Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II, Part 142

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 142

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Going to Ohio in young manhood, L. N. Scovil lived in that state, working as a court stenographer until 1856, when he went west to Provo, Utah, and served there as court stenographer and also as postmaster until 1865, when he went to Springville of the same state, and was a farmer in that vicinity until his death. With the organization of the re- publican party he found an expression of his po- litical faith, and in the creed of the Mormons that of his religious belief. In young manhood he was made a Mason, and belonged to the local lodge of his fraternity at the time of his demise. Too old for active service during the war between the states, he went to London, England, and was a re- porter on the London Times. A very highly edu- cated man, he was always a leader among his associates. John Scovil is a child of his father's second marriage, the maiden name of his mother having been Hannah Marsden, and she was born near Liverpool, England, in 1839, and died at Springville, Utah, in July, 1907. Her parents came to the United States in 1840 and settled at Bur- lington, Iowa. Her father was William Marsden, born in England, and died at Parawan, Utah, in 1887, to which place he had come from Burlington, Iowa, at an early day, crossing the plains in pioneer fashion. Both as a merchant and extensive farmer he achieved success, and was one of the prominent

men of his neighborhood and day. He, too, became a republican. The brothers and sisters of John Scovil, who was the eldest, were as follows: S. S., who is a civil engineer of Salt Lake City, Utah; Sylvia, who married John Roylance, who died in 1917 at Springville, Utah, where for thirty years he had been a clerk in the grocery store conducted under the name of Packard, and where his widow still lives; Mina, who married E. J. Wignal, man- ager of the Model Laundry of Salt Lake City, with which he has been connected for thirteen years; Clara, who married Eugene W. Raymond, conductor for the Rio Grande Railroad at Salt Lake City, Utah; and Jennie, who married Walter R. Dusenberry, an employe of the Model Laundry of Salt Lake City, having charge of the automobile department of it.

John Scovil attended the public schools of Spring- ville, Utah, and when only thirteen years old left school and went to work to help his father, and until 1884 was employed in teaming. In the fall of that year he came to Montana and entered the employ of the Upper Works at Anaconda as watchman and later as timekeeper, remaining there for five years. He was then manager of the milk ranch at Ana- conda for a year, when he became driver for the Anaconda Laundry Company and held that posi- tion for a time. In 1894 he established the Mon- tana Laundry at Anaconda, conducting it success- fully until 1899, when he disposed of it to another party and came to Butte. Here he bought the old Union Laundry near the corner of Mercury and Colorado streets from Keisser & Zundell, which was one of the pioneer laundries of the city, and con- ducted it for thirteen years, changing the name to the Montana Laundry.

In 1905 Mr. Scovil and George H. Casey bought all the other laundries of Butte, namely, the C. O. D. Laundry, the Troy Laundry and the Palace Laundry, each owning a half interest, and Mr. Scovil retained his ownership of the Montana Laundry. T. J. Casey was made manager of the C. O. D. Laundry. In the meanwhile a new laundry, the Taylor Laundry, was started on East Broadway, and Mr. Scovil took over the leading interest in it, which he still owns, having placed Joe Byrne in it as assistant manager. Today Mr. Scovil is the heaviest stockholder in the C. O. D. Laundry, which is incorporated for $200,000, is its president and manager, and he has Karl Niessler as his assistant manager. Mr. Scovil is also president and man- ager of the Taylor Laundry.

In 1911 Mr. Scovil consolidated the Taylor and Montana laundries and incorporated them for $150,000, taking the controlling stock, which he still holds. The C. O. D. Laundry is the largest in Montana and employment is given to 100 persons, while at the Taylor Laundry seventy-five persons are employed. Therefore, taking into consideration all of Mr. Scovil's laundry interests, he may truth- fully be said to be the largest laundryman in Mon- tana. The C. O. D. Laundry is at No. 400 East Park Street, and the company owns it, also the garage, barn and sheds, extending from East Park Street to Galena Street, and also a lodging house of forty-one rooms over the laundry. Mr. Scovil also owns a modern residence at No. 201 North Excelsior Avenue, which he built in 1917: an apart- ment house at Nos. 205-207 North Excelsior Avenue, which he built in 1917; the Lennox Hotel on West Granite Street; two brick blocks at the corner of Mercury and Colorado streets; two brick blocks on Main Street; the building housing the Unique Cleaning and Tailoring Company; three lots on Mer- cury and Main streets on which are located the

505

HISTORY OF MONTANA

Speedway Stables; a barn at No. 345 South Main Street; and twelve other dwellings in Butte.

