Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume III, Part 54

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 54

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In his political views Mr. Isch is not bound by party ties, though he sees some good in all parties. But he reserves the right to vote for the men and measures which in his view promise to be of the greatest benefit to the greatest number. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mrs. Isch was reared in the faith of the Lutheran Church, of which she is a faithful mem- ber. Mr. Isch has been closely identified with the progress and prosperity which has characterized the Flathead Valley, and a history embracing this sec- tion of the state would not be complete without the foregoing reference to his life and the success he has achieved as an earnest, courageous laborer in one of the most important fields of endeavor, agri- culture. He is public spirited and generous, and en- joys to an eminent degree the confidence and good will of all who know him.

H. J. CASPERS is the leading druggist of his sec- tion of Montana, and the only one in the Madison Valley, and his store, located on Main Street, Ennis, is well equipped and extensively patronized. Mr. Caspers comes of a family founded in this country by his grandfather, Thomas Caspers, who born in Germany in 1814, left his native land for the United States during his young manhood, and finding con- ditions to suit him at Auburn, Nebraska, migrated there and assisted in building up that locality, and there his useful life was terminated by death in 1888. His son, John T. Caspers, was also born in Germany, in 1852, and he was only a baby when his parents came to the United States in that same

MR. AND MRS. JOHN ISCH

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HISTORY OF MONTANA

year, and he was reared at Auburn, Nebraska, and there he died in 1912. All of his life he was en- gaged in farming, and found that occupation a profitable one. Both as a democrat and a Lutheran he lived up to his beliefs, and was a most excellent man in every respect. His marriage took place at Auburn, when he was united with Sophia Eggers, born in Germany in 1856. She also died at Au- burn, passing away in 1894. Her parents were early settlers of Auburn. John T. Caspers and his wife became the parents of the following children: Grace, who married a Mr. Dirks, a farmer, lives at John- son, Nebraska; Mary, who married John Mientz, a farmer, resides at Beatrice, Nebraska; Maggie, who married George Frerichs, a farmer, resides at Auburn, Nebraska; Thomas, who was a farmer living at Auburn, Nebraska, died at Saint Joseph, Missouri, when thirty-three years of age; H. J., whose name heads this review; John, who is a farmer of Hildreth, Nebraska; Herman, who is a farmer of Athol, Kansas; and Adelia, who married Henry Nordbrock, a farmer of Hildreth, Nebraska.

H. J. Caspers was born at Auburn, Nebraska, July 23, 1883, and grew up in his native town, where he attended the public schools. He then took a course at Midland College, Atchison, Kansas, and after two years left to become a student of the School of Pharmacy at Fremont, Nebraska, from which he was graduated in 1904, with his degree of graduate of pharmacy. For a short period thereafter Mr. Caspers gained a practical experience in his profes- sion, working in a drug store at Dunbar, Nebraska, and then went to Westmoreland, Kansas, and con- ducted a drug store of his own for two years and two months, when he disposed of it and for the subsequent four months worked in a drug store at Manhattan, Kansas.

In 1907 Mr. Caspers entered upon a new phase by enlisting in the United States navy, and as a member of the medical department was sent to Nor- folk, Virginia, for a month, and then to the national capital for four months. He was then assigned to the United States battleship Kentucky, and was with it for two years, during that period taking part in the trip around the world of the fleet sent for that purpose by President Roosevelt. After a month at the Philadelphia Hospital Mr. Caspers spent eight months attached to the Chelsea Hospital at Boston, Massachusetts, and then for a short period was at a naval sanitarium at Las Animas, Colorado, where he acted as hospital steward. He was mustered out of the service in July, 1911, having been broadened by his various experiences and opportunities for travel. After leaving the service Mr. Caspers con- ducted a drug store at Johnson, Nebraska, for nine months, and then for three months operated a bakery at Auburn, Nebraska. For the subsequent three months he was employed in Cline's drug store of Auburn, and then on July I, 1913, came to Dillon, Montana, remaining in that city for five months,' during that time working in a drug store. For a month he was at Livingston, Montana, and for a year at Great Falls, Montana. During all of this time he was looking for an opening that suited him, and at last found one to his liking, and on Novem- ber 1, 1914, established his present business at Ennis, where he has built up a connection so important that competitors are discouraged and do not try to enter his territory. His modern residence is also located on Main Street, and he owns a ranch of 160 acres of irrigated land one mile southwest of Ennis. In his political views Mr. Caspers is independent. Hav- ing been brought up in the faith of the Lutheran Church he early connected himself with that de- nomination. He belongs to Madison Lodge No. 87,

Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, at Jeffers, Montana, of which he is master. In addition to all his other interest Mr. Caspers is a director of the Westside Canal Company.

