Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II, Part 176

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 176

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Peter Schierts acquired a rural school education in Wabasha County, and lived on his father's farm to the age of twenty-two, and for three years there- after conducted the old homestead. He then bought

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a ranch in Stutsman County, North Dakota, but his chief business was handling hardware and imple- ments at Kellogg, Minnesota. He remained there three years, and for two years more was in the real estate and insurance business at Kellogg. Return- ing to Wabasha, he worked in a hardware and im- plement house until 1910, and for the following year was connected with the hardware and imple- ment firm of McPhail Company at Langdon, North Dakota.

This is a brief outline of his business career up to the time he arrived at Helena on March 13, 1911. Without capital, he turned his experience to good account in the service of others, and for four years was in the hay, grain and farm implement business of C. H. Fortman. For another year he managed that business, and when Mr. Fortman became post- master the firm of Schierts & Ries bought the estab- lishment and a year later Mr. Schierts bought out his partner and has since been sole proprietor. He now does both a wholesale and retail business in hay, grain, coal and wood, and handles a number of na- tionally known and advertised farm implements, including the Heider tractors, cream separators, poultry supplies. The office of the business is at 15-17 Placer Avenne, and he maintains a large warehouse and yards on the Northern Pacific tracks. This is easily the most extensive concern of its kind in Helena and the surrounding county. Mr. Schierts is also a stockholder in the Foidel Undertaking Company at Helena.

Mr. Schierts is an independent voter, a member of the Catholic Church, is a third degree Knight of Columbus, affiliated with Helena Council No. 844, and is a member of Helena Lodge of the Loyal Order of Moose. He owns a modern home at 126 Chestnut Street.

In 1900, at Wabasha, Minnesota, he married Miss Catherine Howe, danghter of Peter and Otilda (Baker) Howe. Her parents reside at Kellogg, Minnesota, her father being a retired farmer and is now president of the Kellogg State Bank. The two children born to Mr. and Mrs. Schierts are Viola, born July 14, 1901, now a junior in the Helena High School, and LeRoy, born Angust 12, 1908.

PHILIP HENRY HUBER, who is a senior member and president of the corporation, Huber, Jasmin & Rouse Company, at Helena, has been more or less con- tinuously identified with business at Helena for a quarter of a century, and the experience of his ma- ture years have brought him a close acquaintance with many of the cities and towns of most of the states in the so-called middle and far West.

Mr. Huber was born at Hamilton in Butler County, Ohio, September 26, 1868. His grandfather, Wil- liam Huber, was born in Germany in 1795, and in 1847 brought his family to America and settled in Butler County, Ohio. He was one of the early farmers in that locality and lived there until his death at Riley in 1875. George Huber, father of the Helena business man, was born in Germany in 1844, and was a small child when brought to Amer- ica. He was reared, educated and married in Butler County and spent all his mature life there as a blacksmith. He died at Hamilton in February, 1916. He was a strong and ardent democrat in politics, a very consistent Christian and active supporter of the Presbyterian Church. His wife was Mary Stabe, who was born in 1846 and died at Riley, Ohio, De- cember 24, 1884. Philip Henry is the oldest of their children. William F., the second in age, is a rail- road man living in California. David G. lives at Hamilton, Ohio. Sadie M. is unmarried and also lives at Hamilton.

