Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II, Part 68

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 68

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In 1888, at Livingston, he married Miss Edna Mclaughlin, a daughter of H. E. and Margaret (Benjamin) Mclaughlin. Her parents are now de- ceased. Her father was a railroad contractor in Montana and afterward a rancher. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Swan: Leonard, a student in the Park County High School, and Donald and Albert, both grammar school students.

C. R. RYAN. The leading business interests of the thriving Western cities are largely in the hands of men still in the very prime of life and in posses- sion of their youthful enthusiasms and capabilities for hard work and long hours. The opportunities of these centers in a country still in the process of development are of such a nature as to attract to them the very best of the youth of our land, and as a result there is an alertness and quickness of perception not to be found in the older communities. Men in the West acquire wealth before old age overtakes them, and consequently they are still venturesome enough to avail themselves of openings more mature business men, restrained by conserva- tism, might let pass, and so they and their com- munities benefit. Laurel, Montana, is one of these thriving cities which is growing by leaps and bounds and which reflects in its progress the character of the men who are doing business in its midst. A man who has developed with the city and assisted

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in its advance very materially is C. R. Ryan, sole proprietor of the Laurel Creamery, whose products have a ready sale throughout Yellowstone and Car- bon counties.

C. R. Ryan comes of good old Irish stock, his paternal grandfather, Michael Ryan, having been born in the Emerald Isle, from whence he came in young manhood to Ontario, Canada, and there be- came a prosperous merchant, dying before the birth of his grandson, C. R. Ryan, which occurred in Saginaw County, Michigan, July 21, 1885, to which locality his father M. H. Ryan, had come in young manhood from Ontario, Canada, where he was born in 1861. M. H. Ryan was a blacksmith by trade, and is now serving as sheriff of Midland County, Michigan, where he has resided for a number of years, being elected by a large majority on the republican ticket. He is a Mason and Modern Woodman, and a very prominent man in his com- munity. The mother of C. R. Ryan bore the maiden name of Clara Hankin, and she was born at Sagi- naw, Michigan. She and her husband had but one child.

C. R. Ryan was reared at Saginaw, Michigan, attending the schools of that city and the High School of Freeland, Michigan, following which he became a student of the Agricultural College at Lansing, Michigan, where he took a special course in butter making. After completing his training in that respect Mr. Ryan traveled in the West, visiting Colorado, Nevada, Utah and Montana, and finding in the state last named the conditions he desired he engaged with the Billings Creamery, at Billings, Montana, in 1908, remaining there until 1913, when he came to Laurel, buying an interest in the Laurel Creamery. In 1915 he became the sole proprietor, and now owns the business and the building on Main Street in which the plant is located. He manufac- tures butter and ice cream of superior quality, and takes a pride in keeping his products up to the high standard he has raised. Mr. Ryan also owns his convenient modern residence in Laurel, and all of his interests are centered in this city, so that he takes an active and forceful part in the work of the Commercial Club, of which he is a member. He has served as a member of the City Council, and is independent in his political views.

On June 6, 1911, Mr. Ryan was united in marriage with Miss Rilla Sanford at Midland, Michigan. She is a daughter of Ward V. and Nellie (O'Donnell) Sanford, the mother being a sister of I. D. O'Donnell of Billings, Montana. Ward V. Sanford was a grain buyer and owned an elevator at Freeland, Michigan, where he died in 1912, his widow surviving him and maintaining her residence at Freeland. Mrs. Ryan is a graduate of the University of Michigan. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Ryan are as follows : Ward S., who was born August 31, 1912, and Jean, who was born August 28, 1914.

LEWIS C. BABCOCK is president of the Yellowstone National Bank of Billings and is a young banker and business man in every way worthy of the responsibilities and honors achieved by his father, the late Albert L. Babcock, of whom he is the only son and child.

A Montanan whose services figured largely in the history of Billings for over thirty-five years, the late Albert L. Babcock was one of the fortunate men of the Northwest, but his fortune consisted not alone in what he could personally enjoy but in achievements and institutions which are permanent and which still remain as part of the solid business fabric of Billings and vicinity.

Albert L. Babcock was born at Albany. New York, December 22, 1851, a son of William C. and Julia

(Lawrence) Babcock, also natives of New York State. Albert L. Babcock was reared in New York, worked on his father's little farm, attended district school, and served an apprenticeship from the age of fourteen in a country printing office. He also clerked in a country store, and the family having in the meantime moved to Illinois in 1873 he joined his capital with that of a friend and established the grocery firm of Babcock & Lobdell at Pontiac. He was one of the proprietors of a successful business in Illinois until 1882.

