Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II, Part 56

Author: Stout, Tom, 1879- ed
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago, American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 1126

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JACK BRISCOE, judge of the Tenth Judicial Dis- trict, has been a resident of Montana five years. He left behind him an honorable record as a lawyer. puhlic official and educator in his native State of Missouri, and has rapidly achieved position and influence as a member of the Montana bar.

Judge Briscoe was born in Ralls County, Mis- souri, February 11, 1870, a son of William J. and Sarah E. (Clayton) Briscoe. His parents were both natives of Monroe County, Missouri, where his father was born December 5, 1838. His widowed mother, born October 23, 1840, is still living at the age of seventy-nine. His father, who died January 16, 1917, spent his active life as a grain and stock farmer, though for two or three years he was also engaged in the drug business. He was an active member of the Masonic fraternity, a Knight of Pythias, a Baptist and a democrat. To the parents were born six children, Judge Briscoe being the third, and four daughters are still living.

Judge Briscoe attended the public schools of Ralls County, the high school at New London, and the Normal School at Chillicothe, Missouri. He studied law while at New London and he also took a course in the State University of Missouri. From 1894 to 1901 he was in school work in his native county. serving as county superintendent of schools one term. He was admitted to the Missouri bar in March. 1002, and practiced law at New London until the fall of 1014. He served as prosecuting attorney for Ralls County four years, 1907-10, and was regarded as one of the leading men in every depart- ment of affairs in that county. Judge Briscoe came to Lewistown in December, 1914, and from January 1, 1915, to November 15th of that year was asso- ciated with E. W. Mettler in practice. He was appointed judge of the Tenth Judicial District by Governor Stewart, serving until January 1, 1919, when he entered upon his duties as judge by election, having been chosen to that office by popular vote on November 5, 1918. Judge Briscoe served as public administrator in Missouri in 1902 to 1904. three years. He is president of the City School Board of Lewistown, having been elected in April, 1917, and having been appointed to that office in the previous year. His experience as an educator enabled him to render a splendid service to the citv school system of Lewistown.

Judge Briscoe is affiliated with New London Lodge No. 307, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. with Judith Lodge No. 30, Knights of Pythias.

He is a democrat and a member of the Fergus County Bar Association.

May 9, 1901, he married Sarah Elizabeth Stout. She was born in Ralls County, Missouri, a daughter of Jacob B. and Eliza J. (Jones) Stout. Her parents are still living, and of their six children four are living, Mrs. Briscoe being the third in age. Judge and Mrs. Briscoe have three children : Marjorie V., born March 11, 1902, and died August 13, 1902; Anderston S., born. June 23, 1903; and Allen F., born October 9, 1905.

JAMES SMITH, who arrived at Butte on June I, 1883, had experiences that identify him with a num- ber of pioneer localities in Montana and for the past dozen years has been a resident of Lewistown and one of the well known merchants of that city.

Mr. Smith was born at St. Joseph, Missouri, August 12, 1862, a son of James and Mary Smith. He was the second of three children, two of whom are still living, and was a small child when his parents died. His father was a native of Ireland and his mother of England. James Smith, Sr., came to this country when a young man, and was a pioneer in Western Missouri at St. Joseph, having one of the first hotels for the entertainment of the traveling public, located at what was known as Black Snake Creek.

Because of the early death of his parents Mr. Smith spent his childhood and youth largely in an environment of work to the full bent of his strength. He lived until twenty-one years of age with the family of John Noonan, a Nebraska farmer. It was customary for Mr. Noonan to take in return for keeping the boy all the wages he earned, though at one time after a period of work in the harvest fields Mr. Smith collected his own pay and kept it, that being the first money he ever earned and enjoyed the use thereof. He attended school only a portion of each winter.

Mr. Smith left Nebraska in the spring of 1883. first going to Denver, and then with a cavalcade of mule teams reaching Butte at the date above noted. Here he hauled wood from the lowlands into Butte for the Walker Brothers, also worked in the hardware store of W. A. Largy for eight or nine months and was at Twin Bridges and at Virginia City, where he engaged in the livery and saloon husiness until 1907. In the latter year he moved to Lewistown, and after one year in the restaurant business opened a stock of furniture and conducted a well appointed store in that line. Mr. Smith has served one term as alderman from the Third Ward and in politics is a democrat.

