Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II, Part 20

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 20

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In 1899, at Meadow Creek, Montana, Mr. Gibson married Winifred Fletcher, the daughter of Wil- liam A. and Ellen (Gordon) Fletcher, the latter of whom is now residing at Meadow Creek. The father, who is deceased, was a pioneer ranch owner in Madison County. To Mr. and Mrs. Gibson have been born the following children: Kathleen is a senior in the Park County High School at Living- ston, Alice is a freshman in the same school, and Fred L., who was born on April 18, 1917.

Years of conscientious work have brought to Mr. Gibson not only increase of practice and repu- tation, but also that growth of legal knowledge

and that wide and accurate judgment the possession of which constitutes marked excellence in the profession. In discussions of the principles of law he is noted for clearness of statement and candor ; he seeks faithfully for firm ground and having once found it nothing can drive him from his position. His zeal for a client never leads him to urge an argument which in his judgment is not in harmony with the law, and in all the important litigation with which he has been connected no one has ever charged him with anything calculated to cast a reflection upon him or his profession.

HUBERT ALFRED SIMMONS. The history of Hubert Alfred Simmons reads like a story thrown on the screen of life, for it shows how an industrious lad climbed from a lowly position to one of responsi- bility, and then, having discharged his duty to his mother and younger brothers and sisters, earned the money to educate himself for a learned profession in which he gained so distinguished a reputation that he was selected more than once to represent the people in high public office, at present being county attorney of Carbon County. He was born at Spadra, Arkansas, November 13, 1881, a son of Ferdinand Simmons, who was born in Germany in 1851 and died at Spadra, Arkansas, in 1888. He was reared in Germany, and, according to the custom, gave his country the usual military service, but so convinced did he become of the hardships this entailed that after his marriage he came to the United States so that his children would not be compelled to enter the army, and in 1879 became mine foreman at Oweta, Arkansas, and later held the same position at Spadra in the same state. Prior to this he had bought a farm at Spadra, and there died, firm in the faith of the Roman Catholic Church. Politically he was a republican. He was married to Anna Eliza- beth Graff, born in Germany in 1861, who survives him and makes her home at Red Lodge. Their children were as follows: Hugo, who died in in- fancy; Hubert Alfred, whose name heads this re- view; Frank, who is a coal miner of Klein, Montana; William, who is the only policeman and constable of Bear Creek, Montana, and also serves as deputy sheriff ; Otto J., who owns the only abstract business of Red Lodge. The mother of this family was married second to William Youngholter, now of Red Lodge, who came to the United States from Ger- many when about twenty years of age. Until 1917 he was a member of the police force of Red Lodge, but is now engaged in mining. Mr. and Mrs. Young- holter became the parents of the following children : John, who died in infancy; Katherine, who married C. R. Northrop, who lives at Red Lodge and is em- ployed by the Chapman State Bank; Anna, who died at the age of eight years; and Mayme, who married Dave Henderson, a mine mechanic of Red Lodge.

Hubert Alfred Simmons attended the . public schools of Spadra and Jenny Lind, leaving school to engage in mining and farming, living on the homestead during the time he was so engaged. In 1898 the family came to Belt, Montana, and he was given employment during the summer and fall of that year on a section of the railroad, and in the winter entered the mine. In the spring of 1899 there was a strike at the mine, and he returned to section work for a short time, improving his position by going with an extra gang of workmen to repair bridges at Belt on the Great. Northern Railroad, a difficult and dangerous undertaking. Until Septem- ber, 1899, he remained with this railroad, when he accompanied his mother and her family to Red Lodge, at which time he engaged with a grading outfit building the switches at the mines, but left

HISTORY OF MONTANA

in December of that year to resume mining. In 1901 Mr. Simmons began clerking in a general store, and at the same time took a commercial course in the International Correspondence School. Always ambitious, he resolved to fit himself for the legal profession. He took a business course at Red Lodge, and then began to read law at nights while working in the day, thriftily saving every penny he could spare from the bare necessities. Having prepared himself as far as lay in his power and saved up $1,000, Mr. Simmons entered the Indiana law school of the University of Indianapolis, from which he was graduated May 23, 1906, with the degree of LL. B. Additional expenses aside from those he had figured upon necessitated the earning of more money than the initial $1,000, and Mr. Simmons for eighteen months eked out his scanty resources by waiting on the table in a hotel as have so many others before him who regarded, as he, no sacrifice too great in „order to secure the proper training.

