Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II, Part 117

Author: Stout, Tom, 1879- ed
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago, American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 1126

USA > Montana > Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II > Part 117

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At Lakota, North Dakota, Mr. Lyon was married to Jeanette Olive Evans. Her father, D. R. Evans, who now resides in North English, Iowa, was born near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1835, and was reared and married there. He followed the trade of boilermaking there until 1879, when he moved to North English, Iowa, and conducted a farm until his retirement, about twenty years ago. He is a democrat in politics and a strong and active member of the Christian Church, as he was also of the Ma- sonic fraternity. He married Hannah Starr, who was born in 1840 at Brownsville, Pennsylvania, and whose death occurred at North English, Iowa, in 1914. To Mr. and Mrs. Lyon were born the follow- ing children: Myrna, born June 5, 1904; Maxine, born June 13, 1908; and Bernice, born June 14, 1917. Because of his splendid personal qualities and his active efforts contributing to the prosperity of this locality Mr. Lyon enjoys to an unusual degree the confidence and regard of his fellow citizens.

INGA SOLBERG is one of Montana's women actively identified with the public life of their home state, and is now in her third consecutive term as county su- perintendent of schools for Sweetgrass County.

Miss Solberg has spent her life in the Treasure state, and was born eleven miles east of Big Tim- ber, on á farm. Her father, Samuel Solberg, was born near the famous Cathedral city of Trondhjen, Norway, in 1846. He grew up there and was a schoolteacher before he came to the United States. He first came to this country when a single man, and had a varied and adventuresome experience working in stores and mines in Michigan, Wyoming Vol. II-27

and Montana. He then went back to Norway to claim his bride, and brought her to this country and in 1880 became a permanent settler in Montana. For a couple of years he was a miner at Glendale in Beaverhead County, and in 1882 settled on the home- stead of 160 acres eleven miles east of Big Timber, where his daughter was born. He lived on the homestead until 1912, and when he sold his property there he had accumulated 1,820 acres. He is now living retired at Big Timber, where he has a modern home on McLeod Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues. He is a republican and a member of the Lutheran Church. Samuel Solberg married Louise Lundgren, who was born at Romsdalen, Norway, in 1854. Of their children the oldest is Samuel D., a mechanic at Big Timber, Edwin is a barber at Tacoma, Washington, and Conrad is a mechanic at Harlowton, Montana. The fourth of the family is Miss Inga. Harold, the next in age is a pharmacist by profession, and was in the drug business at Big Timber when he enlisted in February, 1918, and went overseas in June, 1918, with the Medical Corps. The youngest is Clara, wife of Roy S. Moore, a rancher near McLeod, Montana.

Miss Inga Solberg acquired her primary educa- tion in the rural schools of Sweetgrass County, and graduated in 1905 from the Bozeman Preparatory School, remaining one year longer in the Agricul- tural College there. She then taught a year in her native county, following which she entered and was a student in Valparaiso University of Indiana one year. Then followed two years more of work in the rural schools, and for 31/2 years she was connected with the city schools of Big Timber. Miss Solberg was elected county superintendent in 1915, and the people have stamped their approval upon her admin- istration of the office by re-electing her in 1916 and again in 1918. From her office in the court house at Big Timber she keeps close supervision over 55 schools in the county, a staff of 55 teachers, and a scholarship enrollment of 700.

Miss Solberg is a republican in politics, a mem- ber of the Lutheran Church, and is secretary of Sweetgrass Chapter No. 22 of the Eastern Star.

EDWIN B. CATLIN, chairman of the Board of the Hearst Free Public Library at Anaconda, is a pioneer printer of that city, locating in Anaconda thirty years ago. He has been continuously identified from the first with the Anaconda Standard and the Standard Publishing Company.

Mr. Catlin was born at Weedsport, New York, December 2, 1858. His paternal ancestors came from England and settled at Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1745. His great-grandfather, Jacob Catlin, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Mr. Catlin's father, David Catlin, was born near Weedsport in 1817 and died there in 1887, spending his active career as a grain merchant. He served all through the Civil war as a member of the Ninth New York Infantry. He was a republican, active in the Baptist Church, and a member of the Masonic fraternity. His wife was Caroline Newland, who was born in New York State in 1823 and died at Weedsport in 1888.

