Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume III, Part 68

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

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Since the day when Mr. Curran arrived at Cul- bertson many are the changes which have taken place not only at that point but all over the state. Much of the land in Montana was then public do- main, and cattlemen ran their stock on the open range. There were few settlers of small means, for as yet the inducements to them had not been offered. All of the old names connected with the region about Culbertson have passed with the ex- ception of those borne by William McBride and Tom Courchene. Many new ones are now there, and the business of the place has been increased a hundredfold. Mr. Curran belongs to the type of man who makes good wherever found. Had he turned his energies in any other direction he would in all probability have been just as successful, but considering the weight of his influence in this com- munity it is fortunate for Roosevelt County that he did not do so, but chose the calling in which he has prospered as he has. Mr. Curran's friends are numbered by the legion, and all of them appre- ciate his many virtues and are proud of his record both as a cattleman and public official.

JOHN SEEL. There are some people who think western states were very fortunate and came into possession of their land and other holdings with- out undue exertion, but these are ill-informed. Con- trary to their ideas, these pioneers have earned by hard labor and much endurance all that they have acquired, and they are at the same time entitled to much consideration from later settlers for what they had already accomplished in wresting this region from the wilderness and the hands of the savage Indians. One of the substantial men of Mondak who has borne a very important part in the growth and development of Roosevelt County is John Seel, who is entitled to much consideration for his en- durance and bravery during pioneer days in the upper Missouri country.

John Seel was born at Saint Ingbert, Bavaria, on the French border of Germany, April II, 1861, a son of John and Appolonia (Becker) Seel, hoth of Bavarian birth and German stock. They died at Saint Inghert, and of their six children, John, who was the fifth, and his younger brother, Jacob, were the only ones to come to the United States. Jacoh Seel is also a resident of Mondak.

According to the regulations of his country John Scel was forced to give his military service to the

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HISTORY OF MONTANA

German government, and was attached to the hos- pital unit. The high-spirited young man rebelled at the cruelties and unreasonable exactions of the army and so he deserted and made his escape to the United States, sailing from Antwerp to Liverpool, and thence by re-shipment to Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania, on the "New Zealand." He made the trip alone, and was in fear all the while that he would be captured and returned to his command, where severe punishment awaited him as he well knew. However, his fears were not justified and after his landing he made his way to an uncle then living in Kentucky. Mr. Seel made this uncle a little visit and then went to Cincinnati, Ohio, for it was not his intention to be idle, and he did not find em- ployment suited to his capabilities in the south. After a winter at Cincinnati he joined the First Cavalry of the regular United States army and was sent to Fort Bidwell, Oregon, and from there to Walla Walla, Washington. Mr. Seel as a member of his regiment helped to construct the Coeur d'Alene road, which was the pioneer trail for the cavalry. They constructed their own road on to Missoula, Montana, and thence over the "Frenchman's" trail to Helena and Fort Shaw, Montana. From that point the command was ordered to Fort Assiniboine, which they built, and which continued the headquar- ters of the regiment from 1883 until it was moved down the river to Fort Buford. Not only did this regiment do duty in subduing the Indians, but also served to guard the international frontier from an invasion of fugitives from the Riel rebellion in Can- ada. Mr. Seel was a member of the camp to which a Riel leader and son surrendered as fugitives from British justice.

During the period that Mr. Seel was a member of the First Cavalry the Sioux Indians were very troublesome, and had it not been for the protec- tion afforded the white settlers by this little band of intrepid soldiers the majority of them would have been massacred without mercy. On one occa- sion, at the present site of Havre, the big Indian chiefs started the Sun dance in direct disobedience of governmental orders, and while it was in progress made arrangements to go off the reservation on a murderous escapade. They were prevented from carrying out their plans through the intervention of the troops of whom John Seel was one. This ancient practice of the Indians was the only one Mr. Seel ever witnessed, and he says that the one experi- ence was enough for him, that he never wanted to witness another. In order to select a new chief the aspirants to the honor were forced to endure the most horrible torture and the one best able to stand these cruelties was chosen chief. Because of the atrocities the Government found it necessary to forbid the practice. The selection of a new chief was usually followed by a raid upon white settlers in order to give him an opportunity to prove his prowess.

