Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II, Part 71

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 71

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Special mention should here be made of the effi- cient work Mr. Snell accomplished during the war as an active and loyal member of the Young Men's Christian Association. Devoted to the cause for which our men were so herioically fighting, he labored unselfishly and untiringly during each drive of the organization with which he was so promi- nently identified, in the first drive serving as chair- man of that branch of it that included five coun- ties. In October, 1918, at the request of the offi-

cials of the National War Work Council of the Young Men's Christian Association, Mr. Snell went to San Francisco to assume charge of the personnel department of the Western Department of the Na- tional War Work Department Council. During the six months that he retained that position Mr. Snell had supervision of the recruiting of all men sent overseas by the association, and also of all association secretaries placed in the home camps of the Western Military Division, which included not only eight states, but Honolulu.

Mr. Snell possesses excellent financial ability, and through wise investments has acquired interests in 6,000 acres of good Montana ranch lands, and owns a pleasant modernly constructed residence at 310 Clark Avenne. Politically he is a stanch republi- can, and has rendered the city acceptable service as alderman. Religiously he is a member of the Congregational Church, which he has served as trustee. He is also a member, vice president and one of the directors of the Young Men's Chris- tian Association of Billings, and a member of the state committee of that organization. He like- wise belongs to the Billings Golf and Country Club, which he has served as director. Fraternally he is a member of Ashlar Lodge No. 29, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, at Billings; of Billings Chapter No. 6, Royal Arch Masons; of Billings Commandery No. 5, Knights Templar; of Algeria Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the . Mystic Shrine; and of Billings Consistory. He also belongs to Billings Star Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and to Billings Camp, Woodmen of the World.

On June 24, 1906, at Tarkio, Missouri, Mr. Snell was united in marriage with Miss Jessie Gray Ar- nott, a graduate of Tarkio College. Her father, George Arnott, Sr., a retired ranchman, is now living in Billings, Montana, with his good wife, whose maiden name was Susie Gray. Mr. and Mrs. Snell are the parents of two children, George Don- ald, born October 13, 1909, and James Le Roy, born February 12, 19II.

JOHN W. CORWIN is the pioneer merchant of Park City and has long been prominent in business, banking and political affairs in Stillwater County.

Mr. Corwin was born at Cantril, Iowa, August 20, 1875. Corwin is a noted name in American history, particularly because of the record of Tom Corwin, one of the most conspicuous men in Ohio politics in ante-bellum times, and congressman and twice gov- ernor of that state. He was an uncle of the father of John W. Corwin. The Corwins came out of England in colonial times, were pioneers in Ken- tucky, and from that state four brothers of the name moved to Ohio. B. W. Corwin, father of the Mon- tana merchant, was born at Lebanon in Warren County, Ohio, in 1842. After his marriage in his native town he moved to Iowa, settling near Cantril, where he died in 1876. He spent all his life as a farmer. Politically he was a republican and in 1861 he enlisted in the Forty-Second Ohio Heavy Artillery and saw four years of active service, coming out of the war with the rank of lieutenant. His wife was Mary Tufts, who was born at Lebanon in Warren County. Ohio, in 1847 and died at Milton, Iowa, in 1904. Their children were: Hattie, wife of C. E. Drake, a retired farmer living at Bloomfield, Iowa: Winnie, who died at the age of nineteen years; J. E., who is a manufacturer of silos at Des Moines, Iowa; Frank E., a physician and surgeon at Anaheim, Cali- fornia, who married Belle Tharp; and John W.

John W. Corwin was one year old when his father died. He attended public school at Milton, Iowa, going from the high school to the Highland Park

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Pharmacy School at Des Moines, Iowa. For a year he had charge of a drug business at Bonaparte, Iowa, and then engaged in the drug business with his brother, Dr. Frank E. Corwin, for 21/2 years at Kinross, Iowa.

Mr. Corwin came to Montana in the fall of 1899 and at once identified himself with the little town of Park City. He established his mercantile busi- ness there January 1, 1900, and it is the oldest busi- ness of the kind in that part of Stillwater County, and during the time of extensive live stock opera- tions in the Lake Basin country to the north supplied that trade for a distance of thirty miles. The store, which handles drugs in addition to general mer- chandise, is on the corner of Main and Clark streets. Mr. Corwin owns the controlling interest in both the store and the building, and also has a modern home in Park City and business property at Rapelje and some real estate at Columbus, Montana. He is vice president of the Farmers State Bank at Wheat Basin, a director of the Park City State Bank, and a director of the First National Bank of Rapelje.