In July 1889, he married Miss Alice C. Wyrouck. Mrs. Smith is a representative of one of the earliest families of Montana and her own birth occurred in Madison County, this state. Her parents, Jacob and Mary Jane (Howe) Wyrouck, were both born in Pennsylvania, and her father died at the age of eighty-four and her mother at eighty. Mrs. Smith is the only daughter in a family of three children, all of whom are still living. Her parents came to Montana in 1864, overland with ox teams, and were among the first settlers at Alder Gulch. Her father had a pioneer store at that locality, and after- ward moved to Twin Bridge and engaged in the cattle and horse business. He finally sold his ranch and spent his last days with Mr. and Mrs. Smith. He was a placer miner at Alder Gulch.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of three children, Harry B., Howard L. and Mae, wife of Frank D. Tallman.

Harry B. Smith was inducted into the special limited service section of the United States Army

J.C. Bodrum

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in July, 1918; was sent to Vancouver, Washington, where he was with the Thirty-Second Casual Com- pany, was later transferred to Toledo, Oregon, into the One Hundred and First Spruce Squadron : In January, 1919, was transferred to the Eleventh Casual Company at Vancouver and mustered out on January 27, 1919.

JACOB C. BODDEN. Business is the very life blood of the nation's prosperity, and in order that it course naturally through the veins of commerce and in- dustry it is necessary that the best men of the country devote themselves to its operation. The younger states of the nation have attracted to them some of the most aggressive men of high character, whose energies are exerted to the utmost capacity to de- velop the natural resources of the regions to which they have come from more eastern points, with the result that new enterprises are brought into being and fostered to a productive and satisfactory matu- rity. The City of Billings affords many such instances of business prosperity and sagacity, and one of its representative men is Jacob C. Bodden, manager of the Glacier Water Company.

Jacob C. Bodden was born at Theresa, Dodge County, Wisconsin, April 15, 1866, a son of Jacob Bodden and grandson of Adam Bodden. The birth of Adam Bodden occurred near Cologne, Germany. in 1782. A soldier in the German army, he was cap- tured during the Napoleonic wars, and was sta- tioned by the French as a guard at Madrid, Spain. In 1845 he came to the United States, and after a brief period spent at Wayne, Wisconsin, he located at Theresa, Dodge County, the same state, where he homesteaded and died on his farm in 1869. His wife, whose first name was Margaret, was also born near Cologne, Germany, in 1802, and she survived him, until 1888, when she passed away on the home- stead.

Jacob Bodden was born near Cologne, Germany, in 1831, and was brought to the United States by his parents. He was reared in Dodge County, Wis- consin, where he spent the remainder of his life. being interested in farming, stockraising and operat- ing a grist-mill at Janesville, Wisconsin. A man of more than local importance, he was a leader in the democratic party of his section, and represented his district in the Wisconsin State Assembly for three terms. For two terms he served Dodge County as treasurer, and for one term as sheriff, and was equal- ly active in civic matters. The Roman Catholic Church had in him a devout member. Jacob Bodden was united in marriage with Gertrude Shiefer, born in Germany in 1841, and brought by her parents to Dodge County, Wisconsin, in 1848, where she was reared. They had the following children: Anna. who is unmarried, resides with her widowed mother at Oshkosh, Wisconsin; John, who lives at Horicon, Wisconsin, is president of the Van Brunt Manufac- turing Company; Gertrude, who is unmarried, also lives with her mother; Michael, who resides at Neenah, Wisconsin, is manager of the Durham Lum- ber Company; Jacob C., whose name heads this re- view; William, who died at Theresa at the age of thirty-seven years, was a farmer; Ernest, who is a farmer of Theresa; Frank, who lives at Horicon, Wisconsin, is president of the Bodden Brothers Lum- ber Company ; Matilda, who died in 1911, aged thirty- six years; Hubert, who is a farmer of Theresa; Henry, who is connected with the Van Brunt Manu- facturing Company of Horicon, Wisconsin; Amanda who is a teacher, resides at Oshkosh, Wisconsin; and Edmund. who is a farmer of Theresa.

Jacob C. Bodden remained on his father's farm until he was twenty years of age, at which time

he assumed charge of his father's mill at Janesville. Wisconsin, and conducted it for four years, when he entered the employ of the Riedeburg & Bodden Company, manufacturers of vinegar at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and served it as shipping clerk for four years. Then he and his brother Michael went into the vinegar business as jobbers at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, so continuing for seven years. In 1907 Mr. Bodden came to Billings, and in 1909 or- ganized the Glacier Water Company, a stock com- pany, of which he was a charter member, and of which he is today manager. The plant and offices are at No. 2308 Minnesota Avenue. The company bottles spring waters, and distributes the product through Northern Wyoming and Southern Montana, and has a large and increasing trade.