Philip Henry Huber acquired his early education in the rural schools of his native county. He prac- tically grew up in his father's blacksmith shop, served an apprenticeship there, and has made that mechanical trade the basis of his very successful business career. He left home at the age of twenty- one, and his first sojourn was at Wellington, Kansas, where he worked as a blacksmith from August, 1889, to June, 1890. Continuing westward, he was in Denver a short time, reached Salt Lake City July I, 1890, remained there as a horseshoer for the firm of Pembleton Brothers, a few months, and arrived at Portland, Oregon, in November, 1890. Jannary I. 1891, he spent at Seattle, Washington, and in December of the same year returned to Portland, and in January, 1892, went on to San Francisco, was at Los Angeles in the latter part of February, and then, after several years of traveling that had taken him pretty well over the middle and far West, he returned to Riley, Ohio, and resumed employment with his father for eighteen months. But the lure of the far West was strong upon him, and in 1895 he was back in Los Angeles. In February, 1896, he started north with team and wagon, following the coast route through San Francisco and up to Red Bluff, traveling the same trail that the old forty- niners had used. He worked as an itinerant black- smith, stopping for a few days or weeks in various towns along the road, and in this way reached Cald- well, Idaho, from there went on to Shoshone, Idaho, where he sold his team, and thence by way of Poca- tello arrived at Butte June 1, 1896. On the 4th of June he reached Helena, and, with the exception of a year or so has been identified with this city ever since. For eight months he worked as a blacksmith for W. C. Lewis at the corner of Ninth Avenue and Davis Street, and then bought a shop of his own on Main Street. In 1898, selling out, he spent part of the following year working at his trade for the firm of Huntley & Child, proprietors of the Yellow- stone Park Transportation Company. Returning to Helena in the fall of 1899, Mr. Huber again fol- lowed his trade, and with a partner, Mr. Fowler, owned a shop on State Street until he sold his in- terest in 1904. In 1905 he bought another shop on Main Street and continued his work there until kicked by a horse in 1909. Receiving severe injuries, both legs being broken, he spent some time recuper- ating, and then, still unable to take up the regular work of his trade, he went on the road for the Cape- well Horse Nail Company in March, 1910, covering the State of Montana and a part of South Dakota. He left the road in January, 1911, and returned to Helena and bought the establishment of S. T. Strange at 426 Fuller Avenue. That was his place of business until October, 1917, at which date he formed the corporation of Huber, Jasmin, Ott Com- pany. Mr. Ott subsequently sold his interest to S. W. Rouse and the corporation is now Huber, Jas- min & Rouse Company, with headquarters at 418 Fuller Avenue. Mr. Huber is president of the com- pany, P. T. Jasmin is vice president and S. W. Rouse is secretary and treasurer. This company does a general blacksmithing and horseshoeing business, also manufactures commercial automobile bodies, automobile accessories, does automobile repairing and handles the largest supply of Temme guaranteed auto springs in the State of Montana. Another line carried is the Presto tanks. This is the second larg- est business corporation of its kind in Montana.

Mr. Huber was for ten years state organizer for the Master Horseshoers' National Protective Asso- ciation. In behalf of other business interests he has covered practically every state in the West, includ- ing besides those mentioned Arizona. Mr. Huber

MATHIS MOHN

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is a democrat, a member of the Presbyterian Church, and is very active in fraternal affairs, especially as a Mason and Odd Fellow. In Masonry his affilia- tions are with Morning Star Lodge No. 5, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Helena Chapter No. 2, Royal Arch Masons; Helena Council No. I, Royal and Select Masters; Helena Commandery No. 2, Knights Templar; Helena Consistory No. 3, having taken fourteen degrees of Scottish Rite Masonry, and has long been a Mystic Shriner. He is a mem- ber of the Patrol of Algeria Temple. In Odd Fel- lowship he is a past grand of Montana Lodge No. I, is past chief patriarch of Rocky Mountain En- campment No. I, is past captain of Schuyler Colfax Canton No. 2. Mr. Huber also belongs to Garnet Camp No. 105, Woodmen of the World, and to the Independent Order of Foresters, the Royal High- landers and Order of Eagles.

His home is a modern residence at 512 Sonth Park Avenue. Mr. Huber married at Hamilton, Ohio, in 1900, Miss Mary Elizabeth Ziliox, a native of Millville, Ohio. They have two children, Alma Louise, born March 17, 1902, now a member of the junior class of the Helena High School, and George William, born November 22, 1906.

MATHIS MOHN is a rancher and stockman in the Flathead country, his home being on rural route No. 2 ont of Kalispell.

Born in Norway, a son of Mathis and Rachel Mohn, at the age of twenty he determined to realize the opportunities of the new world, and sailing from Norway landed at Boston and from there went on to Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and farmed in North Dakota until 1893, when he came to the Flathead country and bought 200 acres northwest of Kalis- pell. Here he has since profitably engaged in farming and stock raising, handling Hereford cat- tle, Chester White hogs and Percheron horses.

He is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran Church. For many years he has made a home for his mother and sister, until the death of his beloved mother in 1918. She was a good woman, a kind neighbor and loved by a large circle of friends, and had done her best to rear and train her chidlren to good citizenship.

