Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume III, Part 128

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 128

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Thomas Good secured but a little public school- ing in Scotland, and none whatever in this coun- try, but has acquired knowledge through reading, observing and experience, and is today a well edu- cated man in the essential and important things of life. He was but a youth when he came to the United States, and immediately upon his arrival secured employment in the coal mines at McIntyre, Pennsylvania, in the humblest capacity, that of coal pusher. As soon as he was large and strong enough he was advanced to the post of coal digger, a vo- cation which he followed in the Pennsylvania fields until 1886, in which year he came west to Colorado, and was employed at coal digging in the mines at Walsenburgh. His industry in his work and his ability to handle men soon gained him promotion to driving boss, but he left the Colorado fields

ThurGood

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for those of Montana, and when he started work at Belt it was at driving horses on the night shift. Again his ability and energy were recognized by promotion to driving boss, and from this position he advanced to mine foreman, a responsible post which he held until 1904, in which year he went to Cokedale as superintendent for the Anaconda Copper Mining Company. After two years there he went to Bridger, Montana, as superintendent of the Bridger Coal and Improvement Company, but one year later, in 1907, the Anaconda Copper Min- ing Company decided to open a coal mine in the Bear Creek coal field at Washoe, and Mr. Good was secured to open the mines and act in the capacity of superintendent, an office which he holds at this time. The capacity of this mine is 800 tons of high grade lignite coal daily, and Mr. Good has com- plete charge of operations, with 180 men under his superintendency. He is considered one of the most capable men in his line to be found in the state, and has the full confidence of his superiors, whose headquarters are located at Butte. Mr. Good is a member of the Montana Society of Engineers, and is an enthusiastic fraternalist, affiliating with Golden Fleece Lodge No. 66, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Bridger, and Red Lodge Chap- ter, Royal Arch Masons, and is an ex-member of the Knights of Pythias. He is a stanch democrat.

In December, 1892, at Walsenburgh, Colorado, Mr. Good married Miss Henrietta Gillespie, daugh- ter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Gillespie, the latter of whom is deceased, while the former, a retired pio- neer stockman of Colorado, makes his home with his daughter and son-in-law. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Good, namely: Stella, who is the wife of Thad Pound, of Washoe, man- ager of the Washoe Trading Company; Henrietta, who died unmarried at the age of twenty-two years; Vera, who married Clarence Pfeil, of Washoe, who died in 1919 of the epidemic of Spanish influenza which was prevalent at that time; Thomas, who is a student in the public high school at Washoe; and Elizabeth, who is a pupil in the graded school.

FRED W. RUE, one of the men who has attained to more than local distinction as a prosperous ranch- man of the Little Powder River District, belongs to the well known Rue family, several members of which have borne well their part in the develop- ment of this part of the state. He is the owner and operator of the Little Powder River Stock Farm, twelve miles above the mouth of the river after which it is named, and he has been identified with it since October, 1899, at which time he erected his pioneer log shack, now used as a bunkhouse, and from then on his interests have been entwined with those of this neighborhood.

Fred W. Rue was born November 3. 1874, a son of Lewis and Elizabeth (Huntington) Rue, a sketch of whom is found elsewhere in this work. He is a native of Vermilion, South Dakota, and was reared there and at Fort Pierre and Custer, that state, and common schools gave him his education. As soon as he was old enough he began working as a farm hand, and his experience on a dairy farm prior to coming to Montanna was valuable to him in handling stock. He was nineteen years old when in the spring of 1894 he rode on horseback into Montana from South Dakota, his horse, saddle and about $10 in money being his entire capital, aside from his abounding good health and willingness to work hard to attain his honest ends. Employment was readily secured with the "SH" outfit at the mouth of the Little Powder River as mail carrier for that and the "Cross" ranch at Powderville. Be-

tween his regular trips on horseback for the mail he punched cattle, and received a wage of $35 per month. He remained with this outfit for two years, leaving it for the "Cross" ranch, where he was a horse wrangler. Still later he became kitchen man for the "Cross" and "TJ" ranches, and did the cook- ing for them during the subsequent five years. In the meanwhile he had taken up a claim on Little Powder River, and began his career as a cattleman with one cow and her calf at the time he was with his first outfit. The produce from this one cow gave him his start when he began ranching for him- self, and in order to gain a little ready money it was his custom for several seasons to winter calves, bulls or other cattle for the larger outfits at about $3 per head. He adopted as his brand "NHR," and this he stamped upon his first cow and calf. Later he sold this brand and now uses the one "RUE" that he has since used. His work has all been directed toward the production of stock cattle, and he markets his produce at Omaha, Nebraska, through his own shipments.