Mr. Bodden is unmarried, but resides at No. 416 South Thirty-fith Street, owning his home, which is a modern one. All of his life he has been a democrat. For sometime after coming to Billings he was a member of the Chamber of Commerce. A Roman Catholic by inheritance and conviction, Mr. Bodden is active in the work of his parish, and belongs to Billings Council No. 1259, Knights of Columbus. A man of unusual capabilities, he has known how to make his efforts count for some- thing, and not only is successful, but is a valuable asset to any community.

NED A. TELYEA. Beginning his financial career in very early manhood, Ned A. Telyea, of Billings, started in an humble position in a local bank in Nebraska, and through sheer worth and ability has worked his way upward steadily and surely, being now widely and favorably known as cashier of the Montana National Bank, and is enjoying to an eminent degree the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens. He was born at Tekamah, Neh- raska, July 6, 1885, a son of C. B. Telyea, who is of French descent, the immigrant ancestor of the Telyea family having immigrated from France to Canada several generations ago.

Born near Buffalo, New York, in 1848, C. B. Tel- yea was brought up in Wisconsin, where his parents settled when he' was a small boy. In early man- hood he made an overland trip to Nebraska, locat- ing in Tekamah, where he embarked in mercantile pursuits, for many years being one of the foremost merchants of the place, and where he still lives, although he is practically retired from active busi- ness. Many years ago he served in the State Militia, and took part in several skirmishes with the Indians. He is a republican in politics, and while a resident of Wisconsin served as sheriff for a term. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, toward the support of which he is a liberal contributor, and belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His wife, whose name before marriage was Ida Landgren, was born in Sweden, near Stock- holm, in 1858 and as a child was brought by her parents to the United States, where she was reared, her home having been in Missouri. Four children were born of their union, as follows: Jane, wife of E. I. Ellis, banker of Tekamah, Nebraska; Ned A .; Margaret, with her parents, is a teacher in the Tekamah schools; and Bradford, a pupil in the Tekamah High School.

Educated in Tekamah, Ned A. Telyea was graduated from the high school with the class of 1902. Soon after receiving his diploma he accepted one of the lowest positions possible in the First National Bank of Tekamah, and proved himself so capable and faithful that he was promoted to the position of teller, and remained in that capacity for three years. Going then to Kansas City, Missouri, he spent a

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short time in the National Bank of Commerce, and was later a teller in the Omaha National Bank of Omaha, Nebraska, for six years. Resigning that position, Mr. Telyea was for two and a half years assistant cashier of the Butte County Bank at Belle Fourche, South Dakota. In 1914 he located in Billings, Montana, and at once entered the Bank of Montana as assistant cashier. The value of his services being recognized and appreciated, he was promoted in January, 1916, to the cashiership of the institution. On January 2, 1917, the Montana Na- tional Bank succeeded the Bank of Montana, with the following named officers: A. H. Marble, presi- dent; B. S. Langworthy, vice president; and N. A. Telyea, cashier. This bank is one of the sound financial institutions of Yellowstone County, having a capital stock paid in of $100,000 and a surplus fund of $50,000. The handsome building of re- inforced concrete, brick and terra cotta, into which the bank was moved in June, 1918, is advantageously situated at the corner of Second Avenue and Broad- way, and is recognized as one of the finest bank buildings in Montana.

In his political affiliations Mr. Telyea is a re- publican, and in religion he is a Presbyterian. Fra- ternally he is a member of Billings Lodge No. 113, Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons, of which he is treasurer; of Bellevue Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of Omaha, Nebraska; and socially he belongs to the Billings Club, and to the Billings Midland Club. He is president of the Billings Clearing House Association, a position for which he is well qualified.

