Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II, Part 16

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 16

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Charles James Buzzetti attended the public schools of Genoa, Wisconsin, until he was fifteen years old, and then left school and for the succeeding three years was engaged in farming. At the age of eighteen years he began railroading on the Minne- sota & International Railroad, holding the position of division operator in Minnesota for eight years, when, in 1897, he came to Montana and was oper- ator at Townsend, this state, for the Northern Pacific Railroad, later being sent to Logan, and still later to Silesia, remaining with that road for five years. He was then made agent and operator at Bridger, and so continued for two years. Mr. Buz- zetti then came to Fromberg, and in 1905 organized the Fromberg Co-operative Association for the pur- pose of conducting a general store, of which he was secretary and treasurer for two years, severing these connections in 1908 to found his present busi- ness, which had its initial opening as a small men's furnishing store. The two young men soon found that they were in their right element, and kept on adding to the lines they carried until now they are general merchants and their house is the leading one in this section of the state. Mr. Buzzetti owns the modern store building on Main Street, occupied by his firm, which he bought in 1917, as well as his comfortable modern residence at Fromberg, and a 120-acre ranch of irrigated land at Silesia, Montana. The firm enjoys a very large and expanding trade from a radius of twelve miles outside of Fromberg.

On February 9, 1897, Mr. Buzzetti was married at Brainard, Minnesota, to Miss Elizabeth Collins, a daughter of Dennis Collins, a pioneer blacksmith of Brainard, Minnesota, who, with his wife, is now de- ceased. Mr. and Mrs. Buzzetti have one child, Dona, who was born June 30, 1903, is now attending the Fromberg High School, of which she is a bright pupil, popular alike with her teachers and associates. Mr. Buzzetti is one of the enterprising men of Fromberg, and he and his partner are so abreast of the times that they realize the importance of sup- porting any legitimate measure that will advance their city and locality and bring into it outside capi- tal for investment.

MACKZY F. EMMETT, junior member of the mer- cantile firm of Buzzetti & Emmett, of Fromberg, Montana, is one of the responsible men and excellent citizens of his locality, and one whose business pros- perity is due to his own sagacity and ability. He was born at Hanging Rock, West Virginia, May 24, 1878, a son of Jacob H. Emmett, and grandson of

Andrew Emmett. The Emmett family was founded in the New World during colonial days, when four brothers of that name came to what was afterward to be the United States of America, one locating at Emmettsburg, Maryland; one in Kentucky; one at Hanging Rock, West Virginia, and one in North Carolina, and from them have descended all of the Emmetts of this country.

Andrew Emmett, grandfather of Mackzy F. Em- mett, was born at Hanging Rock, West Virginia, and died there, his farm in that vicinity being handed down to his son, Jacob Emmett. The maiden name of his wife was Elizabeth Pepper, and she, too, was born, reared and died at Hanging Rock.

Jacob H. Emmett was born at Hanging Rock, West Virginia, in 1840, and he passed away there in 1912, having spent his life in West Virginia, and directed his efforts along agricultural lines. While he was a life-long democrat, he never aspired to political honors. A member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, South, he was very active in its work, and contributed generously toward its support. With the outbreak of the Civil war he cast his lot with the Confederate States, and fought during the whole conflict under General Lee, and among other impor- tant engagements was in the battles of South Moun- tain and Gettysburg. He married Virginia Heare, who, surviving him, resides on the old homestead at Hanging Rock, West Virginia. She was born in that vicinity in 1848. The children born to her and her husband were as follows: Della Lee, who died at a Texan city in 1915; Wade Gordon, who is a banker of Eastern Shore, Virginia; Evan G., who is a merchant of Hanging Rock; Mackzy F., who is the fourth in order of birth; Jacob D., who is express and freight clerk at Graybull, Wyoming; James S., who is cashier of the Bridger Coal Company, of Bridger, Montana; Walker W., who is operating the Emmett homestead at Hanging Rock; Lucille Vir- ginia, who married H. L. Barlow, a retired lumber- man of Fromberg, died at Fromberg in 1909; Clin- ton Earley, who served in the United States army as a member of the American Expeditionary Forces at Toul, France; Franklin I., who is serving in the marine aviation service at Hampton Roads, Vir- ginia; Blanche, who is unmarried, lives with her mother, and Hill, who is an automobile salesman, resides at Augusta, West Virginia.