Mr. Rue's improvements have come gradually, his six-room ranch house being the development of some years. His ample barn 30 by 60 feet was built in 1918 and his machinery house for storing all his farm appliances came about the same time. The water comes from four flowing wells distributed over his ranch, the flow averaging from three to fourteen gallons per minute, and the wells are from 200 to 600 feet in depth. All of these improve- ments have been made according to a definite sys- tem and are permanent, and excellent judgment has been shown in their development. Mr. Rue now has 2,000 acres of land, ten miles of fencing, which encloses the most of his ranch. His lowlands are given over to hay growing and about 100 acres are devoted to small grain growing.

On November 3, 1905, Mr. Rue was married at Custer, South Dakota, to Miss Erva Bower, a daugh- ter of Israel and Maria (Riddle) Bower, early set- tlers of Dakota. Mr. Bower was extensively inter- ested in farming and stockraising, and died at Cus- ter, South Dakota. Mrs. Rue is one of the three children of her parents, and was born in December, 1875. She was graduated from the Custer High School and was engaged in school teaching for four- teen terms prior to her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Rue have no children.

In addition to his other interests Mr. Rue is one of the four men who own the $20,000 hotel at Broadus, Montana, is a stockholder in the Powder River National Bank of Broadus, and is serving it as vice president. When Powder River County was formed he was one of the men engaged in pro- moting and carrying the project to a successful com- pletion, but aside from that has not been active in public affairs, his duties on the ranch absorbing all of his time. He cast his first presidential vote for William McKinley in 1896, and has continued a firm adherent of republican principles ever since.

Mr. Rue is one of the men of Montana who has worked his way up from the bottom and his success is self-earned. When the movement was started for the organization for district No. 8 it met with his approval and support, and Mrs. Rue is now one of its trustees. During the great war Mr. Rue was , chairman of the Council of Defense of his district and led nine drives for war relief, all of them being over-subscribed. Both he and Mrs. Rue went the limit in baby bonds, and he subscribed heavily to all of the issues of Liberty Bonds. There are few people in this part of the state who stand any higher in public esteem than do Mr. and Mrs. Rue, and they are deservedly numbered among the thor-

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oughly representative people of the great State of Montana.

WILLIAM THURSTON WAITE, a ranchman at the mouth of the East Fork of Little Powder River, has been a resident of Montana since 1902, when he, his brother Charles W. and his father, Charles B. Waite, crossed into the state from Wyoming, where for two years they had been engaged in the horse and cattle industry with the idea of locating there permanently, but not being exactly satisfied with the land open for settlement they came to the Little Powder region, and here found what they had been looking for, plenty of land and an open range on which to let run the small bunch of cattle they brought with them. To this original herd more cattle were soon added, all being under the brand "MB," and for seventeen years they shipped to Omaha markets. The partnership being dissolved, Charles W. Waite took the homestead and William T. Waite moved to his present location, while the father retired to Long Beach, California, where he and his wife are now living in comfort. A sketch of Charles B. Waite is given in the sketch of his son Charles W. Waite found elsewhere in this work.

William T. Waite was born at Council Bluffs, Iowa, December 3, 1878, and his education was se- cured in the schools of that city and in a business college of the same place. After leaving school he went to Wheeler County, Nebraska, and was en- gaged in ranching until 1900, when he went into Wyoming, as above stated.

The property now owned and operated by Mr. Waite is recorded as the East Fork Stock Ranch and comprises 2,000 acres, and here he raises cattle for beef purposes and a considerable number of horses, his brand being "Lazy UG" on the left shoulder. This ranch lies on both sides of the East Fork, and his improvements include a log ranchhouse of five rooms, commodious and com- fortable, which succeeded the usual pioneer log shack; a galvanized iron barn of recent construc- tion, 60 by 64 feet; and an irrigation project de- veloped with water from East Fork, his ditches watering an area of 300 acres which he is devot- ing to sweet clover and alfalfa, grain growing having received but little attention from him. Four flowing wells furnish the ranch with an abundant water supply, their capacity being from two and one-half to twelve gallons every minute. In addi- tion to his ranch interests Mr. Waite is a stock- holder in the First National Bank. Like his father and brother he is a stanch republican. Fraternally he belongs to Miles City Lodge, Benevolent Pro- tective Order of Elks.

