An illustrated history of the state of Montana, containing biographical mention of its pioneers and prominent citizens, Part 29

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 29

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In connection with his work as a physician and sur geon, Dr. Bullard devotes considerable time to chemistry and toxicology, having been engaged im many impor- tant cases in the courts of the State. In chemical work, foods and sanitary science he is considered an authority. lle is constantly at work in the broad fleld of scientifle

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to cold. The air is so dry and pure that the cold is not felt as it is in the East. When the thermometer is down to zero, it is not consid- ered unpleasant for out-door work unless there is a violent storm; and men wear fewer clothes, and suffer less, than do the people of Pennsyl- vania in ordinary winters. Overcoats are sel- dom worn, save by travelers. *

* Rhen- matism is unknown in this climate, -- excepting among miners who work in wet placer-diggings in winter; and even among them it is very rare. I have not seen a single resident of Montana who was suffering from a cold,-the complaint so common, and so fatal, in the East. Not a case of consumption has been contracted in the Territory. Persons suffering from it in the in- cipient stages have invariably been cured; and those who had reached the secondary stage have been apparently hastened to the grave. The

investigation, being conscientious and painstaking at all times, and his services are much in demand by his pro- fessional associates and the courts.

Dr. Bullard was married in 1878 to Miss Eunice Fletcher Allen, a native of Providence, Rhode Island, and a daughter of Samuel Allen, a merchant of that city. They have had four children, three of whom-Katharine Armington, Esther Allen and Harriet Fletcher-are liv- ing. Their little son Talbut died in his fifth year.

Dr. Bullard is a Past Grand Master of the A. O. U. W. and a member of the Supreme Lodge. He is Grand Inner Guard of the K. of P., is a Royal Arch Mason, a prominent Odd Fellow, having reached the position of Lieutenant Colonel and Assistant Surgeon General of the Patriarchs Militant, I. O. O. F., Division of the Lakes; a member of the K. O. T. M., and Department Surgeon in the order of Sons of Veterans. In politics he is a stanch Republican. He was elected a member of ihe Constitutional Convention of Montana, held in 1889, which formulated the laws for the new State. His re- ligious creed is that of the Presbyterian Church, and of that church he is a consistent member.

OGDEN A. SOUTHMAYD is a prominent factor in the business affairs of Helena, and as such it is fitting that biographical mention be made of him in this work. Briefly given, a sketch of his life is as follows:

Mr. Southmayd is a native of Connecticut, born in Middletown, February 6, 1832. The progenitor of the Southmayd family in America came from England to this country and settled in Massachusetts about 150 years ago. He married a daughter of one of the early presidents of Yale College, and their descendants were prominent in the early history of Middletown, being large land holders and taking an active part in the affairs of the country. They were represented in the Revolutionary war. Al- though it is known that William Southmayd came to this country from England, yet it is a question whether his ancestors were English or Irish.

infirm of Montana are those who came here the victims of fatal disease, or who are suffering from some of the many accidents incident to new mining countries. There are asthmatic patients here who would be glad to "go home," but dare not. After breathing the pure invig- orating air of the mountains, they would return only to die. Mountain fevers occasionally re- sult from exposure; and they are the most ob- stinate cases far Western physicians have to treat. They are now seldom fatal; bnt, even after the tedious course of the fever is run, pa- tients rally more slowly than fever subjects in the States. I doubt whether any other portion of the world can excel Montana in healthful climate; and the time is not far distant when it will be one of the great resorts of the continent. -Col. A. K. MeClure, in the New York Tribune.

John B. Southmayd, the father of our subject, was born in Durham, Connecticut, in 1794. He married Miss Elizabeth M. Perkins, a native of Bath, England, and they hecame the parents of eight children, of whom six are still living. He and his wife were members of the Episcopal Church, and by occupation he was a furniture manufacturer. She died in the fifty sixth year of her age and he lived to be seventy-six. All his life he was a Jackson Democrat, and for a time served as a Colonel of artillery. During the war of 1312 he was a drummer hoy.

