Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume III, Part 127

Author: Stout, Tom, 1879- ed
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago, American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 1144

USA > Montana > Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume III > Part 127

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In his citizenship Mr. McVey has encouraged bet- ter facilities for travel, for education, for mails, advocating heartily all movements making for good highways, good schools and expeditious postal service. He took out his citizenship papers early and cast his first vote as a Republican. In 1912 he supported the candidacy of Colonel Roosevelt, and in 1916 voted for Charles E: Hughes. As a fraternity man he is an Elk and an Odd Fellow at Miles City.

Mr. McVey was married at Billings, Montana, in October, IgII, to Mrs. Mary S. Hinds, a daughter of John and Jean (Crawford) McDougall. Mr.

McDougall emigrated from Scotland to Windsor, Canada, where he was a farmer, and Mrs. McVey was born there, one of a family of eight sons and three daughters, four of the children now residing near Wenatchie, Washington. By her first mar- riage Mrs. McVey has a daughter, Beatrice, the wife of William Sutter, first sheriff of Powder River County, whose son is William, Jr.

LEWIS M. GRIFFIN. The day of the open range in Montana is past and with it the historic cowboy and the environments so many have for years associated with the west, but there are remaining substantial ranchmen developed from the former cow boys, and their many acres afford abundant pasturage to herds of blooded cattle, the value of which make up for the loss in numbers of former days. These men have brought with them many desirable qualities from the olden days of outdoor life. Their outlook is broader, their judgments more charitable and their lives more sincere than many who have always been denizens of crowded communities. Lewis M. Griffin, a typical ranchman of the Stacey region of Powder River County, belongs to this class of fine citizens, and he has been a resident of Montana since 1882.

The birth of Lewis M. Griffin occurred on July 14, 1859, in DeKalb County, Missouri, and he is a son of John B. Griffin. John B. Griffin was born in North Carolina, and was taken to DeKalb County, Missouri, in boyhood, later being followed by his father, John Griffin, a soldier of the War of 1812. John Griffin spent his life engaged in agricultural pursuits, and died in DeKalb County, Missouri, being buried near Rochester, that county, in the Bethel Cemetery. He had four sons, one of them being John B. Griffin, father of Lewis M. Griffin.

At the time John B. Griffin settled in DeKalb County the land was all open, and as soon as he was old enough he took up Government land, and on the farm thus acquired spent the remainder of his life, which was a quiet and useful one. He voted the democratic ticket, and was equally earnest in his advocacy of the principles and creed of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he was a devout member. His death occurred in 1888, when he was seventy-eight years of age, his widow sur- viving him for three years, passing away when eighty-one years old. She was before her marriage Sarah Tate, a daughter of Judge Tate of Grundy County, Missouri, where Mrs. Griffin was born. Mr. and Mrs. John B. Griffin had the following children : John, who spent his life in DeKalb County, Missouri; Enoch, who lives in the Big Horn River country of Montana ; Carey A., who lives at Topeka, Kansas; Lewis M., whose name heads this review; Annie, who married James Grady, died in DeKalb County, Missouri; Lizzie, who is married and lives at Auburn, Nebraska; and Mary, who is married and lives at Kansas City, Missouri.

When he was twenty-two years old Lewis M. Griffin left DeKalb County, Missouri, coming by boat up the Missouri River to Fort Pierre, and there joined a "bull team" outfit bound for Montana with piling for the construction work on the Northern Pacific Railroad. Mr. Griffin drove nine yoke of oxen hitched to three train wagons, and was, as he himself says, "a bullwhacker" at that time. With him were his brother and F. S. Whitney. The little party went on to Billings, when that now prosperous community was represented by a single tent, and engaged in freighting between Billings and Bozeman until the following spring. Mr. Griffin saw the first train cross the new bridge built over the Yellowstone River at Billings.

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In the spring of 1883 Lewis M. Griffin came to Custer County as a cowboy for Judge C. H. Loud's cattle, working for him on the old "S L" ranch for eight years. During that period he gradually ac- cumulated cattle of his own, so that when he left the "S L" ranch he was able to move on the Little Pumpkin Creek and begin operating as a cattle man. He homesteaded 160 acres, the nucleus of his present ranch, through which Little Pumpkin Creek meanders, located four miles south of Stacey. His original residence was a log house of three rooms, which was floored. Over the walls poles were placed and they were covered with dirt. This primitive place served him as a home until his present com- fortable modern residence was built.

