Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume III, Part 42

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

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The well remembered battle for the county seat at Plentywood was begun in the courts while Mr. Babcock was filling the office of county attorney. The controversy continued in the courts over an ex- tended period, until December 1, 1919, when a de- cision by the District Court was declared in favor of Plentywood as against Medicine Lake. In the meantime, in December, 1916, Mr. Babcock had re- tired from the office of county attorney, and he has since been engaged in the private practice of law.

He perhaps inherited his political convictions from a republican father, and he cast his first presidential vote in 1900 for Major Mckinley, and with each succeeding presidential election he has cast a republican ballot. In the line of his profes- sion he has the honor of having been made the first president of the Sheridan County Bar Asso- ciation. He is a past master in Masonry, having been initiated into the order at Culbertson, and he now has membership in both the Blue lodge and Chapter in Plentywood. He also has membership relations with the Elks lodge at Watertown, South Dakota. During the recent World war he was a member of the local Selective Service Board, which handled more than 7,000 registration cards and be- fore which some 1,500 soldiers were inducted into the service of the United States.

At Froid, Montana, on the 28th of April, 1915, Mr. Babcock was united in marriage with Miss Naomi Kendall, who was born in Glenford, Ohio, but when a young girl she came with her parents to North Dakota, and completed her education at White Earth in the latter state. Her professional training as a nurse was received at Valley City, North Dakota, and she continued to follow that profession until her marriage. In her parents' family were three daughters, her sisters being Mrs. William Meredith, of Scobey, Montana, and Mrs. Guss Grote, of Battleville, North Dakota. A daughter, Pauline, was born of Mr. and Mrs. Babcock on the 25th of December, 1916.

RICHARD GRAYSON, of Antelope, is a member of the firm of Grayson Brothers, merchants, and among the leading business men of Sheridan County. He was born at Mount Forest, Ontario, September 16, 1869, a son of William and Mary (Ramsey) Gray- son, and the oldest of their three children. William Grayson was a son of John Grayson, who spent his last years in Canada, and was a farmer throughout his life. He was a native of Herefordshire, Eng- land, where the family church records show the Graysons to have lived 300 years ago.

Richard Grayson spent his boyhood on the paren- tal farm. His educational advantages were limited to the country schools, and while yet a boy he was a prominent factor in the work of the farm. In time he began farming for himself in Walsh County, North Dakota, to which point the family had migrated in 1882, and he obtained the re- mainder of his schooling there, and in this same school his daughter began her educational training some twelve years later.

Mr. Grayson continued his farming operations near Lankin for seventeen years, and he then came to Montana and established himself among the few settlers or squatters about the site of Ante- lope, although the town was then in embryo, pro- jected but unnamed. Here Mr. Grayson began

his mercantile career in association with his brother John. The firm started their small business a mile south of the present site of the town with a car load of hardware which had been shipped into Cul- bertson and hauled the forty-five miles to this point. It had been arranged among the early settlers that one firm should establish a general merchandise store, the Graysons a stock of hardware, and a third party should put in a different line of goods. But after about a year in business the Grayson Brothers found that the first firm had failed to materialize and they therefore added a stock of gen- eral merchandise to their shelves in addition to their hardware, and thus became the proprietors of a general department store, carrying drugs, harness, implements, clothing and numerous other articles which were housed in a building twenty-eight by eighty feet, with a leanto 26 by 60 feet, and their implements were housed in a building 24 by 60 feet. Grayson Brothers continued as general merchants until a fire destroyed their store on June 6, 1918, and they have since carried only implements.

Grayson Brothers have became extensive farmers as well as merchants. The mercantile feature of the business is under the supervision of John Gray- son, while the agricultural interests are carried on by Richard. The brothers are also stockholders in the First National Bank of Antelope, and they joined two other citizens in the erection of the first elevator in Antelope.

Richard Grayson was reared under republican in- fluences and cast his first presidential vote for Ben- jamin Harrison in 1892. In 1896 he cast his ballot for Mr. Bryan, but supported Major Mckinley in 1900 and afterward all republican presidential can- didates until 1912, when he voted for Mr. Wilson.