On January 8, 1912, Mr. Caspers was married at Johnson, Nebraska, to Miss Hattie B. Kiel, a daugh- ter of Ferdinand and Ella (Johnson) Kiel. Ferdi- nand Kiel was a ranchman of the vicinity of John- son, Nebraska, but is now deceased, although his widow survives him and lives at Johnson. Mr. and Mrs. Caspers have one daughter, Wana Donna, who was born September 10, 1912. There are few men who have had such a varied experience as Mr. Cas- pers, and he shows in his business and social life the benefits of it. Having viewed men and affairs from so many standpoints, he is able to judge fairly and to understand the requirements of his patrons, and in meeting his demands he has gained control of the trade in his neighborhood. Having decided upon Ennis as his permanent home, he is a great booster for the place, seeing in it splendid possibili- ties, and is willing and able to forward all move- ments looking toward a development of these nat- ural advantages.

PETER M. PETERSON, who is manager for the Mon- tana Lumber Company at Shawmut, is also a Mon- tana homesteader, and has had a varied business career, having lived for a number of years in Iowa and in Texas.

He was born at Corning, Adams County, Iowa, August 7, 1880. His father, Jacob, spelled the fam- ily name according to the Danish custom, Petersen. He was born at Aalborg, Denmark, March 27, 1839, grew up in his native country and in 1866, at the age of twenty-seven came to the United States. He worked his way through Michigan, went to Omaha, Nebraska, was in the service of the street car com- pany for a time, and about 1878 moved to Corning, Iowa. He became a prosperous farmer in Adams County, Iowa, all his children were born in that state, and since 1910 he has lived a retired life at Corning, being now past eighty years of age. He is a democrat and a member of the Lutheran Church. Jacob Petersen married Lena Larsen, who was born on Jutland Island, Denmark, in 1857. Peter is the oldest of their children; Andrew is a farmer at Forestburg, South Dakota; Anna is the wife of L. O. Jensen, an electrician with the Street Railway Com- pany at Omaha, Nebraska; Iloe is the wife of L. A. Jensen, also an electrician with the Street Railway Company at Omaha; James B. is a resident of Corning; Mary is the wife of Leo Shinn, a drug- gist at Corning; and Harry W., who was born at Corning January 15, 1899, is a graduate of the Corning High School and is now assisting his brother Peter at Shawmut.

Peter M. Peterson attended the rural schools of his native Iowa county and lived . on his father's farm there to the age of twenty-one. After that he remained in Iowa, in Adams County, as an in- dependent farmer three years, and three years as a blacksmith. In 1906 he removed to the Texas Panhandle, and conducted a store at Tulia in Swisher County three years, and for another three years was manager of a business at Happy, Texas. Go- ing to Omaha in 1912, Mr. Peterson was motorman with the Omaha Street Railway Company until the latter part of February, 1915, and on March I of that year arrived at Grass Range, Montana. He filed on a homestead of 160 acres and acquired by purchase 160 acres more. He still owns this half section, now a well developed farm located thir- teen miles north of Grass Range. Mr. Peterson had his home on his claim for eighteen months,

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HISTORY OF MONTANA

and while there was appointed deputy sheriff of Fergus County.

He has been in the service of the Montana Lum- .ber Company since December 15, 1917, beginning as yardman at Grass Range. May 23, 1918, the company transferred him to Shawmut as manager of the local yards, which are on First Street, near the Chicago and Milwaukee Railway tracks.

Mr. Peterson is a citizen always ready to do his part in community affairs. He is treasurer of the Shawmut Chamber of Commerce, and has acquired considerable local real estate, including a modern home. He is a democrat, a member of the Lutheran Church, and is affiliated with Grass Range Lodge of Odd Fellows and also with the Encampment of the same order.

