Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II, Part 27

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 27

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after their marriage, and a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Joseph R., president of North Brothers, Incorporated, a real estate firm of Billings; and Otto, secretary and treasurer of the same con- cern. After the death of his second wife T. R. North was again married, being united with Laura Abbott, of Des Moines, Iowa. They became the parents of one child, Ava, who is married and re- sides at Warsaw, Indiana.

J. A. North obtained his education in the public schools of Adel, Iowa, and after his graduation from the high school there in 1889 went to Omaha, Ne- braska, where he secured a position with the Mer- chants Dispatch and Transportation Company. One year later he went to Oregon and for eight years was engaged in horticultural work, and in 1898 lo- cated at Garfield, Washington, where he was em- ployed in the same capacity, and in buying, packing and shipping fruit for four years. His next location was at Spokane, Washington, where for two years he was identified with the Great Northern Railway, and from that city he came to Billings in 1904 to engage in the real estate business, with offices at No. 13 First National Bank Building. He is the sole proprietor of the business, and is prominent among the handlers of farms, city properties, loans and insurance. Mr. North'is an excellent judge of property values, and his wide and varied experience in different localities has served to develop his abili- ties and equip him particularly for the line which he now follows. His standing in business circles is an excellent one, for his entire career has been characterized by integrity and honorable dealing. His pleasant, modern home is situated in the suburbs, southeast of Billings. Mr. North is independent in his political views, and has not sought the doubtful honors of public life, but has demonstrated his good citizenship by public-spirited actions and through his support of movements calculated to benefit the gen- eral weal. He has various connections of a civic, business and social nature, and is a man who natur- ally makes friendships and retains them indefinitely.

In 1892, at Jacksonville, Oregon, Mr. North was united in marriage with Miss Minnie Johnson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. S. Johnson, both of whom are deceased. Mr. Johnson was a real estate operator, first at Medford, Oregon, and later at Gar- field, Washington, in both of which communities he was held in high esteem by his business associates. To Mr. and Mrs. North there have been born three children: Bessie, the wife of Ralph L. Morris, of Billings, proprietor of the Billings Times: J. La- Verne, who is engaged in ranching west of Billings ; and Stewart Wells, who resides with his parents.

ROY ORVIS WILSON is registrar of Montana State College and is also head of the department of sec- retarial studies. Mr. Wilson has spent most of his time since leaving college in some phase of educational administration, and much of the time also as a teacher of commercial arts.

He was born at Dell Rapids, South Dakota, No- vember 26, 1884. His paternal ancestors came from Scotland and were colonial settlers in Massachusetts. The family was one of the first to settle in the Territory of Iowa, going there nearly a century ago. Grandfather Wilson was born near Decorah, Iowa, in 1825. He spent his life as a farmer, and after retiring moved to Arlington, South Dakota, where he died in 1909. The name of his wife was Mary Wilson. B. L. Wilson, father of Roy Orvis, was born at Decorah, Iowa, in 1856, was reared and married there, moved to Dell Rapids, South Dakota, a little before his son Roy was born, and in 1887 located on a farm at Brookings, South

La nouch.

HISTORY OF MONTANA

Dakota, where he now lives. He has spent all his active life as a farmer and is now retired. He is a republican and is affiliated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. B. L. Wilson mar- ried Mary Holm. She was born in Decorah, Iowa, in May, 1863, a daughter of John Holm. John Holm is a native of Copenhagen, Denmark. He was a merchant in that city and also a prominent factor in world trade, owning twelve merchant vessels which operated on the Baltic Sea. He achieved much wealth by his varied commerce. He came to the United States and lived on a farm in Decorah, Iowa, for several years, but a short time before the outbreak of the World war returned to Copenhagen and resumed his business there, and is still living in that city. B. L. Wilson and wife had three children: Frank Martin, dentist, at Port- land, Oregon; Roy Orvis; and Ada, wife of Guy Miner, a merchant at Des Moines, New Mexico.

Roy Orvis Wilson spent his early life on a South Dakota farm, attended school at Brookings, and graduated from high school in 1901. He did two years of commercial work in the South Dakota State College at Brookings, receiving his certifi- cate in June, 1903. From 1903 to 1905 he was private secretary to the president of the South Dakota State College and assistant registrar.