In politics Mr. Scovil is a republican. He be- longs to the Masons, the Elks, having joined Butte Lodge of that order eighteen years ago, and the Knights of Pythias, which he joined thirty years ago. He is also a member of the Rotary Club, the Butte Chamber of Commerce, the Silver Bow Club, the Country Club, in which he is a stockholder, and he is president of the Wardrobe Cleaning and Tailor- ing Company of Great Falls, Montana, owning one- third of the stock of that concern, which is incor- porated, and owns the building in which it is located. Mr. Scovil has other interests outside Butte in ad- dition to that in the cleaning and tailoring company just mentioned, for he owns an apartment house of fourteen apartments at No. 341 East Second, South, Salt Lake City, Utah; a business block at No. 451 South Main Street, and a modern brick dwelling at No. 207 Belmont Avenue, both of Salt Lake City, and a dwelling at Springville, Utah. He is president of the Scovil Realty Company, Incorporated, of Butte, which he also manages; and is president of the Unique Cleaning and Tailoring Company of Butte.

In 1891 Mr. Scovil was married at Anaconda, Mon- tana, to Miss Mary J. Keith, a daughter of Mrs. Jane Keith, who died at Anaconda in 1901. Mrs. Scovil was born at Corinne, Utah, in 1873, and died at Anaconda on May 30, 1900, leaving one son, John Ralph who was born on November 15, 1892, and a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. He attended Shattuck Military Academy at Fari- bault Minnesota, for three years, a preparatory school at Princeton, New Jersey, for a year, and then took a two years' course in the University of Pennsyl- vania. He is now secretary, treasurer and manager of the Unique Cleaning and Tailoring Company of Butte. On June 12, 1901, Mr. Scovil was married at Butte to Miss Lalia G. Walton, a daughter of John and Henrietta (Smith) Walton, of Butte. There are no children of this second marriage.

Mr. Scovil traces his family back to England, from whence its representatives came to the Ameri- can colonies and became prosperous in the New England settlements. The story of Mr. Scovil's rise reads like fiction, and yet it is the simple truth. He is a man with an overpowering faculty for mak- ing money and for investing it wisely and profit- ably. Possessed of executive ability of the highest order, he has known how to take rundown property and build it up into paying investments. In addi- tion he has been such an excellent judge of human nature that he has seldom made a mistake in chos- ing his associates and has placed in positions of au- thority only those in whom he could put implicit trust. There are few men of Butte, or the entire state, who have more diversified holdings than Mr. Scovil, and none of them are giving to their differ- ent interests such conscientious supervision which necessitates as much personal effort along divergent lines. He is a remarkable man, and his rise and continued prosperity reflect credit upon him and the region in which he has been able to work these manifold improvements.

OTIS LEE has spent practically all his life in Butte, and is a young man whose qualities have gained him favor both in industrial affairs and public life. For the past five years his name and work have been associated with public office and he is now clerk of the District Court at Butte.

Mr. Lee was born at Bessemer, Michigan, Janu- ary 7, 1891. His grandfather, Edward Lee, was born in County Waterford, Ireland, and as a young

man settled in New York State and later moved to Northern Michigan. He died at Hancock, Michi- gan, in 1873. The father of the clerk of the Dis- trict Court is Patrick H. Lee, long an esteemed resi- dent of Butte, whose home is at 849 West Copper Street. He was born at Palmer Hill, New York, in 1860, but grew up in northern Michigan. One of his early experiences was logging in the northern peninsula, and later he was an engineer in the mines. He was married at Hancock, Michigan, in 1886, and finally left that state to go to North Dakota, as an employe of the Northern Pacific Railway. In June, 1895, he arrived at Anaconda, Montana, and worked in the smelters for Marcus Daly. His home has been at Butte since September, 1899, and he followed mining in Montana until he retired in 1913. He is a democrat and a Catholic. His wife, Kate Harrington, was born in 1862, at Hancock, Michigan. She was one of the first born in that then isolated settlement in northern Michigan. Patrick H. Lee and wife had a family of ten children. Edward J., the oldest, now at home and an engineer at the mines, was born June 27, 1887, and made a brilliant record as a soldier in the World war. He enlisted October 7, 1917, and after training at Camp Lewis and at Camp Mills, New York, left Camp Merritt, New Jersey, on December 14, 1917, crossed the At- lantic on the Leviathan, reaching England Decem- ber 23, 1917, and landing in France on the 30th of December. He was on active duty during the greater part of the year 1918 from the time the American forces took their place in the battle line. He was at Chateau Thierry, at Fismes, at San Mihiel, and was twice on the front line in the Ar- gonne Forest. He was in the Argonne when the armistice was signed, and then went to Germany with the first Army of Occupation, remaining from November, 1918, until April, 1919. He was mustered out May 24, 1919. Jerry, the second child, born January 21, 1889, lives at home with his parents and is a chauffeur for the Butte Fire Department. The third is Otis. Loretta, born in 1893, is a gradu- ate of the Butte Central High School. Mary, born in 1895, is the wife of Charles Cappa, a millman at Black Rock Mine and a resident of Butte. James, born in 1897, a graduate of the Butte Central High School and now at home and working as time keeper at the Stewart Mine, enlisted in the navy June 15, 1918, served with the Asiatic Squadron, and his final duties were in the Harbor of Manila at Cavite. He was mustered out June 30, 1919. Mar- garet, the seventh child, was born in March, 1899, and is a graduate of the Central High School. John, born July 9, 1901, is an apprentice machinist at the Berkeley mine. William, born April I, 1904, is in the Central High School. Catherine, the youngest, born June 27, 1909, is a pupil in the Immaculate Conception School at Butte.