BERT HOFER, one of the substantial citizens of Harrison, is engaged in a hardware and furniture business, which he has developed into paying pro- portions and he is a man who stands well in his community. He was born at Linc, Austria, Jan- uary 18, 1854 a son of Joseph and Barbara (Schnei- der) Hofer. Joseph Hofer was also born at Linc, Austria, in 1801, and died at Chippewa Falls, Wis- consin, in 1900, at the extreme old age of ninety- nine years, nine months and seven days. After learning the profession of architecture in his native land, and also the business of building and contract- ing, he came to the United States in 1869, and after two years spent at Baltimore, Maryland, came west to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, where he en- gaged in farming for the remainder of his active life. After becoming naturalized he espoused the principles of the democratic party. All his life he was a consistent member of the Roman Catholic Church. His wife, who was born in Austria in 1798, died at Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, in 1882. Their children were as follows: Theressa, who is deceased; Mary, who is married, lives at Bloomer, Wisconsin, her husband being the proprietor of a hotel; Louisa, who married Joseph Eder, a farmer, resides at Chippewa Falls; Elnora, who is married, lives at Chippewa Falls, her husband being a cigar maker of that city; and Bert, who is the youngest of the family.

Bert Hofer attended the public schools of Austria, and after coming to the United States with his father in 1869, was engaged in general labor at Bal- timore, Maryland, but when he located at Chippewa Falls in 1871 he began learning the tinner's trade, and followed it there and at Helena, Montana, to which city he moved in 1880, being with the firm of Clark, Conrad and Curtain in the latter place. In 1882 he went to Bozeman and remained in that city from 1882 to 1888, and from the latter year until 1892 he was at Great Falls, both in Montana. Moving then to Neihart, Montana, he spent a year there, leaving it for Choteau, Montana, where for four years he conducted a business of his own, and in 1897 transferred his interests to Pony, Montana, establishing himself in a hardware business and tin shop, which he conducted until 1915, when the Town of Harrison offered still better opportunities, and he moved his stock to this community, adding furniture to his lines of business. Mr. Hofer owns his store, which is stocked with a fine assortment of high grade furniture and hardware, and he con- ducts his business upon such principles and accord- ing to methods which win for him the goodwill of his customers and the approval of his community. The business is conveniently located on Main Street, and Mr. Hofer has made his establishment one of the most attractive in the place. He also owns his modern residence on Main Street. Politically he is a republican, and has always taken a deep interest

in civic matters, while at Pony serving as a member of the City Council. His fraternal connections are with Choteau Camp, Woodmen of the World.

In 1886 Mr. Hofer was married at Bozeman to Anna Young, a daughter of Captain Young, now deceased, who was a veteran of the Civil war and a pioneer of Harrison, where he conducted a black- smith shop and was engaged in farming. Mr. and Mrs. Hofer became the parents of the following children : Walter D., who is on the ranch of W. H. Young, of Madison County, Montana; and Bert, who is now at home with his parents. During the great war he enlisted for service and was sent to New York, and then to the aviation schools of St. Paul, Minnesota, Dayton, Ohio, and Marshfield, Cal- ifornia, and has been graduated in aviation by the government. As he is now only nineteen years of age, his youth prevented his being sent overseas.

HORACE SAMPSON. To the commercial develop- ment of Lincoln County Horace Sampson has sup- plied a vital element, and while a resident of the county only eight years he has built up one of the most widely patronized stores in the county, the Sampson Mercantile Company at Eureka.

Mr. Sampson was born in Oregon, a son of Eph- raim and Eunice Sampson. He married Miss Cora Harris, a native of Darlington, Wisconsin, and daugh- ter of William and Caroline (Sleep) Harris.

In 1912 Mr. Sampson came to Eureka and bought the general store of A. Y. Lindsey. Subsequently he moved the store down the street, remodeled it, and has been extending his facilities every year, until his trade reaches out over a wide radius of country, and he carries a stock to supply all the needs of general merchandise.

Mr. and Mrs. Sampson have one son, Harland H. Sampson, who graduated from the Eureka High School and acquired a business training to fit him for association with his father, in the Northwestern Business College at Spokane. During the World war he volunteered, was mustered in at Libby, Mon- tana, was trained at Camp Dodge, and while there contracted the influenza and pneumonia. He spent some time in a hospital at Camp Lewis and was honorably discharged. At Camp Dodge he was with the One Hundred and Sixty-third Depot Brigade, Tenth Battalion, Company 39, and subsequently was transferred to the medical corps.

Mr. Sampson and his son both joined the Masonic Lodge at the same time, and all the family are members of the Eastern Star. Mrs. Sampson is also affiliated with the Rebekahs and Maccabees. They are republicans in their political sympathies, and Mrs. Sampson is an ardent prohibitionist and a member of the Methodist Church. They are peo- ple of Lincoln County who can always be depended upon to support every movement for general good. Harland Sampson married Miss Cecil Lundin, a na- · tive of Iowa. She and her husband graduated from the same class in the Eureka High School.