Mr. Telyea married, in 1913, at Marshall, Michigan, Miss Leora Sawyer, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Sawyer, of Marshall, her father being a well known civil engineer of that place. Mrs. Tel- yea was graduated from the Marshall High School, and subsequently completed her studies at the Uni- versity of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

O. KING GRIMSTAD. Talented and cultured, devoted to the practice of his chosen profession, O. King Grimstad, of Billings, has won distinct prestige as a lawyer, as head of the prosperous firm of Grim- stad & Brown having built up an extensive patro- nage and at the same time, through judicious in- vestments, he has become widely known as one of the most extensive landholders of Southeastern Montana. He was born September 24, 1886, at Brewster, Minnesota, a son of T. K. Grimstad. His grandparents, Knute and Susanna Grimstad, were born, reared and married in Norway. Immigrating to the United States in 1843, they bought a tract of wild land in Wisconsin, and by dint of hard pioneer labor they succeeded in improving a good farm, on which they spent the remainder of their days, the grandfather dying at Daleyville in 1898, at the advanced age of eighty-six years.

T. K. Grimstad was born on the home farm in Daleyville, Wisconsin, in 1853, and there spent his early life. Succeeding to the ancestral occupation, he began life on his own account in Brewster, Min- nesota, where he reclaimed a farm from its primitive wildness, and was successfully engaged in agricul- tural pursuits until his death March 7, 1916. A republican in politics, prominent in public affairs, he filled various offices, serving ably and acceptably. He married Tena Rinde, who was born in Norway in 1862, and is still a resident of Brewster. Her parents immigrated to the United States in 1869, settling in Wisconsin, where she was brought up and educated. To her and her husband eleven children were born, as follows: John, engaged in farming at Brewster, Minnesota; Josephine, wife

of Charles E. Johnson, a real estate agent and in- vestment broker at Minneapolis, Minnesota; Clark, a banker at Williston, North Dakota; Cora, who has never married, is a resident of Elkhart, Indiana, where she is engaged as a buyer of merchandise, having a well-paying business; O. King, with whom this sketch is chiefly concerned; Ethel, wife of Charles J. Spreiter, a banker, residing at West Concord, Minnesota; Clayton, a banker, living at Brewster, Minnesota, is in the United States Army, serving in the Engineers Corps and being now, in 1919, with the Army of Occupation; Tillie, un- married, teaches school at Brewster; Knute, whose home is also in Brewster, enlisted in the marine service, and is now with the United States Army of Occupation; Hazelle, a student at the University of Minnesota; and Paul, attending the Brewster High School.

After his graduation from the Brewster High School O. King Grimstad taught school in Jackson County, Minnesota, for two years, from 1902 until 1904, and the following year was principal of the schools at Hazel Run, Minnesota. He was sub- sequently principal of the high school at Jeffers, Minnesota, two years. Having as a youth deter- mined to enter the legal profession, he attended the University of Minnesota, at Minneapolis, every summer during his career as a teacher, and in 1908 he entered the law department of the Uni- versity of Michigan at Ann Arbor, from which he was graduated in 1911, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Coming to Montana in December, 1911, Mr. Grimstad together with Rockwood Brown, began the practice of his profession at Billings, and met with encouraging success from the start, the firm being organized as Grimstad & Brown with offices in suite 3-4-5, Montana National Bank Build- ing. This enterprising firm, which has a general civil and criminal practice, has won many suits of importance and note, and has established an en- viable reputation for thorough and honest legal work.

On July 6, 1918, Mr. Grimstad enlisted in the Naval Air Service, and after being trained at Pensacola, Florida, was there commissioned as en- sign in the aviation service On February 7, 1919, he was placed in the Reserve Corps. Possessing business talent corresponding with his legal ability, Mr. Grimstad has invested largely in Montana lands, owning at least 15,000 acres in three of the counties, Yellowstone, Carbon and Big Horn. He likewise owns a modern residence in Billings, and is a stock- holder and director in several large corporations.

Although not active in political ranks, Mr. Grim- stad supports the principles of the republican party by vote. Religiously he is a member of the Con- gregational Church, of which he was for two years a trustee. Socially he belongs to the Billings Mid- land Club, and to the Billings Golf and Country Club. Fraternally he is a member of Billings Lodge No. 394, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and was elected exalted ruler in 1918 and resigned to enter the service of the United States, as above noted.

Mr. Grimstad married, February 8, 1913, at Min- neapolis, Minnesota, Miss Carmen McMullen, a graduate of the Ypsilanti, Michigan, High School.' Her parents, Charles H. and Jane McMullen, are living at Ann Arbor, Michigan, her father being a retired agriculturist. Mr. and Mrs. Grimstad have one child, Tarje Mc. Grimstad, born July 16, 1915.