Ogden A. Southmayd was next to the youngest of his father's family. He was reared and educated in his native town and was prepared for college in Chase's Preparatory School. Before he reached maturity he be- came the accountant of an iron manufacturer, and was in this business three years. He then went to Wisconsin, and was there at the time the Civil war broke out. He was among the first to enter the Union ranks, enlisting in Company I, Eighteenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and was on its organization commissioned Second Lieu- tenant. In his first engagement, at the battle of Shiloh, he was taken prisoner and was held for seven months, after which he was parolled and later returned to his regiment. He was then on duty at Fort Picking, but because of greatly impaired health he was compelled to resign. Recovering his health, in the summer of 1864 he re-entered the army as First Lieutenant of Battery M, First Wisconsin Heavy Artillery, in which capacity he served until the close of the war, at which time he was in command at Fort Weed. It was his privilege to witness the grand review of the victorious army at Washington,

The war over, Mr. Southinayd returned to Wisconsin and entered the office of the Bank Controllers at Madi- son, where he remained until the office was discontinued in 1867. After this he was for a time engaged in agri- cultural pursuits. He was elected County Clerk of Columbia county, Wisconsin, in which capacity he served

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Explain to me why Japan can ship oranges from her northern latitudes, and I then will undertake to explain why the summits of the Rocky monntains in our extreme north are, even in mid-winter, one vast cattle farm, where stock feeds in reasonable security on the bounty of nature alone.

The two countries, Japan and Montana, probably owe their comparative immunity from cold to the same kind favor of nature, whatever may be the reason for it. Trne, it is not the same quality of temperature. The same measure of cold in the moist atmosphere of London that is meted out to Montana would make England an iceberg. This seems unreasonable, but I can only rest the case on the facts and go forward.

three terms, and for seven years thereafter he was an insurance inspector and adjustor. Then on account of the illness of one of his daughters, he decided to make a change of location, and removed to Bismarck, from which place he subsequently came on to Montana, settling in Helena. Here he has for a time been the manager of the Paynter Drug Company, and is also now engaged in mining, connected in these enterprises with some of Helena's best men. He was one of the incorporators of the Ontario Mining Company, of which he is a trustee, stockholder and secretary and treasurer. Their property is located in Deer Lodge county. Besides this Mr. South- mayd also has various other mining interests.

In 1859 he was married to Miss Lucy B. Richmond, a native of Livonia, New York, and a descendant of one of the old English families who were among the early set- tlers of Rhode Island. Mr. and Mrs. Southmayd have had five children, four of whom are now living. Grace C., the invalid daughter above referred to, became the wife of A. C. Logan. She never recovered her health and died in the twenty-seventh year of her age. Of the other children we record that Mary R. is the wife of Joseph R. MeKay, Miles City, Montana; Bessie P is the wife of A. C. Logan, Helena; Harriet W. married George A. Maloney and lives in Portland, Oregon; and John B. is engaged in mining at Marysville, Montana. The family are members of the Episcopal Church. Mr. Southmayd has affiliated with the Republican party ever since the war, but is a free-trader in sentiment and holds to the old cardinal principles of the Democracy-" The greatest good for the greatest number." He is a member of the · G. A. R. A genial and kind-hearted gentleman, he has made many friends since coming to Helena.

It may be briefly noted here also that the clear and dry cold of a Montana winter does not obtain continuously. Now mark a phenom- enon of nature.

The winter of 1861-2 was a terrible one,- the most terrible, according to official reports forwarded to Washington from our posts that were thinly scattered through this region, that has been known since our occupation of the Northwest. Yet that coldest winter witnessed the most remarkable display of this phenomenon yet recorded. At least, this is the testimony from Walla Walla.

The snow was brisket deep to cattle, alike in valley or on hill, everywhere. On this snow a sleet fell and froze to a crust. Men tramped on this, drew sleds by hand, bore great loads on

W. J. WINTERS, one of the leading contractors and builders of Great Falls, Montana, and one of her most en- terprising business men, was born at his father's farm six miles from the city of Ypsilanti, Washtenaw county, Michigan, March 9, 1856.

