An illustrated history of the state of Montana, containing biographical mention of its pioneers and prominent citizens, Part 31

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 31

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Mr. Johnson was married in 1881 to Miss Theresa Bruestle, a native of Scott county, Minnesota, and a daughter of John Bruestle, now of Great Falls. They have six children, namely: Mabel D., Ida and Pearly (twins), Joseph, Eddie and Walter. He and his family reside in one of the elegant homes in Great Falls, where they are surrounded with all the comforts of life. They attend the Presbyterian Church. Politically, he has always affiliated with the Republican party and has taken a commendable interest in public affairs, not, however, aspiring to official position, as his own private business has occupied the whole of his time and attention.

Such is a brief sketch of one of the enterprising and public-spirited men of Cascade county.

MISS MARY E. JACKMAN, principal of the shorthand department of the Montana University, Helena, is a native of Indiana, Her parents, Wesley and Sarah (Bux. ter) Jackman, natives of Ohio and Pennsylvania, respec- tively, removed to Indiana after their marriage and set- tled on a farm where they reared their family of eight children. They are worthy members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and are highly esteemed in the com- munity in which they live.

Miss Jackman completed her education at the Central Normal College of Indiana, where she graduated in 1883. For a number of years she taught successfully in Indiana and one year she was employed as teacher in the Colored

and parallel in these notes his better work with my own. You will observe how generously he gives the discovery of gold in Montana to the credit of another. But I repeat that the ver- dict of time will tell the coming generations that Granville and James Stuart and their im- mediate following, who persisted in their work and finally pushed reluctant fortune to the wall, were the real first finders of gold in paying quantities at the feet of the "Shining moun- tains." Mr. Stuart's history is dated Virginia City, Montana, 1865, and opens as follows:

"The name ' Montana' properly belongs to a certain part of Spain, and means ' mountain- ons,' a name that is applicable to the country, for a wonder. Still, I think that the Snake In- dian name of ' Toyabe-Shockup,' or ' The Country of the Mountains,' would have been more ap- propriate, for some parts of Montana have been the home of these Indians from a time far an- terior to the discovery of America.

State University, in Alabama. Then, turning her atten- tion to the study of stenography, she thoroughly mastered it, and for two years taught it in Professor Garland's College in Indianapolis. In 1890 she came to Helena, . Montana, to visit her brother, Charles Jackman, and so pleased was she with Helena and its surroundings that she decided to remain and teach here. At first she had a desk in the office of the New York Life Insurance Company, where she remained until 1892, since which time she has found it necessary to have her own apart- ments because of the number of pupils who come to her for instruction, and has occupied rooms in the Bailey Block. In 1893 the Montana University organized a shorthand department, and she was selected as its princi- pal. In addition to her duties iu the University, she also continues teaching on her own account. Several of her pupils have already obtained high standing and good positions as shorthand reporters, one of them being now the county court reporter at Deer Lodge, and another oc- cupies a position in the Surveyor General's office, Helena.

Since coming to Montana Miss Jackman has made some investments in real estate in Bozeman. She is a member of the W. C. T. U., the Methodist Church and the Epworth League, and is a teacher in the Sunday- school at St. Paul Church. She makes herself generally useful in every good work and has hy her amiable life won the good wishes of all with whom she is acquainted

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HISTORY OF MONTANA.

" Montana consists of a series of basins, five in number, of which four lie on the east side of the Rocky mountains and one on the west. These basins are generally subdivided into a number of valleys by spurs of mountains jutting down from the main chain of the Rocky moun- tains. These spurs are often of great height, frequently exceeding that of the main chain, but there are many low passes among them, thus connecting the valleys with each other by low gaps that are passable at all times of the year.

" The basin west of the Rocky mountains, in the northwestern corner of the Territory, is drained by the Missoula and Flat-Head rivers and their branches, the last named being the outlet of the Flat-Head lake, a beautiful sheet of water about forty miles long by twenty wide, which lies at the foot of the Rocky mountains, near the northern end of the basin, and not far from the line of British Columbia.