Mr. Grayson was married near Lankin,, North Dakota, October 5, 1898, to Miss Emma J. Wool- dridge, who was born near Toronto, Canada, May 14, 1878, a daughter of John and Mary (Millman) Wooldridge, both of whom were born in Devon- shire, England. They were married there and came to America in 1872, locating first in Canada and afterward in North Dakota, where they were farming people. They subsequently removed to Oregon and spent several years in Albany before coming to Montana and establishing their home in Antelope. Here Mr. Wooldridge passed away in April, 1917, at the age of seventy years, and his widow returned to Albany, Oregon, where she is still living. Mr. and Mrs. Wooldridge's children were: Lizzie Ann, wife of Arthur Bolton, of La- come, Alberta, Canada; William, who met an acci- dental death at Albany, Oregon; James, a farmer near Albany; John, whose home is also near Al- bany; Fred, who was the first of the children born in America and now resides at Lawton, North Da- kota; George, of Lackie, Alberta, Canada; Emma, who became the wife of Mr. Grayson; Mabel, also at Langdon, North Dakota; the wife of Fern Christian; Eveline, the wife of Ervin Christian, of Lawton, North Dakota; and Ida, the wife of Jesse Davis, of Albany, Oregon. The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Grayson: Mary Louise, who has finished her studies in the Antelope High School; Ernest C., who holds diplomas from both the Sheridan County School and the Detroit Automobile School, graduating from the latter in 1920; and George W., Arthur I., Milton J., Lillian E., Miles W., Leonard and Edward Franklin.

Mr. Grayson built the first home on the townsite of Antelope. It is a nine-room bungalow with base- ment, is equipped with hot water heat, lighted with electricity and is modern in every detail.

JAMES GREEN

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HISTORY OF MONTANA

HENRY S. BELGUM. The pioneer banking institu- tion of Antelope is the Citizens State Bank, of which Henry S. Belgum is the cashier. His con- nection with this region of Montana dates from September, 1915, when he established his home here and entered the banking business. The Citizens State Bank had been founded three years previously by O. P. Waller, of Antelope, who became its first cashier, and in its organization he was associ- ated with Mr. M. E. Wilson, of Minneapolis, Minne- sota.

When the Citizens State entered the banking field the population of the locality comprised only a few early settlers, and its capital stock proved ample to care for the demands made upon it for some time and was fixed in accordance with the laws of Montana. But the original capital of $20,000 has since been increased, and each year dur- ing the past five years $5,000 have been added thereto. When Mr. Belgum came to the bank and became its directing head its deposits were in round numbers $24,000, and in the five years succeeding his connection with the institution it has increased its deposits to $200,000. The president has retained his office since the organization of the bank. During the past five years the institution has paid a twenty- five per cent dividend, thus indicating the care with which its affairs have been managed and directed.

Mr. Belgum came to the Citizens State Bank from Alexander, North Dakota, from a Wilson line of banks under the same heading. He joined this chain of financial institutions at that point about ten years ago, beginning his service with them as cashier of the Mckenzie County State Bank, and had previously been employed in the Bank of Wheaton at Wheaton, Minnesota, where he spent about six years as a bookkeeper. Mr. Belgum was reared on a farm in Minnesota, in Pope County, where his birth occurred July 25, 1878. His boy- hood and youth were devoted to the work of the farm and to the task of obtaining an education in the country schools. He also had two years of business training in a Minnesota commercial col- lege, and from that institution entered upon his career as a banker.

Mr. Belgum's father is Syver Belgum, who pioneered into Minnesota after the Civil war and purchased school land near Glenwood. He is a native son of Norway, born at Nordre, Aurdahl. He was liberally educated and became a leader in the political and social life of his native community. He was married there to Miss Marie Dahl, and they have since spent the active years of their life on their farm near Glenwood, Minnesota. They have prospered in their efforts, and the home they have built is contributing to their comfort and satisfac- tion in their declining years. They have lived to celebrate their sixtieth wedding anniversary, which occurred July 27, 1918, and all of their children and grandchildren were present, numbering thirty-seven in all. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Syver Bel- gum who grew to mature years are as follows: Tore S., of Glenwood, Minnesota; Rose, wife of Andrew Peterson, of Wheaton, Minnesota; Emma, who married Anton Braaton, of Kensington, Minne- sota; Henry S., whose home is in Antelope, Mon- tana; Eric S., a minister in the Lutheran church at Appleton, Minnesota, and Ole, whose home is in Kensington, Minnesota.