O. P. J. MOSBY. For thirty years a resident of Northern Montana, O. P. J .. Mosby came to the state while in the service of the Great Northern Railroad, but for a number of years past has been the well known and popular proprietor of the Montana Hotel at Eureka.

Mr. Mosby was born in Denmark, a son of Jens . Peterson Mosby. He came to this country in early life and at St. Paul, Minnesota, married Marie Johnson, also a native of Denmark, daughter of Johan Anderson and Cecelia Nelson.

Mr. Mosby came to Montana in 1890, and carried mail during the construction of the Great Northern Railroad, from Harve to Seattle, on horseback. In

JennyGood

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HISTORY OF MONTANA

1891, he located in Kalispell and later moved to Eureka, where they are now located.

Mr. and Mrs. Mosby became the parents of six children : Arthur, Harold, Norman, Ellsworth, Ce- celia and Victoria. Arthur, an electrician at Kalis- pell. married Edna Conlin. Harold is married and lives at Seattle. Norman married Coralie Divers and is also an electrician at Kalispell. He served as a corporal in the Marines in California. Ells- worth is a student of the State University of Mon- tana at Missoula and has a most honorable military record. He enlisted in the Second Montana Na- tional Guard, August II, 1910, was promoted cor- poral September 10, 1911, promoted sergeant Septem- ber 22, 1912, commissioned second lieutenant March IO, 1914, and commissioned a first lieutenant Sep- tember 19, 1914. He saw service in the Butte riots from August to October, 1914. From June 29, 1916, to November 8, 1916, he was in service on the Mex- ican Border, and was called into service March 26, 1917, sent overseas December 15, 1917, was wounded at St. Mihiel September 13, 1918, received the Croix de Guerre in August, 1918, and was honorably dis- charged at New York, January 12, 1919. He re- turned to the University of Montana to finish his education. The daughter Cecelia was educated in the Kalispell High School and in a business college and is now a stenographer in the office of H. G. Pomeroy, a Eureka attorney. Victoria is now in her second year at the State University at Mis- soula.

Mr. and Mrs. Mosby attend the Episcopal Church, of which their children are members. Politically they are republicans, and Mrs. Mosby is a member of the Maccabees, Arthur is an Elk and Ellsworth is a member of college fraternities. Mr. and Mrs. Mosby are ideal landlords, and they have. given their hotel a homelike atmosphere greatly appreciated by the traveling public.

HENRY GOOD. Deeds are thoughts crystallized, and according to their brilliancy do we judge the worth of a man to the country which produced him, and in his works we expect to find the true index to his character. A worthy representative of that type of American business man who may properly be termed "progressive," that character which promotes public good in advancing individual prosperity and conserv- ing popular interests, is Henry Good, the well known farmer, real estate owner and logging contractor of Kalispell, Flathead County. He has been prominent- ly identified with the business and other interests of his locality for many years, and while his varied affairs have brought him success they have also ad- vanced the general welfare.

Henry Good was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, on June 15, 1877, and is the son of Hugh G. and Mary M. (Loughry) Good. When he was seven years old the family came to Montana, locating at Butte, where they lived until 1886. In that year Mr. Good's father made the trip from Butte to the Flathead Valley by covered wagon, that being sev- eral years prior to the founding of Kalispell, and he established his home about two miles southwest from where that city now stands. There he pre- empted 160 acres, remaining there three years and then homesteading 160 acres twelve miles north of Kalispell. In 1898 Henry Good bought 160 acres ten miles north of Kalispell, where he at once went to work to develop a farm and by indefatigahle and persistent efforts he has succeeded to the extent that today his ranch home is considered one of the finest and most attractive in all that part of the country. The residence is not only attractive, but is provided with all the conveniences and comforts of

a city home. The barns and other farm buildings are substantial in character and convenient in ar- rangement, the general appearance of the place indi- cating the owner to be a man of excellent taste and good judgment. His estate comprises 510 acres of as fine land as can be found in the Flathead coun- try. In addition to his ranch Mr. Good has for many years been engaged in logging contracting, which occupies a fair share of his time and attention, and in which also he has been very successful, he having cut and delivered over 26,000,000 feet in 1919. He also owns other farm lands and is numbered among the prosperous and well-to-do men of his locality.

