Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume III, Part 67

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 67

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Mrs. Donaldson is a remarkable woman, typical of the spirit of the enfranchised sex in the best sense of the term. Unusually intelligent, she has developed her natural talents and capabilities, and has been successful in every line of work in which she has been engaged. No less the devoted wife and mother or capable housewife, she won laurels as an educator, and is now handling the business of the postoffice in a manner which wins for her the commendation and respect of all who come in con- tact with her. Taking as she does an active inter- est in civic matters, she wields a strong influence in the community, and is never afraid to stand back of her convictions, for she never takes a stand un- less she is sure that she is well informed on both sides of the question. It is such as she who are proving the wisdom of giving to women the bal- lot and taking them out of the submerged class and placing them on a level with male citizens. There are of course some women who will abuse the right of suffrage, but so do some of the men, and the influence of a woman like Mrs. Donaldson will do much to educate the incapables of her sex and bring home to them the importance and dignity of the new privilege accorded them, so that they will join her in striving to prove in every way worthy of it, and to aid in the general uplift of humanity and the betterment of politics.

SIDNEY J. DOROTHY, proprietor of the Froid Auto and Oil Company, is one of the progressive young business men of this part of the county, and al- though one of the newcomers, has firmly established himself in public confidence. He was born in Chisago County, Minnesota, on November 1, 1882, a son of Frank B. Dorothy, who practically spent his life at St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, but was a native of St. Lawrence County, New York, where he was born in 1846. Graduated from a New York college, he entered the legal profession and devoted himself to it. During the war between the states he enlisted in a New York regiment, was assigned to the Army of the Potomac and participated in the famous sur- render at Appomattox. During his service as a soldier he was wounded. While he voted the repub- lican ticket, he was not otherwise associated with politics. In religious faith he was a Baptist and his wife was a Congregationalist. She was a Miss Julia L. Murdock, a daughter of a physician, prior to marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Dorothy had the follow- ing children: Sidney J., whose name heads this re- view; Mrs. Walter B. Davison, of River Falls, Wis- consin ; Mrs. Edwin L. Burnham of St. Croix, Wisconsin, and five who are deceased. Mr. Dorothy died at Minneapolis, Minnesota, in April, 1916.

Reared amid the most favorable environment, Sid- ney J. Dorothy attended the public schools of St. Croix, Wisconsin, completing the high school course. He then became an employe of the sterling Electric Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and after five years spent with them he went to work for him- self, building his first plant at Ray, North Dakota, from whence he went to Williston, that state, where he spent four years and became owner of the Willis- ton Electrical Construction Company, and he also built plants at Bainville, Montana, and all of the electric plants from that point to Scoby, Montana.

In March, 1916, Mr. Dorothy came to Froid intent upon organizing his present company and installing a string of electric plants along the branch line of the Great Northern Railroad. His first work upon establishing himself in Froid was the construction of the building in which his plant is located, which is 50 by 100 feet, two-stories in height and frame in material. In it is the city electrical plant, a garage and a wholesale oil station.

Sidney J. Dorothy was married at Minneapolis, Minnesota, on August 28, 1907, to Miss Rose A. Lewis, born on February 5, 1881, one of two chil- dren, her sister being Mrs. T. C. Chalmers of Duluth,' Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Dorothy have no children. Mr. Dorothy belongs to the board of trustees of the Congregational Church of Froid, and he is teacher of the adult Bible class. Mrs. Dorothy is president of the Ladies' Aid Society. Both Mr. and Mrs. Dorothy were very active in the work of rais- ing funds for carrying on the war during 1917, 1918, and 1919, and are in every way representative citi- zens and delightful people socially.

WILLIAM SIBBITS. Of the great life of the West during the past half century the full panorama has been unfolded in the experience of William Sib- bits of Wolf Point, who has been a soldier, Indian fighter, engaged in countless expeditions in the serv- ice of the Government, army and civilian depart- ments, and for forty years his experiences have been largely in Montana.