Mr. Babcock in the latter year identified himself with the young city of Billings, and he and A. W. Miles established the pioneer hardware house of Babcock & Miles. This grew into a large and important establishment, corresponding to the growth of Billings and the development of the sur- rounding territory. In 1892 the A. L. Babcock Hardware Company was organized and in 1902 the business was sold to the Billings Hardware Com- pany. Later Mr. Babcock organized the Babcock- Frazer Company, and was its president.

The late Mr. Babcock was one of the men who organized the Yellowstone National Bank in May, 1891. This institution succeeded the Bank of Bill- ings, which had been in existence five years. Colonel Babcock was the first vice president of the bank and in 1893 became president, an office he held until his death on July 6, 1918.

His enterprise touched and stimulated the busi- ness life of Billings at many points. In 1895 he erected the Yellowstone Valley Flouring Mill, which was later incorporated as the Billings Milling Com- pany, with Mr. Babcock as president, the plant being sold in 1910 to a milling company of Minneapolis. In 1895 he erected the Billings Opera House and was its manager until 1906. During 1907 he built the Babcock Office and Theater, one of the finest business blocks in the state, and including a beauti- fully appointed theater. He organized the Billings Telephone Company in 1895, and was president of the company until the plant was sold to the Bell Telephone interests.

A. L. Babcock was a tower of strength to the republican party of Montana, though politics was only incidental to his exceedingly busy career. He was chairman of the County Central Committee of Yellowstone County, was chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the county from 1885 to 1889, and was the first senator from Yellowstone County elected after the admission of Montana to state- hood in 1889. He was a member of the Lower House from 1892 to 1894, and was in the Senate from 1894 to 1898. He served with the rank of colonel on the staff of several governors. He was a member of the Chamber of Commerce and was prominent in fraternal organizations, including Ash- lar Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Billings Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Aldemar Commandery, Knights Templar, of which he was one of the organizers; Algeria Temple of the Mys- tic Shrine, and was affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He served as grand commander of the Knights Templar of Montana in 1894. He was the first exalted ruler of the Billings Lodge of Elks.

September 12, 1877, A. L. Babcock married Miss Antoinette Packer, of Pontiac, Illinois. She was born in New York State in 1852 and is still living at Billings.

Lewis C. Babcock was born at Pontiac, Illinois, in 1878, and was four years old when his parents came to Montana. He attended the public schools of Billings, in 1892 entered the Montana Military School at Deer Lodge, and in 1805 became a student in the Shattuck Military Academy at Faribault, Min-

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nesota. He graduated in June, 1899, from this splendid school as captain of Company A, the senior company of the academy, having risen from the ranks through the various grades of corporal, ser- geant, first lieutenant to captain. Mr. Babcock fin- ished his education by two years in the University of Chicago, and in 1901 returned to Billings and entered the A. L. Babcock Hardware Company. In 1903 he became identified with the Yellowstone National Bank, beginning in the collection depart- ment, later was bookkeeper, then cashier, and in 1908 was promoted to vice president, and after the death of his father was made president. The Yel- lowstone National Bank at the beginning of 1919 entered a beautiful new home, a bank building of classic architecture and of commodious and modern arrangement. The bank is the oldest in Yellow- stone County, with resources and capital equal to those of any bank in the state.

Mr. Babcock is also associated with many other interests formerly handled by his father. He is secretary and treasurer of the Babcock-Selvidge Company, a prominent real estate firm. He is a trustee and secretary and treasurer of the Midland Club, is an independent in politics, is affiliated with the Episcopal Church and is a member of Ashlar Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ; Bill- ings Consistory of the Scottish Rite, Algeria Temple of the Mystic Shrine and Billings Lodge of Elks.

In January, 1901, at Chicago, Lewis Babcock married Miss Josephine Twyman, daughter of Jo- seph and Caroline S. (Stevens) Twyman. Her father, now deceased, was an artist. Her mother is living at Philadelphia. Mr. and Mrs. Babcock have two children, Lawrence Twyman, born Angust 30, 1906, and Caroline Antoinette, born May 26, 1913.