Henry S. Belgum has not confined his interests entirely to his banking house. He has seen to it that institutions needing funds with which to de- velop something worth while in Antelope have been adequately provided, and among these institutions which he has assisted is the Antelope Milling Com-

pany, which the Citizens Bank financed. The bank also financed the building of the much needed $18,000 school building in Antelope, and throughout the period of his residence here Mr. Belgum has assisted in the general upbuilding of the village and its surrounding community, and much credit is due to his personal efforts in the healthy growth of the region. He has avoided political entanglements or activity in favor of any candidate, but he always casts his ballot and nationally has been voting as a republican.

The Belgum home in Antelope is a seven-room bungalow of modern conveniences, and was built by Mr. Belgum in 1917. He was married in Wheaton, Minnesota, December 27, 1915, to Miss Catherine Bauer, who was born in Marengo, Iowa, April 1, 1879, a daughter of Louis and Ricka (Raffensbur- ger) Bauer, of Pennsylvania Dutch stock. Mrs. Belgum holds a life certificate as a teacher in Min- nesota, and was engaged in graded school work for nine years before her marriage. They have one daughter, Marie.

Mr. Belgum was chairman of the five Liberty Loan drives in Antelope, all of which were over- subscribed, and in the work of the Red Cross he was vice chairman of the locality.

JAMES GREEN. In the life story of the late James Green, who for almost fifty years was a man of substantial importance in Gallatin County, may be found much. that is interesting and available as a part of the true history of the development of this section. Orphaned in early life and robbed of his guardian by death before he was grown, he had a large portion of discouragement to cloud his early life, but this made only more notable his subsequent attainment of financial independence and high place among those whose esteem he valued.

James Green was born in Worcestershire, Eng- land, May 1, 1830. He was a son of William and Sarah (Foley) Green, natives of England. His father, at that time a prosperous farmer, died when his son was an infant, and he was placed in the care of his grandfather, Joseph Green. The latter, having been converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, immigrated to the United States in 1843, the grandson accompanving. Early in May they landed in the City of New Orleans, and from there came up the Mississippi River to Nau- voo, Illinois, where a large hody of Mormons had established themselves. Like many other great movements now, as then, these people and their religious tenets met with opposition, and in 1816 the entire hody left the State of Illinois. While removing to a point in Iowa, some ninety miles west of the Mississippi River, the grandfather of James Green died and his burial was at Farming- ton, Iowa. The vouth then went under the guardian- ship of a Scotchman named Miller, with whom he remained in the neighborhood in which they had stopped until 1851. in which year they started west to the Missouri River.

In the following spring the party to which Mr. Miller and his charge helonged fitted out for a long journey across the plains, constructing their own boats for crossing streams. It was the custom of the Mormons to travel in parties of fifty and suh- dividing into companies of ten. During 1852 there were fifty-two parties of colonists of fifty members each that made the trip to the chosen haven in Utah. They met with many hardships, and during the cholera epidemic lost a large number, ten of Mr. Green's associates dying from this dread disease, one of this number being Mr. Miller. his guardian. The survivors finally reached Salt Lake City, and

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there Mr. Green remained a short time, moving then to Provo City, Utah, where he engaged in farming until he came to Montana on May 22, 1864, He ar- rived at Alder Gulch on July 10th following, and some weeks later settled on the Jefferson River, and remained in that neighborhood during the rest of a busy and useful life. He homesteaded 400 acres of land, and in company with his sons acquired several sections of fine grazing land on Madison River. He made his homestead one of the best in the county and was considered a capable and progressive farmer. He owned great herds of cattle, at times having 500 head of Herefords.