WILBUR F. BIGELOW. A man of sterling worth and integrity, amply qualified by his natural abilities

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and broad experience in the commercial world for the responsible position he holds as cashier and chief accountant for the Northwestern Auto Sup- ply Company, W. F. Bigelow, of Billings, is per- forming the duties devolving upon him in that capacity with credit to himself, and not only to the satisfaction but to the pleasure and profit of the members of the firm which employs him, his practical and methodical methods relieving them from all financial worries. The lineal descendant on the paternal side of one of three brothers that immigrated from Scotland to New York in early colonial times, later becoming a pioneer settler of Ohio, Wilbur F. Bigelow was born in Newton, Iowa, March 26, 1878, being a son of L. M. Bigelow.

His paternal grandfather, Benjamin F. Bigelow, was born in 1804, in Ohio, and was there reared and married. He became a farmer from choice, but thinking to improve his opportunities for better- ing his finances he migrated to Illinois in 1857. Not satisfied with life on the unbroken prairie, he ' moved with his family to Davenport, Iowa, in 1864, and a short time later bought a tract of land lying just north of Newton, Iowa, and was there em- ployed as a tiller of the soil until his death in 1885. His wife, whose name before marriage was Harriet Farley, was born in Pennsylvania in 1805, and died in Newton, Iowa, in 1899.

L. M. Bigelow was born on the home farm in Ohio in 1843. In 1857, a lad of fourteen years, he accompanied his parents to Illinois, and there re- mained until after his marriage. In 1864 he and his wife and his parents assumed possession of a farm situated three miles north of Newton, Iowa, and in the years that followed he placed the greater part of the land under a good state of cultivation, rendering it one of the most productive of any in the locality. In 1895, having accumulated a fair share of this world's goods, he moved into the Village of Newton, where he lived retired from business cares until his death in August, 1918. He married Eliza A. Warren, who was born in Illinois in 1848, and died at Newton, Iowa, in 1912. Their children were as follows: Flora, residing at Long Beach, California, is the widow of the late F. E. Wiltbank, who was engaged in farming during his life; Nellie E., wife of Lee M. Sturtevant, a travel- ing salesman, living in York, Nebraska; Jessie W., who married F. M. Keasey, a retired farmer of Ontario, California; Wilbur F., the subject of this sketch; and Earl, proprietor of a cigar store at Newton, Iowa.

Having acquired his elementary education in the rural schools of Jasper County, Iowa, Wilbur F. Bigelow entered the Normal College at Newton, Iowa, and was there graduated with the class of 1896. Endeavoring to acquire a practical knowledge of business affairs, he subsequently worked for others in Newton for five years, and during the next four years was there engaged in mercantile pursuits, operating a grocery. Going to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, in 1905, Mr. Bigelow served as cashier for a mercantile firm until 1911, and the following year filled a similar position at Spokane, Washington. Coming from there to Billings, Mon- tana, in the fall of 1912, Mr. Bigelow accepted a position as cashier and auditor for the Hart-Albin Company, and retained it until March, 1918. Since that time he has been actively associated with the Northwestern Auto Supply Company, which does business with all of the states of the great Northwest, its trade extending to the Pacific coast. He serv- ing as cashier and chief accountant for the firm, a position which he is ably filling.

Politically Mr. Bigelow is a stanch supporter of the

principles of the democratic party. Religiously he is affiliated with the Christian Science Church. Fraternally he is a member of Ashlar Lodge No. 29, Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Free Masons; of Ashlar Chapter No. 6, Royal Arch Masons; of Billings Consistory, being a thirty- second degree Mason; and of the Knights of Py- thias. He has a pleasant rural home of five acres near the Polytechnic Institute.

Mr. Bigelow married in 1902, at Newton, Iowa, Miss Elizabeth L. Harsh, a daughter of William and Eva (Boyd) Harsh, neither of whom are now living. Mr. and Mrs. Bigelow have one child, Charles L., whose birth occurred July 25, 1903.

CHARLES H. GUTHARD. Conspicuous among the substantial business men of Yellowstone County is Charles H. Guthard, of Billings, who as president of the Northwestern Auto Supply Company is at the head of one of the most notable mercantile enterprises of this section of the country. He is carrying on an entirely wholesale business, the terri- tory in which he operates covering not only the whole of Montana, but extending throughout all of the adjacent states. A son of the late Henry Guthard, he was born May 6, 1868, in Saline, Michi- gan, of German ancestry.

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Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II, Part 56

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