A republican in politics, Mr. Corwin was elected a member of the Legislature in 1913, when Stillwater County was created, being its first representative. He was re-elected in 1914 and served as a member of the committees on federal relations, horticulture, railroads and transportation, sanitary affairs and townships and counties, also as a member of the · special typewriter committee. It was on this com- mittee that he rendered the state perhaps the best financial service by urging the adoption of his com- mittee's report to rent typewriters for use during the session instead of buying them, as had been the custom. Between sessions the twenty-five to thirty new machines would disappear and a like number was to be purchased at the beginning of each session. It is estimated that a continuation of this policy is saving the state about $3,000 at each session of the Legislature. Realizing the danger to public health of the old time, careless methods of dispens- ing drugs and poison in the state, he drafted, intro- duced and secured the passage of House Bill No. 191, an act to regulate the manufacture and sale of drugs and medicine in the State of Montana. While the bill was in the interest of the public welfare, the druggists over the state saw the need of such legis- lation and gave it their hearty endorsement. In recognition of his service in the interest of the profession of pharmacy, he was elected president of the Montana State Druggist Association in 1915, and as a representative of that body attended a meeting of the National Association of Retail Druggists held at Indianapolis, Indiana, the following year.

He is affiliated with Corinthian Lodge of Masons at Laurel, with Billings Consistory and Algeria Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Helena, also with Billings Lodge No. 394 of the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, Laurel Camp, Modern Wood- men of America, and Park City Lodge, Knights of the Maccabees.

At Kinross, Iowa, February 27, 1898, Mr. Corwin married Miss Minnie Powell, daughter of Benjamin and Catherine (Spain) Powell, both now deceased. Her father was a farmer and an early settler of Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Corwin had two children : Frank P., who died when twelve years old, and Genevieve M., who was born May 28, 1902, and is in the third year of high school at Park City.

MACOMB B. GRAY. The men whose names are enrolled among those who have developed the busi- ness interests of Montana are almost without ex- ception possessed of unusual capabilities which they have devoted to the expansion of the concerns with which they have connected themselves. The

competition in the West is of too strenuous a na- ture to permit of any leisure class among those who hope to accomplish something worth while. The opportunities are unlimited, but hard work and a thorough knowledge of the industry under con- sideration are required to raise a business above the dead level of mediocrity. Therefore when any man does succeed in placing his house among the reliable and prosperous ones of any live western city, he has furnished incontrovertible proof that he possesses those characteristics enumerated above. The whole career of Macomb B. Gray, vice presi- dent and manager of the Gray Seed Company of Billings, Montana, from the time he entered the business arena until today has been one series of successive advancements, each one giving him ad- ditional responsibilities and dignity. At present his company is one of the leading ones in this line in the city, and its territory is international.

Macomb B. Gray was born at Cape Vincent, New York, August 12, 1863, a son of Edwin and Eleanor (Wood) Gray. The Gray family was founded in the American colonies by Andrew Gray, who came from the north of Ireland to what later became New York State in 1737, his family being of Scotch- Irish extraction. One of his descendants, Adam Gray, the grandfather of Macomb B. Gray, was born in Montgomery County, New York, and died at Cape Vincent, New York, before his grandson was born. During the War of 1812 he served his country as an officer with gallant bravery. Early in life he was engaged in mercantile pursuits, but later on in life was a farmer. His wife, who was the grandmother of Macomb B. Gray, bore the maiden name of Margaret Loucks, and was born in New York State.