Otis Lee was about four years old when his parents came to Montana. He graduated from the Butte High School in 1909, worked in a mine one year, and in 1910 became a timekeeper for the Ana- conda Copper Mining Company. He left that cor- poration in 1915 to become assistant city clerk dur- ing the term of Charles H. Lane as mayor. This office he resigned in 1916, having been elected clerk of the District Court for a term of four years. He entered office in January, 1917, and by his adminis- tration has completely deserved the confidence of his fellow citizens who chose him to this position. Mr. Lee is a democrat, is affiliated with Butte Council No. 668, Knights of Columbus, Butte Lodge No. 240, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and is a member of the Catholic Church.

His home is at 426 South Main Street. May 21,

506

HISTORY OF MONTANA

1917, at Butte, he married Miss Doris E. Smith. Her parents are William G. and Mary (Smith) Smith, of the same family name but not related. They are residents of Butte, where her father is cashier for the Butte Electric Railway Company.

ELMER E. ESSELSTYN. While his name is most widely known over the state of Montana through his former service as state treasurer, Mr. Esselstyn is and has been for a number of years one of the prominent and substantial business men of Butte, and the part he played in republican politics has been incidental to a long and active career in Mon- tana covering more than thirty years.

He was born at the little village of Aztalan in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, November 8, 1864. His people were Wisconsin pioneers, and his American ancestry in the paternal line goes back to Jacob Esselstyn, who immigrated from Holland to New Amsterdam in 1657. His grandfather bore the name Jacob Esselstyn and was born in Cape Vincent, New York, in 1806 and subsequently became a pioneer farmer in Wisconsin. He died in Richland City, Wisconsin, in 1878. Jacob Esselstyn married a Miss McLeod, a native of Scotland.

Roderick M. Esselstyn, a son of Jacob, was born at Hudson, New York, in 1827, and as a young man removed to Jefferson County, Wisconsin, where he married and where for a number of years he fol- lowed the business of mason contracting. In 1878 he went to Blue Earth, Minnesota, where he died the following year. He was a republican and a member of the Baptist Church, and his death was the direct result of the severe wounds received while a Union soldier during the Civil war. He had enlisted in 1861 in Company F of the 29th Wiscon- sin Infantry, and went all through the war. He was in the battle of Gettysburg, and was also in the Red River campaign under General Banks. He was twice severely wounded. Roderick Esselstyn married Ellen M. Strong, who was born in Hiber- nia, New Jersey, in 1825, and died at Santa Barbara, California, in July, 1919, at the advanced age of ninety-four. She was of a prominent family, her mother being a descendant of the De Castalines of France. Her grandfather, John Strong, was a native of Ireland, and came to the American colonies in time to participate as a soldier with the Con- tinental armies during the struggle for independence. By trade he was an iron worker. He died at Morris- town, New Jersey. His son Samuel Strong, father of Ellen M. Strong, was born in New Jersey in 1793, and for many years was a prominent iron master at Hibernia, New Jersey. His last years were spent in retirement at Blue Earth, Minnesota, where he died in 1883.

