Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II, Part 178

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 178

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In former years Mr. Timmons and Mr. Daniels were partners in their stock raising and about nine years after he came to Montana they also opened a small store under the name Daniels & Timmons. This was continned until 1916 and was the central factor in the business life of old Scobey. Gradually other enterprises sprang up, including a blacksmith shop, hotel, livery, bank, and such was the enterprise of the little village until the building of the Great Northern Railway resulted in the founding of the new town of the same name.

Mr. Timmons was also one of seven men who launched and promoted the Farmers Elevator in Scobey. He is a stockholder in the Farmers Oil Company and in the Montana Life Insurance Com- pany.

Mr. Timmons readily adapted himself to the changing conditions caused by the rapid introduction of newspapers and the converting of the open range into farming tracts. He was associated with Mr. Daniels and John Manternach in the purchase of the first threshing machine brought to the locality. and operated it for a couple of years. Daniels & Timmons continued their range and stock interests until about 1912, when they sold their surplus of cattle and horses and concentrated their attention upon farming. Their cattle brand was "lazy YD" and their horse brand was "Jbar 5" and for years the firm made annual shipments from Northeastern Montana to the Chicago markets.

Mr. Timmons was reared in a democratic home and cast his first presidential vote for Cleveland in 1892, and has always supported that party in national elections. While his private enterprise has been in the nature of a service to the entire com- munity. He has also enjoyed official responsibilities as county commissioner of Sheridan County. He was elected in 1915 as successor to Harry Loucks and was associated with the commissioners F. A. Weinrich, P. J. Eie, J. D. Matkin and R. G. Tyler. Besides the routine work the board did important new road construction and bridge building, and also held special elections for seed grain and road bonds.

November 5, 1890, Mr. Timmons married Miss Martha Louella Benner, a native of Illinois. Her father Henry Benner was born in Pennsylvania and from Illinois moved to Iowa when Mrs. Timmons was a child. She was the youngest of five daughters and two sons. Her father spent his life at the anvil and forge. Mr. and Mrs. Timmons have one daugh- ter, Blanche E. She grew up in the frontier country of Northeastern Montana, has been a constant and valuable aid to her parents, and like other new set- tlers has proved up a claim. The Timmons perma- nent home on the ranch was built and completed with twelve rooms, equipped with lighting system, hot and cold water and furnace. Besides this modern home the ranch has other features that make it noteworthy in the country around Scobey. It con- tains barns and granaries of generous capacity, and all the other facilities indicate that Mr. Timmons is one of the most progressive farmers and ranchers in this section.

W. M. BELLEFLEUR has rendered an important service in Flathead County during the past seven years as superintendent of the County Infirmary and Hospital.

Mr. Bellefleur was born at Green River, Canada, son of William Bellefleur. He was educated in the schools of Canada and came to Montana in 1879, journeying up the Missouri River as far as Fort Benton. He did freighting around Missoula and also conducted a livery barn there. In 1881 he drove a herd of cattle back to Canada, returning to Montana in 1882 and locating in the Flathead Valley, where he filed on a homestead. He still owns that quarter section, and for many years was successfully engaged in farming and stock raising.

Mr. Bellefleur married Flora Tibdean. She was the mother of four children, W. A., H. H., Eliza- beth and Josephine. In 1913 Mr. Bellefleur assumed charge of the County Poor Farm and Hospital. His son, W. A. Bellefleur, was educated in the public schools of Kalispell and was a soldier in Company C of the Eighty-seventh Infantry, spending five months in training at Camp Dodge, Iowa. The daughter, Elizabeth, is now Mrs. Hamilton, and Josephine is the wife of George W. Lang and lives at Lovelock, Nevada. Mr. Bellefleur married for his second wife Irene Duffy, a native of Minnesota, and a daughter of Martin and Mary (Grady) Duffy. She was educated in the public schools at North- field, Minnesota. They have one child, George.

The County Home at present has nine inmates. Everything about the home is a credit to the county and to the care and sympathetic management of Mr. and Mrs. Bellefleur. Mr. and Mrs. Bellefleur are members of the Catholic Church and he is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Elks, while Mrs. Bellefleur is a Maccabee. In poli- tics he supports the democratic party. For six years he served as deputy sheriff of Flathead County, and while living at Creston was a member of the school board.