Mr. Mohn has found all the opportunities he craved in the Flathead country, and has done much to advance its interests and advantages for others. He has served as trustee and clerk of the local school board and believes in securing the best teachers. He has a fine home located on high ground over- looking much of the surrounding district. He is secretary of his church. He has witnessed the sur- rounding community grow up from a wilderness. In earlier days he shot many bear and deer. A new irrigation district has recently been organized known as the Tarry Lake Irrigating District, with Mr. Mohn as president of its board of commissioners. He is also a director in the Farmers Mutual Insurance Company and in the Equity Supply Company at Kalispell. These are organizations directly benefit- ing all the farmers of his section. Mr. Mohn is a stanch republican, and has served as a member of the Republican Central Committee.

JAMES SHERWELL SCOTT first came to Montana a few days after the territory was admitted to the Union as a state, and for a number of years was operator with the Western Union Telegraph Com- pany. Mr. Scott is now head of J. S. Scott & Com- pany, stock brokers, and has been in the stock brokerage business at Helena for a number of years.

He was born at Detroit, Michigan, April 3, 1871. His ancestors for several generations lived at Kelso,

Scotland. His grandfather, James Scott, spent his life there as a farmer, born in 1809 and died in 1881. Robert Riddell Scott, his son, was born in Kelso in 1848, and about 1864 came to America and settled at Chatham, Ontario, Canada. He was a carriage builder by trade and followed that trade all his life. He was married at Chatham, worked at his trade in Detroit from about 1869 until 1873, then returned to Chatham, and in 1890 moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota. When he retired from business in 1898 he came to Helena and in 1905 went to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where he died in 1907. He was a very consistent member of the Presbyterian Church. Robert R. Scott married Margaret Wilson Edwards, who was born at Chatham, Ontario, in 1850, and is now living at Ed- monton. James S. is the oldest of her children. Robert is one of the owners of the Northern Hard- ware Company of Edmonton. Madge Thompson lives at Edmonton. George H. is associated with his brother, Robert, in the Northern Hardware Company, a wholesale and retail business, operating several stores in other towns besides Edmonton.

James S. Scott acquired his education in the public schools of Chatham. He was in high school through his freshman year and then on account of ill health left school in 1885 and for a time was employed as messenger with the Great Northwestern Telegraph Company at Chatham. After two years he was qualified for the position of telegraph operator, and a few months later was put on the regular force at Hamilton, Ontario. He remained there two years, in March, 1889, went to Spokane as an operator with the Western Union Telegraph Company, and was transferred to Montana in No- vember, 1889. He continued with the Western Union Telegraph Company until 1893, and was then sent to Chicago, where he was with the same com- pany until 1895. Returning to Helena in the winter of 1895, Mr. Scott was soon afterward made assistant day chief operator and in 1898 promoted to night chief operator.

Since 1903 Mr. Scott has been in the brokerage business. In 1907 he removed to Butte as man- ager of Mayo Sachs & Company, stock brokers, but in the spring of 1908 returned to Helena as manager of W. M. Biggs & Company. In the fall of 1910 he went East, making his headquarters at Chicago, and sold Montana lands and later handled Northern Michigan lands for a year or so. He was back in Montana at the close of 1912, and on January 1, 1913, bought the brokerage business of W. M. Biggs & Company, with Clande E. Wilson as his partner. Since July 1, 1918, he has been sole owner of the business. His offices are at 42 West Sixth Avenue, and he handles a large volume of business. The success of his firm is the more noteworthy, since Helena is the smallest city in the United States where a private wire service is maintained by brokers.

Mr. Scott is also vice president of the Cruse Consolidated Mining Company, is a director of the Amalgamated Silver Mining Company, and owns considerable real estate at Kalispell. His home is at 562 Fifth Avenue in Helena. He is an inde- pendent voter, is a member of Morning Star Lodge No. 5, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Helena Consistory No. 3 of the Scottish Rite; Algeria Temple of the Mystic Shrine, and is a member of the Rotary Club, Montana Club, Country Club and the Helena Commercial Club.

In 1901, at Helena, he married Miss Eva Josephine Breidenthal, daughter of H. and Elizabeth (Hall) Breidenthal, both now deceased. Her father was a flour miller, following that business in Indiana and

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later in Montana. Mrs. Scott was educated in the Helena High School and Vincennes University at Vincennes, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Scott have three children : Sherwell, born March 26, 1904, is a fresh- man in the Helena. High School and takes a promi- nent part in athletics, being a member of the bas- ketball team; Elizabeth, born July 26, 1906, and Lyman, born May 3, 1912, are both in the grammar grades of the public schools.