Mr. Green was married July 27, 1851, to Miss Margaret Wellwood, who was born in Canada and died January 18, 1869., This marriage was solemnized while the colonists were on their way from lowa to Utah. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Green, as follows: Mary Jane, James William, Eliza, Melissa, Joseph A., Andrew J. and Charles. Mary Jane, who died at Bozeman, Montana, Novem- ber 19, 1915, was the wife of Thomas Reese. James William, who was an extensive stockman at Sixteen- Mile, Montana, and later at Fort Collins, Colorado, died at the latter place December 26, 1913. Eliza, who is the widow of E. Eukes, resides on her fine ranch situated about nine miles northeast of Bel- grade. Joseph A., of the above family, who died at Billings, Montana, August 8, 1917, was a com- mission merchant. Andrew J., who was born in Utah January 13, 1863, is now a banker at Inde- pendence, Missouri. Charles, who was born at Wil- low Creek, Montana, February 19, 1865, in asso- ciation with his father and next older brother became interested in extensive farm and stock un- dertakings. They remained on the homestead until 1884, when they acquired nearly 1,000 acres, and with their father had an additional 1,000 acres of grazing land. They raised great herds of high grade cattle. In 1908 Charles moved to Seattle, on ac- count of failing health, and died there October 14, 1914. On December 6, 1893, he was married to Miss Teria Tinsley, a daughter of William Tinsley, of Willow Creek.

James Green was a member of the Mormon Church, belonging to the branch known as the Josephites. He was esteemed throughout the entire region in which he was known, both for the up- rightness of his life and the advanced and intelligent methods he pursued in all business relations. His death occurred on November 1, 1902.

Miss Melissa Green resides on the old homestead near Willow Creek. The farm produces abundantly of grain and hay and its upkeep is a matter of gen- eral comment. She has one of the most beautiful homes in Gallatin County. Her niece, Miss Ann Green, daughter of the late Joseph A. Green, re- sides with her.

OTTO HENDRICKSON, of Antelope, is a merchant and farmer of this community of Sheridan County and has been identified with the interests of this region since 1909. It was in May of that year that he obtained a homestead two miles north of Ante- lope. He was among the first permanent settlers of the county, and with the passing years he has witnessed the development of the region from an almost unbroken wilderness to its present state of cultivation, and there are few who can claim priority of residence here.

Mr. Hendrickson was almost fresh from his native land of Norway when he arrived in Mon- tana. He had immigrated from his native land in the fall of 1908, spending the first winter here in Bisbee, North Dakota, where his brother had pre-

ceded him. While there Otto Hendrickson gathered together a few effects preparatory to his journey to Montana. He was born at Eissvold, Norway, near the capital city of the country, Christiania, De- cember 27, 1867. The first seventeen years of his life were spent on a farm, and during the follow- ing three years he was a student in a military school in Christiania. He next matriculated in the government agricultural school at Aas, where for two years he studied scientific farming, and then ob- tained a position in the largest railroad office in Christiania, spending sixteen years of his life there, and during a portion of that time was in charge of men engaged in specific work. On leaving the rail- road office he prepared to immigrate to the United States, where his brothers had preceded him and made themselves useful and valuable citizens in their respective homes.

Mr. Hendrickson sailed from Christiania on the steamship Heliola bound for New York, passed through the famous immigrant station Ellis Island and reached his destination at Bisbee, North Da- kota. He brought with him his family and his mother, then eighty years of age, and who died on her homestead near Antelope, Montana, six years later, in March, 1915.

Otto Hendrickson is a son of Martin Hendrick and Wilhelmina (Reis) Isaacson, born in Nanstad, Norway. His maternal grandfather was a member of a German family in that country. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Isaacson are: Isaac, a merchant and farmer at Bisbee, North Dakota; Mrs. Petro Couradine Hansen, a farmer in North Dakota; Marie, wife of Michael Wiflin, of Christiania, Nor- way; Arnt, whose home is in Chicago; Willie, also a resident of the Illinois metropolis, and Otto, who is the youngest of the children. Martin Hendrick Isaacson died in 1908, when past seventy-four years of age.

When Otto Hendrickson started the work of im- provement on his Montana homestead he built a shack eighteen by fourteen feet, with a kitchen twelve by twelve feet, and this served the family as a home until 1914, when it was replaced by a more commodious residence, a two-story, seven-room dwelling with basement. The homestead is located in section 1, township 34, range 55, and there the improvements are located. His first efforts toward Montana farming was to clear the land of several thousand loads of rock so that he could break and cultivate the soil, and he was assisted in this heavy work by his wife. His first crop, flax sown on the sod, proved a good one, and in the following year he harvested a fair wheat crop. He was thus encour- aged to enlarge his farming operations, and during the nine years he has farmed in Montana only once has he experienced a crop failure, that of 1919, when he realized only enough for seed for his next season's planting. Mr. Hendrickson is also engaged in merchandising in the town of Antelope. He entered upon his mercantile career on the 4th of August, 1919, in association with L. J. Onstad, and he has the management of their general store.