C. M. KUTZNER has developed a successful busi- ness as a wholesale lumber broker at Billings. His experience in the lumber business may be said to have covered his entire life, since he grew up in the atmosphere of the lumber woods of Wisconsin, and his father and grandfather before him were lumbermen all the way from the woods to the fin- ished products.

Mr. Kutzner was born at Eau Claire, Wisconsin March 10, 1886. His father, F. G. Kutzner, was born in Germany in 1837, and about 1847 his parents came to Canada and in 1851 settled in Wisconsin. The grandfather was a worker in the lumber woods of Wisconsin and died at Eau Claire. F. G. Kutzner early acquired efficiency in the lumber business, was a scaler and grader, and followed all branches of the lumber business. He died at San Diego, Cali- fornia, in 1914. His first vote as an American citi- zen was cast for Abraham Lincoln at the begin- ning of the Civil war. He was an active member of the Congregational Church and affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. On Janu- ary 17. 1871, at Kilbourn, Wisconsin, F. G. Kutzner married Addaline C. Hubbard, who is still living at San Diego. She was born in 1849 on the state line between Illinois and Wisconsin. Besides C. M. Kutzner the only other living child is Dorothy C., wife of H. F. Kates, a mail carrier in San Diego.

C. M. Kutzner acquired a public school education at Eau Claire, Wisconsin, graduating from high school in 1904 .. He then became an office boy with the John S. Owen Lumber Company at Eau Claire, and was with the firm for three years. After learn- ing stenography in night school he was made as- sistant bookkeeper. For eight months he was a stenographer with the Northwest Paper Company at Cloquet, Minnesota, then for five years was stenographer in the offices of the Cloquet Lumber Company, and came to the Northwest and spent

three years with the Dover Lumber Company at Dover, Idaho. Mr. Kutzner has been established at Billings since 1915, and his offices as a wholesale lumber broker are in the Security Building.

He is unmarried, is a republican, a member of the Congregational Church, and is affiliated with Ashlar Lodge No. 29, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and with the United Commercial Travelers.

E. H. KUYKENDALL is a lawyer of successful ex- perience, with' abilities that have won him a large practice and good position in the bar of several states, but since locating at Billings has given his time to the development and maintenance of the Billings Business College, one of the finest schools of its kind in the Northwest.

Mr. Kuykendall was born at Mount Vernon, Illinois, June 6, 1876, and descends from a family that originated in Holland and were colonial set- tlers in New York. His father, James A. Kuyken- dall, was born at Mount Vernon, Illinois, in 1841 and spent his active life as a farmer in that state. He is now living retired at Illiopolis, Illinois. He is a democrat, has been honored with several town- ship offices, is a leading member in the Baptist Church and is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. James A. Kuykendall married Elizabeth Ralph, who was born at Madison, Indiana, in 1847 and died at Mount Pulaski, Illinois, in 1915. They had a family of seven children : Adolphus, a rail- way section foreman living in Illinois; Frank, a farmer at Illiopolis; John, a Nebraska farmer; E. H. Kuykendall, the fourth in age; Carrie, wife of Fred Cheek, a railway employe at Mount Pulaski, Illinois; Maggie, wife of C. R. Reed, a farmer near Racine, Wisconsin; and Stella, a resident of Oklahoma.

E. H. Kuykendall attended the country schools of Sangamon County, Illinois, and graduated LL. B. from the law department of the Illinois Wesleyan University in 1898. For three years he practiced law at North Bend, Nebraska, and then went to Oklahoma Territory and for eight years was con- nected with the bar of Muskogee. He also practiced for a time at Pittsburg, Kansas, and in 1915 came to Billings and bought the Billings Business College. This college, of which Mr. Kuykendall is president, was established in 1910 by Miss Frances Miller. Mrs. Kuykendall is secretary and treasurer'of the college and the vice president is J. F. Farrell. The college has handsome quarters on the second floor of the new Yellowstone National Bank Building, and its facilities are in every way in keeping with its splendid environment. The students come from the states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming, eighteen states altogether being rep- resented in the student body.

Mr. Kuykendall is a republican in politics, a mem- ber of the Congregational Church, and is affiliated with Ashlar Lodge. Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ; Billings Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Aldemar Commandery, Knights Templar, and Bill- ings Lodge, Knights of Pythias.

He married at Muskogee, Oklahoma, in 1912 Miss Hallie Gearhart, a native of Kansas. They have one daughter, Ruth, born June 13, 1918.