Mr. Griffin started into the stock business with common range cattle, and he shipped to Chicago, ultimately developing a few hundred head under the brand of "G. L." on the left side. With the intro- duction into this region of blooded males he was able to improve his grade of cattle, and continued in that line of business until with the closing of the - range he was forced to reduce his stock, after twenty-seven years of continued operation. During all of these years he shipped cattle to the Chicago market, and during the earlier period used to re- ceive $28 per head for four year old steers. In 1918 for the same aged steers he received $150 per head, although it must be remembered that the scarcity of food because of the great war had raised the price of beef very materially, as well as of all com- modities.

Mr. Griffin did not confine his land investments to the acquisition of a homestead, but when he saw that the settlement of the country meant the cur- tailment of his range privileges he began to buy land from the Northern Pacific Railroad on their long time payment plan, and now has 870 acres in his ranch. In 1918 he definitely closed his stock busi- ness and since then has been devoting his ranch to growing feed for the cattle he is raising within his own acreage. As a citizen Mr. Griffin has rendered valuable service as a member of the school board of district No. 29 for a number of years. For thir- ty-five years he was a resident of Custer County, but the creation of the new county of Powder River places his ranch without the confines of Custer. In his political fealty Mr. Griffin is a democrat, and cast his first presidential vote for Grover Cleveland in 1892, but aside from doing his duty in exercising his right of franchise he takes no part in public life.

On December 6, 1889, Lewis M. Griffin was mar- ried at Miles City to Miss Anna Daly, a daughter of Charles Daly, who early came into the west from Illinois, settling in Nebraska, where he spent the remainder of his life. Mrs. Griffin was born in Nebraska on March 4, 1869. Mr. and Mrs. Griffin have the following children : Eva, who is the wife of John Gold, of the Stacey locality, has the following children, Annie, Eva, Jessie, John H. and Agnes May; Roy, who is a farmer and ranchman of Wyom- ing; Maud, who is the wife of Robert McAdams, of Custer, Montana, has two children; Charles, who was in the training camp at Camp Lewis, Washing- ton, as a member of the National Army, was not sent to France owing to the signing of the armistice, and upon his honorable discharge he returned to the Stacey locality and is now engaged in ranching; and Agnes, Enoch and Melvin, all of whom are at home.

It would be difficult to find a finer or more thor- oughly American family than this one, and its mem- bers are a credit to their communities. During the great war they all rendered patriotic service in dif- ferent capacities, and in the reconstruction days which are following the cessation of hostilities they

are meeting and trying to solve the grave problems of the day in the same self-sacrificing spirit which animated them when this was a warring instead of a peaceful country.

DANIEL M. GASKILL is a ranchman of experience and prosperity, and his valuable property of 3,360 acres of land is in the Stacey locality and astride the Big Pumpkin. During his residence in Mon- tana he has passed through the varying experiences which have come to cattlemen, and out of them he has emerged a heavy property owner and success- ful stockman and farmer. He was born in Butler County, Nebraska, September 12, 1873, a son of Joseph Gaskill. The birth of Joseph Gaskill oc- curred in Knox County, Ohio, but he later went to Nebraska, and finally joined his children in Mon- tana in 1904. After reaching Montana he had the misfortune to lose his wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Hurley, she dying in 1916, aged sev- enty-three years. She was a daughter of David Hurley, and was born in County Kerry, Ireland. Joseph Gaskill and his wife became the parents of the following children: Emma, who is the wife of J. T. Hamilton, of Miles City; Lizzie, who is the wife of Jerry Kerwin, of Boyd County, Nebraska ; Nora, who is the wife of William Flannery, of Stacey, Montana; Mrs. Maggie Jarvis, of Stacey, Montana; Daniel M., whose name heads this re- view; Lula, who married Millard D. Shy, a ranch- man of the Stacey locality ; and Leo, who is a ranch- man at the head of Mizpah Creek.

When Mr. Gaskill rode into Montana from Ne- braska in 1893 he brought with him an experience as a ranch hand and cow boy, and found immediate employment on the ranch of Charles Daly on the Little Pumpkin, but remained there only two years, and then became a cattle man on his own account with twenty head. He squatted on the public do- main adjacent to Stacey, and the spot occupied by his pioneer log cabin is now the property of Alex- ander Campbell. For three or four years he re- mained there, and he took his first shipment of cattle to Chicago himself. He used a combination of the letters W and G on his cattle, which have been of the Hereford or Durham strain, or both. He used the open range until it was closed, and then being already the owner of some property of his own, turned his attention to farming, and on his five and a quarter sections of land raises suffi- cient grain and other farm products for his family and stock. His ranch is one of the best in this locality, and he has carried on his operations in- telligently and profitably.