Mr. Winters is of English extraction. His father, George Winters, was born in England in 1828, was reared in his native land, and was there married to Miss Elizabeth Kerby, a native of his own town. Their marriage oe- curred in 1853 and immediately thereafter they set sail for America. Upon their arrival in the United States, they located at Superior, near the city of Ypsilanti, where five of their nine children were boru. After improving his land and living on it until 1865, he sold out and re- moved to Allegan, Michigan. There he purchased an- other farm and on it spent the residue of his life and died, his death occurring in 1887. His widow still resides there. He had been reared an Episcopaliau, but after their com- ing to America he and his wife were converted to Method- ism and became active and devoted members of that church. George Winters was a man of many sterling traits of character and was highly esteemed all by those who knew him.

William Jefferson Winters, the subject of this sketch, was the second born in his father's family. His boyhood days were spent in the public schools and with the best of home training, and when he grew up he learned the trade of plasterer. In 1878 a spirit for adventure and a de- sire for new fields of labor brought him out West to Fort Benton, Montana. The first two winters of his stay in Montana were spent in hunting buffalo, while during the summer he worked at his trade. He continued at Fort Benton until 1885. That year he identified himself with

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their backs, and made good headway, but horses broke through, cut their legs, struggled along for a few hours, leaving a bloody track, and then died. Cattle stood to their briskets in the crust, lowing and freezing to death. I had walked all the way from Florence to Walla Walla on this crust, nearly 200 miles as the trail ran, with nearly 100 pounds of gold-dust and letters on my back and with no discomfort from the intense but crisp, dry cold, passing thousands of dead or dying cattle by the way. Suddenly, on the evening of my arrival, the packed express office began to be deserted. Eager miners ceased asking after the mines and poured out into the populons streets.

"The Chinook wind! The Chinook wind!"

the new town of Great Falls, and soon after coming here formed a partnership with Mr. William Roberts, They soon took the lead as contractors and builders. They erected the large school house and many of the best busi- ness blocks in the town, and they not only put up build- ings for other parties but also on their own account erected a number of business houses and residences, which they rent. They built the Milwaukee House in the spring of 1887. This building they still own, it being under the management of Mr. Winters. It contains forty-two rooms, is well finished and nicely furnished, and is well patron- ized by the traveling public. He and his partner keep a large force of hands constantly employed, and to these enterprising men is due much credit for the rapid growth Great Falls has enjoyed.

Politically, Mr. Winters is a Republican. He has served as a Justice of the Peace for a number of years. Official position, however, has always been distasteful to him and he has often declined such honors. Fraternally, he is a Knight of Pythias.

C. O. DAVIDSON, of the Davidson Grocery Company, Butte City, Montana, is one of the enterprising business men of the place, he being associated with his brother, R. M. Davidson. The commodious brick block, 318 and 320 North Main street, which they occupy and which bears their name, was built by them in 1892. It is thirty feet wide by a hundred feet long, has two stories and a base- ment, and the whole of it is devoted to their wholesale and retail grocery business. They get their goods for cash in car-load lots and sell large quantities to smaller dealers and mining camps and also do a city retail trade. Both gentlemen are thoroughly posted in the grocery business, have ample capital for carrying on the business on an ex- tensive scale, and are men of the highest integrity of character.

This was the wild cry that saluted my ears as I rushed out also. I heard the long, heavy icicles hanging from the eaves crash to the pavement and a hot breath blew up the streets as from an oven.

The next morning, while portions of our little board city were floating in the river that boomed down our one street so that I could not leave the office, I saw a little, brown honey-bee pant- ing against my office window. By evening the brown, grassy hilltops were bare and men were entting roads through the snow by which their cattle could reach them; and by another morn- ing several of the " shake" houses of Walla Walla were far on their way to the Columbia river. This brief account, easily verified by

The Davidson brothers are of Scotch descent. Their father, Charles A. Davidson, was born in the high- lands of Scotland, and in 1850, when a mere lad, landed in America and settled in New York city. He was there married to Miss Margaret Mowbray, a native of Ireland, and they became the parents of seven children, six of whom are living. The parents are also still living, are highly respected people and are worthy members of the Episcopal Church. The father was for many years a clothing merchant and did a successful business.