Following his graduation Mr. Simmons returned to Red Lodge and for a short time was in the office of Judge George W. Pierson, and in the fall of 1906 was elected clerk of the court to fill an unexpired term of two years, and re-elected in 1908 and 1912. In 1916 he was placed upon the regular republican ticket for county attorney, to which office he was elected by a gratifying majority, and was re- elected to the same office in 1918. His offices are in the United States National Bank Building. A con- sistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, he is active in its good work. Mr. Simmons belongs to Bear Tooth Lodge No. 534, Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks; Star in the West Lodge No. 40, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of which he was master for two terms; and Carbon Chapter No. 20, Royal Arch Masons, of Red Lodge. He is a mem- ber of the Chamber of Commerce and the Carbon County Bar Association, of which he is vice presi- dent. He has been a member of the Republican State Central Committee for Carbon County since 1914. A man of affairs, he is vice president of the Eagle Coal Company of Red Lodge, and secre- tary of the W. B. Innes & Company, of Billings, Montana. His modern residence at No. 518 North Platt Street, is owned by him.

On June 1, 1907, Mr. Simmons was married to Miss Ellen Freeman, a daughter of William and Mary (Robinson) Freeman, of Red Lodge, where Mr. Freeman is engaged in mining. Mr. and Mrs. Sim- mons have the following children: Hubert Alfred, Jr., who was born February 10, 1910, and Helen Annie, who was born April 20, 1918, and her twin sister, Margaret Ida.

JOHN W. CLARK. A man of brains and intellect, keen-witted and enterprising, John W. Clark, well known resident of Billings, has won a brilliant record as a commercial traveler, and as a repre- sentative of the Oliver Chilled Plow Company has achieved distinguished success, winning a command- ing position in the ranks of his fellow-salesmen. A son of the late George H. Clark, he was born at Stamford, McLean County, Illinois, July 31, 1876. His paternal grandfather, Milton Clark, a tailor by trade, spent his entire life of ninety-seven years in Lancashire, England.

Born in 1853 in Lancashire, England, George H. Clark there spent the days of his boyhood and youth. In 1871, long before attaining his majority, he im- migrated to this country, locating at Stamford, Illinois, where he was engaged in general farming for many seasons. Removing to Gibson City, Illi- nois, he continued his agricultural labors in that vicinity from 1889 until 1900, when he purchased a

farm at Indianola, Iowa. To the improvements al- ready inaugurated he added others of much value, making it one of the most desirable pieces of prop- erty in the neighborhood. Retiring from active work in 1914, he made his home in the village of Indianola until his death April 18, 1915. A republi- can of the old school, he was prominent in local affairs, and while in Stamford, Illinois, serving as deputy sheriff and constable. He was a Presbyterian in religion, and a generous contributor toward the support of the church. He married Sarah Bos- singham, who was born in Stamford, Illinois, in 1855, and now resides in Indianola, Iowa. The fol- lowing children were born to them: John W., the special subject of this sketch; Clarence, a rancher at Pompey's Pillar, Montana, died of the influenza in December, 1918; Clara, twin sister of Clarence, married Percy Last, a farmer at Indianola, Iowa; Ada, wife of Bruce Nunemaker, who is engaged in farming at Indianola; Fred, also a farmer, re- sides in Indianola; Ernest, of Indianola, is a tiller of the soil; Fern, wife of James Blackford, a suc- cessful agriculturist of Indianola, and Albert, living with his mother on the home farm.

Leaving the public schools of Stamford, Illinois, at the early age of thirteen years, John W. Clark accompanied the family to Gibson City, and the fol- lowing year assisted his father on the farm. Having a natural aptitude for mechanics, he secured a posi- tion in Peoria, Illinois, and for seven years was there employed in a threshing machine shop, be- coming an expert workman. Continuing then with the same firm, the Colean Manufacturing Company, he was transferred to Fargo, North Dakota, and for two years was traveling expert and salesman. Re- maining in Fargo, Mr. Clark entered the employ of the Huber Manufacturing Company, which made a specialty of threshing machines, and was with that concern nine months. For two years thereafter he held a similar position in the same city with Reeves & Company. His next venture was with the Minne- apolis Threshing Machine Company as traveling salesman, his headquarters being at Fargo.