On August 20, 1908, Mr. Waite was married to Nellie Bergul, a daughter of Chris Burgul and Katie (Satorius) Burgul. Mrs. Waite was one of a family of five sons and five daughters and was born in Nebraska July 27, 1887. After completing the courses in the public schools of Miles City, Mon- tana, Mrs. Waite became a student of the Miles City Business College, where she was taught the fundamentals of commercial life so that she was able to secure a position with J. E. Farnum, a lead- ing real estate broker of Miles City, and was so employed until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Waite have a daughter, Ruth Gertrude. The record of the Waites in this neighborhood is of such a high character that the stock from the ranches of either brother command favorable attention in any mar- ket, and personally both men enjoy the highest re- spect and unlimited confidence of all with whom they are brought in contact.

Z. T. Cox. The merchant of Birney, Rosebud County, and a ranchman near this point, Z. T. Cox belongs to the settlers of the year 1886 and is a contribution from the citizenship of Texas to this state. He is a native of Giles County, Tennessee, born September 29, 1848, and his boyhood was spent largely at Pulaski, that state, his education being obtained in the public schools and as a student in Cumberland University at Lebanon, plus a business course at Nashville, Tennessee. He became an ac- countant, a business which he followed until his arrival in Montana, and which was his status when he went to Texas in 1870 as a young man and single. In the Lone Star State he located first at Bren- nan, and remained a short time as a farmer, and then went to Cleburne, where he took care of the books and accounts of J. T. Williams, remaining in his employ until he abandoned Texas to come north in search of a better climate and to become an agency farmer. He came accompanying Robert L. Upshaw, who was the appointee of President Grover Cleveland as agent of the Cheyenne Indians, and himself took the position of farmer at the agency. He was connected with that work four years and introduced the Cheyennes to the elementary work of agriculture and its principles.

On leaving the Indian service Mr. Cox began ranching, entered a homestead on Hangingwoman Creek, and established his home there, and so main- tained it until 1913. He handled cattle for beef purposes and ran his stock under the "ZC" brand, and developed a ranch of 560 acres of deeded land. He shipped out of the country to Omaha and Chi- cago markets, and his contribution to the food products of this locality during many years was con- siderable. Mr. Cox engaged in merchandising at Birney in 1913 as the successor of W. P. Smith, and his is the only trading emporium within twenty- five miles of Birney. When he left the agency it was the last of politics with him, save as he has voted at elections since. He came into this coun- try as a democrat, and has maintained the same party faith to the present time.

Mr. Cox's father, Jack Cox, was one of the first settlers of Tennessee, and went into that state from North Carolina. He was a planter most of his life, was past the age for military service during the war between the states, although he furnished three sons for the Confederate service during that struggle, and in his early politics was a whig and later a democrat, but was without political aspira- tions or career. He lived to the age of seventy years and died during the period of the Civil war. Jack Cox married a Miss Matthews from Georgia, who died soon after the birth of her son Zeb T. She was the mother of ten children, nine of whom grew to mature years. The sons who served under the Confederate flag were Jack P., Edwin J. and Jess B., and the latter, now a resident of Dyersburg, Tennessee, still survives, as does a sister, Mrs. Mary Record, of Paris, Texas, and Zeb T., of Birney, Montana, these three being the only children living. Z. T. Cox was united in marriage at Mississippi City, Mississippi, October 17, 1887, to Miss Mary P. Roberts, a daughter of Calvin Roberts. Mr. Rob- erts was a successful practicing lawyer, and was a major in the Confederate army during the war be- tween the states, having entered the army in Mis- sissippi on the day the state seceded from the Union. His last days were passed in Montana at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Cox, and his death occurred in 1890. He was a native of Mississippi and was born August 7. 1835. His father, a native of Connecticut, was Dr. H. A. G. Roberts, who was a wealthy sugar planter whose plantation was located on Bayou Beouf, Louisiana. He passed

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away in Mississippi City, but was laid to rest at Jackson, Mississippi. Doctor Roberts married Emily E., a daughter of Judge Obediah Jones, one of the able jurists of Alabama who was named the first judge of Alabama when it became a territory. Cal- vin Roberts married Sarah Frances Taliaferro, a daughter of Peachey Ridgeway Taliaferro, who was a large Mississippi planter. Mrs. Roberts died in 1915, at the age of seventy-four years, having been born June 15, 1842. Mrs. Cox is one of four chil- dren of her parents: Hiram T., of Havana, Cuba; Mrs. Cox, who was born February 5, 1865; Emma Elizabeth, who died as Mrs. L. A. Alderson, of Sheridan, Wyoming, leaving three sons, Floyd T., Allen Roberts and Irving N., the two eldest being soldiers during the World war; and Sarah A., the wife of James Hackley, of El Paso, Texas.