"This lake is surrounded by some beautiful country, a portion of which is valuable in an

agricultural point of view. From the lake there extends south along the foot of the Rocky moun- tains to the Pend d'Oreille mission, a distance of over fifty miles, a well-wooded, gently- rolling conntry, clothed with a good growth of grass, a large proportion of it being excellent farming land. Then leaving the mission and crossing a range of hills to the south you enter the valley of the Jocko, which is small, but in beauty and fertility it is unsurpassed. Here is located the reserve of the Pend d'Oreille Indians. Then crossing by an easy pass, over the lofty spur of mountains running down from the main chain between the Jocko and Hellgate rivers, you enter the lovely valley of the Hellgate, which is about twenty-five miles long, with an average breadth of about six miles. It is almost all good farming land, with a good growth of bunch grass, and it is enough to make a man from the prairies of Iowa or Illinois cry to see the good pine timber that is going to waste here.

" Here comes in from the south the river and valley of the ' Bitter- Root,' a lovely and fertile

HON. WILLIAM E. CULLEN, of Helena, a pioneer and prominent member of the bar of Montana, was born iu Mansfield, Ohio, June 30, 1837. He comes of Scotch an- cestry. His great-grandfather emigrated from Edin- burgh, Scotland, to this country in 1768, and was a Greek professor in one of the early colleges of Pennsylvania. John Cullen, the professor's son, was born in that State, and his eldest son, Thomas W. Cullen, was also born and educated there. Thomas W. Cullen was a manufacturer of woolen goods in Pennsylvania, and he and his wife, whose maiden name was Isabella Morrison, and whom he wedded in that State in 1805, moved to Ohio in 1835, where they were respected citizens and members of the Episcopal Church for many years. She died in her six- tieth year and he in his seventy-seventh.

They reared a family of five children, all of whom are living, William E. being the oldest.

Judge Cullen, as the subject of our sketch is familiarly called, resided with his parents until his sixteenth year, and up to that time attended the public schools. Ile was then sent to an academy for three years. At the end of the three years he went to Minnesota, where he received the appointment of Superintendent of Instruction for the Winnebago Indians. For two years he held this position,

and during this period all his leisure time was spent in the study of law. He then entered the office of Judge Charles E. Flandreau, at that time Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Minnesota, and under the instruc- tions of this noted lawyer he continued his studies. In June, 1862, he was admitted to the Minnesota bar. Dur- ing the Sionx outrages in that State he entered the ser- vice as Second Lieutenant, and in that capacity served through the campaign. He began the practice of his profession at St. Peter, Minnesota, and soon afterward formed a law partnership with Major S. A. Buell, a brother of General Buell. They continued in business together until 1866, at which time Mr. Cullen came to the Territory of Montana.

He crossed the plains with oxen and in an expedition commanded by Colonel James Fisk, Helena being reached in August, 1866. Here Mr. Cullen at once began the practice of his profession. The following year he was elected a member of the Legislative Council of the Territory, consisting at that time of seven members, it heing the first Legislative Assembly to meet in Montana after the amendment of the laws in 1866. Since then he has several times served as a member of the Legislature. In 1867 he became associated in the practice of law with

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HISTORY OF MONTANA.

region extending south about sixty miles, with an average breadth of seven or eight miles. In this valley is situated Fort Owen, surrounded by a thriving settlement. This fort is not, nor ever was, a Government fort. It was estab- lished in 1851 or 1852 by the untiring energy and perseverance of Mr. John Owen, for the purpose of trading with the Indians, and it is at present the best building in Montana.

" The valleys of the Bitter- Root and Hellgate contain many settlers, whose number is rapidly increasing. The Missoula river is formed by the junction of the Hellgate and Bitter- Root.

"These valleys are bounded on the west by the Bitter-Root mountains, which are very lofty, snow lying on many of the peaks during the en- tire year. These mountains cover an extent of country about seventy five miles wide, reaching to the valley of Snake river in Idaho, and about two hundred miles in length, forming a howling wilderness of yawning canons and huge moun- tains, covered with a heavy growth of pine and fir timber, and affording a home to a few elks

H. P. Smith, who had been previously banished from Montana by the Vigilant Committee for his too zealous defence of the road agents. Mr. Smith was a man of very ardent temperament and threw his whole soul into the cases which he espoused, and for this reason had to leave, but after the excitement died out he returned, and remained unmolested. They remained in business to- gether until Mr. Smith's health gave out, and he died in Helena in 1870. In 1876 Judge Cullen became associated with Colonel Wilbur F. Sanders. In 1885 they took into the firm Colonel Sanders' son, a graduate of the Co- lumbia