Edwin B. Catlin was the only child of his parents to reach mature years. He acquired his early educa- tion in the public schools of his native town. Leav- ing school at the age of fourteen he learned the printing business at Weedsport and followed his trade as a journeyman at Syracuse and Auburn, New York, prior to coming to Anaconda in 1889. At Anaconda he assisted in establishing the Standard. He has been connected with its mechanical and busi- ness management ever since, and is now superin-

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HISTORY OF MONTANA

tendent of the manufacturing and stationery depart- ments of the Standard Publishing Company.

Mr. Catlin is a democrat. He is a member of the Theosophical Society. He resides in a home of his own at 315 West Sixth Street. In 1880 at Canadai- gua, New York, he married Miss Jennie E. Gyer, daughter of Frederick and Elizabeth (Beeman) Gyer. Her father was a Union soldier and spent his business life as a tailor at Canandaigua, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Catlin have three children : Harry C., born in 1882, is a miner at Butte; Caro M., born in 1884, is the wife of Everett E. Pickell, living at 615 Maple Street, Anaconda, and in charge of the ma- chinery warehouse of the A. C. M. Company; Flor- ence E., born in 1887, is assistant librarian of the Hearst Free Public Library.

ROBERT P. MCCLELLAND. Biographies should not be published unless there is something in the life and character of the individual worthy of emulation or imitation by others under the circumstances- certainly not for self-aggrandizement; but sufficient has been drawn from the life history of the gentle- man whose name appears above to show that there is something in the inner life of the man worthy of more than incidental mention. He began life practically at the bottom of the ladder, which he has climbed to the top with no help but a strong heart, industrious hands, and an intelligent brain, and is a living example of what may be accomplished in this republic by thrift and perseverance, even under discouraging circumstances. Robert P. McClelland comes of sterling old Scottish stock, the subject's paternal ancestors having come to this country and located in Virginia in the days of the colonies. Later the family located in Bourbon County, Kentucky, where was born the subject's grandfather, Alfred McClelland. He was a breeder and raiser of live stock, a vocation which has been adopted by many of his descendants. Among his children was T. A. Mc- Clelland, who was born in Kentucky in 1848. He was reared in Texas and Missouri, and was married at Kirksville in the latter state to Mary Norton, a na- tive of Ohio, and who died at Kansas City, Missouri, in 1898. After his marriage Mr. McClelland lived for a time in Joplin, Missouri, engaging in the breeding and raising of cattle. His stock ranged in the Indian Territory, Colorado and Texas, and of course he followed them. In 1894 he removed to Kansas City, Missouri, and engaged in the real estate business. His death occurred there in 1909. He was a democrat in politics, was a veteran of the Civil war, having served in the cause of the Con- federacy. To him and his wife were born three children, namely: Robert P .; Thomas N., an oil operator in Kansas City, Missouri; Elisha R., also of Kansas City, a mine operator.

Robert P. McClelland was born at Joplin, Mis- souri, on July 19, 1879, and received an elementary education in the public schools of Jackson County, Kansas. At the early age of twelve years he left home and thereafter he was responsible for his own fortune. After knocking around on various jobs for a time he at length became a cowboy and for a number of years rode the ranges in Texas, Arizona and Old Mexico. It was a hard life, but he was endowed by nature with the qualities that insure suc- cess in any vocation, and as the years went by he not only gained valuable experience, but also made financial headway. In 1905 he went to Oregon, in the vicinity of the Nevada state line, and then to the Big Elk River, Nevada, where he "ran" cattle and horses, and later spent a year at Corvallis, Oregon. In 1914 Mr. McClelland came to Livingston, Mon- tana, engaged in the cattle and land business on a

large scale and has become closely identified with this community. His partner is Walter J. Hill, son of James J. Hill, and they operate under the corporate name of the Hill & McClelland Cattle Corporation. The company is capitalized at $500,000, with no in- debtedness, and is counted one of the strongest con- cerns in its line in the State of Montana. Their interests are large and varied. They own a large block of stock in the First State Bank of Livingston, of which Mr. Hill is vice president. They own ranches in Shields Valley and Yellowstone Valley, comprising approximately 200,000 acres, on which they run 6,000 head of pure-bred, high-grade cattle every year. They also own many well-bred Per- cheron, Shire and Clydesdale horses. One cow, "Suttyanne," which is valued at $5,000, was a prize winner at the International Livestock Exposition held in Chicago, and they also own a fine bull, which was first in his class as a yearling and for which they have been offered $12,500. From these few facts it can readily be seen that the Hill & McClel- land Cattle Corporation does things on an extensive scale and they are numbered among the really impor- tant concerns of this section of the state.