Mr. Good was married to Ada Bowdish, who was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and they have be- come the parents of two children, Mark Henry and Ruth Ada. The son, after graduating from the high school at Columbia Falls, took a business course, and is now assisting his father in the latter's office at Kalispell. Ruth Ada is a student in the Central School at Kalispell. On November 11, 1918, the death angel invaded the home of the subject and took away the wife and mother. She was possessed of those qualities of character which had endeared her to a large circle of friends. During the dark days of the recent World war she had been especially active in Red Cross work, and in many other ways had evinced a generous and self-sacrificing spirit. On March 4, 1920, Mr. Good was married to Miss Alice E. Ketchum, a native of Iowa and a daughter of Eugene and Emeline E. (Jones) Ketchum. Mrs. Good is a graduate of the Chicago University of Music and the Minneapolis College of Music and Art, and she taught and supervised the teaching of music three years in the graded schools and two years in the high school of Kalispell.

Politically Mr. Good gives his support to the demo- cratic party and has taken an active part in promot- ing its success. He was elected a member of the board of county commissioners, in which position the voters of the county retained him six years, and during four years of that time he served as chair- man of the board. Religiously Mr. Good is a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is a generous supporter. He is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, in which he has attained to the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Kite, and he also belongs to the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks.

Mr. Good has taken a material and practical in- terest in the general affairs of the community and contributed in a definite way to the promotion of many enterprises for the public good. He is a member of the board of directors of the First Na- tional Bank of Kalispell; a director in the Flathead County Pure-bred Live Stock Association ; president of the Stillwater Land Company, which owns 15,000 acres of land; president of the Whitefish Land Company, which is engaged in developing the coun- try around Whitefish; president of the Flathead County Fair Commission, under appointment by the board of county commissioners; president of the Flathead and Lincoln Counties Motor Club. Mr. Good is an enthusiastic advocate of good roads and has probably done more to stimulate and encourage the improvement of the public highways of this sec- tion of the state than any other man or agency. He has spared neither his time nor means in his efforts to arouse an active interest in this most important subject, and has the satisfaction of know- ing that his work has not been fruitless, great strides having been made in the last decade in the improve- ment of roads. In Mr. Good's judgment the most important road project in the West today is the road through Glacier Park connecting West and

Vol. III-18

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HISTORY OF MONTANA

East Montana, and he is devoting a great deal of energy in that direction, four miles being completed east of Belton. Mr. Good's efforts have not gone without recognition, and today no man in the Flat- head country is held in higher esteem generally than he. Genial but unassuming in disposition, he en- joys a well-deserved popularity, his friends being in number as his acquaintances.

L. E. McGEE, who for a number of years past has been superintendent of the P. L. Howe Lumber Mills of Eureka, is also responsible for the development of Eureka's chief source of pure milk and cream. His enterprise has supplied a long felt need, and such has been his success and the appreciation of his patronage' that he is now taking active steps to enlarge his industry.

Mr. McGee's dairy ranch is in Tobacco Valley, where he owns eighty acres and leases 400 acres besides. He now has a twenty cow dairy, and keeps a delivery truck on the ranch, making daily trips to Eureka with milk and cream. Everything is con- ducted systematically and with a strict regard for sanitary principles, and he has more business than his present equipment can supply.

Mr. McGee has been in the lumber industry for forty years and is an expert in every phase of saw milling and lumber manufacture. He was born in Ontario, Canada, in 1859, son of Emery and Eliza- beth (Hutt) McGee. Mr. McGee settled at Eureka in 1910, and for the decade past has had an active part in converting the timber resources of this region into finished product.

At Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, he married Julia Burke, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hubert Burke. To their marriage were born twelve sons and one daughter, and nine sons are still living: Hubert, William, Elmer, John, Leo, George, Frank, Harry and Fred. The children were well educated in Wis- consin and Minnesota, and most of the sons have been trained in the same vocation as their father. Fred married Miss Marvel Bottger and has a son, Carrel. Elmer, a sawyer with the Eureka Lumber Mills, married Miss Ida Bothum and has a son, Lewis James. William is a foreman in a garage at Minneapolis. Leo is a filer connected with the Howe Lumber Mill. He married Miss Nellie Carle- son and has a son, Eugene. Frank, also a filer with the company, married Miss Jeanette Audett and has a son, Fredrich R. George, a sawyer in the mills, married Miss Thelma Salvege. John is night foreman of the company. Harry is a carriage set- ter, and Hubert is a setter in another mill.

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Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume III, Part 54

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