He was born at Dublin Gap, Pennsylvania, July 17, 1852. The name of his father was William "Siebert," and he was of Holland Dutch stock. The father died before the birth of his son William. The mother was Mary Jane McDonald, one of the numer- ous children of James and Mattie (McDonald) Mc- Donald, the former a native of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and of Scotch-Irish parents, while the latter was of Irish lineage. William Sibbits had a twin brother, John A., who was serving in the United States Marines when last heard from in 1876. The mother of these boys became the wife of John Weaver, and had a son, John Weaver, now of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Her last husband was William McCoy, and by that mar- riage there was a son, Harvey McCoy, who was in Montana as early as 1879. Mrs. McCoy died at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1861.

William Sibbits had some meager educational op- portunities at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and at Mill- town in the same state, and was a little past four- teen years of age when he left the East and found an opportunity in the army. He first came West in 1867 as a trumpeter with the Third United States Cavalry. The headquarters of that regiment was at old Fort Union in New Mexico. He was with the Canadian River expedition against the Kiowa and Comanche Indians in old Indian Territory, and fought the Indians in the Wichita Mountains on Christmas morning of 1869. The soldiers destroyed part of the Indian camp, but due to exhaustion

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were unable to follow up their victory. The troops had lived on three hard tacks a day until they cap- tured the Indian camp, where plenty of buffalo meat was found. In fact buffalo were on the plains in great abundance and had to be driven out of the way as the troops passed, though the leaders of the expedition did not permit shooting for fear of alarm- ing the Indians. After this expedition the troops were returned to Fort Union, and the next fall Mr. Sibbits was transferred from Troop I to Troop L, stationed at Fort Wingate, and went to Camp Hualpai, Arizona. He was under General Crook on the latter's first expedition against old Chief Cochise of the Apaches, the predecessor of the famed Geronimo. The Chief's warriors were never cor- ralled. Barring a few trips between Camp Hualpai and Prescott Mr. Sibbits remained in the camp until discharged in 1871.

When the paymaster's escort came by he accom- panied it to Los Angeles, then a small Spanish town and now one of the greatest cities of the Pacific Coast. The following year he rented a farm in Los Niates Valley, and that fall worked with a corn- sheller. The epizootic broke out in the spring of 1873, and after killing several of his horses Mr. Sibbits decided to go to Texas. He was in the northern part of that state, then a pioneer district, and at Decatur burned lime and brick and built the first brick flues in the town. At Jacksboro in the same section of Texas he finished the public well in the court square, and dug other wells and put up hay on contract. In 1875 he went to the Red River station an'd engaged in swimming herds of cattle across the river bound for the North over the old Chisholm trail. This was an uncongenial task, and he soon left it and went to Fort Sill and thence to Caddo, and for two years was employed by the firm of Marchand and Finlon trading be- tween Caddo and Fort Sill.

It should be remembered that all the localities spoken of were at that time part of the great and unclaimed West, remote from civilization, exposed to hostile tribes, and all the experiences of white men were rough and arduous. Leaving old Indian Territory Mr. Sibbits proceeded north to Fort Mc- Pherson, Nebraska, spending that winter as a trap- per and hunter on the Platte River, and in the spring of 1877 moved farther north to Sidney, and engaged in freighting to Red Cloud Agency and into the Black Hills for Pratt and Ferris. Two years later he removed to the Red Cloud Agency, and was employed by old Todd Randall, a squaw man and stock raiser and trader. While . there he perfected his knowledge of the Sioux language. Later buying some steers, he used them as a team in furnishing Fort Robinson with wood on contract, and followed that until 1878, when he sold his out- fit and went into the Black Hills, spending the winter working for the Quartermaster on the construc- tion of Fort Meade.

With a mule team and in charge of the outfit in the spring of 1879 he proceeded to Bismarck and with others boarded a Rosebud steamer for Coal Banks Landing on the Missouri River, and thence up to Assiniboine, where he had some part in the construction of this Montana post. He was employed by the Government contractor and freighter Sam Pippin, but the sun was too hot to shovel sand in July, and leaving there he went into the Gallatin Valley and worked with a threshing outfit. That fall he went to Fort Custer, and in the spring of 1880 was employed by the Quarter- master, making a trip into the Yellowstone National Park, driving the first six-mule team that ever went into the Upper Geyser Basin.