A visit to the County Home convinces anyone that Mr. Bellefleur is the right man in the right place. He has every department of the home in perfect system. A number of cows provide milk and but- ter for the home, there is an abundant supply of poultry, every winter 225 cords of wood are burned to keep the rooms warm, and the store rooms are well filled with provisions. Everything is in perfect sanitary condition.

Mr. Bellefleur owns a fine summer home at Lake McDonald in Glacier Park. His two sons farm his ranch and are among the progressive and capable young men of the county.

CARLTON B. BULL. While he is now president of the State Bank of Redstone and has other important interests in that section, Carlton B. Bull began his career in this locality twenty years ago as a cowboy and ranch hand. His connection with Redstone covers the period of the life of the town. He has given his support to all matters deserving public consideration, and has influenced the destiny of the community to date.

Mr. Bull was born at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, August 2, 1880. His father Joseph W. Bull is a prominent Minnesota lawyer. Born near Reading, Pennsyl- vania, of a family of poor farmers, he worked his way through college, read law, was admitted to the New York State bar, and on removing to Iowa began practice at Tipton, where he was married. His wife, Harriet Boynton, was born near Upper Sandusky, Ohio, was liberally educated, and was a teacher in the states of Ohio and Iowa before her marriage. Joseph W. Bull removed from Tipton to Cedar

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Rapids and was an active member in his profession in that city for about twenty years. While his prac- tice was general, he became distinguished as an ex- pert on title and land laws. At the age of about sixty he retired from his profession, having in the meantime removed to Minnesota, and his winter home is now in Minneapolis with a summer home on Lake Minnetonka. Joseph W. Bull is a veteran Union soldier, and his name is inscribed on the sol- diers' monument erected in Duluth. He has never been active in politics, though he was interested in the free silver issue of which Mr. Bryan was the chief exponent. He and his wife had four children : Emerson K. of North Bend, Washington; Bertha B., wife of Bert F. Lum of San Francisco; Clara who died in young womanhood; and Carlton B.

Carlton B. Bull was eight years of age when his parents removed to Duluth, Minnesota, in 1888, and he acquired most of his education there. For two years he attended high school in Pasadena, Cali- fornia.

He was not yet twenty-one years of age when he arrived in Montana October 25, 1900. From Culbertson he went out to the ranch of Jack Ben- nett, present sheriff of Sheridan County and rode the range and did the common work of the Bennett ranch one year. During three successive years he was employed similarly by other well known settlers and ranchers of the locality. In his ambition to become an independent rancher he had accumulated about fifteen head of cattle and a few horses. Most of his cattle perished in the hard winter that fol- lowed and with the remainder he located on Wolf Creek fourteen miles south of Redstone. He ex- changed his few cattle for other horses, put up hay for their winter feed, and the next spring bought 400 head of cattle on time, giving as earnest money two of his horses and getting credit on the balance. The next four years constituted a period of regular work on the range, practically without vacations, and at the end he had $2,800 to show for his work besides a number of horses. His horses were a profitable feature of his business and for two years he also handled a considerable flock of sheep, likewise with some profit. Mr. Bull continued ranching until 1913. He had taken up a desert claim and homesteaded on Wolf Creek and when he aban- doned his ranch he owned 480 acres. Since then his dealings in land have increased his holdings until he now pays taxes on 2,000 acres. More and more he has emphasized the farming branch of his business and has found a satisfactory profit from that portion of his land seeded to alfalfa and broom grass.

Mr. Bull had a brief experience in banking at Plentywood in the State Bank, and in the fall of 1913 he opened the State Bank of Redstone. His associates were Peter Marron, Andrew Fadness, N. L. Nelson and Norman Hanson of Fertile, Min- nesota, and Henry Gray and L. C. Lindemann of Redstone. At the organization Mr. Fadness was elected president, Henry Clay, vice president, Mr. Lindemann, cashier, and Mr. Bull assistant cashier. The capital of the bank has remained steadily at $25,000. Since the death of Mr. Fadness the board of directors on January 2, 1920, promoted Mr. Bull from the vice presidency to president.

Mr. Bull was one of the organizers of the Com- mercial Club of Redstone, serving it as president, and is a member of the school board of the village. During the war he was a member of the County Council of Defense, was local chairman of Liberty Loan drives, and is a life member of the Red Cross. A republican, he cast his first vote for Roosevelt in 1904, and has always regarded himself as a republi- can in principle though like thousands of others

he supported Mr. Wilson in 1916. He was made a Mason at Culbertson, Montana, and is Past Mas- ter of Eagle Lodge No. 103 at Redstone.