Mackzy F. Emmett attended the public schools of Hanging Rock, being graduated from its high school, and from Shenandoah College at Shenandoah, Vir- ginia, in 1902, with the degree of Bachelor of Science. In 1902 he came to Fromberg, Montana, and for two years was engaged in teaching school, leaving Car- bon County at the expiration of that period to spend two years in gold mining in Idaho. Returning to Fromberg, he formed a partnership with C. J. Buz- zetti and they established their present mercantile business, controlling a very desirable trade and doing a fine business. Mr. Emmett owns his own residence at Fromberg.

In 1908 Mr. Emmett was married at Laurel, Mon- tana, to Miss Emma Buzzetti, a sister of C. J. Buz- zetti. Mr. and Mrs. Emmett have the following chil- dren: Virginia, who was born June 6, 1909; Robert, who was born December 7, 1911, and Mary, who was born November 15, 1915. Mr. Emmett is one of the alert business men of Fromberg who is thoroughly alive to the opportunities offered the young man in Western cities of recent establishment. He and his partner are typical of the region, and spare no efforts to give to their trade the benefits of their connections, which enable them to secure timely mer- chandise and offer it at prices as low as is con- sistent with market quotations on goods of their

HISTORY OF MONTANA

class. Their service is excellent, and their customers remain with them, for they appreciate the fact that this firm is reliable and trustworthy in every respect, as well as thoroughly up-to-date in stock and equip- ment.

ALBERT C. ROECHER. The gentleman whose name heads this paragraph is widely known as one of the enterprising merchants of Bozeman, where he has lived for a number of years and has been prom- inently identified with the commercial interests of that locality. His well-directed efforts in the prac- tical affairs of life, his capable management of his business interests and his sound judgment have brought him large rewards for the labor he has expended, so that today he is numbered among the representative men of his city.

Albert C. Roecher was born in Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio, on September 3, 1869, and is a son of J. F. and Magdalena (Rasp) Roecher. J. F. Roecher was born in 1840 in Allegheny City, now a part of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where his parents had settled on their immigration to this country from Germany. He was reared and educated in Allegheny, but in young manhood moved to Pome- roy, Ohio, where he married and where he fol- lowed his trade, that of a harness-maker. In 1877 he removed to Chester, Ohio, where he continued his trade and where his death occurred in Novem- ber, 1918. He was a republican in politics, and served as township clerk at Chester for the long period of thirty-five years. He was active in all the civic and political affairs of his community and was as popular as he was well known throughout that section of the state. He was a member of the Lutheran Church and of the Knights of Pythias.

J. F. Roecher married Magdalena Rasp, who was born in 1841 at Pomeroy, Ohio, and who died at Chester in 1899. To this worthy couple were born the following children, eight in number: Minnie is the wife of Dr. A. E. Ayler, of Greencastle, Indiana; Emma, who remained unmarried, died at the age of thirty years; Albert C. is the next in order of birth; Lucy, now deceased, was the wife of H. Bert Fox, also deceased; Anna is the wife of J. B. Heaton, a farmer at Mutual, Ohio; J. E. is cashier of the Commercial Bank and Trust Com- pany at Big Timber, Montana; Clarence is an auto- mobile dealer at Chester, Ohio; Elsie is a book- keeper in the Commercial Trust and Savings Bank at Big Timber, Montana.

Albert C. Roecher received his elementary edu- cation in the public schools of Chester, Ohio, after which he was a student in the academy there. Leav- ing school at the age of twenty-one years, he took a course in the Mountain State Business College at Parkersburg, West Virginia, graduating in 1894. In the meanwhile he had been clerking in a general store at Chester, and it is probably owing to the fact that this store carried a line of drugs that Mr. Roecher's future vocation was determined. In 1897 he came to Bozeman, Montana, and formed a partnership with William Alward. They bought the leading drug store here, giving it the name of the new firm, Roecher & Alward, and under their direction it proved to be a good business move. Mr. Roecher continued his studies in pharmacy and chemistry, and then went to Minneapolis and took a full course in the Minnesota Institute of Pharmacy, receiving, after examination, a license as a pharmacist in 1903. In 1908 Mr. Alward died, and Mr. Roecher took over his interest, having been sole owner since that time. He carries a large and well selected line of drugs, stationery, cut glass, hand-painted china, photographic supplies, etc., and

his store is considered the leading drug store of Gallatin County. He also owns the brick building in which the store is located, and which also houses three other stores, and owns a ranch of 160 acres of land, six miles south of Logan, Mon- tana.