Mr. Sibbits first came into the vicinity of Wolf Point in the fall of 1880, being on a rather historic errand. He was with a troop of soldiers as teamster, part of the Government forces engaged in bringing old Sitting Bull and his followers to Poplar from Woody Mountain in Canada, whither the old Chief had fled after the Custer massacre. Sitting Bull after some negotiations with the Government had consented to return to the United States, and he was brought to Poplar to join Chief Gall and his followers who had recently been captured on Red Water and brought into the Agency for final sen- tence at the Standing Rock Agency in Dakota. The warriors, squaws and children were divided into squads and taken down to Fort Buford, and Mr. Sibbits accompanied about a dozen of these ont- fits.

That winter he made twelve trips between Pop- lar and Buford, and was out under the skies during most of the extreme cold of that time. The mer- curial column registered at Frenchman's Point, near Brockton, 631/2 degrees below zero on one of the trips. This extreme cold was reported from Poplar by the United States Weather Bureau, marking the place as the coldest point in Montana, although Havre seems to have the distinction as a result of the removal of the signal station from Poplar to Havre later on. In this miserable cold weather the Indians were moved across the Plains region and some of them actually froze to death on the way, although the major in command ordered his horses unblanketed and the blankets divided among the In- dians to protect them.

Mr. Sibbits remained in the employ of the Gov- ernment until the summer of 1881, and then went to work for G. H. Fairchild and W. B. Shaw, Indian traders at Poplar, as a clerk in their store. Here his knowledge of the Sioux language stood him in good stead. In 1883 he spent part of the sum- mer in Canada working on the Canadian Pacific Railroad. Returning to Montana, he accompanied "Flopping Bill" from Gilpin to the Judith Basin country and freighted from Junction City to Fort McGinnis for Jo Rhoades, taking care of the lat- ter's cattle that winter. The following spring_he worked in the saw mill and logging camp of Ben Dexter at Alpine. The next fall he married, and the following winter trapped and hunted on the Judith River, hauling his venison and pelts to Maiden, where he found a good market.

The next spring brought a change of operations, when he took a contract for building irrigation ditches for G. R. Norris at Claggett. With the approach of winter he returned to Maiden and cut and delivered wood to the town that winter. The next spring he joined the "P. W." cattle outfit at Claggett, and in the autumn, October, 1886, came to old Wolf Point, and his home and work have been in this section of the Missouri River practically ever since, almost thirty-five years.

His first work here was at Poplar putting up cord wood for the contractor who furnished the soldiers with wood. He also made a trip up Milk River Valley as a freighter for Chief Engineer Roberts of the Great Northern Company. He was a car- penter for the United States Quartermaster at Pop- lar, but spent that winter in Glasgow, and for a couple of winters trapped on the Porcupine at Nashua, employing his summers in putting up build- ings for a sheep outfit. The military garrison was withdrawn from Poplar about 1893, and its authority turned over to the Indian Department. At that time Mr. Sibbits entered the Indian service under Captain Sproule, and was chief of police, stable man,

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Indian farmer and finally Indian butcher. In 1907 he resigned his post as sub-Indian agent at Wolf Point, and for a time was employed by B. D. Phil- lips as sheep man, as a "go-between" to preserve the peace between the sheep men and the Indians, a diplomatic post he handled very successfully. That was his last employment as a wage earner, and until he retired a few years ago he was exclusively en- gaged in the stock business.

Mr. Sibbits married a full-blood Sioux woman, Kokandiahewei, meaning "bright woman" but the white people gave her the name Kittie. Her father, Four Horns, was a warrior of the Assiniboine tribe. Mrs. Sibbits was born at Browning on the Milk River in Montana in 1866 and died at Wolf Point on August 23, 1915. Her children were: Mrs. Minnie Thompson, who is now housekeeper for her father and has a son, James; William, who is a soldier in the regular army; Edward and Harry, both in school at Rapid City. Rosy Shipstead, wife of Oscar Shipstead, a ranchman near Scobey, Mon- tana, also grew up in the Sibbits home, being a daughter of Mrs. Sibbits' sister.

This is only a brief and outlined sketch of one of the careers filled with the romance of the great West. Mr. Sibbits has had an active and eventful life and his adventures and ramblings have made him widely acquainted with Montana. He has en- tered into the spirit and the civilizing movements of the Sioux tribe and has taken a modest part in the civil affairs of his home community. He voted the republican ticket for many years, subsequently sup- ported the socialist party, and until recently, when he resigned, held the office of justice of the peace.