Not long after the regiment was ordered to Fort Buford John Seel's term of enlistment expired and he received his honorable discharge from the service after five years in the army. He then became a cow puncher and worked for different cattle and horse outfits for several years, and then established his own outfit in the valley adjacent to the present town of Sidney, where he remained for six years and then moved to the Snowden locality and en- tered his homestead on the south side of the Mis- souri River, where he maintained his ranch head- quarters until he proved up and acquired title to his land. Having done this Mr. Seel came to Mon- dak and became the pioneer liveryman of the city, which business he followed for four years. In the Vol. 111-16

meanwhile the automobile was coming into its own, and with his usual foresightedness Mr. Seel built a garage and went into the automobile business, which he still owns, he and his son conducting what is the only garage in the place.

On April 26, 1897, Mr. Seel was married at Copenhagen, Denmark, to Olivia Hansen, born in that city, a daughter of Peter Hansen, and she is the only one of her parents' children in the United States. Mr. and Mrs. Seel have one son, Frank P., who was born at Williston, North Dakota, although the family home was in Montana. He was educated in the public schools and the military school at Boze- man, Montana. He was trained in camp at Bozeman for active service in the World war, but the sign- ing of the armistice prevented his being sent over- seas.

Mr. Seel has always been ready and willing to lend his aid to forwarding any enterprise which promised to better his community, and his donations have been many and generous.

Contrary to his understanding, his military service did not make him a citizen of the country he was fighting to defend, although he had been voting for some time before he discovered this fact by having his vote challenged. However, when he found out what was necessary he took out his papers and since then has supported republican principles and candidates in national matters, although locally he oftentimes prefers to vote for the man he deems best fitted for office.

The story of his part in the taming of Montana if space would permit of its relation in this work would afford intensely interesting and exciting read- ing. It would deal with a service full of exposure and physical suffering on long marches and still longer campaigns. It is gratifying to know that after having rendered such a faithful and efficient service to his adopted country. Mr. Seel has been rewarded by a prosperity in his later years, and accorded the confidence and respect of all who know him. The brave Indian scout and former soldier shows the effects of his hard campaigns, but these scars are honorable ones and set him apart as one who has won distinction through mili- tary service. Although he had the opportunity of acquiring a homestead, so did many others who never availed themselves of the privilege, letting slide what to him was the beginning of a future prosperity. He did not shrink from the hard work of develop- ing this homestead, nor did he rest content wiith acquiring it, but pressed on to other lines, and, as stated in the beginning of this sketch, deserves every- thing he has acquired, for he has earned it by strenuous endeavor, much of it beyond the strength of the ordinary person.

FRANCIS EARL BLODGETT. From the days when Alexander Hamilton, Patrick Henry and other men trained in the law exerted their genius in behalf of the Government down to the present day the best legislators and statesmen we have had to represent the interests of the people have been drawn from the profession of the law. It is but natural that intellects so carefully trained should turn to public matters,' and that those who understand the law should become lawmakers. Certain it is that Mon- tana has called upon many of its leading attorneys to devote their talents and give of their time to the transaction of its business in the State Assem- bly, and one of them who, although still in the very prime of vigorous young manhood, has made a name for himself not only in his profession but also in the Legislature is Francis Earl Blodgett of Butte. Montana.

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HISTORY OF MONTANA

Francis Earl Blodgett was born at Butte, Mon- tana, September 23, 1893, a son of Frank Blodgett, a resident of Butte. Frank Blodgett was born in Illinois in 1864, and was reared in his native state. He is a son of William H. Blodgett, born in Ohio and who died at Chicago, Illinois, in 1905. William H. Blodgett was a pioneer in Illinois, leaving that state in the fall of 1869, for Colorado, and in the fall of 1881 he came to Butte, Montana, where he was one of the earliest business men of the city, at one time owning all of Big Butte. His death occurred when he was on a business trip to Chicago. In both Illinois and Colorado he was quite active as a farmer.

Frank Blodgett was educated in Colorado, and ac- companied his father to Butte, where he became a stationary engineer, and he is still engaged in that line of work. He is a democrat, but has never sought office. The Roman Catholic Church holds his membership. He married Annie O'Shaughnessy, born in Ireland in 1869, and the following children were born to them: Francis Earl, who was the first in order of birth; and Mary, who lives with her parents.