Personally Mr. McClelland is genial and approach- able, true to his friends and popular among the circle of his acquaintances. He follows the highest code of business ethics and among his business associates his judgment is held in high esteem. He has per- sonally learned by hard knocks every detail of the cattle business from the ground up, and the success which is now his has been richly earned.

In 1903, at Denver, Colorado, Robert P. McClel- land was married to Mande Oleson, a native of Colorado, and they have one child, Mary Lorraine. born June 20, 1909.

Politically Mr. McClelland takes an independent attitude, voting for the men and measures which meet his approval rather than according to party dictates. Fraternally he is a member of Livingston Lodge No. 32, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and of the Albany (Oregon) Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He also holds member- ship in the Chamber of Commerce and the Commer- cial Club at Livingston.

JOHN WESLEY MILLER is vice president of the First State Bank of Thompson Falls, and for many years has been one of the most substantial business men and public-spirited citizens of Sanders County. When he first knew Thompson Falls its only pre- tentions to distinction as an industrial and commer- cial center was a single saw mill. Mr. Miller for many years was a saw mill operator in the lumber woods of Montana and is a man of rugged mold and has all the characteristics of the old time lum- berman and pioneer.

He was born in County Dundas, Province of On- tario, Canada, February 23, 1862. His father, Peter Miller, was born in County Wicklow, Ireland, in 1827. Now, at the age of ninety-two, he is spend- ing his declining days in the home of his son John at Thompson Falls. He came to this country at the age of twenty-one, and for several years lived at Ogdensburg, New York, where he was employed at a hotel and was also a railway employe. In 1851 he went to Ontario, where he operated a saw mill and also followed his trade as a carpenter. He was married in Ontario, though he had first become acquainted with' his wife, Catherine Hill, when she came over on the same boat from Ireland. She was born in County Wexford in 1830 and died in Ontario in 1872. Her father, John Hill, was a pioneer farmer and woodsman in the Province of Ontario. In 1876, after the death of his first wife,

fy Miller

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HISTORY OF MONTANA

Peter Miller moved his family to McLeod County, Minnesota, and became a farmer. In the spring of 1884 he went to McLean County, North Dakota, and finally retired when nearly eighty years of age and has lived at Thompson Falls since 1906. He is a republican voter, and has been honored with various local offices. He was a town supervisor in Ontario and held a similar office in Minnesota, and for four years was county judge of McLean County, North Dakota. He is a regular member of the Episcopal Church. By his first marriage he had three children, John Wesley being the oldest. Emma is the wife of Duncan McDonald, superintendent of the Grant Construction Company at St. Paul; Mary Elizabeth is the wife of Henry Heisler, also residents of St. Paul, Minnesota, where Mr. Heisler is department manager of the Golden Rule Store. Peter Miller married for his second wife Jane MacElroy, who was born in Ireland in 1829 and died in McLean County, North Dakota, in Decem- ber, 1903. She was the mother of two children : Christiana, wife of Charles Billows, who is em- ployed in the Cement Works at St. Paul; and Hul- bert, who died at the age of six years.

John Wesley Miller attended his first schools in a country district of County Dundas, Ontario. He was about fourteen years of age when his father moved to Minnesota. He was on his father's farm to the age of nineteen. One winter he worked in the woods near Staples, Minnesota. He came to Montana in the fall of 1881, and in the Missoula County of that time he helped clear the right of way for the Northern Pacific Railway. After that he worked in the woods and in the summer of 1883 was an employe in a brick plant at Missoula. For eighteen years Mr. Miller did the work of a lumber jack in the woods and saw mills of Montana, part of the time around Butte, also on the Flathead Reservation and several years at Thompson Falls. He first came to Thompson Falls in 1883. He located there permanently in 1892, but in 1903, after retiring from the lumber business, he removed to McLean County. North Dakota, and for three and a half years conducted a farm there. He sold this North Dakota farm, consisting of 462 acres, in 1919. His home at Thompson Falls has been continuons since the fall of 1906. Mr. Miller owns 680 acres, consisting of 400 acres of timber land in Sanders County, a well developed farm of eighty acres two miles west of Thompson Falls, and another timber tract of 200 acres up the Thompson River. While most of his fortune has been made in land and timber, Mr. Miller also confesses to a moderate success in mining and prospecting. Among other property he is owner of two dwelling houses and a modern home at Thompson Falls, and is an im- portant stockholder in the First State Bank, of which he is vice president.