R. M. Davidson was born in New York city in 1862 and was educated in Chattanooga, Tennessee. For some time he was engaged in commissary work in Mississippi and Louisiana on the levees and railroads, and while thns oc- cupied formed the acquaintance of Absalom F. Bray, with whom he subsequently came to Montana. They engaged in the grocery business in Butte City, in 1884, nnder the firm name of Bray & Davidson, which association was continued until 1890. That year C. O. Davidson joined his brother in Bntte City, purchased Mr. Bray's interest in the firm, and the business, under the name of the Davidson Grocery Company, has since been successfully carried on by them. Therefore R. M. Davidson, although the younger of the two, is the senior member of the firm. He is married and has two children, his wife's maiden name being Caroline Abernathy.

Charles O. Davidson was born in New York city in 1860. His education was received in the public schools of Tennessee, to which State his father had moved and where he was engaged in the clothing business. He was for some time associated in business with his father. Previous to his coming to Montana he sold his interest in the cloth- ing store to a brother, and, as above stated, has been identified with the grocery trade ever since he landed in Butte City.

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Government reports, is set down here as an ex- ample of that phenomenon in the elements which makes the winters of Montana mnost tol- erable, even in the severest " spell of weather;" for the Chinook wind prevails, like any other wind, as well in one part of this wondrous Northwest as in another, though it is somewhat modified as it sweeps forward and is carromed from mountain of snow to mountain of snow; and, as before said, this one here at Walla Walla, which brought a little bee from his hive to look for flowers where cattle had been freez- ing to death brisket deep in the snow only a few hours before, was a very much emphasized "Chinook."

It took its name from the Indians or Chi-

The Messrs. Davidson are Republicans. They are deeply interested in the welfare of the city in which they have cast their Iot and are doing everything in their power to advance its growth and prosperity.

JOHN STEDMAN, a representative manufacturer and pioneer of Montana, residing in Helena, dates his birth in Hartland Maine, February 11, 1836. His ancestors emi- grated from England to this country as early as 1680, and settled in New England. They were people of the highest integrity, and were prominent factors in the development of the country.

Mr. Stedman's father, Isaac Stedman, was born in Sidney, Maine, in 1799, and at his native place he spent the whole of his life, engaged in agricultural pursuits, and died at the age of eighty-one. Ilis wife, whose maiden name was Eunice Hammond, and who was a native of Genesee Falls, New York, died several years before her husband, she being sixty-four at the time of death. They were Metho- dists. They reared a family of ten children, John being the seventh born and one of the seven who are still living.

John Stedman spent the first twenty years of his life at the old homestead, working on the farm in summer and attending the public school in winter. In the fall of 1855 he made the journey to California by way of the Nicar- agua route. From San Francisco he went direct to Oro- ville, Butte county, then a new mining camp, and in the placer mines he spent some time, meeting with indiffer- ent success. In 1858 the Frazer river excitement took him to British Columbia. He was for a time in Victoria and in British Columbia, and in the latter place he built a sawmill and engaged in the lumber business.

It was in 1867 that Mr. Stedman left British Columbia and came to Helena, Montana, making the journey on horseback from The Dalles and being accompanied by his

nooks. In earlier times, when winters were at their hardest and the poor emigrants' cattle were at the point of death, the Indians always promised this wind. We believed in those days, and many cattle men will insist still, that these warm winds are pumped up from the arid sands of Arizona by the dry, crisp, cold around the mountain tops of Montana. But this marvelous benefaction must await a broader interpretation of its origin and mission. Montana has her share of the effects; let us leave the cause to men of science, pausing only to observe that here again is the stranger liable to whistle, "The World Turned Upside Down," as he peers forth from his car window over the huge and endless panorama of hills;

two brothers. At that time there were few white people living between Walla Walla and IIelena. In 1870 Mr. Stedman built the first planing-mill in Helena, the mate- rial for which was furnished by A. M Holter. In 1877 Mr. Stedman engaged in the foundry and machinery business, manufacturing all kinds of machinery and doing repair- ing, but making a specialty of mining machinery. He ran the business alone until 1890, when it was formed into a stock company, he being a large stockholder and retained as the general manager of the business. The establish- ment now employs about fifty men. Beside Mr. Stedman the stockholders are A. M. Holter, Nicholas Kessler, J. R. Sanford and a few others.

In 1873 Mr. Stedman married Miss Alice Armor, a na- tive of Pennsylvania and a daughter of James Armor of that State. The year he was married he built a good resi- dence on the corner of Dearborn and Spencer streets, and in this home he has since resided. He and his wife have three children: ('lara M., Blanche and William.