At Culbertson September 1, 1907, Mr. Bull mar- ried Miss Blanche Claydon. She was born at Per- ham, Minnesota, March 19, 1885, daughter of Fred- erick and Harriet (Haslett) Claydon. Her parents were born and married in England and left their home in London to come to America. Mr. Claydon came to the United States in 1881, took up a home- stead and occupied it for a brief time in Ottertail County, Minnesota, and then removed to Perham and finally to Wadena, Minnesota, where during his last years he was engaged in milling. His widow survives him. Their children were: Dr. L. E. Clay- don and Percy of Red Wing, Minnesota; Frederick of Wadena; Mrs. Bull; May, who died after her marriage at Wadena; and Horace C. of Phoenix, Arizona. Mr. and Mrs. Bull have one daughter, Harriet A., born October 17, 1914.

HERBERT C. HAWLEY is one of the reliable and successful druggists of Harlowton, where he has established himself in the confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens. He was born at Napanee, On- tario, Canada, April 21, 1879, a son of Charles H. and Cynthia R. (Detlor) Hawley, both of whom were born in Canada. He died on October 31, 1918, but she is still living, being now in her seventieth year. They had three children, as follows: Joseph C., Herbert C. and Edith M. Charles H. Hawley was a farmer and a breeder and lover of horses and cattle, preferring the Hambletonian and Short- horn strains to any others. Although not connected with any religious organization, he helped to sup- port and attended the services of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which his wife was a con- sistent member from girlhood. During his long life, for he lived to be seventy-seven, he accomplished much, and was always hardworking and thrifty.

Herbert C. Hawley attended the public schools of his native place and the Napanee Collegiate Institute, after which he came to the United States and took up the study of pharmacy at the University of Min- nesota, where he was thoroughly grounded in his profession. Subsequent to his graduation from the latter institution he established himself in business at Hensel, North Dakota, and remained there until 1908, in that year coming to Harlowton, where he has built up a very desirable connection. His drug store is well stocked with a full line of the goods usually found in an establishment of this kind, and his patrons know that when buying from him they will get just what they ask for, it being his pride that he never uses substitutes.

On August 25, 1902, Mr. Hawley was married to Miss Mabel McGuin, born at Winnipeg, Canada, a daughter of Henry and Jane (Lee) McGuin, na- tives of Canada, both of whom survive. They had two children, Delbert and Mrs. Hawley. Mr. Mc- Guin was a farmer and also owned and operated an elevator during his active years.

Very prominent as a Mason, Mr. Hawley belongs to Musselshell Lodge No. 69, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Harlowton Chapter No. 22, Royal Arch Masons; Palestine Commandery No. 18, Knights Templar, of which he is now eminent com- mander ; and Algeria Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine of Helena, Montana. In politics he is a republican. During 1910 he served as president of the Commercial Club and is enthusi- astic with reference to it and the work it is accom- plishing toward building up Harlowton and expand- ing its commercial and industrial interests.

Mr. and Mrs. Hawley have two children, Edith

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Bernice and Alma May, both of whom are charming girls. The family occupies an enviable position in the social circles of Wheatland County, and their pleasant home is often the scene of delightful gath- erings.

GROVER CLEVELAND PERKINS, funeral director of Harlowton, is a man whose reliability in sympathetic service, moderation in charges in the hour of be- reavement and thorough knowledge of his profession have recommended him to the general public. In addition to his undertaking business, Mr. Perkins is a traction specialist and handles the new Hart-Parr Studebaker cars, Diamond trucks and accessories, Oliver plows and tractors.

The birth of Mr. Perkins took place on his father's farm in Jefferson County, Missouri, on July 26, 1885. He is a son of David A. and Kansas Virginia (Frost) Perkins, both natives of Missouri, he born on October 15, 1856, and she on December 28, 1858. They had nine children, of whom three sons and four daughters survive, Grover Cleveland Perkins being the fifth child in order of birth. Early in life David A. Perkins was engaged in farming and stockraising, and then went into the mercantile field and for more than thirty-five years has been en- gaged in this line with profitable results. He is an Odd Fellow and Modern Woodman. In politics he is a strong democrat. The Baptist Church holds his membership.