Politically, Mr. Roecher is a stanch supporter of the republican party, and at one time served as trustee of school district No. 7, Bozeman. Frat- ernally he belongs to Bozeman Lodge No. 463, Be- nevolent and Protective Order of Elks; Pythagoras Lodge No. 2, Knights of Pythias; Bridger Camp No. 62, Woodmen of the World; Gallatin Castle No. 82, Royal Highlanders; and to the Retail Drug- gists Association of Montana.

In 1891, in Meigs County, Ohio, Mr. Roecher was married to Nora Story, the daughter of Elias and Lucy (Carper) Story, both of whom are deceased. The father was a pioneer farmer in Meigs County, Ohio, came as a pioneer to Virginia City, Montana, in 1863, and in 1876 returned to Meigs County, where his death occurred. To them were born the following children: Rausie, who is a graduate of the Gallatin County High School, of the Montana State College, and attended the Milwaukee Downer School for Girls, is the wife of Selmer H. Solberg, owner of a gentlemen's furnishing store at Big Timber, Montana; Chester, who is his father's as- sistant and who is now taking a course in pharmacy, graduated from the Gallatin County High School and was a student in the Montana State University at Missoula.

A western man in the broad sense of the term, although a native of the east, Mr. Roecher realized the wants of the people and, with unerring judgment and keen discrimination, supplied the demand. Affable and popular with all classes, he has long been numbered among the leaders of his community and is eminently entitled to representation in a work of the character of this one.

WILLIAM E. HARRIS. A native of Montana, Wil- liam E. Harris began his business career imme- diately on completing his high school course, and his experience has been almost entirely in antomo- bile mechanics and the garage business.

Mr. Harris, who is proprietor of one of the lead- ing garages in southwestern Montana, at Hamilton, was born at Butte February 28, 1885. His father, also William E. Harris, was of Welsh ancestry and was born in Pennsylvania in 1853. He spent his early life in his native state, and in 1881 located at Butte, where he followed mining. He owned a half interest in the St. Lawrence Tunnel at Butte. He died in that city in 1889, when thirty-six years of age. He was a republican in politics. At Butte he married Mary Ann Shearer, who was born in Ohio in 1855, and is now living at Hamilton. She was the mother of two sons, William E. and Claud. Cland enlisted in 1917, trained at Camp Lewis, and in 1918 went overseas. In the late summer of 1919 he was still in service in France with the grade of corporal.

William E. Harris attended the public schools of Butte until 1901, when his mother removed to Ham- ilton, where he graduated from high school in 1904. The following year he worked as a foreman on the Bitter Root Stock Farm, but in 1905 took up the automobile and garage business, which he learned thoroughly. He has a special inclination for me- chanics, and is a master of automobile mechanism. In 1916 he bought the large garage at 352 Main street and has floor space 130x40 feet. His business has grown and prospered until his quarters are far too small. He maintains a general garage, a repair

P. J. Van Laken

HISTORY OF MONTANA

shop, and handles all automobile accessories and operates a service station.

Mr. Harris is a republican voter, and is a member of the Brotherhood of American Yeomen. He owns a modern home on Fourth Street. In 1907, at Mis- soula, he married Miss Margaret Loretta Morrissey, daughter of Dan and Mary Morrissey. Her mother is now deceased. Her father is a retired resident at Santa Monica, California. Mr. and Mrs. Harris have three children : Anna, born in November, 1909; William, born in 1912; and Doloris, born in 1914.

PETER JOHN VAN LAKEN. Many of the most pros- perous and esteemed citizens of our country have come from beyond the seas, and into this land of promise and plenty have brought those habits of in- dustry and thrift that have won for them places of prominence in the various walks of life, making them veritable leaders in the industrial and business world. Conspicuous among this number now living in Montana is Peter John Van Laken, of Billings, president and sole proprietor of the Van Laken Construction Company. A native of Europe, he was born December 14, 1881, in Antwerp, Belgium, where his father, Francis Van Laken, was a life- long resident. He is descended from an old and honored Dutch family, the Van Lakens having for- merly lived in Holland, from whence they emigrated to Belgium many generations ago.

John Francis Van Laken, grandfather of Peter, was born in Antwerp in 1820, and as a mason and builder there spent his years, dying in 1907. His wife, whose maiden name was Melania Van Damme, was born, reared and educated in Antwerp, and there lived until her death.