Growing up at Butte, Francis E. Blodgett at- tended the parochial and public schools of that city and was graduated from the Central High School in 1913. In the meanwhile he studied law during his spare time, and was admitted to the bar on December 31, 1914. He began the practice of his profession at Butte, in both criminal and civil law, where he is still engaged in a general practice, with offices in the Rialto Building. Like his father he is a democrat, and was elected a representative to the Legislature in the fall of 1916, and served dur- ing the Fifteenth Session .. He was chairman of the journal committee, and a member on the judiciary committee, the educational committee and the new counties and divisions committee. While in the Legislature Mr. Blodgett introduced a teachers' pen- sion bill which passed the Lower House and was defeated in the Senate, but which met with the approval of educators. Among the many measures before this Assembly was an eight-hour law for women, which Mr: Blodgett strenuously fought for and succeeded in passing.

Mr. Blodgett is a member of the Roman Catholic Church, and belongs to Butte Council No. 668, Knights of Columbus, of which he is a Third De- gree Knight. He also belongs to the Montana State Bar Association and the Silver Bow County Bar Association. As yet Mr. Blodgett is not mar- ried. He maintains his residence at 1253 West Aluminum Street, Butte. His ability and worth have been proven upon innumerable occasions, and few men of his years, either in Montana or else- where, have accomplished as much.

WINFIELD S. COWAN, a Harlem merchant, is one of the pioneer settlers of the Fergus County region of Montana. In March of 1882 he made the journey over the Northern Pacific Railroad from Duluth and reached Miles City, traveling only during the day. His final destination was Fort McGinnis, and his first work there was for James Fergus, for whom Fergus County was named, and with whom he spent four summers at ranch work. On leaving that service Mc. Cowan purchased a band of sheep from Mr. Fergus, drove them a short distance and es- tablished a sheep business of his own in association with J. D. Grant. Four years later this partnership was dissolved, and Mr. Cowan then came over to the Milk River country and began sheep ranching on Woody Island, a few miles south of the Canadian

border. He entered a homestead there, and in asso- ciation with his brothers George W. and Arthur con- tinned in the business some five or six years with good success, the partnership being then dissolved, but Winfield S. Cowan continued on in the business until settlers began taking up the land. He then sold out his stock and removed to Harlem, where he embarked in the mercantile business. His home- stead and the desert claim of Mrs. Cowan constitute the ranch they still own in that locality.

Winfield Scott Cowan was born in Greene County, New York, May 29, 1856. The history of his father, William Cowan, and his ancestry is given more fully in the sketch of George W. Cowan on other pages in this history. Winfield S. was reared as a farmer boy, was educated in the country schools, and started out in the business world for himself when but thirteen years of age as a farm hand at $7 a month. He continued on at that kind of labor while he re- mained in the State of New York, working during the summer months and attending short terms of school in the winters. When he reached Montana his capital amounted to $300, and his subsequent ranch wages of $40 a month added but slowly to his savings. During the winter seasons he hunted buffalo for their meat, the hides and also for the sport of the hunt. A tanned skin of a buffalo which he killed is now on exhibition in his Harlem shop as a souvenir of his early Montana experience.

When Mr. Cowan embarked in his mercantile business at Harlem he bought out A. B. Duke and Company and formed a partnership with Robert Corbett in the Harlem Saddlery. This firm continued in existence for ten years, Mr. Cowan then buying out his partner's interest and has since carried on the business alone. He is one of the stockholders and the vice president and a director of the First National Bank of Harlem, is interested in the elec- tric light plant of the town and one of its board of directors, and assisted in promoting the movement toward prospecting for oil in this locality, and is vice president of the temporary organization. Dur- ing five years he served Harlem as a councilman, has served two years as mayor of the town and has been re-elected for another two year term. Plans have recently been matured for repairing the water system of the town, the outlay for which will reach $60,000. Mr. Cowan has also served as a school trustee during much of the time he has lived in Harlem, and during the last two years of his serv- ice the new school house was built at a cost of $35,000.