In 1911 Mr. Clark made his advent into Montana, coming to Billings with the Moline Plow Company as traveling salesman, his territory including all of Montana. In 1912 he took up a homestead of 280 acres lying seven miles south of Billings, and he still owns the ranch on which he lived for four years, making extensive improvements upon it dur- ing that time. Returning to Billings, he was en- gaged in the real estate business a year, and then went back on the road, traveling for the Sandusky Tractor Company for fifteen months. Accepting then his present position as expert traveling sales- man for the Oliver Chilled Plow Company, he covers a territory embracing the south half of the state, and in his work is meeting with characteristic success, his sales being large and eminently satis- factory to all concerned. He has accumulated val- uable property, and in addition to having title to his ranch owns his pleasant residence at 615 South Thirty-fourth Street. He is a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator at Billings and served as its first president, resigning the position on account of being away from home so much of the time.

Mr. Clark is a steadfast republican in politics, and is prominent in fraternal circles, being a mem- ber of Jamestown Lodge No. 6, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, at Jamestown, North Dakota; of Hiawatha Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; of Hiawatha Commandery, Knights Templar, at Jamestown, North Dakota; of Billings Camp, Woodmen of the World; of Jamestown Lodge, Beneveloent and Protective Order of Elks; of Illinois Council, United Com-

HISTORY OF MONTANA

mercial Travelers of America, and of Billings Lodge, Brotherhood of American Yeomen.

Mr. Clark married, July 16, 1916, at Big Timber, Montana, Mrs. Sigred Marie (Malmberg) Gray, a daughter of C. F. Malmberg. Mr. Malmberg was born in 1847, in Sweden, where he grew to man's estate. Coming to the United States in the spring of 1884, he settled in Omaha, Nebraska, where he followed his trade of carpenter and cabinet maker until his death October 28, 1916. He was a republi- can in politics, a member of the Swedish Mission Church and of the Ancient Order of United Work- men. His first wife, whose maiden name was Sophia Palm, was born in Sweden in 1852, and died in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1898, leaving five children, as follows: Joe, engaged in the milling business at Minneapolis, Minnesota; Ada, wife of Frank Dudley, who has been connected with the street railway service of Omaha, Nebraska, for the past twenty years, being now an auditor; Sigred Marie, who became Mrs. Clark; Albin Robert, associated with a wholesale shoe firm at Omaha, and Carl Henry, also living in Omaha, Nebraska, occupies a position in one of the banks of that city. After the death of his first wife Mr. Malmberg married a second time, Huldah Carlson becoming his wife, and to them one child was born, Harry, who lives with his brother, Carl Henry, in Omaha, and is attending the public schools. Mr. and Mrs. Clark have no children.

WILLIAM YOUNG PEMBERTON. Judge Pemberton is probably the only living member of the Montana bar whose memory and experience might be quoted as authoritative on subjects connected with the his- tory of the early territorial bar. He came to Mon- tana, fresh from his law studies, in 1863, and as a lawyer and subsequently as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court he has participated in the develop- ment of Montana law, courts and precedence from the very beginning of organized civil conditions in the territory and state.

Judge Pemberton, who is one of the advisory editors of this publication, was born at Nashville, Tennessee, June 1, 1841, a son of William and Martha (Brooks) Pemberton. He is of English and Scotch ancestry and the Pembertons were early settlers in Old Virginia. Judge Pemberton grew up in Missouri, attended public schools, the Masonic College at Lexington, Missouri, and graduated LL. B. from the Cumberland University Law School at Lebanon, Tennessee, in 1861. For about a year he practiced law in Missouri, and in 1863 arrived at Virginia City, Montana. He was one of the few college trained and regularly qualified lawyers in that pioneer mining camp. In the work of bring- ing about law and order and a system of civil gov- ernment under the auspices of the Territory of Montana, Judge Pemberton played a notable part. In 1865 he moved to Helena, then only a mining town, and practiced law there for several years. In 1868 he went back to Missouri, and he also prac- ticed as a lawyer in the State of Texas. Judge Pemberton located at Butte in 1880 and since 1909 has again resided at Helena.

He was elected district attorney of the West Side District in 1882, and prosecuted cases arising from most of the counties of Western Montana. He was re-elected in 1884. In 1891 he was appointed District Judge of the Second Judicial District, and about a year later was elected and qualified for the highest position in the State Judiciary, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He began his duties January I, 1893, and served until 1899.

After retiring from the Bench Judge Pemberton

looked after the interests of a large clientage, in- . cluding some prominent corporations. Since June, 1909, however, he has given his entire time and at- tention to his duties as librarian of the State His- torical and Miscellaneous Library at Helena. Judge Pemberton has been one of the prominent democrats of Montana from territorial times to the present. He is a Mason and is a former president of the Society of Montana Pioneers.