Since he has settled here schools have been estab- lished within three and one-half miles of his ranch, one of them bearing his name, and he has been on its school board since the district was organized. In his political views Mr. Gaskill affiliates with the democratic party on national matters, although lo- cally he is liable to vote independently, preferring to use his own judgment with reference to the fitness of the candidates. He and his family are consistent members of the Roman Catholic Church.

On December 10, 1896, Mr. Gaskill was married at Shadron, Nebraska, to Miss Ellen Hassey, a daughter of William Hassey, who died in Missouri, following which his widow, Mrs. Grace (Young) Hassey, took their children to Nebraska. Mrs. Gas- kill was born at Ironton, Ohio, June 8, 1872. The others of the family are as follows: Thomas, who lives at Sheridan, Wyoming, where the aged mother also resides; Jennie, who is the wife of John Bow- man, of Sheridan, Wyoming; and Andrew and Wil- liam, both of whom are also residents of Sheridan,

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Wyoming. Mr. and Mrs. Gaskill have the follow- ing children: Joseph, who is the eldest, is conduct- ing a ranch near his father's homestead, and he married Hazel Munson, of Ashby, Minnesota, Thomas H., Daniel M., Jr., Andrew, John L., Charley F. and William.

CHARLES FRANKLIN KLINE. After numerous ex- periences in developing land in Montana Charles Franklin Kline is now conveniently located on a rural property adjoining Miles City, where he is engaged in ranching. He was born at Canton, Ohio, on February 15, 1855, a son of George P. Kline, born near Berlin, Germany, who was brought to the United States by his father, Philip Kline. Philip Kline located between Canton and Robertsville, Ohio, and there spent the remainder of his life. Among his children were three sons, William, George and Philip, and two daughters, Mrs. Pelo and Mrs. Ropy. George P. Kline married Nancy Shuckhart, a daughter of George Shuckhart, who has also come to the United States from the vicinity of Berlin, Germany. After their marriage George P. Kline and his wife settled in Richland County, Wisconsin, and there spent the remainder of their lives. Their children were as follows: Charles F., who was the eldest; Lewis P., who is a farmer of Richland County and a minister of the Christian Church; and Elizabeth C., who died in childhood.

Charles F. Kline was reared in Richland County, and for three months attended school, that being the extent of his educational advantages. On May 2, 1882, he reached Montana, having come here in search of better opportunities to advance himself. He entered a pre-emption claim on Tongue River, which he later relinquished, and it was subsequently entered and proved up by Harvey Corbin. Entirely without capital Mr. Kline spent his first three years in Montana as a wage earner on a farm, with the exception of the time he put on his first claim, and then after the disastrous winter of 1886-7 he went to the Black Hills country and hired out for farm work on False Bottom between Spearfish and Dead- wood, and there spent the summer. In the fall he returned to Miles City, which he had come to con- sider his home, and entered a claim on the Yellow- stone River six miles below Miles City, and on it began farming and stockraising. This he proved up, improved and to it added a section of railroad land, making it a cattle and hay ranch. For about nine years Mr. Kline was engaged in operating this ranch, but then leased it and took his stock to the Little Sheep Mountains of Dawson County and spent seven years in that region. The shorting of the range by settlement caused him to abandon Dawson County, and he sold his stock and returned to his ranch. After raising another crop on this ranch he sold it to M. E. Bailey. In exchange of deeds Mr. Bailey passed to Mr. Kline the small tract he now owns, and there his residence has since been main- tained.

The first work on the Yellowstone and Tongue rivers irrigation project was done by Mr. Kline, who had charge of a crew of men and continued to su- pervise them until the system was completed. He is the owner of some improved property in Miles City and is a stockholder in the Equity Store of this same city.