For one year he was instructor in the commer- cial department of the South Dakota State Col- lege. From 1907 to 1911 he attended the South Dakota State College, and after graduating from the four year course, he came to Montana on July 5, 1911, and in the fall of that year entered upon his duties in the Montana State College at Bozeman as registrar. Since March, 1918, he has also been professor of secretarial studies.

Mr. Wilson is an active member and has served as an elder of the Christian Church. He is a re- publican in politics. Fraternally he is affiliated with Bozeman Lodge No. 18, Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Masons, Western Star Lodge No. 4, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, Bozeman Lodge No. 463, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and is a member of the Young Men's Christian Association. He and his wife reside in the Ever- green Apartments. He married at Bozeman in November, 1911, Miss Maude Moore Parker, daugh- ter of Rev. J. E. and Nellie A. (Moore) Parker. Her parents reside at Missoula, Montana. Her father is a minister of the Christian Church and is also interested in Montana property, owning a ranch near Missoula.

F. M. LEWELLEN is a prominent merchant and business man in Northwestern Montana, being secre- tary and treasurer of the McCowan Commercial Company, operating the largest department store in Sanders County.

Mr. Lewellen is a native of Missouri, and re- ceived his early commercial training in that state. He was born in the town of Paris November 22, 1880. His paternal ancestors were Welsh and came to the United States in colonial times. His father, Thomas Lewellen, was born at Florida, Missouri, in 1827, and spent his life as a farmer at Florida and Paris. He died in the latter locality in 1901. For a number of years he devoted his farm largely to the typical Missouri industry of raising mules. During the Civil war he was on the Confederate side, and was all through the struggle. He was severely wounded near Richmond and at one time was made a prisoner, being kept at Alton, Illinois, until exchanged. Politically he was a democrat. Thomas Lewellen married Rebecca Woodson, who was born at Stoutsville, Missouri, in 1839 and died

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at Paris in that state, in 1903. She was the mother of five children: Lena, wife of C. H. Bondurant, a farmer in Madison, Missouri; J. W., in the insurance business at Paris, Missouri; C. T. and O. I., both merchants at Welch, Missouri; and F. M. Lewellen.

The latter attended the rural schools of Monroe County, Missouri, and in 1901 graduated from the Gem City Business College at Quincy, Illinois. For some time he was employed in a wholesale dry goods house at St. Louis, and came to Montana in 1904. For a short time he was with the Bozeman Milling Company, and spent two seasons with the Wylie Transportation Company in the Yellowstone National Park and one winter in the offices of the Northern Pacific Railway at Livingston.

Mr. Lewellen joined the McGowan Commercial Company at Plains in 1907, beginning as clerk. He has promoted himself by his individual ability and industry to an important share of the executive responsibilities, now holding the offices of secretary and treasurer. The McGowan Commercial Company, whose large department store is on Railroad Street in Plains, was established in 1882 by the late J. A. McGowan. The business was incorporated in 1901, and the officers are C. H. Rittenour, president, R. A. Ruenauver, vice president, and F. M. Lewellen, secretary and treasurer.

Mr. Lewellen is a member of the City Council at Plains. He is a democrat, and is past master of Ponemah Lodge No. 63, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He has a modern home at Plains.

November 11, 1908, he married Miss Ida Flagler, daughter of J. Z. and Vinnie (Farmer) Flagler, both residents of Plains, her father being a retired farmer. Mrs. Lewellen is a graduate of the Missoula County High School and is a graduate in music from the Sacred Heart Academy of Missoula. Mr. and Mrs. Lewellen have two children: John, born Jannary 7, 1912; and Marion born November 13, 1914.

JULIAN A. SUTTER. The contribution of Julian A. Sutter to the business prestige and development of the thriving City of Lewistown is a jewelry establishment that is at once a credit to the city and to its founder and proprietor. Conducted as Sutter Brothers; during the fifteen years of its existence it has followed a policy of honorable and straightforward business principles and policy that have served to establish it firmly in the confidence of the people and to place Mr. Sutter among the leading business citizens of the community.

Mr. Sutter was born July 2, 1875, at Le Locle, Canton of Neuchatel, Switzerland, a son of Joseph and Bertha ( Montandon) Sutter. His parents were natives of Switzerland, where they were married, and his father is now a resident of Plattsburg, Missouri, where his mother passed away in 1893.