After completing his public school courses Grover Cleveland Perkins took the teacher's examination and passed it, and then took a course at the St. Louis School of Embalming from which he was graduated in IgIo, and later was graduated from the Eckels School of Embalming, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, following which he returned to Harlowton and en- gaged in a general merchandise business and under- taking, continuing until 1913 as manager of the Fair Store, and when he sold his interest in the Urner Merchandise Company he went into the garage and automobile business, continuing as a funeral director, however. In 1915 Mr. Perkins was appointed to fill the office of county commissioner, and was elected chairman of the board and in November, 1918, he was elected a member of the county board of Wheatland County, and has been its chairman ever since. Fraternally he belongs to Musselshell Lodge No. 69, Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Masons; Helena Consistory, in which he has reached the thirty-second degree; and Algeria Tem- ple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Odd Fellows, of which he is past noble grand, and since 1908 he has served on the finance committee of the Grand Lodge of that order. Like his father, he is an ardent demo- crat. For several years he has been a member of the city council of Harlowton. In addition to his other interests Mr. Perkins is a director of the Wheatland County Bank.

On February 12, 1908, Mr. Perkins was united in marriage with Miss Nellie May Townsend, a dangh- ter of William H. Townsend, and second child in a family of three children born to her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins have three children living and two dead, namely: Grover H .; Delmon D .; Clyde, who died when six and one-half years old; Glenn Wilson, who died in infancy; and Lois Mae. Both Mr. and Mrs. Perkins are held in high esteem by all who know them.

CHARLES HENRY LANIUS. It is a well attested maxim that the greatness of the state lies not in the machinery of the Government, or even in its institu-

tions, but in the sterling qualities of its individual citizens, in their capacity for high and useful effort and unselfish endeavor and their devotion to the public good. To this class belongs Charles H. Lanius, the present efficient and popular postmaster of the Town of Harlowton. Through a residence of years in this locality his influence for good has been widely felt, for he has at all times been actuated by the highest motives and lofty principles, and the his- tory of his section of the state should certainly con- tain his record.

Charles Henry Lanius was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on January 18, 1883, and is the son of Charles C. and Sarah (Ebert) Lanius. The father was born in York, Pennsylvania, and his death occurred in 1897, at the age of forty-seven years. He is survived by his widow, who is now seventy years of age. She too was born in York. They were the parents of three children, all of whom are living, namely: Jane; Sarah L., the wife of J. Cullen Sullivan; and Charles H.

Charles H. Lanius received his elementary educa- tion in the public schools of Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania, and then became a student in Nazareth Hall Military Academy at Nazareth, Pennsylvania, where he was graduated with the class of 1897. Then he took a course in Patrick's Business College at York, Pennsylvania. His first employment was as a book- keeper in the York National Bank, where he re- mained until 1904, when he went to Denver, Colo- rado, and accepted the position of bookkeeper and chief clerk with the Glen Rock Coal Company. Two years later, in 1906, he went to Anderson, South Carolina, where for about three years he served as secretary for the Anderson Real Estate and In- vestment Company. In the spring of 1909 Mr. Lanius came to Meagher County, Montana, and took up a homestead. He immediately engaged in farming operations, which commanded his attention until 1914, when President Woodrow Wilson ap- pointed him postmaster at Harlowton. So eminently satisfactory was his conduct of the office that in 1918 he was reappointed and is still serving in that position, to the entire satisfaction of both the Gov- ernment and the patrons of the office. Mr. Lanius has always taken an intelligent interest in the public affairs of the communities in which he has lived and during the legislative session of 1913 he was, on May 9th, appointed treasurer of Wheatland County. He was later elected to that office, but never entered upon his official term, as the county was not located until afterward.

Politically Mr. Lanius is a stanch supporter of the democratic party. Fraternally he is a member of Musselshell Lodge No. 69, Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Masons and Harlowton Chapter No. 22, Royal Arch Masons.

Mr. Lanius was married to Bessie H. Hough, a native of South Carolina, and to them has been born a son, Charles Henry, Jr. Genial and ap- proachable, Mr. Lanius has won a host of warm per- sonal friends since coming to this section of Mon- tana, and he deservedly stands among the leading citizens of this section.