JAMES W. ANDERSON, assistant cashier of the First State Bank of Froid, has held his present respon- sible position since coming to Montana in June, 19II, and is recognized as one of the stable finan- ciers of his county. He was born in Steel County, North Dakota, in the vicinity of Sherbrooke, on July 22, 1889, a son of Thomas G. Anderson. The birth of Thomas G. Anderson took place in Canada near the New York State line, and his parents were natives of Scotland, who came first to Canada and later to New York State and were farming people. With the outbreak of the war between the states Thomas G. Anderson enlisted for service in the Union army, and while he was not wounded, his health was so impaired that he never fully recov- ered and received a pension from the Government on account of his disability. With the organization of the Grand Army of the Republic he became an active member and never lost his interest in it throughout his life. In politics he was a republi- can, and he held the office of registrar of deeds of Steele County, North Dakota, for some years, being noted as a penman. In earlier years he taught penmanship, both in a business college and to pri- vate pupils, and to the day of his death his writing was as smooth and even as when he was in his full vigor. There are many specimens still treasured of his exquisite Spencerian designs. While both the Dakotas were still Dakota Territory Thomas G. Anderson went to Steele County and entered a home- stead, which he held the rest of his life. A drug- gist by profession, he .conducted drug stores at Portland and Hope, North Dakota, but during his later years he confined himself almost exclusively to farming. The Congregational Church was his religious home. Thomas G. Anderson was married in Missouri to Miss Bessie G. Hildebrand, who sur- vives him and makes her home at Fargo, North Dakota, Mr. Anderson having died in 1916. Their

children are as follows: William J., who lives at Fargo, North Dakota; Samuel V., who lives at Pickert, North Dakota; Earl, who lives at Hope, North Dakota; Wendell, who lives at Minneapolis, Minnesota; James W., whose name heads this re- view; and Howe, who lives at Wahpeton, Minnesota.

After attending the public schools of Steele County, North Dakota, James W. Anderson became a student of the State Agricultural College at Fargo, North Dakota, and then, although only eighteen years old, was prepared for a business career and received a position in the office of registrar of deeds at Sherbrooke, North Dakota, where he remained for six months. He then went into the banking business, first as bookkeeper of the Tioga, North Dakota, State Bank, but after a few months was made assistant cashier of the Mohall State Bank of Mohall, North Dakota, and remained with that con- cern for two years, and at the expiration of that period he came to Froid. He began his political activity as a republican, casting his first presidential ballot for William Howard Taft in 1912. In March, 1913, Mr. Anderson was elected the first treasurer of Sheridan County, installed the work of the office and continued to hold that office until March, 1915, when he turned it over to his successor. When Froid was incorporated in 1915 Mr. Anderson was elected its first mayor, and gave such universal satis- faction that he has been continued in office ever since by his constituents. He is responsible for securing the street grading, sidewalks and street lighting improvements, and he has other plans for further beautifying and developing the little city.

On December 24, 1912, Mr. Anderson was united in marriage at Storden, Minnesota, with Miss Anna J. Smested, born in Cottonwood County, Minnesota, on September 20, 1888, a daughter of E. E. Smested. Mrs. Anderson was educated in the public schools and completed the high school course. She is the only daughter in the family of four children born to her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have two children, namely : Robert W. and Anna Jean. The family residence of Mr. and Mrs. Anderson is a comfortable stucco bungalow of six rooms of mod- ern design which Mr. Anderson had built for them after their own plans.

Mr. Anderson was made a Mason at Culbertson, Montana, and has not demitted. He also belongs to the Odd Fellows, and is a past grand of Froid Lodge. Both he and Mrs. Anderson are deservedly popular in a congenial social circle.

JOHN CURRAN, assessor of Roosevelt County, is one of the earliest settlers of Eastern Montana, and came into the state as a resident of Culbertson when it was still a trading post with only two saloons and a hotel, both built of logs, as the places of busi- ness. From then on he has maintained his residence in Montana and has developed with the state. He was born at Chicago, Illinois, on December 19, 1873, a son of Archibald Curran. The birth of Archibald Curran took place in County Antrim, Ireland, on December 24, 1840, and when he was seventeen years old he came to the Dominion of Canada and became a sailor on the Great Lakes. In 1883 he left the water and took up farming, although he had become captain of a vessel. Saskatchewan, Canada, attracted him and he secured land in that province. He was married near Kingston, Ontario, Canada, to Miss Jane Reid, and located his home at Chicago, Illinois. Mrs. Curran was born in the north of Ireland, and her death occurred in No- vember, 1893. She and her husband became the parents of the following children: Eliza, who mar-