At Malta, Montana, October 18, 1893, Mr. Cowan was married to Miss Margaret E. Payne, who was born in Schoharie County, New York, in 1866, a daughter of John Payne and his wife, Eliza Cropser. In their family were four daughters and two sons who grew to years of maturity, and five of the chil- dren, are still living, the sister of Mrs. Cowan being Mrs. Arthur Cowan of Harlem. To Mr. and Mrs. Winfield Cowan three children have been born: Harold E., who was a World war soldier in the aviation service, and spent almost two years over- seas. He served as cook for his outfit, and was in France when the armistice was signed, reaching home in June, 1919. Winfield S., Jr., the second son, was for a time a teacher of manual training in Harlem, and completed his education in the state school at Bozeman. Grace Shirley. the youngest child, is a student in the North Dakota Normal School at Valley City, a member of the class of 1922.

In his political affiliations Mr. Cowan is a repuh- lican, casting his first presidential vote for General

V & Cowan

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Garfield in 1880. He is a member of the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows, and a past noble grand and a past deputy grand master of the order.

THOMAS R. FORBES is clerk of the court of Roose- velt County, Montana, and has the distinction of being one of the old settlers of this section of the Missouri River country. He identified himself with Mondak in its infancy and established the first store in the place for Hedrich Brothers & Company, and remained with them until the business was closed. He was born in the family homestead at St. Paul, Minnesota, on February II, 1859, a son of Capt. William H. Forbes, who went from the Island of St. Ann, Canada, to St. Andrews, where with his father he established himself and became quite prom- inent. The father was connected with extensive boating interests in that region, and was accidentally killed. He married Catherine Donley, and Captain Forbes was the elder of their two children, his sister being Mrs. Catherine O'Neil.

Capt. William H. Forbes left Montreal, Canada, in 1834 and came to the vicinity of Mendota, Minne- sota, at Fort Snelling, as a representative of the American Fur Company, and remained with it for a number of years. Subsequently he with N. W. Kittsen opened a line of Indian trading posts throughout Minnesota, and entered from the Gov- ernment part of the land now occupied by the City of St. Paul. The present Ryan Hotel is on the site of the old Forbes homestead. Where the Union Depot now stands was a lake in which the lads of the age of Thomas R. Forbes used to go swimming, and he has pleasant recollections of their aquatic sports.

During the war between the states Captain Forbes was commissioned a captain and was sent with General Sibley against the Indians in 1862, when the Sioux Indians tried to destroy all the whites of Minnesota. Following this service Captain Forbes went south and was with General Thomas' command in the commissary department until the close of the war. While riding on horseback through the guer- rilla country of Missouri someone shot him, and this wound subsequently caused his discharge and placed him on the pension rolls.

In 1872 Captain Forbes was appointed by Presi- dent Grant to establish the Indian agency at Fort Totten, and after he had accomplished this he served as its agent until 1876, when he died. He was a very well educated man, speaking both French and English, and could read and write very well in French. In addition he had an excellent working knowledge of German and the Sioux and other In- dian dialects. Reared in the Catholic faith, he held it all his life. Although a democrat, his special fitness for work among the Indians caused a repub- lican president to give him an important appoint- ment. He also served as the first postmaster of St. Paul, and was the first speaker of the first terri- torial legislature of Minnesota.

Captain Forbes was united in marriage with Amanda B. Cory of St. Paul. She was a daughter of Holder Cory and was born at Cooperstown, New York. Mrs. Forbes survived her husband for nearly forty years. The children born to Captain and Mrs. Forbes were as follows: Jean, who served with the French Red Cross during the World war, is with the National Catholic Extension Bureau of France ; Thomas R., whose name heads this review; and Edna, who died when sixteen years old.