Francis Van Laken's birth occurred in 1855. Learn- ing the mason's trade when young, he worked at it faithfully, becoming skilled in the art, and during his years of activity was a general contractor as well as a mason. His wife, whose name before marriage was Clemence Jacobs, was born in Antwerp, Bel- gium, in 1856, and is still a resident of that city. Five children were born of their union, as follows: Arthur, a machinist and now owner of a general machine shop, resides in Antwerp, his birthplace; Melania, who married Joseph Seeldrayers, an Ant- werp broker, died of the influenza in 1919; Louis lived but fourteen years; Peter, the special subject of this brief personal sketch; and Adaline, wife of Emil T. Felt, of Antwerp, an officer in the Belgian Army, who participated in five of the larger battles of the World war, and has recently been mustered out.

The boyhood days of Peter John Van Laken were passed in laying the foundation of his future educa- tion in the public schools of Antwerp. Possessing artistic talent, and having a natural aptitude for mechanics, he subsequently completed a course of study at the Government Technical School, becom- ing expert in draughting and architectural work. Later, under the instruction of his father, he learned the mason's trade, which he followed for a time, being quite successful. In 1903, seized with the wan- derlust, Mr. Van Laken determined to try life for himself in America, and immigrating to the United States located in Chicago, Illinois, where he fol- lowed his trade four years. Going from there still farther westward in 1907, he spent a year in Spo- kane, Washington, but not entirely pleased with his prospects in that locality he made another move, settling at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, where he carried on a substantial business as contractor and builder for nine years. In June, 1917, Mr. Van Laken, de- sirous of broadening his scope of action, came to Billings, Montana, and in the selection of a favor-

able location has found that he made no mistake. Immediately establishing the Van Laken Construc- tion Company, of which he is president and entire owner, he has since been constantly employed in the upbuilding of the city. Some of the most beautiful commercial buildings have been erected under his supervision. Among some of his notable achieve- ments as a contractor and builder is the Hart-Albin Building, a three-story structure with basement, the largest in Billings, and one of the largest office ' buildings in Montana. He erected the Carlin Build- ing on Broadway, and others of equal importance, the work of his hands and brain being very fre- quently in evidence. He has a pleasant home at North Thirty-Second Street.

Mr. Van Laken is an adherent of the republican party, and is a member of the Coeur d'Alene Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons; of the Coeur d'Alene Camp, Modern Woodmen of America; and of the Billings Midland Club.

In 1901, in Antwerp, Belgium, Mr. Van Laken married Miss Marie De Buyser, a daughter of Charles and Frances (Van Eyke) De Buyser. Her father, a mason and contractor, still resides in Ant- werp, where the death of her mother occurred a few years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Van Laken have four children, namely: Gabriella, born June 19, 1903, now a senior in the Billings High School, is a gifted musician, having a very sweet voice, and has sung with the Glee Club; Julia, born January 5, 1905, is a freshman in the Billings High School; Arthur Francis who died at the age of ten weeks, in Chi- cago; and Arthur, born on Friday, June 13, 1913.

WILLIAM C. RYAN, principal of the Sweetgrass High School at Big Timber, is a veteran educator, and has been in the work more or less continu- ously for thirty years.

Mr. Ryan, whose ancestors came from Ireland, was born at Springfield, Ohio, February 12, 1869. His father, Henry Ryan, was born in Southern Ohio in 1844 and spent his active life on a farm near Springfield, where he died in 1916. In politics he was a democrat, and was affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows from the time he reached his majority until his death. He married Elizabeth Ryman, who was born in Clark County, Ohio, in 1844 and died at Springfield in 1915. Wil- liam C., is the oldest of their children. The second, Mary, is the wife of Wilbur Trout, a farmer, flour moulder and successful business man of Springfield, Ohio. Oscar is superintendent of the annealing department of the Springfield Malleable Iron Works, while Charles, the youngest, is also an educator, being superintendent of schools of several townships of Clark County, Ohio, and a resident of Spring- field.