FRANCIS G. JOHNSON. The arrival of Francis G. Johnson at Scobey antedated the coming of the first railroad town. He was one of the pioneers in commercial affairs, and for eight years has handled a busy trade as a hardware merchant and has seen his efforts grow and prosper in every direction.

Mr. Johnson was born June 22, 1877, at the old town of Quincy in Trail County, North Dakota. That old town at one time was an important point on the Red River of the North, but the town dis- appeared when the river traffic ceased and another town sprang up on the railroad nearby.

Mr. Johnson is of English ancestry. His grand- father, John Johnson, came to Canada from Eng- land, and spent the rest of his life as a farmer near Bayfield, Ontario. He married Miss Ford. The youngest of their children was George H. Johnson, father of the Scobey merchant. George H. John- son was born in Bayfield, Ontario, grew up and mar- ried there, and had practically no formal education. However, he had a keen intelligence, and by his own efforts gained enough knowledge to enable him to conduct his business successfully. Coming to the United States in 1872 he settled on the Red River, and though he had a very small capital, he took up a homestead and as a farmer delved into the inex- haustible riches of the Red River Valley with con- siderable success. His location at Quincy, the old Hudson Bay post, gave him other opportunities for business. He kept the post, fed the travelers, and gradually engaged in the mercantile business. An- other important source of revenue was shipping horses from Ontario and selling them to the farmers of the Red River country. In course of time he had accumulated about 1,600 acres of the rich soil of the Red River country. However, he had suffered an ac- cidental injury, and saw medical service far and near and dissipated a large part of his fortune in these efforts to restore his health. Nevertheless, he lived to the age of seventy, passing away in 1910. On coming to the United States he became an American citizen and was identified with the democratic party. He held several local offices, but feeling his dis- qualification on account of limited education declined an offer to become a candidate for both branches of the Dakota Legislature. He was deeply interested in political campaigns, served as a delegate to sev- eral state conventions, and once was sent to Wash- ington to bring the attention of the postoffice de- partment to his section of Dakota. He was a mem- ber of the Presbyterian Church and for more than fifty years was affiliated with the Masonic fraternity. Another part of his record that deserves attention was his work to secure the establishment of schools in the early days of North Dakota. After canvass- ing the situation with his neighbors and being un- able to arouse them, he took the matter in his own hands, built a schoolhouse, hired a teacher, and thus gave the first practical impetus to public education in his region.

George H. Johnson married Margaret Sparling. She was born and reared at Clinton, Ontario. Her mother's maiden name was Margaret Elliott. The children of George H. Johnson and wife were: Mary, wife of Seth Carkin of Fargo, North Da-

kota; Elizabeth, wife of F. C. Harrington of the old Quincy locality in North Dakota; Joe E., of Opheim, Montana; John W., of Great Falls, Mon- tana; Francis George, of Scobey, Montana; Clara, Mrs. R. B. Cox, of Neihart, Montana, and Florence, who died at the age of sixteen.

Francis George Johnson grew up under varied influences, his father being a farmer, merchant and hotel man. He attended public schools, but was not regularly enrolled after his tenth year. Most of his work was done on his father's farm to the age of sixteen. He then became a farmer on his own account, buying land near home, and remained there until I911. He started without capital, the original machinery and stock being a present from his father, and with that start he handled his affairs so successfully that he paid for 380 acres of land and the equipment necessary to operate it.

On selling his farm and stock Mr. Johnson bought a half interest in a hardware business at Hendrum, Minnesota. The firm of Larsen & Johnson was in business there for several years. After the hrst year Mr. Johnson left the active management to his partner and came to Montana, establishing him- self as a hardware merchant at Antelope. He was in that locality two years, beginning in 1912, and then removed to Scobey. Here his was one of the first three or four business houses on the town site. His building was 24 by 40 feet, and it housed a stock of shelf-hardware. Later he added harness, and has built up a large retail trade over the surrounding district. Since then he has established branch stores at Westfork and Avondale. At Scobey he is also interested in the Farmers' Oil Company.