Elmer E. Esselstyn is the younger of two children. His older brother, Sam, is a dairy farmer in the great dairy district of Jefferson County, Wisconsin. Elmer spent the years of his boyhood on a farm in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, and had to be satisfied with the advantages of the rural schools. Soon after he was thirteen years of age he began doing regular farm work, and after going to Minnesota with his parents he was employed in a store at Jackson until the death of his father. Soon after- wards he found an opening as clerk in a store at Minneapolis, and lived there until 1887. His educa- tion, his opportunities in a business way and his varied achievements are all due to the initiative and courage which enabled him to take life as he found it and make the best of his circumstances.

Mr. Esselstyn came to Glendive, Montana, in 1887, in company with Angus Brown, master mechanic of the Northern Pacific Railway. For a

time he was employed as shop clerk at Glendive and during 1888-89 as a locomotive fireman. He was then promoted to the purchasing department, with headquarters at Red Lodge, and was in the service of the Northern Pacific until he resigned to become clerk of court of Carbon County. That county was created in 1900, and he was elected as the first in- cumbent of the office. He was re-elected in 1904, but resigned in June, 1906, to accept the federal office of register of United States Land Office at Billings. He was the appointee of President Roosevelt, and was the first register after the opening of the office. This position he also resigned in 1908, after the State Republican Convention had nominated him for state treasurer. Mr. Esselstyn was elected in the fall of 1908, beginning his duties in January, 1909, and for four years was busy with his official duties at Helena.

In the meantime he was serving as trustee of the funds at the organization of the Montana Life In- surance Company and the Montana Fire Insurance Company, and subsequently became vice president and treasurer of the Montana Fire Insurance Com- pany. In that capacity he has been instrumental in developing the business of this corporation until it is one of the leading concerns in point of volume of business in the northwest.

Mr. Esselstyn is also a director of the Boston Montana Development Company and the Southern Montana Railway Company. His offices are at 120 West Granite Street. Mr. Esselstyn is a member of the Baptist Church, is prominent in Masonry, his affiliations being with Billings Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Billings Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, Billings Commandery, Knights Templar, Helena Consistory and Algeria Temple of the Mys- tic Shrine at Helena. He is a member of the Rotary Club and the Silver Bow Club at Butte.

Mr. Esselstyn resides in the Idaho Apartments at 224 West Porphry Street. He married at Butte April 6, 1915, Miss Lottie Hardee. Mrs. Esselstyn was born in Iowa and is a graduate of the high school of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

JAMES P. CROULEY, proprietor of the Towanda Hotel of Hot Springs, is one of the progressive young men of this section, and assisted by his capable wife has developed a business that is in a flourishing condition, and that has a reputation for good service and excellent meals that is carried all over the country by satisfied guests. He was born at Towanda, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, a son of James and Mary (Griffin) Crouley, and second in order of birth in the family of six children of his parents. The Crouley home was a fine old colonial mansion, in which the father and grand- father of James P. Crouley were also born. It had massive white pillars supporting the veranda which ran clear across the front, and great open fireplaces inside. Having stood for so long, this house was the scene of many interesting incidents, and it is claimed that the blazed Indian trail used by the noted Indian fighter and Revolutionary hero, Gen. Anthony Wayne, ran through the Crouley property.

James P. Crouley was graduated from the Towanda State College, having specialized in archi- tecture and building, and followed that line of busi- ness for some years prior to coming West to con- tinue in it. He selected Seattle, Washington, as his new place of residence, but later came to Montana, and for a time was engaged as an architect and builder at. Plains, executing some very important contracts there, including the beautiful high school building, which stands as a monument to his skill and faithful carrying out of the specifications of

Add esselstyn

507

HISTORY OF MONTANA

his contract. While at Plains he met and was married to Miss Margaret Pendergrass, born at Willsboro, New York, a daughter of Thomas and Ellen (Ryan) Pendergrass, natives of Vermont and Ireland, respectively, the ceremony occurring on May 2, 1910. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Crouley lived at Sand Point, Idaho, for a time, where Mr. Crouley was engaged in business, and from there they went to Wallace, Idaho, and subsequently to Couer d'Alene, in both of which places Mr. Crouley continued to operate as an architect and builder.