JOHN MOFFITT, a Montana pioneer of 1864, and for sev- eral years Chief Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue for the district of Montana, is a native of Dublin, Ireland, and is of Scotch ancestry. His grandfather, John Moffitt, was born in Scotland, was a British soldier, and served in the battle of Waterloo under the Duke of Wellington. His son, Jolın Moffitt, Jr., was born in Scotland and was a Sergeant Major in the Royal IForse Artillery. He married Miss Ellen Riddle, a native of Scotland. As a soldier, he was stationed in different parts of the English realm, and there were born to him and his wife, at dif- ferent places, four children. He died in the army, in

and a large number of grouse, but of no earthly use for anything but the mineral wealth they contain, which is very great, as is proven by Florence City, Elk City, Oro Fino, and many other places of less note.

"Leaving the Hellgate valley, and going up the Hellgate river, which comes from the south- east, we enter Hellgate canon-which I have described elsewhere-and in a short distance we reach the month of .Big Blackfoot river.' Coming in from the east, it runs through a cañon for some fifteen miles above its mouth, above which it opens out into a large and beauti- ful valley, well timbered and watered, forming a good grazing region, and, most probably, farming also; but it has never been tried. Then, going up Hellgate cañon forty miles, we emerge into the rolling grassy hills which reach twelve iniles to the valley of Flint creek, a beautiful place, well calculated for grazing and farming. Thence up the Hellgate river, through much good farming land, bordered by rolling, grassy country, twenty miles to the lower end of Deer

Ceylon in the East Indies, in the thirty-sixth year of his age. His widow survived him until 1890, when her death occurred in the seventieth year of her age. Three of their children are still living.

John, who is the subject of this sketch, was their eld- est child; was born in 1836, and was educated in the Royal Hibernian Military School, Phoenix Park, Dublin. In 1851, when fifteen years of age, he emigrated to the United States and settled in Ohio, where he obtained work in a nursery at $8 per month. Two years later he went to Iowa, making the journey by wagon, as there were then no railroads in the country. In Iowa he se- cured employment as clerk in a store and postoffice at $20 per month and board. Two years afterward he re- moved to Topeka, Kansas, and clerked there also until 1861, at which time he enlisted in Company A, Secoud Regiment, Kansas Volunteer Infantry. He was enrolled April 19, 1861, in answer to President Lincoln's first call for volunteers, and served in the army of the frontier. At the close of his three months' term he re-enlisted in the Second Kansas Cavalry, and was promoted to First Lieutenant by order from the War Department. He was assigned to Company F, Second Regiment, Indian Bri- gade, and served as Adjutant and Quartermaster for the

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HISTORY OF MONTANA.

Lodge valley, passing by . Gold creek,' where are the first gold mines ever found and worked in what is now ' Montana.' These mines were discovered in the following manner:

" About the year 1852, a French half-breed from Red river of the north, named François Finlay, but commonly known by the sobriquet of ' Benetsee,' who had been to California, be- gan to prospect on a branch of the Hellgate, now known as Gold creek. He found small quantities of light float gold in the surface along this stream, but not in sufficient abun- dance to pay. This became noised about among the mountaineers; and when Reese Anderson, my brother James, and I, were delayed by sick- ness at the head of Malad creek, on Hudspeth's cut-off, as we were on our way from California to the States in the summer of 1857, we saw some men who had passed ' Benetsee's creek,' as it was then called, in 1856, and they said they had got good prospects there, and as we had an inclination to see a little mountain life, we concluded to go out to that region and winter, and look around a little. We accord-

ingly wintered on Big-Hole, just above the ' Backbone,' in company with Robert Dempsey, Jake Meeks, and others; and in the spring of 1858, we went over to Deer Lodge and pros- pected a little on Benetsee creek, but, not hav- ing any ' grub' or tools to work with, we soon quit in disgust, without having found anything that would pay, or done enough to enable us to form a reliable estimate of the richness of this vicinity. We then went back to the emigrant road, and remained there trading with the em igrants over two years, very frequently talking of the probability of there being good mines in Deer Lodge, until in the fall of 1860, we moved out to the month of Stinking. Water river, in- tending to winter there and go over and try our luck prospecting in the spring. But the Indians became insolent and began to kill our cattle, when we moved over, late in the fall, and settled down at the mouth of Gold creek and began to prospect. We succeeded, during the following summer, in finding prospects that we considered very good, upon which we began to made preparations to take it out ' big,' and wrote

regiment. He served until January, 1864, at which time he resigned his commission and returned home.