Edwin Gray, the father, was born at St. Johns- ville, Montgomery County, New York, in 1821, and he died at Cape Vincent, New York, in 1899. He was reared in his native place, but after his mar- riage at Cape Vincent he located there and that continued his home as long as he lived. The farm which he bought and conducted during all of his succeeding active years still remains in the family and is the home of his widow. The farm was pur- chased from the grandfather, Andrew Gray. A democrat in politics, he exercised his right of suf- frage, but did not care to assume the responsibili- ties of public office, although he was very promi- nent in local affairs, and was called "Squire." For many years he was a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge of Cape Vincent. The maiden name of his wife was Eleanor Wood, and she was born in Montgomery County, New York, in 1824. Their children were as follows: Adam, who died at the age of sixty-three years on the home farm; Mary, who married James Rector, and lives at Point Peninsula, Jefferson County, New York, her hus- band, who was a farmer, being deceased, having during his lifetime taken a prominent part in poli- tics as a republican; Margaret, who married Joseph Bates, a farmer, resides at Cape Vincent. Jefferson County, New York; Evelyn, who married Campbell Bates, a brother of Joseph Bates, lives at Cape Vincent, New York, her husband having retired from his former agricultural pursuits ; Frances, who is unmarried, lives with her mother on the old farm: Edwin, who was a railroad conductor, was killed when he was forty years old in a rail- road accident between Tacoma and Seattle, Wash- ington ; Macomb B., whose name heads this review; and Elizabeth, who married Fred Pond, a farmer and extensive stock dealer of Cape Vincent, New York.

Macomb B. Gray was reared at Cape Vincent and after he had completed his studies in its pub-

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lic schools he was prepared for college, and then entering Cornell University of New York State in 1882 he took the full course and was graduated therefrom in 1886, with the degree of Bachelor of Science. He belongs to the Greek letter fraternity Delta Kappa Epsilon. For the first year subsequent to his leaving college Mr. Gray was engaged in teaching school in the military academy at Atlanta, Georgia, but left the educational field to embark in the seed business at Cape Vincent, under the name of the Macomb Gray Company, which was after- ward merged into the Cape Vincent Seed Company, of which he was vice president and manager nn- til 1901, when he sold his interest and, going to Port Huron, Michigan, established the McMorran, Gray Seed Company, directing its operations for nine years as treasurer and manager. Once more he disposed of his interests, and in 1910 came to Billings, Montana, and for one year was associated with the Northrup King Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota, whose Billings representative he was, resigning to go into the seed business on his own account. In 1917 Mr. Gray incorporated the Gray Seed Company, which has the following offi- cials : I. D. O'Donnell, president; Macomb B. Gray, vice president and manager ; and S. D. MacDonald, secretary and treasurer. The offices and plant are located on Montana Avenue and Twenty-first Street, North. This company sells seeds all over the United States, Canada and even in foreign countries.

In 1804 Mr. Gray was united in marriage at De- troit, Michigan, to Miss Frances Millen, a daughter of Capt. James and Mary (Iselin) Millen, the for- mer of whom died at Detroit, his widow still sur- viving him and making her home at Detroit. He was a captain of a steamer on the Great Lakes during his younger days, but later in life became manager of freight and passenger lines on these same bodies of water. Mr. and Mrs. Gray have two daughters, namely: Marie, who was graduated from the Billings High School, is at home, and Dorothy, who is also at home, was graduated from Cornell University of New York State and is a landscape gardener. She belongs to the Greek let- ter fraternity Chi Omega. The family residence is at No. 918 North Thirty-first Street. Mr. Gray is an independent democrat. A Mason in good standing, he belongs to Cape Vincent Lodge No. 293, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. The Bill- ings Chamber of Commerce and the Billings Club also holds his membership. Big of brain and warm of heart, Mr. Gray is a man who impresses his personality upon all with whom he is associated, and wins and retains friendships in no ordinary de- gree. Under his able management his company has expanded very considerably, and is justly ac- counted one of the concerns which give to Billings much of its present prestige.

PHIL GREIN, president of the Billings Brewing Company of Billings, Montana, is one of the sub- stantial men of this part of the state, whose sound judgment and singleness of purpose canse him to be regarded as one in whom implicit trust may be placed. He was born at Frankfurt-on-the-Main, Germany, July 22, 1863, a son of John Philip Grein. The father was born near Frankfurt, Germany in 1830, and he died at Frankfurt in 1882, having devoted his active years to agricultural pursuits. Like all of his countrymen, John Philip Grein gave his land the usual military service, and also rendered it valuable aid as a civilian during the Franco- Prussian war in 1870, having charge of shipping all of the beef into France for the use of the Ger- man army during its occupancy of French soil.

The Lutheran Church held his membership. His wife before marriage was Lena Fach, and she was born in Germany in 1831, where she spent her life and died in 1915. Their children were as follows : Bertha, who is unmarried and lives at Jugenheim, Germany; Hedwick, who married M. L. Herse, a photographer, and lives in Germany; Phil, whose name heads this review; Fritz, who is a hotel pro- prietor of Jugenheim, Germany; and Catherine, who married B. Herff, a member of a fertilizing firm, and lives at Chicago, Illinois.

