890, when he disposed of his business in Helena. He is still, how ever, interested in merchandising at Great Falls. IIe had not been long in Helena until he discovered that there was money to be made in the stock business, and he has all these years been more or less interested in raising sheep and cattle. In 1890 he became one of the organizers of the llelena National Bank. and was elected

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"I started out the next day with bright hopes and light steps. We required two animals to carry sufficient supplies to last us a portion of the winter. I put in the time from early morn until dewy eve and failed to find a single horse or mule for sale. The next day I was more suc- cessful. About one mile below Pierce City I found a party who owned a horse and an ox. He

its president. He was also one of the organizers of the Montana Savings Bank, and one of its directors. After the death of Col. C. A. Broadwater, president of the Mon- tana National Bank, the directors looked about for a snit- able financier to succeed him, and after much thought and the due exercise of judgment in the matter, John T, Murphy was selected as the man best adapted for the important position. He therefore resigned the presidency of the Helena National Bank and entered upon the du- ties of the presidency of this great financial institution, for which by large experience it is conceded he is so ad- mirably fitted.

In 1871 Mr. Murphy was married to Miss Elizabeth T. Morton, a native of Clay county, Missouri, and the daughter of William Morton. They have four children, all natives of Montana, their names being William M., Francis D., Addie M. and John T., Jr. They reside in one of Helena's beautiful homes.

Mr. Murphy is in politics a Democrat, but politics has only claimed enough of his attention to enable him to vote intelligently, which is the duty of every good citizen. He has during his long business career in Helena made a most enviable record, and few men in the State are held in higher esteem than he.

ALBERT GALLATIN CLARKE, of Helena, was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, April 7, 1822. His ancestors emi- grated from Scotland to this country, and were among the early settlers of Connecticut. His father, Thomas H. Clarke, was born in New York in 1793, and was for many years engaged in business at Batavia. He was drafted for service in the war of 1812, but hired the afterward well-known Thurlow Weed, of New York, to be his sub- stitute. Thomas H. Clarke married, in Terre Haute, Miss Mary Dickson, who was born in Ohio in 1800 and was of German and Irish ancestry. Here they reared their fam- ily of six children, two of whom are now living. The mother died in 1858, and the father passed away in 1873. Both were people of high respectability, and the mother was a devoted member of the Methodist Church.

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An illustrated history of the state of Montana, containing biographical mention of its pioneers and prominent citizens, Part 21

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