Of the two sons and five daughters in the family,

Julian A. is the only one to have been born in Switzerland. Joseph Sutter was born in 1853 and was brought up in a family which for many years had followed the trade of watchmaking, one of the principal industries of that country. He, ac- cording to family custom, mastered the business, which he followed in Switzerland until 1877, when he immigrated to the United States with his wife and son. The first location of the family in this country was at Wooster, Ohio, where Mr. Sutter followed his trade until 1879, but found this too unremunerative in the face of the opportunities that were presenting themselves, and in the year mentioned went to Kansas, where he engaged in farming. In this, however, he did not prove suc-

HISTORY OF MONTANA

cessful, and in 1881 he went to Plattsburg, Mis- souri, and engaged in the jewelry business, which is another enterprise for which the Swiss nation is famous and for which its people seem to have a natural penchant. Mr. Sutter has continued in this line ever since and is now one of the promi- nent business men of Plattsburg.

Julian A. Sutter was only two years of age when he was brought to this country, and was still a small lad when the family located at Plattsburg, where his early education was acquired in the pub- lic schools. He subsequently started to learn the trade of jeweler from his father. He mastered this business, as well as watchmaking, and after leaving Plattsburg went to Lincoln, where he worked at his trade for about nine years. In 1905 he established himself in business at Lewistown, and this city has since been the home of Sutter Broth- ers, the business being thus named after . Mr. Sut- ter and his younger brother, Edouard Sutter, his partner. Their establishment, located at No. 417 West Main Street, is the leading jewelry and watch- making business in the city, and can boast of as complete a stock, in proportion, as any of the great establishments of Chicago or the other large cities of the country.

Mr. Sutter is a master of his difficult trade and a business man of excellent abilities, as well as a gentleman who adds to his other qualifications cour- tesy and geniality. His name on commercial pa- per is highly honored, evidencing his standing in business circles, and it has been his fortune to have formed lasting friendships with many of the lead- ing citizens of the city of his adoption. He is fra- ternally affiliated with Lewistown Lodge No. 37, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Hiram Chap- ter No. 15, Royal Arch Masons; Lewistown Com- mandery No. 14, Knights Templar; Algeria Tem- ple Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Helena; and Lewistown Lodge No. 456, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. His political association is with the republican party, although he is not a politician and has never sought office as a candidate. With other leading business and professional men of Lewistown he is an actively interested member of the Rotary Club.

Mr. Sutter was married February 21, 1900, to Miss Alta Wilson, who was born at Atchison, Kan- sas, and they are the parents of one son, Claude E.

JAMES I. WERNHAM, M. D. The profession of medicine embraces a vast field of knowledge, and the successful physician must of necessity be a man of varied learning. Never at any time has the healing art demanded more of its practitioners than at the present day and never has the profes- sion given so fair an account of itself. Find the leading physician in a community and this acquain- tance will indicate with few exceptions the man of the greatest intellectual attainment, the keenest mind, the most progressive spirit and, in many cases, the greatest public benefactions. In the list of leading physicians of Billings the name of Dr. James I. Wernham occupies a prominent place be- cause of his professional accomplishments, his per- sonal worth and his value to his community.

James I. Wernham was born at Marengo, Illi- nois, November 25, 1874, a son of Dr. S. C. and Emma (Titus) Wernham. The family is of Eng- lish origin, and was founded in America by the great-grandfather of Doctor Wernham, who im- migrated to New York City, in which metropolis was born in 1804 James Wernham, the grandfather of James I. He was a sailmaker by trade and fol- lowed that vocation for many years in New York,