HENRY J. CALHOUN had the first automobile owned by any resident of Columbus. He was a pioneer liveryman in that city, and when the auto- mobile became popular he naturally gravitated into the garage business and today owns and operates one of the most popular establishments of that kind in the Yellowstone Valley.

Mr. Calhoun was born near Penn Yan in Yates

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County, New York, November 15, 1866, and comes of a family especially well known in the State of Iowa, where he grew up and where he lived until he came to Montana. The Calhouns were colonial settlers in New York. Mr. Calhoun's grandfather, Charles C. Calhoun, was born in New York State, was a farmer there in pioneer times, and later fol- lowed his son to Iowa and died in Calhoun County, that state, at the advanced age of ninety-nine years, nine months and eight days.

Calhoun County, Iowa, was named in honor of its pioneer settler, Charles Calhoun, who was born in Yates County, New York, in 1839 and died at Lake City, Iowa, in 1904. He had been a farmer in his native county, but after his marriage he moved out to Iowa and because of his early settlement and his popularity and prominence in- that locality the county was given his name. He followed farming in Calhoun County until he retired to Lake City. Politically he was a republican. His wife was Obera Moore, who was born in New York in 1841 and died in Calhoun County, Iowa, in 1879. Slie was the mother of the following children: Emma, who died at the age of twenty-four in Lake City, Iowa; Mary, who died at the age of ten years; John, a farmer in Calhoun County, Iowa; Ida, wife of S. B. Zane, a real estate broker of Lake City; Abbie, who since the death of her husband, John Wingerson, has rented their farm and lives at Lake City; and George, who was a farmer and railroad man and died at Lake City at the age of forty.

Henry J. Calhoun grew up on his father's farm in Iowa, and attended the rural schools through the eighth grade. He possessed some of the pioneer instincts of his father and at the age of fifteen, in the spring of 1882, he left the old farm and came out to the far Northwest, the Yellowstone Valley of Montana. He was soon working as a cow puncher, and as a cowboy he rode the ranges for fifteen years. In 1896 he established the pioneer livery stable at Columbus, and for twenty years was in partnership with W. P. Adams. In 1913 he opened his garage and is today proprietor of a thoroughly equipped establishment, the building for which was erected in 1917 and stands diagonally opposite the Stockmen's National Bank. The garage is a two-story building 50 by 140 feet.

Mr. Calhoun served as a member of the City Council of Columbus for the last ten years. He is also an active member of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, is a democrat and in religion a Cath- olic. Besides his garage business he owns two dwelling houses and his own modern home and has two ranches of 320 acres on Shane Creek. Conse- quently he has prospered since coming to Montana and is a thoroughly enthusiastic Montana citizen.

In 1892, at Columbus, he married Miss Mary La- velle, daughter of Patrick and Margaret (O'Brien) Lavelle. Her father was one of the pioneer busi- ness men of Columbus. Mr. and Mrs. Calhoun have five children and two of the sons responded patriot- ically to the demands of the country at war and were soldiers. The oldest child, Celia, died when six years old. John, who was born March 1, 1895, was educated in the public schools of Columbus, has been associated with his father in business, and on April 1, 1918, enlisted and was sent to train with the Aviation Corps, first at San Antonio, Texas, then in Arkansas, and finally at Wilbur Wright field at Dayton, Ohio. He was mustered out Feb- ruary 12, 1919. The second son, Bernard, born February 15, 1808, is a graduate of the Columbus High School, spent four years in the University of Minnesota, and a year before graduating from the law department he joined the Medical Corps and saw service at Camp Grant, Illinois. He is a young

man of brilliant mind and has undoubtedly a splen- did future. The two youngest children are Francis, born in 1907, and Ruth, born in 1909, both at home and attending public school at Columbus.

MOSE LITTLE. As superintendent of the Main Range Mine in the East Butte district, Mose Little is actively and prosperously identified with one of the more important industries of Montana, economists telling us that mining is one of the three chief sources of all the wealth in the world, the others being agriculture and fisheries. A son of Joseph Little, he was born October 1, 1871, on the Isle of Man, the home of his ancestors for many years.