In the meanwhile their attention was attracted to Hot Springs and the opening here for a first class hotel to accommodate the thousands who come here yearly, and they finally erected a modern three-story hotel containing thirty-four rooms and named it for Mr. Crouley's birthplace. An electric light plant has been installed which furnishes light for every room and all the outbuildings, and the power for raising a supply of soft water so that each room has in it both hot and cold. While drilling for water Mr. Crouley struck an unlimited supply of artesian water. An experienced chef is employed and the cuisine is famed for its superior quality. During the hunting season the Towanda has as fine game on its tables as can be found in the country, and all the year around fresh vegetables, eggs, cream, milk and but- ter are used in plentiful abundance. This hotel is noted for the courtesy, geniality and amiability dis- played. When a stranger steps into the large pleas- ant lobby he is at once made to feel at home because of the friendly and homelike atmosphere which pre- vails. The lobby is decorated with rare and beau- tiful plants, and the official barrenness so noticeable in some hotels is entirely absent. Although new to the business, Mr. and Mrs. Crouley have made their undertaking a success from the beginning, and their hotel ranks with the best in this part of the state. They are boosters for Hot Springs, and are always ready to give both financial and moral support to all measures having for their object the betterment of the community. As Mr. Crouley is occupied with his building operations, much of the burden of the management has fallen upon the shoulders of Mrs. Crouley, who has proved equal to her responsibilities. She is a cultured lady, who has traveled extensively both in this country and abroad, at one time with her mother traveling in Europe and visiting London, Dublin, Edinburgh, and the principal cities of the Continent. The people of Montana seem to pull together to produce results. Much of the factional jealousy to be found in other states fortunately is absent here, and among those who are "pulling" for their town and state Mr. and Mrs. Crouley occupy a very prominent place.

Mrs. Crouley's father, Thomas Pendergrass, is one of the pioneers of Montana, and after coming here took so active a part in politics that he was sent to the State Assembly to represent his district several times, both in the Upper and Lower houses, and is the father of some very important legisla- tion. He served for four years as game warden of Missoula County and four other counties which were included in the district under his jurisdiction. His wife was graduated from the University of Dublin, Ireland, and was not only a lady of unusual mental attainments, but strikingly beautiful as well. Mrs. Crouley resembles her mother, and her capabilities were developed at Saint Mary's Academy of Salt Lake City, Utah, from which she was graduated, following which she took a special course in music in the Sisters Academy of the Sacred Heart of Missoula, Montana. Desiring to be of use in the world, she entered Columbus Hospital at Great Falls, Montana, where she began her training as a pro-

fessional nurse, and after a year went to Chicago, Illinois, and completed her course in the Cook County Hospital of that city, from which she was grad- uated. There are not many ladies who have been so carefully trained as she, and she feels that her studies have been of inestimable use to her in her present undertaking. Guests of the Towanda Hotel benefit from the spotlessness of their rooms and the entire establishment from her years of training in sanitary observances, while her culture and musical attainments make her a delightful hostess and valued member of the best social circle of Hot Springs. Mrs. Crouley is a Catholic. Both she and Mr. Crouley are admirers of President Wilson, and vote the democratic ticket.

ARTHUR THOMAS has been a resident of Mon- tana over thirty-five years, since early boyhood, and the business that has chiefly occupied him and in which he is still engaged is ranching, near Avon in Powell County. Mr. Thomas is at present a member of the Board of County Commissioners of Powell County.

He was born in the neighboring state of Idaho at Malad, August 29, 1872. He is of Welch an- cestry on both sides. His grandfather, Thomas Thomas, spent all his life in South Wales, where he was a miner. The father, Reese P. Thomas, was born in South Wales in 1815, was reared there and came to the United States in 1849. Soon after- ward he crossed the plains to Utah, was married in that western territory, and farmed in Utah and Idaho for a number of years. In 1884 he left his ranch at Malad and located at Butte, where he did teaming and followed other occupations for two years. In 1886 he located on his ranch and farm near Avon, and died there in 1892. His enterprise as a farmer brought him abundant means and pros- perity. Politically he was identified with the re- publican party. His wife was Mary Evans, who was born in South Wales in 1835. She died at Deer Lodge in 1908. They were the parents of ten children, Arthur being next to the youngest. Reese the first in age was a farmer and died at Malad, Idaho, at the age of sixty-two; Sarah married Isaac Price and both died on their ranch at Avon; Eph is a sheep man at Malad; Thomas is a retired rancher at Avon; Margaret lives at Malad, widow of David M. Jones, who was a farmer; Etta is unmarried and a resident of Avon; Rachel lives at Race Track, Montana, widow of P. H. Meagher, who was a miner and rancher; Alexander died at Avon at the age of twenty-nine; Arthur is the next in age; and Emma is the wife of Frank Leibsch, a cattle buyer at Helena, Montana.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II, Part 142

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