but late in life retired from active pursuits and removed to Marengo, Illinois, where he died in 1876, the owner of a valuable property. He married Margaret Mckenzie, a native of New Jersey, and among their children was S. C. Wernham, who was born in New York City in 1844. S. C. Wernham was reared in his native community, where he received his preliminary educational training, and, having decided upon entering the medical profes- sion and made some preparations therefor, went to Chicago, Illinois, to complete his training, grad- uating from the noted Rush Medical College with the class of 1872 and the degree of Doctor of Medi- cine. He at once located at Marengo, where he has been engaged in practice ever since, for al- though his years now number more than three- quarters of a century he still retains the confidence, reverence and affection of the poeple who have had his ministrations for so many years and who will allow themselves to be served by no other practitioner. Not alone in his profession has he been prominent, for civic affairs have claimed a large share of his attention, and the pioneer physi- cian has borne a goodly part of the responsibilities of office. He served as alderman and mayor of Marengo and as coroner of McHenry County, Illi- nois, in addition to which for many years he dis- played his friendship for education as an active and helpful member of the school board. He is a faithful member of the Baptist Church, which he joined many years ago, and is a leading Mason of his locality. Doctor Wernham married Emma Titus, who was born at Pennington, New Jersey, in 1849, and they became the parents of four chil- dren: Dr. James I .; Spencer, who is a decorator residing at Elgin, Illinois; George, a dry goods merchant of Chippewa Falls, Minnesota ; and Emma, the wife of Frank McCarty, a leading attorney of Elgin, Illinois, and at present a member of the Illinois State Legislature.

James I. Wernham attended the public schools of Marengo, Illinois, and early in his career evi- denced a predilection for his father's profession. He graduated from the high school at Marengo in 1893 and after one year entered the University of Illinois, where he pursued a four-year course and graduated in the class of 1899, with the degree of Bachelor of Science. This was followed by a course of three years in Rush Medical College, Chi- cago, Illinois, where he had a brilliant career, and was a member of the Nu Sigma Nu Greek letter medical fraternity and graduated in 1902 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He was a member of the Kappa Sigma Greek letter college fraternity at the University of Illinois. During the year 1902 the young physician served as interne at the Post-Graduate Medical College, Chicago, and in 1903 commenced practice at Marengo with his father. In March, 1904, to further his medical education, he went to Europe, where he remained until April, 1905, taking post-graduate work at Vienna and Berlin, particularly specializing in gen- eral and surgical diagnosis, a field in which he has since attained something more than a local reputation and in which he is accounted an author- ity. On his return to Marengo he rapidly assumed a place of leadership among the younger physi- cians, and was the recipient of a number of honors, being elected president of the McHenry County Medical Society and vice president of the Illinois State Medical Society.

Doctor Wernham continued to practice at Marengo until 1913, in which year he came to Billings, where he has since carried on a professional business as a general medical and surgical practitioner, and

HISTORY OF MONTANA

the reputation which he brought with him from Illinois as a learned, skilled and thoroughly cap- able devotee of his art has been strengthened and fortified by his work since his advent at Billings. He maintains well appoined offices in the Hart- Albin Building, second floor, and continues to be a close and careful student during his leisure hours, as he is also an interested member of the Yellow- stone County Medical Society, the Montana State Medical Society and the American Medical Asso- ciation. He is a popular member of the Billings and Billings Midland clubs and of Billings Camp, Modern Woodmen of America, is a republican in his political views, and holds membership in the Presbyterian Church. In addition to his modern residence at No. 945 North Thirty-first Street, he is the owner of a 640-acre ranch at Acton, Mon- tana, where he is engaged in raising grain and stock. The Wernham family has a good military record, including the services of John Wernham, an uncle of the doctor, who lost his life while fight- ing as a soldier of the Union in Kentucky during the Civil war. On September 24, 1918, Doctor Wernham enlisted as a member of the Medical Officers Training Corps, and after one month's train- ing at Fort Riley, Kansas, where he was advanced to the rank of captain, was sent to Debarkation Hos- pital No. 51, National Soldiers Home. After five months in the service as a surgeon he received his honorable discharge February 24, 1919.

Doctor Wernham was married at Chicago, Illi- nois, in 1908, to Miss Grace Middleton, daugh- ter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Middleton, the lat- ter of whom is deceased. Mr. Middleton, formerly a well known and successful Chicago merchant, is now retired from active pursuits and a resident of Lake Wales, Florida. Three children have blessed the union of Doctor and Mrs. Wernham: Helen, born in January, 1910; Martha, born August 2, 19II, and Elizabeth, born May 28, 1919. Mrs. Wernham is a descendant of Hon. Arthur Middle- ton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Inde- pendence.