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HISTORY OF MONTANA

ried John Bailey, was drowned in Lake Michigan, and left two sons, Archie Bailey, a machinist of the United States navy, now stationed at Brinnon, Washington, and John, a locomotive engineer of Havre, Montana; James Curran and Robert Cur- ran, both of whom are residents of Kansas City, Missouri; Mrs. Minnie Wild, who is a resident of Spokane, Washington; Sarah, who married William McBride, of Culbertson, Montana; Archie, who was drowned, with two of his children, in the Missouri River, July 14, 1900, lived at Brockton, Montana; John, whose name heads this review; Selina, who is Mrs. George McTaggart, of Stetler, Alberta, Canada; Annie, who is Mrs. Eli Francis, of Moose- jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada; and Carrie, who mar- ried James Forsythe, of Pasqua, Saskatchewan, Canada.

When John Curran was ten years old the family moved to Saskatchewan, Canada, and there he was reared and attended school. After the death of his mother, John Curran, then a young man of twenty years, left home and came to Montana to join a brother and sister who had already left Moosejaw for this state. He completed his educational train- ing after he had come to Montana, attending the graded schools of Bottineau, North Dakota.

Upon his arrival in Montana he secured employ- ment as a stationary engineer at Blair, Montana, and then engaged in farming and ranching south of the Missouri River, in what is now Richland County. When the land was opened for settlement he entered a homestead twelve miles east of Red River on the Missouri River, and his claim formed the nucleus of his ranching domain. That continued to be his home from 1900 until 1915, and he ran his cattle and horses under the brand "WG," although other brands were represented among his stock. He bred, raised and marketed the range beef cattle, and the Chicago markets received his stock through his own shipments. His wife's claim and his own consti- tuted the patented and deeded land he owned. In the years following 1910 he developed some farm- ing, mainly as a feed proposition. When he aban- doned the ranch he took up his residence at Brock- ton, Montana, and engaged in farming on the Fort Peck Reservation leased lands. His home is still there and he still has substantial interests in and about Brockton.

Mr. Curran's participation in local affairs began . that the pioneers of the more recently developed with his assisting in establishing district No. 17, while he was living on his old ranch, through a peti- tion he presented, and he served as a school director of this district for a dozen years. At Brockton he was also a member of the school board for two years, and was one of the first to be elected to that office. In 1896 Mr. Curran cast his first presiden- tial vote in Montana for William Mckinley, and he has continued to give his support to republican candidates ever since. In 1919 the county board of commissioners of the new county of Roosevelt ap- pointed Mr. Curran assessor, and he opened his office in April of that year. In making his valua- tions of the county he found a total property valua- tion for the county of $19,000,000. He is making a record in his office which inclines the people of his community to look favorably upon him for fu- ture political preferment, and all recognize that he is a man of exceptional ability and high standing with all classes.

On October 28, 1896, Mr. Curran was married at Culbertson, Montana, to Miss Lucy A. Isbell, who came to that place from Kearney, Nebraska, in 1892, when she was about fifteen years old, hav- ing been horn on April 28, 1877. Her object in

coming to Kearney was to join a sister, Mrs. T. T. Armstrong, and she was given the advantages of- fered by the public schools of that place to complete her education. Mr. and Mrs. Curran have the fol- lowing children: Dale D., was graduated from the Northwestern Business College at Spokane, Wash- ington, enlisted for service in the World war at Fort George Wright, Washington, was sent to Van- couver Barracks, later transferred to Camp Lewis with the prospect of going overseas, but was dis- appointed, as he was kept at this camp until the signing of the armistice, and he is now editing the Brockton "Bulletin"; Esther L., who is a stu- dent of a Seattle (Washington) business college; and John M., who is attending the Mondak High School.

Mr. Curran was made a Mason at Poplar, Mon- tana, and has been raised to the master degree. He also belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America, Poplar Camp, and helped to organize the Farmers Elevator Company at Brockton, in which he is still a stockholder. He was one of several men who built and operated the first ferry across the Mis- souri River at Brockton.

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Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume III, Part 67

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