On April 3, 1889, Mr. Kline was married in Custer County, Montana, to Miss Sarah Elizabeth Butts, a daughter of Israel and Nancy (Dickinson) Butts. Israel Butts was born and reared in Southeastern Missouri, and during the war between the states was forced against his inclinations and convictions into the Confederate service, and was shot at and

killed from ambush about two years following the termination of the war. Mrs. Butts survived him for a number of years and died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Kline, at Miles City, and she was interred in the cemetery of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Butts had three children to reach maturity, namely : Mrs. Minerva C. Earnest, who is deceased and was buried at Miles City; Mrs. Kline, who was born October 14, 1854; and Annie, who married John Douthit, of Yates, Montana. Mrs. Kline was born in Jasper County, Missouri, and owing to the early death of her father had but few opportunities for attending school. Mr. and Mrs. Kline have .no children of their own, but by a former marriage Mr. Kline has a daughter, Bessie, who is now the wife of Mahlon Witherow, of Richland County, Wisconsin.

In his fraternal connections Mr. Kline maintains membership with the Woodmen of the World, the Eagles and the Homesteaders. When he cast his first presidential vote for Rutherford B. Hayes, Mr. Kline began his support of the republican party, which continued through the administration of President Roosevelt, but in 1912 and 1916 he voted for Woodrow Wilson for president. Both he and Mrs. Kline are members of the Methodist Church, and he is serving that body at Miles City as stew- ard. A man of high moral convictions, he has tried to live up to them and do his full duty as he has seen it. Although hampered by a lack of proper educational training, he has made his own way in the world and holds an enviable position among the sound, trustworthy and dependable men of his neighborhood.

JASPER S. RUE. Since 1900 Jasper S. Rue, of Pow- der River County, has been an independent ranch- man, but his experiences in Montana date back to 1891, when he came into the state and began working for the old "SH" ranch. During the period which has since elapsed not only has he been able to branch out and become a man of consequence in his neigh- borhood, but many of the old cowboys associated with him on the "SH" ranch have done likewise. Mr. Rue was born in Greene County, Iowa, August 17, 1871, a son of Lewis Rue, who built the first complete wagon ever set up in Iowa. A wheelwright by trade, he worked at it in Greene County, to which he had moved from Minnesota, his birthplace. Dur- ing the war between the states he enlisted in Com- pany C, Third Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, which was captured by the Confederates and returned to Minnesota under parole. The Federal Government then sent the command against the Indians to put down the Sioux uprising. Leaving Iowa, Lewis Rue went to Vermilion, South Dakota, and operated a wagonshop for some years, when he was attracted by an opening at Fort Pierre, South Dakota, to which place he went by steamboat. Once more he changed his place of residence, going to Spearfish, the same state, and there he died, having been re-

tired for some time, in 1898, aged fifty-six years. He married Elizabeth Huntington, whose paternal great-grandfather was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and her father, Zebu- lon Huntington, was born in New England. For a time he resided in Canada and was engaged in buy- ing cattle, continuing that business when he moved to Iowa. There he was killed by a tornado. His son James Huntington enlisted for service in the war between the states from Iowa. Mrs. Lewis Rue was born in Canada in 1843, and she and her hus- band had the following children: Lillie, who is Mrs. P. D. Green, of Greenleaf, Idaho; Jasper S., whose name heads this review; Fred W., who is a

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ranchman on Little Powder River; George H., who is located near his brother Jasper; Alfred, who is a ranchman near Broadus, Montana; Walter J., who is an automobile dealer of Seattle, Washington; and Birdie, who is the wife of Frank Stratton, of Cald- well, Idaho.

Jasper S. Rue came to Montana from Custer City, South Dakota, a boy of nineteen years, making the trip on horseback. Prior to that he had been a farm boy, growing up in the vicinity of Fort Pierre, South Dakota, and his experience was lim- ited to that afforded by the farm. He had herded cattle to some extent and was put to work on the "SH" ranch "nighthawking," one of his associates being Tom Doyle, who is still identified with ranch- ing in this locality. He remained with the "SH" outfit until it went out of business, when he bought a few cows and commenced ranching for himself in 1892 in partnership with George McDonald and S. H. Cook at the mouth of East Fork. They fenced a small patch and erected some pioneer build- ings, but in the following year Mr. Rue sold his interest and came to his claim on Little Powder, on which he had been a squatter five years before, Mr. McDonald being then associated with him. Until his marriage Mr. Rue lived in a little log shack. Not long afterward he was joined by his brother George, and they had 140 head of yearlings and two-year-old heifers running under the brand "RUE" on the left ribs. After two years of part- nership the brothers dissolved their connection and entered the sheep business separately. For the sub- sequent six years Jasper S. Rue ran sheep along the Little Powder with only fair success and then dis- posed of his flocks and concentrated upon cattle and horses. For a time he was very active as a breeder and raiser of horses, but with the advent of automobiles and other mechanical substitutes he curtailed his operations very considerably. His ranch is known as the "Q Heart" and comprises a section of land lying on both sides of the river, twenty-five miles above its mouth.