Judge Pemberton was an infant when his parents died in Tennessee, and he knows little of his an- cestry. His grandmother on his mother's side was a Powell, whose father was at Yorktown under Washington at the close of the Revolution. On October 26, 1865, at Helena, Judge Pemberton mar- ried Clara May Hutchison, daughter of Major John C. Hutchison. He has four children: Warren T., who married Ollie Minor; Alice M., wife of W. H. Allen ; Early P., who is married and lives in Mis- souri; and Lulu, wife of Harry A. Rheem.

DANIEL H. BILLMEYER, M. D. Doctor Billmeyer came to Montana about thirty-five years ago, and for a long time was a company physician and surgeon with the Northern Pacific Railway. Since 1905 he has been engaged in a general practice at Plains, and is proprietor of a well equipped hospital, one of the best institutions of its kind in Northwestern Mon- tana.

The Billmeyer family came originally from Alsace- Lorraine and were colonial settlers in Pennsylvania. The grandfather of Dr. Billmeyer was Martin Bill- meyer, who spent all his life in Pennsylvania and was a farmer. Peter Billmeyer, father of the doc- tor, was born at Chilaquisa, Pennsylvania, in 1813, and also lived all his life in that state. For many years he was in the iron business, and was the first sheriff of Columbia County. He was a Democrat and a member of the Lutheran church. He died at Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1904. His wife was Mahila Roat, who was born at Chilaquisa in 1824 and died at Bloomsburg in 1913. They had four children: Frank, an attorney at New York City; Emma, who died at Philadelphia in 1917 the wife of A. J. Williams; Daniel Harrison; and Blanche, wife of Howard Brayton, a business man of New York City.

Daniel Harrison Billmeyer was born at Blooms- burg, Columbia County, Pennsylvania, January 28, 1864, was educated in the local schools, including high school, and took special studies in the State Normal College at Bloomsburg. From there he en- tered the Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia, from which he received his M. D. degree in 1884. Dr. Billmeyer began practice in Montana at Thomp- son Falls, being there a short time. For three years he was assistant surgeon in the Northern Pacific Hospital at Missoula, and was then transferred to Rosslyn, Washington, as chief surgeon for the Northern Pacific Coal Company. He was there dur- ing the strike troubles of 1888. Following that for five years he was again assistant surgeon of the Railway Hospital at Missoula, after which he left Montana and practiced medicine at Wanpan, Wis- consin, until 1905. On returning to this state he lo- cated at Plains, where he has been in general prac- tice. He established his private hospital in 1914. His hospital clientage is drawn from all over Western Montana. He has facilities for accommodating twelve patients. Dr. Billmeyer has served several times as coroner of Sanders County, and is a mem- ber of the County, State, and American Medical as- sociations. He is a stockholder in the Helena Build- ing and Loan Association. Politically he is a demo- crat and is affiliated with the Lutheran church and

HISTORY OF MONTANA

is a member of Waupun Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and Waupun Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and also of the Knights of Pythias Lodge at Waupun, Wisconsin.

In 1892, at Missoula, he married Miss Georgia Holmes, daughter of George and Eliza (Hadden) Holmes. Her mother resides at Fond du Lac, Wis- consin, where her father, a traveling salesman, died. Doctor and Mrs. Billmeyer have two children : Harri- son, who graduated from the high school at Plains and was a clerk for the Northern Pacific Railway, died in 1918 at the early age of twenty-four; Blanche, born September 1, 1897, is a graduate of the Plains High School and is still at home.

ROBERT D. SHORTHILL has lived in Montana since he was three years of age, and from boyhood has been identified with the commercial affairs of Liv- ingston either as clerk or since 1912 as an inde- pendent merchant. He has one of the leading gro- cery stores in Southern Montana.

Mr. Shorthill was born in Trinidad, Colorado, October 20, 1882. Some of his family have parti- cipated in the pioneer development of Montana. His grandfather, David R. Shorthill, is well re- membered by some of the old timers in the Yellow- stone Valley. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1825, was with a Pennsylvania regiment in the Civil war, and in 1869 made his first trip to the North- west, spending about two years prospecting in Emi- grant Gulch, Montana. He then went back to Pennsylvania and in 1879 finally settled in Park County, Montana, homesteading 160 acres on the Yellowstone River. He lived there until his death in 1900. He was a republican, a Methodist, and a member of the Masonic fraternity.