Phil Grein was reared in Germany and educated in its public schools, which he left when seventeen years old to begin an apprenticeship to the brew- ing trade. In 1881 he came to the United States, and spent his first year in this country at St. Louis, Missouri, where he worked at his trade. Leaving there, he went to Miles City, Montana, in 1882, and was engaged in various activities in this state for several years, among which was working as a cow boy. In 1884 he went to Butte, Montana, to engage with the Centennial Brewing Company as a driver of one of their wagons, rising successively to the positions of collector, solicitor and then general manager, and remaining with that concern for fifteen years. During November, 1899, Mr. Grein came to Billings, and began at once to erect the plant and offices of the Billings Brewing Com- pany at the corner of Twenty-fourth Street and Montana Avenue. The present officers of this large corporation are as follows: Phil Grein, president ; J. Jacobson, vice president ; and Arthur Trennery, secretary. This company is incorporated, and is the only brewery in Southeastern Montana, sup- plying the trade as far as Beach, North Dakota, and Livingston, Montana. Formerly Mr. Grein was a stockholder and director of the Farmers and Traders Bank of Billings, and he founded the Chrystal Ice and Fuel Company of Billings, but sold his interests in 1918. He owns a 280 acre ranch 31/2 miles north of Billings, where he raises milk and Shorthorn cattle and blooded stock of all kinds. This ranch is operated as a fancy stock ranch, the grain grown on it being used for feed- ing purposes. The Grein residence at 115 North Twenty-second Street is a modern one and the property of Mr. Grein.

In 1897 Mr. Grein was united in marriage with Miss Amanda Benson at Butte, Montana. She is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Benson, the former of whom was a farmer of Minnesota, but is now deceased. his wife having also passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Grein have no children. In politics Mr. Grein is an independent democrat, and he has served as a member of the Billings City Council. He belongs to Billings Lodge No. 394, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Billings Eagle Eyrie No. 274, Faternal Order of Eagles, and the Sons of Hermann. In him the Lutheran Church has a consistent member and he contributes generously towards its support. Ever since coming to Bill- ings Mr. Grein has had the good of the community at heart and has exerted himself to advance its best interests.

FLEMING WELLINGTON ROBB. The secret of the rapid development of Billings lies in the fact that so many of its leading citizens belong to the younger class of business men, who have not yet lost their enthusiasm for their work, nor become satisfied with what they have accomplished. In seeking to realize their ambitions these alert and aggressive young men are giving an impetus to all branches of activity that cannot help but develop their city and attract to it outside can'tal. One of these representative boosters for a "greater Billings" is Fleming Well-

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ington Robb, actively engaged in the farm loan busi- ness.

The Robb family is of English origin and dates back in this country to colonial days, when the progenitor of the American branch located in Penn- sylvania. The paternal grandfather, also Fleming Wellington Robb, was born in the Keystone state, in the vicinity of Muncy, in 1800, and he died at Union, Nebraska, in 1882. Animated by the same spirit of adventure which brought his ancestor to the American colonies from England, the elder Flem- ing Wellington Robb went to Nebraska at an early day in the history of that state and became one of the pioneer homesteaders of Otoe County, where he acquired 200 acres of land. This farm is now worth $50,000 and is still in the family, the ad- vance in value not only proving the good judg- ment exercised by the grandfather in his selection of location, but also that he and his descendants knew how to develop land to its fullest extent. With the formation of the republican party he gave its principles his support and voted its ticket the remainder of his life. Early confirmed in the faith of the Episcopal Church, he gave it his earn- est support, and assisted in founding a church of that denomination in Otoe County. He married Ellen W. Montgomery, born in Pennsylvania in 1810, and she died near Union, Nebraska in 1892. Their only living child, W. H. M. Robb, is the father of Fleming W. Robb of this review.

W. H. M. Robb was born in Pennsylvania in 1861, and when he was still a lad his parents took him to Nebraska, where he was reared and taught farming by his father. Subsequently he conducted a grain business and owned several elevators, but sold and engaged in farming until 1916, when he moved to Union, Nebraska, where he has resumed his grain operations upon a somewhat extensive scale. He has rendered his state considerable serv- ice, as he was steward of the penitentiary at Lincoln, Nebraska, for four years, and also of the Insane Asylum at Norfolk, Nebraska, for two years. Taught from early youth the principles enunciated by the republican party, he has adhered to them all of his mature years. He has also followed in his father's footsteps in religion and is a con- scientious member of the Episcopal Church. Fra- ternally he belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America. The maiden name of his wife was Jessie Walbridge, and she was born in Wisconsin in 1861. Their children are as follows: Caroline A., who is unmarried and resides with her parents; Hugh M., who is a farmer of Union, Nebraska; and Fleming Wellington Robb.