Thomas R. Forbes was educated in the public schools of St. Paul, Minnesota, which was then a city of 200,000, and following his completion of their courses he entered the Jesuit College of Montreal,

Canada, where he remained for two years. Having by this time exhausted his financial reserve he began working as a clerk in the wholesale house of Au- baugh, Finch & Schaefer, leaving them for Averill, Russell & Carpenter, paper manufacturers. In 1880 he became purser on a steamboat plying between Bismarck, North Dakota, and Miles City, Montana, and in the fall of that year took charge of the mer- cantile establishment of Layton & Jordan at Miles City, and subsequently had charge of a store they opened at Buford, Montana, for five years. Mr. Forbes then operated the first. steam ferryboat on the upper Missouri River, and while running it he opened the store for Hedrich Brothers, which brought him to Mondak. He has also been quite active in developing agricultural interests in this section, and has owned and conducted several mer- cantile concerns.

Mr. Forbes was connected with the county divi- sion movement which led to the creation of Roose- velt County by the Legislature, and was named in the bill as court clerk. A democrat, he began his connection with that party by casting his first presi- dential vote for Grover Cleveland in 1892, but has never supported Mr. Bryan. The fraternal connec- tions of Mr. Forbes are with the Loyal Legion, the Sons of Veterans and the Odd Fellows. Ambitious to follow in his father's footsteps in military mat- ters, he tried to enter the Spanish-American war but was rejected for physical reasons, but he has been a member of the Governor's Guard, the second military organization in Minnesota, with rank of first duty sergeant.

In 1914 Mr. Forbes took a contract for installing some machinery in the Lake Side elevator, and while engaged in the work was caught on the lineshaft and whirled so rapidly as to be almost whipped to pieces. His right leg was beaten to a jelly. the muscles of his left arm were badly torn and the nerves separated and his neck was broken. He was unconscious for a month after the accident and confined to Williston Hospital, but in spite of all his injuries he recovered and is but little the worse for his terrible experience.

In May, 1903, Mr. Forbes was married at Minot, North Dakota, to Miss Elizabeth Windisch, a daugh- ter of John and Sophia (Fiock) Windisch. Mrs. Forbes was born in Indiana on February 2, 1875, and she has a brother. William, who is a resident of Mondak, and a sister, Mrs. Anna Saylor, of Dundas. Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Forbes lost their only child just after birth.

LEWIS E. NEWLON is known to the public as the promoter and chief builder of the Town of Fair- view. But his reputation also extends beyond that of a town builder and classes him among the leading business men and public spirited citizens of Rich- land County.

Although Mr. Newlon has been identified with Montana almost from its infancy, he was born in Nebraska, his parents coming into the northwest when he was a year old and stopping for a brief time at old Fort Buford before locating in the Yellowstone Valley, at the point where Newlon Junc- tion has since been built. During their stay at Fort Buford the father's first work, and perhaps his most important work, was supplying the place with buf- falo meat during one winter, he having killed and delivered more than eight hundred animals. Newlon Junction was named in honor of William W. New- lon. the father, and he established his ranch there and continued its conduct until the memorahle hard winter of 1886-7, when as a consequence of having lost heavily thereby he moved his stock industry

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far south and established his residence on the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana, where he spent ten years. Returning at the close of that period to Montana, he took up land near Fairview, and spent the re- mainder of an active and successful life as a ranch- man there.

William W. Newlon was born at Peoria, Illinois, in 1841, and he grew to manhood's estate in his native commonwealth, receiving in the meantime a common school training. He enlisted for service in the Civil war, entering the Eighty-fifth Ohio Infantry, and was made a member of Sherman's army. He was wounded in the battle of Missionary Ridge, near Chattanooga, which incapacitated him for further service, and for this wound he afterward drew a pension. From his native state of Illinois Mr. New- lon subsequently removed to Colorado, where for a brief time he was located at Leadville, from there went to Lincoln, Nebraska, and subsequently came into the northwest and established his home in Mon- tana. Before leaving Illinois he had married Sarah Lawler, who was born in that state and is now a resident of Portland, Oregon. The children born of this union are: Mattie, wife of Frank Cannon, of Wibaux, Montana; Robert C. and Lewis E., both of whom are at Fairview; Ellis E., whose home is in San Francisco, California; Flora, the wife of George C. Jensen, of Kalispell, Montana; and Jesse L., of Portland, Oregon; Mr. Newlon, the father, always gave a staunch allegiance to the republican party, and he served Dawson County as one of its first commissioners. He was a charter member of the Masonic Lodge at Glendive.

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Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, Volume III, Part 68

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