Mr. Stedman is prominently identified with the Masonic fraternity. In 1878 he held the office of Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Montana. Politically, he is a Repub- lican. He was elected by his party in 1880 as a member of the Territorial Legislature, in which he served most acceptably. He has also been a member of the City Council of Helena, serving as such for a number of terms, and also serving six years as a School Trustee. He is vice- president of the Board of Trade of Helena. Mr. Stedman is a thorough mechanic, a man of high integrity, and in Helena, where he has so long resided, he has the conti dence and esteem of his fellow citizens.

MARCUS LISSNER came to Montana in 1865, and since that date has been prominently identitied with her growth and development.

HIe was born in Prussia, January 17, 1834, the son of a

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for, unlike any other land on earth, where the snows melt first from the valley and last from the mountain, these hill tops, or mountain tops as they would be called in any country cast in a less massive mould, are bare of snow, with cattle feeding there in the long, brown, grasses, while the brooks far below are bridled with bits of ice and the valleys belt them to the waist with snow.

Where and when was gold first found in Montana? I have endeavored in vain to find anything like a united answer, such as might be given to the same question when applied to Carolina or California. More than a dozen let-

merchant of that place. Reared and educated in his na- tive land, he came to America in 1851, landing in New York, whence he directed his course toward Georgia, and in that State was engaged in merchandising in a small way for three years. He then returned to New York, and in August, 1853, sailed for California, making the voyage via the isthmus of Panama, and in due time landing in San Francisco. After a month spent in that port he went to Sacramento, where he conducted a mer- chandise business that winter. The following spring he went to Forest City, Sierra county, California, where for two years he was engaged in the cigar business. Next we find him in Comptonville, Ynba county, where he continued the cigar business two years longer. In the meantime he was engaged in mining at the latter place, at times meeting with more than ordinary success. In one day he took ont $1,700 worth of gold, single pieces being worth as much as $27. These diggings, however, soon became exhausted, and his next move was to Virginia City. At the latter place he remained one year. Next, he went to Austin, Nevada. where he conducted busi- ness a year, and whence he went to Salt Lake. In Angust, 1864, we find him in Virginia City, Montana, and soon after on a prospecting tour to Silver Bow. In Jan- uary of the following year he came to Helena. IIere, after prospecting and mining for awhile, he started a restaurant-saloon in a little log house that was located on the present site of his International Hotel. ITis busi- ness had increased to such an extent in 1866 that he was enabled to erect a larger building, and two years later he built a hotel. His hotel was destroyed in 1874, and as he had no insurance the loss he sustained was about $30,000. Not discouraged, however, he began dredging for gold in the Missouri river, and with the gold thus ob- tained he rebuilt his hotel and was once again on a fair way to success, when disaster again overtook him, his establishment being burned down in 1879, and this time also without any insurance, his loss being about the same

ters from leading men who knew Montana and her glittering story well have given the sub- stantial glory to almost as many names, locali- ties and dates. True, the really busy man of Montana may have no time to be curious; he bothers his head only with results; but the man of leisure and of other lands likes to know, and, frankly, I cannot tell. Yet, if required to place my finger on the exact spot where gold-mining was first carried on in what is now Montana soil, I should say it could be done with toler- able certainty.

Late in the '50s, a party of Oregonians from a little town near the head of navigation

as before. Filled with undaunted courage, he set about the work of rebuilding again, and from that time up to the present his efforts have been attended with success. Twice he has made additions to his hotel, and he has also acquired considerable other valuable real estate, besides his own residence having erected in the city twelve other buildings which he rents. On one piece of his property he discovered a fine mineral spring, the water from which he piped to his hotel, and crowds of people may be seen daily drinking from this health-giving fountain. As soon as it proved efficacious in diseases of the kidneys, indi- gestion and catarrh of the stomach and bowels, he be- gan the erection of bottling works; and, notwithstanding that the virtue of the springs was only discovered in 1890, there is already a large and growing demand for the water, which he is as rapidly as possible preparing to supply.

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An illustrated history of the state of Montana, containing biographical mention of its pioneers and prominent citizens, Part 29

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