John R. Shorthill, father of the Livingston mer- chant, was born in Pennsylvania in 1847, lived in his native state until after his marriage, and spent many years as a railroad man, beginning in Penn- sylvania and afterward serving various railroads in Mexico, Arizona and Texas. In 1885 he came to Bozeman, Montana, and on the 17th of March of that year homesteaded 160 acres on Yellowstone River, sixteen miles south of Livingston. He was a prosperous pioneer, developed a fine farm and ranch of 320 acres and lived in that environment until his death in 1914. He was a republican and a Methodist. John R. Shorthill married Alice Divelbliss, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1851 and died on the Montana farm in 1910. May, the oldest of the children, became the wife of Thomas E. Allen and both are now deceased. Charles A. lives on a ranch on the Yellowstone River in Park County, Dave occupies the old homestead. Lizzie is the wife of a railroad engineer and lives in Port- land, Oregon.

Robert D. Shorthill, youngest of the family, at- tended country schools in Park County, and at the age of fourteen left his father's ranch and began his commercial experience at Livingston. He worked for several firms of grocers, being a clerk steadily for sixteen years. In 1912 he entered the grocery business with George D. Allen under the name Allen & Shorthill, establishing their store at 102 North Main Street. Mr. Shorthill is now sole proprietor of this business, one of the largest stocked grocery stores in Livingston and emphasizing the quality of its service.

Mr. Shorthill is a republican, a Methodist, and is affiliated with Park Lodge No. 117, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Livingston, Livingston Lodge, Knights of Pythias, Livingston Lodge of the Loyal Order of Moose and Zephyr Camp No. 151, Woodmen of the World. He is also active in

the Chamber of Commerce and Commercial Club and a stockholder and member of the Railway Club of Livingston. His residence is at 223 South Sixth Street.

October 22, 1913, at Livingston, he married Miss Carrie Boyd, a native of New York State. She is a graduate of a shorthand school in Vermont.

CHARLES WILSON, one of the best known citizens of Carbon County, a retired merchant, well known in fraternal and civic circles, has been a resident of Montana for over thirty years and has had an exceedingly busy life since boyhood.

He was born at Gordon in Berwickshire, Scotland, August 5, 1846. His ancestors were Scotch farmers for generations. His grandfather was Charles Wil- son, who spent all his life in Scotland, and his maternal grandfather was Andrew Dobie, who owned a small farm in Scotland. Francis Wilson, father of Charles, was born in Scotland in 1820, followed farming there, for four years was a policeman in Greenlaw, Scotland, and in 1855 brought his family to the United States. He was an Iowa pioneer, settling on a farm at Delhi. He was also a brick and tile maker. He died at Delhi April 2, 1864, at the comparatively early age of forty-four. He was a member of the Established Church of Scotland, the Presbyterian, and was an Odd Fellow. Francis Wil- son married Elizabeth Dobie. She was born in Berwickshire, Scotland, July 13, 1820, and at her old home in Delhi, Iowa, she recently celebrated her ninety-ninth birthday. Charles Wilson is the oldest of her children. A. D., the second in age, was last heard of while employed as a foreman for a mining company at Cripple Creek, Colorado, in 1904, and on leaving there went to Arizona. Frank is a farmer at Delhi, Iowa. Christina lives at Manchester, Iowa, widow of J. B. Smith, a farmer. J. D. lives on a farm between Alberta and Chokio, Minnesota. Agnes is the wife of J. T. Brown, a farmer at Milltown, Wisconsin.

Charles Wilson had some education in the schools of Scotland, attended school in Delhi, Iowa, from the age of nine, but in 1863 left school and owing to his father's death the following year, being the oldest son, he had to assume the responsibility of caring for his mother and remained with her until he was twenty-one. Some of his early experiences were working in stone quarries, as a railroad man, and one summer operating an engine in a distillery at Guttenberg, Iowa. After that he farmed in Delaware County, Iowa, until 1877, and for the fol- lowing ten years was employed by the Fort Dodge Coal Company near Fort Dodge, Iowa. .

Mr. Wilson came out to Montana in 1887. He was one of the early residents of Red Lodge and for one summer followed the trade of carpenter. After that he was a stationary engineer until 1896, in which year he established a confectionery store and bottling works. He built that up to prosperous pro- portions and sold out the plant in 1910 to the firm of Brooks & Powell. He fully intended to retire and did so at that time, but in 1916 he and Neil D. Argo bought back the bottling works. The man- agement devolved on Mr. Argo and in October, 1918, Mr. Wilson sold his interest to Mr. Argo.

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Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II, Part 20

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