After his return he received the appointment of En- rolling Clerk in the Kansas Legislature. Soon after this, hearing of the discovery of gold in Montana, he fitted out a four-horse team and crossed the plains, bringing with him to this State a year's provisions, and arriving at Virginia City July 10, 1864. While crossing the plains the Indians were hostile, but he and his party succeeded in keeping them off. At Virginia City he engaged in placer mining with the pick and shovel; was there two months and then came to Last Chance Gulch, arriving on the 10th of October, 1864. There he prospected and mined a little until 1865, when he accepted the position of Deputy County Recorder, and was commissioned by Hon. Thomas Francis Meagher, Secretary of State, Clerk and Recorder, and served nineteen days. After this he was engaged in news-dealing; sold many papers for fifty cents each, and was the first to put the price down to twenty-five cents. With others he was engaged in min- ing at Diamond City, where they took out $48,000 and gave up mining. In 1872 Mr. Moffitt received the ap- pointment of deputy Postmaster, and served in that ca-

pacity eight years. In 1882 he went to Fort Benton and embarked in the harness and saddlery business, and re- mained there until 1883, when he received the appoint- ment of Chief Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue, in which capacity he has served under all administrations since. The collections in the district amount in round numbers to about $200,000 per anum. Since he became connected with the office the receipts have increased from $90,000 to the present figures. Mr. Moffitt has, through his long experience in the business, become very familiar with the internal revenue laws, and makes a very reliable and satisfactory officer.

He was married, in 1876, to Miss Fidelia O. Mather, a native of Elkhorn, Wisconsin. She was spared to him only five years, when she died of consumption. In 1883 he married Miss Phebia W. Duer, a native of Baltimore, Maryland.

Mr. Moffitt was one of the organizers of Helena Lodge, No. 3, A. F. & A. M. Hle also belongs to the chapter and commandry and has held various offices in all. Ile is also a member of the A. O. U. W., served three terms as Assistant Adjutant General of the Department of Mon- tana, G. A. R., and is a member of the Loyal Legion.

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HISTORY OF MONTANA.

to our brother Thomas, who was at 'Pike's Peak,' as Colorado was then called, to come out and join us, as we thought this a better country than the .Peak.' How events have fulfilled this prediction will be seen hereafter. Thomas showed our letters to quite a number of his friends, and they became quite excited over them, and in the spring of 1862 many of them started out to find us, but became lost and went to old Fort Lemhi, on Salmon river, and from there they scattered all over the country, a few of them reaching us about the first of July. We were then mining on Pioneer creek, a small fork of Gold creek, without making more than a living, although some adjacent claims paid good wages.

" About this time quite a number of people arrived who had come up the Missouri river, in- tending to go to the mines at Florence and Oro Fino, but not liking the news from that region,

when they arrived in Deer Lodge, a part of them went no farther, but scattered ont and be- gan to prospect. The ' Pike's Peak- ers,' soon after their arrival, struck some good pay on a small branch of Gold creek, now known as Pike's Peak gulch. The diggings of this region did not, as a general thing, pay very well that summer, and they have not been innch worked or prospected since from the following cause: Many of the 'Pike's Peakers' became rather lost and bewildered in their attempts to reach Deer Lodge and were scattered all about through the mountains; this, though a source of infinite vexation to them at the time, proved of great ultimate benefit to the country, for one small party of them discovered some gulch mines at the head of Big-Hole prairie that paid tolerably well.during the summer of 1862, but they seem to have been exhausted, as they have not been worked since that time. I have been

During a residence of twenty-nine years in Montana, Mr. Moffitt has gained an extensive acquaintance and has now the esteem of all with whom he has come in contact.