Mr. Johnson, like his father, has felt a deep and sincere interest in public education. For the past two years he has served as a member of the Scobey School Board, his associates being H. W. Olson, Paul Crum, George Cudhie and Mr. Lund. During his term on the board the school building has been equipped with a steam heating plant and preparations made for the erection of a new high school build- ing, which will cost $70,000.

Mr. Johnson since attaining suffrage has voted as a republican, his first ballot going to Major McKin- ley. He took his first degrees in Masonry at Scobey and is affiliated with the Chapter, Commandery and Consistory bodies of Helena.

In Norman County, Minnesota, December 28, 1904. Mr. Johnson married Miss Julia Nelson, a native of Minnesota. Her parents, Sivert Nelson and wife, were born in Norway. Mrs. Johnson is a sister of Cornelius S. Nelson, of Plentywood, Montana, re- ferred to elsewhere. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have four children named Adalaide, Norman, Estella . and Phyllis.

SIDNEY BENNETT. All of those who identified themselves with Northeastern Montana before the close of the nineteenth century were pioneers. These pioneers almost without exception were in some way identified with the livestock industry, since farming and ordinary commerce offered no attrac- tions until the last ten or twenty years. The firm of Bennett Brothers was prominent among the range stock men and shippers out of this region for sev- eral years. One of them is Sidney Bennett, now a resident of Scobey, where he subsequently became interested in merchandising, but is now giving most of his time to rural development work.

Mr. Bennett was born in England November 30, 1878, one of the four sons and three daughters of William and Kezia (Nichols) Bennett. The year after his birth the family came to Ontario, Canada. and when Sidney was eleven years of age they

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moved to the United States. Sidney Bennett ac- quired his final schooling in the St. Paul High School, and left school at the age of seventeen and came to Montana joining his brothers in the live- stock shipments which they carried on for a num- ber of years.

When the Spanish-American war came on in 1898 Sidney Bennett enlisted at Duluth in Company C of the Fourteenth Minnesota Infantry under Captain Resche and Colonel Van Duze. The regi- ment was sworn into the Federal service at St. Paul, went for training to Chickamauga Park and later to Knoxville, Tennessee, where it was in camp when the war ended. The regiment returned to St. Paul and was given a thirty-day furlough, and before that expired Chief Bugapagoosick of one of the Minnesota Indian reservations went on the war path with his followers and some of the volunteers, including Sidney Bennett, were called out to the seat of hostilities. They did guard duty to pacify the settlers, while the Indians all fled across the line into Canada. About ten days of guard duty was all that was required of the boys and they were then ordered to St. Paul for muster out. Mr. Bennett was discharged in 1899 and at once returned to Mon- tana and since that year has been identified with Sheridan County.

He was associated in the ranch enterprises with his brother Jack Bennett. their headquarters being at Redstone on the Big Muddy. Some of the interest- ing facts regarding the Bennett Brothers business as cattlemen are told in the story of Jack Bennett. Sidney Bennett continued ranching until 1907, when he was appointed deputy sheriff of Valley County, then embracing all the region of Sheridan County. That was a time when much stock "rustling" was going on, and Mr. Bennett and other officers in the course of duty came into frequent contact with the cattle outlaws. He helped maintain the law and dignity of the state, the sheriff at that time being S. C. Small.

On leaving his official post Mr. Bennett came to old Scobey and organized the Cusker Lumber Com- pany. He established his lumber yard and stocked it by hauling his supplies sixty miles from Poplar With the construction of the railroad and the open- ing of the new townsite of Scobey the yard was moved to that point and Mr. Bennett continued active in the management until 1916 when he sold out to the McCurdy Lumber Company. Since then his chief business has been investing in lands, handling farming and grain growing propositions, and in per- forming a number of services directly instrumental in the upbuilding of his community.

He was one of the chief movers toward the build- ing of an electric light plant for Scobey, taking stock in order that the enterprise might get under way. He was appointed mayor of Scobey in 1917 as successor of Ole Helland and was elected to that office in 1918 for a term of two years. The chief features of his administration were the installa- tion of a water plant and the construction of a sewer system. During the World war he was a member of the County Council of Defense, a mem- ber of the Fuel Administration, chairman of the local Red Cross and the Young Men's Christian Association, also chairman of one of the Liberty Loan drives, and of the "Seven in One" drive. Some of his most important work in promoting patriotism was as chief of the American Protective League, and for eighteen months he directed the work of that voluntary organization in and around Scobey.

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Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II, Part 176

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