Mrs. Cox came to Montana soon after the arrival in this state of her future husband, on a visit to her cousin, Captain Brown of the "Three Circle" ranch. She entered the United States Government service in 1887 as a teacher at the Lame Deer Agency, and there met the young agency farmer, to whom she was married soon afterward. Mr. and Mrs. Cox are the parents of four children : Percy Roberts, a ranchman on the family place, who married Daisy Belle Currie and has a daugh- ter, Helen Percy; Richard Taylor, who is also a ranchman here and unmarried; and Edwin Allen and Taliaferro. Mr. and Mrs. Cox are Methodists, both having come from Methodist families and being reared in that faith, and the first Methodist Episcopal services held in the Birney locality were solemnized in the Cox log shack on the ranch. Mr. Cox joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows after coming to Montana, and at this time is a member and past master of Birney Lodge of this order.

CHARLES FIELD, of Ashland, a ranchman of the Otter Creek Valley, came into this region and into Montana at the same time. He landed as a cowboy with a trail herd, crossing into the state from the Black Hills region and crossing the state line from Moorecroft, Wyoming. He joined the trail herd at Hat Creek, at the foot of the Black Hills, and came into the Circle Bar Ranch with it, and on that ranch began a career in Montana that has been a definitely successful one.

It was as a range hand for wages that Mr. Field opened his account with Montana, and as such he remained until 1898, working for the Circle Bar, for the Howes, Bryan and Brandenburg cattle pool, for the "SH" outfit on Powder River, under John Bur- gess, foreman, and then resigned as a ranch hand and came to Otter Creek to settle down to business for himself. He had filed on his claim here in 1893, and this constituted the nucleus of the ranch he has since developed. His first residence and first Mon- tana home which he called his own was built at the instance of Mr. Field and was a two-room log shanty which he utilized as bachelor's quarters until he mar- ried, and then better accommodations came along by the addition of rooms until his home now comprises seven rooms. Barns and sheds and other con- veniences have come with the passage of time, and all have contributed toward the substantial improve- ment of his community.

Mr. Field's first stock investment was in four- teen head of cattle, with the acquirement of which he began raising cattle. Some of the great-grand- children of his first bunch are still with his herd. He adopted first the brand "HV," but his recorded brand is "WC" on the left side.' When in the zenith of his industry he ran some 350 head on the range

here and a half section comprised his acreage of land. When Mr. Field came into the Otter Creek Valley there were three ranches on the creek and but three children in the community, those of Cap- tain Howes. He became interested in the estab- lishment of a school and the defining of a home district as early as the population justified such a move, and has served this district, No. 4, as a trus- tee.

Mr. Field was born in Burnett County, Texas, April 18, 1863, and grew up in that neighborhood. He was educated in the country and left school when about nineteen years of age and entered the range service as a trail boy. After one month he left the trail and in 1882 removed to Cheyenne, Wyoming, by rail, where he secured employment from Dan Ull- man at punching cows. From this service he went to Hat Creek and worked at its mouth for the American Cattle Company, and from their employ came into Montana, as above noted.

Mr. Field is a son of Dr. Marcus A. Field, a native of Nashville, Tennessee, who practiced medi- cine until advanced age forced his retirement, he at this time being a veteran citizen of Burnett, Texas, aged eighty-seven years. He is a graduate of a medical school and gave the active years of his life to the service of his community in professional and civic ways, and is politically a democrat. Doctor Field married Malinda Boyce, a sister of Henry, Al, Pope and "Bub" Boyce, well known cattle men and early settlers of Central Texas. It was with Al Boyce that Charley Field left home about the time he came North. Mrs. Field died in 1879, at the age of forty years, and was the mother of eight children, namely: James H., a resident of Sheri- dan, Wyoming; Andrew, of Burnett, Texas; Anna, deceased, who was the wife of James Branch, of Burnett County, Texas; Marcy, who married Lee Spears, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Charles, of this notice; Lee, who is the "rolling stone" of the family and is a Texas man; Mary, who married James Hodge and resides at Brownwood, Texas; and Sam, of Burnett, Texas. A half-brother of these children, Homer, resides about Burnett, Texas.