J. F. MCCLELLAND, County Treasurer of Cascade conn- ty, Montana, was born in Canton, Pennsylvania, Novem- ber 15, 1858, and is a descendant of Scotch ancestors. His great-grandfather, John McClelland, emigrated to America prior to the Revolution, espoused the cause of the Colonies and fought in the war for independence. He lived to be eighty years of age. His wife's maiden name was Anna Maria Weller. Their son, Frederick, served through the Mexican war. He married a Miss Carr, daughter of James Carr, a native of New Hamp- shire and a Major in the Revolution. Their son, Reuben W., the father of our subject, was born in Orange county, New York, October 14, 1830. He was married to Catha- rine Santee, a native of Pennsylvania, and ten days his junior. She died in 1873, in the forty-third year of her age, leaving three children, all of whom are still living, J. F. being the oldest. Reuben W. McClelland died July 26, 1894, at Canton, Pennsylvania, where early in life he was engaged in farming, later turning his attention to the lumber business.

J. F. McClelland received a public school and academic education in his native town. He was then engaged in merchandising at Williamsport, later was in the hotel business at Altoona, Pennsylvania, and in 1882 he came West with the Northern Pacific Railroad Company to Forsyth, where he was superintendent of one of the com-

pany's dining cars. We next find him in Portland, Ore- gon, employed as manager of the Merchants' Hotel. He remained there one year. In 1887, when the Park Hotel was opened at Great Falls, he came hither to take charge of it. A year later he turned his attention to the real- estate and insurance business, and while doing a success- fnl business in that line, in the fall of 1889, he was elected on the Republican ticket to the office of County Treas- urer. Here he has rendered the highest degree of satis- faction, and he is now (1894) serving on his second term.

Mr. McClelland was married February 13, 1882, to Miss Ann Espenlaub, a native of Altoona, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of John Espenlaub, who came to this country from Germany. Mr. and Mrs. McClelland have two chil- dren, Ed. W. and Bretta M.

In Masonic circles Mr. McClelland is prominent and active, being a Blue Lodge, Royal Arch, Commandery and Shrine Mason. Recently he has also become identified with the order of Sous of the Revolution. He is justly rauked with the enterprising and most reliable men of Cascade county.

ALBERT FORREST LONGEWAY, M. D., of Great Falls, Montana, is a native of Dunham, Province of Quebec, born April 6, 1865.

Dr. Longeway is of French descent, his ancestors being among the early settlers of Canada. His father, George R. Longeway, was born in Clarenceville, Canada, Decem- ber 13, 1825. When the California gold fever spread over the country he was one of the victims, and in 1850 he

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HISTORY OF MONTANA.

told by men who worked there that they worked across a vein of good coal thirty feet wide in the bed of the gulch, and that they put some in the fire and it burned brilliantly. If this is the case this locality will become valuable in a short time.

" Another party happening to camp on Will- ard's creek, began to prospect and found very rich diggings, where a great many men made fortunes during the summer and winter. This attracted almost every man in the country to the spot and the mines at Gold creek were de- serted for the richer ones at ' Bannack City,' as a small town that had sprung up at the head of the canon of Willard's creek was called, and have virtually remained so ever since; for, about the time that the Bannack mines began to de- eline a little and people began to think of branching out again, a party of six who had started to the Yellowstone country on a pros- pecting tour, and had been driven back by the Crow Indians, who robbed them of nearly everything they had, camped, as they were re- turning, on a small branch of the Stinking-

sought the new El Dorado of the West. After a few years spent in the placer mines of California, he returned to his native country, bringing with him a good supply of gold, with which he purchased a farm. On this farm he resided until recently, when he retired and moved into town. He and his wife are Methodists. Her maiden name was Mary Jane Derrick, and she too is a native of Clarenceville. They have had five children, of whom Albert F. is the third. Four are still living.

The subject of our sketch had excellent educational advantages. He graduated at the McGill Normal School in 1882. Then he took a four-years' course in medicine at Bishop College in Montreal, and graduated at that in- stitution in 1886. His high standing in college and the proficiency he displayed at a special examination in sur- gery won for him two gold medals.

After graduating, Dr. Longeway entered upon his pro- fessional career at Highgate Springs. Soon, however, he returned to Montreal and accepted the position of assist- ant demonstrator of anatomy in Bishop College. At the same time he served as attending physician at the Mon- treal Dispensary. A year later he decided to seek a loca- tion in the West. When he reached St. Louis he was still

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An illustrated history of the state of Montana, containing biographical mention of its pioneers and prominent citizens, Part 31

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