The birth of Joseph Little occurred on the Isle of Man in 1849. He was a sailor during his earlier years, but turned his attention to mining after leav- ing the sea. Immigrating to the United States in 1886, he located at Central City, Colorado, and was engaged in mining pursuits in that vicinity for twenty years. Returning then to the Isle of Man, he has since resided there, being retired from active pursuits. While in Colorado he supported the prin- ciples of the republican party. Religiously he is a member of the Church of England, and fraternally he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Quane, spent her entire life on the Isle of Man, her birth occurring in 1845 and her death in 1880. Four children were born of their union, as follows: Mose, of whom we write; David, who served in France for two years during the World war, being mustered out in 1919; George, of whom all trace is lost; and Joseph, of Seattle, Washington.

Completing his early education in the public schools of Colorado, Mose Little began life for himself as an underground miner in Colorado. Coming to Butte, Montana, in 1893, he worked as a common miner two years, being in the employ of John A. Leggat, and the ensuing five years was with the Heinze Mining Company. For four years thereafter he was suc- cessfully engaged in business on his own account, leasing mines and prospecting, and was later with the North Butte Mining Company as a miner until 1912. In that year he became associated with the Pilot Butte Mining Company, which was merged into the Tuolumne Company, under the name of the Main Range Mine. On March 1, 1919, Mr. Little accepted his present position as its superintendent, and in its management is very successful, the 125 miners in his employ being well acquainted with the work required of them.

Mr. Little married in Anaconda, Montana, in 1897, Miss Annie Gill, a daughter of Thomas and Annie Gill, neither of whom are now living. Mr. and Mrs. Little have three children, namely: Edward, a sta- tionary engineer; Mary, a graduate of the Butte Business College, is a stenographer for the Mon- tana Electric Company; and Montana, attending the public schools. Religiously Mr. and Mrs. Little are valued members of the Episcopal Church. Polit- ically Mr. Little is a stanch republican. Fraternally he is a member of Moriah Lodge No. 24, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Butte; of Butte Con- sistory ; and of Butte Camp No. 153, Woodmen of the World. Mr. and Mrs. Little have an attractive residence at 735 East Mercury Street, East Butte, the latchstring being ever out to their friends and acquaintances.

J. M. FREEMAN. America is the land of oppor- tunity, and provided a man possess the requisite qualities no limit is placed upon the success to which he may attain. With the development of the Western States new fields of endeavor have been opened up, and to them have come not only men

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of unusual capabilities from the East, but also those from other countries. J. M. Freeman, gen- eral manager and vice president of the Montana Coal' and Iron Company, with headquarters at Bill- ings, is a man who has developed with this section, and was brought here from England by his parents. J. M. Freeman was born at Wigan, England, De- cember 12, 1889, a son of William Freeman, who was also born at Wigan, England, in 1857, where he was reared and where he worked as a coal op- erator. In the pursuit of his calling he visited the United States twice, and then decided to locate per- manently in this country, coming here for the last time in 1894 and settling at Red Lodge, Montana, where he was engaged in coal mining until his retire- ment. He still resides at Red Lodge. At one time William Freeman served in the English army. He was married to Mary A. Robinson, born in England in 1856, and their children are as follows: William R., who is a superintendent of mines owned by the Montana Coal and Iron Company; Anna, who mar- ried William Beadle, a farmer in the vicinity of Roberts, Montana; Jennie, who married William Shepard, a ranchman in the vicinity of Roberts, Montana; Helen, who married H. A. Simmons, county attorney of Red Lodge, Montana; T. H., a master mechanic at Washoe, Montana; J. M., whose name heads this review; Florence, who married R. W. Wadsworth, of Bear Creek, Mon- tana; Miss R. L., who is a stenographer for the above mentioned company ; Ethel, who married J. V. Williams, of Washoe, Montana; and Edith, who is at home,

As he was only a small child when his parents brought him to Montana, J. M. Freeman has been reared in this state, and attended the common schools, also for one year attended the Butte High School and for two years was a student of the Red Lodge High School, leaving in 1905 to engage with a sub-contractor on Government work for a year. In 1907 he formed connections with the Montana Coal and Iron Company, which he still maintains, begin- ning as a clerk, and as he learned the details of the business being successively promoted until in 1913 he was made general manager, and a little later was elected vice president, The headquarters of the company are at Billings, and Thomas M. Kearney is its executive head. The mines are located at Washoe, Montana, with a capacity of 1,500 tons per day, and the company has another mine at Foster Gulch, one mile south of Bear Creek, Mr. Freeman having supervision over all the mines and the 400 men employed in working them. The coal produced is a high grade semi-bitumninous quality.

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Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II, Part 68

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