Mr. Miller served one term of six years as county commissioner of Sanders County and has also been a member of the School Board at Thomp- son Falls. In politics he is a republican. He is a past master of Thompson Falls Lodge No. 70. Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, is past grand of Lone Star Lodge No. 33, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and a member of Missoula Encamp- ment No. 5.

In 1892, in Missoula County, he married Miss Irena Coats, daughter of D. C. and Mary (Green) Coats, the latter now deceased. D. C. Coats lives with Mr. and Mrs. Miller. He was a Minnesota pioneer, settling in that territory in 1852. He farmed in Minnesota, and was with a regiment from that state in the Civil war. He came to Montana in 1887, bringing with him the machinery and equip- ment for a saw mill, which he established in the

Flathead district. For ten years he lived at Ka- lispell, where he conducted a confectionery store and owned several dwelling houses. He has lived retired at Thompson Falls since July, 1909.

J. CHARLES JOHNSON. Occupying a place of prom- inence in the business affairs of Fairview, J. Charles Johnson has achieved marked success as a lumber dealer, and as a man of sound judgment and keen foresight has acquired city property of value, own- ing not only the Johnson Lumber Yard, but the Orpheum Theatre and the Blue Rock Products Company, all being well paying investments. A son of J. O. Johnson, he was born February 4, 1882, in Decorah, Iowa, of Danish-Norwegian ancestry.

Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, J. O. Johnson re- ceived excellent educational advantages in his native city, and there became familiar with the printer's trade. Immigrating as a young man to the United States, he located in Decorah, Iowa, where he has since resided, for many years having been editor and manager for the Lutheran Publishing Company. He married a native daughter of Norway, and they be- came the parents of two children, J. Charles, the subject of this brief sketch, and William, of Min -. neapolis, Minnesota.

J. Charles Johnson was educated in Decorah, and after leaving the public schools continued his studies for four years at the Lutheran College. Going to Minneapolis, Minnesota, as a youth of twenty years, he was first employed by the Imperial Elevator Company, and was later with the Goodrich-Call Lumber Company, and also established a lumber yard that he sold to the Basin Lumber Company. Com- ing to Montana in 1907, Mr. Johnson embarked in' the lumber business at Lewistown, which he man- aged most satisfactorily for six years. Locating in Fairview in 1913, he established the Johnson Lum- ber Yard, one of the successful enterprises of the city, to which he largely devotes his time and attention. Judiciously investing his money in other ventures, Mr. Johnson erected in 1914 the Orpheum Theatre, which yields him a good income, all public entertainments being held therein, and there all traveling troupes put on their plays and shows. In 1918 Mr. Johnson established the Blue Rock Prod- ucts Company, which was incorporated in the fall of 1919 with a capital of $25,000. This company, which manufactures soft drinks of all kinds, obtains its water supply from Blue Rock Spring at Fairview, a water which analysis shows to be almost chemically pure.

On January 1, 1906, at Minneapolis, Minnesota, Mr. Johnson was united in marriage with Kathryn McKee, who was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Septem- ber 28, 1885, and completed her school life at St. Mary's Academy in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Three children have blessed their union, two daughters and a son. A stanch republican in politics, Mr. Johnson cast his first presidential vote for Col. Theodore Roosevelt in 1904.

JOSEPH MAUDRU. While it is undoubtedly true that the western states offer golden opportunities to the alert young men of the country, it is equally true that these openings have been created through the labors of men of the same calibre as are now attracted from the East, great industries in this part of the country having been built up and devel- oped into national institutions. One of these cor- porations which is constantly branching ont and controls an immense amount of business is the Great Western Sugar Company, with main plant and offices one mile south of Billings, Montana, of which Joseph Maudru is assistant general superintendent. He has been associated with this company for some

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years and has grown with it, although he has only resided at Billings since 1916.