The birth of Fleming Wellington Robb occurred in Otoe County, Nebraska, July 2, 1884, and he was reared there, attending its rural schools until he became a student of the Omaha, Nebraska, High School, leaving it after two years, when nineteen years of age. Mr. Robb then gained a practical knowledge of the fundamentals of commercial life in the Farmers & Merchants Bank at Verdon, Nebraska, where he was assistant cashier for three years. His efficiency and knowledge of the busi- ness then gained him promotion to the position of cashier and he held it for four years. In 1912 he came to Billings Bench, Montana, and for a year was engaged in farming, in this way gaining an insight into agricultural conditions in this region which has been of value to him in his present busi- ness, which he established at Billings in 1913, with offices at 402 Electric Building, and of which he is the sole proprietor. In addition to making loans on farm properties Mr. Robb buys and sells ranches, and has won the confidence of his community by

his scrupulously honest methods and public-spirited service. Mr. Robb has demonstrated his faith in the future of Billings by investing in city prop- erty, owning his comfortable modern residence, which he erected in 1918. He is a republican. An Odd Fellow, Mr. Robb belongs to Verdon Lodge No. 289 of that order. The Billings Episcopal Church holds his membership and receives his gen- erous support.

In 1907 Mr. Robb was married at Elmwood, Ne- braska, to Miss Bess M. Tyson, a daughter of L. A. and Jennie (Alton) Tyson. Mr. Tyson is one of the leading druggists of Elmwood, and a man who is held in high esteem by his associates. Mrs. Robb is a graduate of the Plattsmouth High School of Plattmouth, Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Robb have two children, namely: Jane, who was born Sep- tember 30, 1912, and John, who was born June I, 1915. Mr. Robb is a man who stands very high in Billings, and deserves to do so for he is a tender husband, watchful father, kindly friend, liberal pa- tron of religious and benevolent movements, a wise business advisor and stainless gentleman, whose praiseworthy exertions are directed at all times to- wards a betterment. of existing conditions and a raising of moral standards.

HENRY C. CRIPPEN. While it is a recognized fact that many of the men of this country who have come before the public as successful legislators and eminent statesmen have at one time or other been connected with the practice of the law, it has not yet been decided whether this is due to the arduous training necessary for entrance into his learned profession, or the natural bringing before the elec- tors of one who has to grapple with problems of general interest. No matter which decision is reached, the fact remains that these men of the law do make intelligent and efficient representatives of the will of the people, and that upon them de- volves much of the work of making the laws. One of the distinguished members of the bar of Mon- tana, who has already served his district in the State Assembly with dignified capability, is Henry C. Crippen of Billings.

Henry C. Crippen was born on the prairie near Winnebago, Minnesota, February 5, 1872, a son of Samuel P. Crippen. The Crippen family originated in Holland, from whence the founders of the Amer- ican branch came to this country when it was still an English colony, locating in Pennsylvania. Com- mingled with the good old Dutch stock is that from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, through in- termarriage, in Mr. Crippen the Scotch-Irish traits predominating. Samuel P. Crippen was born in Indiana in 1839, but was taken when a boy to the vicinity of Davenport, Illinois, and there reared. In young manhood he went to Minnesota, and located at Minneapolis at a time when the future metropolis was represented by two cabins on the Minneapolis side of the river. Later he went to Winnebago, Minnesota, where he was a pioneer and homesteader, being engaged in farming all of his active years, but is now retired and living at Janes- ville, Minnesota. During the Civil war he enlisted in 1863 as a member of the Minnesota Cavalry, and was in Sibley's Expedition against the Indians. After a service of two years and four months he was honorably discharged. After going to Minne- sota Samuel P. Crippen was married to Lydia Cheney, born in St. Lawrence County, New York, in 1845, and she died at Janesville, Minnesota in 1885. Their children were as follows: Walter, who is the first born; Benjamin, who is deceased ; William, who is also deceased; Henry C .; and

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Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume II, Part 71

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