As a boy William C. Ryan attended country schools near his father's farm, and in 1888 grad- uated from the Clark County High School. Mr. Ryan is a man of scholarly tastes and there has hardly been a year since he left high school when he has not attended some institution as a student and accepted every opportunity to advance his abili- ties and technical training for educational work. For three years he taught school in Clark County and two years in Franklin County, Ohio, utilizing the summer vacations in attending college. He then entered the Northern Indiana Normal School, now Valparaiso University, where he spent four quarters each three years. He graduated with the A. B. degree in 1896 and he also has the degree Master of Science and degree Civil Engineer from Val- paraiso. While there he became affiliated with Sigma Pi College fraternity. He has attended

HISTORY OF MONTANA

summer schools nearly every year of his teaching career. In 1896 he went to Trenton, Missouri, for one year was head of the Mathematics Department in Avalon College, and for two years was principal of the Trenton High School and then another year remained as principal of the Normal Department of Avalon College. During 1899-1900 he was a student in the University of Chicago, where he made chemistry his major study. He then returned to Trenton and was superintendent of city schools three years.

Coming to Montana in the fall of 1903, Mr. Ryan served as principal of the County High School at Big Timber for seven consecutive years. In 1910 he retired from the teaching profession and bought a fruit ranch at Spokane, Washington. A year later he sold that and returned to Montana and became district manager of the Central Life Insurance Company of Des Moines, and for six years represented that company with offices at Billings, and developed a large business and proved himself a thoroughly resourceful insurance man. In 1919 he resumed active connection with educa- tional affairs when he took a three years contract as principal of the Sweetgrass County High School at Big Timber. He has a staff of seven teachers and an enrollment of 125 scholars in the high . school.

Contrary to the usual run of educators Mr. Ryan has been successful in business affairs. He owns a ranch of 280 acres seventeen miles northeast of Columbus, Montana, and has it under lease. He also has a modern home at Big Timber and a dwelling house at Billings. Mr. Ryan is an inde- pendent republican, and is active in the Christian Church as a member of the State Board of the Church. Early in life he became affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has membership in the Lodge, Encampment and Canton at Bozeman and is a retired captain of the Uni- formed Rank. He is also a past chancellor of the Knights of Pythias.

In May, 1905, at Livingston, he married Miss Melvetta Jolly. Her mother is Mrs. Mary Jolly, of Trenton, Missouri. Mrs. Ryan is a graduate of the Trenton High School and attended Avalon College through her junior year. She then taught in the Trenton schools and attended the Missouri State University several summer sessions. They have three children: Henry Wallace, born January 8, 1906; Mary, born November 2, 1907; and Helen, born June 15, 1910.

EDWARD BIGELOW. Continuously devoting his time and energies to the varied requirements of his busi- ness, and possessing an ability equal to its demands, Edward Bigelow, of Billings, proprietor of Bigelow's Mercantile Agency, has won an honored position among the successful business men of the city. He was born in Columbus, Ohio, October 24, 1875, a son of Charles E. Bigelow, and comes of good old Scotch-Irish stock, his immigrant ancestors on the paternal side having settled in Massachusetts in colo- nial days.

A native of Massachusetts, Charles E. Bigelow was born in 1851, in Spencer, but his youthful days were spent in Boston, where he acquired his early education. As a young man he went to Ohio, stop- ping first in Loveland, but after his marriage remov- ing to Columbus, and for a time thereafter serving as a conductor on the Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1882, on the opening of the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, he accepted the position of baggage master at Bellevue, Ohio, where he remained three years. Going to Buffalo, New York, in 1885,

he was yard master for the same road for two years. Retiring from the railway service, he has since been associated with the "Buffalo Express," one of the leading newspapers of that city. He is a republican in politics, and an ex-member of the Royal Arca- num. His wife, whose maiden name was Christian Tigar, was born in Loveland, Ohio, in 1853, and died in Buffalo, New York, in 1894. Three children were born to them, as follows: Frederick T., of Buffalo, New York, is an accountant for the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company; Edward, of whom we write, and Burt, of New York City, in the office of the "New York Times."

As a boy Edward Bigelow attended the public schools of Cincinnati and Bellevue, Ohio, and of Buffalo, New York. Then, beginning life as a wage- earner, he worked for five years in a Buffalo lumber yard, and subsequently was employed in the Buffalo Post Office from 1895 until 1906. Accepting then a position with the United States Smelting Com- pany, he held it for eighteen months, being located at Midvale, Utah, near Salt Lake City. Joining an engineering corps, he afterward worked for a short time on the construction of the Consolidated Min- ing Company's plant at McGill, Nevada.

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Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II, Part 16

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