On May 17, 1903, Jasper S. Rue was married at Belle Fourche, South Dakota, to Miss Eunice Grout, a daughter of Hiram and Mary (Fewell) Grout, she being his second wife and the mother of the following children: Norine, who is the wife of Frank Clem, of Carter County, Montana; Mrs. Rue, who was born on February 22, 1888 in Clayton County, Montana, to which locality her father had come from Iowa; and Hiram C., who was the youngest. By a former marriage Mr. Grout had two children, Nelson and Clayton. Mrs. Rue has spent her life on a ranch. She began riding when a girl and developed an expertness in handling stock possessed by few women. Having been very actively engaged in handling the stock on their home ranch she decided to enter the contest at Belle Fourche in 1919, conducted as the "Tri-State Roundup," and won second class in the "Ladies Relay" for Powder River girls only ; first money in the nightgown race two days in succession; and in the lady cow pony race she took both second and third money ; and on the final day she took third money in the nightgown race. Mr. and Mrs. Rue have three children, namely : Lewis S., Alta and Edna.

Mr. Rue cast his first vote in Montana and his first presidential vote was given to William Jen- nings Bryan in 1894. Since then he has shown no particular preference, generally voting independently. At nearly all of the elections he has been on the election board, and together with William P. Flynn he located and laid out the road down the Little Powder from the Wyoming line across. the Mizpah and then down S. L. Creek to Big Pumpkin Creek

before a wagon track had covered any of this region. During the late war Mr. Rue was very patriotic and both he and Mrs. Rue took the limit in baby bonds and otherwise assisted in war work in their district. Mr. Rue has been connected with all of the improvements in this. locality, was the first road supervisor appointed in this district and was clerk of the school board when the school district was organized. Since the organization of the district modern schoolhouses have been erected, but prior to that the school sessions were held in abandoned log shacks or in the homes of the settlers. Having been so active in the past there is no doubt but that Mr. Rue will be equally public spirited in the future and that he will never lose his deep interest in the progress of the community in which all of his mar- ried life has been spent, and in all of his efforts he is sure of the effective co-operation of his wife.

THOMAS GOOD. Starting as a car pusher in the coal fields of Pennsylvania at the age of eleven years, Thomas Good has advanced steadily through the various occupations connected with the mining of coal, and today occupies the position of super- intendent of the Anaconda Copper Mining Company at Washoe, Montana. His career throughout has been one of self-made manhood, for he entered life with poor educational equipment and no other ad- vantages, and each step in his upward climb has come only after the most earnest and persistent effort. Such a career should furnish something of encouragement to the youths of our land who are starting life with the belief that they are hope- lessly handicapped by the lack of finances or assist- ing influences. It evidences the fact that a man can make himself what he wishes to be provided he has the ambition, persistence and determination, and the power to develop his inherent abilities.

Mr. Good was born near Glasgow, Scotland, April 7, 1864, a son of John Good. His father was born in 1822 in England, but as a child was taken to Ireland, where he was married and engaged in farming in County Down. About 1854 he went to Scotland, where he secured employment in the coal mines near Glasgow, and in 1878 immigrated to the United States and settled in Pennsylvania, where he continued in the same vocation until his re- tirement in 1894. He died at McIntyre, Lycoming County, that state, in 1904. Mr. Good was a re- publican. He married Mary Heselip, who was born in 1832 in County Down, Ireland, and reared there, and died at McIntyre, Pennsylvania, in 1894. They became the parents of the following children : John, who is employed in the round house of the North- ern Pacific Railway at Laurel, Montana; Alexander, a coal miner of Pennsylvania; William, the proprie- tor of a meat market at Ralston, Pennsylvania; and Thomas, of this review.

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Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume III, Part 127

Author: Stout, Tom, 1879- ed Publication date: 1921 Publisher: Chicago, American Historical Society Number of Pages: 1144

Author: Stout, Tom, 1879- ed
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago, American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 1144