JOSEPH POPE. It is doubtful if there are any people of Montana who have not heard of Joseph Pope of Billings, this state, for his name is a household word in this part of the west, and will always be associated with the monumental work he has accom- plished in the cause of prohibition, to which he has devoted the best years of his life, leaving the ministry so as to give to this very important moral reform all of his energies. At present he is super- intendent of the Montana Anti-Saloon League, with offices at No. 213 Stapleton Building, Billings.

Joseph Pope was born in Cornwall, England, May 14, 1866, a son of Jeremiah Pope, also born in Corn- wall, in 1843. He there rounded out his useful life as a farmer, dying in 1913. A man of strong re- ligious convictions, he was a consistent and earnest member of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, which he served as a lay preacher, and he gave generously of his means and time toward its support. A con- servative, he was very active in politics and held a number of local offices, being one of the most prominent men of his community. The maiden name of his wife was Phillippa Andrewartha, and she was born in Cornwall, England, in 1846, where she still resides, having survived her husband. The chil- dren born to them were as follows: Joseph, whose name heads this biography; Elizabeth, who married James Hammill, a farmer of Cornwall, England; Grenfell, who is a farmer of Cornwall; Eugenie, who married Charles Bryant, a contractor and builder of Cornwall; Bampfyld, who is also a farmer

of Cornwall; Charles, who died in 1916, was originally a farmer, but at the time of his demise was engaged in gold mining; Mabel, who is married, now resides in England, but resided for a period in South Africa; and Ethel and Annie, both of whom reside in England. The sons were gold miners in young manhood in America and South Africa.

Joseph Pope was carefully educated for the min- istry, first in the public schools of his native place and later in the Congregational Theological College at Bristol, England, from which he was graduated in 1890. Immediately thereafter Rev. Mr. Pope came to the United States and for one year supplied the pulpit of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Red Lodge, Montana, leaving there for Big Timber, where until 1894 he served as pastor of its Con- gregational Church. From there he went to Colum- bus, Montana, to take charge of its Congregational Church, but in 1900 returned to Big Timber, and re- mained for three years. His next charge was the Congregational Church at Laurel. Montana, where he remained for two years. After this he spent three years on a ranch he had bought at Park City, Montana, and during this period was engaged in the cattle and sheep business. He also invested in a farm near Howard, Montana, but has now disposed of these interests. In 1908 Mr. Pope's services were enlisted as assistant state superintendent of the Con- gregational churches of Montana, and he held that position until July 1, 1915, when he was elected state superintendent of the Montana Anti-Saloon League, and is still serving as such. It is almost impossible to give full credit to Mr. Pope for his work along this line, for he has accomplished so much. It was he who is responsible for the prepara- tion and introduction of the resolution providing for the submission of prohibition to the electors of this state. After the question was submitted Mr. Pope conducted a resolute and aggressive campaign and carried the state by a majority of 30,000 votes. He has not given up the work of educating the masses, but is one of the national lecturers of the Anti-Saloon League.

Ever since he came to Montana Mr. Pope has been a prominent figure in public affairs. During the thirteenth session of the State Assembly he was the republican representative from Yellowstone County, and much of the constructive legislation of 1913 is directly or indirectly due to his efforts and influence. A friend of education, he served on the school board at Big Timber and Laurel, and at Big Timber he was also a member of the county high school board. Believing in purifying politics, Mr. Pope has never spared himself in endeavoring to raise the standards of the communities in which he has resided, and has always been a very strong influence for moral up- lift outside of his ministerial duties, for he is a man who has always practiced what he preached in the broadest conception of the words. He has held that all reform is not effected by the churches, but that a powerful force is exerted by the concerted action of business and social organizations, and while at Park City and Laurel he was one of the militant members of the Chamber of Commerce, during the period that the Great Western Sugar Company was induced to locate its plant at Billings. Mr. Pope also helped to organize the Sugar Beet Growers Asso- ciation. A man of broad vision, he saw the neces- sity of irrigation, and took a leading part in the organization of the North Sanders Irrigation Dis- trict, he now serving as its secretary. In the selling of the $100,000 worth of bonds for the construction of an irrigation canal to cover 5,000 acres of very fine valley lands Mr. Pope waged an energetic cam- paign, and was eminently successful in disposing of

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Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II, Part 27

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