I. L. FLINCHPAUGH. The years of the honored subject of this sketch are a part of the indissoluble chain which links the annals of the past to those of the latter-day progress and prosperity, and a history embracing Western Montana would not be complete without due reference to the long life he has lived and the success he has achieved as an earnest, courageous laborer in one of the most im- portant fields of endeavor, agriculture. He is public

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spirited and lends his support to any cause that has for its ultimate object the betterment of his locality in material, civic and moral lines.

I. L. Flinchpaugh was born near Cincinnati, Ohio, and is the fourth in order of birth of the eight sons born to Caleb and Rachel (Ingersoll) Flinch- pangh. These children were named as follows, and it is worthy of note that all of the children are liv- ing at the present time, the youngest being over fifty years of age: W. H., principal of one of the Cincinnati high schools, David, Wesley R., I. L., Jacob, Francis M., A. E., who is also principal of one of the high schools of Cincinnati, and E. R., a successful physician in Prices Hill, a suburb of Cincinnati. The subject of this sketch received his education in the public schools of his native locality, where he remained until about thirty years of age. He was reared to a farm life, but subsequently learned the trade of a carpenter. At the age of thirty years Mr. Flinchpaugh came West and was employed as a bridge carpenter in the construction of the Bitter Root Railway. On December 5, 1887, he came to the Flathead country and filed a pre- emption claim to 160 acres of land, the tract being located where the thriving City of Kalispell now stands, and this same land he afterward sold to the Kalispell Town Site Company. About a year later he was married, and he and his wife went onto their claim and began in earnest to create a homestead or ranch. They have never left this section of the country, having been well satisfied with their first choice of location, and here they have reaped the rewards of their years of toil and discomforts and sacrifices, so that today they are in the enjoyment of a splendid competence. They have been witnesses of the wonderful transformation which has taken place here and can recite many interesting stories of those early years. At that time Missoula County extended clear up to the Canadian line, comprising an extent of territory larger than the State of Ohio. They were 150 miles from the county seat, Missoula, the trip being made by boat, wagon and horseback. In those days the country abounded in wild game of many varieties, and the pioneers had no lack of fresh meat for their larder. Deer were very plentiful, and Mr. Flinchpaugh has bagged hun- dreds of them, his home now being adorned by some magnificent mounted deer heads as trophies of the old hunting days. Mr. Flinchpaugh says he has counted in one day as many as 150 deer, twenty- five being in one bunch, and each hunter was per- mitted to shoot six deer. Indians were numerous and were frequent callers at the cabin homes of the white settlers, with whom they generally remained on good terms. Mr. Flinchpaugh's present home, which lies about one mile west of Kalispell, comprises sixty-one and a half acres and is a finely improved ranch, everything about the place being arranged for the comfort and convenience of the owners. They have made it a point to plant good fruit trees and now have some fine varieties of apple, plum and cherry trees, besides strawberries and small fruit. They have planted a large part of the place to alfalfa, which in this section proves a very reliable and profitable crop.

In Missoula Mr. Flinchpaugh was married to Mary Glockle, the daughter of John and Mary Glockle, who has proven a helpmate to him in the truest sense of the word. Religiously they attend the Church of Christ, Scientist, in the faith of which they are enthusiastic believers, and to the support of which society they give generously. Politically Mr. Flinchpaugh is a stanch supporter of the demo- cratic party, though he is not in any sense a seeker after public office. The examples such men as Mr.

Flinchpaugh furnish of patient purpose and steadfast integrity strongly illustrate what is in the power of each to accomplish. By a straightforward and com- mendable course he has made his way to an envi- able position, winning the hearty admiration of the people among whom he has lived and earning a reputation for industry, public spirit and wholesome living.

MCCLELLAN WININGER, a son of Michael and Nancy (Tarter) Wininger, was born on a farm near Glasgow, Kentucky, January 24, 1862. Their ancestors were of Teutonic lineage, who immigrated to America prior to the Revolutionary war.

The Wininger descendants came from old Sax- ony, Germany, and settled in Pennsylvania about 1750. Subsequently, c., 1808, some of the families moved to Hawkins County, Tennessee, where the grandfather, Stephen Wininger, married Rhoda Robinette, of Scottish parentage, whose descendants were from Normandy, c., 1560. From this union there were five boys and four girls and during the year 1848 they all moved to Barren County, Kentucky.

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Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II, Part 178

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