Joseph Maudru comes of French extraction, his grandfather, for whom he is named, having founded the family in America, coming here from France and locating at Canton, Ohio, where he was interested in farming. He died at Canton before his grandson was born. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Seraphine Caty, was born in France in 1811, and she died at Canton, Ohio, in 1891. The birth of Joseph Maudru, whose name heads this review, occurred at Canton, Ohio, April 9, 1879, and his father, also Joseph Maudru, was born in Stark County, Ohio, in 1838, and he died at Canton, Ohio, in 1895, having spent his entire life in that section. For many years he was engaged in a mercantile business at Canton, and was prominent in local poli- tics, having been elected on the democratic ticket treasurer of Stark County, and for some years he was director of the poor farm of that same county. The Roman Catholic Church had in him a firm believer and faithful member. His wife, who was Louise Vesseriat before her marriage, was born in Stark County in 1854, and she survives him and lives 'at Canton, Ohio. Their children were as follows : Joseph, who was the eldest born; Frank, who is a merchant of Canton, Ohio; and Viola, who married Marion Thurin, a merchant of Canton, Ohio.

Joseph Maudru, of this sketch, attended the public schools of Canton and was graduated from its high school in 1897, after which he became a student of the Case School of Applied Science at Cleveland, Ohio, from which he was graduated in 1901, with the degree of Bachelor of Science. He belongs to the Greek letter fraternity Phi Delta Theta.

After the completion of his educational training Mr. Maudru in 1901 became connected with the Massillon Iron and Steel Company of Massillon, Ohio, as chief chemist, remaining with it for two years and leaving in 1903 for a year's travel in Cuba, studying the sugar industry. Returning to the United States, he was associated with a Michi- gan sugar company for a year, and then in the fall of 1904 he entered the employ of his present com- pany as chief chemist of the plant at Windsor, Colorado, holding that position for three years, when he was transferred to the company's plant at Fort Collins, Colorado, for a year, where he still acted as chief chemist. Another change took him to Brush, Colorado, to serve the company as superin- tendent until 1912, when he went to Longmont, Colorado, and acted as superintendent of the plant at that point until 1916, in which year he came to Billings as superintendent of the Billings plant. A year later he was again promoted, and since 1917 has been assistant general superintendent of this district, comprising plants at Billings and Missoula, Montana, and Lovell, Wyoming. Mr. Maudru is a man whose fruitful toil has resulted in successive advancements and he possesses a real capability for his present responsibilities, handling with tact and success a number of difficult problems.

In 1910 Mr. Maudru was married at Greeley, Colorado, to Miss Leota Powers, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Powers of Windsor, Colorado, owners of a large ranch. Mr. and Mrs. Maudru have one son,-Edward, who was born September 15, 1911. Politically Mr. Maudru is a republican. By birth and inclination he is a Roman Catholic. Longmont, Colorado, Lodge, Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, holds his membership. Mr. Maudru owns the comfortable and tasteful modern residence of the family at 804 North Broadway.

THOMAS N. MARLOWE, a well known Missoula attorney, is a graduate in law from Yale University and has been a member of the Montana bar for over fifteen years.

He was born in Carroll County, Missoula, August 24, 1880, of English ancestry. The Marlowe family first settled in Maryland. His father, John T. Mar- lowe, was born in Covington, Kentucky, in 1843 and when a small boy his parents moved to Missouri. He grew up and was married in Carroll County, spent many years as a farmer there, and in 1904 re- moved to Ganado, Texas, where he was interested in Texas agriculture for five years. In 1909 he re- tired and removed to Missoula, where he died May II, 1915. During the Civil war he served as a soldier on the Confederate side. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, a democrat and a Mason. John T. Marlowe married Alice Roselle, who was born in Maryland in 1855 and died at Mis- soula November 30, 1918.

Thomas N. Marlowe spent his boyhood in Carroll County, Missouri, attending country schools and the high school at Norborne. He took his early law course in the University of Missouri at Columbia, where he graduated LL. B. in 1902. The following year he graduated from the law school of Yale Uni- versity at New Haven, Connecticut. Mr. Marlowe was at one time a fellow student with Tom Stout of Lewistown.

October 23, 1903, he began practice at Missoula and his offices are in the First National Bank Build- ing. For one term he was deputy county attorney and one term county attorney, and is now a mem- ber of the Fish and Game Commission of the State of Montana, having been appointed to that office by Governor Stewart. Mr. Marlowe is an enthusiastic sportsman, and as a hunter and fisher has explored nearly every good hunting ground in Western Mon- tana. He was president of the Western Montana Fish and Game Association a number of years, and has taken a deep interest in proper regulated and legislative measures restricting and preserving the game resources of the state.

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Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II, Part 117

Author: Stout, Tom, 1879- ed Publication date: 1921 Publisher: Chicago, American Historical Society Number of Pages: 1126

Author: Stout, Tom, 1879- ed
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago, American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 1126