Mr. Hendrickson and his mother became citizens of the United States on the same day. His first presidential vote was cast for Mr. Wilson in 1912, but in the following presidential election he declined to vote. He is a member of the Lutheran Church, the church in which he was reared.

In October, 1897, Mr. Hendrickson was united in marriage with Miss Hilga Olson, a daughter of Ole Olson, who was engaged in the timber business in Norway. She is the oldest in a family of six sons and four daughters, and she was born January 15, 1876. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Hendrick-

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son are: Hendrick, who is a clerk for his father, Margaret, Hilga and Knute. The children have been given good educational advantages in the pub- lic schools and business colleges, and are on the road to useful citizenship.

RASMUS R. UELAND. One of the most prominent names in the locality of Antelope is that borne by Rasmus R. Ueland, one of the early settlers of the community and an extensive stock raiser and farmer. He arrived in the vicinity of Antelope on the 16th of April, 1907, and at once became identified with the life and interests of Sheridan County, although it was then included within the boundaries of Valley County, and the present site of the town of Ante- lope was almost unclaimed wilderness.

Mr. Ueland is a native son of Norway, born at Varhoug, Stavanger, September 3, 1875, a son of Rasmus and Mollie Ueland, both of these families being from the gaard called "Ueland," a little hamlet where the tillers of the surrounding locality lived. The following children were born to Ras- mus and Mollie Ueland: Ingar, wife of August Schroeder, of Marshall, Minnesota; Mary, who mar- ried August Johnson, also of Marshall, Minne- sota; Lars, who died at Antelope, Montana; and Rasmus R.

Rasmus Ueland, Sr., brought his family to the United States in the spring of 1882 and located in Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota. He bought land a few years later in Lyon County of that state, and is now a resident of Cottonwood, that state. He had served his time in the army of his native Norway, and after coming to the United States he took out citizens papers and became actively identi- fied with the public affairs of his community. He is a republican voter and a member of the Lutheran Church. His wife died in 1908, and he now main- tains his home in the town of Cottonwood.

Rasmus R. Ueland obtained three months of schooling in English, but the greater part of his education was received in the Norwegian tongue in Minnesota under an efficient and capable teacher. He remained at home until the age of twenty-four years, and then started out in life for himself as a tenant farmer. On coming to Mon- tana he brought with him a capital of about four hundred dollars, and his accumulations since that time have been the result of his own efforts on Montana soil.

In 1907 Mr. Ueland brought his emigrant car into Montana and unloaded it at Culbertson. In the car were two horses, four cows, two pigs and a breaking plow, these constituting a prominent part of his load. His first team was an old pair of horses which he bought for the express purpose of bring- ing into this new country where horse thieves were plentiful, feeling that if he were a victim of these night-prowlers he would not be a great loser. On reaching his destination he purchased a pair of steers, broke them to work, and with the aid of both the horses and steers he began the work of breaking sod, also adding one of his cows to the team. He was not disappointed in his first crop, for everything he planted seemed to grow and mature. But he farmed lightly until the World war, when farm produce became so much needed, and he has since centered more of his attention upon agriculture.

Mr. Ueland filed on his homestead in section 24, township 34, range 55, a quarter section, but before he acquired title to the land the railroad sought the west eighty acres of the tract for the townsite of Antelope, and he exchanged for eighty acres

east of his quarter, the tract upon which his build- ings and improvements are now located. His pioneer home was of the "shack" variety, a frame structure 14 by 18 feet and containing one room, and into this he moved his family, which consisted of his wife and three children. He hauled the lumber for this home on one load from Culbertson and erected the structure himself. This was his first home in Montana, and it continued to shel- ter the family until their present home was built four years later, a splendid frame dwelling two stories high, containing ten rooms and equipped with hot water heat. The barns have kept pace with the house in modern equipment and have developed from a small shed to their present ex- tensive proportions.

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Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume III, Part 42

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