Charley Field was married at Sheridan, Wyoming, October 20, 1904, to Mrs. Marie Halstead, who was born in Norway and as a girl came to the United States, where she was first married at Lewiston, Idaho. By her first union she has the following children : Jeanette, a popular and efficient teacher in the public schools; Helen, who is a clerk in the War Risk and Insurance Department of the United States Government at Washington, District of Co- lumbia, and was a teacher in Custer County, Mon- tana, prior to accepting this post ; and Charles Beebe, a successful young ranchman of Otter Creek, who served as a mechanic in the Aviation Corps and spent four months in England during the World war.

Mr. Field is a popular and valued member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, belonging to Sheridan Lodge, in which he has numerous sin- cere friends. In political affairs he supports the candidates and principles of the democratic party, having cast his first ballot in favor of the candidacy of Grover Cleveland for the presidency in 1892, but has not himself been a seeker for political honors or office. He and the members of his family belong to the Methodist Church, and are generous sup- porters of all good movements started in their com- munity.

AUGUST C. STOHR, Indian trader at Lame Deer on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, be- came identified with the reservation in 1899 as

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agency farmer and stock man. For eight years he presidential vote for the republican candidate in 1892, served with Maj. J. C. Clifford, agent, and during that period noticeable advancement was made by the Indian as a farmer. Mr. Stohr came to them when they had no stock, the boarding school was not established, when the reservation lay open and when a sprinkling of whites, numbering thirty-two, were still on the reservation, although these subsequently bought off. The plan followed by Mr. Stohr was to induce the Indian to engage in the stock business, the Government stocking the reservation with breeds of cattle and heading the herds with blooded White Faces, and the Indian made good progress with the stock. In the matter of plowing he urged the plow- ing of gardens and the sowing of wheat, but for some time the Cheyenne took little interest in that. Road building was taken up on the reservation and the Indian displayed some interest in that direction and even went so far as to build some roads without pay. With the coming of the sawmill the wards of the Government cut logs and provided lumber for the erection of the Indian school, as well as a few log houses variously placed, and when Mr. Stohr left the service there was a decided improvement in the ways of the Indian, in his dropping into and adopting the ways of civilization.

Leaving the position of farmer, Mr. Stohr became Indian trader as the successor of George Walters, and has filled this want among the Cheyennes since 1907. In addition to this he has occupied the office of postmaster at Lame Deer and has served as a notary public in the execution of official and legal papers and documents.

August C. Stohr came to Montana in the spring of 1888 and worked first for a horse ranch owned by the Beasleys, at the mouth of Rosebud Creek. He remained there 31/2 years and then purchased a quarter interest in the ranch and stock of A. D. Howard & Company, handling cattle, horses and sheep under the brand "20." He was so associated until 1895, and then sold out his interest and worked for Charley Davis, ten miles above the mouth of the Rosebud, for two years, then becoming the head of the Cold Springs outfit, one mile west of Forsyth, for Tom Barry. He came to the Cheyenne Agency from that ranch as a farmer, as above noted.

Mr. Stohr is a native of Wisconsin, born in Ra- cine County, July 26, 1868. His childhood was passed on the farm and nothing but the district schools gave him his knowledge of books. He was not yet twenty years old when he left the parental roof and identified himself with Montana, coming by rail to the mouth of the Rosebud with just his farm experience to recommend him, and immediately entering upon his career in the West. His father was Christian Stohr, born in Mecklenburg-Strelitz, who came to the United States about the opening of our Civil war. He settled in Racine County, Wisconsin, and spent his remaining years there as a farmer, dying at the age of about forty-six. He married Caroline Hauker, who survived him many years and died in November, 1915, at seventy-two years of age, and their children were: Fred, of Burlington, Wisconsin; Matilda, who died as Mrs. Will Young, at Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Emma, who married George Beasley, of Glendive, Montana; August C., of this review; Andrew, of Twin Lakes, Wisconsin; and Ida who, became Mrs. John Haas, of Burlington, Wisconsin.

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Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume III, Part 128

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